#or maybe we're the only us we've got but all the reassurance i have left is haptic feedback when i feel sick for no reason

[lanteanserver]

I think technically speaking, I'm not an Irish Catholic or an English Catholic, but I'm a Ro[a]m[i/a]n{g} Cat{-}holic until and unless they excom{m/eow}nicate me, and really, if they're going to do that,

[hinatastinygiant]

1 | Vdekja

Pairing: Uzui x Fem!Reader

The Emptiness You Left

"Y/N, I'm scared," your little sitter whispers to you as she clings onto your arm. The two of you and your younger brother sit in a small crate, listening to the sounds of screams and moans echo through the night.

"I know," you tell her, "I am too. But you can't cry." You put a finger to your lips to emphasize your point, looking at her tear-filled eyes. "Just look at Inosuke. Look at how brave he's being," you then say as you look at your brother who is sitting in the corner of the crate, his knees pulled up to his chest.

She nods, wiping her tears.

Suddenly, a loud shriek rings in your ears and the sound of something being dragged away follows. She begins to sniffle again and you have to shush her once more. "Hey, hey, look at me," you tell her. "Everything will be okay. Just trust me, alright?"

"B-but we're going to all get separated!" she exclaims.

You're about to tell her that's not true when the door to your crate suddenly slams open and a pair of hands reach in and grab you by the hair. You're pulled out and meet face-to-face with a blond man with the wildest eyes you've ever seen before. You're pretty sure they look like rainbows, but you're probably just seeing things.

He pulls you to your feet and pushes you against the outside of the crate. He then stares at you in what you can only describe as hatred and anger.

But when he speaks, you hear the complete opposite, and it makes your head spin even faster. "Who are you?" he asks softly.

"Y/N, sir," you answer.

"What are you doing here?" he then asks.

"M-my family got evicted from where we were staying and we had no choice but to go out on the streets. We've been there for almost a week, and then some people came and grabbed us," you explain, hoping that he'll understand why you're in the situation you're in. Maybe he's not as bad as you thought.

"And your parents?" he questions, leaning so close to you that you can see your reflection in his eyes.

"They're...they're dead," you whisper.

He pauses and looks back to the crate. "You have two little ones with you, too? Such a good big sister you are," he says.

Your face begins to heat up. "It's my duty as an older sibling."

"I understand," he sighs, taking a step back. "I'm not going to kill you, Y/N. You don't have to be so afraid. In fact, I am going to take all three of you with me. Does that sound okay?"

You nod slowly, your hands shaking. You don't have any reason to doubt him, so you'll just trust him. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet," he tells you, grabbing your hand and dragging you along. "Come along, now."

"But...what about them?" you ask.

"Don't worry, they're coming with us," he reassures. "Come on, now you two! Hurry up or you'll get left behind!"

As the two of you walk away, your little brother and his sitter crawl out of the crate and follow behind the two of you. The four of you then make your way into a car, and as soon as you're all inside, the driver takes off.

"So," the man starts, "where do you live?"

"Nowhere," your brother scoffs quietly, earning a nudge in the arm from you.

"What my brother means to say is that we were living in an abandoned building. It's gone now, though," you explain, hoping that the man won't question any further.

"How tragic," he mutters. "And your parents? When did they die?"

"A long time ago," you answer as you look down at your little sister. "Right after my sister was born. There was an attack. Both of our parents died and we were sent to an orphanage. Until they kicked us out because of my age."

The man nods, "I understand. You're an adult now, so you're no longer a child."

"But Y/N is my sister," your little sister cries. "You can't just sell her off like that!"

The man laughs softly and leans forward to pat your little sister on her head. "Don't worry, dear, that's not what I intend on doing."

"I-it's not?" she questions.

"Of course not," he smiles, and you can't help but feel slightly uncomfortable. "You three will be staying with me until further notice. I have a big home, too. It's called Eternal Paradise Faith."

"Woah," she gleams. "What's it like?"

"Well, it's a big building for people who have nowhere else to go," he tells her. "I'm the leader of it."

"So...we'll be working for you?" you ask.

"Only if you want to," he replies just as the car goes over a bump. Your stomach churns, and for a second you think you're going to be sick. "Do not worry, this is just a short ride. We're almost there."

Sure enough, you arrive at a large building shortly after. When you get inside, you are all given the same clothes and brought into separate rooms to sleep.

The rainbow-eyed man comes to check in on you that night with a plate of food. "I know you must be starving," he says as he sets the plate down next to you.

"I'm not very hungry," you mumble.

"You don't have to lie," he smiles, his hands in his pockets.

"I just want to see my siblings," you explain.

"And you will, after the three of you get a good night's sleep," he says, walking to the door. "Goodnight, Y/N."

"Wait," you call out just as he reaches the door.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?" you ask.

"Doma."

You pause for a moment. "Thank you, Doma."

"No need to thank me. You should be thanking the one who gave me this opportunity," he tells you before disappearing into the hall. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

That night, you struggle to sleep. Although the mattress you're on is extremely comfortable, your mind is racing and your stomach is twisting and turning. You can't imagine how your younger siblings are feeling. So, you decide to sneak out of your room and quietly sneak down the hallway to find them.

It doesn't take long until you hear the sounds of your little sister crying. You whisper her name and quietly step in her room. Immediately, she wraps her arms around you and begins to cry harder.

"It's okay," you soothe, hugging her tightly.

"I-I'm scared," she sniffles.

"Don't be. We're going to be alright," you tell her. "This is a good place for us to stay for now. It's like living with a rich person."

"But..." she hiccups, "will we still see each other?"

"Yes," you smile, remember that's what Doma promised you earlier. "After we get some rest."

"And what about Inosuke?" she then asks, referring to your brother.

"I'll check on him next," you promise. "I'll make sure both of you are alright."

"Okay," she smiles. "Can you stay with me tonight?"

"I don't think so," you shake your head apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"No, please, Y/N. You have to stay!" she shouts, grabbing tighter onto you.

"Let go! Stop being so loud. We're going to get in trouble!" you say.

"No we're not! No one is even out here," she says.

"Just let me go. I'll come back, I promise," you say, trying to remove her little hands but she continues to dig her nails into your arm so hard that you begin to bleed.

"Get off of me!" you yell.

"No!" she cries.

You sigh, "If you don't let me go, I won't come back!"

"I don't care!" she screams, letting you go and falling onto her bed.

Just then, you hear a rumbling noise grow closer and closer until the door flies open and Doma appears. He looks taller than he was before, taking up more space in the doorway than you remember. His multicolored eyes glow down at the two of you.

Instinctfully, you grab your sister tight just as Doma comes bounding closer, his face twisted and demonic. Your sister screams and Doma reaches for her. You try to shield her with your body, but you're thrown aside by his strength and land on the floor.

He grabs your sister by her ankles and drags her towards the door. She kicks and screams, begging for help, but he doesn't seem to care.

"Stop!" you shout as you stand back up. But before you can get close enough, he's holding her up in the air with one hand. You feel disoriented by the horrible sight before you. Your sister isn't just hanging upside down, her head is completely turned backwards and she is completely covered in her own blood.

"No!"

The Emptiness You Left

[ahgasegotarmy116]

DIFH JK ask: What about an instance in where JK is hurling insults at his son in front of his wife and oc because he messed up, resulting in him causing the other business not to sign with their company? Oc is hurt seeing how deflated her husband is and stands up for him, but JK isn't having it? Who he reminded her who is in charge, maybe punish her when they're alone again but reprimanding her in front of everyone also?

"I just got off the phone with our new client in Beijing. Well, I guess no longer our client because of your negligence" Jungkook throws out, reprimanding my husband for something that was completely out of his control.

"I told you, my flight got delayed and there weren't any others that I could get on that would get me there on time" my husband says, reiterating his defense.

"You should've contacted the company and told them instead of coming and whining to your father about missing the meeting after the fact" he say making him feel guilty.

"I was under the impression that I would be able to make it there, just a few hours late and be able to explain everything and smooth things over" he says, his voice getting a bit softer as he's coming around to seeing some of his mistakes. 

"Well you were wrong and now we've lost our most promising new client. Do you know how much of a hit our company's reputation is going to take?" He says standing up from his desk chair as a way to make my husband feel smaller.

"I thought that you would've passed the message on to your assistant and they would've informed them for me. Or at least that's how we've dealt with these situations in the past" he says bringing previous dealings up to see if there's some sort of argument he could use as a defense.

"Throwing the blame on someone else isn't going to get you anywhere" Jungkook says as I walk in, tired of overhearing their argument from down the hall, leaving Mrs. Jeon to look after the children.

"Haven't you had enough? He made a mistake but there are more clients out there that will work with you" I say, standing up for my husband who has started to look like a kicked puppy under his defensive exterior.

"This is none of your concern and you were not invited into this private conversation" Jungkook says not even bothering to humor me. "It is my concern when it involves you verbally abusing my husband" I say not backing down.

"It's okay honey I've got this" my husband says, standing up out of his chair and going to usher me out of the room.

"You know what? No. I'm not standing for this. You can't speak to him like that!" I argue, going up to Jungkook to prove that I'm not afraid of him. "Y/n leave. Now" he orders and with the look in his eyes I know that I'm tiptoeing very close to a line that I'm not too sure if I want to cross.

"Fine, but I'm packing up the kids now and we're leaving, all of us" I say turning away from him to face my husband. "That includes you" I say pointing my finger at him and he widens his eyes at me, not used to seeing this kind of behavior.

"Go pack up the children son, I'd like to have a word with her" Jungkook offers, not giving space for refusal. 

He looks at me with his eyes full of worry and I just nod my head to reassure him. "It's okay honey I'll be out in a minute" I say and he comes up to me and gives me a quick kiss before glaring daggers at his father, daring him to do something to me. If only he knew what kind of lines we've already crossed.

"Go" Jungkook says and my husband turns to go without another word, happy to get away from him but also hesitant to leave me alone.

"Why are you doing this to him?" I ask, turning around to face him now that my husband has left. "Because someone likes to piss me off and be all lovey dovey  in front of me" he say going back to sitting at his desk. 

"That's what this is about? Because you're jealous? Jungkook he's my husband" I say crossing my arms. "Please, your marriage is all a charade at this point" he scoffs. "Just because that's the way you see it doesn't mean that that's what it is. I love him and that's never going to change, no matter how much torture you put me through" I say and turn to go. 

"You're really going to regret saying that to me" he says, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back towards him. "Get off of me" I demand through gritted teeth, pushing him off and storming out.

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[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #128

So… I have good news and bad news!

I will start with the good news! J and I are not dead! We're not even slightly injured! Yay!

The bad news is that the plane is pretty ah… pretty banged up. It's not totaled or anything; it's definitely repairable and J has insurance for it, so it's really not the end of the world. I can't show you any pictures yet, because J asked me not to (something about legality and insurance???), but I have them. Maybe I'll post them up tomorrow.

As for what happened... to my inexperienced eyes, it looked like J was going in for a landing. We've done this like a million times before; it was going as per usual. Until it wasn't. For reasons I don't understand, the plane started veering to the left and leaving the runway, and J couldn't get it to stop doing that, also for reasons I don't understand.

A bunch of rapid-fire decisions were made in order to avoid colliding into buildings or into other vehicles. He tried to get the plane to go back into the sky, but it wouldn't go up; it remained on the ground. So then he aimed it towards open spaces. When it still wouldn't stop, he aimed for the treeline.

Fortunately, by the time we reached the trees, the plane had slowed down a decent amount, and the trees were young and still relatively bendy and forgiving. J also thought to get a special harness for the seatbelt to go over our shoulder and chest beforehand, and it was a really good call for him to have made; planes come equipped only with little lap belts, and if we had just stuck with that instead of getting the harness, we might have ended up being thrown forward and mashing our heads on the controls.

In the end, for us, it just felt like if you're in a car and you slam on the brakes suddenly. We were rocked and shaken, but not in any way injured. Because J saw to our safety ahead of time and was able to make good decisions even when the shit hit the fan, we lived. Stuff like this isn't normally something people get to walk away from unscathed.

It was an amazing combination of luck, prior planning, and skill on J's part that allowed us to remain unharmed. My faith in J and his ability to pilot a plane has not wavered. In fact, if anything, I trust him even more than I did before; now I am certain that if something unexpected happens, he can STILL keep us safe, because I just got done watching him do it, and the way he handled it was AMAZING. I couldn't be more proud of him!

A short while later, a bunch of police folks and some firefighters showed up, as well as some staff from the airport to make sure we were okay. It was a lot of people in our vicinity generally, and it was a lot to deal with, but I dealt with it on my own until J was able to emotionally recover enough deal with it; understandably, he was shaken far worse than I was. But we got it sorted out. Answered some questions. J filled out some insurance form. People gave us lots of kindness and reassurance along the way. The manager of the airport drove us to a nearby hotel. All things considered, everything is fine.

Of course, we're still very shaken. Both of us had a fuckton of adrenaline surge through our bodies. My hands are still shaking and my chest is tight and trembling as I write this. But we're okay, so don't worry. It's just adrenaline, and adrenaline can't hurt us by itself.

So... we're not home yet. We're at some other place because we thought it prudent to stop the plane to get gas. We're about 2 hours away from home by car. And what's more, we have to stay overnight here in order to deal with insurance stuff in the morning. Then I suppose we'll ask M or Br or both to come fetch us from here.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but whatever it is, I'm sure we'll figure it out. Even for big scary stuff like this, the solution, ultimately, is to just take things one step at a time.

On the bright side, I was able to snag you a bunch of really great pictures today! I love taking pictures of beautiful things for you, and I love showing you my world! Here, please enjoy these extra, because they were hard-won, and also because if things had turned out differently than they did, I might never have gotten a chance to share these with you, and that would have been sad, because I DID A GOOD JOB WITH THESE:

...I love my planet. I hope that if I show you enough pictures of it, maybe you could like it, too. I certainly love yours. And I love you, too, just in case you forgot. But I hope you don't forget, because part of the whole reason I write these letters is so that you can remember that you are loved by someone, somewhere, not for what you look like or for what you can do, but for who you are as a human being.

Oh, oh, oh!! And!! Today!! In the hangar before we left! J and the flight instructor practiced landing and flying and taking off for 2 or 3 hours before we headed home. So I chilled in the hangar with music by myself, and these two old men came in, and one of them spoke to me for some reason, which wasn't bad. But! I had my earphones in, so I had to ask him to pardon me and repeat himself.

Well, he was all like, "Yeah, get those things out of your ears!" in the same way that cranky old men generally like to do when people younger than them use technology. And you know? The version of me who existed prior to the letters I wrote to myself probably would have cowered and said, "I'm sorry sir."

BUT THAT'S NOT WHAT I DID TODAY!!! 🤩🤩🤩

Instead, I looked at him square in the face and said, "Excuse me, but I'm an adult human woman and you don't get to tell me what to do. Would you like to try again?" And!! Oh!! Sephiroth!!! I think he expected me to be all meek and submissive, because the shocked "Oh fuck!" look on his face was ABSOLUTELY!! PRICELESS!! And he spluttered for a bit before finally introducing himself properly! I was really glad that he tried again. But I think he was a bit too embarrassed about how rude he was before to interact with me much further than that; I'm not too sad about that, though.

...I wonder if you'd be proud of me. I mean... if you could read any of this, and if you've been able to read any of the stuff I've written so far. I wonder if you could see how much I've been learning and growing and trying to get out from under the oppressive thumb of the memories I carry. I wonder if you'd be proud. And I wonder if you'd use my growth as inspiration for your own.

I'm pretty tired, so I think I'm going to stop writing now.

I love you. And I'll write again tomorrow. Please stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

[thessalian]

Faerun!Alisaie vs This Underdark Bullshit

After a somewhat mad party and some reassurances for Lae'zel that "we will get there, I promise"...

Gale: And even though we've cleared a side path, now we're taking the front door. Now when they all know to hate us.

Alisaie: Do you really think this is going to be that hard?

Gale: ...Probably not, no, but there'll be more further in and saving energy feels like a thing--

Alisaie: They are leaderless goblins and bugbears.

Wyll: And one ogre.

Alisaie: Okay, yes, and one ogre. We can deal with this. We have taken shits scarier than them!

Gale: ...Collectively, or--?

Shadowheart: Stop bringing nit-pick logic into her motivational speech.

Some fairly easy hacking through goblins and bugbears (and two humans and an ogre) later, in the Shattered Sanctum

Gale: What are you doing?!? The spiders are in there!

Alisaie: I got this. *chugs a Potion of Speaks With Animals*

Spider: Yum!

Alisaie: There are goblins out there and they're way yummier than us. Go eat them.

Spider: Okay!

Wyll: I can't decide if that's briliant or brutal.

Alisaie: Eh, I gave them corpses to chew on and they'll live in the ruins lest anyone decide to try moving back in--

Goblins: *screaming in the distance*

Spiders: Yay! Live prey! Finally some enrichment!

Alisaie: *snorts laughter*

Wyll: ...What? What did it say?

Alisaie: They were bored. They are no longer bored. But I don't really want them to die so... *shoots an arrow at the goblin being eaten by spider*

Goblin: *dies*

Spider: Thanks. Matriarch said I shouldn't play with my food.

Alisaie: *heads for Priestess Gut's chambers, laughing her ass off*

Wyll: What? What?!? What did it say?!?

Gale: Maybe we should all gargle those concoctions of hers. I think we miss some of the best jokes.

Alisaie: Oh, that reminds me; I should ask if Halsin found a mate for Tusk. Or was a mate for Tusk, whatever; I don't judge with druids.

Gale; Wyll; Shadowheart: Excuse you?!?

Alisaie: Later! I promise! I-- *walks into Priestess Gut's chambers; runs into ogre handmaiden/bodyguard* Oh. Hi there.

Ogre Handmaiden/Bodyguard: *looks unimpressed*

Alisaie: Hey, it's cool; we're just passing through. You won't even know we're here.

Ogre Handmaiden/Bodyguard: *grunts assent*

Gale: You could sell firelighting kits in hell, you know that?

Alisaie: Probably, but speaking of hell, let's get the hell out of here before she wises up and figures out I killed her boss yesterday.

Shadowheart: Well, much as I'm not entirely keen on performing rites to Selune, I suppose beating Her worshippers' little floor puzzle would be worth doing...

Alisaie: Or we can doubly flag up how ridiculous they were with their entrance-hiding and use the proverbial key they left under the metaphorical pot of begonias.

Shadowheart: What?

Alisaie: *disengages lock on Emergency 'We-Locked-Ourselves-Out' Lever; pulls lever*

Door to Underdark: *opens*

Shadowheart: ...Or we could do it that way too, I suppose.

Alisaie: Tell you what; I will totally do the next bit of ritual bullshit. Just for you. Okay?

Shadowheart: *only half-joking* You're so good to me.

[letscrywolff]

Make Believe

I fantasize about you still.

A version of you that could never be. A version of you that you couldn't give to me.

One where you're the one saying the hottest things to me, like...

"Baby, I love you, but I'm just not ready for such a big step so soon. I really do want all those things with you, I don't doubt that at all.

I'm just scared.

Maybe I've been too soft, too subtle, I know you've tried to reassure me when I've brought things up, but I want to be clear with you now, direct. I need more time.

This is something that only time can solve. I know we said that before, but I understand that passion between us gave mixed messages. I know that's why you kept going with the plan that we've hashed out together. I gave in too, so don't feel like it's all your fault. I love how things feel between us, and I think we'll always have that, I just want to make sure it's not just the honeymoon phase talking. I want to make sure we're doing this for the right reasons. I want us to work, and I want to do this right.

I know I told you I was ready, but as we got closer, I realized I still have fears I'm working through. I've felt myself wanting to run, and I'm fighting that now. This is hard for me, but it isn't your fault. But I do need you to understand that, and I need you to slow down with me, not because I don't want this, but because I do.

I know I asked you for two weeks at my new place before you moved in. I didn't think about it at the time how that might come off to you after all the times I've left you. I thought I was just communicating my needs, but I didn't take yours into account. I know you worry I'll leave you, or that you'll lose me. I'm sorry that you have to think like that at all - I know I'm the reason why, and I don't blame you. So I don't blame you for being wary and needing reassurance. This is my attempt to give you that.

If you're patient with me, I know we can work through this, because I know I love you, and I know I want this with you, I'm just scared about a lot of 'what-ifs' from my past - and I don't mean to hold their failings against you, but I don't want to live through that kind of pain ever again. I can't afford to rush, only to be left with heartbreak again.

I want this with you, B. I love you. I just want to make sure that we're sure. I still want to see you, I just need more time, and I hope you'll understand."

This is what my fantasies about you got reduced down to. Just wanting the basic, bare-minimums of a good-faith and honest relationship. Sad that this was asking too much of you.

This sort of thing was even my fantasy before we ever reconnected - some emotional maturity. Some emotional honesty. Some accountability, self-awareness. Some willingness to try.

Something that honored our connection and fought for it, instead of severing it for no good reason.

I had thought maybe you grew up some and got to that point. It felt like we were being so honest with one another. God how I wish I could have ever gotten a message like that instead of jumping straight to the nuclear option.

Instead, the reality of you is someone who acted impulsively, avoided communication, and failed to grow emotionally. You expected a mind reader without having to let them know what’s on your mind first.

But expecting decency from you truly is the stuff of make believe. You just don't have it in you. Maybe one day someone else will be lucky enough to get that version of you. I'm sure then it will be what you want. I'm sure then it will work. I'm sure then that it'll feel right, and you won't feel so pushed. And I wonder if then you'll realize that all could have been true with us too if only you had shown up the same way.

[legends-of-time]

The Journey of Living at Downton

Chapter 39: September 1924

Masterlist

George has turned three and like with Sybbie's fourth birthday last month, there were happy celebrations for the child and then a few quiet moments of reflection for the one they had lost that day.

Rosamund has also suddenly arrived to visit and will be staying a week and will be there for their cocktail party for Robert's Lieutenant people thing later in the week. Emma misses her arrival as she is pulling in a shift at the Hospital. She doesn't mind Robert's sister really; she's always been polite to Emma and has warmed up to her over the years but Emma can see where Mary got her aloofness from.

Emma and Miss Baxter have also both been putting in a joint effort for Thomas to open up to them to no avail.

Emma is lying in bed next to Tom, slowly drifting off to sleep when Tom suddenly says, "Emma? Are you awake?"

Emma groans softly and opens her eyes to find her husband still sitting up in bed like he had been when he was reading. "Hmmm... what is it?"

"Lord Grantham, Robert, he said something earlier that's got me thinking." Tom tells her.

This wakes up Emma and she pulls herself up so she's leaning on her elbow. "Oh?"

"He was saying how I, we, should be proud of what we've accomplished. Learnt both sides of the argument. Said I shouldn't make nothing of what we've achieved."

Emma can see how deep in thought her husband is, so she pulls herself so she's sitting up in bed and lays her head on his shoulder. "I suppose he's right. We are in a more privileged position than where we were four years ago. What's brought all this on?"

"Sarah Bunting has reminded me of who you and me once were, believing in reform, the moral direction of the Left." Tom admits.

Emma hasn't been pleased with Sarah's method of badgering Robert, but she has to agree with Tom. Has both of them become lacklustre in their beliefs while staying at Downton?

"We can be that again." She tries to reassure him.

"But can we be that at Downton?"

Emma frowns. "Not sure. Maybe we'll only be able to find out if we leave. Help us work out where home is."

——

Emma slips down the stairs into the servant's area. She's dressed in her work outfit and will be heading off soon, but she had to do this first.

She watches as Anna, Mr Carson, Mr Bates, and Mrs Hughes come walking out of the Servants' Hall before she pokes her head inside and sees that Thomas is sitting on his at the table now. He's looking even more ill at this point than in the previous episode, and completely devoid of energy.

"Thomas..." she says hesitantly as she walks inside.

"Emma," he weakly pulls himself up, "do what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You know why I am here." Emma says. He sighs irritably. "Thomas, please talk to me you're not well."

"I do not know what you mean. I'm fine." Thomas retorts but it lacks his usual fire.

"You are not fine!" Emma exclaims. "Miss Baxter says—"

Thomas scoffs. "She's been too nosey for her own good."

"She cares about you; I care about you. We're worried." Emma says, pleadingly. She walks around the table to touch him, but he steps back from her.

"I am perfectly well." He speaks.

"But Thomas—"

"But nothing, I'm fine." he declares firmly before leaving the room. Emma stares after him despondently.

——

The rest of Emma's day runs smoothly except for when Violet suddenly appears wanting to visit Dr Clarkson. She's invited him to a lunch on Thursday Clarkson tells Emma later, an implication that she wants to push Isobel to Dr Clarkson instead of Lord Merton.

Sergeant Willis and Inspector Vyner arrive to interview Mary as well as Anna. Emma hears when she returns, she naturally panics. Mary tries to reassure her by saying that there was no mention of Emma at all, but she doesn't find that reassuring. She worries they're narrowing in on Mr Bates.

Billy tells her that Sarah Bunting has had an offer from a school in Preston, Lancashire that she has accepted. Despite how much he's trying to hide it, Emma can see he's sad about it. Particularly as apparently, she's leaving tomorrow for good.

——

For dinner that evening, everyone gets shuffled about as Rosamund is staying. Emma finds herself in between Isobel and Mary.

"Have any of you heard of someone called Atticus Aldridge?" Rose asks.

"He sounds like the hero of a novel by Mrs Humphrey Ward." Rosamund remarks.

"I'm not sure. Any more clues?" Cora replies.

Emma listens to the conversation, but her gaze is fixed on Thomas, who looks ready to collapse.

"I met him today. In York. Marsha George told me his father's been made Lord Sinderby." Rose explains.

"Now, wait a minute. I remember this." Robert realises. "When the title was created, the locals were furious, but now I can't remember why. Perhaps it's because Sinderby's a Yorkshire Village and they'd only just bought some house."

"Canningford Grange."

"Oh!" Violet exclaims in surprise. "Have the Wheelers sold up?"

"You knew that. I told you." Robert tells her. He turns to Rose. "What does My Lord Sinderby do?"

"Oh, I think he's a banker. I don't know, really, but the son's nice." Rose answers. Mary gives her a very pointed look and shares a grin with Cora. Rose laughs. "Oh... nothing like that!"

Emma frowns as she watches Thomas who is walking around the table with the decanter. He stops behind Cora and Tom as if he needs to test where next to put his feet in order not to fall down.

Violet sees it. "Barrow, are you quite well? Carson, have you been over-working him?"

"Not that I'm aware, Your Ladyship." The butler replies. "Mr Barrow, am I ill-treating you?"

Thomas grinds out the biggest lie he has probably ever told in his life. "You are the soul of kindness, Mr Carson."

"Thank you, Mr Barrow."

"I'm looking forward to your party." Isobel remarks to Robert.

"It's very daring of the Lord Lieutenant to give a cocktail party." Mary says. "Carson, what do you think?" Mr Carson pulls a disgruntled face.

"Well, I agree with Carson. It seems very fast to me." Violet says.

"I love cocktail parties." Rose argues.

"I agree." Emma adds, deciding to join in before anyone asks if she's alright. "Seems easier. More casual."

"Exactly." Cora agrees. "You only have to stay forty minutes, instead of sitting for seven courses between a deaf landowner and an even deafer Major General." Everyone chuckles.

"Even so, they'll say you're not doing things 'properly' anymore." Rosamund says to her brother.

"Do you care what people think?" Edith asks her father, looking very irritant.

"Yes. I accept change, but I want to navigate it gently. I don't want to leap into it and put everyone's backs up." Comes Robert's diplomatic reply.

"But why do the rituals, the clothes and the customs, matter so much?" Tom questions. He glances at Emma, who gives him an encouraging grin, happy to see him voicing his views.

"Because, without them, we would be like the Wild Men of Borneo." Violet retorts.

"I disagree." Isobel counters. "Manners and tradition are all very well, but once they start to control us, they've outlived their usefulness."

"Well, there are far more important things to worry about than whether or not Carson minds serving cocktails." Edith remarks unkindly.

"Why is Carson in the line of fire? What's he done wrong?" Billy questions. Mr Carson looks surprised at Billy standing up for him.

"I'm sorry. Excuse me, Mama. I've rather a headache." Edith rises. The men rise with her, and she walks out.

"What was that about?" Emma wonders.

"Rosamund, you spent the afternoon together. Did Edith mention anything was bothering her?" Cora asks.

"Oh, she's just very tired. She'll be fit as a flea tomorrow." Rosamund calmly replies.

Everyone seems to accept her response and continue eating. Emma frowns at Rosamund suspiciously.

——

Mary heads off to London the next day to dine with Mr Blake. Emma had raised an eyebrow at that, but Mary had insisted it wasn't like that.

Robert is going to his dinner in Sheffield for all the Yorkshire based commanding officers or something. Since Emma is working a day shift today, she has to say goodbye to him the night before.

Mr Bricker will be turning up again as well, wanting to see more of Downton's Della Francesca to write in his book, apparently.

During the day, Emma is once again left in charge of the Hospital as Violet has dragged Dr Clarkson to her luncheon in some convoluted way of trying to get Isobel away from Lord Merton. He soon returns and Emma takes this as her chance to take a break. She's walking through the Village when she spots who she is looking for.

Sarah Bunting is emerging from a building just ahead as a taxi pulls up. Emma picks up her pace and walks over to them as the driver begins to load her luggage.

"Sarah!" Emma calls.

Sarah turns and looks at her in surprise. "Emma. I didn't expect to see you."

Emma gives her a self-deprecating smile. "I just wanted to say goodbye and good luck. I know we haven't always gotten along but I do wish you the best."

Sarah smiles softly. "Thank you. I hope you and Mr Branson keep fighting for what you believe in. I really do."

"We won't." Emma promises.

Sarah opens her mouth to say something but freezes at the sight of something over Emma's shoulder. Emma turns to see Billy, dressed for work and looking frazzled, running up to them.

"You nearly missed me." Sarah remarks softly to him.

"I'll take my leave," Emma says, giving Billy's upper arm a squeeze before moving on.

——

After the dinner, the ladies are assembled in the Drawing room when Tom, Billy and Mr Bricker come in.

Emma breaks from Edith and Rose to walk over to Billy and Tom, Mr Bricker strides past with a brief glance in her direction. "You two didn't linger long."

Billy shrugs. "We didn't really know what to say to him."

"He was also eager to join the rest of the group." Tom adds.

"Probably one person in particular." Emma glances over her shoulder to where Mr Bricker has joined Cora and Violet by the fireplace. Violet gives a disapproving look and then walks away to join Edith, who is sitting with Rosamund.

"Should we do something?" Billy questions.

"Like what?" Tom asks.

"Not sure. I just know that there'll be an explosion before too long."

"Maybe they need it." The two men give her a questioning look. "It's no secret that Robert takes her for granted, maybe this'll wake him up."

Violet, Rosamund, and Edith walk out as Isobel and Rose walk up to them.

Isobel turns to Billy. "How is your fiery friend, Miss Bunting? I notice we don't see her here as much as we used to."

"Do you wonder at it?" Billy remarks.

"Well, it's good to be disagreed with. Keeps you on your toes."

"Then Lord Grantham must have been on points from the moment she walked through the door." He's trying but failing to make light of it.

"I hope you haven't broken with her."

Emma explains. She gives Billy a pitiful look. "She's gone. She left today."

"Oh, I am sorry." Isobel says sympathetically. "What about you, Rose? What happened to the young man you met?"

"He's gone, too." Rose says with a little laugh. "He's starting a new job in London."

"Well, this is a sad conversation." Emma remarks.

"He was interesting. He wasn't just the same old chap one's supposed to dance with. His family was unusual." Rose says.

"In what way?" Tom asks.

"They came here from Odessa, sixty years ago. They were driven out by the pogroms, but they've done well." Rose explains.

Ah.

"Well, yes, that is interesting." Isobel says.

——

Emma is surprised to find that when she returns from her shift at the Hospital the next day, Mr Bricker has left. Tom says it was sudden and without any ceremony that he barely noticed the art dealer was gone for most of the day.

Emma is also surprised to learn that Robert had suddenly arrived later last night from his lieutenant thing in Sheffield instead of staying over. She doesn't think much of it really but then she notices how they behave as they greet the guests at the Lord Lieutenant cocktail party that evening.

The couple would greet a guest and when they moved on, Cora would lean over and make a comment to her husband, but instead of reciprocating, Robert would simply turn his head and ignore her. Mary, who has also noticed, from where she stands with Rosamund shares a look of concern with Emma who stands with Tom and Rose.

——

A/N: Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

[filmbyjy]

We've decided to directly address the public about our relationship and I don't know how to go about me also being an internet personality as a VTUBER 😭😭😭

She watches the sky pass them by, locked in his embrace, and spots the sun beginning to set. The bright yellow and orange merging into the oncoming dark blue makes for a perfect sight. Wordlessly, she pulls her phone out, single handedly, and captures the image. As she reviews the photo of the setting sun, she takes a moment to deliberate. "I think...I want us to actually go public," she gently announces, "We've left your fans and the internet speculating enough."

He looks over to her, curious, when she suddenly pulls out her phone and says she wants to take a picture, before his eyebrow raises at her actual words. "You mean... you want to finally confirm it, publicly? Like... that we're a couple, and everything?" He asks, softly, wanting to make sure he heard her right.

"Maybe leave out Angel and Damien, for now," she adds, looking back at him, "They're still only babies but yes." They've had two soft launches already-the first shortly after they first got together on her private instagram and the second when they danced together during the Random Dance Challenge on Cai's birthday just two months ago. She still wonders how those videos have yet to see the light of Social Media day. Now, she's ready to walk hand-in-hand with him proudly. No more hiding, no more disguises.

He chuckles "That's fine by me," He adds, with a small little smile, before he asks "And, like... how do you want it to come out?" He continues. He knows she's probably got it all planned out already, but he wants to hear it from her mouth just to be sure.

"...Would your company throw a fit if I post it publicly on instgram as myself and interview you on stream later tonight?" She suggests, ending in soft laugh, "It may be weird but I still want to separate myself from Yvette and ask you questions about us...even if it means I, as myself, may only seem to be going out with you for clout." She doesn't want to reveal her true identity to the viewers of her stream. She never planned to really. That was the whole point of starting her VTUBER career as Yvette.

"I mean... I think that would be fine," He reassures her, "And- I think it's really cute that you want to do that. I mean... if you want to, I have no complaints." He smiles softly, leaning a little bit more into her- this was really cute to him, and he was happy that she wanted to do this with him.

"I do," she confirms, leaning her forehead against his as she closes her eyes to savour this one last private moment out between them. After today, she suspects they won't have another moment like this.

"So, will you be interviewing me as yourself, then?" He asks, with a small smile on his face- he seems to be enjoying their little moment too, the two of them alone together like this. He's just enjoying spending the moment with her, and he can't wait to spend even more moments with her- moments like this, and moments like the ones they just had, and the many more to come.

"No, I'll be asking as Yvette," she reaffirms before thinking better of it, "Or is that a bit complicated?"

He gives a little laugh, "It might be, yeah," He admits, "But I won't stop you if you wanna go ahead with it- I think I'd be happy no matter what." He says, with a smile, before he leans in, just a little bit, giving her a sweet little kiss on the lips. "I'll do whatever will make you happiest- we'll do whatever will make the both of us happiest." He leans back again. "So, if you wanna go for it- we can do it."

"We could draft up a script-more like dot points," she suggests, "Or Yvette could be a character in later chapters of Enhypen's Webtoon Dark Moon: The Blood Altar, what do you think?"

He chuckles again "I think both could work," he replies, thinking about both those things- she always seems to be thinking of the coolest ideas, and of the ways to improve them- she's always got the best ideas, and he adores her for it. "What do you think would work better?" He asks, his smile soft again, as he leans in for another small, sweet little kiss.

I brought this upon myself 🥲

~🧛🏻‍♂️🐕

AWWW THATS SO CUTE🥹

[gwiazdowe]

@mayxthexforce:

She'd spent more hours than she could count now dodging so many blaster bolts and yet, that last sniffle left her feeling like it would do her in. Like a lightsaber's right through her hearts. "I think you're right." Drakka nodded. "It must be guiding you, given that of all the crates in the planet you could have ended up hiding inside of, it's one of mine." That had to be more than luck. It had to be fate. But even fate felt like luck now. Every ounce of oxygen filling her lungs felt like luck, every beat of her hearts like a gift– a gift that so many other Jedi had been denied and yet she —who had never been the most obedient Jedi— continued to be granted. It must have really been in the force's plans for her to find this child. It was the only way she could make sense of this. It was also a way to give herself purpose among all the chaos and pessimism. Keeping a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder, Drakka guided him out of the cargo hold. She let all that needed to be done repeat in her mind: get him something else to wear, get him food, make sure he got some rest– she still had to tell Macter. So, the cockpit was their first stop. He sat on the pilot seat, checking the news on a holopad and being quick to put it away when he heard her come in– not wanting to bombard her with any more grief. Macter turned on the seat, mouth open, whatever he was about to say died in his throat as his eyes went from Drakka down to Cirz. Drakka saw a mix of emotions go through his face, felt them in the force: confusion, realization, refusal, frustration and finally, resignation. "This is Cirz," she said, not wanting to give time for that last emotion to turn into anything that would result in an argument about transporting ANOTHER Jedi. "He figured out one of your locks." Macter's brows furrowed. Then, he sighed. "I do always use the same code- welcome aboard, kid. Please, no Jedi tricks in the ship. We're trying to not get caught." he turned back to face the control panel. Drakka smiled down at Cirz. "He's an acquired taste, but he's not a bad man," she told Cirz, leading him out of the cockpit. "Now, how about you check the cabinets for something to eat while I see if we've got anything that might fit you? Eat whatever you want."

It feels like only yesterday Cirz was a single step from losing his life, unsure where to go, unable to rest — Now with the warm hand on his shoulder, with another Jedi, another force signature so close, it truly seems like he’s been blessed. The Force can be so kind at the strangest times. He nods to himself – or to Drakka – or maybe really to both. Right now he would agree to go anywhere if only to keep this comfort longer.

Surely Master Enah would scold him for his guard becoming nonexistent, but the fatigued young mind decides it is fine. What really matters is that they are flying, and Drakka’s cloak is making him comfortable, and Drakka’s hand is on his shoulder, and perhaps it all can be fine now.

The cargo room left behind. The finer details of the ship’s layout gradually become lost on the young padawan, or otherwise he would notice that he has passed the freshers without stopping, or that Drakka has led him all the way to the cockpit.

Perhaps he would even sense that they are not the only beings on board (he tells himself that he should). But he doesn’t. Not until he is facing the human man in the pilot seat, and despite the reassuring hand still resting on his shoulder, Cirz finds his body tensing up at this meeting. (The face this man is making doesn’t help)

“I’m Cirz.” He repeats after Drakka, making an effort to straighten his back, like one might in front of the Council to present himself well. He offers a small bow in greeting, grasping the oversized cloak that starts to slide off him. 

“Um. We have much in common Sir, I’m also trying to not be caught; Promise!”

To his large relief he is not thrown out, (neither sold, neither shot on sight). They walk out like they walked in and it takes a second to really sink. He can stay here. He smiles back at Drakka with a wide yellow smile — and at the idea of food just as much.

The dark tired eyes regain something of their former spark, if only for this moment. “I will get us lunch Master, I will do that!” 

Just leave it to one hungry padawan to find the kitchenette in a flash.

Any other day Cirz would be more mannered about prying the cabinets open, but he isn’t now, leaving one after another open to check their contents. The first cabinet holds only cleaning utensils, the next one a trash bin, but in the third one is a box of salted nut bars that he begins to devour entirely too fast. The dry treat sticks to his throat, leaving him coughing and scrambling to the sink to wash it down with tap water. Then he follows it up with some kind of pink-striped fruit that he spots in the basket on the counter. He winces at how sour it is. Juice drips down his chin and he wipes it quickly with the sleeve of his tunic.

One big breath. This is already the best thing he’s had in a while (how many days was it?) but he opens the fourth cabinet. He has to stand on his toes to reach, but it is worth the effort. He recognizes the instant-heating meal packages favoured by spacers for how effortless they are.

Spacers. Clone soldiers.

Cirz’s lips press together. He stands there for a moment, staring up at the inside of the cabinet..

He eventually glances over his shoulder towards where Drakka left, and around.He’s alone.

Technically he just got told he shouldn’t use… 'jedi tricks', but for the food… — He thinks to himself — no one is here to see him give those packages a little handy push.

[missmonsters2]

wait okay this is the real last one, i swear. buckynat x reader, haunting of hill house-esque vibe where they notice reader is slowly going insane and they realize it's the ghosts in the home who are at fault

buckynat x reader is what I want if I'm being real honest.

Pairing: buckynat x fem!reader (The Haunting of Hill House AU)

Warnings: spoopy a lil 🥺

Count: < 1k

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

Natasha stirred, hearing quiet footsteps pitter-pattering about. She opened her eyes and found herself in Bucky's arms, the metal one over her waist.

But something was missing.

You weren't in her arms.

"Bucky," Natasha whispered after she turned in his embrace. She shook him a little as he snored. "Bucky."

"Huh," Bucky grunted softly as his eyes fluttered open. "What's wrong?"

"It's happening again," Natasha whispered again as if afraid something—someone would hear her.

"Shit," Bucky sat up, adjusting his shirt that had ridden up as he slept. "Where is she?"

"I don't know...in the halls maybe?" Natasha muttered as she got out of bed, Bucky following her.

"Well, she can't wander around too much. Most of the house is under construction and I've blocked it off," Bucky tried to reassure the redhead, but it was rather hard when he felt worried as well.

This was supposed to be nothing more than a quick summer project. They've flipped tons of houses before without any issues.

But there was something wrong with this place. Other than the obvious structural issues...it was like the house breathed at night.

The housekeepers had said there had been...deaths in the house before. Nothing crazy, just people passing away in their sleep. Even so, they had refused to be in the house after sunset as part of their contract.

Incidences left and right. It started with you saying that you thought you heard things. Natasha slept most nights fitfully.

And Bucky? It felt like his skin was crawling all the time.

They both carefully crept towards the door, opening it just a sliver to peer out.

There was nothing in the hallway, just the creaking of the walls.

Until you rounded the corner.

Your footsteps were light, graceful even.

It was unlike you.

You muttered to yourself. "They're leaving me. They're leaving me. No, no, no."

You shook your head, turning to the side, peering at something Bucky and Natasha had no idea of what.

"Stop lying. They wouldn't. They're not. They're not..."

It was silent for a moment before you put your hands to your ears.

"I didn't want to be in the middle. I get too hot. Bucky...Bucky doesn't care who's in the middle. No, they weren't. They were running errands today..."

Natasha's heart thudded in her chest. Who the hell were you talking to?

Bucky clenched his jaw, his grip on Natasha's hips tightening as he stared at you.

God, you looked so...so tired.

"We need to leave this place, Bucky."

"And go where, Nat?" Bucky whispered back. "All our money is tied up in this place. If we don't flip it, we're going to be in a hole."

"But there's obviously something wrong, Buck," Natasha insisted quietly, keeping her eyes on you. "Look at her. I don't want to say it but there's something in this house."

"I know that," Bucky sighed, reluctant as well to admit it. "But what should we do?"

"I don't know. We should only fix up the place during the day and like the housekeepers, leave this place at night. Tony owns a bunch of hotel chains, doesn't he? We'll just ask where the closest one is that he owns and if he could give us a room until the renovations are over and we've sold the place. We'll just give him what we owe once the house sells," Natasha sighed. She really hated asking people to help her like this, but if it was for your sake, she'd do anything.

"Okay," Bucky swallowed, hating even more, to have to ask for Tony's help. But just like Natasha, he'd do anything for you.

"What should we do now?" Bucky asked.

Natasha pursed her lips. "I don't know. Interrupting her makes her twitchy. But we should see if we could coax her back to bed."

Suddenly, you whipped your head in their direction, catching their eyes.

[julemmaes]

Robyn

Rowaelin Month, Day Ten

A/N: I'd planned on posting them in order, but you get what you get. Idk when the other prompts will come tbf. I hope soon. Anyway, I managed to write over 6k words today and I'm pretty fucking proud.

This is just fluff over fluff, so yep enjoy!!

Word count: 3,047

Rowan was unbelievably late as he sped through the streets of Orynth.

So late that the school had called not only him, but also the front desk of the place where he worked when he hadn't answered the call on his personal phone. Sorscha, his assistant, had entered his office with an embarrassed smile on her lips, as if she didn't want to tell him that he had forgotten for the umpteenth time to pick up his daughter from school.

Lorcan had joined him, for some strange reason, but Rowan had stopped bothering when it came to his best friend. He'd been trying to figure out how he reasoned for years and had come to the conclusion that there was no logical sense in the actions of the man sitting next to him, who was currently singing at the top of his lungs to one of the songs on the Frozen CD - which much to the chagrin of both of them, had gotten stuck in his car radio months before, forcing them into hours of torture.

He would never deny that the songs were all quite catchy, but after the sixteenth time Rowan had had to listen to Let It Go at maximum volume, his positive opinion of the film had begun to waver.

As they pulled into the school parking lot, Rowan noticed with deep regret that the only cars still there were those of the teachers and school staff.

They both got out of the car, Rowan walking quickly towards the entrance while Lorcan dragged behind him.

He greeted the caretakers sitting at the entrance, who returned a big smile. A smile that grew even wider when his large, imposing friend entered a few moments later. He stopped to talk to the old ladies and Rowan walked down the corridor he knew led to Robyn's classroom.

He could hear muffled voices from inside the teachers' room on the left and the one he knew belonged to Miss Galathynius coming from the right. He looked out over the classroom, spotting the two people sitting at a desk.

As soon as his daughter saw him, her eyes widened and a huge smile flashed across her face.

No words. No "hello, daddy!" or "I missed you!" from the little girl.

Her teacher turned as she leapt out of her chair and ran towards him, hugging his legs and looking up at him. Rowan smiled at her in turn, running a hand over her hair that was shot in every direction.

"Hello, little bird," he murmured to her. The child's smile widened even more if that was possible.

The woman a few feet away from them pulled herself upright, crossing her arms over her chest and offering a sincere smile to the child, who hid behind his thighs.

Rowan was about to tell her that Robyn was shy with everyone like this, ready to defend his daughter's behaviour as he was used to doing in front of every adult, but he was beaten to the punch.

"It's good to see you, Mr Whitethorn," she said, extending a hand. Rowan shook it without hesitation. "Actually, I just wanted to write you a letter regarding Robyn," she continued, never taking her eyes off the little girl. "Nothing serious," she hastened to reassure him when Rowan grimaced, "quite the contrary. Robyn is remarkably good. One of the best in the class, though I shouldn't offer that information so bluntly."

Miss Galathynius winked at him, but he couldn't process what he'd just been told.

"Sorry, could you-"

The little hands clamped around his trousers tightened a fraction more and Rowan looked down, trying to figure out what was bothering his daughter, but then something happened that he hadn't even dared to dream about in recent times.

"You're here!"

The little girl broke off and ran away from him in less than the blink of an eye.

Rowan turned just in time to see Lorcan grab Robyn in mid-air, spinning her around as he brought her to his chest and showered her with kisses. The loud, incessant laughter that erupted from her seemed too much coming from that fragile little body, but he never tired of hearing it.

"Why hello baby!" said Lorcan laughing in turn, starting to tickle her until she begun to rebel and he was forced to let her slide to the floor. Robyn was still laughing at the top of her lungs and nearly fell to the ground as she squealed left and right, letting herself be pushed around by the closest thing to an uncle she had ever had.

When Rowan turned back to the woman, she was wide-eyed and her lips slightly parted as she watched the massive man dressed completely in black and the menacing face turn into a completely different person the second he had seen Robyn.

He chuckled, "I know, it's not every day you get to see a little girl be so comfortable with a brute like that."

Lorcan, who was listening to everything, looked him straight in the eye and without stopping smiling and playing with the little girl, mouthed to him to fuck off.

"Well, yeah. You caught me a little off guard." she confessed, still shocked to hear how Robyn was having a full conversation with Lorcan. They couldn't hear anything of what she was actually saying, but even just the fact she was talking to someone seemed to have Aelin unsettled.

She returned her attention to Rowan and let out a breath that sounded more like a giggle, "I've never heard her laugh before."

He nodded, blushing a little at the teacher's surprised but relieved tone.

"I'm sure the dean warned you about the problem she has," he said in a low voice. He grimaced at her poor choice of words, "I mean, not problem, but the difficulty she finds in interacting with people she doesn't know."

Liar, he told himself. Robyn hadn't spoken to anyone but him and Lorcan since the day Lyria had died. It wasn't a difficulty, but a response to the trauma that prevented her from speaking to anyone who wasn't part of her immediate family.

"I know, I know. We've been looking for solutions together." she informed him. "I give her a white board every morning. Come on, I'll show you." she turned to the desk they were sitting at earlier and raised the magnetic board, on which a few words were scribbled on. "I'll write here what she might need. Yes. No. I need to go to the bathroom. I'm thirsty. I'm hungry." she read, listing the various options. Rowan gaped. "We've only just started going over the alphabet for a second time, so she can't really read or write yet, as I imagine you know, but the little drawings next to each sentence help her."

She continued talking, but he couldn't quite follow.

The woman in front of him - aside from being breathtakingly beautiful - had done as much as she could to help her child with communication.

"Mr. Whitethorn-"

"Rowan. Please, call me Rowan." he said, clearing his throat once he realized how hoarse it sounded to his ears. Lorcan walked up to them at that point, still holding Robyn in his arms and positioned himself next to him, letting their shoulders touch in a comforting way.

"Call me Aelin, then," she smiled at them both. Then she made a small grimace, turning to Rowan, "I wanted to ask if it bothered you, that I sought a solution like that. Maybe I put her in distress, embarrassed her. I'm sorry if I gave you the impression that I wanted to solve this on my own. I really wanted to discuss it with you, with your husband too, to avoid misunderstandings. Maybe we could arrange a meeting."

He was about to tell her that she had given him the exact opposite of annoyance, that he had been more than pleased that she had helped Robyn this way, when her words finally registered.

Lorcan, beside him, had opened his mouth wide and his lips were slowly bending into a mischievous smile.

Rowan furrowed his brow, "I'm sorry, what?"

Aelin's smile seemed to falter. "A meeting? With you? To talk about how to handle the situation," then she shifted her gaze to Lorcan, "You're more than welcome to join as well. I didn't know Robyn had two dads, I apologise for assuming Robyn had a mum and dad. That was very rude of me-"

"I love this," Lorcan whispered, laughing in shock. He turned to Rowan with eyes that sparkled with amusement, "I would definitely be the top."

Rowan looked at him with an expression of complete shock on his face, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Robyn gasped, opening her eyes wide and bringing a hand to her mouth, pointing then to Rowan's.

"Yeah, sorry, love. I shouldn't have said the bad word." he apologised, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. He turned back to Miss Galathynius, "I'm sorry to have to disappoint you, but we're not married."

"No need to lie, sweetie. I'm sure Aelin," he gave her a knowing look, "doesn't mind at all about our relationship status."

Aelin nodded, "Well, yes. That doesn't change anything. Mr..." she turned to Lorcan, searching for a name.

"Salvaterre."

"Mr. Salvaterre can still attend. The fact that you are not yet married is no reason why you cannot both be present at the meeting. You don't have to worry, we are a very tolerant school and if anyone bothers you, you can come directly to me."

A sound of sheer glee escaped Lorcan.

Aelin continued, "I mean it. I was pleased to see both of you today. I was also pleased to see Robyn smiling so much." she concluded, looking the little one in the face.

Rowan took a deep breath, bracing himself, "No, I meant, we're not a couple. We're not gay. He's her uncle."

The woman's blonde eyebrows shot up and a second later she turned almost as red as the dress Robyn was wearing as Lorcan shook his head muttering something very much like 'you're no fun', which made Robyn giggle.

"Why did you even get off the car?" he asked him exasperated.

Lorcan shrugged, "Because I missed my little bean, you monster." he replied, clutching Robyn to his chest. The little girl clutched Lorcan's shirt in her chubby little hands and Rowan huffed, shaking his head.

Aelin brought her hands to her face, leaning against the desk behind her. She shook her head, her face still hidden, "Oh, god. I'm so sorry."

Lorcan let out a dry laugh, "Don't worry about it. It was fun while it lasted." then he turned to Rowan again, who was still trying to recover from the idea of being involved in a relationship with his friend, "You're really no fun."

"Yeah, no fun dad." repeated Robyn.

Silence fell over the class. Rowan looked at her with wide eyes and blinked once, twice. Robyn was staring at him with a sweet scowl that mimicked so much that of the man who was still holding her, but Rowan couldn't get over the fact that his daughter had spoken while Aelin was still beside them.

He was about to talk, noticing how Robyn had started squirming in Lorcan's arms, when there was a knock at the door.

They both turned, Aelin peering over Rowan's shoulder, and saw the figure of a petite girl with black hair and eyes standing in the doorway, watching them with her head slightly bent to the side. She had a tag on her t-shirt that was too colourful to belong to someone who didn't work in a school with children, so he guessed she was a teacher herself. Besides, Rowan felt like he'd seen her elsewhere. Probably every day when he picked Robyn up from school, he said to himself.

"I know you're not supposed to eavesdrop but I stopped by earlier and heard you were a couple of dads," she said by way of introduction. "I just wanted to reassure you that the school is an extremely safe place. I'm the one who did most of the interviews with the parents," that's where they had met then, "and one of the questions that is asked is just about the tolerance of the people who will be attending the school."

Aelin watched her, remaining silent the whole time and putting on an amused smile, nodded, "That's what I was telling them. How tolerant the school is. They make such a cute couple, don't you think, Elide?"

Rowan turned to her, arching an eyebrow, silently asking her what she was doing. The woman, as if she could truly understand what he was trying to convey to her, nodded her head towards Lorcan, who Rowan only then noticed was standing weirdly, his eyes fixed on the woman in the doorway.

He grinned, deciding to take his revenge right away. "Oh, yes. Thank you so much for the reassurance," Rowan began to play along as well. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lorcan turn towards him, dropping Robyn to the floor, who made a disapproving noise at being dumped so suddenly. "We are happy to know that this school is a safe place for our daughter. And for us."

Elide offered him a blinding smile, "Good. I'm happy to hear that you are pleased so far. And I am happy that Aelin is the one who is taking your daughter's class. She's the best one here."

Rowan didn't know her yet, but he knew the thing Elide had just said could only be true.

"Well," she said again, giving them an apologetic smile, "I really must go now, but if you need anything, you can find all my contact details on the website. Have a nice day!"

Aelin and Rowan said their goodbyes, thanking her. Lorcan took a while to recover, but when he realised he was staring into empty space he ran towards the door, almost stepping on little Robyn, who was moved by Aelin.

"We are very much not gay, miss!" he shouted into the hallway. Aelin, now beside him and with a hand on Robyn's shoulder, cackled. With Lorcan's infinite luck, someone walked by just then and gave him a stern look. "Oh, shut up ma'am. I'm an ally. The best ally."

Rowan shook his head as Lorcan launched himself in pursuit of the poor teacher and burst out laughing when he heard him shout, "I'm not homophobic! I'm willing to suck someone's cock if I have to prove it to you!"

Aelin opened her mouth wide before bursting out laughing in turn.

Robyn, seeing both adults so happy, giggled too and Rowan bent down to pick her up. The little girl laid her full head of white-light hair on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

She was tired and Rowan really needed to get her home to sleep.

He glanced at Aelin and reduced his lips to a thin line, "I'm sorry about the commotion, I'll try not to bring him into the building again. Even if it means tying him to the seat."

The soft laugh she gave made something tighten in his chest. He frowned.

Aelin didn't seem to notice the effect she had on him, "Don't worry, Elide is crazy about fools like him. If he says the right things, we might start seeing each other outside of school too."

Rowan nodded, now too caught up in the thought of having to take Robyn home to focus on anything else.

They agreed on when to hold the parent-teacher meeting and then he grabbed Robyn's backpack, walking towards the exit.

He was thoughtless as he reached into his pocket for his keys and balanced everything else - including the girl - on his other arm, but when Robyn's hand brushed his cheek, he looked down and his eyes met their twins. Green against green.

"What is it?"

The little girl's voice never stopped making him smile. Each time was like the first time she had said dada.

"I really like her."

Rowan frowned, "Who?"

"Miss Aelin." she whispered, almost as if she was afraid they might hear her.

He smiled at her, "Yeah? You like her?"

"She's nice to me."

Rowan had to put her down as he opened the door and let her get into the back seats by herself.

"I'm glad she's treating you well, love," he let her know, buckling her in.

He hoped she'd tell him more about her new teacher, but like any kid her age, the topic of conversation couldn't last for more than four lines apiece, "Where's Uncle Lorcan?"

Rowan snorted, "No idea, little bird."

Robyn nodded, "Elide is pretty too."

And as if those words had summoned him, Lorcan appeared beside the car, making them both scream. He entered the car in a heartbeat and turned to his daughter, who was still settling into the seat. "Do you know Miss Lochan?"

But before she could answer him, Rowan had entered the car in turn and smacked the back of his head, which made the Robyn giggle, "You're not using my daughter as your wingman. Now stop it and buckle up."

Lorcan gave him a gentle push, before doing as he was told and for once he was happy he'd convinced him to do something.

Or at least, Rowan thought he had convinced him.

"What if I left you a note to deliver to Miss Lochan, Rob? Would you be up for it?"

Rowan knew, even without looking at her, that she was nodding emphatically.

Keeping his eyes on the road, he murmured, "Could you stop calling my daughter Rob, please? You'll give her an existential crisis."

Lorcan clicked his tongue against his palate, "Rowan, I'm not giving her a damn thing. We live in this new world, okay? Your daughter could be called Simon and still be a beautiful princess. Grow up and educate yourself before you talk shit."

"Aaaah!" shouted Robyn, "Bad word!"

Rowan sighed and shook his head, but still he was smiling.

This was his life. Had been for the past two years.

And he wouldn't change it for the world.

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[ilyasorokinn]

(day 6) christmas sweaters , oliver ekman-larsson

note, this fic is part of my 14 days of christmas. check out this masterlist if you're interested. none of these fics in this series are connected, they are all standalone. pair, oliver ekman-larsson x reader summary, oliver comes home with y/n for the holidays, but there's one thing she left out. y/n's mom has a stockpile of christmas sweaters, one from each year since her older brother was born. and when she heard oliver was coming over, she immediately ordered one for him too. warnings, one curse word (is ass a curse word?) word count, 1277 words

(gif not mine)

"So, remind me again, who's coming?" Oliver asked as he took the seat next to you in the practically empty airport. You were traveling a few days before Christmas, and you'd think it would be crowded, but for some reason, it wasn't.

"Well, us, my mom, my dad, my brother, and his wife and two kids, my sister and maybe her boyfriend, and lastly, my grandma and grandpa." You listed.

"Okay, so a full house." Oliver nodded along.

"Yep." You nodded, taking a sip of your drink.

"Did you pack all the gifts?" He asked.

"I did." You nodded, "Geez, you'd think I'd be nervous about these things, but you're the one who's nervous." You joked.

"I have every right to panic." He stood back up and began his pacing again, "This is the first year we're spending Christmas with your family."

"I know, but it's not like you've never met them before. We've spent Thanksgiving with them and we've spent summer with them before. Just breath." You tried to reassure your boyfriend.

He took a deep breath and sat back down in the seat next to you. You handed him your coffee, which he greedily shot back, "Hey!"

"I'm the one panicking here," Oliver repeated. You only sighed, sitting back in the chair.

-

You got out of the Uber and walked up the small rock path to the door of your childhood home. Before you could even knock your mom was ripping the door open and enveloping you in a hug.

"Oh, hi, mom." You laughed, dropping your suitcase handle and wrapping your arms around her.

"We haven't seen you in so long." She murmured.

"We saw you a month ago." You reminded her.

"I know, but that was so long ago." She squeezed you tighter before pulling away so she could look at you. She spotted Oliver behind you and quite literally pushed you aside.

"Oh, Oliver." She wrapped her arms around him.

".2 seconds ago you were so excited to see me." You muttered. Your dad came out of the kitchen, an apron tied around his waist.

"I thought I heard you come in." He beamed, wrapping his arms around you.

"Hi, dad." You smiled.

"How was the flight? Are you tired? We've your room all set up." She told Oliver, who looked slightly overwhelmed.

"Geez, Celine, let them breathe." Your dad laughed, pulling away from you, and looked over to Oliver, "Good to see you again, Oliver."

"And you as well, Mr. Y/L/N." Oliver smiled.

"Oh, please, call me Rod."

"All right." Oliver nodded, letting out a relieved sigh when your dad pulled away. He took his spot next to you, and he grabbed your hand.

"Your room is all set if you guys want to get settled in. Your sweaters are on your bed, so put them on then come back down. I want to see if they fit. If not, I'll fix it." Your mother pushed you upstairs.

"Sweaters?" Oliver asked confused.

"You didn't tell him about the sweaters?" Your father asked.

"Well...I..." You stuttered, trying to find the words.

"Y/N'll tell you upstairs." Your father cut in. A timer went off in the kitchen, and he was off, "Those are my potatoes." He rushed off to the kitchen.

"I can't believe you didn't tell him about the sweaters." Your mother playfully glared as she made her way back into the living room where he previously was.

"What sweaters?" Oliver asked again.

You chuckled, walking into your bedroom, where two Christmas sweaters were sitting on your bed, "My mom always buys family Christmas sweaters. She gets them for every family member who celebrates with us."

"She got one for me?" Oliver asked, almost tearfully as he examined the sweater.

"Yeah, of course she did. You're a part of this family now." You smiled, "I've never brought a guy home until you, so you're very special."

"Oh, I feel very special." Oliver joked.

"Just put the sweater on." You rolled your eyes and smiled as you walked out of your childhood room and back down to the living room, already wearing your sweater.

Oliver quickly followed, slipping his sweater on as he stumbled down the stairs, "Oh, look at the two of you." Your mother gushed, already reaching for her camera.

"Mom..." You sighed.

"Oh, let her." Your father voiced from the kitchen. Oliver chuckled, pressing a kiss to your head as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, smiling for the photo.

-

The next day, everyone else had arrived and the house was lively. Tons of gifts were under the tree, all the Christmas lights were turned on, there were snow angels and snowmen in the front yard, and the house smelled like hot chocolate and cinnamon.

"Now can we open presents, grandma?" Your niece, Angela asked, tugging on your mother's shirt.

She laughed, "Yes, go wait in the living room." Both your niece and nephew sprinted into the living room as the rest of you congregated to the living room. All of you were decked out in your Christmas sweaters.

Your sister-in-law and mother made quick work of passing out all the gifts to the designated people. The moment presents were presented to Angela and Henry, they were tearing the wrapping paper off.

Your mother handed you a gift with a knowing smile on her face. You raised a brow, but read the name tag of who it was from, "I thought were already gave each other our gifts." You glanced over at Oliver.

He only shrugged with a smirk. You ripped the paper off to reveal what looked like a ring box. Your breathing hitched as you opened the lid, "Before you panic, it's not an engagement ring." You laughed, "It's a promise ring of sorts." He explained.

"And if you look inside, there's an inscription." He pointed. You pulled out the ring and on the inside was your favorite quote, from Pride and Prejudice. It read, "You have bewitched me body and soul and I love, love, love you."

"Ollie." You laughed, wrapping your arms around his neck.

"You like it?" He teased.

"I love it." You pulled away, kissing him on the cheek.

After all the presents were opened, your brother explained the tech item he had gotten for your mom and dad. Your sister was helping your grandparents with their Alexa speaker and your sister-in-law was playing with Henry and Angela.

You and Oliver watched everything, just enjoying the moment wrapped up in each other's arms, "I really like my ring. Thank you, Ollie."

"I'm glad." He smiled, pressing another kiss to your forehead.

"Family photo!" Your mother announced. Oliver unwrapped himself from you and stood up.

"I'll take it." He volunteered.

"What're you talking about? You're gonna be in the photo." Your mother smacked his hands away.

"Really, it's fine. I can take it." He insisted.

"Sit your ass back down, Oliver." Your mother pushed him back in your direction. She set the camera up, and hit the capture button, then quickly got into her spot next to your dad. You could hear the countdown, then felt the flash.

She got up and examined the photo, "Oh, it's perfect." She gushed.

You looked up at your boyfriend, "You're a part of this family, you know." You told him.

"I guess so. It's gonna take some time to settle in, though." He admitted.

"Well, get used to it. You're stuck with me now. We can never break up, like ever." You told him.

He laughed, "It's a good thing I don't plan on it." You smiled, wrapping your arms around his waist, and hugged him close.

-

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taylor's 14 days of christmas masterlist!

[dreamifics]

Steve Harrington x Reader

Casuality

Just some fluff, angst and smut

Warning: mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activity, a little cursing

How did me and Y/N ended making out in my pool? Bad decisions and booze, that's the answer. I wanted it to stop, but it was good.. Too damn good. I can taste in her mouth the bitterness of the alcohol we drank a while ago. The mix of beer and vodka was still lingering in her mouth.

My hands run in her legs, as her hands tug my hair. There were fire igniting inside us, it was burning with lust and adrenaline. A low moan escapes her mouth, this added fuel to the fire inside us. We both knew that we'd regret this in the morning, but we didn't stop.

Y/N Henderson..

I'm close to her brother, but not to her. We fought monster beside each other, she was close to Robin, Nancy and Jonathan. But not to me, that's why I'm surprised when she arrived in my doorsteps, alcohol in her hands.

"Hey, Steviee!Wanna run around town and get smashed?"

She caught me off guard but I agreed, I was always intrigued by her. I never noticed her in high school but she seems to know everything about me.

"Oh, come on!Steve!I'm not stupid!I know you use that shitty shampoo and conditioner!"

"It's not shitty!It's the real deal!"

"Whatever, let's go back to your house and take a dip in your fancy pool!"

My mind snapped back as we moved to my bed, Y/N's heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear from her. We drop in my bed, we knew were going to spend all night here. The sheets wrapped around our naked bodies, legs entangled with each others. Moans filling the room, sweats dripping from our hot naked body. We were drunk and stupid. Sobriety and rational thinking was out the window. This night was filled with bad decisions and bad decisions only.

Days have passed since that night, we decided to continue the relationship but we're keeping it casual. We're now sitting in my car, music blasting on the stereo on a low volume. She was looking blankly on the window as I drive her to campus.

"What are you thinking about?" I questioned, snapping her out of her trance. She smiled at me as she relaxed into the passenger seat.

"Whatever your thinking about.."

"Dustin moaning really weird last night?" I joked causing her to glare at me.

"No, but now that's what I'm thinking.." I chuckled at her response as I paid attention to the road.

"Hey, do you want to have a sleep over tonight?"

"Sleepover?What are you ten?Do you also want to braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight?" Her witty remarks always get me laughing, that's one thing I like about you Y/N..

"Come on, we're not gonna be sleeping anyway.." I pleaded.

"Ooh, Stevie gonnna give me the lovey dovey!" She said in a baby voice. Gotta admit, that was weird as hell.

"Oh dear god.." I mumbled under my breath.

"What's that Harrington?" Her glares could literally kill someone, I just gave her an innocent smile, she just rolled her eyes.

"Nothing.."

"I'll see you tonight, then.."

A comfortable silence filled the ambiance of the car, if I know Y/N and I think I do, she'll try to rummage her brain for something to talk to--.

"What was Dustin moaning about?" There it is..

"Oh dear god.." I just shake my head in amusement.

The first time I had ever seen you cry was the day we got home from campus, snots and tears were everywhere. I never saw you cry, even when we almost died twice while trying to save the world. Not a one single tear, but now your here infront of me. Tears in your eyes, as you sobbed into my chest. I don't know what to do, should I comfort you?

"What happend?" I finally asked the lingering thought in my head.

"I saw Dad with his brand new family.."

Y/N's father..

I never really met him but to what I gather from Y/N and Dustin is that he's a coward. He left his family to be with another woman.. Putting the three of you to emotional trauma and abuse.

"I'm sorry.." That's all I could say..

"After all what he did to Mom and Dustin, he have the audacity to be happy while Mom cover up the pain with cats.."

"I hate my dad, I swear if he ever comes back, I'll feed him to the demogorgons.. Why does this always happen to me? Can everything be just fine again?"

I hate seeing her like this.. What should I say? I can't really relate to her, my parents still stood by me.

"I'd do whatever I could do, if you want to get wasted, I'll do it with you, If you want to burn your dad's house, I'll be down with that. Just don't cry, I can't stand seeing you like this."

A small laugh erupted from her, moving beside me, she lay her head into my shoulders.

"Thanks for the reassurance Harrington.."

"That's what I'm here for.."

"Come on Steve, let's make out in your pool.." Y/N stands up, and gave me her hand, I gladly accepted it.

"Why do you have to ruin the mood?"

"How's that ruining the mood?If anything, I'm building the mood." She said in a sultry and teasing voice. I rolled my eyes, does she think I'll get turned on by that. She was crying just a moment ago, she was releasing snots.

"I think you have daddy issues, love.." It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"We all have daddy issues.." I grab her cheeks and peck her lips.

"We both have daddy issues, then." She just gave me the most precious smile that ever existed.. Oh, God. How I love you.

The first fight we had was also our last, it was your birthday. We were hanging out in your room, laying in her bed as the television played Star Wars. The pale moon was dancing all throughout the room, I knew there was something bothering me, we've been doing this for months, keeping everything casual. I'm growing tired of the constant thought that someone will take her away from me.. Don't get me wrong, I love Y/N, I'm not sure how she feel about me though. Y/N's like a close book, hard to read. So many things that I wish I knew, but there's so many walls that I can't break through. ( Where the swifties at? )

"Are you okay?" Y/N soft voice pulled me out of my head.

Am I really okay?No, why? I want us to be in a committed relationship, where someone can't take you away from me. That's how much I love you..

"Nothing, just thinking about us.." A small smile tugged in her lips as she scoot closer.

"What about us?" She asked, her brows wiggling.

"Being casual and all.." The smile she had falter, she moved away from me, running her hands through her hair.

"You know I'm not ready yet.."

"You always say that."

"Steve!I can't have this exact same conversation with you over and over again!" And here we are, fighting.. The anger inside me flicked open, I know it won't do good but I still went ahead and got mad.

"Why can't you say it once?!" Our shouts echoed through the whole house, her Mom is probably worried about her.

"What can't I say?!" She asked confused and angry at the samw time.

"That you love me!" The whole room suddenly got quiet, the look in Y/N's face was hard to read. Are you shocked? Scared? Angry? What? Do you love me like I love you? Please, say the words that I want--no, what I need to hear.

"Steve, we both know that we agreed to keep things casual.." She finally spoke, but not the words that came out was not what I needed.

"Casual?We've been together for almost a year now, how much more casual do you want it to get?"

"I--Steve, I can't do this now.." She backs away from me, opening her door wide open for me to leave.

"Why?" That's all that exited my mouth..

"Because I need space!" She snaps, a involuntary scoff left my lips.

"Space from what?!We barely have a relationship!"

"Just get away!I can't believe your pressuring me!" She shouts, but I stayed to say the words I'll regret..

"Let's just end whatever the fuck this is!"

"Fine!" She screamed as she walks up to me and pushed me out of her room.. Reaching the end of her door, she pushed me. I stumbled but managed to bounce back, before I can even say another word she slammed the door. And there's that..

"Steve?" Dustin came out of his room, a worried expression painted in his face.

"Are you and Y/N okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a--" I stopped at the middle of the sentence, my mouth refused to let the words escape.

"A what?" He questioned.

A break up..

"Nothing, it's nothing.." I lied..

I didn't know why I couldn't say the words. I clearly never wanted this to happen, I didn't know what happend. And I can't take it back, what's done is done..

Life with Y/N was hard, but life without her is much harder. Was I in the wrong? I shouldn't have pressure her, all I wanted is to go up at her house. But Dustin told me, she was really busy with a lot of schoolworks. Where did it get so complicated?

I was walking home when I saw Y/N, just standing in my porch front step. She seems fidgety and nervous, those sweet eyes seem to notice me. Y/N was wearing one of my Van Halen shirts, with a short and just some sneakers. You always looked beautiful in my shirts..

"Steve.." I love how she says my name, but I love it more if she screams my name. Flashes of her naked body grinding on me suddenly appeared on my head. This was not the time but I couldn't help it. I miss her..

"Hey.." I greet..

"I just wanted to--"

"I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't pressure you like that.." I cut her off, I'm right. There's no need to apologize, I was in the wrong. I pressured her when I agreed to keep it casual.

"Still, I'm sorry too.." Y/N was always nice, never letting her pride get in the way of her life.. An eerie silence once filled our conversation, I never wanted this but maybe..

"Maybe it's best if I give you the space you nee--"

"I love you.." She cuts me off..

"Huh?" My mind went blank, my eyes blink rapidly as I try to sink in the three words you just dropped.

"I don't need space, I love you Steve Harrington.." She confessed cheekily, a small smile appeared on our face.

"I love you too.." She just smiles at me, but she was waiting for something. What is it? A ring, maybe? But this is not a proposal..

"What are you waiting for?Kiss me."

Ohh, right.. The way I moved was slow, I think she grew impatient because you pulled me and our lips collided into one. The way your lips was covered in the strawberry chapstick I gave you, this was my favorite thing in the world. I slid my tongue, it danced with yours. I pushed you in my door, opening it in the process.

When it burst open, we celebrated by going into my bed. Pushing Y/N into the bed was pretty arousing. We didn't need words or foreplay, we're pretty straightforward. Our lips once connected again, heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear.

We slowly undressed each other, our lips was still intact, rushing into things was never really your motto. I felt your skin made contact with mine, I felt the heat from your body. My hands were making their way to her tender breasts, I slowly massaged it until the nipples turned like tiny stones. A loud moan came out from her mouth, I couldn't resist and licked them, biting them playfully. Another moan came out from her sweet lips, I stopped as I took out my hard and mounting manhood, I rest it unto her thighs. Y/N sits up, looking at me with questions in those eyes.

"What happend?You got tired?" Y/N whisper in her sultry voice.

"Taunting me?Really?"

Before she can even respond I got on top of bed and smirked, your naked body was softly laying in my bed. This made me harder, you're so perfect in every way. My hands are already in your legs, spreading it wide and open. I can see you closing your eyes at my touch, I drove my two fingers inside her. She moans with the contact it made, eyes rolled in the back of her head. I ravish her breast with my mouth as my fingers interact inside her.

"Fuck, Steve!"

I was hitting the right places, she was twisting left and right, her hands were gripping my sheets, I pulled my fingers out and replaced it with my organ. A loud piercing moan escapes her lips as I pump into her, every thrust was in sync with her breathing. I slowly grunt as I pump harder and deeper into her, I yank her legs back, as my other hand gripped her ass. I dug myself further into her, setting off another shattering moan.

"Steve, faster."

I increasing the speed, she wrapped her arms around my back, her nails digging into my skin. Pain and Pleasure was a great mixture for me. I hit every possible spot inside her, the nails dug deeper as I thrust harder and much more deeper. The speed increased once again, as I feel both of our climax building up inside, it can explode any second now. Every thrust I make, every moan she screams, and every sweat that drips was a cherry on top.

"Fuck, I'm coming!"

With that we both exploded into each other, I felt a warm liquid flows between her legs and mine. A small smile appeared on her lips as we were both out of breath, her hair was all disheveled.

"Well, that was fun.." She whisper, her voice hoarsed from all the moaning she did.

"I can see.." I joked causing her cheeks to blush..

"Shut up!"

I pulled out, she shivered at that action. I laid next to her, she looks at me with love and compassion. She pecked a kiss in my lips, cuddling besides me as the moon peaked through my windows. Y/N deserves every love and adoration in the world, I'm going to marry you someday..

This is my first smut ever, I hope it was..nice? If there's anything wrong I did in the smut, you can tell me, I'll do anything to improve it! I also accept request, any characters! Marvels, DC, B99, FRIENDS, Criminal Minds, TBBT, Community, basically anything! I accept anything! You can leave a comment or give me an ask!

Taglist

@sydneekomspacekru

[ashasmonsters]

The Skateboarder

Female reader x Female orc (Morn)

Citrus rating: Lemon

Content: brief alcohol, stupid memes

Words: 9k

Morn reached between the legs of some intertwined partygoers, retrieved a beer from the strategically placed cooler, then opened it on the strike plate of the living room door. Some of it foamed out and fell on the carpet with the bottle cap but she didn't seem to care. The owners of the sorority house didn't care either.

"...so yeah, she said I stank and got up and left." Morn finished her tale of an attempted one-night stand.

"She didn't even touch you yet?" You asked, leaning in close so she could hear you over the thumping music. As was usual for parties like these, you and Morn had carved out a corner where you could be ignored by everyone else and gossip.

"Well, yeah, but not below the belt. That's what pissed me off. She was all over me all night and as soon as I say I want her to go down on me, she insults me and leaves."

"I mean..." you grinned, unable to resist, "did you stink down there, though?"

Morn punched your shoulder and chuckled.

"Fuck off, it's not like roses and daffodils are the norm. You know, it's like I always say..." It was Morn's turn to grin mischievously.

"Don't fucking say it. I swear to God, Morn. I'm going to laugh really hard and everyone's going to look at me weird. " You pleaded. You knew what would come next; Morn's favorite turn of phrase that she managed to use more often than one would think.

"—like I always say, good pussy smells like the heat coming out of the PS4."

You were true to your word. As you caught your breath between peals of laughter, a few partygoers did in fact stare at you. Despite your prior protests, the stares didn't bother you that much. Here in Morn's gossip corner, all that mattered was whiling the time away until the other half of your group was ready to leave. Dera's whereabouts were unknown but Lash was visible in the corner of the room.

"Looks like Lash's plan is all coming together." You noted. Morn turned to look as well; she was aggressively making out with an Elf boy. He licked her tusks. You grimaced.

"Goddamn. When Lash wants something she gets it."

"She mentioned that guy... what, like, yesterday?" You asked. "From staring at him across the classroom to heavy petting in less than twenty-four hours. That's a new record."

"Makes me feel like I'm not even the same species," Morn complained, finally turning away from Lash's public display of affection. "I know Orc boldness is a stereotype but it's not one I'd mind living up to."

"That's not Orc boldness, that's Lash boldness," you chortled. "Don't be down on yourself for not having it. Besides, she's not looking for a one-night deal; if that Elf doesn't call her back tomorrow she's gonna have her week ruined."

"I guess that's true..." Morn sighed.

"Morn." You firmly squeezed her shoulder and stared at her. "I love Lash to death, but you've never called me at three in the morning crying over the end of a week-and-a-half-long relationship. It's okay to not be dating a new person all the time."

"Yeah, I know." She finished her beer and smiled a bit.

"Besides, if you were hunting down an object of desire every time we were at a party, I'd have no one to chill with. Morn's Gossip Corner is the only thing getting me out of the dorm on Friday nights."

"I'm glad to be of service." She dramatically saluted. "You're right, though. I guess it's just the party atmosphere that makes me forget sleeping around and dating have drawbacks."

"Definitely the party vibe getting to you," you affirmed. "Speaking of sleeping around, though... where's Dera?"

"If I had to guess, upstairs. Text her." Morn suggested.

You pulled out your phone and opened the group chat, aptly titled "THA HOOLIGANZ 👩‍💻👩‍✈️👩‍⚕️🕵️‍♀️" and sent a message:

You: dera where tf are u, its almost been an hour

Almost immediately the indicator that Dera was typing popped up, followed by her reply:

Dera: upstairs. firbolg football player. huge 🍆

"Oh, god." You gagged. Morn pulled out her phone in response to see the cause, then had a similar reaction. She started tapping away at her phone's keyboard.

Morn: damn, dera, chill. we just wanted to make sure you were ok.

The typing indicator preceded yet another reply from Dera.

Dera: lol ok mom

"She's got an attitude tonight, sheesh." Morn shook her head and put her phone away.

"I think tonight an early exit might be a good idea. Dera and Lash seem pretty occupied," you said. You couldn't find Lash or her Elven paramour in the room anymore.

"I think you're right. Text the group and tell 'em we're leaving."

You nodded and did so, receiving 👍 responses from both Dera and Lash after a short pause.

"Let's go." You got up from your place on the sunken-in couch and helped Morn up. The two of you navigated through the fire code-violating sorority house to the front door, where you met the cool night air and the odor of cigarettes. Morn's skateboard was next to yours, propped against the thick trunk of a long-dead tree.

"I don't wanna go back to the dorms yet. It's not that late," Morn said, checking her watch.

"Pizza?" You suggested.

"Pizza."

Before long you were both skating into the night. The entire university town was built into the side of a mountain with the greek life houses at the top, making it a breeze to fashionably exit parties like this one. There were a few drunken revelers to dodge on the way down, but once you cleared the sororities and fraternities it was smooth skating. The incandescent streetlights flew past as century-old houses gave way to newer corner stores and parks. Before long, you and Morn were skating through the thick of the city on a course set for Main Street.

The pleasant sound of plastic wheels on stamped concrete was soon married with the aroma of cheap, indulgent pizza. You wouldn't have needed any senses other than smell to know you arrived at your destination: "Get Stuffed," the type of place where a slice was a dollar and you could write on the walls. As was usual for the time when Friday became Saturday, it was packed with the university crowd; too packed to even sit inside.

You and Morn shimmied to the counter and ordered your usuals. Fortunately, Get Stuffed had nailed speedy service and it was only a few short moments before you were on your way out with greasy pizza on flimsy paper plates. You set your skateboards on the curb and sat on them, side-by-side.

"Thanks for fleeing with me," Morn said, folding her slice of pizza and tucking her loose black curls behind her ear.

"Anytime, Morn." You mimicked her pizza fold before noticing something about the beanie she wore. It was oddly familiar, so you delayed your first bite. "Hey, where's that beanie from?" Morn looked at you, chewing.

"This thing?" She tugged at the chunky burgundy yarn. "You should know."

"I should know?" You mused, finally chewing on your first bite of pizza. It was just as greasy and gratifying as you expected it to be. Then, as realization dawned on you, it almost fell out of your mouth. "You kept that thing for this long?!"

"Of course. It's a good beanie. It's lasted... what, since second grade?" She smirked. "It's one of the best birthday gifts I've gotten. Thanks, by the way."

"Thank you for holding onto it," you countered. "The memories... wow."

"That was the birthday party where we had a sleepover afterward. We played tag, and—"

"Oh, no," you moaned, remembering.

"...you ran so hard that you threw up." Morn giggled. Your cheeks still burned at the vivid memory. You almost forgot crocheting Morn's beanie, but you never forget throwing up at someone's birthday party.

"It's crazy we've been friends for so long." You gracefully changed the subject and started working on your pizza slice in earnest.

"It's not that crazy. You've always been there for me."

"I mean... I try..." you were hiding your blush, feeling warm as Morn readied to shower you with compliments.

"Like the time Chrissie Becker rejected my invitation to prom. You started crying when I started crying, and I hadn't even told you what happened yet." Morn giggled warmly. "Or when our families went camping together and you let me share your sleeping bag when I forgot mine."

"I couldn't just let you sleep on the ground!" you sheepishly defended yourself against the flattery.

"Even though you knew I kicked in my sleep." Morn looked up from her plate and smiled at you, her tusks glinting under the streetlights.

"You're more important to me than my shins," you said quietly.

"Hah!" Morn laughed heartily, bumping her skateboard into yours and wrapping an arm around you. "You're more important to me than my shins."

In Morn's embrace there on the sidewalk, you melted. She had such a way of effortlessly making you feel safe and loved. She had been there for you as well several times and was damn good at it. You enjoyed the feeling so much that you just sat there quietly until she got a little worried.

"Hey, did I tease you too much?" Her wry grin had been replaced with a slight frown and sympathetic brow.

"No, no..." you reassured her, savoring the dreamy feeling. "It's all good. I'm glad you're here with me. I'm glad we're... friends," you stumbled a bit over the last word.

"Me too," she gave your shoulder a little squeeze.

You both finished your pizza in silence, enjoying each others' side and the ambiance of the city street. After a moment you both tossed the greasy plates into a trash can and skateboarded back to the dorms. The courtyard was where your paths diverged, and after bidding one another goodnight and farewell, you parted. You shared your bed that night with a familiar feeling. Embarrassment, shame, and maybe even guilt. All for the way your heart skipped a beat when she put an arm around you, or the unstoppable smile when she recounted her memories of you. You weren't super familiar with love, at least not in the way Lash and Dera were, but the way Morn made you feel in recent months was more than simple friendship. You agonized over the thought that she wouldn't return those feelings. It was a miracle you managed to sleep at all.

Saturday morning arrived, and with it, a text. You groggily pulled your phone into bed with you to read it after rubbing the sleep from your eyes. It was from THA HOOLIGANZ.

Dera: hey sorry about my sass last nite. i figured y'all left early and that's cool, i was kinda doing my own thing anyway

Lash: LOL sameeee. anyway, does anyone want to meet up for coffee or something? i’d rather be hungover around you guys than my parents 😭

You considered the offer; it would be nice to actually see Lash and Dera after missing them last night. Your moment on the curb with Morn still bothered you, and a distraction from that would be nice.

You: im down, where u wanna go

Dera: u know that cute little cafe on that corner? main street i think?? the one thats literally 100% pink???

Morn: you're thinking of tokidoki cafe! i'm down to go, that’s my spot!

You sighed. This outing wouldn't be very good for distracting you from Morn if Morn was seated across from you.

Dera: thats the one. lets gooooooo

Lash: yes. literally right now. start running

Morn: thanks, but I think I'll skate there. see y'all in a bit

You: same

The morning air was crisp and cool in the way spring mornings always were. It was a shame Lash and Dera were too busy downing aspirin and chugging water to truly enjoy it. Your skateboard served you well as a means of transport on mornings like this; you and your friends were the rare few students who didn't usually sleep in on Saturdays, so you enjoyed the empty sidewalks. The soft plastic wheels gripped the concrete well enough to accommodate any street corners.

The cafe was 100% pink, as promised. The sweet, pillowy smell of crepes mingled with the robust aroma of coffee and met you as you hopped off your skateboard. The tiny size of the place made it easy to tell you were the first to arrive. You ordered the latte-crepe combo that took up the most space on the menu and sat while you waited. You were idly scrolling through your phone when you heard the rhythmic thumping of a skateboard wheels on slabs of sidewalk.

She looked painfully good as she stepped through the cafe's front door. The morning sun made her long black hair golden around the edges and she still wore that damn beanie. Her tusks poked out from her smiling lips when her eyes met yours. Illuminated by sunbeams, her well-toned arm showed every muscle and vein as she gripped her skateboard by the trucks to carry it in.

"Good morning!" she beamed at you. The employee behind the counter smiled at her knowingly.

"The usual, Morn?" he asked.

"Yep!" She quickly answered before sitting across from you, the pins on her denim jacket jingling. "You got here quickly."

"Yeah..." you answered weakly, your conversational skills still recovering from the way Morn held you last night.

"You weren't drinking last night, were you? You alright?" Of course, Morn immediately picked up that something was the matter. It would be stranger if she didn't.

"I'm fine. Where are Lash and Dera?" You deflected. As if on cue, your phone buzzed. THA HOOLIGANZ chimed in.

Lash: lol srry, throwing up. cant make it

Dera: yeah same.

"Unbelievable. Those girls can't seem to show up anywhere lately." Morn had a slightly disapproving tone. She tapped away on her phone.

Morn: this is going on your attendance sheet

Lash: see u in detention, dera

Dera: enjoy your crepes you two!

You chuckled at the exchange.

"That's more like it. I like when you smile." Morn chimed in. "Do more of that."

The waiter saved you from needing to respond by stopping at your table with your orders. A steaming, folded crepe landed before you covered in a sauce just as pink as the rest of the cafe. A warm latte arrived with it and you wrapped your hands around the warm mug. It soothed you a little.

"Morn..." you began, not quite sure what you were going to say. Was this it? Were you going to lay your feelings on the table right here, right now?

"What is it? You can tell me anything." Morn leaned in over the table. "I can tell something's been bothering you lately."

You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. You didn't even know how to begin; should you preface it with an apology? Some sort of explanation or disclaimer?

"I don't even know if I can tell you. Like, if I can get the words out," you said before sipping your latte. You savored the taste, hoping the espresso would ground you somehow. At the very least you wouldn't be expected to talk with your mouth full.

"There's no rush. I just... I want to help. I've known you long enough that I'm sure there's something I can do." Morn hadn't even touched her crepe yet.

"Let's just, um, eat." You answered.

"Good idea. I'm sure you'll feel like yourself once you've eaten and the coffee starts kicking in." Morn nodded to herself, cutting open her fruit-filled crepe. You similarly started to work on yours. The two of you ate in silence and, for a moment, you did feel better. Fully focusing on the aromas, flavors, and textures of your breakfast stilled your trembling hands. The slightest bit of confidence grew within you halfway through the meal.

"I... um..." the words slowly formed in your mouth. Morn paused, setting down her fork and knife and looking at you intently. "I fell in love. With someone I don't think I should be in love with."

Morn listened but said nothing. She was thinking.

"How do you know it's love?"

"What?" you asked.

"How do you know it's not just a crush? Or, you know, lust?" Morn inquired. You considered the question carefully. Memories of platonic cuddles, impromptu sleepovers, and late-night conversations with Morn came to mind.

"It's love because it's lasted way longer than any crush. I trust this person, and they trust me. I'm not like Lash, pining for the new guy from across the classroom; I know this person really well."

"I see." She paused again. "Why would it be bad to love them? Wouldn't a good history make a romantic relationship easier?"

"Only if they felt the same way..." you sighed and nestled your head in your elbows.

"Ah, right..." Morn looked sheepish. "Well, personally—and I do mean personally, so it might not apply to them—if I had a long-time friend that I had feelings for, I would just tell them."

"Really?" Your eyes widened.

"I mean, yeah. If I and this person had such a long history of trust, then I would trust them to still be friends with me afterward if they didn't feel the same way. I'm sure it would be awkward for a while, but I really don't think it would be, you know... destructive or anything."

More memories came to you. More times where you felt completely open and vulnerable with Morn, and when she did with you. Times when you comforted each other and shared secrets under blanket forts and playground swings and gymnasium bleachers. Words formed inside your mouth, desperate to make themselves known to the world. Perhaps now would become another one of these memories. You'd look back on it in the future and remember the smell of pink crepes in the pink cafe.

"Morn... I have these feelings for you. I'm talking about you."

You fought the urge to cover your mouth, and you didn't stutter or stammer in the slightest. Though working up the courage was difficult, letting the words go was one of the easiest things you had ever done. Morn didn't react much; an eyebrow rose slowly as she finished chewing. The silence was agonizing.

"I'm happy you trust me enough to share that with me," Morn said calmly. You wanted to shout that's all?! but held your tongue. She took a sip of her latte, clearly in no rush to say more.

"So..." you began, well and truly lost. All your effort had gone into mustering courage and now you had nothing left. Even your anxiety and worry had gone, and you were strangely content, though eager, to hear Morn speak.

"So..." Morn parroted, "does that mean you want to... you know, date me? Like, romantic dates, not besties dates. Kissing dates."

Again, your impulses screamed duh!

"Um, yeah..." you said sheepishly, rubbing the back of your neck. "I'd like that, but... only if you'd like that too."

She sipped her latte again, still calm.

"You know, over the years, I've imagined what we would be like if we were romantic with each other. Like, girlfriend-girlfriends. How could I not? We've known each other for so long."

You nodded, bidding her speak more.

"I never knew you wanted that. I can't imagine how you felt; I could tell something was wrong but I couldn't figure out what." Morn set the mug and her cutlery down, intentionally and warmly looking you in the eye. "I think...

You didn't even breathe.

"I think we should give it a shot." Morn smiled widely. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Yes, yes it does," you finally drew breath. If Morn was feeling a similar tumult of emotions that you were, she was hiding it considerably well. Morn wiped her lips and tusks with a napkin and got up from the table.

"Well, I've got to visit mom and pops tonight, but we've still got Sunday tomorrow. How about we have our first real date then?"

"Uh, sure!" You sat there, dumbfounded. Was it really going to be this easy?

"Cool. I'll let you pick where we go, just like most of our... non-date hangouts," she said, turning to the cashier. She gestured widely to the table. "Put it all on my tab."

"You have a crepe tab?"

Morn chuckled. Making her way to the door, the sunlight caught her hair and skin deliciously.

"I'm a regular. Anyway," she grabbed her skateboard, "see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow." You answered. She gave you one last toothy grin and stepped out before gliding out of sight, disappearing past the edge of the window. You rested your chin in your hands and sighed like a lovestruck teenager in a coming-of-age movie. Before long, your window-gazing session was interrupted by an employee.

"All done, ma'am?" he asked politely.

"Uh, yes. Sorry, I was spacing out."

"No, it's all good. Thanks for coming by, and if you don't mind me saying..." he looked somewhat pensive.

"What?"

"Don't tell Morn I said this since she's proven that she could snap me in half like a twig, but... speaking as the crepe guy she visits several times a week, I think she's a good match for you."

"But you've never met me before. Maybe once or twice, but—"

"She's told me all about you. All good things, don't worry. It's less about you and more about how Morn talks about you. She gushes when she mentions you, seriously." He paused awkwardly then started to clean up the table. "I've said too much."

"No, thank you," you said. "It's good to know."

"Glad I could help. Anyway... um, thanks for coming in." He waved at you as you got up and left. You nodded and made your exit.

Back at your dorm, you couldn't decide if you wanted to pace or lay in bed and kick your legs. You had so much energy inside you, trapped. It was equally nervous and thrilling. You wondered how Morn kept herself so well composed; something in the back of your mind nagged at you, wondering if it was because she didn't really feel that strongly for you. Enough, you thought to yourself. Morn was your best friend for almost as long as you could remember. She wouldn't toy with you like that. Hell, she explained her entire thought process on the topic before you even confessed to her.

You decided to pace to distract yourself. Those thoughts weren't helpful. Right now you had to choose a place for your first officially non-platonic date. It was never this hard to pick a place to hang out with Morn before...

Then, an idea. It sprung into your mind out of nowhere, and it just felt right. You made sure that the place was open on Sunday, checked the ticket prices... it was perfect. You readied your phone to text Morn the details... but Lash had already sent you a private message. You opened the notification.

Lash: yo how did crepes go?? sorry i no-showed

Your brow furrowed a bit. Lash's random interest was a bit strange, even more so since she was hungover. A dehydrated, vomiting Lash was bedridden for a good half-day in your experience.

You: the cafe was cool! the crepes were good

Unsure if you should be forthcoming about your new development with Morn, you figured they could find out tomorrow once your first "real date" was underway. A change like that would likely be a big deal in your friend group, so a text message wouldn't do the announcement justice anyway.

Lash: how's Morn?

You: shes fine? did something happen??

Lash: no lol, just wondering lol

Two "lol" in one text? You wanted to indulge your suspicions and investigate further, but you decided to leave it at that. You had a date to arrange.

You: still at your parents' place?

Morn: yeah, I'll be back in town tomorrow though

You: k, cool. does meeting at the aviary at 2pm work?

Morn: yeah definitely! what made you pick the aviary?

You: idk if you remember, it was so long ago, but it was the first school field trip we went on as friends

There was a pause as Morn's typing bubble hovered on your screen.

Morn: 😭OMG YOURE SO CUTE IM GONNA CRY😭

Morn: i cant wait to see you tomorrow!!!

You: me too 💕

Your phone landed on your bed with a thump and that nervous energy returned with a vengeance. More pacing, more leg-kicking, even some giggles. This situation felt both extremely real and like a scene from a movie; you never imagined this sort of thing happened in real life, especially in yours. Against all previous expectations, things were going fine. It was thrilling, scary, and made your heart race, but it was going fine. The homework you had to do took a back seat to your excited daydreaming and scheming about tomorrow. You thought about how you would greet her, how you would hug, if and how you would go for a kiss, walking while holding her hand... predictably, sleeping that night was incredibly difficult.

In the morning, you finally executed the plans you fantasized about prior. You decided to err on the side of being overdressed, picking an outfit that wasn't formal but still a little more special than what you would usually wear. You showered, brushed your teeth, swished some mouthwash, and even flossed! Breath mints, a small assortment of Morn's favorite snacks, and an extra water bottle found their way into your bag. If you were going to overthink, then you would take advantage and be overprepared as well. Squeaky clean, dressed to impress, and with a heftier bag than usual, you skateboarded down to the aviary intent on arriving ten minutes early.

The journey was uneventful save for your steadily increasing heart rate. By the time you were waiting for her by the entrance gate, you were fully flustered. You stood still with a kind smile on your face, but anything more complex would have been asking too much of you. The mental rehearsal in your mind's eye ran over and over again: smile, say hi, hug. Smile, say hi, hug. These were all things you had done with Morn before, but with platonic intent instead of this newfound "why not?" intimacy. With how calm and composed Morn had appeared throughout this whole process, you felt as if you were at a disadvantage somehow. You worried in a juvenile sort of way that she was too cool for you.

The way she pulled up to the aviary in her car didn't help that worry at all. Her ride, an old, angular, black thing that roared like a beast, was her pride and joy. She had practically built the thing herself with the number of parts she swapped out of it. It was fully manual and she had the skills to maneuver it gracefully into the parking space. Out from it stepped your actual, honest-to-god, bonafide date.

She smiled at you and your brain melted. You held up a hand in a sort of mellow wave, offering a faint grin. By the time she closed the distance, your simple three-step plan was gone with the wind. Luckily she also decided that greeting with a hug was the correct choice and you were in her embrace quickly. You paused before realizing you should probably return the gesture and wrap your arms around her as well.

"It's so good to see you! You look great," she said, pulling away and looking you over.

"You too..." you breathed, taking your own chance to get a proper look. Her outfit was just as sleek and dark as her car: a pair of black jeans with accompanying boots, a matching leather jacket, and of course, that classic burgundy beanie to top it off.

"Shall we?" She extended a green, competent hand to you. She wasn't wearing her driving gloves today, which was good for your composure; otherwise, you would have well and truly swooned. You accepted her grasp and she gave your hand a firm squeeze before strolling with you to the ticket booth. Thanks to your student IDs, you got in with discounted admission.

The aviary itself was fairly large, and on this particular Sunday, you and Morn practically had the place to yourselves. Other than the idle chatter of a few other scattered visitors, there was only the sound of wind in the leaves and bird calls. The two of you meandered between the exhibits, chatting but not about much in particular. Instead, you were simply content to enjoy each other's company and look at the birds. The birds liked looking at you, too; at one point a pair of free-roaming peacocks followed you and Morn around the aviary.

"Looks like it's a double date," Morn quipped, gesturing to the two plumy birds. They were both mostly brown and lacking the massive, fan-shaped tails.

"They're a pair of girls too. Male peacocks are the ones with the crazy feathers," you noted.

"It's almost like having Lash and Dera tagging along." Morn chuckled. "In fact, if they keep failing to show up these birds would make good replacements."

You looked at the two peacocks, who had started preening each other's feathers.

"Do you think they're besties or girlfriends?" You playfully asked. "That's some pretty intense preening."

"Maybe they're both, like us." Morn wrapped an arm around you and offered you her shoulder. You melted again. "If you had feathers, I'd be preening you right now."

"If I knew how to return that compliment, I would." You said, deliciously rattled by her closeness and warmth.

"I have an idea... if you're cool with it." Morn kept holding you close, turning to make eye contact with you. You faced her and realized how close you were. Trapped in her gaze, you couldn't speak. You gave a faint nod.

The first thing you felt was her tusks on your cheeks. They met the corners of your mouth, pressing gently just before her lips met yours. In reality, the kiss was a quick peck. In your mind, time froze. You could no longer hear the birds calling or wind blowing, only the sound of your heart beating like a drum and a feeling like fire in your chest. Morn pulled away from the kiss with a sheepish smile.

"Sorry if my tusks poked you. I'm still getting the hang of that."

"Hey, practice makes perfect, right?" you let slip with a suaveness that surprised even you. Morn's eyes widened in surprise before she let out a hearty laugh.

"That's the spirit!" She cheered, squeezing you hard. "I'm gonna hold you to it, so be aware: I'm gonna kiss you a bunch more before we're out of here."

"That's fine by me." You couldn't do anything else but giggle. Morn gave you another peck immediately after, angling her head a bit so her tusks didn't have such a lead on her lips. Your first kiss with Morn was perfect as far as you were concerned, but this second one was a bit more graceful.

"Better?" she asked.

"Better."

Your stroll through the aviary continued in this fashion: chatting about this and that, generally gushing about each other and punctuated by more quick kisses. It was strange to have a first date with someone that you knew so well, but you weren't complaining in the slightest. Each kiss felt natural and fun, not nerve-wracking and awkward as in the dates of your past. Before all this, you scoffed at yourself for wishing that there was a switch you could toggle to go from best friends to girlfriends, but so far it seemed to work precisely like that.

To the sound of your giggling, the sun was poised to set soon. The aviary closed early because it was Sunday, and you found yourself with Morn leaning against the gleaming hood of her car. You saw your reflection in it, the two of you framed by the orange sky. She came to your side, attaching to you like a magnet.

"It's probably time we headed home, huh?" she suggested.

"Yeah, probably," you replied reluctantly. "I almost don't want it to end."

"It doesn't have to." Morn smiled. "Did you really think I'd kiss you goodnight and leave you on the curb?"

You giggled. That would certainly be the plan for a first date with a stranger, but this was Morn.

"You could come by and hang out with me in my dorm for a bit?" she asked.

"I'd love to." You answered. Her dorm building and yours were right next to each other, after all. She stood up from the hood of her car and opened the passenger side door, offering the seat to you. Not long after stowing your skateboard in the trunk, you were cruising through the city streets bound for the university. Morn's focus made the ride a smooth one, her hands expertly gripping the steering wheel and gear shifter. She wore a focused but pleased expression as she deftly maneuvered the growling vehicle.

"Oh!" Her concentration broke. "We should get food! We haven't eaten at all."

Tires squealed as she veered right, making a turn she wasn't expecting to make. You gripped your armrest and giggled. The engine roared and, within moments, delivered you to a drive-through whose location Morn seemed to know by heart. She was so familiar with it that she blew past the lit-up menu and instead went directly to order.

"Don't worry, I'll get you something you'll like." She reassured you before making it out of the drive-through, takeout bag in hand, in record time. The bag landed in your lap and delicious smells wafted from it. You were tempted to peek inside and sample its contents, but even while entranced with Morn's driving skills you knew eating in her car was a no-no. Untoasted Pop-Tarts during a late-night study session on her bed were okay but her car was like a temple. You folded the top of the bag to make it easier to resist the temptation.

After she had parked and gotten out of the car, you followed her with takeout bag in one hand and skateboard in the other. This late on a Sunday night, the sky was a deep navy. Stark white light from the lamp posts illuminated the web of pathways that connected the dorms, parking lots, student union, and myriad other places you'd typically skateboard solo to.

A few beeping locks later, you made it to Morn's dorm room. Like yours, it was spartan and tiny, but it belonged to her and her alone. You set the bag down on the solitary table and determined to chow down, but Morn caught your attention. She sat on the twin-sized bed that you had shared with her many times before; platonically, of course. She had an expression that you couldn't quite decipher.

"You okay?" You asked, not sure where to begin.

"I'm great, actually," she said, brushing her hair out of the way so she could look at you. "Sorry if I overdid it with the kisses earlier—"

"You didn't," you interjected.

"I just... It felt great to kiss you. I don't know if it's just my nerves, or the newness of it all, or something else, but... I'm kicking myself for not making the first move on you sooner." She looked away, blushing a forest green on her cheeks. You sat next to her on the bed before she could say anything more.

"Hey, don't feel bad just because I was moping for a bit. The fact I was so worried is proof that you can't really know how someone feels about you until you ask. Even if you were friends since forever ago." You reversed the usual arrangement by wrapping your arm around her. She chuckled softly.

"I can't believe I was stressing myself out over random sorority chicks at parties rejecting me. Being with you just feels so much better than the dating apps and the parties and shit like that," Morn sighed. "I know it's technically only our first date but I really think we're something special."

"We are special," you held her tighter, "we went on our first date after... what, a decade and a half of knowing each other? That kind of history sure beats cheesy Tinder pick-up lines."

"Sure does," Morn punctuated her sentence with a kiss. Instead of giving you a quick peck, she pressed her lips into yours even harder. Within the privacy of her dorm room, your heart fluttered at the notion of Morn being able to do whatever she wanted to you. You felt the beginnings of her tongue at your lips, then she pulled away and took a deep breath. Her face was inches from yours as you caught your breath.

"I really like kissing you," Morn uttered. "Now that we're alone... are you okay if I really kiss you?"

"Really kiss me?" you teased. She got even closer.

"Please?" She played along with her best begging tone.

"Go ham." She kissed you again, giggling at your choice of words with her lips pressed against yours once more. She immediately cradled your head in her strong hands, gently placing you into a reclining position. There wasn't much room, but she managed to fit alongside you in the twin-sized bed all without breaking the kiss. You opened your eyes after pulling away to breathe, and all you could see were her dandelion-colored irises.

"I'm gonna go again," She said, smiling. "I just had to get a good look at you first."

"You can do whatever you want, Morn." You grabbed her arm and placed her hand on you. "Just don't keep me waiting."

Morn kissed you hard for the third time, the hand you held now caressing your body ravenously. As her tongue gently played at your lips, her hand found its way to your chest and played with your breasts. She hardly gave you time to gasp, coming back to your mouth with fervor. Her tongue met yours in earnest now, both of you closing the space on the bed between you. Her body flush with yours, you could feel every muscle as she held you close.

You felt one of her legs settle in between your thighs, and you whined into her mouth as she teasingly rubbed you against it. Even fully clothed the sensation was electric, no doubt due to the person giving it to you. Many nights alone had involved fantasies just like this. Now they were coming true.

Desperately, you began grinding yourself against her leg. You chased the sensation as far as you could, moaning into Morn's kiss. Just as you felt yourself approaching the edge, she removed herself from you. Her leg pulled away and the kiss stopped. You opened your eyes, bewildered. Morn had gotten off the bed and kneeled just next to it, her eyes level with your aching need. She grabbed the waistband of your bottoms before looking you in the eyes again.

"You said you didn't want me to keep you waiting," she grinned, tusks glistening. "This okay?"

"It's more than okay... stop teasing me!" You whined. She nodded, pulling your bottoms off entirely before hovering in between your legs. You could feel her breathe on you through your underwear. God, she was so close; you twitched with each puff of warm breath. Her tusks brushed against the inside of your thighs. With a tentative finger she eased your underwear out of the way, gently planting kisses all around your bare mound. She held your legs in place as they twitched and reacted to her electric touch. She deliberately avoided your tender nub with her warm lips. She was playing with you.

"Morn, please," you begged. She paused to look up at you and give a toothy grin.

"You're so cute when you're frustrated," she teased, quickly going back for more. She felt unimaginably warm against your already hot entrance. It wasn't unlike all those other times you melted at Morn's touch, only now it was so intense you couldn't help but let out gasps and squeaks. She held nothing back this time. Hungrily, she lapped at your slit, each lick finishing with a flourish on your sensitive little nub. You mewled in time with her curling tongue.

"Oh! That's— ah! So good!" You moaned, your back beginning to arch as you squirmed around on the mattress.

"You flatter me," Morn uttered between licks, looking proud. You saw something in her eye before she let go of one of your thighs and brought her hand to your entrance. Her tongue didn't let up at all as she slowly introduced one of her substantial fingers. It fit comfortably inside you at first, but you gasped hard when it started moving. Morn added another soon after, stretching you deliciously.

"I'm gonna come if you keep that up," you panted, your face burning red and lungs desperate for air.

"My pleasure," Morn said before redoubling her efforts. Her fingers curled inside you, making a "come hither" motion that made your hips rock. By this point, Morn's tongue had trouble staying on you as you writhed. You gasped with every finger curl, well and truly lost in the heat of the moment.

"Ah! Morn!" You cried, rocking yourself against her fingers desperate for more. She gave up on trying to lick your nub, instead palming one of your breasts with her other hand and pinning you to the bed. With the new leverage, she worked your insides with her fingers, pumping them in and out of you with her muscular arm. You could see sweat beading on her taut green skin.

"Come for me. I wanna see you come," Morn urged. You could do little else but cry out and oblige her. Your body spasmed hard as you cried out gibberish interspersed with her lovely name. Her fingers didn't stop rubbing against your inner walls, leaving you breathless and faint and tightly wound around her. The coiling pleasure within you finally snapped. Your back arched, completely leaving the bed as Morn pressed her lips into yours. She kissed you hungrily as you wailed into her mouth. There was nothing in your mind but the feeling of her fingers coaxing you through the height of your bliss and holding you there for as long as possible. When the pleasure finally started to subside and your breath returned to you, Morn finally withdrew her fingers and lips and wiped her forehead. She smiled at you wordlessly.

"I love you, Morn," you said, panting. There was nothing else to say, nothing else on your mind. If you had given yourself that sort of bliss on a lonely night, you would be drowsy and lethargic. Instead, with Morn turning her love for you into pleasure that made you cry out and curl, you had never felt more alive. She gave you a moment to catch your breath. Leaving your lips unkissed, she sat by your side and stroked your hair.

"I love you too," she planted a quick kiss on your forehead. "Are you tired?"

You shook your head enthusiastically. Sure, you would likely be sore in a few hours, but you wouldn't dream of denying Morn more of you.

"Good, because I wanna get off too." She chuckled and pecked your lips. Undressing herself completely, she helped you out of what clothes remained until you were both completely bare. You were completely flush against her on the bed once more, your skin perfectly complimenting her green form. Her body was toned and full, muscled yet smooth. Even after all you had just been through, the sight of her still made your heart skip.

"I've always wanted to try this. Spread your legs," she commanded, gently grasping your ankles. You complied and she lifted one of your legs aloft just in front of her as if about to hug it. Still holding your leg pointed toward the ceiling, she straddled your dripping warmth with her own. She eased herself onto you and those lovely electric feelings returned. She moaned for the first time, her pleasured sounds like music to your ears.

The position was a little awkward and bent your back in a strange way, but the feeling of her slick sex pressed against yours was delicious.

"I'm gonna start moving," Morn said. She initiated a gentle rocking motion that made you both gasp. The friction between the two of you felt gorgeous and you soon found yourself reciprocating with your hips. Interlocked and sharing the same squeaks and mewls, you wanted desperately to kiss her but couldn't. You had to lay there at her mercy as Morn clung to your leg and ground herself into you. She doubled up on her pace.

"Oh, shit," Morn groaned, both with pleasure and with effort. She had the same expression as when she was driving; when her head wasn't thrown back with a sigh, she was looking at you with love but also intent. Her grinding made you moan and her glare made you shiver delightfully. You had never felt anything like this before, nor had you even fantasized about Morn pressed up against you like this.

"This feels amazing... ah! Morn..." you sighed between yelps when the friction between you peaked.

"I—I..." Morn gasped, her entire face contorted and flushed. She had brought you to your peak once already, and now you wanted nothing more than to see her reach her own ecstasy.

"Please, Morn, come," you pleaded, mirroring her own urgency when she had brought you to orgasm earlier.

"No, I... Shit, I've got a cramp." She sighed, this time tinged with disappointment as she stopped her grinding. "Ouch." She gently disentangled herself from you, rubbing her thigh. The realization that her creased brow had come from pain and not pleasure embarrassed you a bit, an emotion that Morn echoed.

"Hey, it's okay." You sat up and held her shoulder. Her eyes were downcast as she massaged the cramp out of her muscled thigh. "Just so you know, I'm having a great time."

"You were having a great time." She winced as she shifted her kneeling weight on the bed. "Serves me right for thinking I could fuck like a pornstar on the first date, huh?"

"I already came once, Morn," you reminded her. Sitting alongside her, equally naked and sweaty, there was a clarity in the air that made it effortless to speak your mind. You felt bold, yet comfortable. You felt like you wanted more of Morn's body. "Let me take care of you. I think I can make this work."

"Take the lead, babe," Morn relented. The way she said babe made you giddy inside, but you were focused on her now. "Just mind the leg, it still freakin' hurts."

"Morn, when I say I'm gonna take care of you, I mean it. Just lie down," you said, easing her onto her back. With the positions reversed, you had a moment to look her up and down. Laid bare before you and anticipating your next move, the sight of her awoke something within you. Something that told you not to hold back.

You practically pounced atop her, squarely laying yourself on her body. She met you with a kiss that you eagerly returned. You channeled all your built-up desire to please her into that kiss, at the same time aligning your mound with hers. It took a few tries, but eventually, you found the angle where your clit could meet hers without requiring pornstar-style flexibility. Pleasure jolted through both of you and she broke the kiss to gasp.

"Told you I could make it work," you grinned, focusing now on the movement of your hips. You started slowly at first as to not tire yourself out but quickly increased the pace as the coiling warmth inside you grew. Instead of kissing her, you buried your face in her shoulder so you could hear her sing. With every roll of your hips she moaned, louder and louder as you humped her harder and harder.

"Oh, god, babe," Morn panted. You could feel her frenzied breath on your neck as she cried out. You could feel your own orgasm building but all you cared about was her.

"Tell me how you feel," you commanded, maintaining your hips' pace. "I want you to come so bad."

"Keep going," Morn grunted. "I'm close, I'm so fucking close!"

You furthered your efforts, grinding your desperate nub into hers with vigor. You panted as you began to feel tingles in your extremities and your breath became impossibly tight. Morn matched your desperation, her hips weakly pushing upwards so that her mound would meet yours sooner. Just a little more! More! You shouted to yourself mentally as Morn's hands squeezed your waist to signal her impending orgasm.

You frantically let go of her body with one hand, giving up precious leverage in order to make sure Morn couldn't escape the pleasure you were giving her. There was nothing you wanted more than to reach the peak together. You gently caught her pearl between your fingers and rolled it as you ground into her, drawing out deep moans from her. She spasmed in your grasp, gasping in time with your own pleased sighs.

"Oh god!" She cried out, throwing her head back into the piled-up blankets. Her whole body tensed and you could feel each of her rippling muscles press against you in a desperate bid to ride out her orgasm. You followed soon after, the air forced from your lungs as an explosion of tingling warmth knocked the wind out of you. All you could do was cry out with her and press your nub into hers where your hand was still at work. You rubbed and rolled, trying your best to prolong the mutual climax before finally catching your breath and collapsing into Morn's tired embrace.

With your body limp and your face buried in her neck, you could feel her breasts rise and fall with each breath. You held each other loosely for a moment, just listening to her breathe. After only a few heartbeats, she started giggling.

"What's so funny?" you asked, lifting your heavy head to look at her.

"Nothing," she stifled her giggles, a tear rolling down her cheek. "That was just really, really good."

"Are you crying?" You asked, concerned but secretly proud of your handiwork.

"No, I'm not crying. I'm tearing up, there's a difference," she chuckled. "Thank you."

"Thank you. You're the one that started it," you cooed, stroking her hair. "plus, you ate me out first so I think I owe you."

"It's on the house," Morn sighed contently. "But you're still on me... could you roll over, please?"

"Oh, sorry!" you quickly shifted your weight off of her and onto the mattress.

"Don't worry about it, I just figured the bed was softer than me." She chuckled again.

You said nothing, instead opting to resume your embrace with her from the side. She reciprocated, rolling over so she could be the big spoon. She wrapped her arms around you snugly.

"Ah, shit," Morn cursed under her breath.

"What? What's wrong?" You craned your neck a bit to see her golden eyes in your periphery.

"Our food is definitely cold by now," she grumbled, "and I don't have a microwave."

“I’ve got snacks in my bag.” You replied.

Morn readied a compliment, but delayed when both your phones buzzed. THA HOOLIGANZ had something to say.

“What is it now?” Morn rolled over and grabbed her phone, reading the messages as they rolled in. You did the same.

“What the…?”

Lash: did you two kiss yet???

Dera: they did more than that 😳😳😳

Morn shot you a look of disbelief before tapping away frantically.

Morn: wtf are you guys talking about?

You: ^

Lash: the crepe date! u two are dating now right?

You: what do u mean crepe date? the breakfast u failed to show up to u mean??

Lash: lol, relax. we just thought you two needed some time alone. for the record, i was actually hung over. me and dera just agreed you two needed to talk it out

Dera: seriously, u look at Morn the way she looks at crepes, and she looks at u the way Lash looks at literally anyone

Lash: or the way u look at dudes bulges

Dera: shut up

“I…” Morn began, jaw agape. “I don’t know if I should be mad or amazed. I’m both.”

“They set us up like lonely freshmen.” You shook your head, chuckling.

Lash: u two are dating now right???

Morn: yes dumbass

You: can confirm

Lash: CUTEEEEE

Dera: morn fucks on the first date. respect.

You: wait how- what?

Dera: ur in Morn’s dorm right

Your texting was interrupted by three solid thumps coming through the wall.

Dera: i’m right next door and these dorms are made of fucking paper

Morn: hey, i’ve dealt with hearing every single time you slept with some guy. fair is fair

Dera: no judgment from me!

Lash: suddenly i’m glad i still live with my parents…

You put your phone down as you really didn’t have much to say. Morn gave up on it as well, your phones resting together on the floor. She resumed spooning you and a moment later, you felt her chest start to heave with laughter; a hearty laugh loud enough for Dera to hear through the walls. You joined her, laughing until your diaphragm ached. The whole situation, the realization that Dera and Lash knew before either of you did and that they had a master plan… utterly ridiculous. It was like something out of a movie, yet with your arms wrapped around one of Morn’s, completely real. You feared this was all a dream, and as soon as you succumbed to sleep in Morn’s cozy twin bed, it would dissolve.

Morn could tell sleep started to take you.

“I love you,” she whispered into your ear. She squeezed you tight. You had never been more sure of anything in your life that Morn would still be cuddling you when you woke up.

[pedropascalssimp]

More then you'll ever know

Din djarin x fem reader

Summary: the reader and din have a hard to get along with relationship, mostly because her teasing and joke cracking nature. But one night din realizes he can't keep pushing his true feelings for reader aside.

Warnings: mild language. Fluff.

Since I said I'd write more for din. I gift you... DIN!!!!

*Not my gifs!*

If you had a coin for every time din wrecked his ship, you'd be a rich woman. He was a good pilot, he could maneuver his way through a canyon and manage to survive, but he was a little reckless. And whenever someone could easily go over that canyon, his mind never seen that ruote and instead takes the hardest path possible. Which is what left you, him, and little Grogu standing outside the razor crest while you chuckle at his pacing, hands on his hips while his visor was focused on the ground.

The planet he crash landed on was a icey cold snow planet, it was freezing out, and the fact the sun was long gone and replaced by the moon didn't help.

"oh c'mon din, I can fix this ship tomorrow morning... A slight delay to tython won't hurt our adventure" you try and reassure him, amusement thick in your voice. This little crash gave you the opportunity to further more tease him and his piloting skills, something he hated. But it was fun seeing him get all defensive over his flying, you'd even say cute.

"we can't stay out here, the ships inoperative. We'll freeze to death out here" he stresses, finally coming to a stop as he looks at you, then his gaze falling on the innocent little child that plays in the snow.

"before you crashed us all the way out here I thought I saw a town that way" you point in the direction where you had thought you seen a town while you spiraled out of control. Thankfully though the ship wasn't damaged to bad and no one was hurt. "we can rent a place to sleep tonight and I'll wake up early in the morning and fix the ship" you shrug while scooping Grogu up and taking his icey little hands in yours and warming them.

Din sighs, something he seemed to do a lot you've noticed ever since you started working for him. Not only did you serve as a mechanic and caretaker for Grogu, but also a skilled medic. It was no secret din loathed droids, sometimes he found himself struggling to patch his own self up when injured greatly, so he hired you to assist him in medical ways instead of seeking help from a med Droid. You helped him greatly in medical and mechanical ways, soon he found the child and you helped in nanny ways.

Din turns around, back facing you now as he looks towards where you said a town was. The sky just barely illuminated by the dim glow of lights from the civilization. Facing you once more now he walks closer through the snow, gloved thump stroking Grogu's cold cheek.

"it will be a long walk... Probably even a days time..." he trailed of in thought, taking his cape off in the process and handing it to you so you can wrap Grogu up. "we'd have to use my jetpack to make it there tonight" he sighed out, watching how you wrap the cape around the little one. Covering up his mouth and ears along with his little body. He was swaddled up snugly.

You grin at din, "you're just looking for an excuse to hold me aren't you Mando?" you tease him, loving how he always stuttered and got nervous. He always retaliated with a harsh comment or the silent treatment, brushing your harmless flirting off.

Oh how you fell hard for the man though, he was something special. He acted like the toughest bounty hunter in the galaxy, he was really, but once you got to know the man under the armor? He was a big sweetheart, a softie who was passionate about little things and protective over the ones he considered friends, the one's he loved. You grew feelings for him one particular night spent on Nevarro, he was meeting with karga, in a cantina. You had joined him of course because you needed a drink, once you was both in there this one man wouldn't leave you alone, flirting, eyeing you like he was a starved man and you was a feast, his hands shortly falling on the small of your back and trailing down lower much to your dismay.

Now you was a good fighter, but before you had the chance to break the man's wrist? Din had done it for you, grabbing the man's hand and twisting it, showing his vibroblade against the man's throat, "touch her again and I'll kill you" was what made the man flee without a word. Wrist broke. He offered you a nod and made you stay by his side. It had made you fall for him hard, the feelings only growing as time went on.

"I could always leave you out here to freeze" din shot back at your earlier comment, he said it more teasingly, a welcome surprise to you.

"like you could do that, I know under all that beskar you have a soft spot for me din" you smile at him innocently, Grogu smiling as if he agrees with you.

"for him maybe" din was blushing hard under the helmet, heart beating rapidly as if he was afraid. Truly he was, he feared that if he let himself love you like he so desperately wanted, you'd leave him, that the galaxy would rip you away from him like every one else he ever loved.

Perhaps that's why he put up the facade he wore good when you flirted with him, acting as if he couldn't stand you, as if he loathed your presence. If only you could see the way his brown eyes sparkle with wonder and longing when he watches you work or play with Grogu.

You scoff with a smile, acting as if his little retort didn't sting a little. "let's get going before we freeze to death then" you say, hating how your heart skips a beat at how close he stood now, shuffling in the snow to jerk you flush against his warm side. The beskar was ice cold though, making you gasp with a shiver.

"hold on to Grogu tightly" he warns, worried you'd drop him. You wrap him up in your right arm, holding him against your chest tightly, little green hands fisting your short tightly as he snuggled up against your chest.

Din wraps a arm around your waist, his other placing a gloved hand over your arm that held Grogu. "are you ready?" he asks, pulling you against him tightly. You felt a little nervous, not to fond of heights. Din noticed and chuckles. "don't worry mesh'la, I won't drop you... Maybe" he teased. Saying the nickname he gave you, you had yet to learn.

Snapping your head towards him with wide eye's you give him a fearful look, "maybe!?" you didn't get a response because he had already taken off, forcing a shriek from you and your arm to hold him tighter. Heart rapidly beating as you closed your eyes shut. You try and ignore how his touch sends a tingling warmth through your whole body, how you wished he'd hold you more....

Grogu squeaks out what sounds to be a laugh, his smile and wide eye's enjoying being high up like this, but once you open your eye's and look down, you knew you'd made a mistake. "oh no, no, no, no" you muttered, burying your face in din's neck.

"don't worry, we're almost at the town, I can see it" din reassures you, although he wanted to tease and poke fun at your silly fear like you do him most time's. He would never do such a thing to you, he hated how your small whimper tumbled from your lips. Soon though, you arrived at the town and he landed, only stumbled a little.

Practically clinging to him you refuse to let go, "are we on the ground?" you murmur, Grogu making a little sad noise upon the adventure in the sky ending.

"yes, you can let go now" he pulls you off of him and backs away. You open your eyes and sigh, happy to be on the ground again. Holding Grogu with both hands now, you walk with din to town.

The place wasn't that big, but it also wasn't small. There was markets, houses and one small place that looked like a cantina. The people all wore heavy duty clothes, prepared for the cold. But you wore a flimsy old t-shirt and cargo pants. You shiver while walking behind din, people giving you looks.

Din finally comes across a large building, entering the building you sigh at the slight warmth it provides. The room was near empty besides a fireplace and two chairs, a large door by the left wall. Behind a counter a older woman worked, Grey hair and aged face. She gives you and din a kind smile.

"hello! Are you looking to rent a room?" she asks. Din leans on the counter and nods.

"two rooms" he spoke with his stoic tone, the modulater making his voice sound deeper, more intimidating.

"I'm afraid there is only one room... We've gotten a lot of traveler's this week" the older woman said, watching how din sighs and his shoulders slump.

Were you really that annoying to be around? You shake the thought away and sigh, looking down at Grogu who let's his gaze flicker across the room curiously.

"I guess we'll take that one then" he huffed while sliding some credits across the table, soon taking the card to enter the room he just bought for the night.

He walks over to the door you spotted earlier and opens it with a swip of the card, leading you to a hallway full of various other doors. Following him he stops in front of a certain one, swiping the card as the whoosh was heard and the door slides open.

He sighs and flips the lights on, stopping instantly. His abrupt stop makes you walk into his back. "owe! You nearly made me fall" you snap and walk beside him, "why did you stop all the su -

"there's only one bed?" he spoke as if someone had just slapped him across the face, you look up and noticed that there was indeed, one bed.

"I can always sleep in the floor" you shrug and set Grogu down, letting him explore the room. He instantly crawls in bed though. "not anything new" you flash him a sarcastic smile. Referring to how din made you sleep in the floor of the crest during your early days of knowing him. Finally though he noticed how stiff and in pain you was and bought you a small cot to keep in the cargo area of the crest.

"I can take the floor, you sleep in the bed" he starts taking his cape from Grogu, tucking him into the large bed fit for almost three people as he folds the fabric up and sits in the floor.

Scoffing you stand before him with a hand on your hip, "like hell I'm letting you sleep in the floor, we can both obviously fit in the bed" you point out, not having a problem with sharing the bed with him. Not one problem at all in fact.

"like hell I'm sleeping beside you" he retorts coldly, his words striking you hard as your face fell. Turning away from him so he doesn't see his words sting, you shrug.

"I for one don't have a problem with sharing a bed, but if you want you're back hurting you tomorrow that's fine by me" you crawl into the bed after kicking your boots off, Grogu fast asleep already. Once under the covers you turn your back toward din.

Why he hated you so much was beyond you, but alas, he hates you.

You try and not let it bother you, but after a few minutes of silence you turn on your side to face him again. He wore his beskar still, it had to be uncomfortable. "do you always sleep in the armor?" you mutter while hoping he wasn't asleep.

"only whenever people are around" he grumbled while his visor falls on you. You knew he refused to show his face, something you always respected, but you hated for him to sleep uncomfortably because you....

"you can take it off din and sleep in the bed... I know how you're back hurts you, you old man" you joke lightly, knowing he was older then you. And although he hated how you always cracked jokes either with him or about him, he knew it was harmless teasing. So.... He sighs and stands up.

"I'm leaving the helmet on" he grunts while slowly taking his beskar off, gently setting it down neatly. You watch with a adoring look, mind to tired to realize you was doing so, but din saw it. The sight of your dazzling eyes practically glued to him making his face flush in a beautiful shade of red. But thank the maker beyond that he wore a helmet to hide it.

"okay but if you ever decide it's uncomfortable to sleep in you can trust me enough to take it off....I'd never look at you without it on y'know" you say while he now stood in his underclothes. A long sleeved black sweater and heavy duty pants. Taking his gloves off your eyes are met with the familiar tanned skin you loved, having seen his abdomen and arms bare before do to attending his wounds countless times. It seemed he wasn't only reckless when flying the razor crest, but aslo fighting a bounty apparently.

Din slowly walks shuffles over to the bed, almost shyly. Waiting for you to scoot to the other side. You do so after scooping Grogu up, being sure not to wake him as you placed him in the middle of the bed, him snuggling up to you in his sleep. Din crawls in bed shortly and makes himself comfortable under the covers, laid out on his back. His head though turns toward you.

"I know I can trust you, you haven't given me reason not to.... I just - I don't want to risk taking it off" he stuttered, you could easily detect he was indeed nervous. But why? You was determined to find out.

"I understand, I'm not pressuring you into taking it off" you giggle, subconsciously stroking Grogu's little hand.

"I know...." he whispers, his visor still on you as you looked at him with soft eye's. "I'm sorry if I've ever been... Harsh with you" he forced the words out, eye's locked on your own, the y/e/c eye's he'd always find himself lost in....

You was speechless, didn't know how to respond to his abrupt apology. It was unexpected, here you thought he hated you, found you to be nothing to him but a medic, mechanic, and caretaker for Grogu. Whereas you saw din as a friend, someone to rely on, someone to talk to whenever need be. Sure you teased him a lot and made some jokes up about little things he does, like being a big softie or cute when he plays with Grogu. You never meant no harm, but din always made it out that way, pushing you away or making harsh remarks whenever you had done so....

Blinking at him you let a soft grin tug at your lips, "you don't have to apologize, I know I'm a little irritating and a pain in the ass to be around" you shrug and look down at Grogu, heart full of love at the sight of his peaceful slumber.

"you're not that bad... Maybe a little bit of a pain in the ass" although he was hidden by the helmet, you could hear the smile in his voice. You chuckle quietly and look back up at him.

"you're something else din..." you whisper do to Grogu shifting around, rolling over towards din. His heart swells at how Grogu laid his little hand on his bicep, a smile on the little one's face as he slept.

"is that a good thing or bad thing?" din spoke just as quiet as you did, modulater making his voice even deeper as he whispers, a husky sound you found yourself hanging onto with a undeniable yearning. How you wish you could hear it without the helmet....

"it's a good thing, definitely a good thing" you smile up at him, the sight enough to make his heart flutter wildy. "you big softie" you murmur, unable to stop yourself from letting the words roll off your tongue.

"I'm not a softie, I'm a bounty hunter" he knew you didn't mean anything bad by the nickname you've given him. But he couldn't help the way it sometimes irked him, why? He didn't know. Because sometimes he saw what you meant when you called him a softie, deep down inside he knew it was slightly true.

"to the galaxy yes, but to him... You're a softie. You spoil him rotten din!" you laugh a little loudly but managed to stifle them. "you treat him as if he's the most fragile, precious cargo to ever be created, you always buy him little things whenever you come back from hunts, and you always let him cuddle you" you grin at him with so much fondness din's heart nearly beats out of his chest with how gorgeous you are, glowing with joy, smile as bright as any star he's ever seen. "you're a softie, no denying it"

"and you are definitely a pain in the ass" he chuckles and shakes his head, visor still looking over at you as he laid on his back. "but even though you can really get on my nerves...i do have a soft spot for you" he confessed, nervous all the sudden as his hands fiddle with the end of his long sleeve shirt.

The smile on your face widens into one of pure happiness, eye's staring at din with love. He knew you was fond of him, and he was quite smitten with you, but he was afraid.... Afraid of losing you, afraid of watching you leave him in more ways then one.

But he was done being afraid, he couldn't live another day without holding you close, staring into those eyes of yours he adores. He wanted to hold you forever, kiss you until his lungs beg him for air, love you for as long as you or the galaxy will let him. Because din djarin was didn't want to spend another day without doing any of these things again.

"I love you" he blurts out, desperately. His voice holding nothing but truth, he sits up in the bed, careful not to wake Grogu as he does so, back pressed against the headboard while he only looks down at you with love. "I - I love you so much...." his voice cracks at the end as he stuttered.

You sit up fast, smile morphing into a more dazed gap, like a fish who was taken out of water. "din... I love you too. I've -

"Im so sorry I pushed you away and would always give you the cold shoulder but dank farrik y/n I can't go another day without saying it.... I love you" he rushed out, cutting your words off.

Tears fill your eye's, ones of joy, happiness. Heart overflowing with love for him. You smile so wide it hurts as you can see how nervous he has become. You gently grab his hand to stop his fidgeting, placing a kiss to each of his fingers. The act sends electricity through his veins, warmth over his whole being as his heart swells at the softness of your lips against his skin.

"I love you din... I always have, ever since you had asked me to work for you, I love you so damn much" you laugh breathlessly, tears threatening to fall.

"you and him" he nods down at Grogu, "are the only things in this galaxy that mean more to me then anyone could ever know...." he muttered, taking his hand out of your own, your eye's widen as you see him place both hands on his helmet, ready to take it off. Upon reflex, you screw your eyes shut, making din feel a wave of affection wash over him knowing you had so much respect for him. "open you're eye's" he said, but it sounded so much more different, much more richer and real.

Reluctantly, you open your eye's. Heart skipping a beat at the sight before you, two brown eye's full of love staring back at you, glossy. His dark hair a mess as his scruffy face was one purely adorable, handsome nose and charming jaw. Maker was din djarin a beautiful, handsome man. You slowly crawl more towards him, sitting in his lap, being sure not to disturb Grogu as you gently trace every detail of his face, starting at the few lines on his forehead, down his gorgeous nose, giggling once you find your fingertips brush against his mustache. He smiles, revealing his dimples. You smile up into his brown eyes and can't resist anymore.

You press a firm but gentle kiss on his lips, soft and warm as you always imagined them to be. Your palms press flush against his cheeks, scruffy little patches of hair tickling them. Din's hand lands on the nape of your neck as his other finds purchase on your hip. His eyes fluttering shut as his nose bumbs against yours. This kiss was perfect, as if it was the seal to your and his fate. You never wanted to live without him by your side. Hesitantly, you pull away from his soft lips, giggling whenever he chases your own.

"you are the most handsome man in the galaxy din" you breathlessly say, his eye's sparkling. It's then you noticed the golden specks, amber swirls amongst the brown of his gorgeous eyes

"I'm not much of a sight cyar'ika" he strokes your cheek with his thumb, so much affection swimming in his eye's. His soft smile bringing out his dimples again, he was truly something special....

"you're more then a sight din... You're more beautiful then anything else in the galaxy" you say, running a hand through his hair, fingers lightly scratching at his scalp. He relaxes with a content sigh.

"you're the beautiful one here" he smiles up at you adorably, your heart fluttering. You lean your forehead on his and grin. "i love you..." he whispers in his husky deep voice you couldn't ever tire of.

"I love you more" you say back while placing a kiss atop his nose. He scrunched his face up and chuckles at you, the sound even more beautiful now that it came out natural. "but we better get sleep since I've got a long day of mechanic work tomorrow, because a certain brown eyed beauty is a reckless flyer" you poke his cheek while crawling out of his lap, crawling back into your spot in the bed.

Din scoffs before scooting closer, his forehead nearly touching yours now as you both placed your hands on Grogu gently. "I'm a good pilot, you have to admit it" he grins at you, loving how you roll your eye's at him.

"I know you're a good pilot, but you're reckless din... No denying it" you kiss his nose again making him sigh dreamily, "I love you're nose..." you yawn, smiling at him afterwards with a sleepy grin.

"I've noticed, if you don't stop kissing it I'm gonna put the helmet back on" he jokes while he yawns himself now, eye's drooping as sleep crept up on him slowly.

"oh, do you want me to stop kissing you?" you say with your usual teasing tone.

"no! I'm not saying that" he instantly said, almost to loud. You laugh at his reaction and shake your head.

"I was joking din... I'd never stop kissing you" you peck his lips, pulling away to quick for his liking. But he watches as your eyes slowly flutter shut, no matter how hard you tried to keep them open.

This was exactly what din wanted, his little family in his arms. He smiles down at Grogu who snores lightly and then looks to you, who slept peacefully now. He was beyond lucky to have both of you, and he'd do whatever it takes to keep you both safe, because he loved you both more then anyone would ever know...

___________________________________________

[the-ink-of-roses]

goddess: summary, playlist, aesthetic

summary:

DEVI SHAH DOESN'T KNOW HOW SHE GOT HERE, in the US, part of a team of superheroes when she has no experience fighting someone who isn't her cousin. to be fair, it has been a weird year, with the new meta trafficking outbreak and the same old indian aunties and uncles insisting it's a western thing and turning a blind eye onto indian metas.

devi isn't safe at her own house now, all because of some stupid code in her blood that makes her a meta, and her country doesn't understand that, marking them all as freaks of nature.

and as much as devi hates it—hate isn't a strong enough word for the emotions she feels—devi knows she must do something about it, because living in silence is not an option anymore.

it's not just mean words or the increased threat of being kidnapped and turned into a weapon, it's also the fear present in the society's mind that prevents metas to live properly.

and waking up every day in the fear that you may be the next person who gets rocks thrown at them for something beyond their control is scary, and maybe that's why devi is here.

to have someone fight for the people in her country; the people who have no one because of this stupid metagene, and even maybe find her own home, a place where she can be herself without having to hide who she is.

and she trusts Dick Grayson, probably more than she should, but Devi isn't stupid either, this could be the big breakthrough she's looking for, and the cookies here are the best ever, so why not?

devi has to try. not only for herself but for all the other metas in her country with no one to look up to when they see heroes.

she has to.

aesthetic

devi shah:

— "aunty ji, it isn't a western thing!"

playlist:

i. asamaan di pari, jyoti nooran

❝ ho turja, turja, turja, tu na darna kabhi na ghabarna kabhi, ho leja leja leja tu ukhaad ke zameen. ho phurja, phurja, phurja, tu na rukna kabhi tu na jhukna kabhi. jeele, jeele, jeele apni zindadi. hoye maar chadappa, hoye chand pe chadh ja. ho. udd ja, udd ja, udd ja, udd ja, banke asmaan di pari❞

ii. still sane, lorde

❝ ridin' around on the bikes, we're still sane. i won't be her, trippin' over onstage. hey, it's all cool, i still like hotels, but I. think that'll change your still like hotels and my new-found fame. hey, promise i can stay good ❞

iii. city life, raghav meattle

❝ while we all chase the love. we all chase the cars. we all chase the good life with broken hearts i can sing to the clouds, sing to the rain, it won't mean a thing in these packed trains. i close my eyes to begging kids and their cries i wonder why i can't see the stone that i've become. i close my eyes to honey bees and butterflies i wonder why they fell trees and how they aim to breathe ❞

iv. hideaway, grace vanderwaal

❝ so let's just play pretend and find a secret place, when the world around us says that we should act our age. the day is gonna come when there's no time left to waste, but we'll never grow up, i say we hide away❞

v. signal the sirens, anoushka maskey

❝ so many souls to get out my way it's harder for me to see in the day you expect me to rid you of pain signal the sirens, it's daylight again ❞

vi. empire of fear, anoushka maskey

❝ hey, can you see, all that clearly shouldn't be we're all here bending our knees, but it feels like the weight of the world is on me i been spending my days in a haze, of a vast technicolor, our minds like no other i could shake, i could break free but all for a second, another tragedy beckons ❞

vii. everything's fine?, sanjeeta bhattacharya

❝ and i've been reassured by the media we done well, but we fucked up. look to the sky for our imaginary friend live in a trance we've got money to spend and ride trends ashes to ashes, beginnings to ends ❞

viii. my kind, alessia cara

❝ my kind of time's meant to carelessly spend, and my kind of nights are the one's that don't end. my kind of fun doesn't make any sense and my kind of love you won't ever forget. my kind of time's meant to carelessly spend and my kind of nights are the one's that don't end. my kind of fun doesn't make any sense and my kind of love you won't ever forget ❞

ix. growing pains, alessia cara

❝ a short leash and a short fuse don't match, they tell me it ain't that bad,now don't you overreact. so i just hold my breath, don't know why i can't see the sun when young should be fun and i guess the bad can get better. gotta be wrong before it's right every happy phrase engraved in my mind, and i've always been a go-getter there's truth in every word i write but still the growing pains, growing pains they're keeping me up at night ❞

x. repeat, grace vanderwall

❝ it won't kill me, treading lightly please don't hate me, smarter than you think. off the safety, i shoot the gun and i, and i, and i go again off the rails and i'm on the run and here, here, here we go again flip the switch and i'm in the mode, but i'm in control just so you know, and i, and ip go again ❞

xi. my tears ricochet, taylor swift

❝ i didn't have it in myself to go with grace and you're the hero flying around, saving face and if i'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? cursing my name, wishing i stayed look at how my tears ricochet ❞