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queenxxxsupreme · 4 years ago

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Have you ever seen those "dad reflexes" videos? With dads like swooping their kids out of the path of cars, bikes, animals- or doing lightening quick lunges to keep them from falling off tables and chairs and docks &stuff? I feel like I can absolutely see witcher dads just doing that. Like full on across the room one moment and then catching their falling kid the next. Or tuck n' rolling them out of the way of hourses and carts. Or doing the "foot-scoop" when their hands are full.

A/N: This has been in my ask box for a long time and I am so so glad that I finally could get around to finishing it!! We haven’t had any dad!witcher content and I’m positive this is just what I needed :) Here is my masterlist for more dad!witcher content and here is where to go if you’d like to be on any of my taglists!

***

Lambert

Today was one of those rare days that you had the chance to relax with your husband and daughter.

Lambert was finally back from a three week long hunting trip with Eskel, and the first thing that Eva suggested to do was have a picnic down by the lake.

You and Eva couldn’t travel alone beyond the walls of the keep. Not only was Lambert very against the idea of the two loves of his life being without him in the woods, but also the Blue Mountains were dangerous. Forktails and wyverns had a knack for moving into the wooded mountains, and nekkers and drowners had been known to wander around.

The young witcher didn’t like the idea of taking you both down to the lake, but it was hard to say no to Eva. When she was adamant on getting what she wanted, she knew how to play her cards right even at the tender age of four.

So now you three were on the dock down at the lake. You sat leaning against Lambert’s shoulder, listening to Eva rant about how Vesemir told her unicorns weren’t real. Lambert was watching her like a hawk, yellow eyes never leaving her as she moved around the dock. It was difficult to get her to stay still sometimes.

“It’s so good to have you back.” You murmured quietly, turning your head to look at the witcher.

He tore his eyes away from her, finding your gaze and offering you a smile.

“It’s good to be back.” He leaned forward to kiss you.

At the same time, he felt the boards on the dock move ever so slightly. She curiously moved towards the edge of the dock, spotting a turtle surface on the water.

Eva knelt down at the edge and leaned over.

“Mommy, look!”

She leaned over too much and lost her balance. Before she could fall head first into the water, Lambert caught her ankle, pulling away from you to focus on her.

“Eva!” You gasped, realizing what had almost happened.

Lambert pulled her up onto the dock and laid her down on her back.

“Eva, you can’t do that!” Lambert couldn’t help but raise his voice a little.

Eva giggled, sitting up and crawling over to the edge of the dock to look at the turtle.

You put your hand on Lambert’s arm, squeezing softly.

“She’s okay.” You told him, taking a steady deep breath.

“I swear, she’s going to give me a heart attack.” He mumbled.

Eva watched the turtle for a few more moments before it disappeared beneath the dock they were on. Then she stood up and turned to face Lambert, looking up at him silently.

“What do you want?” He scowled, somewhat irritated that she had made him worry so much.

She grinned mischievously and started to run towards him. He caught her in his arms and threw her into the air, the irritation dissolving as her giggles and squeals filled the air. Her delighted laughter made you smile.

“I think it’s time to go home.” You said, and Lambert agreed.

“Daddy, put me on your shoulders!” Eva squealed.

“Okay, okay. Hold on a second.”

Lambert placed Eva on her feet and then turned her around so her back was to him. From there, he could grab her by her hips and lift her up onto his shoulders.

“You ready, princess?” He asked her, looking up as best as he could.

She giggled and fisted her fingers in his hair.

“Little monster.” Lambert muttered, wincing when she pulled on the strands too hard.

You stuck close to Lambert, your arm wrapped around his as you started up the mountain.

Eskel

Eskel’s grip on your hand tightly a little as you moved through the market. It was busy and crowded, but you did your best to navigate through the swarms of people. Eskel held Nadia on his hip. The curious little toddler enjoyed all of the sights and sounds.

Usually you came to the market on your own or just with Nadia. The quiet witcher did not like the noise or being so close to so many people. But today, he decided to go with you.

“You deal with…. this every time?” Eskel asked.

“Yes.” You nodded, smiling softly as you looked over to him. “I quite like it.”

“I don’t.”

“I know.” You squeezed his hand. “I appreciate you coming with us today.”

“Had to get out of the house for a few.” His eyes followed everyone who walked too closely. “But now I’m sort of regretting it to be honest.”

“You can go back home, love. Nadia and I won’t be much longer.”

“No. I’ll stay.” He sighed.

“Down, daddy!” Nadia squealed, tugging on Eskel’s shirt.

He placed her on her feet and settled with holding her hand. He had to slow down in order to walk at her pace, but he didn’t mind.

“Go on ahead, doll.” He told you. “We’ll catch up with you later.”

“Are you sure?” You asked him, tilting your head to the side a little as you smiled down at your daughter.

“Positive.” Eskel put his hand on your arm and kissed your cheek.

You kissed him back and then leaned down to kiss Nadia’s head.

“I love you.”

“Love you.” She giggled.

Eskel watched you disappear through the crowd, his thumb rubbing over Nadia’s little knuckles.

“Daddy!” Nadia jumped up and down excitedly. He looked down to her, a little smile coming to his scarred lips.

Beneath his boots, the ground trembled. His ears picked up a noise, heavy breathing and hooves against dirt. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a brown figure moving towards him and his daughter. A donkey was running straight for them.

At the very last second, Eskel snatched Nadia up by her wrist, pulling her into his chest. Eskel’s other arm came up to wrap around her, holding her in the safety of his arms.

Her hands clutched his tunic, pulling at the dark red material.

Eskel could hear her heart racing, becoming frantic as she watched the donkey dart past.

“You okay, love?” Eskel rubbed her back, pressing a firm kiss to her head.

“Daddy!” She wailed and tucked her nose into his neck, tears springing from nowhere and trailing down her cheeks.

“It’s okay, Nadia.” He rubbed her back. “You’re okay, baby.”

“Where did mommy go?” Her words were muffled but he could still understand her.

“Let’s go find her.” Eskel suggested, feeling his own heart race. His hands felt a little shaky and he found the crowded street even more suffocating than before. With you no longer in his sight and Nadia almost being trampled, he needed something- someone -to calm him down.

The witcher followed your scent, finding you at a little stand that sold herbs. His hand found the small of your back.

You turned your head, smiling softly at him. However, that smile didn’t last long. Seeing his brows furrowed and a frown prominent on his scarred features, you knew something had happened.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, turning to him. You placed your hand on Nadia’s back, praying she was okay. Her head rested against his shoulder and she clung to him for dear life. Not even five minutes ago when you left them, she was cheerful and smiling as she walked alongside her father.

“There was a donkey.” Eskel explained quietly, turning his head to look at Nadia as best as he could.

“Is she okay?” Your brows drew together and you moved around Eskel to get a look at her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut tightly and a little crinkle formed between her eyebrows. Her cheeks were red and tears dampened them.

“She wasn’t hurt. I think it just spooked her. It ran past us. I got her before it could get to her.

“Nadia?” You brushed a few pieces of her hair back out of her face.

She opened her eyes and reached out for you, her face scrunching up as she began to cry again.

“Oh, my love.” You took her from Eskel, holding her tight to you.

“I think it’s time we go home.” He said, his hand still on the small of your back.

“I have a few more things I need to get.” You told Eskel, frowning. To go all the way home without what you came for would be a waste of the pretty weather.

Eskel held your gaze for a few moments, trying to think of what to do.

“You’ll be okay here by yourself?”

“Yes.” You nodded your head.

“Okay.” He let out a little breath and leaned down to kiss your cheek. “Be safe. We’ll see you at home.”

Geralt

The White Wolf glanced up from the cards in his hand, eyes finding Lambert. The young wolf held Bram on his hip with one arm as he crossed the room.

“Why don’t you sit down, Lambert?”

“Why?”

“Because you don’t need to be walking around with the little one.” Eskel placed his cards down for a moment to take a drink of ale.

“I wouldn’t drop him.” Lambert rolled his eyes. He looked down at his nephew, bouncing up and down just a little. “Besides, Bram loves his favorite uncle.”

Eskel snorted.

“You’d make me feel a lot more comfortable if you sat down, Lambert.” Geralt spoke up, keeping his gaze on his son.

“And you’d make me feel a lot more comfortable if you weren’t staring at me right now.” Lambert rolled his eyes.

Geralt muttered a few curses under his breath and looked at his cards.

Lambert took a seat at the table across from his brothers. He placed Bram down on the edge of the table. The toddler was happy there, chewing on a couple of his fingers.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to leave him there, Lambert.” Eskel said.

“He’s fine.” Lambert reached over for his tankard. “Who’s go is it?”

“Yours.” Geralt answered, eyes carefully watching Bram.

The toddler didn’t seem panicked being sat on the edge of the table. His balance was fine and he was content.

Geralt tried to relax. Lambert was right there and would stop anything from happening to Bram.

Time passed and the toddler seemed to be having fun climbing off of the table and then running around to the other side to climb back onto the table. He’d pause to say something to one of his uncles or to Geralt and sometimes to steal a card one of them had.

Bram developed a game of his own by doing this. He’d take a card from one of the witchers and give it to another.

But the little boy was getting too excited. He wasn’t watching where he was going as he walked across the table. He tripped over an empty tankard and would’ve fallen to the floor if Geralt had caught him. The White Wolf grabbed his son’s shirt, stopping the toddler from hitting the stone floor head first.

Geralt was on his feet in a heartbeat, setting Bram down on the floor on his feet. Geralt knelt down to inspect Bram, making sure he was okay.

“Shit.” Lambert cursed, standing up. He and Eskel both looked over their nephew, who just giggled and clapped his hands.

Geralt pulled Bram’s shirt back into place and let out a heavy breath, rubbing his brow.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Bram nodded, grinning mischievously.

“You need to be more careful.” Geralt told him as he stood up. He watched Bram climb up onto the bench next to Eskel and sit there quietly. The fall must’ve spooked him a little.

“Anything happens to him, Lambert, and I’m telling Y/N you let him walk on the table.”

“You what?”

Geralt turned around to face you. You stood in the doorway, arms crossed as you looked at your husband.

“Er, hello…. dove.”

Taglist: @pressedinthepages @mishafaye @whitewolfandthefox @wolfyland07 @belalugosisdead @persephonehemingway @keira-hulmaster @dinonuggs69 @greatestauthorofmygeneration @shadow-hunters-lover @dancingwith-thesunflowers @tedi-fach-las @thecomfortofoldstorries @raspberrydreamclouds @natkowaa @disasteren @weathervanes-my-oneandlonely @onlyhenrys @wackylurker @criminaly-supernatural @magpie343 @permanently-exhausted-witcher @hina-chans-stuff @the-space-between-heartbeats @havenoffandoms @carriebee1 @ger-bearofrivia @naominami @writingawaymylife @reaganjenelle @theawkwardpedestrian @scarlettwitcher @badassspaceprincess @just-a-sad-donut @summersong69 @an--actual--human--disaster @rubyqueen819 @omgkatinka @c-a-v-a-l-r-y @vonxcon @mazakeen @bravelittlesunflower @thereagles @awkward-turtles-world @menalliha @cotton_mo @maan24 @thefirelordm @monkeymo @krenee1drful @nympha-door-a @unadulteratedtreecrusade @Aquarius-pisces-rose @mentallyscreamingsincebirth @fl0ating @sometimesiwrite @crazybutconfidentaf @runawayolives @she-wolfoftheinquisition @onlygeraltofrivia

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crocodilenialledfics · 4 years ago

Text

You’re all I need (the air I breathe)

eight - in which Stella is more than the rebound

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love-at-first-sight, falling-too-fast, uni au that will make your heart ache (in a good way)

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Stella thought that a weekend away from Niall would have calmed her down. Instead, all of her feelings rushed back in earnest, watching him sit down at the dining hall across from her.

“Hey,” he said, a smile on his face. “You’re eating alone?

“No louis and Veda are...” she trailed off, looking over her shoulder. “They’re getting their food.”

“How was your weekend home?” Niall asked, shrugging his book bag off of his shoulders.

“Uh it was good,” she chuckled, rubbing her forehead.

Aside from the part where they got so high, Stella could have sworn she talked to god. And the throwing up part. And the waking up with the pounding headache, confusion, and immediate regret.

“That’s good,” Niall chuckled “you got high didn’t you.”

“Very,” Stella nodded, poking at the pasta on her plate. “Regretfully high. Maybe even devastatingly high.”

“Celebrated 19 the right way,” Niall mused.

Louis and Veda joined them just a few minutes later. Veda was grumbling about the food they were served and Louis was doing his very best to ignore her.

“How’s come we pay all this money and we can’t even get a decent meal,” Veda grumbled.

If Stella and her were alone, she’d press her until she said what was actually the matter. They weren’t, though, so she just watched her disgruntled behavior wordlessly hoping that no one would mention it.

No one did. Louis exchanged glances with Stella. Niall was oblivious, eating his food as if nothing was wrong. Stella wondered how he couldn’t tell, the way Veda was angrily eating her green beans. Or the way she scowled at him. Oblivious.

Stella wished she could be oblivious for a day. Instead she was hyper aware of every little thing. Every slight change of voice, eyebrow crinkle. She could notice it all.

And then Stella wondered if Niall could tell she was a bit off kilter since she’d gotten back from Doncaster. Niall did notice, though as they did homework later that night.

“Are ya alright?” Niall asked, a lilt to his voice that made Stella want to forget all of the weird feelings she was having.

“Yeah...” Stella trailed off, propping her knees up on the table. “Just tired, I think.”

“Okay,” Niall answered slowly. “You’d tell me if something happened at home, wouldn’t you?”

Stella’s instinct was to reassure him, so she did, sitting up. “Nothing happened at home,” she’d said, twirling her pen between her fingers in a way that would surely give her away.

“Are you sure because...” he trailed off. “It feels like you’re upset with me or something”

“I’m not upset with you,” Stella assured him, dropping her pen into her lap. She rubbed her forehead, sighing. “I just don’t know, Niall.”

“You don’t know what?” Niall asked, eyebrows furrowing as he looked at her.

“I just don’t know how you can get out of a three year relationship and already start kissing the first uni girl you see,” Stella rushed out, looking up at him.

“What do you mean?” Niall asked, eyebrows furrowing even more as he thought about what she’d just said.

“Isn’t there like a grieving process? Sadness or something,” she emphasized.

“There is,” Niall nodded. “There is a grieving process when you’ve lost something, but Stella,” he chuckled. “I didn’t lose anything.”

“You just feel absolutely nothing for Nadia?” Stella asked, eyebrows raising.

“I mean...” he trailed off, shrugging. “No I don’t feel anything. D-do you want me to feel something for her?”

“I mean no,” Stella shook her head. “But what does that say about you? How quickly you moved on.”

“I don’t know,” Niall shook his head. “I don’t care what it says about me either. Do you?”

“I don’t know,” Stella shrugged.

Niall ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a sigh, “Stella, don’t tell me you think you’re a rebound.”

“I don’t think that,” Stella argued petulantly. She sighed. “Maybe a little.”

“Rebounds are for people that don’t know who the fuck they are or what they want,” Niall answered her, shaking his head. “Is it so hard to believe that I actually really like you?”

Stella didn’t answer him. Instead she kept her eyes glued on the book in her lap. A page from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. She’d reread it ten times and still couldn’t think about anything but the nagging feeling she had in her belly.

After a moment, Niall asked, “do you need reassurance?”

It was painful to ask for that, Stella thought, drawing her eyes up at him. She felt like she could cry. She really was tired, exhausted after the weekend she had, exhausted after spending that whole weekend thinking about Niall. She wished he was there with her, getting high with Louis and her, talking to her mother, meeting Ludo’s date. All of it she wished so desperately that he’d been there.

“Stella,” Niall murmured hand smoothing over her sweatpant clad thigh. “Y’know you actually have to talk to me.”

“I don’t know,” Stella finally mumbled, shaking her head.

“Is there anything you do know?” Niall asked, voice soft enough to make the knot in her throat slip away.

“I wish you came to Doncaster with us,” Stella murmured, winding her fingers into her t-shirt.

“I wish that too,” he admitted. “But there will be other opportunities.”

“Will there?” Stella urged, lifting her head to look at him.

“Yes,” Niall emphasized with a laugh. He pulled her jittery fingers from her shirt, sliding them into his. “Do you think something bad is gonna happen?”

“Maybe,” Stella mumbled, unable to find the same humor he’d found.

“Nothing bad will happen as long as I can help it,” Niall told her, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. “And sitting here worrying about it is wasting precious time.”

Stella gave him a look like it wasn’t the right thing to say. Niall rolled his eyes at her, sighing, “Stella, you have to read 200 pages by the morning. I’d say that’s precious time being wasted.”

“I don’t want to read this anymore,” Stella said, closing the book.

“Well what do you want to do?” Niall asked, eyeing her skeptically.

“I don’t know,” Stella answered, sounding frustrated.

“Look at me, would ya?” Niall asked, frustrated right back.

“Why?” She mumbled, eyes now glued on the cover of the book.

“I said look at me,” he repeated sternly, in a voice that made Stella look at him. Eyes wide and sorrowful in a way that only confusion could manage to do. “You have to cut this out.”

Stella gave him another look because that wasn’t the right thing to say either. Niall rolled his eyes at her, tilting her chin up, “I mean it. Cut it out. I didn’t do anything,” he urged, searching her eyes. “Everything you’re upset about is in your head. It’s not real.”

Stella wanted to argue that it was real, except for the first time since she’d seen Niall, she wanted to kiss him. Like really kiss him, the way he did on her birthday with tongue and teeth and hands that wandered.

“Say okay,” Niall commanded when she didn’t respond.

“Okay,” Stella said, eyelashes fluttering. “Are you going to kiss me?”

“If you want me to,” he answered, his hand sliding from her chin to the curve of her jaw until his fingers pressed against the hollow of her neck.

“I do,” Stella managed to get out.

Niall leaned down, pressing a lingering kiss to her lips. It was a moment of relief all over again. Stella’s eyes fell shut and she let out a sigh against his lips. The lingering kiss morphed into one of desperation as Niall pulled her closer.

The angle was awkward, a strain on her neck. Stella did the only thing she could think of. She all but pushed herself onto him, fingers curling into his t-shirt. At some point the motion set them off balance and the kiss ended just as Niall gripped her hips to save from falling off the futon.

“Easy,” Niall murmured, lips spreading into a smile.

Stella felt herself begin to smile as she straddled him properly. And that was the Stella he loved to see, shining eyes and flushed cheeks, “there she is,” Niall murmured, pushing his fingers through her hair. “Stel, I missed your smile. I haven’t seen it in days.”

It felt like she hadn’t smiled in days either, but there she was, cheeks beginning to ache. Niall’s hands slid over her bum, pulling her closer, impossibly so. He kissed her again, far too innocent for someone that had a hold of her so tightly. Niall had a way of getting Stella to take the lead. He’d give her the very least until she had no choice but to kiss him fervently, fingers tugging at his hair until he groaned against her lips.

Stella found herself to be a little too good at taking control of him. The desire pooled in her belly as they kissed until the ache between her legs became too much and she had to pull away, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, “easy,” she said as if this whole thing wasn’t her doing.

“I’m trying,” Niall breathed, fingers sliding under her shirt to press against her back. “Unfair when you pull my hair. I think you do it on purpose.”

Stella gave him a smile, her best innocent smile. Who would believe that of Stella? Probably only Niall. He was eager to keep that secret for her, though.

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nvvermore · 4 years ago

Text

Think of Me

First meetings and offered lessons between Amaryllis and Beatrice. (Featuring @juliandev0rak’s Beatrice)

words: 2191

cw: none

accompaniment

—

It was an uncharacteristically quiet day at the palace, notably absent of any petulant counts or melodramatic doctors. As much as Amaryllis enjoyed their friends— not that they’d admit to such a thing— they could be awfully disruptive to their rehearsals.

But not today. There was a gap in their schedule, as were still a few hours before their meeting with Nadia before dinner. The countess wanted to discuss some of the entertainment for the upcoming masquerade

That was what Amaryllis was currently taking extra time to prepare for. They had been holed up in their typical rehearsal room for the better part of the afternoon, and had been gradually coming to terms with the realization they had hit a block. Now, being stumped musically was not something that happened to Amaryllis. They would never claim that they were a genius per say, but they were exceptional at what they did, and had never struggled so long with plain lyrics. Fully enchanted arias had been composed and performed in less time than this one simple love song.

That was likely the problem, love songs. Nadia had mentioned that it would be lovely if Amaryllis prepare something specifically for her and Portia, seeing as it was the first masquerade they would be spending together as a couple, and Nadia was a dedicated romantic. The request didn’t require that they had to compose something entirely new, but their current repertoire in regards to romance was lacking. What Amaryllis had prepared were pieces that were wholly insincere, and it wouldn't sit well with them to pass them off as otherwise in regards to Portia and Nadia.

So here Amaryllis was, toiling over the piano. Copious amounts of staff paper, unused and hastily scribbled upon alike, had been spread out across the shut lid of the baby grand that occupied the room. They had been using the piano as a temporary desk as opposed to the actual desk on the other side of the room. It was likely that doing such a thing wasn't proper etiquette, but that was of little concern to them currently.

As the candles that illuminated the space around them slowly burned themselves down, Amaryllis fell into an unbroken system. Playing various notes and chords, arranging a melody in their mind, penciling it down on the staff, all done carefully, measure by measure. The accompaniment came easy; searching for the wording to complement it was not. Time passed with little acknowledgement from Amaryllis, no distractions had pulled them away from their fixation as of yet.

Currently, they were pacing around the piano, scrawled upon staff paper in hand. Amaryllis was casting a simple projection spell to play the keys from a distance, fingers moving in the air as if they were actually at the keys, while the corresponding notes sounded from the instrument. Singing in time with music as they moved, despite the complete discontent they felt with the lyrics.

In the middle of a measure, Amaryllis’s concentration was finally broken by an indistinct sound from the doorway behind them. The music ceases and before they've even turned to face the origin of the disturbance, they're already speaking.

“I really don’t have the time for you right now L—” They chide, but freeze once they see who’s really at the door. It's definitely not Lucio, and in hindsight he would have never been so reserved in his entrance. Instead, a woman stands in the open doorway, looking awfully guilty and terribly nervous.

“I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to interrupt! I was just leaving!” She blurts out as she starts to turn away.

“Wait,” Amaryllis calls out, making the woman pause, “I apologize. I was expecting an interruption to be from someone else.” Their mouth moves before they have the chance to overthink the action. Now that she's facing them again, Amaryllis gets a better look at her. They’ve seen her before around the palace, and admittedly, she’s caught their eye on more than one occasion.

She’s strikingly beautiful, with brown hair and hazel eyes, but Amaryllis has never been able to tell much else due to the green cloak that’s always draped around her shoulders. Internally, they feel a pang of insecurity in her presence— as far as they know she's never seen them face to face— and instinctively reach to pull their veil over their face. But it's not there, they’d left it in their room not expecting not to face anyone new. Amaryllis simply shrugs the gesture off, instead smiling a little too sincerely at their guest.

“Still, I shouldn't have been eavesdropping—”

“You can come in, there's no issue. My rehearsals are typically closed, but I could make an exception just for you.” Amaryllis watches closely as she slips through the door, shutting it behind her with a soft click. She was still exceptionally anxious, standing awkwardly against the door and fiddling with the clasp of her cloak. It's unusual, typically people find it to be inconsequential to interrupt their work. But she was clearly genuinely regretful, and Amaryllis was compelled to save any quips about snooping or intruding. “There’s no need to stand all the way over there, you know.”

The woman begins to shuffle over, posture still stiff despite the friendly smile on her lips. Amaryllis remains on the other side of the piano for now, in an effort to leave her space. Her gaze, while pointedly avoiding Amaryllis, falls onto the instrument between the two of them.

“This is a lovely piano. Oh! Did you know that they were originally named ‘gravicembalo col piano e forte’, which roughly translates to ‘soft and loud keyboard instrument.’” She explains eagerly, laying her hands on the lid of the piano.

“No actually, I didn't.” Amaryllis reaches over the piano and extends a hand in greeting. “I’m Amaryllis.” The woman stares at the offered hand for a moment and then quickly takes it in hers.

“I know, I've, um, seen you perform a few times now.” A simple shake before she lets go and her hand is back to fretting with a button on her cloak. “I-I’m Beatrice.” She adds.

“Ah, a fan then, Beatrice?” Amaryllis teases, entertained by the way Beatrice stumbles to come up with a response. “I've seen you around as well. It's a shame we've never had the chance for a proper introduction before now.” Elbow propped on the lid, Amaryllis leans forward and casually rests their scarred cheek in their palm.

“Really?” Beatrice sounds surprised, and Amaryllis only grins in response. “Well, it's nice to finally meet you.” Her shoulders droop, but her fingers are still restless against her cloak.

“Was there something you needed from me?”

Beatrice looks up to them, still avoiding eye contact, confused. “What?”

“It seemed as if you were waiting at the door.”

“Oh! I- er, no I just let my curiosity get the best of me. I heard your singing and well, followed the sound all the way here.”

“Ah, then, did you enjoy what you were hearing?”

“Of course!”

“There's no need to flatter me, I’m well aware I’ve had better days.”

“No, no! You have a wonderful voice!” Beatrice looks so earnest, and Amaryllis has to hide their amused smile behind their hand. “I’ve always wished I could be better at singing, but I’m afraid I’ve never had proper instruction.”

“Is that so?” Beatrice nods. “Perhaps I could instruct you then?” The offer slips out before Amaryllis can muster up enough sense to stop it. Historically they were a terrible teacher, the concepts that made sense in their head never translate well. Why they would impulsively offer such a thing is beyond them.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Not. “I have a clear schedule for tomorrow, if you aren’t busy.” No I don’t. Glancing to Beatrice, she looked as visibly nervous as Amaryllis felt. They were almost a little guilty that they were so practiced at masking their nerves.

“I’d love to learn from you, but I’m um, a little out of practice.”

“Isn’t that the entire point of learning?” Amaryllis slowly steps around the piano, running a palm across the smooth top as they go. Standing next to Beatrice requires them to look down, but she doesn’t seem too keen to return the gesture. Amaryllis places a finger under her chin and lifts until her eyes finally meet theirs. “I’m sure we can make a prima donna out of you yet.”

As Amaryllis grins down at her, Beatrice flushes red and pulls away from their touch. She keeps eye contact for only a moment longer, and as soon as her gaze is gone Amaryllis finds they already miss it. “Ah, you really think so?”

“Without a doubt, I can already tell from your speaking voice that you’ll sound beautiful. Singing isn’t very different from speaking, at its core. It’s something anyone can excel at, provided the right tools and proper practice.”

Beatrice beams. “Then I’d be honored to take lessons from you.”

“Excellent, then we’ll start tomorrow afternoon.” Amaryllis retrieves their sheet music from where they had abandoned it when Beatrice first came in. “For now, you’re free to sit and listen in while I work.”

“Actually, I’m already running late for an appointment, so I shouldn’t stay any longer.” Amaryllis wondered if that was why Beatrice had been so nervous, she was already late and they had to go and make it worse.

“Then I won’t keep you any longer. If your tardiness is a problem, tell them it was all my fault. It isn’t a lie either, if my siren song hadn’t lured you here, you would have never been late.”

Beatrice flushes again and trips over her words. “I-I’m sure that won't be necessary!”

“I’ll look forward to seeing you in here tomorrow, after lunch, then?”

“Yes, I’ll be there. Here.” She confirms, bounding back to the double doors. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Amaryllis.” Then, Beatrice clutches her skirts and curtseys awkwardly before rushing out of the room. Amaryllis is relieved that she doesn’t look back, because they couldn’t keep the wide-eyed smile off their face even if they tried. And they tried.

“Goodbye, Beatrice.” Amaryllis murmurs to the now empty doorway. Beatrice was entirely captivating, even after barely five minutes of conversation. They had seen glimpses of her all over the palace before, and if they had never had an excuse to meet before, who’s to say they ever would again? Even if it all goes awry, then at the very least Amaryllis could say they tried.

That was why they offered to instruct her, even though they had no experience— negative experience even— in doing so. Though, there were likely better established ways of socialising than vocal lessons, which didn’t really offer time for talking. But teas and lunches were boring and stuffy, and Beatrice seemed too sweet for a place like The Raven. It was probably better this way though, less opportunities for Amaryllis to mess up when delivering facts than when trying to figure out how to banter in a way that wasn’t completely fabricated.

Amaryllis plopped down on the piano bench with a groan, elbows very unceremoniously landing on the keys and in turn creating a cacophonous melody. Head in their hands, they rubbed at their temples out of habit, though truthfully they weren’t experiencing any pain or tension. Amaryllis may have been a fool— literally and figuratively— but they weren’t an idiot by any means. Clearly, they were interested in Beatrice. Had been fascinated by her long before now. She was alluring and bashful, most anyone would feel a similar draw to her. And as much as Amaryllis pretended they weren’t a human capable of emotions, unfortunately that was not reality.

People were drawn to them too, but it wasn’t genuine, it wasn’t Amaryllis they were captivated by. Perhaps these lessons would be useful to rid them of these feelings. It was likely they were only infatuated by a pretty face, and when she eventually saw Amaryllis for who they really were, she would push them away and it would be the end of it. Amaryllis wouldn’t get their hopes up by expecting anything but lessons.

The chiming of the grand clock in the corner pulled Amaryllis out of their head, signaling it was only an hour before their meeting with Nadia. They needed to refocus; they’d wasted so much time already and had now resolved to use up part of their day tomorrow. After a few moments of deep breathing and several sips of water, they stood from the bench, stretched, and prepared to resume their work.

Despite the trouble Amaryllis was experiencing earlier, now was an entirely different story. Now, they were able to easily conjure up the passionate lyrics and melodies they’d been searching for the entire afternoon, thoughts of a certain brunette hovering in the back of their mind.

—

#the arcana #apprentice amaryllis #apprentice beatrice #amaryllis leroux #beatrice viano #beamie #my fic #amie fic

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cloudsrust · 4 years ago

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Do you have any thoughts on what NSR characters would fit & combinate well with any of the abnormalities from Lobotomy Corporation?

*Cracks knuckles* Aw heck, here we go again- (Think I had gotten a similar ask but with lm3 boss ghostes- welp at least this time there are less characters fgdjs) (Spoilers for both Lobotomy Corp and No Straight Roads under read more!)

Mayday and Zuke (But more May-) -Punishing Bird Breaches whenever it thinks there’s danger to help- does the absolute contrary of help. Attacking/Pestering someone that was just trying to work. Just like May thought the best way to fix the energy problem and bring back rock was to destroy the power sources-... yeah the recklesness of these two is about right sdhsdj. ... also I dare to say- both May and lil’ bird? Both got.. quite the big mouth eh oh- this was bad sorry dsudhs. -Big Bird Mostly same reasoning. Just as Big Bird goes “Well, if I kill the creatures the monster will not kill them” they went “Well, if we create enough energy the others don’t have to create energy!” and went on the Hijack spree. Also Big Bird, as we can kinda guess in their legacy final observation, reacts especially well with calm people- who don’t get scared easily and look over the appearence of something-.. I think they would do well with Zuke. Plus they only break out after a second trumpet/many fatalities- so they are lowkey more reflecting than like.. Punishing Bird- so it’s a nice pair for May and Zuke. DJSS: -Der Freischütz Both of them met their “demise” because of their pride (Frei lost his soul to the devil by becoming a monster, DJ was sent out of the orbit by a pair of simpletons-.. think the burns are comparable yep)- thinking they could beat someone just because they were playing on their field. Plus they object head buds. -Child of the Galaxy ...Yes it’s because of the Galaxy theme;; It does also follow my headcanon that DJ is not completely from Earth tho- so like-.. the sensation of not belonging and the search of a “friend” (Like minded individual in case of DJ) is also there. The rest tho-... mhhh- doesn’t fit much but ye;; -Notes from a Crazed Researcher The last line of its observation made me think of DJ and their Galaxy Brain idk djsgdjs.

Guess I just see them as someone that would persue knowledge that they’re interested in no matter the lenghts they’d have to go for it. Sayu -Opened can of WellCheers The crew and Sayu would just vibe with them shrip lads ngl dshdjs. Oke for real- mostly thought about how her “video introduction” is her promoting some kind of sea themed snack- and these guys came to mind. There is also the fact that in the legacy version, if they were in a bad mood, a wave would sweep away the employee working on them- and also! In their Final Observation, no matter what you choose, you will consume the drink they offer and get sweeped away by the sea-... sounds like you can’t fight the currents uh? -Queen of Hatred I mean- both are kawaii animu girls that become cool looking “monsters” once enraged and beat you up.. perfect match ohohoh. -Porcubus I mean- Porcubus makes your head explode with happyness- Sayu? WIth her absolute banger of a theme (seriously I had that tune as a earworm for at least a month- not that I minded ohoh) and also because of her cuteness ngl- It’s also the fact that they both just want to live their life and make others happy- what they bring is something bigger than them (Sayu’s crew helping EDM take over while just following their dreams- and Porcubus who just cannot control their ecstasy inducing venom.) -Would also say Dreaming Current because of the ocean aesthetic and rainbow bubbles- and especially because both were just about the dreams of some children-... but it’s such a sad story about sickness and drugs;; don’t have the heart. -Fun fact! In the Lob Corp Artbook (I’m that much of a nerd for that game) there are sketches of an abnormality that would’ve been based off “The Little Mermaid”. I think it would’ve been perfect for Sayu.. but it was discarded like many other cool ideas;; Yinu & Mama -Ppodae Looks harmless until angered/breached- kinda like how Yinu looks like an easy boss being a simple kid- but then Mama comes in with all of rage. -Dream of a Black Swan The story of a sister that went as far as she could to save her brothers from a mysterious sickness that took over her city. When it breaches it’s the sister that you have to defeat- she also has an attacks reflecting umbrella. She reminds me of Mama because of the fact that she has two forms (One shows two heads while just wondering, the other has them concealed as a swan head when she attacks) and because of her prtective nature and how she shields Yinu during the fight. There is also the whole sickness thing that “torn both of these families apart”- one just less tragic than the other. -Would also put in Burrowing Heaven because of this part of its “story”:

The first lines reminds me of how as the battle progresses the stage is elevated more and more off the eart beneath. The middle I feel summarizes Mama’s rage and Yinu’s despair close to the end. Mama was blinded by rage, she was caring more about her child to keep up her performance (what SHE thought was important to her) rather than what Yinu was actually feeling. She only comes back to herself when she hears their music- when she “opens” her eyes again and directs her attention to what is really important- not the piano or her performance, but their bond as a family. The last line- well that just me crying at the ending scene of their battle :,D 1010 & Neon J -Army in Pink Just soldiers trying to help- but that might get overwhelmed in their duty if fatalities happen or if you’re putting too much work onto them. Lowkey fits them- -Crumbling Armor I feel it’s perfect as a rappresentation of maybe Neon’s former self- a reckless shell left behind but that still calls to him when the situation gets drastic. -The Silent Orchestra Beating you senseless with beams while still performing- yeah sounds familiar. There is also the fact that in total are five members but in contaiment only the conductor appears- kinda like how 1010 is the enemy on the field- but it’s Neon who is behind it all. Also both got Style- -All-Around Helper ...Listen I can’t even see this lil’ guy as an abnormality;; it just happened to have a factory defect that made it a killing machine instead of a romba of sort- poor thing,, I just like to think of Neon trying to fix them up- or keep them as a killing machine pet lmao. Eve -Fragment of the Universe Both their main thing is being misunderstood and having to communicate through an artistic field- The way the body also looks like a child scribble- it has a lot of expression just like in Eve’s case. -Snow White’s Apple Wondering when will your story have a happy ending or a true love kiss- I feel it fits Eve’s past spent searching for her other half- for someone that would make her happy. -Child of the Galaxy -Once again- attachment issues. Many of them;; Loving and thinking about someone so much that you end up hurting them involountarly while lost in the joy and inspiration they brought in your life (Nadia and Zuke’s past). The fact that they both get particularly dangerous when divided/refused from the one they love or when they fall into despair is also a good match. -Mirror of Adjustment is also a good one for her. A mirror that changes you to be the best in your own way- fits with how by changing how she perceived herself she finally accepted herself. Tatiana - Fiery Bird Kinda self explainatory ngl- the way the burnt looking bird ignites once breached reminded me of her Boss Fight. -Price of Silence This is a legacy only abnormality- but I thought it fit more with her time powers more than Backward Clock did. There is this thing about being unable to escape a certain present (time) that makes me think of her trying to escape from her rock past but ending right back into it in the end. -Judgement Bird A blind bird that decided that justice would only come from their broken scale- that only gave the “guilty” result. The way Tatiana just wanted to ban rock to yes- get back to MayDay- but also in fear that the chaos that she had brought with the Goolings would repeat itself (just like the Judgment Bird was deeming innocents gulity in case they were the monster). In the legacy version also- if you pass the Final Observation and put the bird regrets to rest- they will simbolically give you their scale. Kinda like how in the end Tatiana leaves her guitar to May- to let her continue her past legacy.. just in a better way. Phew- I’m done;;; A bit rushed especially towards the end but my mind was rushing so much with the possibilities;; had to cut some because it was getting waaaay too long whoops-

#the cloud can speak oh boi #sorry for the possible errors I was just RUSHING THROUGH-#..also yes I like scrolling through the legacy versions a bit too much;;

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im-a-slut-for-asra · 5 years ago

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Tw: rape Angst! I'm mainly here for Asra but if you want you can do main 6. Maybe their reaction to mc being raped? Is that too much?

Alright so this is the one I was working on that got fucked and ended up deleting, so here goes

Trigger warning

RAPE IS BAD. VERY BAD. DO NOT RAPE PEOPLE.

If I've offended anyone in any way with this, please tell me and I will do my best to accommodate you

Asra

He finds you on the ground, clothes disheveled and tears down your face

His immediate reaction is shock; because who would do such a thing to you?

He realizes he's being stupid and rushes over to help you

Asra will talk to you and try to get you to tell him what happened, but wont force you to do anything. He's seen you've had enough of that already

If you allow it, he'll pick you up and carry you to the bath

Using magic, he'll make sure there is no permanent damage and clean you up nicely, whispering promises that it will never happen again

Once you're all settled down and feeling at least a little better, he'll lay with you until you fall asleep

Asra will then use his magic to hunt down the perpetrator and show no mercy with his revenge

Nadia

She's the fastest to take action

Immediately she has the entire palace staff looking for the perpetrator, save Portia who will go ahead and get anything Nadia needs to make you feel better

She will take you into her lap and hold you, letting you cry onto her shoulder and let it all out

Then Nadia will have Portia draw a bath with your favorite oils and comfort food nearby

She will make sure you're the most comfortable you can get and that you won't feel disgusted with your body

Nadia will bathe you using the utmost care, making sure you are completely clean

Portia will schedule you a doctor's appointment for later too

Nadia will want revenge on the perpetrator, but she's very calm about it. Rather than sentencing them to death like Lucio would, she exiles them on the lazaret. You'll never know, though. She wouldn't put that weight on you

Julian

Oh Lord

The boy is having very mixed emotions

Part of him wants to break down and cry when he sees you, another wants to hunt down the perpetrator, but the rational doctor part of him knows he needs to take care of you

So he goes into full doctor mode and immediately rushes to help you

He knows you might be scared and won't want him touching you, but he your health comes first and he will scoop you into his arms without a word to do a checkup

First, he'll clean you up. You'd think Julian would be a stammering mess, fumbling with whatever he's trying to use, but it's actually the opposite.

As worried as he is, Julian's hands are very steady and he is meticulous with everything he does

Even though he can't stop crying

One he's finished making sure you're healthy, clean, and won't get hurt, he finally asks you what happened and who did it

Julian will understand if you don't want to tell him, but he has connections who will find out for him

Needless to say, the perpetrator will regret ever touching you

Muriel

He instantly darkens

This is why he prefers animals over people

Muriel hates violence, so seeing you slumped against a tree with the aftermath of the assault made his heart brake

He slowly approaches you, leans down and gently picks you up

He can feel you shaking in his arms, so during the whole walk back, Muriel is doing his best to soothe you. He's not very good at it though, but he'll do his best to reassure you

When he takes you back to the hut, Muriel will gently lay you down and prepare the means to clean you up. He understands if you like to be left alone, so he'll back off if that's the case. Inana doesn't abide by the rules though

She will come up to you and whine since she knows something is wrong, then rub her face against you to help comfort you. She'll also lick your face to show that she's here for you

After you've gotten your doggie love and have been properly cleaned and consoled, Muriel will contact Asra to come over and make sure you won't get and STI, or pregnant if you're female

Asra will also be the one to inact revenge, and Muriel doesn't want to know what he did

Once you're safe and peaceful, he will visibly relax and soften. If you ask nicely, he'll lay with you until you fall asleep

Portia

She breaks down with you

You'll both have a huge crying fest and let it all out

Strangely though, you feel better afterwards. Portia just has that effect

She'll call mazelinka first, since she'll most likely know what to do

Surprise, mazelinka knows exactly what to do. Your safety is now the top priority for both these people

Maz will scold Portia for not calling her brother, the doctor

In Portia's defense, her brother is an idiot and you need the help now

Mazelinka will tell you and Portia exactly what to do, and while you're following her orders, she'll go out to get Julian

When Julian arrives, he's astonished but helps as well as he possibly can

Portia is with you the entire time, holding your hand, and comforting you

She is very relieved when you're safe, and thanks her brother and adoptive grandma for all of their help

She'll then spend the entire rest of the day and whatever extra time you need by your side, cuddling and coaxing you

Once she tells Nadia, shit goes south for the perpetrator. Nadia will find them, but Portia is the one who raises hell

She won't out right tell you what she did to them, but if you ask she will leave no detail. Just be thankful nadia was keeping a watchful eye to keep it from getting out of hand

Lucio

Who. The. Fuck. Touched. His. Lover.

He will kill them

It will be painful

The only thing keeping it from being a public event is the fact that people will know you were assaulted, and he doesn't want to give away your privacy like that

Like Nadia, hell have the absolute best things to take care of you with

Lucio won't let others in, though. You've already been touched by someone other than him, and he won't let it happen again

Even when he gets a doctor to check up on you, he's there giving them the stink eye the entire time

Possessiveness goes up 400%

He's done everything he can go protect you, and yet someone was able to get that far with you. For him, it's like a part of him just broke away. It's a huge failure for the one thing Lucio wanted to protect to get hurt like that. He won't admit it, but he's devastated

Lucio will cancel everything he has to do for the next week to dote on you and make sure you're okay

He'll also spread the rumor that anyone who touches you will mysteriously disappear

Lucio really, really loves you, so from now on he will pay even more attention to who is around you so nothing ever happens again

Alright everyone, I know it was an angsty one, but that was kind of the whole point. This is completely unedited by the way, so tell me if I fucked up on anything

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mezzomercury · 5 years ago

Text

Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue: Chapter Eight- Good Company

A/N: Here it is, after working on it on and off for almost for six(!!!) months. Apologies for the delay and I hope my readers are just as excited about reading this as I am about posting it. FYI, this is a picture that was in Eliza’s nursery.

Warnings: Mentions of food, vomit (that’s about it I think)

Word Count: 2.7k

*************************

January 22, 1986

The Garden Lodge

London, United Kingdom

Circa 3:00pm

It had only been two days since Freddie and Jim brought their daughter Eliza home to the Garden Lodge, but it was evident that they had more than their hands full with being new fathers. Although Nadia was staying with them for the next couple weeks, she could only do so much to help them, as her doctor put her on strict bed rest for the time being. Sleep deprived and with barely any time for themselves, Freddie and Jim still couldn’t be happier with this new chapter in their lives.

Now, it was time for little Eliza to meet her uncles. Brian, Roger, and Deaky had eagerly awaited this day for nine months, and were beyond ecstatic upon hearing the news that their friend and lead singer along with his husband had welcomed a beautiful and healthy baby girl. Since they were all parents themselves, Freddie had already been seeking their advice almost constantly. They would normally be bothered or annoyed by his incessant badgering, but they all remembered what it was like having their first baby and how the first couple of months were rather difficult and nerve-wracking to say the least. Brian, Roger, and Deaky had never expected Freddie to become a family man, but Jim brought about a change in him that they never thought was possible, and now the addition of a child settled him down even more. For once, they weren’t worried about their friend’s well-being, as he was now positively in love, and, as Freddie himself stated, “no fucker in the world is going to change that.”

The three visiting members of Queen piled into Roger’s car, along with a mountain of gifts for both Eliza and her mother. Freddie and Jim had planned a small get together for them at the Garden Lodge. Afternoon tea would be served, in addition to champagne and cigars wrapped in pink ribbons, all graciously prepared by Phoebe and Joe. It would be a rather small affair, but it had no probability of being dull, as long as the four members of Queen were together in an event hosted by their lead singer.

As Brian, Roger, and Deaky parked at the Garden Lodge and rang the bell at the front door, they were greeted by Phoebe, who assisted them in hauling gifts inside. Upon walking into the drawing room, the first thing they saw was Freddie, dressed in an old, yellow sleeveless jersey that was covered in spit-up, and white running pants that they had never seen him dawn before. In addition, he was carrying little Eliza in a sling strapped to his chest as he was bottle feeding and talking to her in a very cutesy voice, all while rocking her and pacing around slowly. Of course, his bandmates found it adorable, and even a gasp of awe couldn’t help but escape Deaky’s mouth, but it was strange to see Freddie already taking fatherhood so seriously.

“Hey, Mary Poppins! We finally made it!” Roger quipped in order to get the new father’s attention.

Freddie promptly halted his baby talk and turned his head to see his three bandmates standing right in front of him, which made a huge toothy smile spread across his face, though it was met with a hint of blush in his cheeks.

“Oh bugger, I was hoping you didn’t hear any of that. Did you?” he asked, waiting to hear the response he was fearing.

“We did, unfortunately.” Brian answered him, to which Freddie sighed, but had a feeling that he would be saved from any further embarrassment as he watched his husband Jim waltz into the room, greeting everyone with a hug.

“Welcome, lads! We’re glad you all could make it.” Jim addressed the three guests, “Did you all remember to wash your hands?” stating his concern of spreading any germs to his newborn daughter.

He earned three nods in response and he couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

“Say, where’s the woman of the hour?” Deaky asked, referring to Nadia, “She’s the one who we should be celebrating here. She did all the hard work while you two just watched.” This earned a playful scoff from Freddie.

“She’ll be here shortly. She’s resting in her room at the moment.” Jim responded, earning a nod of understanding from the bassist.

Once Phoebe brought in several teapots, cups, as well as an assortment of sandwiches and cakes, everyone sat down and tried to make themselves comfortable. Freddie, who was still holding Eliza in the sling, showed no signs of giving her up easily.

“Alright, Fred, let’s see our new niece. She was nearly born in my car, after all, so I should be the first to hold her, shouldn’t I?” Roger stated, eagerly awaiting to meet baby Eliza.

Much to his dismay, Freddie was extremely reluctant to pass the baby to anyone, so Jim had to silently coax his husband in to passing her to him, to which he then carefully deposited her into Roger’s awaiting arms. Everyone gasped in amazement as they finally got a glimpse of Eliza’s tiny face.

“Goodness, she’s absolutely beautiful. Well done, you two.” Brian remarked, silently adoring her tiny, delicate features.

“Yeah, you didn’t do too bad. She’s quite an adorable little potato, isn’t she?” Roger gushed as he adjusted his hold on the baby.

Seemingly discontent from being mildly jostled, Eliza began to fuss in Roger’s arms, to which her uncle cooed and shifted her so that her head was on his shoulder.

“There there, dear. It’s alright. It’s just your Uncle Rog. No need to fuss, dear.”

As he slowly pat the baby’s back he noticed her fussing subdued once he felt her hiccup, but he was unpleasantly surprised when this was followed by her vomiting on his shoulder. Everyone in the room couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, especially Freddie, who burst into a fit of laughter as he nearly collapsed into Jim’s lap from hysterics. When he collected himself a bit after a minute or so, he noticed Roger’s unamused expression and chortled,

“That’s my girl. Very good.”

As Roger noticed the vomit that was running down his back and destroying his shirt, he began to panic while simultaneously regretting that he chose to wear one of his favorite shirts for this occasion. Luckily, Deaky came to his rescue and suggested to him,

“How about you pass her along so you can go ahead and clean off? Your time’s up to hold her anyways.”

Roger obliged and quickly handed Eliza to Deaky, who took her into his arms like the professional father that he was. As the baby was still fussing a bit, she calmed down and fell asleep as soon as her godfather held her.

“That’s a bit better, dear. I don’t blame you for doing that to Roger.” Deaky whispered to her, causing everyone to chuckle.

“You’re quite the baby whisperer there, aren’t you, John?” Jim mused.

“He’d ought to be, darling. He’s had four of them.” Freddie retorted, “You’re not planning on having any more, are you, Deaks?”

Deaky shrugged as he rocked Eliza in his arms, to which everyone groaned jokingly.

“You and Veronica are breeding like rabbits at this rate.” Roger teased, “But I don’t blame you, honestly. You do make very cute little hobbit children.”

“I think the amount we have is fine for now, but who knows, this little one might change our minds, especially when the missus meets her.” Deaky remarked, gently cradling Eliza.

“I’m sure Freddie and Jim will let you borrow her whenever you want,” Brian responded, still unable to believe how the Deacons managed to raise that many children and make it look as simple as could be, “But in any case, I’d like to see my niece now, Deaky, if you don’t mind.” He tried to be as polite as possible without sounding too impatient.

Eliza, who wasn’t too thrilled to be passed around like a hot potato, began to fuss again, causing Deaky to smirk as he decided to let Brian deal with it.

“I know, you don’t like being tossed about like this, do you, dear?” Brian startled cradling the baby who seemed to be quite overwhelmed with everything going on, “Stick with me for a bit and it’ll all be fine.”

As tea was being served, Brian continued to hold Eliza and walk around the room with her, insisting that he wasn’t really hungry anyway. The others in the room engaged in mild, business-related conversation, all while Brian was softly singing ‘39 to his niece. Brian’s soothing voice seemed to have a positive effect on the infant, as she sighed contently while studying his face, trying as hard as she could to commit it to her memory. As he was singing the famous refrain of his song, all eyes were on him when he interrupted himself with an unexpected yelp as he felt a strong tug at a strand of his curly mane. Trying not to react too harshly, he looked down to see little Eliza holding onto his hair for dear life, making tiny cooing noises while doing so. The sight of it all would have made him soft, except her surprisingly strong grip prevented him from adoring it too much.

“She’s not going to let go anytime soon, I can tell you that.” Freddie interjected while he and the rest of the boys were laughing at the scene before them.

“It’s quite alright. I should be used to this by now, anyways.” Brian replied, trying to get Eliza’s grip off of his lock of hair, but to no avail.

Jim promptly rose from his chair to provide some assistance, gently coaxing his daughter’s chubby hand to free her uncle from her grasp by getting her to latch onto his own finger, then moving her hand to grip onto Brian’s shirt.

“That’s better now, love.” Jim whispered to the infant as he bent to her level to kiss her pudgy cheek.

Now with his hair free from her chubby but surprisingly strong grasp, Brian resumed walking around the room with Eliza, stopping at the pile of gifts and quietly showing and explaining her new toys. Overhearing this soft, one-sided conversation, Freddie turned around and asked the guitarist,

“Bri, you’re not trying to brainwash her with astrophysics yet, are you?”

“Not quite, Fred. You see, newborns just like to be stimulated both aurally and visually. It helps with their development.”

Freddie playfully rolled his eyes and let Brian continue “stimulating” his daughter, but before he could one-up his friend, Nadia quietly appeared into the drawing room and was immediately showered with attention and friendly affection from everyone occupying the space. As Freddie caught her out of the corner of his eye, he nearly dropped his cup of tea in a panic,

“Nadia, darling, what did the doctor tell you about standing up for too long? Please come sit at once!”

As he whisked away the poor woman and helped her sit on the sofa next to Jim, he was met with light chuckles and playful eye rolls from his friends. Before anyone could make a joke about Freddie’s new mother hen behavior, Deaky chimed in as he got up and presented his children’s former nanny with a bouquet of flowers accompanied by four handmade cards which were obviously done by the younger members of his family,

“Freddie and Jim told us about your new ‘updated’ agreement and we couldn’t be happier that you’re here to stay.”

“Thanks Deaky. I’m so glad to be here. It’s safe to say that I’ve grown attached to all of you.”

”You’re an incredibly strong woman for putting up with these two for the past nine months” Roger joked, referring to Freddie and Jim, “Are you sure you want to keep dealing with them? They’re quite the handful.” Freddie playfully smacked him, as was common for him to. Rubbing his head, the blonde drummer followed up.

”Actually, it’s better if you stay. I don’t want Freddie corrupting that poor girl too much. God knows what would happen without you.” Another smack, this time a little bit harder, or so the victim claimed.

”Rog, you’re almost asking to be puked on again at this point.” Freddie smirked, acting as if he had done nothing wrong.

Somehow, in the middle of all of the riveting conversation, baby Eliza, who had been carefully placed in her bassinet a few minutes ago by Brian, started to cry, almost as if she noticed everyone’s attention was on her mother and not her. Deaky, being the first to notice, made an effort to point it out as much as he could over the infant’s high-pitched near shrieking.

“Someone is quite the attention seeker already. I wonder who she could’ve gotten that from.”

Almost comically, everyone turned their gaze to Freddie, who merely scoffed and waved it off.

Nadia, who knew immediately the reason for her daughter’s fussiness, picked her up and walked into the other room to nurse her in private. Once she left, the living room became incredibly silent, before Roger tried his best at whisper,

“So, have you two shown her the house yet?”

This question was met with both Freddie and Jim violently shushing him, but Brian and Deaky were quick to inquire about this to their hosts. Jim made sure again that the coast was clear and that Nadia wasn’t in earshot before replying,

”Oh, did Freddie not tell all of you?”

The two clueless guests shook their heads, still utterly puzzled.

“We bought Nadia a house a few blocks away from here. We figured she’d want to live closer now that she’s a part of the family, and also as sort of a thank you gift. It was all Freddie’s idea really, as you could imagine.”

Everyone cooed in awe, but still trying to keep quiet so Nadia wouldn’t hear. Freddie was quick to answer Roger’s underlying question,

“No, we haven’t, but we’ll take her there once she’s fully recovered. I’m honestly quite surprised that she hasn’t figured it out yet.”

”Well, you know, she’s been pretty busy lately, you know, creating a new life and all.” Brian quipped as he took a generous sip of his tea.

“I wish I could see the look on her face when she sees it. Knowing you two she’ll probably love it.” Deaky muttered before quickly trying to signal everyone else that Nadia is heading back into the room.

Everyone became suspiciously quiet once again, but now they were met with Nadia raising her brow, trying to find the reason for it, all while burping Eliza over her shoulder.

“”What were you boys talking about? The room is never usually this quiet when you all are here.”

Freddie was quick to respond, even though he didn’t have a carefully thought out alibi.

“Oh, um...nothing darling. Just about………..how we’re going to try to finish the record now with the baby here and all.”

This caused Nadia’s curiosity to peak, but before she could say anything, Jim was quick to have her sit down again, taking Eliza from her and rocking her gently.

”Do you like your uncles, dear? They certainly are an odd bunch, but they love you all so much.”

Jim took a moment to reflect once he referred to all the men in the room as his daughter’s “uncles.” It went without mentioning that none of them were at all true blood relatives, but the bond as a nontraditional, chosen family was even stronger that he and his husband had with their actual family members. Little Eliza would grow up to have at least three surrogate uncles always by her side, and that was enough to provide relief to either of her parents. This wild and crazy group would prove to be the biggest support system she would have in the years to come, and for that Freddie and Jim were forever thankful.

As Jim was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts by his approaching him and kissing him gently on the cheek, then bending down to do the same for their daughter, the Irishman sighed in pure content.

After all these years, after all this time, I am finally where I was meant to be.

**************

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#bohemian rhapsody in blue #freddie mercury imagine #freddie mercury x jim hutton #freddie mercury fic #freddie mercury #jim hutton #bohemian rhapsody imagine #queen imagine #queen fic #classic rock fandom #my stuff #micaela's fics #original content #roger taylor #brian may #john deacon #peter freestone

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crqstalite · 5 years ago

Text

SHADOW OF THE SITH, CH. 3

TRI'AMA_RISHI.

"If I hear one more person refer to me as a Howling Tempest gang leader, I will not hesitate to stab them through." Tri'ama deadpans, just loud enough so that anyone nearby could hear. Pierce stifles a chuckle as some of the pirates look away quickly from her gold tinged glare. The blonde sith was already tired of the pirate infested planet, and being considered one was infuriating. Being feared wasn't horrible, but if she was going to be feared, she was going to be feared for her status as a Sith lord, not some wayward gang leader.

Rishi was...interesting. Whatever vision she'd got to send her here was about to be shoved to the very back corners of her mind and she'd just wait to see what occurred because of it. After two years of being driven up the walls by the incompetent dark council (moreso by Darth Nox, but she digressed), she was ready to give up and hunt down the blonde Sith to get on with this Revanite business. She'd surprisingly had more fun then than wallowing in memories, alcohol and dealing with less than intelligent political leaders. The smell of salty water was settling into her bones and the near constant chatter of squatters and criminals alike nearly made her force choke one of those damned monkey lizards if their owners weren't holding onto them.

Damn those infuriating laughs of the tiny bastards.

The new armor helped with the heat of the planet itself though. The heavy armor that she typically donned on adventures proved to be too much within even an hour of being on planet, and she'd immediatly switched it out for a hooded half shirt, sleeveless, with a thinner pair of armored pants and clunky but breathable boots. Anyone one this planet with half a brain would steer clear of her anyways, so her midriff would be fine.

Had it been three years ago, she was sure she probably would've gotten at least a wolf whistle from Pierce, but the man had been surprisingly silent on her new look. Protective, even. Her haircut would have to wait until much later, as the blonde strands were beginning to inch down the nape of her neck and stick there. Tied back with a silk band, she'd had to lower her hood once she'd found some inch of shade and remove her respirator just to relieve herself of the pent up heat in her body. Zykken's information to find whoever did have said information on her was going to take a lot more than just her willpower to get done. She'd sent it to Vette to look it over, then extending it to Pierce, but the three of them couldn't make heads or tails of the intel. Her mind kept wandering to the person who was supposed to be good at these things, good with the insane amount of aurebesh that needed to be decoded, and it was hard to keep those thoughts at bay. The datapad, well, that was another story entirely.

And the Red Hulls. Some cannibalistic gang that apparently had also recently arrived on Rishi. Only days prior before she had landed, something about them had flared up and they were the literal talk of the small town. Some were beginning to gossip that the two new gangs would eventually fight each other, and at this point, she wouldn't exactly stand down if it meant they'd accept she wasn't a gang leader. Hell, those in the cantina when she killed Gorro still didn't believe her, even after she'd killed him by throwing him against and a wall and then progressing to snap his neck with just a twist of her fingers. People here were either stupid, or blind. Or both, if she was being honest. Gutter trash didn't always have brain cells rattling around in those skulls of theirs.

Guzzling down another unidentifiable drink (assured at force choking range that it wouldn't kill her and-please let me down-replenshing electrolytes and hydrating-yes please let me down ), she swiped at her forehead to keep the sweat from dripping into her eyes again. Looking over, she jabbed an elbow at her companion, "Aren't you dying in that pack of armor, Pierce?"

He didn't immediatly answer (a bad sign, Vette had been rather unresponsive while they were on Tatooine and though she'd reassured her, the blue twi'lek had passed out a half an hour later. The same with...him), and she forced a bottle of the blue liquid into his hands, "I'll be fine, m'lord." He finally responded after chugging down the contents and looking visibly relieved. Most would assume she was ruthless and vile with everyone, but even the literal hulk of muscle had carved out a place in her heart. She'd rather not have him collapse on her because of heat exhaustion.

"We can always head back to the Fury. It's been a long day, and there's no reason to force ourselves to stay out here when there's nothing to be found." She admits, the sun beginning to set over the shanty town as she disposes of the bottle and stands from her perch on the barrel. "Whatever's out here can be hunted down tomorrow if it truly is that much of an issue."

He chuckles darkly, "You were the one who forced us out here. Sure it'll cool down once the bloody sun is out of the way," he pauses, most likely because she's reclipped her respirator on and raises an eyebrow, "that's if you want to, m'lord."

She rolls her eyes at the formality. At one point, she saw it as a sign of power, having people respect her and be so absolutely fearful they always added her title, but there wasn't really a need for someone like Pierce to continue grovelling at her feet in such a manner. Well, maybe not grovelling (he pressed her buttons as often as Vette did, but those two were the only in the galaxy allowed to do so), but something closer to begrudging respect that she didn't enjoy. It was just, too close to the things he used to say. "If that's how you want to do it, then we'll stay out tonight, Ash."

The corners of his mouth quirk up into a bit of smile, one of the few times she's ever referred to him by even an inkling of his first name. They continue walking along for a bit, one hand always on one of her sabers before she can hear a crier droid clanking around the boardwalk. Stopping Pierce abruptly, she can just barely make out the droid's buzzing speech, "The Red Hulls have issued a challenge to the Howling Tempest gang! In an alleyway tonight, you may even find the two duking it out over Raider's Cove! Who will come out on top and really rule the Cove?"

"You were challenged?" He asks and she gives him a half shrug before turning to him, clearly even unsure of what he was talking about, and then her eyes were looking skywards at a building before smirking at the lieutenant. He sighs, "Leg up, eh?"

He does so, crouching down so she can climb over him to find a handhold to climb up the building, much like the small beats that stole every shiny thing they came across. Among the dizzying array of streets they could get lost in, it'd be easier just to scout the streets and find a general area of where the thing was clankering around. It was harder than expected, but easier than it had been once on Dromound Kaas when she'd attempted to scale a building to find a newly-appointed lord who thought it smart to disrespect Vette. Holding a hand over her eyes, she dangled precariously off the building with one hand and scouted the cove. While none stood out immediatly to her, something glinted harshly against the sun, and she had found her target. "Three klicks north, we can catch up if we hurry."

"Three? How can you hear that bloody thing then?" Pierce questions gruffly, just barely catching her as she slides down the building, air knocked out of him. "Sure there isn't one closer trying to blast our ears off?"

"There are so many alleys in this damn town, I'd rather go get the one I saw and pray it's still there." She says, nodding towards her sleek silver speeder bike. He climbs on first, and then her behind him as he revvs the engine.

He chuckles, throwing a look over his shoulder as she hooked one leg over the seat, "You gonna hold on this time?"

"If I must." She says, rolling her eyes. She wonders if he can tell how comfortable she's gotten around the soldier, willing to put her arms around his waist and lean into him. This, this isn't love. She knows that, though the struggling had only gotten worse after he had left. He was willing to let her sleep with him, but never pushed her any further than necessary. Let her cry, let her even take advantage of him at one point in some drunken fit she's forced out of her mind. She wasn't quick to say it didn't mean anything, it did, it meant she trusted him enough not to throw him out the air lock, but did admit she didn't have feelings for him. A small part of his mind had always been closed off to her, but at that moment she couldn't sense any repressed part of him. No regret, no sadness. Just...raw relief. Relieved because this meant she was regaining sense and was becoming herself again.

Not defined by someone.

Not defined by a hyphenated last name.

Just, her.

It left them much closer than they once had been, and less likely for him to get thrown through a bulkhead at every scathing remark he made. And every Watcher like position she made him take in retaliation. If the man hated one thing, it was being stuck on the ship and watching the action from above. To imagine the things that would've transpired if she'd given her heart to the lieutenant instead of the captain, how things probably still would've ended badly, just much more violent.

A thought for another night.

NAJI_RISHI.

"I didn't ever challenge anyone to gang war..." Naji mused, pulling her robes tighter around herself, as if that would help hide her in shadows of the dark town more than the force stealth would. Nadia shifted at her side, growing bored with the hiding technique. "If I didn't, who did?"

"I'm not sure, master. I don't think there's a signal force signature out here that would give them away either." Nadia remarks. It's a tad spooky speaking to a literal shadow, considering she couldn't even see her, or see her facial expressions. The darkness of Raider's Cove wasn't helping either, and it was a tad difficult to even know where anyone was. A dark furred Cathar had managed to sneak up behind her on the way to the alley way, and he was lucky he was just out of pole saber range. "You're really still keeping up this pirate thing though? It'd be easier to just abandon it all together."

"At this moment, we don't have anything to go on. It is easier to simply wait for the Howling Tempest's to show up and we can question them." Naji whispers, standing from her sitting position. It was still hot, but thankfully much cooler than it had been days before when they'd landed. She and Nadia had to hide in the cantinas to keep them from passing out. Jedi robes were, unsurprisingly, heavy and didn't leave much room for air. The two, keeping from garnering any unwanted attention, ended up in overcoats and looser tan clothing. Hiding the sabers had been harder, but the darkness of any room compared to the sun outside was enough to hide them. They ran into less questions than expected, other than the occasional 'so who are you running from?' from the occasional spacer.

"Be careful, please?" Felix had asked her once she was halfway off the Polaris, still a tad frustrated that he wouldn't take her with him to Rishi. Well, he acted as if he were unaffected, but he was pouting on the inside. "Dunno what I'd do if you died when I was away."

"I won't die, Felix. But if it makes you feel better, I promise to be careful." She says, rubbing the back of his hands with her thumbs. Calloused, roughened by years of war. But something about his eyes softened her insides to jelly. Dark, chocolate brown skin in comparison to her own sun-kissed pale hues, hazel orbs in comparison to her own azul irises. They were different, force blind, force sensitive, but she enjoyed their differences, and to think she'd let a pirate take her away from her soldier. "I love you." She whispers, pressing a kiss to his lips before Nadia appears at the top of the stairs.

"I love you too, Naj." Nadia passes by him, and he ruffles her white mop of hair, "Same goes for you Nadia. Be careful."

"Alright, alright." She says, trying to brush his hand away from her hair. While Nadia wouldn't say it, and still had a place in her heart for the memory of her father, she and Felix had a hard time not regarding the girl as their daughter. "Whatever you say, Felix." Nadia deadpans.

She nearly laughs herself, as dad was just on the tip of her tongue as Felix waved a final goodbye to the two women.

Still spooked her that someone had framed her as the leader of a cannibalistic gang even before she'd arrived. Sent a shiver down her core just listening to the rumors that quickly spread about her. Eating people? She wasn't anywhere near a picky eater, but the wide berth that had been given by most of the pirates and terrified looks behind their stoic appearances made her rethink going vegan.

Whoever really did go around eating people, she'd hunt down another day.

She heard the engine of speeder getting louder and louder, then abruptly stopping in front of the alley that she and Nadia had been hiding in. Pressing what she thought was the girl flatter against the wall, she was able to catch a larger man, decked out in black armor, making his way into the alley, rifle drawn. Others, the drunk night crowd she'd learned over the last few days, were slower to move away than the mostly sober ones who darted into shops or ran further into the alleys.

The woman who trailed after him, a woman on a mission with a lightsaber drawn and a red kyber crystal igniting it, made her blood run cold. No, no it couldn't be. It had to be some other Sith who just happened to be on Rishi at the same time as her. But one wavering gaze to where she and Nadia were hiding in plain sight, was enough to confirm that the Wrath had less than benevolent intentions of being here.

She pretended not to see her. Reaching out in the force, Naji could only feel a wall. Something between the force and her emotions, something she couldn't reach through. But it was ill-timed, because while attempting to do so, she had taken her mind off the Wrath long enough for the woman to pick up the roof of a stall and hurl it towards their current position.

Nadia just barely yanked her out of the way as the wooden roof crashed against the side of a building, and for a moment her ears were ringing as wood rained down on her and her padawan. "If you challenged me, show your face!" The Sith called out, all too close to where she and Nadia had just escaped near death. "I know you're here."

Hide your thoughts, hide your thoughts, she tried to reassure herself. The other girl couldn't see her, but reaching out to her in the force, they were quick regain their footing. Chunks of the roof came again, but Nadia forced up a barrier just in time, and Naji was quick to wrestle with the chunks from the Wrath. No longer invisible to the Sith and her companion, shots were fired off by the soldier as Naji managed to multi-task a bit and force a basket from a stand in his direction. With the Sith distracted, the chunks were in her control and she threw them back in their direction.

The two were quick, she'd admit. Too fast. Too soon, the Wrath had retaken the situation, and the soldier ducked out of the way, firing off a couple shots before his companion threw a chunk at the shield. Nadia was beginning to struggle, and as much as she tried to keep the woman distracted, she was beginning to fixate on the girl, growing closer and closer to the two before Naji could do anything. The wood was beginning to pound on their little safety bubble, and the gold light it was giving off was beginning to waver as Nadia's willpower did as well.

They had both gotten rusty over the last few years of being off the front lines. Now, they were paying for it.

"You wanted a challenge?" The wrath nearly purrs, before throwing one large panel of something from behind her. "Have one!"

Nadia ducks out of the way, rolling on her side as Naji puts up her own force shield, before something most literally pierces her shoulder, and she crumples in pain. Blood is beginning to gush from the wound, and her hand comes away sticky as she tries to figure what's happened. Eyes trained to the ground as she readjusts herself to be on her knees, her eyes trail upwards to the scantily dressed Sith Lord, and a quick reach with the force finds the rifle toting man now behind her that she hadn't seen before.

She's about to say something scathing before a fruit of some sort gets thrown -more like force thrown- at the Sith, and it clocks her in the head, a grunt escaping her as she can almost feel Nadia's giddy thoughts. Something she hadn't taught the girl, but it nearly made her laugh as anger flashed through the woman's eyes.

She raises one arm, and her heart stops when she hears struggling from her padawan, from her Nadia. Coughs, ragged breaths, as she holds her shoulder, hissing through her teeth from the pain. "Let her go!" Naji coughs out, red staining her pale fingertips.

The Wrath quirks an eyebrow, before Naji hears a slam and sees the woman throw her arm out to the side. Nadia hits the wall with a sickening snap, and Naji is about to have string of explatives leave her mouth before she hears more footsteps coming from the opposite direction. "That is enough!" With an Imperial accent.

Just barely turning her head, she can see green and black clad figure along with a red flash before she manages to stand herself. First, she rushes to Nadia, who groans first as her blue eyes crack open. Nothing seems to be immediatly broken, which fills her with undeniable anger. Fury, nearly, at the Wrath for hurting the girl.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There will be chaos if she hurts Nadia again, she thinks to herself.

"This wasn't the most conventional way to get them here, but I didn't think it'd lead to a fight!" Theron's voice, raspier than when they'd first met, but turning from Nadia's rising form, it's most definitely the SIS agent and his Sith companion. Her outfit had changed, but her blonde hair was still present. "Maybe you should've rethought this whole Sith and Jedi thing, Lana."

"I believed that the Barsen'thor would calm the situation first, though it seems the Wrath didn't give her the chance." Lana rubs her temples before turning to her, "Naji, it's been a while."

"It has." She grimaces, as the Wrath doesn't make eye contact with her. "You couldn't have sent a holo?"

"Discreet methods, I apologize for not making our intentions clear." Lana turns back to the Wrath, "You attacked the Barsen'thor?"

"In my defense, I was challenged by the leader of the Red Hulls at these coordinates. I didn't recognize them, fought them because of it. I wanted answers for why I was here and why someone pretended I was a gang leader." She responds, crossing her arms as her soldier reholsters his rifle. "You would have answers for me, wouldn't you?"

"We had to lure you here under false pretenses, but Lana thought it'd be smart to bring you both. Something about Revan being too dangerous to deal with, especially with only one of you, that we needed both." Theron responds, "This...wasn't supposed to happen."

"We're not the most predictable people either, Shan. That excited to see me?" And there it was, the same old Wrath with her flirtatous nature. That, hadn't changed even though her companion had. The burly man didn't seem to react at all, possibly they were weren't involved as she'd previously assumed.

"I..look, Naji will she be alright?" Theron asks, as Lana continues conversing with the Wrath. He hisses through his teeth once he gets a good look at her. "Will you be okay?"

"Nothing some kolto and meditation can't fix, Theron." She shakes her head and allows herself to smile, "It's good to see you too."

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ao3feed-klance · 6 years ago

Text

silk.

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2TYP21F

by spacenaut

“I think I'm good, I'd be ready to pull off a performance and come up with it on the spot."

Lance McClain had just jinxed it.

He is a college student; one who loves dancing, of course he was going to give aerial dancing a try. He receives a call from a friend asking for a favor.

Keith is an unmotivated disaster. He's absolutely bored. The male's older brother is getting married and he's even more of a disaster as he helps out.

Ryan loves plants and photography, he's dragged out to a party. A tan and flexible boy appears at the wedding and he regrets not bringing his camera.

In which Shiro knocks the cake over at his own wedding with his ass. Pidge takes the matter onto her own hands and tries her best to find a way to distract the public while Hunk fetches another cake.

Words: 3259, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Characters: Lance (Voltron), Lance's Family (Voltron), Keith (Voltron), Keith's Family (Voltron), Keith's Wolf (Voltron), Hunk (Voltron), Jenny Shaybon, Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge | Katie Holt's Family, Matt Holt, Adam (Voltron), Curtis (Voltron), Shiro (Voltron), Lotor (Voltron), Lotor's Generals (Voltron), Veronica (Voltron), Ryan Kinkade, James Griffin (Voltron), Nadia (Voltron), Ina Leifsdottir, Romelle (Voltron), Coran (Voltron)

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Ryan Kinkade/Lance, Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Adam/Curtis (Voltron), Adam/Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, Insecure Lance (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Bonding, I Don't Even Know, How Do I Tag, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2TYP21F

#ao3feed #ao3feed klance

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ao3feed-voltronlegendarydefender · 6 years ago

Text

silk.

read it on the AO3 at silk.

by spacenaut

“I think I'm good, I'd be ready to pull off a performance and come up with it on the spot."

Lance McClain had just jinxed it.

He is a college student; one who loves dancing, of course he was going to give aerial dancing a try. He receives a call from a friend asking for a favor.

Keith is an unmotivated disaster. He's absolutely bored. The male's older brother is getting married and he's even more of a disaster as he helps out.

Ryan loves plants and photography, he's dragged out to a party. A tan and flexible boy appears at the wedding and he regrets not bringing his camera.

In which Shiro knocks the cake over at his own wedding with his ass. Pidge takes the matter onto her own hands and tries her best to find a way to distract the public while Hunk fetches another cake.

Words: 3259, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Ryan Kinkade/Lance, Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Adam/Curtis (Voltron), Adam/Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron)

read it on the AO3 at silk.

#ao3feed #fanfic #voltron #voltron: legendary defender #ao3feed-voltronlegendarydefender

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stopforamoment · 6 years ago

Text

TRIGGERS Part Two: Disrespected (Series 19, Part 2 of 15)

Series Nineteen: Anger and Sorrow (15 Parts) Part Two: Disrespected (Series 19, Part 2 of 15) My masterlist is at the end of my bio.

Book: The Royal Romance (After Book Three) Pairing: Bastien Lykel x OC Rinda Parks Word Count: 1,832 Rating: M for Language and Adult Situations

TRIGGERS: Unwanted sexual contact Author’s Note: Obligatory disclaimer that Pixelberry Studios owns the TRR characters and my pocketbook with those darn diamond scenes. OFC with all of her quirks is all mine. My apologies if Tumblr or I do something stupid when I try to post this. The keep reading link shows up on my laptop but not my phone. Ugh. Thank you @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for always being my sounding board! Thank you @cora-nova @silviasutton1989 @bobasheebaby @riseandshinelittleblossom for being my thirsty Bastien friends and for still being a part of the journey! Series Summary: It’s day two of the conference, and this series focuses on emotions—how anger and sorrow are connected, and how that causes problems for Rinda and Bastien. A big thank you to @asherella-is-a-dork-3 for talking to me about the connection between anger and sorrow, and for telling me that Bastien needs to show some negative emotions. We all have bad days—even our perfect Bastien Lykel. She did so much to help me with this series. Thank you!

Chapter Summary: Rinda is furious when someone feels her up during a training exercise, but her anger causes her to go beyond defending herself to attacking the man who violated her.

Part Two: Regret

Nadia agreed to take notes—good notes—so Rinda could sit in on a self defense portion of the conference. She slipped in the back of the room hoping to observe unnoticed, but Tagmatarcha Callas saw Rinda and invited her to sit next to him. While they were waiting for the instructor to begin the session, Rinda and Callas shared ideas about a conference that would have more interaction and cross training with teachers and security officers.

The instructor invited Rinda to join the training and he paired her with Callas. “Please don’t kick my ass, okay? I don’t think I can do much while wearing a skirt.” She began to take off her heels.

Callas shook his head. “Are these the kinds of clothes you would normally wear in the classroom? And shoes?”

Rinda shrugged. “It depends. I prefer to dress more casually with looser clothes and I’d have comfortable shoes. Not heels. But the days I have a meeting and teach, yes.”

“Then this is what you need to train in. It doesn’t do any good for you to know how to block a move if you can’t do it in heels. Besides, shoes with high heels can be a good weapon. I suggest you keep them on, and we’ll go slower until you figure out your center of balance.”

Rinda nodded because she knew he was right, and she resisted the urge to smile at a memory from her college days. She worked at a gentleman’s club for a short time, and the owner insisted on giving his employees self-defense lessons. He was a former Navy Seal who taught moves they could use in specific situations and showed them ways to take basic items and make them self-defense tools. Stripper heels could do a lot of damage.

Callas was a patient and respectful teacher, keeping his eyes focused on Rinda’s face when she would hike up her skirt a little too high before trying a kick. When Rinda realized what she was doing she used humor to make it less awkward, joking that she didn’t mean to put on a show or give him an eyeful. He reassured her that she should do what she needed to do—the only eyeful an attacker would get is her foot in his face. Rinda laughed and tried the drill again. She was feeling more confident . . . until it was time to switch partners. Callas heard her swear under her breath—she was going to be paired with the Dreckskerl, the filthy pig from yesterday. “You gave him a good tongue lashing yesterday, so you’ll be fine. I’m right here if you need me.” Rinda nodded to Callas, trying to channel confidence.

Rinda usually had embarrassing moments when she did this type of training. She had a rather large chest, so there was usually an awkward moment when her partner didn’t quite know where to put his arm, or when he realized he was grabbing a little more than he meant to. Depending on the situation Rinda either made a joke, ignored it, or reassured the person that it was fine. It was a professional situation—no worries. Just part of being a chesty woman. But when the Dreckskerl put his arm around her, Rinda felt him purposely tuck his forearm under her breasts and brush against her. “Don’t fucking start with me” Rinda hissed to him under her breath.

He gave her an innocent look and spoke a little louder than necessary. “What’s your problem? Relax. We’re just doing the drill.” Callas gave the Dreckskerl a warning glance, and they finished that drill without any further problems.

Now it was time for another drill.

The Dreckskerl grabbed Rinda’s shirt, purposely grabbing her breast. Rinda winced in pain before muscle memory kicked in. She reached across her chest, grabbed the swine’s wrist, and twisted her body to throw him off balance. Her other hand reached for the inside of his elbow, locked onto a pressure point, and pulled him back into the opposite direction and onto his knees. Mike, her former boss, constantly had to remind her that you ran as soon as possible. You don’t stick around because the goal is to get safe.

Get free and get the fuck out of there.

He knew Rinda, and he knew her temper and her stubborn sense of justice. If someone hurt Rinda, Mike knew she would continue to pummel and kick them as she released her fury. Some of the other women would squirm at the thought of gouging someone in the eye or using a pointed heel to pierce the flesh of a person’s body. Ugh, I couldn’t do that! And what if I hurt him?

Mike would try not to roll his eyes as he patiently re-explained that you don’t worry about hurting the person who is attacking you. Just do whatever it takes to get free and get safe.

But with Rinda it was different. Mike knew Rinda’s rage would allow her to do whatever it took to survive. He also knew why. He knew Rinda held the anger from the night she was attacked, the night she was unconscious and unable to protect herself. He also knew she would always carry that anger and it would re-emerge when she needed to protect herself. Because of that rage, he knew that she would never let herself be defenseless again. She would always go down fighting. But she also needed to remind herself to let it go so she could get away. Her anger would give her strength, but only if she didn’t let it consume her.

But right now Mike’s advice was the furthest thing from her mind. Actually, any rational thought was the furthest thing from Rinda’s mind. She was pissed, so she followed up with a forceful knee struck under his chin that knocked the Dreckskerl over and left him moaning on the floor Of course, Rinda was swearing like a sailor the entire time. “What the fuck is wrong with you? You’re a goddamn security officer who is supposed to keep people safe, not violate them in a public setting. Do you have any fucking clue what it truly means to be a man? A protector? If you ever touch me again I will gouge out your eyes and bend you over to make you skull fuck yourself. Is that understood?” The man was still moaning and Rinda kicked.

Viciously.

Using her shoe heel.

Maliciously.

“I didn’t hear you. If I find out that you’ve disrespected anyone else at this conference you will answer to me. Did I make myself clear?”

His voice was a mangled whisper. “Yes.”

Callas and Bastien ran over to Rinda, but Callas quickly stepped back when he saw the way Rinda leaned toward Bastien for his help. She grabbed Bastien’s hand for reassurance as she continued, now addressing the room, trying to fix her fuck up. Her over-reaction. A sore tit was a small price to pay to keep her professional demeanor in a room full of security officers, especially the male officers.

Right?

She’d probably never see the Dreckskerl again, although she would see his type again. And again.

Fuck.

Rinda never knew how to react in these situations, especially now that she didn’t have the protection of a wedding ring and couldn’t use her status as the widow of a police hero any longer.

Double fuck.

So she took Bastien’s hand, and she rambled.

“I know there were a lot of teachers who were disrespectful to all of you this weekend. And I’m so sorry. The majority of us know that we need you, your expertise, to keep us safe. I know the majority of you would give your lives to protect us. Please. We need each other so we need to respect each other. In the United States we’re starting to do more lockdown drills and ALICE training with the children in our classrooms, but the research is pouring in that this is traumatizing our children.”

She looked at Bastien. “You once told me that teachers and safety officers all have the kids’ best interests at heart, but we have different priorities and strategies to accomplish that.” She looked back at the strangers staring at her. “He’s absolutely right, and we have to work together to figure out how to keep these kids safe without completely traumatizing them or taking their childhood innocence away from them.” Rinda was tearing up and she felt like an idiot--most of them probably didn’t even realize she was just violated in a room full of people and didn’t know this conference actually made Rinda even more anxious about how much work needed to be done. But right now she was so pissed at the people who were fucking things up, herself included. But not Bastien. And not Callas. They were two of the good ones.

She turned to Callas. “Will you help me and Bastien host another conference in Cordonia? Once that will focus on teachers and security officers working together and sharing ideas?”

Callas nodded. “Of course, Dr. Parks. It would be my honor.”

Rinda smiled and then turned to Bastien. “Can you help me get the fuck out of here without making more of an ass of myself? I would have preferred a dramatic, inspirational walk out the door, but I’ll settle for anything at this point.”

Bastien chuckled. “Do you want me to sweep you off your feet and carry you? Otherwise we could do the slow walk with a fist pump at the end.”

Now Rinda was shaking her head and laughing, so Bastien settled for wrapping his arm around her waist and escorting her out. Callas came out a few minutes later and smiled when he saw Rinda sitting on Bastien’s lap, her head resting on his chest as he gently massaged her back. “I’m sorry for interrupting. You left your bag in the room.”

Rinda looked up and started laughing again. “Thank you. It would have been humiliating to do the walk of shame back in there.” She gave Bastien an affectionate kiss on his check. “What the hell, Tiger? You help me leave the room with a shred of dignity intact, but then you forget to grab my stuff?”

Bastien snickered. “You’re right, my dearest Tria. Everything was my fault and I’m so sorry.”

Callas started laughing at their banter, but now Rinda was standing up. “I was serious before when I asked for your help. May I stay in contact with you so we can work together?”

He took Rinda’s hand. “Yes, it would be my honor.” Then reached over to Bastien, who was also standing, and shook his hand. “I look forward to working with both of you.” Callas was about to walk away, but he couldn’t resist. He gestured back to the room and grinned at her. “Nice work back there, Dr. Parks. You put on quite a show.”

#19 anger and sorrow #choices trr #long post #bastien lykel #rinda parks ofc

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deer-doodles · 7 years ago

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[doctors orders]

[WowWOwOwOWwowow ok guys, so that update amirite? I’m still dying over the fact that the fic I wrote was STRIKINGLY SIMILAR to what came out like, guys, hire me, we are clearly on the same page. I am so happy and in love. Anyway, this fic definitely follows the end of current Julian route, so there will be spoilers! Also I did not really feel the need to rate my last fic which was probably just a standard PG-13 affair, but things do heat up a lil bit here... so.... just to warn you..... no preview cuz... spoils.]

Rating: [the very top of] PG-13 Word Count: 1880

They very faintest hint of morning light filtered in and the sound of commerce beginning to shuffle outside pulled Luna from her slumber. It sounded so soft, felt so familiar, she smiled softly as she stretched slightly in bed--

Wait. This wasn’t… the palace… this was…

Her eyes flew open and she began to recall the night prior. The bit of filtered sun brought to life the dust floating about Mazelinka’s home. Her eyes widened further as she remembered more….

She slowly shifted onto her back and turned her head to find a very much awake and warmly smiling Julian watching her.

“Good morning.”

She puffed her cheeks slightly - it’s not as if… she regretted anything from the evening before, oh no… she’d… she had definitely enjoyed it… but it had all just.. So much had happened! And all so quickly… She already found herself being drawn back in though. He looked so.. inviting. They’d both fallen asleep in their clothes, and his shirt had since found a way to unbutton itself further as they slept, it hung loosely off his shoulder and his hair was perfectly tousled in the way only a good night's sleep could provide.

“M-mornin’..” she stammered slightly, turning further to lay on her side facing him. He wasted absolutely no time in leaning forward to steal the softest kiss, like it was the most casual thing in the world. Like he’d done this every morning for longer than they could remember. Her chest fluttered and a soft sigh escaped her.

Before her absolutely lovestruck stupor could set in, it dawned on her once more: this is not the palace.

She shot up, so fast that she basically headbutted Julian, but only a soft huff escaped him in response. “Portia is going to be coming to wake me at any moment now.” In a frenzied panic she attempted to kick the sheets off herself but Julian, rubbing at his nose with one hand, reached over and gently took hold of her chin to bring her attention back to him.

“Quite the walk back, so you will be late regardless.”

She bit her lip, giving him a look that said she really could not argue with him. To which he shifted upward to lean in closer, his thumb idly ran over her lower lip as his nose bumped hers.

“Yes but-”

He silenced her with a soft kiss, to which she pursed her lips but did not outwardly protest.

“But what will-”

Again he stole her lips, but with more purpose. He dropped his hand down onto the bed on her opposite side, trapping her where she was. Luna’s heart was nearly pounding out of her chest - she’d certainly never had any encounters quite like the ones she did with Julian… she hardly knew how to act under such circumstances. All she knew for sure was that she really didn’t want him to stop but..

Pulling away with a slight gasp, she continued once more, “What will she tell Nadia when I’m not there for breakfast? She is your sister, surely you would not wish to see her reprimanded…”

He idly brushed some dark strands of hair from her face and chuckled, “She is a very resourceful woman.” He softly nipped at her ear and drew a path along her jaw with his lips, “I would not underestimate her.”

Well, she could not really deny that. Portia certainly had a way of working things into her favor. Still…

A soft surprised moan escaped her as his lips flirted with her neck. “J-Julian…”

His response was a satisfied chuckle against her skin, “Stay a bit longer, won’t you?”

Her sigh was resigned, “Persuasion must run in the family.” Biting her lip, she let herself slip backwards onto the bed proper, her gaze dragging slowly up his body before meeting his. Her hands followed a similar path, fingernails raking softly against his exposed skin, through the ginger furls of his chest which elicited a very pleased and unflattering sound from Julian. Luna chuckled, drawing her hands up his and into his hair. Stupid… beautiful man. She couldn’t say really what drew her to him in the first place, but of all their encounters he… was kind, awkward, silly. Hard not to like. She found herself smiling up at him, content, her sentiment reflected in his face.

Julian leaned down, teasing her lips with a faint brush of his own, but failing his own ploy as he quickly stole them for something far more hungry. They both shifted around a bit so that he hung over her, one knee resting between her thighs. Luna didn’t really know what to do with all of this honestly. She recalled yesterday, that pleased groan as she pressed against that wound he took from her, the flush of his face. She wasn’t… well, as much as she could remember, she wasn’t uhm… particularly a fan of… hurting others. But that reaction… She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t curious how she might elicit it. Just that slight clawing up his chest had garnered a moan out of him.

And it seemed only fair, considering the shivers that ran down her spine as his fingers brushed up her side against bare midriff. Lucky for him all he really had to do was touch her to prove fruitful. Though she had no doubts her delicate touches would be pleasurable to him was well. A gasping breath escaped her as his hand slipped back down and grasped at her thigh, bending her leg at the knee. In an act of retribution she pulled back slightly, allowing a moment to pass during which his heavy lidded heated gaze roamed her face. His expression changed quite dramatically as she took his lower lip between her teeth and tugged lightly. See? That was fun. A thought that brought a smirk to her face as she admired the vibrant red of his cheeks and still slightly widened eyes. She bit down a bit harder as she bent the leg that happened to be between his legs, pressing her knee to a particularly sensitive part of his body. The absolutely pathetic whimpering moan that escaped him… she was a little surprised how much pleasure that brought her.

Releasing his lip she found her mouth overtaken by his in the most ravenous of ways. Her hands tangled into his hair, tugging lightly though her attentions were far too preoccupied elsewhere to put in much effort. His lips were hungry, begging her, tongue almost forceful, a bit awkward, teeth nearly gnashing together. His desperation was far more delectable than she could have even really anticipated.

“Luna…” he breathed haggardly, almost a whine, truly. His hips bucked slightly against her knee as he buried his face into her neck. Her chest rose and fell far more laboriously than she realized until that brief moment of catching her breath.

“Luna, Luna…” he panted against her skin, kissing her neck haphazardly, grazing the curve of her shoulder with his teeth. Carefully calculating a spot that would not be immediately obvious, he sucked her skin between his lips, pulling a slight gasp from her lips. Her hands dropped down to his waist, finding their way underneath the loose hanging fabric of his top to claw up his back, to which a prominent moan tickled her skin where his lips were.

“I wonder,” his words were quiet, his voice low, tempting, “what you’ll say when they inevitably ask you where this mark came from~?” his tongue ran along his handiwork, the skin bruised and purple at the base of her neck.

Only after what he said did she realize what he’d done, and while she didn’t mind, he made a fair point. To which she withdrew one hand and smacked him upside the head. He laughed and kissed the sore spot tenderly.

“The truth, I suppose,” she started with a soft snort, “I was attacked by a vampire eel.”

He laughed again, kissing his way up her neck and bringing a hand to the side of her face. “Is that what I am?” He didn’t allow for a response though as he took her mouth captive once more. All giggles and groping hands, they were certainly lost to their own world.

Until the floor burst open.

An unapologetic Mazelinka spared them no embarrassment as she opened up the hiding hole she’d slept in that night, “You know I’m sure there’s somewhere more private you two could do that sort of thing than my bed.”

Luna nearly kicked Julian off her and scrambled to sit up. How had she not... damn, Julian really had a way of making her forget reality. Which… shit! “Ah… I… I was just… I need to go…” Frazzled, Luna nearly sprung up out of bed, hair absolutely mussed and clothes completely off kilter, trying to make a clean escape. “Oh dear,” was Mazelinka’s entire response as she looked over to Julian who simply watched Luna’s panicked movements. He slowly righted himself and looked down to the old woman that had sprouted from the floor at an entirely inopportune time, but… regardless. He was pleased. So said the dopey smile and puppy eyes that followed Luna’s every hectic twirl as she tried to straighten herself up just a tiny bit.

“Ahem- uhm.” Luna cleared her throat, looking down to Mazelinka, bowing very awkwardly, “Thank you so much for your hospitality I uhm... “ she looked at Julian, feeling like she should apologize but also felt like she really couldn’t swallow admitting all that they’d… just done, in this poor old woman’s bed. “....t-thank you….” pausing a moment she pursed her lips, almost glaring at Julian now, “Julian, a word?” she gestured towards the door out and stepped off towards freedom.

Mazelinka merely shrugged, “No reason to thank me, any… friend… of Ilya’s is welcome.”

Clearing his throat, Julian hopped up out of bed, a bit too quickly, his head bumping the low ceiling. Immediately upon closing the distance between the two of them he attempted to engulf her once more, but she pressed both hands to his chest to keep him somewhat at bay.

“I feel like I should be angry with you, but… I really can’t find it in me.” Luna huffed slightly, though she could not maintain the glare for more than a few seconds when faced with his stupid grin.

Seeming to completely disregard what she said, he craned forward just a bit, tilting her chin upwards, “Meet me somewhere. Anywhere.”

God he made her heart pound in ways she was certain she’d never felt before. “Meet me at my shop later tonight. It shouldn’t be an issue I can just say I forgot something.”

His thumb brushed softly against her jawline before he pressed closer, kissing her gently, “Mm, perhaps I can have my key back~?”

Luna grinned now, giving him a gentle shove back inside as she pushed out the doorway, “Oh I don’t know, I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

And with that settled, she made for the Palace.

#the arcana #julian devorak #julian/mc #julian/apprentice #the arcana spoilers

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ao3feed-adashi · 6 years ago

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silk.

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2TYP21F

by spacenaut

“I think I'm good, I'd be ready to pull off a performance and come up with it on the spot."

Lance McClain had just jinxed it.

He is a college student; one who loves dancing, of course he was going to give aerial dancing a try. He receives a call from a friend asking for a favor.

Keith is an unmotivated disaster. He's absolutely bored. The male's older brother is getting married and he's even more of a disaster as he helps out.

Ryan loves plants and photography, he's dragged out to a party. A tan and flexible boy appears at the wedding and he regrets not bringing his camera.

In which Shiro knocks the cake over at his own wedding with his ass. Pidge takes the matter onto her own hands and tries her best to find a way to distract the public while Hunk fetches another cake.

Words: 3259, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi

Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Ryan Kinkade/Lance, Hunk/Shay (Voltron), Adam/Shiro (Voltron), Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Adam/Curtis (Voltron), Adam/Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Allura/Lotor (Voltron)

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/2TYP21F

#ao3feed #ao3feed adashi

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cfthestars-blog · 6 years ago

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character: casmina ship: fem!JC/Lana Chapter: Rishi

The attraction to Lana Beniko was sudden, and unexpected. It wasn't, of course, the first time Casmina had felt something of the sort; as she'd told Nadia, jedi were still human, they still felt emotion. She'd had several attractions, towards several people. She wasn't much older than her padawan, after all; she had the same emotions. Her and Tharan Cedrax had spent a couple of months dancing around each other, both in and outside of her quarters, before he returned to the love he trusted. She couldn't even blame him, as he turned away from her for his hologram, although it still stung a bit when he called her his Jedi. Holiday had always been the one who held his heart, after all, and though she may not understand it, she couldn't fault him. They were perfect for each other.

And there had been others. She'd held brief attractions towards both of the Twi’leks on her ship, if only because there was something attractive about the fiery spark of passion that she wasn't supposed to have. Those were never acted upon, and faded quickly, as she was quickly turned to bigger problems.

Meeting Theron Shan had been interesting, and they'd flirted, friendly and surprisingly easily -- but she'd never make any sort of move on him, not when his mother had been someone she'd looked up to, while he was neglected, not when his mother was her colleague on the Jedi Council. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair for either of them. There was a barrier, a wall that needed to stay up.

So she'd felt plenty of attraction, and had certainly had plenty of people seem interested in her. How many people went out of their way to call her pretty, when face to face with her? She'd always hated it, hated how they thought they would somehow win her over through vanity.

Lana had never done that. The first time they'd truly met, she'd called her a pragmatist, and frankly, Cas’s heart had skipped a beat. The relief in the Sith’s voice, after Rakata Prime, had only strengthened that immediate, gut wrenching attraction -- even Theron had noticed, commenting on it when she attempted to slip into their safe, easy banter.

She'd been surprised that the woman cared at all, had been surprised to see her at Theron's side, had been surprised by the disapproval in her expression when she and Theron attempted to joke, and now, as she and Lt. Iresso trudged back onto the boardwalk that held their safehouse, she found herself stuck on the woman.

You're really not like other Sith, are you?

The moment the words came out, Casmina had regretted them, had silently cursed herself. She'd been surprised by the way Lana spoke about slaves, about freeing them -- it was refreshing, to know that despite their different upbringings, they had some of the same values. Still, she shouldn't have said it. Sith or not, Lana had done a lot to help their cause, and had saved her. The incredulous nature of the question, playful as it was, was an insult to that.

Lana had only smiled and teased back, however, and Cas was stuck on the playful curve of her lips and the way her eyes crinkled, visible even through the holo, as she called her a “noble jedi” -- she really was lovely, wasn't she? Even her voice, Imperial accent and all, had a soft, safe ring to it. There was something wonderful comfortable about it.

Maybe Lana would like to meditate with her, if they got the time. Certainly, Rishi was hardly the most relaxing place, beaches aside; the Jedi’s heart leapt into her throat at the idea. Could she get away with asking the Sith to spend time with her, one on one? Certainly Theron had no reason to meditate, nor did Jakarro, or most of her crew -- and Nadia would understand, would get that excitedly curious glint in her eyes, when she understood, but it might be worth it.

No. She was a Jedi Master, one of the council, and she had more control than this. She wasn't going to -- to do this. She couldn't. There was absolutely no way she could allow herself to feel something for a woman who was, in nearly every sense and purpose, her enemy. When this was over, she would return to Tython to help with the clean up process, and Lana would likely return to the Sith Academy to help with the destruction Casmina had caused on the ridiculous operation. There was no connection between her and the Sith.

And yet, when she entered the safehouse, and Lana lifted her head to smile at her, Cas could feel her heart rate picking up once more. Her included, there were only three force users in the room, and though she attempted to shield herself, she couldn't help feel like every emotion that she was supposed to have control over was on display for anyone to see. Nadia had certainly noticed, their force bond what it was, and was watching her curiously from the corner where she sat with Qyzen. And why not? Her master was doing the very thing they were supposed to avoid.

Cas’s lips quirked up on her own accord, curling upward into a sweet orange smile as she approached. Theron, having noticed, broke off from his conversation with Zenith, and joined them, but she barely had eyes for the SIS agent as Lana fell into an easy stance and her eyes crinkled again.

“Well, you have been busy.” Stars above, she was screwed.

#( casmina. )#( lana. )#( fics. )#cas struggling with attraction and falling in love with lana is important to me

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mezzomercury · 6 years ago

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Bohemian Rhapsody in Blue:Chapter Five: A New Life is Born (Part II)

A/N: Here it is, finally! I’m so excited for y’all to read it.

Word Count: 2.6k

Warnings: Pregnancy, Childbirth, Mentions of surgery, hospitals, IVs, minor LGBT discrimination

********************

January 17, 1986

The Lindo Wing, St. Mary’s Hospital

London, United Kingdom

2:08am

The Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital seemed to be in complete disarray, as one of London’s most famous residents and his husband were occupying the labor and delivery suite with their surrogate mother, whose contractions were currently two minutes apart. The three of them had been in their private suite since the previous evening, and Nadia’s labor seemed to progress at a snail’s pace, while she opted to do a completely natural birth. Every so often, a nurse would drop in and check in, reassuring the three of them that this part of labor is usually the slowest, but it Nadia’s cervix seemed to be staying dilated only at six centimeters for several hours, while her contractions only got closer and closer together.

At this time, Freddie was pacing around the suite nervously, while Nadia was shifting in the bed and trying to make herself as comfortable as she possibly could, given her current condition, with Jim’s assistance.

“They’ve been saying she’s still at six for forever, darling. How do we know if something’s wrong? They’re not telling us anything else!” Freddie exclaimed as he continued to pace, trying his best not to scare the other two watching him.

His husband tried his best to reassure him, but was quite occupied with his concern over Nadia, who would cry out in agony every two minutes.

“We just have to trust them, love. They’ll tell us if there are any complications. Please try to relax.” he reassured Freddie, who in turn sat down on the other side of the bed with a loud, discontented huff.

Then, as if on cue, another painful contraction hit Nadia and she screamed out again, with Jim holding her hand, and now with Freddie trying to calm her and kissing her forehead, him trying not to panic again.

“You’re doing so well, darling. Just remember to breathe.” he shakily whispered into her ear as she tried to breathe the best she could through the pain.

Tears streamed down Nadia’s face, as her body was so exhausted from thirteen hours of labor and counting, and everything felt so out of control. She choked out a sob,

“t-hurts. So much.” and continued crying as Freddie rubbed her back, trying to hide his own nerves and tried to comfort her the best he could.

She was abundantly embarrassed that the couple had to witness her be in such a state, but was thankful that they were here with her. They had been at her side every step throughout the past nine months, and they wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, at the final moments of this surrogacy, Freddie and Jim were there with her, caring for her, holding her hand, and reassuring her that everything will be alright.

One of the nurses assigned to them entered the suite again to do an hourly routine check on how far along Nadia was in labor, as she checked to see how dilated her cervix was and the position of the baby. As she did the examination, everyone held their breath, hoping that they would get closer to delivery, but were met with disappointment as the nurse shook her head.

“It’s still six. It doesn’t look like it’s progressing at all.”

She then got up and had an orderly set up a fetal monitor, which was promptly wrapped around Nadia’s belly.

“We’re going to start monitoring the baby’s heart rate and mum’s contractions. If she doesn’t dilate soon we may have to perform an unscheduled c-section.”

As she said that, Nadia nearly jumped out of the bed, panicking at the thought of surgery. Jim tried to calm her, while Freddie’s face lost all color again.

“The doctor and I will check back in about an hour, and then we’ll know for sure whether or not we have to.” the nurse told them before checking the equipment before exiting the room.

Freddie kept an eye on the fetal heart rate monitor, watching it as it beeped softly.

The next hour went by even slower than the ones before it, as Nadia, Freddie, and Jim were anxiously waiting for their doctor’s final verdict on the delivery method. During all of this, Nadia’s contractions were starting to pile on top of each other, and the fetal heart rate monitor that she was attached to gradually began to slow down, causing everyone to grow more and more uneasy. The three of them nearly shouted in relief when the obstetrician finally entered their room before doing an examination. Jim carefully observed the doctor’s face as she read the monitor, then went to once again inspect Nadia’s cervix. The room fell silent as her mouth curled down into a slight frown and she furrowed her brows in concern.

“Nothing is progressing at all and the baby is showing signs of distress. At this rate, we’re going to need to operate in order for the baby to survive.”

She broke the news to them with a grave tone, to which none of the three parents could fully process. Nadia gripped onto both Freddie and Jim’s hands, earning back a tight squeeze from each of them.

“The procedure should be relatively quick, about less than an hour, but we need to prepare for it immediately.” the doctor continued, “Mr. Mercury, Mr. Hutton, we’re going to need you two to leave the room for a bit as we get Ms. Eldan ready. She’ll be out in a few minutes.”

Freddie was about to protest until Jim stopped him and held his hand.

“Let them do their job, Fred. We’ll see her again very soon.” he murmured to his husband, as the other sighed again and nodded as they each kissed Nadia on the cheek and exited the suite. Nadia wanted to beg them not to go, but of course neither of them had a choice.

As the couple were waiting outside their suite, another nurse approached them, holding a set of scrubs,

“Alright, which one of you will be in the operating room with her?”

Both Freddie and Jim’s eyes widened in surprise as they tried to comprehend what the nurse just told them.

“P-Pardon me, but what do you mean by that?” Jim stammered out in question, fearing the worst.

“It’s hospital policy that only one other person can be in the operating room.” The nurse replied bluntly, causing Jim to feel like his heart was dropping.

Freddie, meanwhile, flew into a scorching rage.

“What do you mean, only one of us??? We’re both the fathers, it’s our baby!!!! You’ve got to be joking me!!!” he spat out.

The nurse sighed in frustration and tried to avoid escalating the conflict,

“I’m sorry, sir. It’s our policy. If I let you both in I could lose my job.”

This didn’t help solve the argument at all, as Freddie grew more and more enraged,

“I’ll make sure you lose your fucking job then! Both of us deserve to be in there! I will sue the entire hospital and the NHS if I have to!!!!”

Jim could only just stand there dumbfounded, hiding his face in his hand as his husband continued to shriek at the poor woman. He feared that something like this would happen, as society hadn’t really accepted their relationship for what it was, and seemed to be going against their quest to start a family together. He couldn’t even think about what could be done at this very moment, he just sighed in defeat and let the disastrous scene unfold before him.

Thankfully, before Freddie could say anything that he would regret, the doctor stepped outside their suite and tried to break up the argument.

“Alright, alright, settle down, the both of you. We can’t have a fist fight in the maternity ward.” She exclaimed as the two parties cooled down. “Nurse, I’m going to allow both Mr. Mercury and Mr. Hutton in the operating theater. They are both the fathers, after all.”

Before the nurse could ramble on about how it’s violating hospital policy, the doctor silenced her,

“Uh uh uh! I don’t want to hear another word about it. I don’t give a damn if it’s against our policy. I’m allowing them both in.”

This came as a huge relief for both Freddie and Jim, as they tried to prevent themselves from hugging the woman.

“Thank you, Dr. Paxton, thank you so much.” Jim choked out, trying not to tear up from the emotional rollercoaster he was riding.

“It’s my pleasure, Mr. Hutton.” the kindly woman replied before stating, “Now, Ms. Eldan is all ready to go. I just need the two of you to put on these scrubs and we can finally deliver the baby.” as she ordered the nurse to bring in another pair.

The couple adhered to her request and promptly went to change. As they both dressed in the large blue surgical gowns, masks, caps, and gloves, Freddie looked at himself in a nearby mirror and scoffed,

“Dear god, these are absolutely hideous. This hospital really needs to update these, they’re fucking atrocious.”

Jim chuckled a bit at his husband’s wisecrack remarks,

“I couldn’t agree more, dear, but that’s the least of our concerns right now.” he replied cheekily, earning a smirk from Freddie before they practically sprinted back to the suite door.

The doctor was already in the operating room, but Nadia was there to meet them lying on a gurney, accompanied by two nurses and attached to several monitors and IVs. Her nose and mouth were covered by an oxygen mask and her hair was bunched up in a cap similar to theirs, but her eyes showed fear, as the anesthesia was slowly enveloping her into a nearly unconscious state. Both Freddie and Jim were at her side and once again trying their best to keep her calm. During all of this, Freddie nervously glanced at his husband, who couldn’t return his trademark reassuring one as he normally did, and was instead showing a fearful look identical to his. Their eye contact was broken when Nadia whimpered softly, causing them to divert their attention back to her.

“Nadia, darling, please don’t panic.” Freddie cooed to her as they started to walk towards the operating theatre, “Just focus on how hideous we look in these outfits.” Nadia smiled slightly behind her oxygen mask and tried to breathe normally, as she felt nauseous upon entering the room.

The operating theatre was almost a pure white color, with a feeling that could only be described as sterile. Nadia was wheeled in and parked into the the center of the room, underneath large bright lights, with Freddie and Jim following closely behind her. Dr. Paxton and several assistants were waiting behind a large partition covering the lower half of Nadia’s body. Before the procedure could officially begin, Freddie and Jim assumed their positions on either side of Nadia’s head, holding both of her hands and staring at her intently.

“Alright, everyone. This hopefully shouldn’t take too long. The first part should be about fifteen to twenty minutes. Then, once the baby’s out, we’ll need another forty-five or so to finish the stitches.” Dr. Paxton announced, “Are we all ready over there?” she asked, earning three small approvals.

“Alright then, let’s get this baby out to meet you all.” she remarked, before beginning the procedure.

What was fifteen minutes truly felt like fifteen hours, as time seemed to suddenly slow down at a remarkable rate. The room was almost totally silent, save for both Freddie and Jim muttering words of comfort into Nadia’s ears, trying to make her forget that she was being carved like a Sunday roast. Phrases like, “You’re doing so well,” “She’s almost here,” and “We are so thankful that you’ve done all of this for us.” were repeated almost hypnotically, until they were met with a very sudden and deep silence. Nadia couldn’t feel too much down there, but she had the distinct feeling of something leaving her body in that moment, and she tried to gasp knowing what it was. The two men beside her noticed this and immediately held their breath, before looking over at the large tarp acting as a partition between them and the graphic scene. Time stood still and silence remained upon them for a few moments, until the softest, faintest whimper could be heard. The tiny sound grew and grew, until suddenly there was an impressively large wail coming from the other side of the screen, seemingly echoing throughout the entire hospital. All three parents silently gasped, with a tear streaming down Nadia’s cheek, Jim feeling like his stomach was doing somersaults, and Freddie’s eyes widening more than they ever had before and his mouth resembling a fish out of water. It wasn’t until the doctor held up a squirming, crying, little human covered in blood above the screen that all parents immediately lost it and broke down right then and there.

“You have a healthy daughter. Congratulations.” Dr. Paxton cheerfully announced, smiling behind her surgical mask as she noticed all three of their astounded reactions.

The next minute or two was spent with Freddie, Jim, and Nadia, staring at their tiny little girl, who was still wailing and wriggling in the doctor’s grasp, all three of her parents completely speechless.

Before long, Dr. Paxton made an effort to resume time and finish the procedure,

“We’re going to get her all cleaned off and have mum all stitched up,” as she cut the baby’s umbilical cord and handed her to a nurse to be cleaned, “You’ll see her again once we check all of her vitals. Don’t worry.” she reassured them as they seemed close to crying out in protest as they took the baby away from their view.

As the procedure was finishing and Nadia was being stitched up, Freddie and Jim chose to stay with her, knowing their daughter was in good hands for now.

“She’ll have a voice just like her daddy’s.” Jim quipped, finally finding his ability to speak again.

Freddie’s smile grew even wider, “How can such a little thing make that much noise?” he stammered out as he knelt down and kissed Nadia’s cheek.

“You are the most magnificent being to ever walk the earth, darling. You are so brave and strong, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.” he whispered in her ear before hugging her the best he could. “Isn’t that right, Papa?” he cheekily asked Jim, who joined him in kneeling down to Nadia’s level and placed another kiss on her cheek.

“Couldn’t agree more. We love you so much.” Jim responded.

It wasn’t long before the doctor declared that the surgery was officially complete, and Nadia, Freddie, and Jim were whisked off into a recovery suite. As they were settled into the room, they waited impatiently for their baby to be brought to them, all while very exhausted. Freddie and Jim embraced each other immediately once the door closed, kissing each other passionately while tears streamed down their faces. Nadia observed them in pure bliss, feeling overjoyed that she could make the couple so unbelievably happy. Her feelings though quickly soured when she came to a realization that had been lingering in the back of her brain for a while now, but had reared its ugly head at the worst possible time: I will never see this baby again, will I? Before she could think about it any further, everyone was interrupted when there was a knock on the door, followed by a nurse slowly opening it. All time seemed to stop again as the she whispered, shifting a tiny, cooing bundle in her arms.

“Someone wants to see you….”

**************

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