#or people “pestering” you to wake up and see what she’s done

[pink-lemonadefairy]

“i can’t think of anyone more deserving of person of the year than taylor”

think harder.

[landorris4]

── ☆ quadrant house

☆ Maybe Lando Norris was more than a friend, and maybe it was time for you to learn that.

warnings: friends with benefits words count: 2.6k

POV Maya

It was the third time that week that my parents had pestered me about moving in with my cousin. I made videos for YouTube and that's why the neighbors sometimes complained about the noise and stuff, after all, we lived in an apartment in Chicago.

After so much insistence on this idea, I finally accepted. Living with him will be fun, after all he lives with a bunch of other people, and I think I know all of them. I sent a message to Max asking if I could come over on Monday and he said he would prepare everything.

The only condition he gave me was that I help with the expenses, and I accepted, after all I made money from the internet and spending time there would generate much more content for my channel. And it would be great to see my best friend, Lando, again.

Right now, I was checking my bags. I'm only taking my clothes, accessories, shoes and some souvenirs, decorations I buy there. Today is Sunday and I have a flight at 7 pm, so I'm going to take a nap before my flight. It will be a seven hour and forty minute flight, I even had time to sleep, but I can't relax on planes alone.

[...]

I just got off the plane and my cousin sent me the address, I'm going to take an Uber because they forgot to clean the house and are only doing it now. It had to be Quadrant.

Anyway, I did everything I had to do at the airport and called an Uber. I would even describe what I did, but it's a lot of bureaucracy. I started filming on the plane and now I was filming some scenes in the Uber as well. Of course, I didn't say anything, I just recorded it and I'll tell you later. I'm really embarrassed to talk to the camera around people.

As soon as I arrived in front of the mansion, I thanked and paid the driver, took my bags out of the car and immediately placed them in front of the door, I sent a message to Max and in 2 minutes he was opening the door for me.

── I thought they were going to let me live in the garden ─ I acted dramatic and he laughed. I think drama runs in the family.

── I missed you, Maya! ─ he said hugging me and messing up my hair, which made me look at him angrily.

── Max! I spent the whole way from the airport fixing my hair and you mess it up when I get here? I just don't kill you now because I'm so tired ─ I said and he just laughed, picked up my bags and took them to the living room.

── Ria, Niram and Aarav went to the market to do their monthly shopping. Lando is sorting out some sponsorship stuff, Steve is still sleeping. Oh, and your room won't be ready until tomorrow, so you'll be sleeping with someone. I'd say sleep in my room, but P is arriving today too ─ he said and I nodded.

── I'm going to stay in Lando's room, I'm going to put him to sleep on the floor ─ I said, picking up my bags and Max laughed, I've always been very attached to Lando, ever since I met him.

Max picked up the remaining bags and took them to Norris's room. I followed him since I didn't know this house yet. It was huge, I would definitely get lost here.

── You can sleep if you want, we'll wake you up for lunch ─ he kissed my forehead and left the room, closing the door.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was 10 o'clock, so I decided to take a shower. As soon as I was done, I put on some comfortable clothes and went back to my room. I saw that Lando had a bulletin board and I went over there, writing that I should finish my vlog later. I would definitely forget.

I grabbed my camera and put it on the nightstand. Soon someone knocked on the door and I said they could come in. As soon as the person opened the door, I saw that it was Pietra and smiled. I went up to her and hugged her. It had been a long time since I had seen her, and I really enjoyed her company.

── Did you miss me? ─ she mocks and I laugh, releasing her from the hug.

── Not at all ─ I replied and she laughed.

── I just came to give you a hug and let you go to sleep. The boys don't know yet, so when Lando comes in and sees that there's someone sleeping in his bed, he'll find it strange ─ she said a few more things and then left the room, finally leaving me alone.

I lay down on the bed and was thankful that Lando had a soft bed. I grabbed my camera and said I was going to sleep, I sent a message asking Max to record Lando's reaction when he arrived and saw that I was here and he agreed.

And then, after a few minutes of trying, I managed to fall asleep.

[...]

── NO WAY! ─ I heard a scream and immediately woke up, looking at the door and seeing a disbelieving Lando, and a laughing Max with a camera right behind him.

I smiled at Norris who came running, threw himself on top of me and hugged me. I missed his hugs, they were so warm. Lando and I have known each other since before I moved to the United States, I met him at one of Max's kart races and we ended up becoming best friends, that was about 9 years ago. Sometimes we would hook up, just for fun, but it never affected our friendship.

── Wow Ma, I missed you so much! ─ he exclaimed without letting go of me.

── I felt it too, Lan! ─ he smiled at the nickname and hugged me tighter, falling down next to me and laying me on his chest.

── I'm going now because I feel like being left out ─ Max said, leaving the room and closing the door, which made us laugh.

── What are you doing here, Yara? ─ he called me and I frowned. I hated that nickname.

My name is actually Mayara, and Lando is the only one who calls me Yara. Throughout my life, he was the only one who dared to create a nickname. When he realized that I didn't like the nickname, he started using it just to annoy me.

── Don't call me Yara, Norris ─ I said and he laughed. ─ And I came to live here!

── I missed annoying you, and I'm glad you're going to live here now. I missed you so much! ─ He surprised me with a kiss and I smiled, shyly.

── I'm sleepy, so if you're going to stay here, don't make any noise, thanks ─ I said, turning to the other side and curling up on the bed. The truth is that even after years of intimacy with Lando, I still felt blushing with every minimally romantic action, and at this moment, I'm sure I'm blushing.

── I'm going to help the boys with lunch. I'll come and get you later. ─ He got up, walked around the bed and stopped in front of me. He held my face and gave me a kiss. And how I missed those kisses. In the end, he smiled and left the room, leaving a completely happy Maya lying on the bed.

[...]

We had lunch, and when it was 2 pm, I put on a bikini and went to the pool area. I was listening to music on my headphones when I heard my name being called. There was no one calling me, just Niram making fun of Lando for not wiping the smile off his face since I arrived.

I sat back down on the lounge chair and the boys decided to stay in the pool. After a while, I remembered that I needed to record more scenes for the vlog so I went in and got my camera.

I started going through the takes I recorded and ended up realizing that Max had set the camera to record Lando's reaction, and then left it on the nightstand, but didn't stop recording, which ended up recording the kiss Norris gave me. I laughed in despair, after all, Ria is the one who edits my videos, and I couldn't cut this before sending it to her because my laptop doesn't support editing applications. And to make matters worse, my computer was an ocean away.

I couldn't erase the take, because it was too funny from that angle, but I had to find a way to convince Ria not to tell anyone.

It's not like it's a huge secret that Lando and I kiss at parties. But homely affection like the one in the video, those are secret. To our friends we only kiss when we're drunk, to my cousin we're just friends who have never touched each other's lips, but between him and me there's a mutual agreement of free will to kiss and make out in private.

Speaking of him, the arms that surrounded me were definitely his, his unmistakable scent invaded my senses, followed by a caress on my waist, a body pressed against mine and a head in the curve of my neck.

── Are you okay, Yara? You didn't go back to the pool ─ Lando murmurs, giving small kisses on my shoulder.

── Yes, I just remembered that I need to record a few more scenes and I came to get my camera. It turns out that I asked Max to record his reaction and he forgot to tell me that this camera was also on, so he recorded our kiss ─ I explain and he smiles.

── It's not like it's a secret ─ he says, moving away and smiling mischievously.

── It's not a secret, but it's not public knowledge. Ria will see it and will ask me a lot of questions, let's pray that she doesn't tell anyone ─ I explain, turning to face him.

── Everyone knew for me ─ Lando lets go.

What do you mean? He's the first one to say he doesn't want anything serious when he's with other girls. It doesn't make sense for him to say that.

── Lando, with all due respect, why are you saying this? I can't even count on my fingers how many girls you turned down in the last year, claiming you didn't want to be with anyone and were focused on your career. I remember well every time you called me drunk to tell me you couldn't have a serious relationship.

── Yes, because none of them were you! ─ the boy says and leaves the room, leaving me confused.

What does he mean by that?

(...)

There are few things I don't know how to deal with well. Among them are injustices and adult tantrums, both of which always irritate me. And dealing with Lando Norris today was being impossible, because it was unfair that he made me confused and his childish tantrum of running away from me all day would have to stop at some point.

That moment came at bedtime. He tried to take as long as he could to come to bed, but he found me awake, sitting on the bed waiting for him. Sighing in defeat, Lando went into the bathroom and changed his clothes so he could sleep, and sat down next to me, both of us watching the television that was off.

── So... Aren't you going to explain it to me? ─ I begin.

── There's nothing to explain, Yara. It's obvious that I'm in love with you, if you didn't notice before it's because you didn't want to. I never made a point of hiding that I would do anything for you.

── You never made a point of talking either, did you? ─ He remains silent. ─ Lando, I'm sorry, but it's hard to read your signals when you're with me for a week and then show up at a club with some girl the next week ─ I'm honest.

I don't hold any grudges or resentment over it, but I admit that yes, sometimes it hurt to wake up to pictures of you with a woman hanging around your neck.

── You never wanted anything serious, Yara, you always made it clear that our lives didn't fit together because I'm always traveling and you live on another continent. I had no choice but to make the most of my time with you and then try to forget the desire to return to your arms ─ Lando vents. I can see his back tense and his gaze get lost between the sheets. ─ But now it's a different story. I thought we could finally have that love story from your favorite books. I thought you would finally notice me the way I notice you. Like when I realized you hold your breath every time something bothers you in one of our conversations about privileges. Or when I realized you hate eating plain or excessive cheese but love four-cheese pizza. Or when I realized you wake up with back pain if you sleep on your right side, so I switched sides in bed...

Watching Lando vulnerable was comforting. Knowing that he felt this way around me and knowing that we can have a future made me deeply happy. Even better was realizing that he had been noticing me all along. He saw me. And I won't deny it, until yesterday I thought I loved Lando just as a friend. But today, after all his speech, I realized that it was never just that. It was never just kisses and hugs, it was never just sleepless nights, it was never just mornings with a hangover. It was never just friendship. Lando was by my side every step I took over the last few years and I hoped he would continue to be there for the next few years too.

Charlie Brown Jr.¹ once said: "They say it's impossible to find love without losing your mind; But for those with strong minds, the impossible is just a matter of opinion; And even madmen know that." And he was right. Love is blind and madness accompanies it, just like the fable by Jean de La Fontaine says. It's unlikely that you'll love someone without having a hint of madness in the mix. After all, only madmen are capable of loving someone so much without losing their self-love. And I loved Lando Norris. I loved him so much!

Loving Lando Norris was a lazy Sunday morning, between kisses, sheets, affection and love on a cold but sunny morning. After all, that was the definition of love for me. I won't know how to explain it, but that was it. And Lando was all that and much more.

Unable to hold it in any longer, I grabbed his hand to get his attention and settled myself on his lap, beginning a slow, passionate kiss that lasted until both of our lungs were begging for oxygen. When our mouths parted, I pressed our foreheads together briefly before snuggling into his shoulder in a warm embrace.

── Thank you. For paying attention, for understanding my side, for giving me satisfaction even when you shouldn't, for loving me. Thank you for being you and choosing me to love you ─ I whispered.

── I'm the one who should thank you here, love. Thank you for loving me, even if I'll never be half the man you deserve to have.

── You are more than I need, Lan.

And maybe, in the end, only the crazy ones really knew. And, God, how happy I was to be one of the crazy ones.

¹Charlie Brown Jr. was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1992 in the city of Santos, by Chorão, Champignon, Marcão Britto, Thiago Castanho and Renato Pelado.

[janovavalen]

✧AWKWARD CONFRONTATIONS || percy jackson x fem!reader

summary: percy jackson’s first days on camp were hell to say the least—fist day and he got bullied, but when he sneaks away to be alone he finds an interesting girl in the forest.

part one.

part two.

part three.

part four.

part five.

word count: 2402

warnings: reader is daughter of athena, sister of annabeth, horrid flirting, reader lowkey not felling percy for the first half’s of this story line.

THIS IS THE END OF THIS SERIES¡!

as percy rolled in his bead with immediate regret of waking up. he wished posiden decided he didn’t want him as a son anymore and drowned him in his bed. if that were to happen, he’d be beyond happy.

remembering the day before, what she said and how she said it. how desperate she was to leave him in the forest alone. his face growing red with embarrassment he slapped his hands over his face while aggressively throwing his body around in the bed, the blankets falling to the floor while he rolled over and groaned out loud.

just as he finished his tantrum, grover walked in with luke close behind. they had been trying to find ways to get an answer from y/n without pestering her for her feelings. grover said he’d hate to bug her about something she can’t explain or doesn’t want to, especially with them.

‘percy, why is your blanket on the floor?’ luke pointed out the obvious while his finger pointed at the dark blue blanket on the floor.

percy sat up in a rush while he looked between the blanket at them and nervously laughed with his face beat down red—‘o-oh y’know, just…pretty hot last night so i guess me sleeping didn’t want the blanket anymore.’ he told them while he stood up in a rush and picked the discarded blanket and placed it back on his bed.

‘right, uhm—so we were thinking at breakfast we talk to y/n, grover will first and i can second later today. grover talks pretty well with people so i don’t see why she won’t have a soft spot for him’ luke exposed to percy who’s heart beat in a very painful way when he thought of her or whenever her name was brought up.

‘um, right…yeah we can do that’ seeing percy’s unsettled face and body movement, grover walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder—‘percy, it’s okay. you don’t need to stress about it—‘

as grover began, percy shook his head in disagreement—‘no, no grover it is something i need to stress about, okay? she flat out rejected me and i already feel desperate when you guys say your going to talk to her…i mean what if she says she literally hates me, or what if she mentions how i tripped over a rock yesterday—a pebble!’ percy groaned once more as he placed his hands on his face.

grover and luke shared a look before smiling softly at percy—‘don’t think like that, she isn’t like that—well the pebble part yeah that could’ve knocked down some points, but hey…she won’t just reject you the way she did. i’ve seen y/n reject others and trust me she’s flat out told them she’s not interested and listed things they’ve done over time.’ luke revealed to percy who felt a sense of relief.

‘so percy, don’t think negatively about the situation, don’t worry…okay?’ luke added with a soft smile which grover gave one as well while percy thought it was a bit off on how they were both smiling at him like a kid that did something wrong and the parents said—“we’re not mad just disappointed”—giving them a small smile back he nodded his head.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🌊　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

at breakfast percy sat with luke who sat across from him, his plate of breakfast with small portions of different things but a whole load of blueberries and strawberries. nibbling on small bits of each fruit, his eyes trained on grover and y/n who spoke quietly in the field.

he tried to read the body language from across the way but could only pick up how she’d straighten her back every now and again, her hand fixing her hair to place it behind her ear, her eyes would move form the table back to grover who spoke with his hands.

y/n seemed uncomfortable…and percy felt so bad for it because it was him that caused it. looking down at his plate and moving around the fruit and foods luke noticed and turned to see y/n sneak a glance at percy before turning back around.

‘come on…don’t look so beat down about it, not to excite you or anything but she just looked at you—‘

‘what?—huh!’ percy whisper shouted while he looked over at her only to see she was turned back around, he was a bit late but he knows luke couldn’t lie about something like that.

‘was it a good or a bad look?’ her questioned quickly.

‘it looked good’ he told simply with a shrug.

‘did she look like she felt bad or she was going to talk to me?’ percy asked once more. luke tried to think back on how she looked—her eyebrows frowned, her lips turned down a bit, her hands rested by her stomach as she picked at her fingers. —‘she looked like she felt bad, but also looked like she needed to talk to you’ luke told him.

‘oh my gosh, oh my gosh—what do i do if she does? i can’t just speak freely. oh my gosh, i’m going to throw up…’ percy groaned while placing his head in his hands once more.

luke laughed and wished he could’ve taken a picture but was interrupted when grover who sat down aggressively and abruptly—‘okay! okay…dude, your totally good’ grover cleared for percy who let out a dramatic sigh—‘how do you know?’ percy asked in a rush.

‘okay so, she said she was scared because she’d never actually felt something like that for someone and that when you admitted to liking her she froze up and didn’t know what to do so had to leave before she embarrassed herself, she said if she did she would’ve left camp’ grover repeated what y/n said to percy who sat close to him.

‘see what did i say? if she wanted to reject you, she would’ve’ luke smiled at percy whose face was red once more—‘okay but what do i do? like do u talk to her? or leave it alone—‘

‘she said she’ll talk to you, later today…after dinner’ grover revealed making percy’s world shatter, he was so nervous he wanted to throw up and die.

‘are you sure—‘

‘yes! percy it’s okay, it’s going to be fine just…don’t trip over a pebble again…k’ay?’ grover told him with a hand on his shoulder leaving percy to give a tight lipped smile and nod.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🌊　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

percy never wished time would speed up more than right now. the whole day, percy had been sneaking glances at y/n. sometimes they’d reciprocate and sometimes he’d stare for too long where grover or luke would have to snap him out of it.

at archery practice, he stared so hard that the arrow almost shot someone’s foot who sat in the grass while they fixed their arrow, they let him know how they felt very verbally.

when they were sword practicing he would look at y/n and annabeth who practiced together on the hill, away from everyone as they always did—he almost got slashed across the face.

when dinner finally came around he purposely sat a table away down y/n, and when it came for grabbing their food, he was lucky enough to land a spot in line next to y/n—and annabeth too—but mainly y/n. she stood in front of him while he stood behind.

it gave him the time to see how tall she was, she was a little over the same hight as annabeth, but he was a bit taller—he’d hope he got the hight from his dad, if it was from his mom, he wouldn’t grow any taller for the rest of his life…a sad short old man who got rejected so hard—

‘hey percy’ a soft voice spoke. looking up to see y/n grabbing her food but her head turned a little to look at him, he stumbled across his words and looked between her e/c eyes.

‘hey, y/n…what’s up?’ he awkwardly asked with his hands holding his plate as they started to sweat.

‘nothing…grover told you didn’t he?’ she asked for clarity which percy nodded to—‘i’ll be at the lake, later…you don’t have to go or even talk to me…i understand if—‘

‘no, no, i want to, i need to—well not like that, just i'd really like to talk to you…so, yeah..’ he mentally abused himself by throwing rocks at his imaginary self in his head while he grew a bit embarrassed by tripping over his words so bad.

she softly smiled and walked away with annabeth who grinned at her.

hurrying to the table where grover and luke sat, he smiled at what just happened.

‘what just—‘

‘y/n talked to him, i heard it’ grover told luke who ‘ooed’ at percy who rolled his eyes and shoved him in the shoulder a little.

‘wait what do i—‘

‘just wing it…don’t think too much or you’ll make your head hurt, don’t overdo yourself but don't not do anything at all, you’ll be okay’ luke told him with a smile.

‘yeah and definitely don’t wear your hair like that’ grover told him with a shake of his head.

percy reached up to touch his dried out curls—‘what’s wrong with my hair?’ he asked sheepishly. luke and grover looked at each other before looking at percy who would fall victim to their male makeover.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🌊　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

later that night when everyone was ready for bed and in their own cabins, percy walked out of his after being tossed around and changed several times. luke decided he’d wear a plain white shirt with jeans and grover helped him out on his curls since he had a set of his own.

his hair a little damp, but not enough to drip onto his shirt. his shoes being the same converse he always had. wiped his sweaty hands on his pants he took a deep breath and walked down and through to the lake where she said she’d be.

when he got there nobody was there, he must have beat her to it. sighing as he walked only to dock, he looked around before sitting on the edge of it, his converse touching the water slightly as he moved it with the tip of his shoe.

his arms on both sides of him as he looked down into the water. the night was quiet and dimly lit with the touches that were planted across the whole camp. with his legs moving slowly he thought of what could happen.

if anything bad came out of tonight again, he was going back home—

‘taking a late night swim?’ he heard from behind him. looking fastly with his head turned he was met with y/n who wore jean shorts and a white long sleeved shirt with black high top converse like his own. her hair was down and she wore no makeup.

she looked beautiful.

‘yup, heard the waters amazing after dark, sharks and crabs and other sea creatures come out’ he jokes while she shook her head, making her way next to him as she sat down with her hands on her lap, her fingers playing with each other.

the whole tension was quiet and very awkward between them. you could practically slice it with a butcher knife. clearing his throat while y/n looked at him, she began to speak.

‘i didn’t reject you yesterday…’ she started off quiet. he turned to her immediately and looked all over her soft glistening face that seemed to glow with the light of the fires nearby.

‘grover told me you felt like you were rejected, and was embarrassed about it all night and half of the day…i’m so sorry i made you feel like that, percy…it’s just—‘

seeing she was starting to feel bad and look uncomfortable, percy stopped her and held his hand on her hands that rested on her lap—‘no, there’s nothing to be sorry for. you don’t need to apologize for that—‘

‘but i do percy, i do. i push things away and expect them to stay away without any regard for how people might feel. i feel so bad because your an amazing person and…and i like you too.’ when she said this his hand didn’t move from hers but he found himself scooting closer as she spoke, his heart beating so fast he was afraid if they were in a cartoon he’d have that goofy heart animated while it pumped out of his body.

‘i like you to, and i was scared to admit it because i don’t want to hurt you in the future…i could never forgive myself if i did…and i just, i didn’t know what to say.’ she told him with a quiet voice, her eyes stayed on his while he shook his head and his eyebrows frowned in sympathy.

‘it’s nothing to be sorry for…and i understand how you feel. i’m just happy you told me how you felt instead of keeping it to yourself—granted i had grover talk to you and all’ he shrugged a shoulder while y/n laughed a bit her mood lifted.

the air got quiet nice more and percy mumbled—‘you look very pretty by the way…i don’t know if i said it but i just wanted to say it to you, well—you look pretty all the time to be honest i just don’t ever tell you but i wanted to now so you know’ he ranted again making y/n’s face grow warm as she smiled sweetly.

looking him in his eyes she blinked lightly before saying—‘you look pretty handsome too, i like what you’ve done with the gist it looks pretty this way’ she said, grabbing her hand from his and touching the slight wet but dried out messy curls. he blushed deeply and looked at her before smiling and looking out into the distance.

after a bit y/n and his converse touched the tip of the water, and not soon after she placed her head onto his shoulder, smiling like a idiot.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🌊　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

from that week on percy made sure he had grover do his hair every day and even between the day throughout. and every day, y/n said how she loved it and sometimes would style it on her own.

[2n2n]

ch. 110

brutality, no survivors.... incredible suffering for the girlies (you, me, JP twitter)

and here I thought shenanigans would continue... this promo image was an immediate punch at 6AM

and yet this was all things considered the easy part...? ugh, but... please a moment to drink it in... all of my beliefs in the true power exchange... it's so satisfying to see it like this. it's easy, simple to still Tsukasa, isn't it... towering, presiding older brother.... his joudai trailing... touch your seal... the virtue by which you are kept safe, kept his. Poor Tsukasa. covetous object...!

a rascal....! uhh I love pocket-sanding Akane with old man parts ... amazing technique ahaha, Tsukasa knows how to make people lose focus huh? he's in such a good mood isn't he~ not as resentful as he was towards Mirai pestering him...

mirai explode lol.... I can't say I feel much personally, I guessed she might do this ... it's sweet of her to protect Akane, but I can't think much of it, beyond what it contributes to how we should feel about her. Noble rat after all? not so dumb as Akane had said before?

Mirai holding the yorishiro makes sense, for why she's typically locked in their boundary without any freedom. sure... easy. another key to haunt us! more keys why NOT

I like to see Natsuhiko being cool like this ... ♥

but this is so interesting...

I'm never sure how much Mitsuba really understood about the Broadcast club's greater plans... I wonder if Natsuhiko is being literal here, and Mitsuba DID know what he had to do, but had settled on his suicidal ennui.... ah, having to analyze your life for something precious is grim... he has an issue of not appreciating what he has while he has it, and being unable to state it...

.... and there's nobody to correct him. This is such a manga about... 'reasons'....

among the things even possible.. that poor keychain was destroyed. I wonder if there were a few things going on in Mitsuba's mind even then...

I really like... that mysteries, kaii need something anchoring them... I like that it's not enough, to exist... I like that the body naturally dilapidates, 'wants' to move on or become something else. It's a great metaphor....! In this manga... the most important thing, is loving something. If you don't love something, you can't stay alive. You won't....

I'm still wondering if the original thing Kou gave Mitsuba back in vol. 7 will ever come back around... or if it just gave him a complex or curiosity about the 'old' Mitsuba (who he snoops on in PP after this, so....) ... and can't itself be precious so much as worming...

anyhow... I like this turn of events, but it is so shocking we're stacking handling No. 3 and also No. 1!!!! I can't believe it!!!! IT'S ALL HAPPENINGGGG?????!?!? We haven't stacked mysteries like this before ~~!!!! It's so exciting.... I like Natsuhiko a lot in all of this ♥ I don't know... like with Tsukasa and Mitsuba, I believe him that he found it all charming in its own way, and that he wanted to offer what he could to Mitsuba for the timebeing. It's not as if there are other options, here... Mitsuba... really was never doing the things that needed to be done.... or letting others know what he needed to do.

I suppose Natsuhiko could wake up Kou to watch this if he wanted, but I find it much funnier if Kou just has to wake up at the end of this and Mitsuba is eradicated... lol...

can't say I really understand Teru's position about the mysteries...

you understand the mysteries are a kind of structural pillar for this region, but the pressure that was weighing on Hanako at least seemed to be the Minamoto ... it was that imperative the Broadcast Club's been taking advantage of. The rumors created an excuse to justify the sense of mistrust in the mysteries. But I'll never quite know what Teru is even capable of ... since he shouldn't be able to touch yorishiro ... but directly threatens to exorcize mysteries. Can you have extant yorishiro without the mysteries utilizing them.... ??? Well, I just don't understand it yet.... must put it aside.

back to what really matters...

I love how peaceful, relieved, serene he looks here.... finally, you've been so patient, Tsukasa... every little step of this has taken so long.... holding the last yorishiro in your hands... trusting Amane to handle you, after... it must feel good. The end in sight....

I really love this reach for Amane's knife...

back in this position, are we?

ah.... poor Amane. For a moment... I appreciate what he's trying to do, here. He sounds patient... he sounds like an older brother. Explaining so cleanly...

you want to be sure Tsukasa understands... maybe you think-- he hasn't thought this through, or he doesn't get the consequences, he's being childish, or reckless, maybe he's misunderstood how it happened before ... I love to hear Amane, say something so direct as... won't see you again.... won't be able to save you ... everything he did last time! to ensure... that you wouldn't be apart! the binding of their souls! tying Tsukasa down to him like a ship in a storm! protection, mooring... keeping you, where he can see you! remaining together, at all costs! that's important to you too, right, Tsukasa? don't you want to see each other?

it's as if you're saying you don't want to be together, don't want to be saved... what do we do with people who don't ask you to save them? why must they insist on leaving you behind?

Mitsuba won't ask Kou to save him. Sumire wouldn't ask Hakubo to save her. Aoi didn't want Akane to save her. I wonder if Tsukasa didn't ask Amane to save him, but Amane did it anyway... her certainly wasn't asking for a hero in the Red House, or to live on coming back.

it's a kind of rejection, isn't it? When someone is so ambivalent about the life you love so much... the life you want with them... it's as if they're saying, "I don't want to be with you enough to live for you."

Of course, every time, they're really saying ... "I just don't know what I mean to you." Mitsuba doesn't feel valuable to Kou; only a replacement, a reminder of something he once cared about. Best to give up. Sumire imagined Hakubo was only placating her, and could only wish not for his earnest sadness, but for him to pretend to be sad for her. Best to let death happen. and Aoi didn't feel Akane knew the real her, imagined he would reject the real Aoi, only in love with his grand projection of her. Best to step away now.

Of course, Tsukasa thought his brother hated him, so...

It all feels so simple and logical! It's saving trouble, right?

Amane made such a gesture last time... in their shinjuu... he tried, he really tried, to say something ... to Tsukasa.

but, the message didn't go through...

but I can only be so sympathetic to Amane, as he's an incredible hypocrite. Of course, Amane has put Nene-chan through everything Tsukasa puts him through.

You also try to grant your beloved a wish for a future that explicitly doesn't involve you, and make her feel rejected, abandoned, given no choice...

Amane...

oh, Yugi twins....

.... why can't you understand when you're precious? Why can't you understand how bad it hurts, to abandon somebody? Amane-chan really suffered without you, Tsukasa. You're always the one leaving him, and getting to feel sacrificial about it. He's trying to tie you down....

.... it's a natural response... to lash out. Rejected... misunderstood... abandoned... why is Tsukasa asking you to give up on him? Why can't he understand, even with that seal on his cheek... even as you died with him....

兄の思いは届かず…

I really love that for the chapter's end.

Amane's feelings never did reach Tsukasa. It wasn't understood, what he had tried to do, his sadness now. But... Amaneeeee....

maybe you could use a taste of your own medicine....

we think we know just how to make someone else's wish come true, don't we?

isn't it such an insult! WHY!!!!!! """"WHY""""""??????

..... I'm out of images, so I'll continue in a reblog, for a couple more thoughts I'm having ....

but for this post... ahhhh. It's unbelievable we're at least starting to tackle... this. I feel bad for Amane, I really do... I feel bad for Tsukasa, too. It's hard to not hurt someone you love ... in an attempt to only hurt yourself. If we hurt ourselves, we hurt the thing our lover adores ... we spit on their love for us.

I can understand why and how Amane can say "I hate you" ... to Tsukasa. As much as Akane could childishly say it to Aoi ... and you know, it is that same unimaginable love which makes it possible. Years of familiarity, it makes you more liable to lash out. There is such a greater sense of betrayal, when you've expended so much effort... when you try so hard for someone... when you're in so much pain about them....! After all I've done... you CAN'T say this or that to me.... etc, etc! Those intense emotions... can make you feel entitled, to never be hurt... you can't hurt me, after all I've hurt for you!

and I do think it's being said extremely childishly... daikirai... he's just, unable to be any more constructive with his feelings, he's so... hurt, mad. As much as Nene-chan is so mad, hearing Hanako spit on all of her efforts she made to reach him... BIG SLAP!!!

Amane, he's maybe endured 50 years of effort and an awful lot of physical suffering for Tsukasa, and it's not gotten through... wwww! I'm sorry, I'm worried Tsukasa might have a PROFOUND amount of suicidal urge. Might be an uphill battle, Amane... you might just need to save Tsukasa because you are selfish, and you want him for yourself. There might be no easier reason ... to keep him by your side. We can't make Tsukasa beg to stay with you... but you won't beg him to stay, will you? I think that would actually do a lot of good, Amane... but you really won't do that....

meanwhile, I love the juxtaposition of Nene-chan's incredibly childish DAI DAI DAISUKIII and this daikirai lol... we all have big feelings don't we lol....! well...

[hobbitwrangler]

Trick or treat! 🎃

Sorry for taking so long to respond to this, my response has been sitting in my drafts for weeks waiting for me to just spellcheck the damn thing but finally I have done it and here it is!💚

One day, but not today

Elros/Elros' wife | G | 3k | AO3

Idhrenwen had woken with greater energy than normal that morning, and had immediately strategised how best to take advantage of it. She had told her maids that she wished to have breakfast with her grandchildren, ignoring the sceptical looks that they exchanged. It annoyed her sometimes, the way that people would exchange glances and whispers as if she were not capable of noticing, nevermind that her eyesight and her hearing were not what they once were. Yet she refused to let it grate on her nerves, and so she had enjoyed her breakfast with her grandchildren. Elros had been gone already at that point, risen to complete who knew what business. He had always kept strange hours, and Idhrenwen was long accustomed to it, so she set to questioning the grandchildren about their latest adventures, letting herself bask in their simple troubles and their youthful faces and their bright eyes. After breakfast, she had roped Tindómiel into walking about the gardens with her, listening to her speak of her studies and absorbing the scent of the blooming roses all about them. That had been more tiring than she expected, and she had allowed herself a nap after that, waking up to discover with relief that she still had the urge to do more. By that time the news of her sudden burst of energy had reached her husband and when she was departing her chambers she found herself face to face with Tar-Minyatur himself.

He came to a halt directly beside her as she closed the door to her chambers, and she wondered if he had timed his arrival for exactly the moment that she would be awake and upright. Tall and unwearied, he towered above his subjects, even those ever-taller younger generations. When they married, Idhrenwen had begun wearing heeled shoes but in recent years they hurt her feet too much and she was forced to contend with craning her neck again. "Where did you spring from?" she asked, beginning to walk in no particular direction.

He fell into step beside her, arms folded innocently behind his back. "I hear you have been doing the rounds today," he remarked, ignoring her question.

Ah well, she could tell by the simple tunic and the well-worn boots that he had been outside, likely occupied by practical rather than official duties.She fixed her eyes on the faint line of dirt beneath his scrubbed clean nails rather than see the look of faint concern that she knew he wore. They both knew what that burst of energy meant in the sick and the old. "Hardly," she said lightly, brushing one mottled hand over his own. "I managed a few conversations with the grandchildren and I pestered our daughter for a while."

"I heard," said Elros, and she heard that fond, slanted smile in his voice. "She was very pleased at your pestering."

"Good," said Idhrenwen. It niggled sometimes, the feeling that she was an aged burden, weighing down a family whose elven blood rendered them so strong and beautiful and unmarred by the passage of time. The enchanted, faery beauty that surrounded the royal family always fell apart somewhat when she appeared, an old woman, out of place among beings cast in the mould of the Eldar. She was worried about being left behind sometimes, although there was little time for such thoughts now. You will not be left behind, she thought wryly, you will simply leave.

Elros hummed to himself, and she wondered if he could hear her thoughts. He likely could. He had the habit of answering questions that she was sure she had never asked, consoling her for worries that she had never expressed. "Well, how do you feel about a more relaxing afternoon?"

"How so?" she asked, finally tilting her head back to catch a glimpse of his face.

He smiled down at her, eyes the grey of a peaceful sea, captivating in a way that no mortal’s should be. "Come watch the birds with me."

And so here they were, her seated on a soft cushion for her aching joints and him seated on the flat stones of the riverside. It was a warm afternoon, the effect of the sun softened by the shade of the trees and a soft breeze moving through the woods. Elros had insisted that this area of woodland near the palace be preserved and, in deference to their new king’s elf-strange ways, his people had obliged.

He sat beside her, alert and watching, his eyes scanning the woodland and the river below for any sign of life, his notebook open on his lap to take note of anything to remark upon. He had spotted a kingfisher nest when they first arrived and had been occupied for a while, watching the parents feed their young, before his attention was drawn by a heron, which had appeared to watch them with a somewhat suspicious look in its eye.

“How many of those do you think you have by now?” Idhrenwen asked, gesturing at the notebook.

Elros took a moment to refocus on what she had said, before tilting his head in thought. The sunlight filtered down to bathe him in warm light, shining on his long, black hair, his face, with its strong nose and bright eyes seeming only stranger and more beautiful. He looked exactly as he had upon their first meeting, a creature just on the other side of mortality, fair and strange and young. She, on the other hand, could have been another woman. Long ago her russet hair had faded to white strands, curls lost to age. Her face had shrivelled and her body had shrunk, rheumatism and other ills freezing her joints. "Your eyes are the same," Elros would tell her, smiling as he brushed her hair and helped her prepare for bed at night. “River-water under sunlight.”

“Oh, there must be at least one hundred,” said Elros lightly. “They shall take a while to catalogue, certainly, but imagine the picture they shall paint of these lands and all that dwells here!”

Idhrenwen smiled to herself at that. Elros was not afraid of the world about him, not even wolves or bears gave him pause; indeed she suspected that much fear, of death, of foes, of the terrors of life, had been burned from him long before she met him. “There is beauty in this world, no matter how briefly its colours show,” he had told her once, when they still barely knew each other. “And I intend to see it, to make it bloom again, another year, if I can.”

She would have thought one who loved beautiful things would have remained with the elves - indeed she had told him so - but he had only shaken his head. “Simply because a thing lasts does not make it beautiful. The age of a thing does not give it meaning.”

Elros’ voice brought her out of her musings, lively with delight. “Not just a picture of these lands either,” he remarked, holding up the notebook so that she could better see it. 

He had flipped back a few pages to show a drawing eclipsing his notes on squirrel populations. It was a drawing of Tindómiel, smiling her father’s smile, pearls gleaming in her hair. “And look …” He flipped back a few more pages to reveal another drawing. An old woman bent down beside a small boy, arm extended to point something out to him. Me and Aulendil, she realised, recognising the curious look on the boy’s round face. Yes, it truly was her; that wrinkled face, that hooked nose, those embroidered robes and heavy earrings.

“You are making me look awfully callous, guren mell,” she remarked, tugging affectionately at the soft material of his tunic. “All of my notebooks contain nothing but cold facts. What shall they say of the Queen’s heart?”

Elros laughed, a sound so merry that she thought the trees would dance. “They shall say that it was full of the ancient wisdom of her people and the great legends of Men, while her husband wandered in the woods and made his little scribbles.”

That was not true, and they both knew it. As was his way, Elros had thrown his all into his chosen people, into their safety, their strength, their wellbeing. That Númenor stood as it did today, that Armenelos gleamed so brightly in the setting sun, that they were a whole, united people despite all that had befallen them before their journey here, that was all due to him. There was a reason that they had chosen him as their king and it was because they loved him, as he loved them. 

It was hard to remember, sometimes, whether she had loved him first as a king or as a husband, and she had long since given up trying to decide. It was impossible not to love him, she thought, and she was sure, after hundreds of years, that it was not simply the first flush of ardour talking. How could one not love a person so full of life? She had thought it was because of his elf-blood at first, that the glow of immortality must still hang about him. Yet she had met elves since then, and now she was certain that it was simply Elros, and he was indefatigably alive.

Unlike you.

“You know I still wonder that it is real,” she heard herself say. “All that I have been since I was born. That we are here. That I am Queen Nolwendë of the an island born out of the sea. That I have lived so long and seen so much that my mother would never believe …”

“You suit it,” said Elros. "Being a creature out of legend."

She would have doubted him, in the early years. Despite all her bravado, she would have doubted him. She knew some had thought her impudent, out of her depth, attempting to make that strange, beloved almost-Man her own. She had not truly known then, what it would mean, would never have visualised herself as she was now, living in a great palace, her clothes heavy with finery and the weight of her position. She had been caught up in it all, in the heady strangeness of new life and new beginnings and the weight of all that was to be remembered and all that was to be built and all that was to come. And yet even if you had known, you’d have been too stubborn not to forge ahead anyway. And maybe that was why they both sat here, enjoying the forest's calm, because they had both been stubborn enough to try.

Elros’ gaze had wandered to the riverbank, where two otters were splashing in the shallows, chittering and squabbling until they caught his scent. They tilted their heads to one side, looking at him with bright curious eyes. They did not seem afraid of him, rather mildly curious. Maybe they smelled the blood of the Eldar in him or, even fainter, that of Melian.

“It’s like a story,” Idhrenwen remarked to herself.

Elros looked up at her again, inclining his head to indicate that she should continue. “How many stories do you think there are from the dark years, about faery kings stealing fair maidens?”

“I don’t know,” said Elros, meeting her gaze squarely and with an impudence that none of her grandchildren would ever dare display, and sliding into Taliska. “Tell me, Wise Rune of the House of Hador.”

She attempted to slap him, but he caught her wrist, his grip warm and firm as he laughed. “I meant no insult,” he protested, grinning as he reached to grasp her other hand. “Please do tell me, wise one.”

“I have told you it before,” Idhrenwen chided, leaning closer and trying not to smile. “In fact, I remember I began to tell it to you on our wedding night and you would not let me finish.”

“Because I could sense that it had a sad ending,” said Elros firmly, “and I will not have anything to do with that sort of thing.”

There was a long pause. In the silence, Idhrenwen could hear the sighing of the trees, the gentle music of a thrush, mingling with the soothing whisper of the river. It was just like all those years ago, the two of them wandering beneath the trees, her recounting the tales of her ancestors as he helped her across a chattering stream, him attempting to explain the difference between Noldorin and Sindarin jewellery fashions while they gathered herbs, both sitting in silence and enjoying the humming delight of simply being next to each other, watching the sun paint the sky anew. It was easier, within the white walls and intricate comfort of the palace, to withdraw into their ceremonial roles, to hide behind the day-to-day of living and not face the winding inevitability of time.

I will not see the season’s end. They both knew it, but he refused to say it, staring in silence at the river. She knew he did not wish to speak of it. After all, they had spent so many hours discussing it when they were young, huddled beneath the cover of the trees as it rained above them, her knees touching his as they attempted, with minds still so young, to wrestle with the question of his version of mortality. She could remember those moments so vividly, and thanked the Valar that her mind remained clear even if her body was so diminished. She could smell it, the rain on the damp earth, the scent of tree sap and autumn, could feel his hands grasping hers, his thumb rubbing gently against her skin. For all his choice, she thought, looking at the fair being before her, caught between Elf and Man, scarcely changed since those rainy afternoons beneath the pines, he might as well be immortal as far as I am concerned.

Enough. They had had their conversations about all this, and now that it was close, it seemed Elros could not face it. That worried her. She worried what would become of him when she died and all the hypotheticals that they had discussed beneath the pines became real as salt sting in the eyes.

She reached her hand to touch his shoulder, still solid and strong beneath her thin fingers. As if sensing what was to come, he inclined his head, those soft grey eyes taking her in as the breeze cast a strand of black hair across his face. It was loosening in the wind, rogue strands rippling and tangling in the silver and pearl earrings with which he adorned his ears. A gift from Tindómiel, she remembered.

"One day," said Idhrenwen gently, "I am going to die."

They were heavy words, and yet it felt strangely liberating to say them, to hear them mingle with the soft sounds of the river and the forest. I said it, and the sun did not cease to shine.

Elros’ eyes became heavier, his one hand grasping her wrist as the other held hers tightly. "Yes,” he said softly. “But not today."

Yes. But not today. And he was mortal, she realised then. One day, I will die, but not today. Today, I am alive, and I can smell the earth beneath the sun. A pointless defiance in the face of death. It is coming. But it has not come yet. Maybe that was what mortal life was then, a defiant shout into the ungrateful silence. Echoing. She wished to speak then, to point out that while it might not be today, it would come, and swiftly. And yet it was pointless. He had weighed this all up before, had decided, had made the choice of Lúthien. And then he had married her, had chosen to lose her even as he took her unto himself.

"And when you do die,” Elros continued, not breaking her gaze, his voice still gentle and warm as the caress of his thumb against her skin, “I will carry you in my heart until the day I go to follow you and find you among our forefathers and our friends."

And there it was. For all his youth and his elfen beauty and his eyes of things from beyond the sea, he would follow her. It will be just like when we were young, when I led you to the hidden temple and you fell behind. She could remember that so clearly, standing upon the crest of the hill, heart thudding at the thought of showing him what only the wise women of her people knew (and yet what did it matter, they were leaving anyway soon), taunting him for being bested by mortal kind.

"I am sorry I must leave you so soon," she told him, freeing her hand so that she could run it through his hair, soft and warmed by the sun.

Elros smiled a little, caught between tenderness and sorrow. "I am sorry I must follow you so tardily."

That made her smile then, despite the pricking behind her eyes. They had both heard of elves fading after the deaths of their beloveds but, no matter how it would hurt, how he would mourn, he would linger, to look after their people, to watch their children and grandchildren grow up, to count the kingfisher’s children, seated in a row open a tree branch. "You always did take the long way around."

"Always,” he laughed. “But I will go to you with gladness."

"Good,” said Idhrenwen firmly, cupping his face as she met his gaze, ever-strange and more familiar than her own reflection. “I will be patient. So long as you look after the birds and the otters while I am gone."

Elros smiled, inclining his head and planting a kiss on the knuckles of the hand he grasped. "Whatever my Queen would wish," he said, and Idhrenwen felt the sun bathe her in adoring warmth.

ask box trick-or-treat - lovely dividers by @saradika-graphics

[persephone-writes]

A Diviner's Guide to James Potter

Chapter Three: Wicked and Wayward

James Potter x Fem!Gryffindor!Reader

Chapter Two - Chapter Four

Description: Quidditch, firewhiskey, and James. What could go wrong?

Word Count: 5.4k

Notes: I feel as though I might be having too much fun coming up with fake Harry Potter names

Dorcas had woken you up early Saturday morning with all her ruckus. You groaned, peaking out to see a ray of sunshine coming through a small gap in your four-poster curtains. You pulled the covers back over your eyes, still a bit delirious. That was until a crash sounded from somewhere in the room, shortly followed by a “Shite, bloody heater” in a less than successful whisper. You slowly sat up, moving to the end of your bed and poking your head out through the scarlet curtains. Dorcas was standing in the middle of the room by the heater dressed in a pair of jeans and a thick jacket, half bent and clutching her sock clad foot, which had presumably been stubbed. You must have looked horrid, for Dorcas began giggling through her pain. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.” She was still laughing when she placed her foot back onto the floor, going to pull on her boots. You huffed, closing your curtains and throwing yourself down onto the bed. It was likely to be around seven in the morning, far too early for a Saturday. You had stayed up rather late last night, Marlene trying to convince Mary to spill the name of some mystery guy she was going out with. 

“We’re not ‘going out’ going out!”

“Is he cute?” Marlene pestered. “I bet he’s a stud!”

Mary looked like she wanted to disappear completely, covering her face with her hands like she was playing peek-a-boo with a child. 

You fully retreated beneath your blanket, cursing Dorcas for being a clutz at such an hour. You heard her gather up her quidditch bag and leave the room, having the good sense to shut the door as softly as she could manage. In an unforeseen turn of events, the universe granted you another two hours of blissful, uninterrupted sleep, despite Dorcas’s attempts to foil your peaceful morning's rest. When you pushed back the curtains for a second time, Lily was already getting ready. Marlene was absent, probably having already gone down to breakfast. 

You let out a mangled cry as you got out of bed, passing Lily as you walked towards the lavatory. “Dorcas woke me up at the crack of dawn earlier. I was blessed by Merlin to fall back asleep. I’m gonna kill her after she wins this bloody game.” You could hear Lily laugh at you as you shut the door. 

You were the last one to arrive at breakfast, finding Remus and Peter forced to sit without James and Sirius, which was always an odd sight.

“Gracing us with your presence?” you said to them as you sat down. Peter smiled a bit to himself, shrugging as he ate. 

“I was just asking Remus if he's Mary’s mystery man,” Marlene said. Mary’s reddened face fell into her palms like she had done the previous night, elbows sliding across the table and bumping into her plate. She looked as if she wanted the ground to swallow her up and shoot her out someplace halfway across the world. 

“He’s not,” said Mary, mumbling through her hands. “I told you, he isn’t in your year.”

“Fine, fine,” Marlene laughed, pushing Mary’s shoulder a bit to get her to come back out. Mary peeped through her fingers first, surveying Marlene’s expression before dropping her hands. 

“Besides,” said Remus, his tone serious and without humor, “if I were her boyfriend, do you think I’d tell you lot? You’re gossips, every last one of you.” 

Mary’s face, which had since been going back to its original color, grew pink-tinged once more. Her eyes danced around the Great Hall, landing anywhere but on the people in front of her. Remus paid it all little attention, returning to his food with a calm, easy air about him. With James and Sirius absent, no one had a good enough joke about the situation to make its speaking worthwhile, allowing the group to lull back into a far more boring conversation concerning an article in the Daily Prophet. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

As a show of your friendship, or perhaps simply house spirit, you sat squished between Lily and Marlene in the Gryffindor stands, waiting for the match to begin. On the bench behind you, Remus and Peter were murmuring to themselves, scarves double-wrapped around their necks. Lily, always the cheerleader, had red and gold streaks painted across her cheeks, a permanent smile of anticipation upon her rosy face. It was a little less than halfway through the quidditch season and the Gryffindor team was looking especially good this year. Even with months of practice running through drills and scrimmaging, you knew some of the younger teammates were standing on shaky legs, freshly polished brooms held tightly in their sweating hands. You hoped that the new plan James and Sirius had concocted worked out as well as they hoped. 

“All right,” Atticus Bundleby, a fifth year Ravenclaw, said over the loudspeakers. “Welcome to the fourth quidditch match of the season! Today we have Hufflepuff versus Gryffindor!”

All four houses cheered, watching as the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams flew up from their places on the ground. The Hufflepuffs looked like large bees in their yellow and black uniforms, making it a point to circle their house tower. From down the pitch, you could hear the usually mild-mannered Hufflepuffs roaring and stomping, soon performing a well orchestrated wave. 

You all looked for James and Sirius, who came shooting up like lightning from the grass below. The latter whisked himself this way and that, nearly going upside before catching himself at the last second. It was difficult to tell whether this was an intentional, perfectly performed stunt, or rather a happy accident. Either way, the fanfare erupted all around you, everyone standing and screaming at the top of their lungs, throats soon to be hoarse. James flew by him, slapping him on the shoulder before he was off again. 

Marlene shot her arms up in the air and waved a Gryffindor flag. Remus was not much better at containing his excitement, whooping with hands cupped around his mouth. A group in front of you held up a large sign, liking reading something rather insulting towards the Hufflepuff team. Last year, the Slytherin team had come up with a rude, yet clever pun involving James’s glasses, which began an all out war lasting the entire season. The final battle ended with a rather unfortunate dung bomb incident in the Slytherin locker rooms, to which the culprit was never found. It was a lucky break, since James was fully cleared of suspicion, making him eligible for the position of Head Boy.

The players began circling around on the pitch, the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor seekers, Poppy Dunwood and Dorcas at its center. 

“The players take their positions as Monsieur Button steps out onto the pitch to begin the game!”

Monsieur Button walked onto the field towards the wiggling trunk, the bludgers eager to be released. His thick neck craned up to look at the players on their brooms as he spoke to them. He then kicked the trunk open, the golden snitch and two bludgers flying out. You watched the snitch jerk around in the air before seeming to disappear into the vast expanse of the sky. 

“The bludgers are released, as well as the snitch! The snitch is worth a hundred fifty points, its capture ending the game!” Atticus’s nasally voice echoed through the speakers, cutting through the murmuring crowd. 

As Monsieur Button took up the quaffle, the noise in the stands grew. He tossed it in the air, the chasers moving forward. 

“The quaffle is released, let the game begin!”

It had to be, in your biased opinion, one of the shortest matches you had ever attended. It seemed as though in no time at all Dorcas had the snitch firmly in her grasp. She released her thick hair from its confines atop her head, shaking it out with a grin as she made her victory lap around the pitch. Sirius had his beater bat resting on his shoulder before he came to swing it around like a baton. James’s smile shone bright even from so far away.  A pop of red and gold streamers flew from the crowd, falling on your head. 

As usual, you all decided to wait outside of the locker rooms to greet Dorcas, James, and Sirius as they emerged. You stood huddled next to Lily, looking for warmth in the February cold. Remus was rocking back and forth on his feet, a habit of his when he was waiting for anything. The white scar along his cheek and nose crinkled as he scrunched up his face, the biting wind getting to him. 

“That's what you get for being tall,” Marlene joked. “No one to shield you from the wind.”

Remus shook his head at her, pulling his coat tighter around his lanky frame. “Not my fault,” he said, voice a little hoarse from all his shouting in the stands. 

As you all began to grow antsy, James emerged from the locker room, pushing the red patterned curtain aside. His hair was tousled dry and still a bit damp, his curls slightly longer than they usually were. He had on only a thick gray sweater and his Gryffindor scarf, which hung loose around his neck. Your group was to the side of the entrance to make way for the other players, causing James to walk by a ways first, not having noticed your presence. It was a rare sight, being able to watch him just be for a few moments, his profile stark against the muted land. Unfortunately, no one let it last very long, for both Marlene and Remus shouted his name. 

James’s head turned abruptly, a stunning smile of surprise appearing as he shot over. 

“You didn’t have to wait for me,” he said, just like he did after every match. 

“Oh, we’re waiting for Sirius, actually,” said Remus. James’s laugh came through a slight scoff towards his friend. “Really, though, you did good, Prongs.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, cheeks growing tired from smiling, “you were brilliant.” 

You loved the way his face was lit up, touched by his friends' words even after the hundreds of times they had said the exact same thing. No matter how poorly Gryffidnor lost, they were always “bloody brilliant, mate. top-notch work!” You wished things could be like this every day of your life. 

“Really brilliant,” Lily said, prompting the others to nod along. 

“That move you and Sirius did, where he knocked the bludger into Jones right as you were scoring–” Peter recounted breathlessly, miming with his hands. “Merlin, it was fantastic! There wasn’t a way he could see it coming!”

“The Hufflepuffs should be embarrassed,” Marlene proclaimed, positively giddy. “Their Common Room is set to be absolutely–”

“Horrid, downtrodden, a ghastly display of melancholy?” Sirius taunted, emerging from the locker room. He threw an arm around James’s shoulder, brimming with a somewhat pompous pride. 

“Oh, but don’t you feel kind of bad,” you began, your smile still very much present despite your words. “What an awful way to lose.”

“Don’t feel bad for those hacks, they should’ve stepped up their game,” Sirius laughed, pushing James’s head which only came popping right back up. “Hey!” he began again, a sour look on his face, “anyone going to tell me how fantastic and handsome I was out there, or am I chopped grindylow?”

“You did very well, Sirius,” said Lily with a good dose of sarcasm. He seemed unsatisfied with her poor excuse of congratulations, looking to the rest of you. 

Dorcas then came through the curtains, beaming as Marlene called out her name. The cacophony of praise soon was directed towards her, who was still basking in the team's victory. 

“That's it?” Sirius exclaimed, folding his arms over his chest as would a belligerent child, cross with their parents for taking away a toy. “Meadowes gets all the praise now? I see how it is.”

“I did most of the work, anyway,” Dorcas stated dryly. Sirius looked laughably glum, his frown only growing.

“She’s right,” said James. “The seeker and the captain are clearly the most important. Besides, half of it was the Grumblesnad.” He smirked, prouder of himself now that he had been reminded of his own cleverness. 

“I came up with the plan, you twat! The Grumblesnad is my baby.” The back of Sirius’s hand hit James in the chest. 

Remus scoffed under his breath. “ Sure .”

“What in Godric’s name is a Grumblesnad?” Marlene asked.

“Only the greatest series of quidditch maneuvers ever to be conceived,” said Sirius, ignoring Remus’s apparent discount of his role in its creation. 

“Which is half mine!” 

After a fuss between the two, in which James pushed Sirius and shoved him a ways, Sirius’s eyes met yours with a particular twinkle, then moving to Marlene’s. You held your tongue and waited for his eventual witty remark, ready for combat. 

“Come on, darling, don’t hold back the compliments,” his voice raised in a bit of a sing-song, still looking at Marlene. “Lay ‘em on me, I know you want to!”

“Yes, yes, Sirius, you were magnificent, completely took my breath away,” her tone fell rather flat, throwing Lily into soft giggles. Although he was being rather irritating, you couldn’t find it within yourself to be entirely annoyed, happy his mood seemed to have improved considerably since yesterday. You only hoped it would last the night. 

“Can we get out of the cold, please,” Remus said, glancing down at Peter. “I think Wormtail’s gonna keel over soon.”

Peter did look rather uncomfortable, smiling sheepishly at the sudden attention. 

“Yeah, my hairs going to freeze solid at this rate,” James said, beginning the walk back towards the castle. The others followed, all close to one another in a useless effort to keep warm.

“It’s not even freezing out, making it utterly inconceivable your hair would turn solid,” Lily corrected.

James shook his head, too belated to care.

The castle was full of bustling students chatting to themselves, all heading back to their Common Rooms for the evening. It was a Friday just after a match, meaning all the rooms would soon be filled with lively laughter and a great deal of music. The group made their way through the portrait hole, all heading up to their rooms to get ready for the coming party. As you and your roommates headed up the stairs, Sirius called out a highly unnecessary: “Don’t need to get pretty for me ladies, I like you just the way you are!” causing you all to collectively groan and roll your eyes. Sirius had a knack for getting that sort of reaction out of a person. 

•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

The music was loud, reverberating through the Common Room like a concert hall. Chatter filled the spaces in between the music, cigarette smoke rising from the groups of students packed inside, all changed out of their uniforms. When you and Lily came down from the dormitory, she had pulled you immediately to the center of the room, which had been cleared of some furniture. Every party she’d beg you to dance, and every time you’d act as if she couldn’t convince you to do so. 

After dancing yourself sweaty and thirsty, you went over to the table near the back to get yourself another drink, leaving Lily to cut it up with a more willing participant. It was the first time all day you weren’t worried about something, and you planned to ride the feeling as far as it would take you, even if it did cost you a hangover. Marlene was already at the table mixing her own. She had an odd knack for making something strong that tasted sweet and mild as juice. The only problem was the effect it had on your stomach the following morning.

“Get tired?” Marlene laughed, taking an experimental sip of her drink  before setting it down on the table, adding some blue liquid to which you had no memory of ever seeing before. As you grabbed the firewhiskey, she poured some of it into your cup as well. 

“Yeah,” you said with a shake of your head, your fingers buzzing. “If Lily had it her way I’d be out there until sunrise.”

“And then to the library after breakfast,” Marlene joked, taking a second sip and nodding at the taste. You screwed the cap back on the bottle, grabbing your drink and walking back into the thick of the party. Marlene followed behind, trailing you as you made your way to the fireplace. Somewhere along the way you passed Lily dancing with Mary, her face paint still present, but rather smeared. 

You found Peter, James, Remus, and a very drunk looking Dorcas squished onto the red sofa. James was leaning forward in order to make the necessary room, Remus with his arms pressed tightly against his sides. Despite this, they all appeared wildly happy. You wandered over, standing in front of them with a giggle at their positions. Marlene plopped down in the only empty armchair, holding her cup by the rim as her arm hung over the side. 

“You guys look cozy.” 

Dorcas smiled up at you, glassy-eyed and dazed. “It’s all James’s fault,” she said, glancing over at him. 

His elbows were resting on his knees, strong arms slightly flexed. You tried to settle your spinning head, unsure if it was due to the drinks or him . His laced hands, so ordinary yet impossibly lovely, threatened to make your knees weak. The torch you’ve been carrying for him was only intensified by your inebriated state, forcing you to remind yourself to behave. The reminder that your crush was turning into something frighteningly strong washed over you like a wildfire, but you willed it away as best you could. With a great deal of effort, you looked to Dorcas, dreading the prospect of being caught ogling your friend's ex boyfriend. 

“So mean,” James complained, voice higher pitched than usual. Dorcas’ laugh came mostly through her nose, sloppy and without embarrassment. 

“Sit,” Remus offered you, standing up and moving around the coffee table, which was littered with abandoned drinks and a couple of ashtrays brought down from someone's room.

“No, no, I’m fine,” you said with a wave of your hand, wishing to the stars that Remus would sit back down. 

“I was getting up anyway, have to take a piss,” he said, rather matter of factly. 

“Charming.” You watched as he disappeared into the crowd with a shrug. If there weren’t so many people around, you may have cursed him. 

You didn’t immediately sit, telling yourself it was because you felt bad for Peter, who was previously halfway on the arm. When you failed to move, James looked up at you, neck bared and cheeks ablaze. They were rosy on a good day, but when he drank they looked as though he had borrowed someone's rouge. 

“Aren’t you gonna sit?” James asked, syllables melting together. 

You shook your head, holding your cup to your chest and growing more nervous the longer he stared. “It’s fine, I’m okay standing.”

“I’m leaving too,” Dorcas said, standing up onto unsteady legs and smoothing over her trousers. 

“You don’t have to get up for me,” you pleaded, an awkward, festering anxiety pooling in your stomach.

“I’m getting up because you lot are bores,” she laughed. “Going to find the real party.” 

James gave her a faux glare, trying to swat at her but missing. 

Dorcas didn’t linger, letting out a laugh before weaving her way through the sea of others. She shouted something along the lines of “Lupin, I’ve got a challenge!” but you were unable to catch the rest. 

James scooted over towards the middle of the couch, leaving you no choice but to eventually take the place beside him. Although you always had an itching desire to be near him, this very situation was something you usually tried to avoid. Making a fool of yourself was not on your list of things to do this weekend, nor was fawning. The whole ordeal was far easier to navigate when he and Lily were a couple, since it was second nature to not flirt with one of your best friend's boyfriend. Now, it was complicated. 

He was staring at you, dark, tousled curls askew, smiling unabashed in your direction. Tentatively, and only because you had to, you sat down next to him. He was still looking at you, clearly amused at something you didn’t catch. His eyes were made golden by the fire, and you couldn’t help but stare back into them, trying to figure out what he was thinking. 

“What?” you asked with a nervous chuckle, feeling achingly sober all of the sudden. He just laughed a bit, leaning back into the sofa and letting his legs stretch out. 

“Nothing,” he said, eyes dancing from this point to that, sometimes coming back to your face. 

“ What ?” you asked again. 

He just laughed at you more, wicked and wayward. “Leave a drunk man alone!” 

Peter began to laugh at James, prompting the latter to shove his shoulder into the cushion. You shook your head at them, feeling a happiness rise within your chest like champagne bubbles. 

“You’re not one to sit down at a party,” you commented, looking back to see a hoard of students dancing. James was often one of them. 

He shrugged, picking up his drink from the coffee table and downing half of it. You watched his adam's apple bob, delicate and altogether beautiful. You swallowed down the will to tell him so.  

“This third degree!” he whined again. “I’m getting burned here, darling.”

The name made your stomach flip, your heart sending a single, forceful beat against your chest. You could feel your face heating like a kettle, or perhaps a cauldron, thankful to be able to blame it on the fire. You suddenly decided that the only way to ward off your swelling nerves was to get absolutely pissed. You took a sip of the evil, awful concoction Marlene had made you, which tasted lovely but was sure to get you nice and hammered. 

You swallowed it down, sweetness and tart lingering on your tongue. “You’re mysterious tonight. Very unlike you.” 

“Peter, am I being mysterious?” James was smirking in his direction, throwing an arm over the back of the couch behind his head. Peter’s face contorted into something straddling annoyance and hilarity. He shook his head, not as an answer but as a dismissal of the question.

“Really, though,” you continued, your head halfway fuzzy, “why aren’t you out there, you know, getting your groove on?”

“Getting my groove on?” He had that teasing grin on his face that always made you sweat. You persevered, lacking the willpower to get up and leave just yet. Perhaps you were a glutton for punishment, or just a run of the mill masochist. 

“Yeah, doing your excellent disco moves,” you said, swaying a bit in your seat. “Which, by the way, I have no idea where you learned.” 

James shook his head and took another long sip, draining his cup. He then said your name, muddled and messy. “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“Are you telling me I dreamt up that little routine you did Friday before the Christmas holiday?”

“No, you did not,” said Peter. You stretched out your hand towards him, raising your brows at James. 

“That was spur of the moment. Can’t be replicated,” he answered, eyelids growing heavier by the minute. “Plus, I was very drunk. Marlene was mixing.”

“That explains it,” you laughed, looking down into your cup. The liquid inside was green from whatever the blue liquor was that had mixed in with the firewhiskey. You glanced over at Marlene, who was talking to a boy from your year who stood beside her armchair. When you looked back at James, his eyes were already on you. “When's the next match?”

“Hufflepuff and Slytherin are playing on the fourth Saturday in March this year, then us against Ravenclaw just before exams,” he paused, a small, lopsided smile peaking out. It threatened to topple you over. “Why? Wanna work on a cheer or something?”

“No,” you drawled, leaning back into the sofa. “Just asking.”

You hated the way he was looking at you. It was suffocating and exposing all at once, turning you inside out. Beside you, James was reclined, now with hands clasped across his stomach. His shirt rode up a bit, just enough to send you spiraling further. You needed to say something, and quick.”

“How many points do we have right now?” you asked, although you had a good idea already. 

“Four-thirty,” James said proudly. “Slytherin is close, though. They’re at four hundred. Hufflepuff doesn’t have a chance after today. There's no way they’re catching up in March.” 

You nodded, racking your brain for something else, but ultimately coming up empty.

“C’mon,” said James, sitting up, “can’t sit here all night. Dance with me or something.”

You shook your head violently. “No, no. I’m fine right here,” you laughed to cover up the wave of unsettling beating which had returned, stronger than it had been before and banging in your ears relentlessly.

“You’ll dance with Lily and not with me?” he teased. “And, weren’t you absolutely desperate to see my moves a minute ago?” He was laughing, eyes a bit glazed over but no less piercing.

“I–” you began, unsure how to get yourself out of it, “I’m just a little tired is all. Maybe later.” 

“I’m starting to think you weren’t joking when you said Peter was your favorite,” he said, his voice languid. 

You couldn’t speak, so you simply laughed again. With another look into your cup, you were reminded of your earlier plan to get sloshed. You swallowed down as much of your drink as you could manage, though were unfortunately stopped after a few chugs. James put a hand on your arm, pulling it away.

“Slow down, love. I’ll have to take you to Poppy if you keep that up.” 

You let him move the cup towards your lap. The uncontrollable, unquenchable feeling of affection crept up on you, swarming your head with a newfound intensity. He called you love. You were marching like a soldier into enemy territory, ammo gone and gun jammed. Even your helmet was askew. You had an acute, unwavering sense that if you stayed beside him any longer, you’d do something highly regretful. 

“Marlene!” you said, standing so quickly a bit of your drink sloshed out of your cup and onto the table, leaving a small, green splatter. She perked up in her armchair, head tilted up at you. The Gryffindor beside her stared at you with bloodshot eyes. “I need to go to the loo. Will you come with me?” 

James opened his mouth but was unable to get a word out, for you grabbed Marlene’s arm just as she set her drink down on the table, dragging her into the crowd. 

“You really have to pee, don’t you?”

You huffed, gauging if you were well enough concealed within the packed room to change course. You pulled on Marlene’s arm again, turning you each around towards the portrait hole. Realizing you still had your drink, you hurriedly left it on a bookshelf against the wall before rushing off again. 

“Hello? Earth to Y/N? The dormitory’s that way.” 

You briefly looked back at Marlene, eyes wide and pleading. She settled a bit, allowing you to pull her to the portrait hole and out of the Common Room. You stood in the corridor, the music muffled and soft. Your breath came out uneven and shallow, distracting you from the baffled look Marlene was sporting. 

“Now what was that all about?” she asked, motioning to the Fat Lady. 

“I’m sorry,” you said quickly, pacing back and forth for a moment. “I’m sorry, I just had to get out of there.”

“I love you, you know that…but our room wouldn’t have sufficed?” she asked, laughing before she fully took in your rounded shoulders, eyes downcast towards the floor. “Come on, let's take a walk or something,” she offered softly. 

You nodded, allowing her to lead her down the hall. She took you to a corridor on the fourth floor, dimly lit by a few candles which would soon burn out as the night went on. The portraits along the walls were mostly asleep, some gentle snores arising from their confines. Others, however, were yet to slumber.

“Hello, Miss McKinnon,” said the portrait of an old woman in a pointed hat, her golden frame large and ornate. “Out after curfew, I see?”

Marlene glanced up at her for a brief moment, then at you, her eyes meeting yours for the first time since you descended the staircase.

“Hello, Lady Decima,” she said quietly, growing silent as she watched you look around in the near darkness. The candlelight flickered on the side of your face, illuminating your inward facing eyebrows, furrowed and harsh. Marlene said your name, and you finally looked up. “Is it Divination?”

You shook your head, fisting a hand in your hair before letting it drop limply at your side. You felt like a child, huffing in the hallway after dark. 

“No, that's the least of my worries right now. ” 

“Is it one of those things that seems awful right now, but silly in the morning?” Marlene asked, entirely serious. 

You laughed bitterly to yourself, shrugging. “I don’t know, maybe? I don’t think so.”

Marlene leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. Her arms rested on her knees, hands bouncing up and down a few times. You watched the flame of a candle on the wall grow shorter, soon to flicker out. 

“Are you mad at someone?”

You shook your head again, slowly coming up to sit beside her. In the empty, silent corridor, the problem which led you all the way out here felt so far away, like it wasn’t even real any longer. When you closed your eyes the room spun, forcing you to face the stone pillar in front of you. 

Marlene sighed, cocking her head as she looked at you with pity. “Will I have to interrogate it out of you, or will you cooperate?”

You paused in consideration, though your mind was working too slowly, too uncalculating to accurately weigh the pros and cons of truthfulness. You took the icy plunge. 

“I fancy James,” you muttered, head coming back to rest against the stone. You thought admitting it would feel bigger, but it was as if the words were in a different language you didn’t understand. Whatever transformative experience you had been expecting never came, and you couldn’t decide if what you felt was relief or disappointment. Marlene said nothing at first, so you filled in the empty space. “And I know I can’t do anything about it. It wouldn’t be right to Lily, and theres no way he feels remotely the same. But Godric, is it killing me, and it’s only getting worse.”

Marlene hummed, lips pursed for a moment as she mulled it over. “Yeah, Dorcas thought you might.”

Your head whipped towards hers. “What?”

“Before the winter holiday she said something to me. I wasn’t convinced, though.” She shrugged, smiling so poignantly it made your heart break. “Guess I was wrong.”

You groaned, your head falling forward as you stared a hole into your lap. The whole thing felt wrong, like a pair of ill-fitting trousers. This corridor may as well have been a deep, dark tunnel you burrowed yourself into, made up of all things rotten and dank. A great, mounting feeling of shame burst through your chest, crushing you from the inside. Maybe this was the transformation. You knew, at least in part, you had done this to yourself. 

“I feel thirteen again, and I don’t like it.”

Marlene laughed, hiccuping once and holding a hand to her mouth. “I really wish we had done this sober.”

“Me too,” you laughed, sharing a glance her way. When your eyes met, you both fell into a fit, tears forming in your hazy eyes, a mess of giggles sounding in the stygian hall. 

“Really, though,” Marlene sighed, coming down from her laughter, “what’re you going to do?”

You paused, a bit happier than before in the company of your friend. One of the candles faded out and the room became just a little darker. “I have no clue, Marls.”

Chapter Four

[thoughtsandbones]

The way you ease my trepidation

Kyle 'Gaz" Garrick x F! Black OC (Clarissa Edwards)

Because I keep seeing posts on people excluding our guy Gaz who's LITERALLY THE MAIN CHARACTER YOU PLAY IN MWI and MWII!!!!!

The storyline follows my main fanfic from Part 15 II - Simon 'Ghost' Riley x F!MedicDoc OC (codename: Blue) 💀💙

WARNINGS: Profanity, fluff, medical inaccuracies (because all my knowledge regarding medicine comes from Grey's Anatomy and that one stint I did as a first aider)

A/N: This is my first time writing a black character, I've heavily used @writingwithcolor as a guide to ensure I am doing my best to represent the characters. Please do let me know if there are any issues!

Song inspo: 'No Blame' - Christina Chong, Move - Milo Greene, Maan Meri Jaan - King and Nick Jonas, Phantom Studies - Marcel Dettmann and Ben Klock

As Kyle made his way to the RAMC building, Soap's voice echoed in his head.

"Can't feel my legs"

"Lt I'm not gonna make it"

He tightened the grip he had on his vest that he still had not taken off, tainted with Soap's blood when helped Ghost with packing the cellox into the gunshot. Checking his watch it was 12:15pm.

Doc should be done by now he thought to himself as he walked through the double doors, walking past all the medical personnel and straight to reception.

He was met by an empty desk, and looking around the wards he could not see the Doctor nor any other authority figure. Kyle slid his hand into his back pocket retrieving his keycard.

The ambush from AQ when they were in Al Mazrah was something they had not expected, especially not with the kind of hardware they were carrying. State of the art machine guns, snipers, RPGs and up armoured vehicles. All this reeked of Makarov's doing.

Squeezing his fist tighter at the thought of Makarov's smug face made his blood boil. He smacked the reception desk hoping to release some of his built up anger, but it didn't help.

It was then he noticed the big whiteboard behind the desk on the wall and moved closer to it, scanning down the list of patient names until he found John MacTavish, his eyes slid across the row and saw Dr Hari Kaur and Dr Peyton Marie as surgeons assisted by Nurse Clarissa Edwards, Nurse Jenny Mao and Nurse Mikey Way. He then saw he was in the ICU bed 12. Looking down at his all-access keycard, Kyle grinned slightly and made his way to the double doors where the sign pointed ICU.

Once he arrived at the ICU, Kyle made his way to bed 12. There he saw Soap, laying on his back, eyes still closed and intubated. Cables where attached to Soap which were connected to the machines surrounding him, beeping rhythmically. The pipe coming out of his mouth was so unnatural an uneasy sick feeling settled in Kyle's stomach as he stepped closer.

"Soap?" He said, hoping that somehow the Scotsman could hear him and wake-up.

But no answer.

"Jesus" He whispered as he rested his hands against the bed where Soap laid. "You gotta wake up mate" He said nudging his left hand slightly.

Still no response.

Kyle sighed and closed his eyes, running his calloused hands through his hair and scratching the nape of his neck.

"Excuse me, what are you doing in here?" A voice behind him said sharply. Kyle turned, his eyes met a nurse dressed in baby pink scrubs that made her deep sepia skin glow, there was a green stethoscope wrapped around her neck that was crowned by black braids that swayed as she moved closer to him. In her hands she carried a tray with a big bag of liquid with a long thin pipe coming out of it.

"Err.. came here to see Soap" Kyle said, trying to remain cool, straightening up to appear more authoritative

"Dr Marie said I could see him" he lied, hoping she won't pester him...

"Really?" She said, her brown eyes widening, a grin appeared on her face. "When did you speak to her?" She asked moving over to Soap setting aside the tray on the overbed table, and then checked his charts that was in the folder hanging on the end of the bed near his feet.

Kyle cleared his throat. Gotta bullshit my way out of this he thought

"Few minutes ago in reception" He said, smiling at the nurse, trying to look at her keycard to identify her.

The nurse looked up from the chart and at Kyle, and raised her left eyebrow.

"Now, that's a lie as Dr Marie is currently snoring her head off in the on call room."

A wave of guilt and anxiety rushed over Kyle as he was rumbled.

"Err-" Kyle stuttered as he looked around the ICU, shifting his weight before looking back at the nurse who was still giving him a cautious look.

"I'm sorry I lied, just needed to make sure he was okay" Kyle admitted, looking back at Soap.

The nurse slightly relaxed, putting away the charts back in the folder and looked at Kyle as he gazed upon Soap. Her gaze met his and his eyes wandered back to her, she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Alright, five more minutes, I need to give him some meds so you can stay here with me." She sighed moving towards the alcohol gel dispenser, squirting the foam on her hands before rubbing them together.

"Thanks Doc" Kyle said grinning at her

The nurse laughed "I'm nurse Clarissa Edwards, not a doctor" She said "Doctors wear blue scrubs, nurses wear pink or green" She added putting on a pair of pale blue gloves.

"Ah okay, that makes sense" Kyle said, now remembering Dr Kaur always wearing blue scrubs "It's nice to meet you Clarissa, I'm Sergeant Kyle Garrick"

"Nice to meet you too Sergeant" Clarissa said, giving him a big smile. Kyle watched as she moved over to the tray on the overbed table, grabbing the IV bag and hooking it onto the IV stand, and then moved to Soap's right hand, taking the stopper out of the cannula on the front of his hand, inserting a syringe with saline to flush the cannula.

"What's that you doin'?" Kyle asked curiously, peeking over to see what Clarissa was doing

"Just doing a saline flush, making sure any residual medicine is pushed into his vein, and prevents infection." She said, briefly looking over at Kyle's curious face.

"Ah I see" Kyle says "Did the operation go well?" He asked

Clarissa looked up. It was natural and normal for fellow soldiers to be perplexed about medical procedures, especially when their teammates were involved.

"The op went well, Dr Kaur and Dr Marie did their best" She said, not taking her eyes off the cannula as she attached the line of the IV bag.

Kyle hesisted a bit, his left leg began to shake rapidly, the heel of his boot making a rapid tapping sound against the vinyl floor. Clarissa looked down at his foot and then back up to Kyle's concerned face, sensing the oncoming trepidation.

"He got shot in the back" Kyle blurted without thinking, looking at Clarissa, who narrowed her eyes and then returned to the cannula, using an alcohol wipe to clear up the dirt between Soap's fingers.

Kyle wanted to smack his head against the wall. Stupid thing to say, of course she knew that he thought, turning away from Clarissa he rolled his eyes and brought his right hand to his face, running his forefinger and thumb across his brows.

Clarissa took her gloves off, and took a deep breathe in through the nose before exhaling through her mouth.

"The bullet was removed, there was a bit of nerve damage, but Dr Kaur did a neural graft. We won't know the full extent of any damages until he wakes up" She said to Kyle who still had his back to her.

Kyle turned back around

"He said he couldn't feel his legs on the helo" Kyle said, eyes glazed with tears as his mind took him back to the moment in the helo when Soap said those exact words to them.

Clarissa moved away from Soap and then walked around the bed, facing directly towards Kyle.

"You and your team did the best you could, the cellox was a great call, it definitely saved his life" She said, placing her hand on Kyle's shoulder.

Kyle felt a ripple of warmth wash over him as she placed her hand on him, he gazed at Clarissa, who smiled at him, he was struck by her striking beauty and kindness.

"It will take time, at the moment, it is a bit too early as he needs rest to aid recovery" Clarissa stated, smiling at Kyle. "We are keeping an eye on him, and we have the best doctors and nurses around in case anything happens" She added

Kyle's anxiety eased as she continued to reassure him that Soap would be okay.

"I suggest you also get some rest Kyle, I'll give you a call when he wakes up" She said

The continued reassurance and smiles that Clarissa gave him additional comfort. Kyle felt at ease.

"Thanks Clarissa, I'm sorry for barging in and lying" He said, looking guiltily at her

Clarissa laughed and smiled broadly which made Kyle's heart flutter as she gently tapped him on the the shoulder.

"Better get going, don't want to get in trouble" She said

"Ah I won't get in trouble don't worry" He said smiling back as he headed towards the door.

"Not worried about you! I'm saying me! Only authorised personnel are allowed in the ICU, especially not those covered in blood and dirt... no offence" Clarissa said, winking Kyle.

"Shit," Kyle said, realising he dragged his dirty combat boots into the ICU, breaking the clean protocol, he hurried to the door and opened the door, allowing Clarissa to walk through first who had whispered a thank you to him as she passed.

They walked out down the corridor back towards a now busy reception area.

Kyle turned to Clarissa who moved behind the reception desk, grabbing a whiteboard pen before scribbling the names of medicine and time administered on the row where Soap's name was. She turned towards Kyle who was still standing by reception.

"Thanks again Clarissa, you were really helpful" He said, smiling back.

"No problem Kyle, I promise to call you when he wakes up and when I get proper authorisation from either Dr Marie or Dr Kaur" She said, laughing slightly as Kyle widened his eyes at the mention of Dr Marie.

"You won't tell her-" He began

Clarissa's eyes widened and she shook her head as she noticed Dr Jones walk in behind Kyle.

"Clarissa, I need you to check on Miles in ward 3" He said not making any eye contact with her and moved towards the board.

"Yes sir" She said looking at him cautiously as he scanned the board "I'll speak to you later Kyle" She said finally before walking off. Kyle watched on as she walked off

"Bye Clarissa!" He yelled at her and laughed as she turned and gave him another wink.

Kyle walked back out the doors of the RAMC and basked in the sun that shone down on base. Relief washed over him as he took a big inhale through the nose. Checking his watching it was 1:36pm, he had been up for over 24 hours, and decided to take Clarissa's advice of getting some well deserved rest as he headed back to his quarters.

He hoped to see that dazzling smile soon.

[talesfromasnarkylisa]

Stranded In Arendelle: Chapter 2

July 21st, 1843

7:00 AM in the morning and Eugene was still sleeping. Rapunzel went to wake him up.

“Honey,” she exclaimed, “we’re here!”

Eugene woke up.

“We’ve arrived? Yes!”

There it was. Arendelle with its gorgeous fjords and complex architecture. In the city centre, of course, was the majestic castle where the coronation would be taking place. Other ships were arriving as well. Some with coronation guests, others with middle-class tourists. At last, it was time.

Upon arriving, both Rapunzel and Eugene were greeted with a plethora of questions. To both of their surprises, many of them were about their chaotic adventures from a few years ago. While Eugene mostly enjoyed the questions (save for a couple about his Flynn Rider days), Rapunzel was less than happy. She was constantly pestered about her old hairstyle and Mother Gothel. Oh, and about Cassandra and Varian’s actions as well.

“Man,” Rapunzel whispered to Eugene, “these people are really testing my patience right now!”

“Don’t let them get to you, sweetheart,” he told her. “They’re just random strangers.”

From afar, the two witnessed a red-haired woman in a fancy green dress dance for a bit before falling into the shoreline water. They recognized her as Princess Anna from the Arendelle royal guidebook.

“I’d see why they wouldn’t make her the heiress,” snarked Eugene. 

“She looks very naive and sheltered,” Rapunzel added. “Reminds me of a younger me. Pretty sure that’s what over a decade of isolation does to a person. I kind of feel bad for her.”

The time was 2:00 PM, which meant the coronation would be in an hour. Rapunzel and Eugene had no idea how to enter the castle in time. The old maps of Arendelle’s capital they held onto were extremely outdated due to the security ramping up after 1830. Rapunzel asked around, to no avail. Eventually, they stumbled across Princess Anna near a large building.

“Hiiiiii!” Anna greeted the royal Coronan couple. 

She eyed Rapunzel.

“Are you the tower princess?”

“Please don’t ever call me that,” Rapunzel answered, “but yes, I am Rapunzel.”

“Your Majesty,” asked Eugene, “do you have any idea how to get into the castle?”

“Of course!” she said in glee. “Please, call me Anna. You’re pretty far right now. First, you gotta make a left. It’s a fairly straight path for a while. Then, turn right. This is where it gets tricky.”

She was interrupted by a male voice.

“Anna? They’re preparing for coronation right now.”

“No problem,” she responded, “but I need to explain to some people how to get there.”

“Baby, leave them alone,” he said to her. “Worry about your own duties first.”

“Ok, sweetie,” Anna sighed. “I’m sorry guys. I really have to go now.”

The princess of Arendelle left to find her boyfriend at the castle.

“Now what do we do?” Eugene questioned.

“Ask someone else,” Rapunzel stated. 

“And look how well that’s been working,” told Eugene. 

Rapunzel pondered for a moment.

“You have a point,” Rapunzel stared at the nearby library. “Maybe there are some newer maps at the library over there.”

They were speed walking to the library when a young woman in formal attire approached them. She couldn’t be any older than 18.

“Do you need any help?” the dark-skinned woman asked.

Rapunzel turned around. She recognized the woman as a princess from Africa. Where, she couldn’t exactly remember.

“By God, yes!” Rapunzel said. “Have you been here before?”

“Yes,” the princess answered. “The name’s Nuru.”

“Great!” Rapunzel grinned. “Do you know how to get inside the castle?”

Nuru gave her a newer map of Arendelle.

“Follow me!”

…

The coronation ceremony was every bit as boring as Rapunzel expected it to be. Churchy, dull, bland. But once that was done, it was time to feast and party. She enjoyed partying much more.

What Rapunzel was mainly here for, though, was to negotiate a trade deal with Arendelle. She tried talking to the newly coronated queen. However, talking to Elsa proved futile, as she always seemed to sidestep questions. The embassy and royal advisors being busy, Rapunzel decided to talk to Anna.

“So…how’s the coronation going?” Rapunzel asked Anna.

“Best day of my life!!!” Anna squealed. “I’ve eaten delicious food, met so many amazing people, and you know what’s the best part?”

“What?” wondered Rapunzel.

“I met the love of my life today! He just proposed to me. And obviously, I said yes! We’re going to get married!”

A red-haired man whom Rapunzel immediately recognized as one of the Westergaards waved to Anna, who waved back. He then went through another hallway.

“Yeahhhh, I’m not sure marrying this guy right now is the best idea,” said Rapunzel. “First of all, you’ve just met him.”

“Isn’t that how you and Eugene got together?” Anna was befuddled.

“He didn’t propose to me the day we met,” Rapunzel told Anna. “It took a few months. Even ignoring the fact you’ve never met your fiancé until now, you do know what the Westergaards are like, right? Power-hungry. Misogynistic. Honestly, I think he just wants your money.”

Anna frowned.

“What’s misogynistic?” she questioned.

“It means they hate women,” Rapunzel responded. “I learned it from an English book.”

“Ohhhh,” Anna finished her drink. “I do know about the reputation of the Southern Isles royal family, by the way. But Hans seems like such a nice guy. And it’s not like children are doomed to inherit their parent’s failings.”

The princess of Corona was instantly reminded of Cassandra and how different she was from her mother. Rapunzel suddenly felt homesick and nostalgic.

“If that’s what your heart wants, then I can’t stop you,” stated Rapunzel. “You might want to talk to your sister, though.”

“I’m sure Elsa will be fine with it!” exclaimed Anna. “She hasn’t cared about my whereabouts these past few years anyways.”

Rapunzel then remembered what she first approached Anna for: the trade deal. 

“Do you have any idea how to make your sister open up?” asked Rapunzel. “I really need to finalize the trade deal.”

“I wish I did,” responded Anna. “But as for the trade deal, you can talk to royal advisor Christian about it. He’ll pass it onto her.”

“Alright then,” Rapunzel said.

Rapunzel considered asking about the alleged ice powered child, but she figured she wouldn’t get an honest response either way. So she just asked about the 1830 palace incident. As far as Anna was concerned, it was just a partly failed foreign attack. 

(Wattpad version: https://www.wattpad.com/1461060873-stranded-in-arendelle-chapter-2)

[m-feline]

To Adapt, to survive, to live -ch 17

Silco x Freader

Tags; fluff, angst, fighting, swearing, proposing;

Sorry for the long wait. I have been writing other stories but don't worry this is still on going and I'm still wrinting this even though I do it slowly.

Masterlist

Previous ->

Three days and we would move back to the Last Drop. One way or another everyone was excited, even me. Soon I can cook in my own kitchen. Soon Jinx can have her own room. Although she rarely stays with others anymore. She has made a habit to go and wander around the Lanes. A couple of times she has come with scratches, bruises, and cuts, and I made a bigger scene about it than I intended. But it really freaked me out. Silco not so much, but later I did hear him ask Sevika to pay a visit to some "unfortunate” people.

The situation between Silco and me didn't change much. Although, I finally got to that part of why I had to look pretty. If I ever made my way anyway near Silco when he had a meeting. He made sure I wouldn't leave until the guests had left first. He would tell me to come to him, and then either make me sit on his lap, on the armrest or stand at the side and remain there. The standing thing happened once and it left me tired. And though I'm embarrassed about it, his lap was more comfortable than the armrest. I even once dosed off as my head rest on Silco’s shoulder. I later asked why he didn't wake me up, but he simply said that he didn't want to disturb my rest. That day had been long for me watching after Jinx and getting the dinner done.

Jinx kept pestering me with questions about me and Silco. If I didn't know any better, I’d say she was hoping something to happen between us. My theory was correct when I walked to Silco’s room bringing his meal, and I found Jinx there sitting on the table and talking with Silco about something. Whatever it was, they stopped talking when they saw me coming in.

“Am I interrupting anything?” I asked.

“Nope. I was just about to go,” Jinx said and made a jump as she got down from the table. I did see however her wink at Silco before she walked towards the door.

“There are some noodles and your favorite sauce in the kitchen,” I said as she passed me. She gave me a wide grin as she said thanks and left the room. Leaving me alone with Silco.

“What were you two talking about?” I asked as I came closer and set the tray with cover on the table. I moved some papers from the way and cleaned some of the mess that perhaps was left by Jinx.

“Jinx has held on to the idea that you and I should get closer,” Silco said as he too organized a bit the papers.

“Oh, you too?” I asked. "Yes, she has been asking me that too. I'm running out of ways to switch topics with her when she brings that up.”

"And why haven't you talked about that with her?” Silco asked.

“I have already explained to you that… I'm not good with… relationships,” I said and bit hesitantly.

“Because you haven't been in one, I know,” Silco said and got up from his seat. "But what Jinx is suggesting isn't dating.”

“Then what?” I asked.

“She asked why I haven't married you yet,” Silco said his eyes following my reaction. At first, I scoffed then I laughed a bit. When I saw that Silco’s face remained the same, I stopped.

“You are serious?” I asked not believing it.

“We know each other well enough to skip all that courting part. Something tells me that is what most bothers you,” Silco said as he slowly began to walk around the table.

“Well, yes but… surely someone as powerful as you could get anyone…” I tried to argue.

“I don't want anyone. I want you,” Silco said as he took the final step and stood right before me.

“W-why m-me?” I asked, too nervous to look him in the eyes.

“Why not you?” Silco asked as he leaned closer. I took a step back but soon my way was cut by the table, and I was pinned between Silco and the table. "But if you wish an answer, I want you because I know you well enough that you won't betray me.”

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” I asked.

“You mean that I supposedly don't know that you have met with that boy who worked for Benzo?” Silco asked making me freeze in place. Ekko? How did he know? Since when has he known? "Where you two have been meeting I don't know but I have people who have seen you with him when you returned from your rituals.”

"Since when?” I asked trying to mask my nervousness into courage.

“Since the first time your left for your ritual. I had someone follow you, just making sure that you might need some help coming back,” Silco said. "But they lost the track of you. Right after you had returned they came back and said that you were spotted near the market. They might have failed to tail you but they did spot you with someone.”

"Don't you even dare,” I said with. A tone I didn't know I could muster.

“Dare what, dear?” Silco asked. "Do something to the boy? Oh no. I'm not the kind of jealous husband you might think I am. No, I wouldn't lay a hand on your children…” He caressed my face with his knuckles as I gave him the same glare I gave him when I had told him never to hurt Powder.

“… even if they dare to hurt my daughter.”

"What?”

"You really didn't know?” Silco asked. I wasn't sure if he was mocking me or not but his tone did tell me that he knew more than I did. "That day Jinx came back all messed up, it was them.”

"No, she would have told me,” I said feeling the anger slowly bubble inside me.

“Well, in her defense you were a bit overdramatic when you saw her enter. I believe she didn't want to worry you,” Silco said.

“You better not be messing with me,” I said the anger reaching my voice. Silco didn't seem to get much bothered by my words anymore. He drooped his hand to his side and walked back to his seat behind the table.

“Believe what you will, dear,” He said as he sat down. "But as I said, I'm not going to go after them for a little fight like this. Will they keep causing me trouble, I will find ways to stop them. But now I shall let this slip, for your and Jinx’s sake.”

I was so angry right now that I simply hit the tray on the table as I put it down. Since the tray had a cover it didn't spill on any papers. Not that I stayed to care or to check. I marched out of his room and through the corridors to the hallway and right outside the inn. I heard someone call me but soon they gave up as they saw me marching past them. If they had seen me at my worst when it was the opening day of the Hexgates, then they knew not to even try to talk to me. Luckily I didn't meet with Jinx, I wouldn't have known how to face her. Why didn't she tell me? No. The point isn't who exactly fought who, but why. I will get some answers one way or another.

--

I didn't need to reach the tree to find who I was looking for. I just needed to get to the plaza where pipes led to the corridors leading there. When I found the tree with Sam, we both mapped the network of pipes, corridors, and holes that led there. I knew Ekko had done the same. My guess was proven correct when a young Chirean attacked me out of the blue. But he couldn't hit me. One; because I used to fight too in my young days. The difference is I wasn't looking for fights, unlike my kids. And two; my reflexes were faster now, thanks to my signia. The boy Chirean tried to attack me three times before I pinned him down his face pressing to the ground. I could hear him growl but it took just three minutes for him to stop fighting back

“Tell Ekko that (Y/n) wants a word with him,” I said with a cool tone. The Chirean growled at me when he heard Ekko's name. "You can deliver the message with bruises or without bruises, the choice is yours.”

I let go of the boy. Now that I looked at him, he was quite tall. Not as tall as me but if he grew more he would be someone to watch out for. Lucky for me he was still a kid. I leaned against a wall as I waited for the response from Ekko. Not many people come here, mostly kids who took shortcuts through the pipes. I know because I taught some of the network of the pipes to Vi and Glaggor. Milo didn't even listen and Powder was too young. Vi must have taught Ekko since it didn't take much time when he arrived.

“(Y/n), what is it?” Ekko asked.

“You tell me,” I said. " Is it true that you attacked Jinx?”

“What?” Ekko asked. "You came because of that?”

“Yes or no, Ekko,” I said with the serious tone that I used when I gave lectures. Ekko seemed to look behind him and past me. I knew what that meant, I was surrounded by kids. I guess the Chirean boy didn't like me beating him.

“We did have a fight,” Ekko sighed. "And yes, it got out of hand.”

"Ekko, I expected better from you,” I also sighed and rubbed between my eyes.

“Hey, we were just guarding our territory. She came and began to blow stuff up,” Ekko defended.

“Two things, one; why do you need territory, and in Promenade? Two; Jinx has always blown stuff up as she tests her gadgets, why did it bother you now?” I asked.

“Don't treat me like some kid,” Ekko snapped back. "And for the record, yes we do have territory, and in Promenade. As for Powder’s explosions, it didn't bother me. What bothered me was when she attacked my friends.”

“When I told you to adapt and survive, I didn't mean you to start a gang, and pick up fights for some territories,” I said raising my voice. "You got a place to call your own. A place no one can take from you. Not Enforcers, not some thugs, and not Silco. Isn't that enough?”

“This isn't about that,” Ekko said. "It's also about principals. We want to make them know we are here.”

"Oh Janna, you sound like Vi,” I groaned.

“So what if I do?” Ekko asked. "We will fight for our own. And since 'Jinx’ already chose her side, we won't back down just either.”

"And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“It means we fight back,” Ekko said. "We protect our kind, not only from Enforcers but from Silco’s poison as well. That's what Vander and Benzo would have done.”

“They are DEAD!” I shouted. The word echoed in the pipe and no doubt reached even the Lanes. But I was so pissed off right now to care. "Both of them, are down, underground, pushing up daisies. And it's pretty hard to look up to someone that low.”

"Silco killed them," Ekko shouted evident anger and sadness in his voice.

“They had it coming!” I shouted back. "Did you know they were all a gang together? Just like you and Vi, and others. Then Vander tried to kill Silco for, I don't know why, and I don't give a damm about it. But I know this much, Vander never got over it, and neither did Silco. So it wasn't a big surprise that Vander got killed. As for Benzo, he apparently knew. Did that get him killed? I don't care anymore. Point is, they are dead.”

"It doesn't mean we give up on them,” Ekko said as a lone tear slipped past his cheek. "We will live up to their memory.”

"I'm so fucking tired of listening to that shit,” I shouted as I pulled my hair. The greenish hue came to my eyes, and when Ekko saw that he backed down a bit. "Stop using them as an excuse for everything you do. Making money, robbing pilties, picking fights over... fucking territories? I am so done looking after you kids if this is all you will do.”

“What happened to you?” Ekko asked. "You never acted like this. You never gave up on us.”

“I am now,” I growled. "There is a bottom in every pit, and I reached mine. I looked after you, cared for you, all I asked is that you stay safe, be smart and live. And what you do? You go and plan a robbery to the Topside, you pick up fights over junk, you declare wars, and not only against Piltover but in the Lanes too. If this is the road you choose, then you do it alone.”

"And what? You join Silco too?” Ekko asked trying to fight over the pain he was obviously feeling by my words.

“I don't care anymore who it is,” I said. "The only who truly needs me, depends on me is Jinx. If she is happy with Silco then so be it. My point is, I'm not going to stand and watch you guys kill each other. I help those who actually want me to help to live.” I turned to leave but the Chieran boy and a girl stood in my way.

“You know where we live, we can't let you go,” Ekko warned me.

“The only reason, I won't tell where you live is because that place is Sam’s resting place. I told you, no one else will take it. Whether you believe me is no longer my concern,” I said as I glanced back at Ekko. Then I turned to the Chieran and the girl. "You know, Vander wasn't the only one to teach Vi to fight. I had my own tricks imprinted to that rascal.”

They didn't get what I meant when the girl charge at me with the pipe in her hand. The fight against the Chieran boy at least lasted five minutes. The girl didn't even last one minute. When they both tried to attack me, it took longer, but they still ended up lying on the ground, with bruises in places they couldn't reach. Ekko just stood and watch his friends on the ground. Behind him was another kid ready to join the fight but Ekko had stopped him. His friend were hurt but alive. What really made him give up, was when he saw the snake move to my face from my back, coiling around my neck as its head was right under my right eye.

I gave one final glance at him before I walked away. That was the last time I would see him.

--

My mood was sour the following days. That meeting made me think about my whole purpose in this place. I used to look after the kids Vander took in but all of them were dead, about to be dead, or they were broken. I didn't want that to happen again. But I had no power to do anything. Now that I had my signia I didn't need to fear what would happen to me, but that didn't mean I had the power to do anything. If I wanted to change things I needed support. The reason my kids became what they are now is because of this place. Though Silco is making changes it didn't mean it was a good one. Yes, someday Piltover will have no choice but to cut us off and free. Then the nation of Zaun can begin. But it can't flourish if the people are hooked onto Shimmer. Silco can't make that forever. The nation of Zaun would be divided into chaos and drugs. I had to build something to support those who can rise from that mess. Children. But with what money? With what power? Just like Silco, I had to build my own dominion. But I can't do it from scratch. I need help.

The day of moving back to the Last drop came, and we were all happy about that. The look of the place was something I couldn't almost recognize. The place was stylish and looked expensive. But I didn't care about that now. I watched how Jinx rushed to the bar stool and began to spin on the chair. Silco walked next to her and made sure she won't fall from getting dizzy from all the spinning. I still had one kid to look after, she needed something stable. And she had made clear what it was in her opinion. I just wasn't sure I was ready for such a thing.

I walked away from one of the booths I had inspected and headed to Silco and Jinx. I tried to muster the courage to say what I was thinking. It was not easy when I looked around the lounge and saw Dustin, Ran, Lock, the twins, and Sevika look around as well. Thieram and others would see the place tomorrow and help tidy up the place. Still, it felt like a crowd in here. I couldn't pull Silco to the side because there was already someone there. Sevika and Dustin were at both ends of the bar, Dustin reaching behind to get something to drink. Ran and Lock were on the left side of the lounge, while the twins at the right side of the lounge. Might as well pull the cat out of the bag in front of everyone.

“H-hey, Silco. Can we talk?” I asked.

“Of course,” Silco said as he gave one more smile at Jinx.

“About what we talked about before… I was thinking… maybe… we could… do it..,” I tried to form the sentence in a way that didn't sound too weird for others. If Jinx was right they had their own theories about me and Silco. I didn't want to confirm any of them now, I still had to make some things clear. And Silco got on quickly to what I meant. His good eye went wide for a moment, then he simply looked at me as if he was studying my motives. But then his look changed again.

“Let's get married.” That one sentence made everyone in the lounge freeze and turn their heads at us. Dustin choked on his drink and had to spit it out. The noise he made caused Silco to turn and glower at him. "Something wrong about what I said?”

“N-no… I … I … just… realized that… I took the wrong bottle… we should label these things, right?… um … what were you talking about?” Dustin said trying to find a good excuse for his antics and hopefully get out of the predicament.

“Me and (Y/n), will get married,” Silco repeated and gave a glare as deadly as I have seen him use when talking with idiotic henchmen.

“Oh, … congrats,” Dustin said grinning his stupid grin.

“I didn't say yes, you idiot,” I said with an annoyed tone.

“Apologies?” Dustin said hoping his reaction was better.

“Is there a reason you wouldn’t say yes?” Silco asked turning to me. His tone didn't say it but his look did warn me not to mock him.

“How about we discuss some details before I agree to any kind of union,” I said with the same annoyed tone.

“Then, shall we?” Silco said extending his hand towards the stairs. I walked past him to the new stairs him following behind me. Everyone gathered at the bar as they followed us with their eyes before we both disappeared to the room which was now going to be Silco’s office.

“It's so going to happen,” Jinx said excitedly.

“Oh my god, I thought she will get herself killed or something,” Ran said.

“She? I thought I was going to get killed,” Dustin said.

“Why did you have to spit the drink like that then?” Lock asked.

“Oh come on. You were also surprised by that. I knew boss had an eye on (Y/n) but marriage?” Dustin said.

“Why not?” Jinx asked offendedly.

“Actually, that was a smart move,” Sevika said pouring herself a drink. "Besides being Boss’s woman the unspoken law of the Lanes will keep creeps away from her even if some nutcase doesn't get it.”

“Wait, there is something like that?” Dustin asked.

“Oh, oh, I know this one,” Jinx said.

“See, even she knows,” Sevika said nodding at Jinx.

“Fine, I got some of that drink into my head so I can't remember what it is,” Dustin grumbled.

“Never screw another guy's wife, or you're dead,” Sevika said with glaring eyes. "That rule is as old as these fissures.”

“I still don't get it,” Dustin said. "What I do get is that we will have a wedding. Which means a party.”

"Unless, she says no,” Sevika said.

“She wouldn’t,” Ran scoffed.

“She won't,” Jinx said.

“I don't know, she changed a lot after she got that creepy tattoo,” Sevika said.

“It's not creepy,” Jinx said.

“Well, it gives me the creeps,” Dustin said and got an angry glare from Jinx.

“And it is not a tattoo. It's signia,” Jinx said. "And (Y/n) hasn't changed.”

“Oh, she has,” Sevika said. "She got guts now. She used to hide behind people but not anymore. She even disobeyed boss a couple of times. And you all remember the dinner yesterday.”

"It was fine just like always,” Jinx said.

“For you maybe but not for us,” Sevika growled.

“You’re right, I thought I was gonna get the knife,” Ran said.

“I almost got the knife, to my neck,” Dustin said.

“You were hogging all the meat, you had it coming,” Lock said.

“She demanded that we sit down first before we get any food. Then she made us sit down,” One of the twins said.

“She has guts I tell you,” Sevika said. "Let's hope she has brain as well.”

Next ->

[oscar-delancey]

for the character thing do Any of ur kins it's up to u

2, 3, 8, 14, 15 im giving u All of them

hope im not doing this wrong LMFOA

Alright bet, I'll answer it for Racer, Albert, and as a treat I'm adding Davey even though I am still debating if he's a kin. (To be specific in this, I'm gonna be talking about UK!Racer, Livesies!Albert, and a personal Modern AU!Davey)

2 - Does your character indulge often in the things they like?

Race: Oh yeah, all the time. He's a chronic gambler (much to the disdain of some of the newsies) we can't forget that! He's got hella good luck with it somehow, so he continues to do it. And, thanks to said good luck, he's able to go out and do some other things he enjoys outside of work! So yes, he does indulge himself quite often :D

Albert: Not really. He's not solid on what he even likes, it's not something he's ever really considered what it even is he likes, so he has no idea what to indulge in. His day is really just wake up -> sell papes -> eat -> sleep ; repeat. If he found something he enjoyed, though, he probably would indulge himself occasionally if he had the money!

Davey: Kinda often? He doesn't always have the time to go out and spend time with his friends, but he does when he can. Because fuck, man, who doesn't enjoy eating out at restaurants and going to movies with good friends??? He'd do it more often if he could, but work takes up a lot of time.

3 - What makes your character's skin crawl?

Race: It was the nuns that constantly came around that got on his nerves. He often tried to avoid interacting with them but they usually addressed him in the mornings when the younger newsies rushed to get their breakfast. They usually pestered him about his clothes ("Oh you look so lovely today! Where'd you get the new vest!", "What a lovely look on you!" etc etc) and it always came across as passive aggressive. Whether they meant it or not, it always just felt like they were poking at him for having the money to dress well but not get away from selling papers.

Albert: People snoring. He absolutely fucking DESPISES hearing people snore and loses a bit of his life during the winter in the lodging house, because he can't sleep outside to avoid it.

Davey: The complete ignorance of his parents. His mother forcing him and Jack to take over the care of his younger brother mildly ticked him off. He loves his brother! But the fact his parents just gave up on Les... He had a rocky relationship with his parents since he left for college.

8 - Is there something your character deeply regrets from their past?

Race: Running away from home, and then running away from Brooklyn. He often wonders how his parents are doing but he never had the will to go back and see them again. (He's terrified of the idea of going home and them not being there, or them not recognizing him).

Albert: Not in particular!

Davey: A lot. There's a lot he regrets he refuses to go into detail about. It's why his relationship with his parents is so rocky and why he practically hovers over Les once his brother is in his care.

14 - Who would your character never betray?

Race: Any of the newsies. Nothing in him could ever get him to turn on his friends and family. He'd go down fighting tooth and nail for them

Albert: Race and Finch.

Davey: Sarah. He could never turn his back on Sarah, not after everything she's done for him. He owes her the world.

15 - Who does your character look up to and who do they despise?

Race: He doesn't look up to anyone around him in particular. He kinda emulates Jack to a degree, but he's not Race's role model. If anything... he looks up to the memory of his mother. The way she cared for him and held him when he was sad or sick. Her warm smiles her gentle hugs... he held those memories dear and tried to bring those soft moments and comforting reminders of being cared for to the younger newsies who came to the lodge. He despises Spot. As much as he misses being in Brooklyn, he hates her. He refuses to ever tell anyone what happened, often changing the subject to something fun to distract whoever was asking.

Albert: Jack and his oldest brother. He aspires to be like both of them when it comes to leadership and confidence. He absolutely despises the Delanceys. If he could just straight up beat the everliving shit out of them he would. It is a VISCERAL hatred and he is often held back from going off by other newsies. So, instead, he just tries to explode them with his mind 99% of the time.

Davey: He doesn't really look up to anyone either, but he also isn't one to hate. He experiences quite strong emotions but not enough to feel so strongly about anyone.

[bl6ckr0s3]

Drama Queen of Work

While I have a bit of time to prepare for the mediation which is taking place on May 9, Tuesday morning at 10am Pacific Time/ 12pm Central Time, I realized that I had been calling out more than I really should from work. The first time I called out was because I really didn't want to go to work. The tour 1 is fucking up my sleep again, just like it did when I was in Los Angeles. I was on tour 1 for 6 months before I was finally able to bid back to Tour 3. The schedule is hard because I begin getting tired around the early evening which makes me feel like I need to take a nap right before going into work at 11pm. Once I take a nap and wake up for work, I feel so tired and miserable like it's hard to stay up. Once I leave to work and get on the work floor and start moving around, I am fine as long as I am staying active.

I already got my routine down at work, but the schedule is just hard. I am finding that I am starting to be miserable at work because this facility is plain Jane here meaning that management or the plant manager doesn't do anything nice to show appreciation for their employees. Everybody there are like robots. 2nd thing is that if I get people telling me how to do my job when half the time I been working by myself with no help and I am overwhelmed because I am trying to constantly clear the same jams over and over again on the robots, the mail builds up because of those jams, then Jamie starts panicking when instead of knowing how to work the machines, he calls on the maintenance when all it really needs is to be unjammed, a problem we are clearly able to fix. If there is a technical problem with the robots, then of course that's what maintenance is there for. When I am being pressured because I am by myself doing everything and having to grab equipment from the dock myself, I don't want nobody bothering me unless they are willing to help me. I can do the job myself as long as nobody is pestering me and if they want to help me, they are welcome to.

The 3rd issue now is seeing the real bitch side come out of April. She's new there and she just got there from Music City Annex and Jamie is training her to take his spot as MDO. Whether it's because of me or it's me and other people in general that's been calling off work that she decides to go off on us about the attendance policy and how they want us to fill out the 3971 form and have it signed to authorize for our leave to be put in. I don't see the point of having to do that when we have Lite Blue and the leave has already been being put in without going to her? If the leave is still being put in because we called in, I'm not going to nobody. They will have to come to me if they want the paperwork done bad enough. Just like my old facility I don't want to have to deal with anybody when I really shouldn't have to. The way April was going about it during the safety meeting was over the edge. She was getting loud and yelling at everybody when everybody was trying to question her about the way she was saying things. If you're going to stand there and threaten our jobs making it seem like you are God, no go fuck yourself, I'm just going to walk away and go back to work. I don't need to deal or listen. I reported the incident to Sean already, the union rep said he will handle the situation. Hopefully, April will get put in her place if she doesn't watch her fucking mouth. I may or may not need a picture of her to do a curse on her, but nobody at this point even myself don't like her. She seem negative from the beginning when I met her and she never felt friendly. She never introduced herself and she never said it was ok for us to have a union steward present, when she clearly knows how she was talking to us was in the wrong.

I told Sean that me and my boyfriend just witnessed a shooting while we were randomly passing by somebody's house during an Uber delivery and we were lucky we didn't get shot. April is standing here having a heart attack about the attendance policy when I could've been hurt or shot dead and not make it to work. I told Sean that I have personal issues I have to address and I am looking into getting a counselor through the work company so that I can have somebody to vent to when I need somebody to talk to. I never realized that our work has that for their employees and it's great because we wouldn't have to pay for it, it's free so I need to take advantage of that and use it while I need it. It wil be good for me especially with the ongoing case of still dealing with anxiety & trauma in the past with my son's father. I don't need any drama or bullshit especially right now at my new work place.

I am possibly looking into bidding out to tour 3. I will need to see if I will feel better changing my work schedule.

[corner-stories]

robes and showers

Jesse Chambers. Rick Tyler.

Mornings. Nights Out. Messages.

987 words.

(ao3.)

With her body swathed in the blankets and bedsheets, Jesse Chambers opened her eyes to the Sunday morning light. The world around her was fuzzy, and to that she reached to her nightstand in search of her eyeglasses. 

Once her bedroom was in sight, Jesse sat up and she ran a hand through her messy, tousled hair. For the first time in a long time she had gotten more than a good night’s sleep, something that had become unfamiliar to her in the last few months. 

For a moment, she wondered what it said about her that such a thing had become so foreign, then tried not to linger on that thought for too long. 

After rubbing her tired eyes, Jesse reached to the nightstand again to retrieve her phone. 

Meanwhile on the other side of the mattress, Rick continued to sleep as Jesse checked her notifications. Unsurprisingly, the events of last night had left him rather spent. Double-dates with Wally and Linda were always quite energetic, but not even his own gift of prophecy could predict the trajectory of last night. 

But at least they could both tick “visited a bar during Tequila Hour” and “got pulled into a bar fight” off their bucket lists. Plus, the sight of Linda backing up her husband in a brawl was a sight that god himself would have been proud of. Hell hath no fury like Linda Park armed with a barstool. 

With that in mind, Jesse made sure to message Linda to ask if the bruises on her ribs were healing okay. 

Rick continued to sleep as Jesse perused her texts from last night. Of all of them, the one that stuck out to her the most were the ones from her mother. Libby had sent a handful of pictures of her day with her grandson, having happily taken the one-year-old Johnny Tyler around her little corner of Manhattan. 

One photo was of him getting pushed in a playground swing, another depicted Libby holding him on a walkway near the East River, and one more showed grandmother and grandson getting ice cream together like they were old friends. In each picture both Libby and baby Johnny had the widest smiles on their faces. 

It made Jesse’s heart insurmountably warm to see how much her mother adored him. Libby may have taken Johnny for the weekend so Jesse and Rick had time to “be a married couple again,” but a part of Jesse knew that her mother simply wanted a few days with her grandson. 

Soon Jesse put her phone down, then glanced beside her to see her husband slowly waking up. When he opened his eyes, he turned over and began looking at her with a certain… sensuality in his eyes.  

“Hey,” he spoke in his usual husky, early morning tone. 

Jesse gave him a smirk. “Hey yourself.” 

With a casual, elated look on his face, Rick remained lying down and placed a hand behind his head. “Last night was fun.”

“It was…” Jesse agreed, nodding. “...could have done without the brawl though.” 

Rick let out a chuckle. “First time for anything though.”

Jesse hummed. Even she had to admit that there was something so bustling about last night, a kind of liveliness she didn’t need her speed or costume to reach. Motherhood had been nice to her, but having a night on the town and getting into hijinx was certainly a nice reminder that she could have fun once in a while. 

Plus, Jesse liked double dates with Linda and Wally. Aside from the fact that she was familiar with them, it was nice to speak to people outside of the neighborhood. Unlike the ladies in her Mommy-and-Me classes, they didn’t pester her with unsolicited advice and offers. 

“Hey, Jesse, you need help losing the baby weight? Hey, Jesse, having trouble with those stretch marks? Hey, Jesse, do you and Rick wanna come to a swingers party?”

After letting out another yawn, Jesse leaned over to her husband and pressed a kiss to his forehead. Then undressed and unclad, she slipped out of bed and took her robe out of the closet, knowing full well where her husband’s eyes were going as she pulled the garment over herself. 

A series of musings moved through her head as she made her way to the connected bathroom, such as what exact time her mother would come by with Johnny, or whether Linda’s hangover was killing her back in Keystone. 

Jesse brushed her teeth over the porcelain sink, then heard the sound of the bed frame creaking as Rick got out of bed. 

The Man of the Hour entered the bathroom bare and in the buff. He rubbed his eyes as he prodded over to his wife, reaching over to squeeze her shoulder before heading to the shower. 

As Jesse finished her usual oral hygiene routine, she kept her eyes looking forward, yet found herself drawn to the reflection of Hourman’s finely formed hindquarters in the bathroom mirror. Her heart started beating just a little bit faster, but something compelled Jesse to keep focusing on flossing. 

At the other side of the bathroom, Rick opened the shower door and turned the tap. When he glanced over and caught sight of his wife trying to look at him respectfully, an amused smirk came upon his pretty face. 

As the shower ran and warmed up, he looked over to the mirror and met Jesse’s gaze in the reflection.

“Hey… you don’t have to be anywhere, do you?” Rick asked in a playful, cheeky voice. 

There was a beat, then Jesse looked both pleased and excited. Turning around, she undid her robe and let it slip off her shoulders. The garment hit the floor as she followed her husband into a shower. The water fell upon them both as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his lips. 

[tadpolesonalgae]

Azriel x Reader: Birthday Girl

A/N: this one’s pretty short but oh well :/

Warnings: fluff

When you wake up that morning, hair messy and tangled, there’s no one wishing you a happy birthday. When you lumber down the halls, still heavy with sleep, no else stirs. When you enter the kitchen, clean and untouched, there’s no one around. It’s silent throughout the house, not a footstep to be heard.

It’s lonely but in a familiar and comfortable way. You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you woke to birthday cakes and candles and towers of presents, like the ones that appear on the solecist. You don’t expect people to be around on your birthday; it’s the middle of summer. Everybody’s out enjoying the heat, eating with friends, or travelling the Courts with their family.

You don’t blame your friends for not being around. Not at all. You’ve made it clear that your Day doesn’t really bother you. You’ve lived through enough of them that they don’t spark much excitement in you anymore. Still, it would be nice to see them. It would be nice to have them near today.

Instead, you brew some tea, taking the day slow. A nice, quiet day, that’s what you want. And it was all going smoothly until Cassian swaggers into the kitchen, spots you at the table and waggles his brows, telling you he definitely remembers what day it is. You send him a disgruntled glare over the top of your mug, hair still messy and unbrushed.

“Really? Nothing at all?” He asks with a raised brow, his voice rough from sleep. You set your mug down and sigh, fingers bracing the sides of your head as you look at him wearily, “nothing, Cassian.”

“You sure you don’t want to do anything? Like a meal? A trip?” His eyes meet yours, “a confession?” He bats his eyelashes daintily. You scoff as you raise the drink to your mouth, “and who would I be confessing to? The Mother for all my crimes?”

Cassian walks over to the table, taking a seat one across and opposite from you with his own tea in front of him, “I don’t know…Az?” He whispers the male’s name like it’s a deep, dark secret that no one can ever know. The corners of your mouth lift in a subtle smile. “I’m sure he already knows, Cass,” you reply, taking another sip from your drink, “he’s the Spymaster, how could he not?”

The male leans over the table slightly, continuing with the super secret conversation, “I think he would have done something by now if he knew,” he whispers and you have to bite back a smile at his carefree nature. “Or he doesn’t like me, and is sparing me the heartbreak,” you reason back, sipping delicately at your tea. Cassian’s brows rise, “heartbreak? It’s that much?” He pesters and you roll your eyes but nod, a soft smile managing to break through. “Which is why I would like to keep my heart in tact, thank-you,” you murmur playfully but when he looks like he’s about to respond, you cut him off, “especially, when it’s my birthday.” He gives you a look that tells you he knows your using your special day against him but you shrug anyway, “I like my heart whole.”

“Why would it not be whole?” Comes a deep voice from behind you, and you turn in time to see Azriel moving on silent feet into the room. Before you could kick Cassian under the table, he speaks, “if she gets her heart broken, of course.” You send an exasperated look to him across the table while Azriel’s back is turned. You also try to smooth down your hair, which Cass notices and bites back a laugh.

“Her heart broken?” Azriel repeats, as if to confirm he heard correctly while he too, brews some morning tea. “Cassian here, is being melodramatic,” you speak before he can dig you a grave you can’t get out of. This time Cassian sends you the look of exasperation, giving you an if not now, when? look. The two of you lock in a glare behind the Shadowsinger’s back, having a showdown of wills. The male turns around before one of you can prevail.

Azriel takes the seat one away from Cassian, so there’s only an empty chair in front of you with one male either side. Unfortunately for you, the general isn’t letting this one go, “I think she should tell him,” he grins as he leans back in his seat. “I think she shouldn’t,” you snap back, taking an angry gulp of the still-hot tea. The way Azriel is looking between the two of you warily suggests he’s somehow unaware of your affections for him. And you would like to keep it that way.

Eventually though, his gaze stops on you, a slight grin tipping the corners of his glorious mouth as he speaks, “it’s not like you to have boy problems,” he mocks, taking a slow drink from his own mug, watching you over the rim with an intensity that had your toes curling. “Well I’m the birthday girl, so I think you two should stop tag teaming me,” you snap. Cassian snickers and Azriel raises a brow as you roll your eyes. You try to calm your nerves with another sip of tea though your cup is draining rapidly.

“We’ll stop tag teaming you, when you pluck up some courage and make your move,” Cassian gives some not so subtle side eyes at his brother, though thankfully Azriel interprets the odd gesture as Cassian being Cassian and nothing more. “Who is he?” Azriel asks and both you and Cass still, though for different reasons. You still because there’s no way you’re answering that truthfully, Cassian stills because he knows when you catch him alone he’s going to be verbally flayed within an inch of his life.

Unfortunately, the Spymaster notices both of your freezes and he slides his eyes to his brother, already having figured out that the male beside him knows this particular secret of yours that he’s been left out of. The general gives you a look to say you’re on your own and gets up to leave. Azriel watches with a narrowed brow, “why does he know?” The question is aimed at you and you turn to Cassian but he’s already stood from the table, discarding his mug in the sink before heading hastily for the door. You stand up quickly, empty mug in hand, to chase after him but shadows wrap around your waist, pulling you back down.

“Now seems like a good time,” Cassian calls over his shoulder as he hurries out of the kitchen, heading for the take-off point in the house. Your mouth opens slightly and your eyes widen as you stare at the empty doorway, shadows still wrapped cozily around your midriff though they recede upon hearing Cassian’s words. You school your face into neutrality before turning back to face the Shadowsinger who is looking a tad startled. As startled as Azriel will allow himself to be, of course. Then an arrogant grin blooms on his mouth as he leans back in his chair and raises his brow expectantly. The message is clear enough: he can play.

“Something you’d like to tell me?” He goads, that devious grin still on his mouth. You do your best to mirror his relaxed frame, leaning back in your chair and wrapping your hands around your empty mug, “nothing’s coming to mind,” you hedge, subtly shifting away from the table so you can get to an exit quicker. “I should really wash this up and get dressed,” you excuse; after all, you’re still only in your silky night robes.

Standing from the chair, you walk efficiently to the sink to deposit your mug, moving to wash it up yourself. When you don’t hear a reply, you try to fill the silence, “don’t listen to Cassian, he’s just trying to stir things-”

You feel a large presence behind you and turn. Azriel has snuck up on you and now both his arms are trapping you where you stand, braced either side of your smaller frame as you press back against the sink, leaning on it in surprise. You try to suppress the heat that’s steadily rising to your cheeks.

“Come on,” he goads, the casual, mischievous grin still playing on his beautiful mouth, “not going to let me in on this one?” He’s looking down at you with a softness in his eyes but the teasing glint is making you wary. It’s a bit intimidating how he’s looking at you, how all of his attention is piercing down on your frame, almost pinning you down.

“It’s none of your business,” you respond primly, tipping your head to the side so you don’t have to feel the full weight of his gaze. “And why is that?” He mumbles, and you can feel the trace of his breath down the exposed side of your neck; a shiver runs down your spine, “I thought friends shared things.” You try to snap a retort but make the mistake of turning to look at him and your breath catches. He’s so close, barely an inch away from you, his pupils are blown wide and strands of his inky black hair are tickling you.

You move to place your hands on his upper arms to keep him at a distance so you don’t give yourself away, but the pleased sound that rumbles in his chest when your hands splay across his biceps has your back arching slightly. The two of you look at one another, both slightly curious as you scan the other’s features, looking for clues. Your noses brush with how close you are and you notice how his eyes flicker down to your lips that you part invitingly.

Without you noticing, his arms have moved closer and now you’re aware of his hands moving to your hips, gripping tightly as he lifts you from the ground to set you beside the sink. Your hands automatically slide to his shoulders for balance and your legs wrap around his hips for support, inadvertently drawing him closer once you’re seated.

By this point you know there’s a warm flush on your cheeks but there’s also a hungry glint in Azriel’s eyes that stops you from pulling away. You bite the inside of your lip as you consider. Then, because Cassian really dug this grave too deep for you to escape from, “did you really not know?” His eyes are on your mouth when you speak and you aren’t sure if it’s your imagination working but it feels like he steps closer, pressing against you with his hands gliding from your hips to your waist.

“I had a hope,” he mumbles and you can feel the shape of each word on your mouth, “as well as a few not so subtle suggestions from my brother.” Cassian. Azriel’s mouth lifts into a grin upon seeing your expression at the general’s mention. “Attention on me,” he demands softly and you can’t resist the urge to glide your hands up over his shoulders to tangle in his silky hair, gently pulling him closer in a request.

Azriel releases a soft sigh of relief before his mouth captures yours, lips slanting and moulding over your own in a delicate kiss, like he doesn’t want to startle you. Your fingers tangle further in his hair and his own hands rub soothingly up and down your sides, goading you to open up for him, which you do. You can’t help but smile into the kiss, and at the tilt of your own lips, Azriel’s match your own.

When the two of you pull apart, you’re both wearing tender smiles, like you’ve done something secret that no one else can know about. “Is there anything you want to do today?” He asks tentatively, and your heart softens. You nod and the male tips his head in question. A flush does indeed creep up onto your cheeks at the request you’re about to make, “can you just—” you swallow, averting your eyes from his, making one of his hands rise to move your gaze back to his, “spend time with me, today?” You mumble softly.

A genuine smile fills his eyes and warmth blooms in your chest at the sight. “Anything,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead to yours, “anything you want.”

[miraculouscontent]

YES WE VERY MUCH WANT THE LUKANATTE ADDITION PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

well if you insist~

(continuation of this post)

The Liberty was quiet, which was both a blessing and a shame in Marinette's mind. On one hand, she didn't particularly want to talk to anyone at the moment, but on the other, she would've liked to be greeted by the sound of Luka's guitar.

The first thing she noticed was that the gangplank had been set up, as if welcoming her. She considered calling out to see if anyone was still awake, though didn't want to risk waking them if they weren't. Truthfully, she'd made all attempts to avoid going home - back to her room and the empty Miracle Box - so she'd been out for a few hours just idling in any attempt to distract herself while she collected her thoughts.

After all, it wouldn't be long before she couldn't have such thoughts anymore. Once she gave up the Miracle Box and ladybug miraculous, she wouldn't remember anything about them.

Something about that made her smile, which felt wrong and yet not wrong at all. If people knew, they certainly would've called her crazy, asking why she would ever want to forget about being Paris' superhero, or all the praise she'd received of it.

But truthfully, she couldn't recall what had made the job "worth it." Her status had only made things hard for her, with events that interfered with things in her daily life, reporters who pestered her constantly about her relationships no matter what she said, and people - friends, even - who cared less about the truth and more about the attention. Maybe she could've even taken all that for the sake of Paris if she had to, but she was young, inexperienced, underpowered, and was incapable of keeping up with her duties.

If it was cowardly of her to quit, it'd be foolish of her to stay. For so long, she'd convinced herself that she was the problem and she just had to keep trying, yet it was all beyond her from the beginning. There was no room for Ladybug in the life of Marinette.

That was also why, of course, she needed an insurance policy. She didn't trust her luck, nor Adrien, and thus needed a plan in place for when she lost her memory. It would be too easy for her to be taken advantage of otherwise, even by Su-Han in the case that he decided to manipulate her into being trained by him officially. How that would happen, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't take any chances, hence the hours she'd spent thinking about it.

It was why she'd found herself at the Liberty in the first place. The Couffaines always came off as so inviting to her and they weren't particularly invasive, so the deck was the perfect place to sit and think. The plants reminded her of her balcony, and the air outside felt less restrictive than how it would feel indoors.

Thus, after a moment of debate, she crossed the gangplank, though immediately put it up with a mental scolding to whoever had recklessly left it set up. What if a thief had invited themselves in rather than her?

That done, she walked into the greenhouse-esque area, sitting herself down in front of the table but avoiding the rest of the furniture. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out some paper and a writing utensil that she'd bought, promptly setting it down on the table so she could get to work.

She wrote, hesitantly at first and then more confidently as she went on. Simply put, it was a letter to herself for after she'd lost her memories, carefully worded on some parts while very specific in others. She wasn't sure to what degree she'd lose them - Fu's memory loss was almost frustratingly vague about that since so much of his life was related to the miraculouses - but she made sure to prepare for the worst case scenario. She didn't want to risk being tricked by Adrien, given that he knew her identity.

Was it weird to feel protective over herself?

Regardless, she needed to ensure that she left something behind to guarantee that she wouldn't repeat her past mistakes. She wasn’t sure if it was something Su-Han would approve of, but it would be easy enough to hide the message on her computer so long as he wasn't waiting for her when she went home.

That was the one roadblock though. At least with her, Su-Han wasn't afraid to approach immediately and scold her for every little thing, going through her even if it was Chat who'd caused the issue in the first place. The rules of the guardian's memory loss and what they could leave behind were unknown to her, and if he searched her beforehand then she could be in trouble. He could confiscate her phone or break it altogether if he suspected foul play, and none of that was even considering the idea that her message might not be enough in the first place.

Thus, the final part of her plan meant that she needed an ally - a partner - for back-up. Unlike with the miraculouses, however, she could choose this time, and she already knew who she wanted.

"Marinette?"

She jolted at the sudden familiar voice, having been so into her work that it took her a second to find the source of the call. Looking outside the glass lining the walls, she noticed Luka standing outside of the ship, staring at her in curiosity.

"...Luka?" Then, a pause. "Oh, Luka!"

She got up in a hurry, rushing over to the gangplank that suddenly made a lot more sense in having been set up. He merely smiled, waiting patiently for her to put it back where it was.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you'd be out so late—I mean, I'm out late so I can't really judge—but still!"

"It's okay," he assured as he crossed the gangplank. "I'm glad you felt comfortable enough to come by. I was just..."

He glanced off to the side, Marinette following his gaze and realizing that he must've been down under the bridge. Had something happened?

"...thinking," he finished vaguely. Then, looking at her with something she could only describe as 'regret', he asked, "Can we talk?"

"Of course!" She gestured over to where she'd been working. "I wanted to talk to you too, actually!"

He nodded, though turned to put the gangplank back to where it couldn’t be crossed again. She went ahead of him to return to her place at the table, settling back in front of her papers and neatly discarding an old draft that she hadn't been happy with.

Even though Anarka had a policy on messiness, she didn't want to leave such things behind.

When she heard Luka's footsteps stop short from walking over to her, she looked over, seeing that he was staring at her without making eye contact.

"Luka?"

"Your earrings," he blurted out.

"Ah—?" She raised a hand to her ear, then remembered, "Oh, I took them off. They're in my purse."

Luka averted his gaze, bringing a hand to his mouth in thought. He seemed troubled, but shook it off and walked to the opposite side of the table. He sat down on the deck as well, his forearms resting on the table in front of him.

"You go first," she offered, figuring that her story would be much longer anyway.

He nodded, his fingers twitching in what she guessed was nervousness. She felt tempted to reach across the table and place her hands on his in a show of comfort, but just before she could reach out—

"I know you're Ladybug," he admitted.

"I—" She blinked. "What? Wait—" She waved a hand rapidly, trying to process the bomb he'd dropped. It was pointless to deny it - she had an instinct for doing so, but had intended to tell him her identity that day anyway - yet it didn't make her any less confused. "When?"

"It was Wishmaker. I lied to you, saying that I didn't know, but I did." He sighed, regretful as he clutched one of his hands in the other. "I knew both yours and Chat's identities."

"...Oh." That was all she could say to that, because such a thing had never happened before. Her prior experience told her that she should be mad because of how people had hidden things and lied to her before, yet Luka in particular gave her pause.

She needed more information first.

Grabbing the small stack of papers she'd had, she put them on the deck at her side so they wouldn't be a distraction. "Why are you telling me now?"

It was strange to her, after all, because there were huge differences between Luka and the others. He wasn't telling her because he'd been caught red-handed or slipped up in such a way where she'd realized it herself. Furthermore, Luka didn't have a "track record," so to speak; he didn't have a tendency to keep things from her.

And, as she thought about it, there was no benefit to keeping what he'd been keeping. The implications were that he'd failed as Viperion, surely, but she was lenient on failures - how long Queen Bee stuck around said as much - and yet she got the distinct feeling that he didn't do it for those reasons. It just wasn't very in-character for him to keep something from her for the sake of protecting himself.

"I had a lot going through my head once I knew. I promise I did my best as Viperion, but Chat—"

"What did he do now?"

Luka stiffened, shocked at her exasperated tone. She waved a hand dismissively, wordlessly insisting, 'Later.'

He accepted, still stunned but recovering his words quickly. "Chat was letting himself get hit by Wishmaker. I panicked the first time when I was deflecting it, and it somehow ended up hitting you." He groaned, massaging his forehead at the memory. "I'm not sure how I could get that unlucky."

"Welcome to the club," she offered, both to lighten his mood and dismiss the error as 'not actually his fault.'

He offered her a grateful smile, then continued, "The second time, I tried to tell Chat to duck, but he let himself get hit anyway. That's how I know both of your identities."

After what she'd been through with Chat before, she didn't feel particularly surprised to know that it was Chat who caused both of their identities to be revealed. Honestly, it reminded her of Chat Blanc and all the horrifying imagery that came with it. Since Chat had known her identity then - now knowing that he was Adrien, she realized what had done it - he must’ve pursued her as Adrien afterwards, and something bad happened. She couldn't be certain that he kept what he knew from her, and yet with what she knew now about him hiding the identities he’d learned, he must've.

"I can't apologize enough for lying to you," Luka told her. "but I swear that I haven't told anyone."

"Why?" she asked, then clarified, "I mean, why did you lie in the first place?"

He sighed for lack of a better answer. "I don't know exactly what I was thinking at the time, but I knew that I didn't want to cause you any trouble. I don't know how having a miraculous works when you always have one."

She hummed in thought. "Like... how your 'higher-up' is me since I give you the miraculous?"

He nodded. "I didn't know anything about your 'higher-up' at the time. You seemed so determined to keep being Ladybug and I was worried I'd be ruining that for you." He clasped his hands together tightly, his expression strained. "When I finally met him after we fought Moolak, I thought I'd done the right thing. Chat was the one who didn't show up, but he took it out on you."

"Grand Master Su-Han?"

His gaze hardened. "I hated hearing him talk to you like that, but I couldn't say anything."

"Because you thought he'd take it out on me for that too?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm just a temporary hero. I knew I didn't have anything I could use against him."

He seemed vaguely lost in the memories of what'd happened, and she understood. Su-Han coming out of nowhere so recklessly - showing himself to one of her temporary heroes, no less - must've been a shock. Luka knew so little of how everything in her life worked, which made his conclusion all the more tragic.

"You seemed so determined to keep being Ladybug and I was worried I'd be ruining that for you."

They really would have to talk.

"But after Shadow Moth made that announcement, I started second-guessing myself again," Luka admitted.

"What?" Marinette tilted her head. "That's why—?"

He confirmed, "That's why I was out under the bridge. I couldn’t stop thinking about what could've happened. I thought not telling you would've made everything better than if I did. I passed off what happened with Chat Noir as an accident, and trusted him to be there for you, because..." He trailed off, clearly feeling like he couldn't say, but she already knew. He tensed, his clasped hands moving up while his elbows stayed firmly on the table. His bangs brushed against his fingers as his knuckles pressed against his forehead.

"Luka..."

Luka was smart, so she was sure that he wouldn't wonder about such things based on nothing. There could've been footage of something, she supposed, or maybe he knew about Adrien leaving at some point. Either way, she couldn't say that he was wrong in suggesting that him knowing would've made things play out differently.

"It happened so soon after I learned your identities - this, and Sass using Second Chance - that it made me think. I've always wanted to help you, Marinette, and make the right choices to do it." His eyes weren't visible with his hands up, but his lips were pressed together in a tight line. "But maybe I picked the wrong track. I thought what happened with... us, was a sign that I should've stayed out of all this, but..."

Marinette leaned forward, reaching out both hands to touch Luka's. Careful not to accidentally catch any strands of his bangs, she curled her fingers around his hands and pulled with gentle encouragement. Luka's tight grip slacked, allowing her to pull his hands apart like a curtain to reveal his face.

"I guess that was our mistake, wasn't it?" she figured.

"What?"

She smiled, feeling bittersweet and yet distinctly linked with him. "Trusting Chat Noir, and not talking to each other."

He gaped. "Marinette—"

"I should've told you then. Ladybug was too much for me, and I should've said so. I shouldn't have lied to myself or let you think that what happened was because of Adrien." She squeezed his hands, seeking out his comfort. "It was Ladybug, Luka. That was why I broke up with you."

"That—" Luka's gaze darted around the room, as if processing. She wondered if his face was similar when he found out her identity. "I had no idea."

"It's not your fault. You weren't supposed to know." She frowned. "And this is where it got the both of us."

Luka paused at that, then slowly brought his hands down. Given that she was still holding onto them, it left his hands on the table and hers on top, though he slowly turned his hands around to hold hers in return. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," came her immediate reaction, then, "Erm, not exactly, but I cried myself out and wound up more angry than sad, which is better than before."

"Angry?" he echoed, concened.

"At everything. My first day of school, the people I've met, becoming Ladybug, and—" Eyes half-lidded, she stared at the floor. "—especially Adrien." Then, looking back up at him, she added, "I know his identity too now. I know that he's Chat Noir."

Had the situation been more light, it would've been comical how shocked he looked at that. It only made sense since he'd kept Chat Noir's identity a secret just for her to find out anyway.

"...Luka," she began, tightening her grip on his hands in a silent warning for him to prepare himself, "will you listen to my story? I want to tell you. I want to tell you all of it, but it's long, and a lot, and I understand if you'd rather I just get to the point—"

"I'll listen," he interrupted firmly, gripping her hands back. "Everything or nothing, remember?"

She smiled at the reminder, repeating fondly, "Everything or nothing."

Thus, she told him everything, starting all the way back from her first day of school. She told him about being bullied by Chloe, as well as the failure to bring her to the side of good. She told him about her first encounter with Alya and how the friendship quickly turned lopsided. She told him about her first meeting with Adrien as well as where the relationship went - or where it didn't really go at all - from there. Almost involuntarily, she even told him about the little things in-between, simply because she'd remembered them, and though they were completely insignificant, Luka listened to all of it without breaking eye contact with her.

There was something about recounting her experience that really put things into perspective for her. When the events were separated by days, she never thought about the frequency, but when compressed, she saw problems that she hadn't before. It felt like every few sentences, she'd be making a comment about Alya overriding something she did, her being forced into anything involving Adrien, or people telling her how to feel. It hadn't even occurred to her that, if not for Adrien, she never would've given Chloe a chance in the first place nor stopped trying to out Lila, the latter of which could've stopped her from getting briefly expelled.

Luka stayed quiet for most of her story, only interjecting at times with a, "they did what?" that he promptly stifled with a hand to his mouth and an apology with his eyes. In a way, it kept her grounded, able to distance herself from what she was telling him by focusing on the way his expression would shift depending on what she was saying. His brows would furrow or disappear behind his bangs, he'd bite his bottom lip to keep himself from talking, or he'd shift nervously in place when she'd explain something that was particularly horrifying to her. If she noticed that he was gripping his hands tight like before, she'd offer her own, just as he did for her when she’d find herself at something difficult to talk about

On occasion, his reactions would confuse her, with something she'd say casually causing a bigger response than expected. She was already rethinking so much of the past and it made her wonder if she perhaps still hadn't done enough of it.

There was only one break in the midst of it all, specifically when Luka had stopped her to note that her voice was starting to sound hoarse from speaking nonstop. He apologized - as if he should somehow be punished for prioritizing her health - then hurried downstairs and returned with a glass of water for her.

She felt silly for blushing when their fingers brushed, reminding herself that they'd held hands on multiple occasions on that night alone. There was just something so intimate about someone being there for her, not treating her as someone weak, and opening up to her in such a way.

What he did had changed nothing. She trusted him. There was no one else she could've wanted as her ally.

"...And, that's it," she said, once she'd gotten everything off her chest. "That's everything."

Luka let out a breath, silent before starting to tap a mindless beat against the table. "That's... a lot. I—I know I couldn't have, but I wish I'd known. I would've—"

"—done so much differently?" she finished. They were in sync after all. "Me too. If I'd realized what I have now, but back then instead, things would've changed for the better."

He glanced at her, his tapping finger missing a beat, then stared off at a nearby plant. His fingers curled into a fist, gently knocking at the table, until he finally looked back to meet her gaze. "Marinette, could I hug you?"

Her head jerked up. "W-what?"

"Hearing everything that happened to you, and knowing what happened today.” His shook his head like he was trying to banish it from memory. “You've been through so much, and I...I want to do whatever I can for you."

She paused. Then, rather than answering, she pushed herself up and walked around the table to reach him. He was briefly thrown off by the almost-immediate acceptance, but turned accordingly and opened his arms wide for her. She let herself fall into his lap, her arms going around his waist while his hands came to rest on her back.

She would've asked for the hug if he'd hadn't, though it didn't matter to her who asked who. He was warm, and she buried herself into him while enjoying the gentle yet secure contact.

"I'm glad you told me," he said, "and whatever else is on your mind, I'm ready to hear that too."

She stiffened, peeking up at him in surprise. She supposed it was strange to drop her whole Ladybug backstory on him like that, yet he was perceptive enough to know that she had another reason for doing so? He didn't look offended either, only reassuring her in his own way that she didn't have to be afraid or skirt around the topic.

She could only hope that the hug had helped him to handle it in some way.

"W-well..." She brought her hands up to his chest, fiddling with the flaps of his jacket. "I'm quitting. It's not just because of what happened, but from everything I told you. I—I can't function as Ladybug, and all I'd do is put Paris in danger by staying on when I can't balance both lives. You said that you were worried about ruining my chances at being Ladybug, but..." She shook her head. "I don't think I ever wanted it. Not really. I was pressured into it from the start and only did it because I had to. I really thought I'd become better, but I was just living as someone else instead, and even that never seemed to be good enough."

Luka's hand going up and down her back was soothing. She almost wished that she could fall asleep right then and there, but their conversation wasn't over. Not yet.

"Also, I...I'm sure Su-Han would make me anyway, whether I wanted to or not, but—" She took a deep breath, finding the words harder to say than she'd expected. "...I'm quitting being guardian too."

Luka's hand froze. He'd clearly been paying close attention to her story; he knew what that meant.

"You're—" He swallowed. "...going to give up your memories?"

"Yeah. I don't know how much, but all my memories attached to being Ladybug and guardian will be gone. Even this, I'm probably going to forget." Then, knowing the conversation was unavoidable, she added honestly, "I might forget you too."

She'd seen a wide range of emotions from Luka that night, and now was no different. He'd always been accepting of her choices, meaning that he was making every attempt to restrain his expression.

"Luka, please tell me what you're feeling," she urged as she gripped his upper arms. "It's okay. I mean—it's not, but there's no pressure for you. I can't tell you how much it's meant to me how you've looked out for me all this time, but I—I don't want to force you to be my ally here. I don't want you to do it for me. If you're uncomfortable at all, please..."

"I hate that you're going through this," he said, his words quicker than usual as if he needed to get them out. "I hate that this is your only way out. I hate that everything you've been through led up to something like this."

She braced herself for rejection. "I know. You have every right to—"

"I'm with you."

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right at first. She raised a brow at him, her tense shoulders going slack. "Y-you are?"

"Yes," he replied, then nodded as if he hadn't already answered her.

"But—but I could forget you! Won't that be hard?"

"Not at all.” His hand touched her cheek, the back of his fingers caressing her skin. "It’s harder seeing you be treated like this, suffering because you tried to help people as best as you could."

"Luka..." She whined his name like she wanted to argue his point, yet brought her own hand up to grab his wrist, ensuring that his hand would stay there.

He smiled. "Just tell me what I have to do. I'm listening, Marinette."

It would be pointless debating with him, not only because his mind had been made up, but because it was something he genuinely believed in. He was with her all the way because he wanted to be.

She blushed, relenting to his request with a soft, "okay." She lingered there, just long enough to feel the full warmth of his hand, then slowly pulled away from him so she could walk over to her papers.

Picking them up, she gave her work a once-over, then explained, "I'm leaving a note for myself; for her. I don't want her to feel alone, or like I abandoned her. She needs to know what to be wary with, and I want you to hold onto a copy in case Su-Han confiscates mine. I want you to protect her in case anyone tries to manipulate her."

Naturally, Luka heard what she'd done right away. "You're talking about her like she's a different person."

"...Isn't she?" Marinette asked, then added out of concern of how he might've interpreted it, "Um, and I don't mean in a bad way or anything! Just..."

Catching a glimpse of the night sky from outside the glass, she found herself drawn to approach, walking away from Luka and standing there in front of the window with her notes held gently in her hands.

"I'm different compared to then, and... I guess I started to see her separately to me? It feels like so long ago since I got the Ladybug miraculous and I can't stop thinking about how I treated her—er, myself?" She idly twisted the papers in her hands, though careful not to crumble them. "I don't think I've been very nice."

She made a mental note to add in more reassurances to her next draft.

"I was always doubting myself and folding to other people. If I'm not careful with how I lay her life out, she might find out that she has responsibilities that she doesn't know what to do with, like being class representative. Other people will be against her, and she might not understand why." She sighed, frustrated with how little she knew about the inevitable memory loss. "And no matter what, she's going to wake up, confused and disoriented, and she'll never know why I left her a note like I knew this would happen."

She sensed Luka's presence behind her as he walked up to her, though he remained quiet to let her finish. She appreciated it.

"She...she'll probably hate me, and I think she'll have a right to. She won't understand that losing those memories is the best thing that could've happened to her; that she was so stressed out in all those memories she lost that her memory was practically worthless. I'd forget everything, Luka: my clothes when I left the house, dates that I wanted to go on with my boyfriend, everything. I'm such a wreck that my parents see me like I'm beyond help, so they'll tell me something and then cover for me like they already know I'm going to fail. I hate when they're right."

Luka's hand found her shoulder, and she didn't miss how it shook in his sympathy. One of her hands released the paper for the sake of resting over that hand.

"She'll never know why I kept this all from her either. She'll wake up, feeling more sore and exhausted than she's ever felt in her life, and she won't know why. Maybe there'll be some feelings left that'll help her, but there won't be any memories attached. She might always wonder why it happened to her, or realize that I must've done it on purpose and feel like I... killed myself; a part of myself."

"I don't see it that way," he cut in.

"Really?"

"It's like Second Chance, isn't it?" he he suggested. "Except it's everyone else who remembers, but you can still leave something behind. It doesn't have to be a bad thing." His thumb brushed along her shoulder as he continued, "I wish I could've done it that day; gone back without knowing your identity, but with a message on what I should've done instead. Then I only would've known if you told me yourself."

Huh. She hadn't considered that.

"I feel like you might've figured it out eventually though," she thought aloud, smiling faintly, "It'd be very Luka of you to be perceptive like that."

"...M-mm, maybe," he replied noncommittally.

She giggled. She'd caught him off-guard with the comment and he was clearly trying not to reject it. Though, looking down at her draft again, she was reminded of another matter she had to attend to. "Hey, Luka?"

"What is it?"

"You're in my draft too." Before he could make the assumption she knew he would, she elaborated, "Not because you're my ally."

He hummed in thought, but ultimately couldn't seem to figure out her reasoning.

"Do you think—" She hesitated, taking a breath to ease her nerves. It wasn't something easy to ask, and he might not even have an answer, but she had to ask. "...Do you think it'd be possible for me to transfer to your school?"

His grip on her shoulder tightened in what she was sure was an involuntary gesture. She was tempted to look at him, but ended up averting her gaze further instead, even pulling her hand back from his.

"Why?" Luka blurted out, then caught himself. "I mean, I'd—I'd be happy, Marinette. Thrilled, I—" He cleared his throat. "But...?"

"Like I said, I don't want her to feel alone. I want to give her the life I would've wanted to have and take away everything that would've made her miserable." She hugged the papers to her chest. "I want her to feel loved, longer than I ever could. I was always chasing after something fake and still failing anyway, or the world would be against me and I wouldn't be able to enjoy what I... what we had."

"Marinette..."

"But I also know that it might be hard for you. I'll—she'll be different, and you can never let her know that she's Ladybug. You might even have to lie to her. I just know that you make people feel loved, even if you don't love them like you loved me, and—"

"Love."

"then there's..." She trailed off as his voice registered, thinking for perhaps too long on what he could’ve meant by that. "Huh?"

"Present tense," he clarified, squeezing her shoulder. "I love you, Marinette, just like I love the Marinette without her memories. It doesn't make a difference to me."

She swallowed, her breath coming out shakily when she exhaled. It was her turn to stumble over her words, it seemed. "I-I...I don't—but—and you can't know—you can't—!"

She brushed his hand aside and finally spun around to face him. She expected to see his eyes distantly staring off into space, reflecting the stars as he viewed whatever imaginary universe he'd been daydreaming about.

But instead, all she saw was her own reflection in his eyes. He was staring right at her, as serious as possible, and she suddenly forgot how to breathe altogether.

"I didn't fall in love with the Marinette you became," he explained, voice low and thick with emotion, "and I didn't fall for the Marinette with a mask. I won't have to lie if she asks me if she was Ladybug, because the Ladybug everyone knows - that you know - doesn't exist."

She unconsciously flashed back to how his expression would change when she'd told him about her life, where she'd say something casually and he reacted in a way she hadn't expected. It all clicked

"You're right," he continued, fists tight at his sides. "Ladybug didn't make you better, because none of that pressure or guilt could've made you that way. The Ladybug who had to be responsible for everything and get blamed for everything was what everyone else made up. Marinette, you were already saving people from being hit by cars before you got the miraculous. Anything good that you think Ladybug gave you, or let you become, was already there."

She opened her mouth, but her mind was blank and nothing came out. She couldn't argue, or even whisper his name under his intense gaze. It was as if, to him, nothing else existed in that moment but her.

"I didn't fall in love with the Ladybug who stood up to Hawk Moth. I fell in love with the Marinette who stumbled into my room that day. It's the solo you play that's been stuck in my head, and you don't need any accompaniments to make it better. You are enough."

She shook, her lips trembling as the papers fell from her hands. He stepped closer to her, arms extended in a silent offer, and she didn't realize what was happening until her vision started blurring.

She hadn't cried herself out after all, though the tears contained a far different emotion this time. Walking directly into his arms, Luka held her close as she buried herself against him. She wasn't bawling, just happy and overwhelmed.

He still loved her, and had practically promised to love the Marinette she left behind. She couldn't imagine ever forgetting him, guardian memory loss or not.

Eventually, once she'd calmed down enough, he picked up her fallen drafts and went back to the table with her. They still needed to finish the message, after all, and she knew she could trust him to cover for anything she might miss.

Her eyes were still watery, but she could read.

It was a balancing act, trying not to reveal too much information while ensuring that there wouldn't be any misinterpretations. She couldn't say exactly how the her of the past would react - presuming she'd be exactly like that at all - so she had to keep all variables in mind.

Having a second pair of eyes - specifically Luka's - was exactly the kind of help she would've wanted. He pointed out little bits and pieces that could be changed, as if he truly had an idea of what she'd been like. It filled her with confidence, knowing that she'd be handing herself over to someone who'd get her to a far better place than she was now.

At one point, one of her descriptions of him in her following draft made him blush and choke on nothing, so she teasingly passed him the rest of the water he'd gotten her earlier. She caught him trying to hide his smile behind the glass, a faint pink dusting his cheeks.

It was inefficient to pass each other the drafts from across the table, so they'd moved to sit on one side together. Luka had sat awkwardly at first, trying to put his legs off to the side, but she assured him that he could sit cross-legged like what'd always made him comfortable. His leg occasionally brushed hers when they shifted because of it, but she didn't mind.

She liked it, in fact.

"What do you think about this one?" she asked, sliding the paper off to the side for him to look at it properly. It really felt airtight this time, so she was proud of it.

Luka hummed, picking up her work and reading it over at least a few times. Then, smiling at her, he assured, "I think it's ready. You really..." He paused, his gaze turning to something more fond as he looked at her. "You really took care of yourself."

Her heart swelled, her back straightening as she beamed at him. "I was ready to pull an all-nighter if I had to.” She faltered. “Ah, I guess that part wouldn't have been taking care of myself, but—"

He laughed, handing her back what she'd written so she could make a copy for him as they'd planned. "You can never be too careful, right? At least about this. You need it done as soon as possible."

She nodded, looking from paper to paper as she copied down her words exactly. "Right. I want things to be ready for when I go back. I know I wouldn't remember them anyway if something went wrong, but I don't want to have any..."

She trailed off, unconsciously stopping her writing as her lips pressed together in deep thought.

When it was clear that she wasn’t going to finish her sentence, Luka called out to her in concern. "Marinette?"

She met his gaze, paused, then finished, "...regrets. I don't want to have any regrets."

Mentally debating with herself, she took a glance at her work before looking back at Luka. Then, bidding a mental apology to the Marinette she'd be leaving behind for what she was about to take, she reached up to grab Luka's shoulder and keep him firmly in place.

Raising herself up on her knees, she kissed him directly on the lips. Initially, she felt him jolt in response and even pull away to gasp, but then he came back in immediately to kiss her in return.

She couldn't describe it in the way she'd always read about or seen in romances. Rather, it reminded her of the adventure puzzle games she'd played in the past, back when she had the free time to do so.

Over the course of her time as Ladybug, her life had felt like a game; just something to be played for someone else's amusement. She was constantly trapped in a puzzle, frying her brain in an attempt to figure out the answer. The slightest mistake would either penalize her or lead her down the wrong path, with no hints as to what she was supposed to do next. She even fell for all of the red herrings, having believed them to be just and good-natured.

Luka, however, was the "Ahah!" moment, where everything became clear and she knew she'd found the solution. It wasn’t like fireworks, or lightning, or some abstract concept that no other person could fathom.

It just felt right.

Marinette slid her arms up and around Luka's shoulders, pulling him in further to enjoy what she'd missed out on ever since that date at the cinema. She didn't even notice how much she was leaning back in the process of her pulling until she felt them both falling backward, then stop completely as the sound of Luka's hand hitting the deck registered to her ears. His other hand was at her back, holding her securely in place.

The fact that he was still kissing her assured her that he was still very comfortable with the arrangement, especially as she treated herself to the feeling of his hair between her fingers.

Nearby, her message remained sitting on the table, gentle words written with care to a Marinette who'll have forgotten about so many of the ways she'd been mistreated, and along the bottom was the most important part of all:

Marinette, no matter what people tell you or what you might think, remember that you're not responsible for everyone. Not everything is your fault, and you shouldn't have to take the blame for what other people have done. Above all else, you deserve to be happy.

(Luka will be happy to remind you if you forget.)

[helenazbmrskai]

Wild Card (M)

Pairing – Yoongi x Reader (ft. Platonic Hoseok)

Genre – Alice In Borderland AU, Smut, S2L, Angst, Horror Comedy, Dystopian World AU

Summary – [You barely survived the first game but you need to participate in another one because if you don’t, your three-day visa will expire. You look like a scaredy-cat an easy target next to the others but the blue-haired man sees something in you. His teammate called him a wild card, whatever that means. You don’t know him.]

Warnings – Dead dove do not eat, minor character death(s), violence, oc breaks a nose but it’s well deserved, spineless people throwing others under the bus, near death experiences, deadly games, smut, bathtub sex, handjob, vaginal fingering, praise, marking/biting kink, cockwarming, wall sex, dirty talk, breast play, lots of teasing, doggy style, emotional sex, unprotected vaginal sex, creampie, overstimulation, size kink, pet names

Word Count – (9k)

Author note. I hope you guys will like this fic I had so much inspiration for it I can’t believe I wrote this in just a day. [loosely edited as well] (The inspiration for the riddles comes from this and this source.)

Menu: Masterlist l Be part of my permanent taglist to recieve a notification when I upload a new fic or send an ask!

⤷ Part of Fics On Screen, Horror Movie Special

The mall buzzes with life you can barely hear your sister’s bubbly laugh as your father gets back with her meal. She’s laughing at something she sees on her phone and turns the screen in your direction to make you smile when she’s done snickering but your mother scolds her for using it during lunch – and before you could see what she wanted to show you the device is safely put away in your mother’s handbag.

You dig in the minute the food is in front of you and look around your surroundings.

You always liked to people watch. You zoned out of the family’s conversation as you regarded the people standing in long lines waiting for their food. Some are in suits and most are in casual wear with thick jumpers as the weather gets colder as September approaches. You barely catch your mother’s last words.

”…when are you going to find a job. I’m not trying to pester you but you can’t stay at home forever.”

”Mom I told you finding a job is not that easy it’s not like I’m not trying.” You pick at your food with your fork suddenly you’re not that hungry.

You had the same conversation with her at least a couple of times and you’re getting tired of repeating yourself. Your mother is about to comment on your disrespectful eye roll but the words never come. Every sound ceases to exist. You look up to find yourself alone in the same mall but for some reason, it doesn’t look the same either.

The lights are off and there are enormous cobwebs hanging from the ceiling like this building has been abandoned at least the last fifteen years or so. Even as you begin blinking rapidly the scenery doesn’t change back.

You stand up and you internally cringe when the chair scrapes against the dirty floor as you push it back with your legs. There’s a heavy coat of dust on the table in front of you and your food or family is nowhere in sight. Your heart is nearly beating out of your chest as you look around calling out to your family members but all you get back is silence. You can’t be asleep on the table even when this looks like a bad nightmare from your childhood. You try pinching your skin but it hurts and you’re not waking up.

The abandoned streets of Seoul greet you the same way once you find your way out of the mall.

You crouch down in the middle of the road after walking through the neighbourhood and you are yet to find another human being. No one answers your call of help and your phone is for some reason dead even though you remembered to charge it. As panic settles in, you make yourself smaller and instinctively put your hands over your ears when the ringing starts. Then you hear it. Footsteps.

You were so caught up in your frantic searching that just now you saw the big neon sign. It spells game with vibrant colours changing every now and then to attract attention. You will your legs to move. This is the first time since the city seemingly changed in a split second that you see someone so you start running after the silhouette. The person can’t hear you call out to him but you follow him after he walks under the big game sign. It’s the only place that seems to have electricity and you have a weird feeling about it. Something in your gut tells you to stay away but you can’t afford the luxury to listen to your inner voice no matter how shady this all looks.

There’s not one but four people when you pass under the sign yourself. You hear something click softly when you enter and you stop in your tracks to look back. It’s an open area so why does it sound like some kind of mechanism just snapped in place? There’s a big roof over your heads and an elevator in the far back that you can only access if you get through the other four people.

The tension is thick that could be cut with a knife as everyone’s eyes find you as soon as you appear.

Your initial plan was to ask someone what’s going on but you decide it’s best to keep quiet for now as you read the mood of the room. You don’t know what to do with the sudden attention so you awkwardly nod in their direction. You catch the blue haired man’s eyes but he looks away as soon as your gazes meet ignoring your greeting altogether. The other boy who stands close to him shoots you a friendly smile but doesn’t say anything else. Their eyes leave you as they start whispering among themselves.

The other two keep staring at you. At first glance, they probably don’t know each other like the boys as they are standing far apart and the high school girl seems to be as confused as you are. The tattooed guy sizes you up with confidence and your stomach sinks when he reveals his crooked smile.

”Hey do we know when this game will start because I have to be at home before dark.” The girl twirls her long hair looking bored. You wonder how long have they been waiting around here and what game she’s talking about.

”You. Do you know why everyone disappeared suddenly? These men don’t tell me anything here.” You look over where she points at the others for a moment before you focus back on the girl’s face. It seems like she’s as new as you are to this weird situation. She’s at least friendly. If you are forced to play some kind of game then you are at a disadvantage two girls against three boys. You hope it won’t come to that. You’re safe till it’s a teamwork kind of game. Your intuition tells you that you have to be the most careful around the tattooed guy.

”I just arrived here. Wherever that is.” You don’t like how they don’t even try to pretend they are not listening in your conversation. It’s clear that everyone else knows what’s going on except for you two.

”Fuck this. I’m out of here I don’t have time to play dumb games I need to find my little brother.” You grabbed her arm before she could step out to the open.

”Wait. Something is not right.” You don’t know why but that soft clicking noise still bothers you.

”Let go I’m leaving.” She struggles against you but you don’t relent. You look around for something easy to throw. The light catches on her necklace and you move without thinking it through.

She whines when the chain snaps you pull out some of her hair with it but it soon turns into a gasp of shock when you throw it beyond the invisible barrier and a red laser from above leaves a smoking hole in the middle of the pendant.

”W- what was that?!”

You let her go now that she stopped struggling. You wear a grave expression as you think. You ignore her question since you have no idea what this means. You’re so lost in your thoughts that you completely miss the blue haired man who had his sharp eyes on you the whole time. He’s interested to find out what your next move will be. You seem like a smart girl and he hates himself for it but you’re quite pretty too that also caught his attention even though your clothes are plain in comparison.

The boy with short black hair whispers something into his ear and blue nods agreeing to what he is told. That’s all you can decipher when you turn in their direction again. You don’t want to be that girl but they seem to be whispering about you.

”You can’t leave this is not how this world works. If you don’t play you’re as good as dead anyway.” The tattooed guy shrugs completely ignoring the high school girl’s panic as she starts to pace back and forth.

”What kind of game are we going to play exactly?” You try to get more out of him but he just laughs and leaves your question unanswered.

”Why would I tell you? Oh. Well, maybe I have an idea how you could pay for the information.” Your hands by your sides turn into fists as you hold back when he suggestively licks his lips.

”Rather die.” You spit back and the high school girl giggles.

It seems to anger the tattoed guy as he marches forward, her body immediately freezes but you stand in front of her before anything could happen. You can feel her shaky hand hold onto your hoodie tightly trying to appear smaller.

”Just a piece of good advice if you two want to survive here. You better. Shut. Your. Mouths.”

It’s going to bite you back in the ass what you are about to say but it’s better if you don’t back down. He’ll take advantage of you more if he thinks he can.

”Maybe you should take your own advice then.” If it would be possible there would be steam coming out of both his ears.

The first sign that you overstepped his invisible boundaries is that he immediately calls you a bitch. The second sign is when he raises his tattoed hand to slap you across the face but the sting never comes.

Your eyes open wide when you see who saved you.

The blue haired man watches the tattooed guy with a stoic expression his firm grip is still on the violent man’s wrist. He’s ready to spit out curses at your saviour for not minding his own business but then the other guy appears over the blue haired guy’s shoulder and catches everyone’s attention with his next words.

”The elevator is open. We need to go.”

The five of you get in the elevator and as the numbers go up the air gets tenser inside the confined space. The tattoed guy shoots daggers at you the whole time but you willed yourself to ignore him. You’re thankful that the black haired guy with the dazzling smile decided to divide your little group in the middle so you don’t have to be afraid tatted guy will suddenly start strangling you.  

The elevator’s double doors open and you step into a small square room with a single white table in the middle. There’s another door behind the table but that’s it no windows no signs. You find it weird how many weird posters were hanging on the walls where you were waiting considering now you just see this almost empty room.

”What’s this?” You’re the first to pick up the card that was neatly placed in the middle of the table.

”Diamonds. Good thing our ace is here.” This is the first time you hear the blue haired man’s voice but you’re not hung up on how sexy it sounds but rather his words. They know what this means and you don’t it makes you feel uneasy.

The girl you saved at the beginning still tightly clutches to your clothes. You follow behind the two boys and the tattooed guy into the next room.

This is where shit hits the fan. The minute the door slams shut behind you a lock snaps in place the lighting turns red and there’s a voice counting from thirty and you don’t want to know what happens when it reaches zero.

She tries to force the door open but you focus on the concrete pillar in the middle there are two goblets next to each other the first one says poison the other says water. There’s no other instruction but it’s clear that the two doors opposite to each other corresponds to the same colour code that the goblets have. The poison one is black and the water one is connected to the gold door.

”Fuck which one is it?” The tattooed guy curses.

The high school girl approached our circle too after she realised the door won’t budge. The voice just counted down to twenty. You need to hurry or you will all die here. ”It’s obviously water! Why would someone choose poison?” The blue haired man stands a little further away unbothered by the situation of life and death while his partner seems to think deeply about which one is what we need while the tattooed guy and the girl argue loudly what to choose.

The voice reaches ten.

”What do you think?” She turns to you but you’re unable to come up with a solution. You can’t think straight as the voice counts closer and closer to one. The red light hurts your eyes and the ringing appeared again in your ears.

”I- I don’t know.” You shake your head. Your build up wall starts crumbling down under the pressure and she decided she’s done waiting. She drinks the water and not after a second her whole body starts convulsing. Twitching on the floor like she’s possessed while foam comes out of her mouth.

The tattooed guy grabs the goblet labelled poison and drinks it then books it to the black door. The voice just counted down to five when you start running to the door behind everyone. You look up and the ceiling is packed with sharp spikes descending every time the voice reaches a new number. You’re just in time to cross the threshold to avoid getting impaled. The concrete pillar broke under the weight of the ceiling and you can see the high school girl’s blood reach the door and gather into a puddle.

The voice starts to count down from twenty five this time five seconds shorter than before while you’re faced with the same two goblets.

You can’t look away from the other room and her dead body. Your brain working one mile per hour.

One of the goblets contains water and the other a deadly amount of nerve agent. You need to drink from the right substance to unlock the next door. The cogs in your head begin spinning as you force the bile back down.

You remember seeing a lot of posters in the lobby and you remember one talked about how to spot tennaxa poisoning you just skimmed through the text but you remember some parts of the picture illustrations. If red light shines on it then you can see the small particles that didn’t melt during the mix.

”What if we pour both out? Shouldn’t the door open as long as the liquid is gone from the cup?” You hear tattoed guy reason but the boy who still observes the goblets and the writing shakes his head.

”It’s cheating and if it doesn’t work we will all die.” He’s right if you think about it logically. If it doesn’t work no one can refill the goblets to try again and the door will never open.

”There has to be a hint. There’s always a hint.” The boy mumbles while the tattooed guy grows impatient. He yells at them to choose one. What a coward.

”Did you see the posters where we were waiting?” You stand next to the dark haired boy the voice is about to reach ten, you need to get out of here fast if you want to live. You don’t have the luxury to take in whatever is happening around you.

” Now’s not the time to bring that shit up we don’t have time!” The guy yells the veins are bulging out his forearms under his tattoos. He tries to make up for his fear of death with violence.

”No! You’re right! There’s nothing here ever since we got into the elevator. The lobby is the only place they could have placed the hint. Tell me what you remember.” The black haired boy gently grips both of your shoulders to face him. You think for a moment what you remember about the tennaxa poisoning but there’s not enough time you need to act now and talk later.

You have no time to waste so you grab the poison one and look inside. You don’t have enough time to tell them what you discovered so you have to do it. You don’t see anything but clear liquid.

Hearing number five from the voice you don’t have time to check the other goblet so you drink it and then run to the black door. It opens!

Your knees give out when you’re in the next room you’re able to stabilise yourself by gripping the edge of the concrete pillar. You really thought that you’re going to die. Fuck you’re so glad it worked.

”Holy shit you have balls girl I give you that.” The tatted guy pats your shoulder but you shake it off. You ignore short hair when he tries to help you up you can do it on your own.

”Check the other goblet if you see tiny particles it means that’s the poisoned one!” You grab the one closest to you and you see it. This time poison means truly poison. The blue haired guy who just watched everything unfold takes the cup out of his friend’s hand before he could drink it and does it himself. He’s not convinced you got it all figured out just because you got lucky once but the gold door opens and you were all able to clear it before the time was up.

This time the countdown starts from ten. Tattooed guy almost knocks the cup out of your hands this is the tightest time limit so far and he tries to speed you up but you can’t concentrate in the dim lighting if he keeps bothering you. It’s hard enough to see it as it is. Thankfully the boys see your distress and create a wall before you and him.

”It’s water!” You shout so one of them could run to the door while you drink it. The boys go first then you run side by side with the tattooed guy. He shoves you to arrive first and you almost got impaled by the spikes if it weren’t for the blue haired guy who quickly caught your outstretched hands and pulled you in.

He saved your life. You could fucking kiss him right now if you all were not in a hurry and busy with surviving.

You finally collapse on the floor when the lighting goes back to normal and there’s no more countdown just another elevator to let you all out. The room is like the first one before you entered the game there’s a card on the table that blue grabs before anyone else could notice it but you do.

Now that the shock partially wore off you stand up on your shaky legs and throw a punch to tattooed guy’s face who stumbles back from the impact. You caught him off guard. You’re shaking from anger and while you tore the skin on your knuckles seeing his bloody nose makes it all fucking worth it.

”What the fuck!” He yells as he grabs his nose in pain. The boys are ready to intervene if he tries to do something but he stays on the ground still shocked that you most probably broke his nose.

”I’m the reason you are alive and you tried to fucking kill me to save yourself! You fucking asshole.” You ignore the throbbing pain of your hand you’re just starting to calm down after experiencing your near death. You would be if blue doesn’t grab you in time.

You’re glad that tattooed guy just leaves and doesn’t try to pick a fight with you. You’re leaning against the wall with your knees high up when a hand lands on the top of your head. It’s short hair.

”Thank you we wouldn’t have made it without you. You have great observation skills I could see it from the beginning.”

You don’t know how to take his compliment so you just nod and bury your face into your knees. The things you saw just starts to catch up to you. What kind of fucked up world did you end up in?

”It was your first game right?” The stranger asks you. You realise that you gave all them nicknames but you don’t know anyone's name but your own. He doesn’t wait for your answer as he continues. It’s written all across your face that it was your first time participating in a game like this.

”You’re on borrowed time here. Each game gives you a visa you have three days to win another one or you’ll die.”

You look up at hearing this piece of new information and you visibly frown. Why is he so friendly all of a sudden?

”Why are you telling me this now? It was clear from the beginning that everyone is on their own. No one helped that high schooler.” You can’t shake the image of her dead body out of your mind. She looked at you right before she dropped dead and she looked terrified. It sure will give you nightmares as long as you live. She must have been in so much pain from the poison.

”I know. I’m sorry. I can tell that her death shook you.” Short hair showed you sympathy while blue just snorted.

”If you take every death to heart here you won’t be alive for long girl.” Short hair shoots a glare at him but he doesn’t apologise not that you expected him to. You take your previous statement back. You don’t want to kiss him anymore.

”Why don’t you join us? We’ve been here for a while so we know more than you and we could use your observation skills. It would benefit us all.”

You’re hesitant to agree they could throw you under the bus like tatted guy you don’t know these boys.

”I don’t even know you.”

”I’m ace and he’s wild card. Call me Hobi when it’s just us we just don’t like other players knowing our names. So what do you say lady?” You have no idea what you would do if you go on your own and they are the first people you actually saw since you got here and didn’t try to kill you at some point. It might be smarter to be in a group that knows what they are doing. Ace is right.

”Y/N.” You tell them your name and Ace smiles he takes it as a yes. You grab his outstretched hands and let him pull you up.

”It will be dark soon let’s hurry to our base. I bet you have so many questions.” You don’t pull away when Ace intertwines your fingers and drags you alongside him, wild card is walking in front of you instead of beside you but you have a hunch he’s not the talkative type like his friend. You wonder why he’s called wild card. It sounds ominous.

”How long have you guys been here?”

You set that question aside for later. You need to know more about this place first.

”I arrived two weeks ago and he’s been here for a month now.” Your eyes widen when he motions in wild card’s direction. No shit he’s like this. He had to play so many games and you have just done one but broke down in the middle and almost killed yourself. Your mind goes back to that high school girl from time to time but Hobi serves as a great distraction. When you called him Ace he said that you don’t have to be so formal and just call him Hobi when it’s just the three of you.

You surprisingly walk back to the mall you arrived in. Hobi guides you through the supermarket isles searching for essentials like your own sleeping bag and more clothes to wear. Wild card went his separate way telling you two that he’ll meet you at the camp once he’s done searching for some food.

”Were you friends before this place?” They seem close so you had to ask even if you think it’s a prying question but Hobi doesn’t hesitate to answer as he holds up different clothes to your chest to see which one fits you best.

”No I met him during a game just like you met us.”

”Oh.” You’re surprised to hear that.

”Did you ask me to join because I got us out?” That’s the second question that you’ve been meaning to ask. You can’t wrap your head around why they suddenly wanted you to join their forces.

”Partially yes. You’re smart so we thought that you’ll be a great addition. I’m called ace because I’m good with logic based games. You can be lucky it sounds better than the observer. Anyway. The other part of why we choose you was because you put that douchebag in his place. You were pretty cool.”

”I was terrified I just knew that if I cower he’ll take that as an invitation to take advantage of it.” Hobi hums agreeing with you. He found you a backpack and helped you tuck the new clothes away. Despite your protests, Hoseok helped you carry your sleeping bag back to the campsite where wild card was waiting for you. You’re yet to learn his real name but you doubt he would just tell you so you don’t bother asking.

You don’t talk much after that.

Everyone eats their canned food in silence it’s pitch black outside when you look out the window and soon everyone goes to their respectful sleeping bags and calls it a day. You try but you can’t sleep so you try to move quietly not to wake the boys up as you take a seat near one of the windows. There’s nothing much to see outside but it’s a good point to fix your gaze while your head is elsewhere.

”What are you thinking about?”

You’re startled out of your thoughts when you see wild card walking your way in the reflection of the window.

You let out a tired sigh before you decide to say what’s on your mind. It would be pointless to say nothing as something clearly bothers you.

”I didn’t even know her name.” He’s confused for only a moment before it seems to click who you are talking about. The girl who died today. He continues to listen to you just let it all out.

”She’s dead and I can’t even put a name to her face. I’m afraid I’ll die like this too. My family, my friends they have no idea where I am and if I die no one will remember me no one will know that I died.”

”Yoongi.” You almost don’t catch his words but when it registers in your brain your eyes widen.

”You better remember it Y/N.” He flicks your forehead that almost feels like an endearing gesture coming from him. Your heart flutters a little bit. He leaves without saying anything more but the realisation that he told you his real name is enough to console you and speak more than a thousand’s words ever could.

You join them a little later – this time you face Yoongi and his eyes meet yours for a meaningful minute before you close them to succumb to sleep.

Hoseok shakes you awake the next morning. Everything is ready for you to move on, the camp is tidied up they probably just wanted to let you sleep a little longer considering how eventful your first day was and you’re grateful that they already look out for you in small ways. It makes you feel less lost and alone.

***

”We need to do another game today.” Yoongi addresses both of you with his revelation. Hoseok nods, not that bothered to enter another deadly game but you bite your lip anxiously. They turn to you when you remain silent. It’s weird how easily you fit into their group. You’re walking in between them as you cross empty roads getting closer to the city centre because there are more games there as Yoongi said.

”Sorry. I’m just afraid to do another one so soon.” You don’t reject it but don’t verbally agree either they can see the hesitation on you. They don’t blame you for it but they know that you need to play. If you don’t play you die. The rule is simple.

The reason why they’re persistent to do one right after the other is that now you have just two more days on your visa. If they wait till the last day something might happen and it’s better to stock spare days in case one of you is unable to do one because of any unexpected injury. They don’t say it out loud because you will feel responsible if something happens to one of them but they need to play to get you more days since they have six spares. You’re still new.

You don’t pry when they tell you the reason but you feel like there’s more to it than what they are willing to share.  

Your stomach drops when you see the big neon sign that states game. There are already a few people gathered there six people waiting without you three that equals to nine at the end. You have a bad feeling about it but Hoseok secretly holds your hand behind your back so no one else sees.

”We will win.” Hoseok winks in your direction trying to ease your nerves and somewhat the confident demeanour of the two by your side helps you relax a bit as well.

”How do you know?” You whisper back standing on your tippy toes to reach their height. You’re surprised when Yoongi gently lays a hand on your back to keep your balance while you’re whispering.

”Because you’re our lucky charm.” This time Yoongi shares a quiet laugh with Hoseok and your ears turn bright red. You must be crazy for blushing right before another deadly game while you almost died in the first but with Hoseok and Yoongi you think you might be able to do it again.

There’s a guy in the crowd who arrived today he reminds you of yourself. For fuck’s sake you were in his shoes just yesterday. You want to help him ( you know it well what it feels like to not know where you are or what’s happening ) but as if he senses that you’re about to intervene Yoongi places a hand over your mouth and pulls you closer to his side making sure that you don’t make a sound.

”I know you want to help but you can’t save everyone.” Hoseok’s breath hits your ear as he tries to comfort you but it doesn’t help much. You told yourself that you will follow their directions this morning when you woke up to another day they have been doing this far longer than you and are still alive. It doesn’t mean you like it but you will keep quiet if that’s what they think is the best.

Yoongi removes his hand from over your mouth but keeps you at his side. You decide to do what you’re best at. Observe.

They’re all unfamiliar faces. The barrier closed when you went through it so it means the game needs nine of you. There’s one door behind you but someone said it’s still closed when Hoseok went to check it out. Nine is too much. It can’t be anything like the game you played yesterday. You tell them as such.

”I think it’s going to be a small group game. Groups of three people are what I think is the most reasonable.” The boys both listen to your explanation even though you tell them as an afterthought that you might be wrong in the end.

You all hear a metallic click and the door opens when someone tries to pry it open this time.

There in the middle of the room is a white table with one card that tells you what kind of game is waiting for you.

Three of clubs. Fuck, you were right it’s going to be a team game and there are three doors for three small groups to pass. Hoseok pats you on the shoulder and chooses the first door boldly while everyone else groups up into three. Some speculate what the game will be about while others try to come up with a good plan.

You all open the doors at the same time and step in. Some are more hesitant than others but you don’t have time to dwell on it as the lights suddenly go off. You grip the hand closest to you and he squeezes back to reassure you in the darkness. The single light bulb turns back on a minute later.

There’s a long tank in the middle the kind that holds water like an aquarium and there’s pipes going into that and bigger ones leading into the room as well. You hope this is not what it looks like.

”There’s something written on the inside.” You’re able to grab Yoongi’s hand before he could go closer. The rooms are not soundproof you can hear the others shouting the tank closes on the person who enters but there’s no water probably until every tank gets a person inside. It will be a group game after all.

”It’s probably connected to this touchpad. We need someone inside to read the instructions and one to type in the code.” You think Hoseok is correct. It seems like the game wants one person inside and two outside. One will operate the touchpad but you have no idea what the other person needs to do.

”I’ll go in.” You stop Yoongi again.

”Wait. Why are you going in?” You grip his sleeve like your life is depending on it and you swear his expression softens before it goes back to his mask of indifference. He pulls away from you.

”It’s clearly a thinking kind of game again just like yesterday you won’t make use of me out here.”

You’re about to argue but Hoseok pulls you back. ”We have to start everyone becomes more agitated the more we wait.” You take a deep breath and nod just when the tank closes on Yoongi and the water starts pouring.

The pipe is smaller but it’s slowly filling up the man shaped aquarium. You hear the others yelling.

”There’s another door here in the back! It needs a three digit code!” You hear someone yell from the other side and some confirm the same.

”You think what I think?” Hoseok looks at you but you don’t feel a sense of humour as water fills up the tank where Yoongi is trapped in. You know he tries to ease the tension in the room he doesn’t want you to panic but you’re not sure anyone or anything could calm you down.

You nod in the direction of Hoseok trusting his judgement and he keeps talking with the others – making sure you all see the same things – while you turn to Yoongi to get started with the combination to open the tank. They’re getting to the same conclusion like you two did. Fuck. Maybe you can all make it out alive.

”What do you see?” You bite your lip anxiously as you see the water is up to his ankles. The bigger room takes more time to fill so it’s still relatively low on your side.

Yoongi crouches down in the small space to see the small writing on the wall it seems like a poem that he repeats for you.

I have seemingly lost your words of love in the middle of the vast ocean,

Those words that were written in the sand all washed away.

And erased by the first wave.

”Ocean, written in the sand. Washed away.” Your eyes are fixed on the numbers from zero to nine the tank has a four digit code but the door only need three but you think if you solve what numbers those poems represent you get a number and the three of the teams can get out by sharing the numbers. You choose door number one so your code is the first that you need to add and so on.

”Endless like the ocean! If I rotate the symbol of infinity it makes a number eight.” You push the button that says eight and you’re relieved to see one of the small lights on the side of the touchpad turns green. Three more to go.

”What’s the next poem?” You look up. You got so caught up in your head that you realise the water now reaches his torso. Fuck. You need to hurry up. It’s ok you can do this – now you know what to expect.

There is cherry, apple and pumpkin

someone told me and it makes me thinkin’

The number of food’s go on forever,

they said it has numbers in it

which would make it really hard to chew it

”Cherry. Apple. Number’s in food. Go on forever.” You murmur under your nose. Fuck what is it? There are no numbers in food!

”Go on forever. It’s pi! It’s 3,14 so if I use the first digit.” Another green bulb appears but the water is rising too fast, you need to hurry or Yoongi will die in there.

”Tell me what’s the third and last one? Ace can you think about the last one while I do the third we’re running out of time.” Hoseok jogs to you and listens carefully to what Yoongi says.

Yoongi can see from the other side that you started panicking. It gets harder for you to think and you’re struggling.

”Take a deep breath. You fucking got this.” Yoongi slams his hand on the glass to get your attention the water now reaches his neck.

You do as he says and close your eyes. It’s seven. Lucky seven.

You type in the last two digits and the tank opens just in time when it gets filled up. Hoseok helps Yoongi up as he coughs but you can’t run to him now as you wait for the number to show up and it does. The first digit is nine.

”The first is nine!” You yell for the others. The room fills up faster now that the water with the tank got added to the already mid thigh level now reaching just below your shoulders. Now it depends on the other two teams if you all die or make it out alive. They need to complete their riddles to get the code for the door.

You type in the last digit with the help of Hoseok holding you by the waist the three doors open at the same time flooding the lobby with freezing water.  

No one waits around after the game but you can tell that one person died in the tank. Only eight left. A team run out of time to solve the riddles.

”You did great.” Hoseok runs his hand over your arms trying to create some friction to warm you up you don’t have enough energy to say something you just rest against his chest as you try to control your breathing.

”Are you alright?” You turn in Hoseok’s arms after you realise that Yoongi has been too quiet. It’s nothing new you just want to make sure he’s fine as you learnt that he’s a man of few words anyway.

”You’re shivering.” Yoongi lets out a quiet huff when you throw your arms around him unexpectedly.

”You’re one to talk, you’re shivering too.” Yoongi fires back and you smile against the wet jumper he has on. Oh, he’s fine.

Your small group decides it’s best to go back to the mall after the game left you all soaking wet and the mall has running showers. You can go and find another place once you are all dry and got something to eat.

It doesn’t give you warm water but with the portable gas heater, you can easily change that. You find two big tubs that can hold a person just fine and prepared two baths. The boys don’t let you argue with them as they made it clear you will take one and they’ll go after another.

Hoseok leaves to get to his bath on the other side while Yoongi pours the last portion into the bathtub for you. He’s about to leave too to give you some privacy but you boldly grab his hand before he could.

”I- it’s big enough for t-two. I don’t want you to catch a cold Yoongi.”

Yoongi stares at you for a long minute. Either he can’t decide if you’re serious about sharing a bath or contemplates if he should give in to your request. He decides to test you. Yoongi pulls his jumper over his head along with his t-shirt exposing his flat stomach to your big doe eyes.

He thinks you will blush and look away he’s waiting for the pin to drop.

”Strip. We shouldn’t wait until the water gets cold, should we?” A good kind of shudder runs down your spine at the low tone he tells you to get rid of your clothes. It’s nice to feel something other than fear and dread and your body reacts to him naturally. In the real world if somehow you crossed paths you sure would have stopped in your tracks and admired how handsome he was.

You shyly take off your shirt next then your jeans when you look over to see where he stands Yoongi is already naked just now stepping out of the leg of his underwear. You can’t help but admire how big his flaccid length looks it makes heat pool between your thighs as you imagine how it would feel inside of you. You look away when you realise you have been staring at him without moving, you’re still half dressed up.

”Need some help?” Yoongi’s smirk is unmistakable – you know that he knows what kind of effect he has on you and he fucking enjoys it.

”Please.”

All it takes is a shy nod and he’s a lot closer your breaths mingle as he covers your skin in goosebumps from his touch. He starts from your shoulder blades his touch slides down your arms before he grips your waist.

”Please what?” He’s playing with you but you don’t seem to care now that his hands are finally on you. You will even beg him if he wants you to.

”Please take off my clothes. Kiss me.” And he does. He kisses you the same time he hooks his fingers into the straps of your jeans pulling it down with your panties in tow until you can kick the garments off with your foot.

Both your bodies are cold from the freezing water but you don’t feel cold anymore now that he’s caressing your skin.

He helps you step into the tub and follows you soon after. Yoongi sits first the water reaches his mid chest while it ends for you just below your breasts once you’re seated on top of him. You can feel his semi erection poke your stomach but you’re way past the point to feel bashful as your entire body yearns for him to touch you everywhere. Yoongi seems to share the same sentiment as he goes for your perky breasts.

He sucks one into his mouth while his veiny hand plays with your other nipple. The steam coming up in waves from the hot water makes your head dizzy but it could be the effect this man sucking on your tits has on you.

”Yoongi. That feels so good.” You sigh when he hums into your skin as if he wants to agree. He shows love to your other bud before you impatiently pull his head back to kiss your lips instead. His tongue slips past your lips the moment you invitingly open them and your tongues intertwine in a hot dance for dominance that no one wins. Your hand moves from his shoulders down his torso while you continue sharing open mouthed kisses – moving past the water to wrap your hand around his cock.

Yoongi hisses when you give him an experimental pump the water makes everything slippery enough that it feels good.

He moves from your mouth to your neck leaving his mark on your skin that he soothes with small licks. You forget about the pain of his bites when his fingers slip underwater to play with your slick folds he can tell that it’s a different kind of wetness that coats his fingers it’s thicker than water and he bet it’s a lot more delicious with a tang of sweetness. Due to the small space inside the old tub, you need to angle your lower half so he can reach your entrance and he doesn’t hesitate to push in with two of his fingers at a time. He stills them once it’s pushed as deep as it goes to let you adjust that you are thankful for. Yoongi distracts you from the small sting with more bite marks across your skin his lips found the soft supple of flesh as his new canvas – making colourful spots bloom across your chest and on your soft breasts.

”Want your cock Yoongi. Please don’t tease.” Yoongi takes it as an invitation to start moving his fingers. You’re gripping his two digits so tight in anticipation that he can barely move them in and out.

He moans around your nipples with delight when the room gets filled with your pussy’s squelching noises and your own moans to match the filthy symphony. You enjoy the feeling of his long fingers curling in your walls, they’re so long and gritty that your own fingers can’t compare. He’s playing you like a fine instrument knows how deep he needs to go or how fast to pump his fingers in and out to get you to cry out his name that even Hoseok hears it from the room opposite to yours.

Yoongi doesn’t stop his movements until your orgasm hits you with full force and your walls tighten even more around his fingers like it’s his cock that’s buried deep and not just two of his digits. He’ll make sure that you will make a mess on his cock but for now, he’s solely focused on your pleasure.

He doesn’t let you ride out your high fully as he soon after you cum pulls out and pop the fingers coated in your release into his mouth to get a taste. He knew it. You taste divine with just the right amount of sweetness.

”Will you sit on my big cock if I ask you baby? Can you handle a little more for me?” You nod your head you aim to please but the other part of you is insatiable now that you got a taste of the pleasure he can give you. He made you see stars with his fingers. His cock might give you the whole damn universe.

You whine loudly when his tip catches on your sensitive hole. Yoongi has a strong grip on your waist he’s still teasing you by dragging you across his lap rubbing you against his cock without entering. Or maybe he’s teasing himself.

”Ready baby?” You melt at the nickname he’s so sweet always making sure you’re comfortable before chasing his pleasure. You kiss him with all the passion you have it’s nothing like the previous lip locking you shared it’s sweet and slow but ignites the fire to burn in your hearts. You didn’t only strip your clothes but your bare emotions lay in front of him and you both embrace each other.

”Yes. Yoongi, baby go slow, please.” He helps you comfortably hover over his length holding onto your hip while his other hand angles his tip to your core. He doesn’t try to push you down he lets you sit on it at your own pace. You’ve never felt so cared for while making love before.

You might not know him for long but the games taught you to trust him with your life just like he placed his entire existence in your hands today. He believed that you can get him out and you did.

He planted a seed in your heart that grew into a small bud and grows more and more each day you spend with him.

”Y- you’re doing so well. Almost there baby. Look at you taking my cock. So tight and wet around me.” You like this sweet side of him it’s so out of character compared to his stoic expression and disinterest he shows in the games. Your walls flutter around him at the praise you love it how he’s showing his caring side with you only in this moment. You take him all in and you feel so full.

Yoongi guides your head to rest it against his chest while he grabs the soap and starts washing you both with his cock nestled deep inside. It occasionally twitches when he kneads your breasts covering you in white bubbles and everywhere he can reach. He gives you enough time to get used to his size and you’re becoming restless when he washes the soap from your body.

You settle down again when he moves on to wash your hair his fingers expertly massage your scalp that you almost fell asleep on him.

You put some shampoo in your hands to repay the favour when Yoongi grunts that you’re fully washed and taken care of. (You’re not sure about the truth behind the last statement though as you can feel his cock throb when you clench around him.) He lets you run your fingers through his hair he tries to concentrate on your scalp massage rather than how your chest is flush against his. He can feel your hard nipples poke his chest and Yoongi wants nothing more than to suck on them again and make you moan.

You’re washing away the shampoo mindful not to let it go in his eyes when Yoongi decides he’s done waiting and makes you draw a circle with your hips. You both choke on a surprised gasp at the sudden pleasure.

You almost don’t want to get up you could sit on his cock all day and don’t have enough of the delightful stretch he provides. But then you remember how good it will feel to have him finally fuck you and your mind is set.

The moment he slips out you feel the emptiness but you don’t have to wait too much longer until he bends you over. Your hands settle on either side of the cold sink to keep your body in place while he positions his pink tip. Both your bodies drip of water droplets but neither of you cares as lust fuels you. This time he slides in easily, you welcome the familiar stretch without a problem. If you thought he felt good just having him inside you you almost can’t handle it when he finally moves.

Yoongi starts off slow and deep – fucking you with his cock like he means it and your cunt greedily enjoy the size of him part your walls deliciously. He watches himself disappear in you with furrowed brows as he tries to keep a steady pace. He wants you to feel every movement just like he feels every flutter of your tight walls, how he throbs and twitches inside your warm pussy.

He teased himself enough that he has to concentrate to not blow his load too soon. He won’t cum until he feels your pussy cream his cock that’s for sure. His plan to pull out is entirely abandoned as nothing else matters at this moment besides your sweet moans and skin slapping on skin.

Yoongi helps you turn around when you almost slip instead he pushes you against the nearby wall and reenters you.

”I- I’ll cum. Fuck. You feel so good Yoongi please don’t stop.” He doesn’t plan on it and he shows you with his actions as he begins fucking you with reckless abandon. His length keeps pulsing in your sensitive pussy holding onto a tiny thread of self control as he shoves his cock in you deeper and faster to bring you to your release.

You don’t care if you’re in front of the gates of heaven or hell. You’re so close you can taste it in your mouth your sweet release is near the corner and Yoongi won’t settle for less as he aims to make you cum before him. The encouragement comes in the form of his thumb rubbing your clit in tight circles that does the trick. The neglected little pearl purrs under his attentive caress while his cock strokes your insides.

He’s not too far behind it only takes a bite from you to the juncture of his neck to fill you up with his warm cum. He continues to fuck you after both of your releases your next bite comes down on his muscular shoulders to get through the overstimulation while Yoongi relentlessly fucks his own cum out of you.

He stills once you grip his waist with both hands halting his languid strokes to a stop only pulls out when he softened.

You’re caught off guard when he pulls you in for a kiss once you start cleaning up but you immediately melt against him. He’s sweet about it and helps you get dressed. You’re able to join Hoseok at the campsite fifteen minutes later. Getting a glimpse of the suggestive eyebrow raise he sends to Yoongi you’re sure he heard you. At least your thick clothes are able to hide the numerous bite marks you both left on each other.

”Eat. You need your energy back. We at least have a few days to rest before we have to participate in another game.”

You accept the canned corn from Hoseok and get started on the food. Of course, you haven’t forgotten about your situation. But this time you do feel lighter not that scared of what tomorrow brings you anymore.

[andraxicated]

Genshin men as k-dramas

Pairings: genshin men x f!reader

Synopsis: Scenarios of you and genshin men in some of my favorite k-dramas.

Characters: childe, scaramouche, itto, thoma, kaeya

(pt.2) ayato, albedo, kazuha

(pt.3) dainsleif, diluc, zhongli, xiao

Tags: fake dating | sussy husband | comedy attempt | malewife in an apocalypse | sexy red flag | fluff

a/n: this got too long so I'm cutting these into parts!

Childe — A Business Proposal💍

you feel so out of place in this fancy restaurant where everyone seems so poised and classy. why did you even agree to this? oh right, you need the money. waiting feels like forever until a sexy voice that made your body tingle calls out to you. "hello? (f/n) (f/l/n)?" you look up to the man confirming your name and you swear the air got knocked out from your lungs. HE'S SO FINE??? AND HE'S RICH?? jackpot!!! wait, don't forget you're on a fake date. you need to mess things up! and so you act like a crazy woman obsessed with her riches and is fond of hot, crazy, steamy, wild sex. you're literally throwing away your dignity just for this awkward date to end (why isn't he saying anything to you T_T). you swear you've done everything you could to get this man to be turned off and yet this falls on his lips: "I like you." WHATTHE? wow, what a crazy man he must like crazy women too. what was his name again? ajax? childe? oh well, it's not like you will ever see him again.....SURPRISE SURPRISE BIATCH, he's your fucking boss, the owner of the company. the urge to jump in front of a bus is really strong right now <3. help, how are you going to solve this? you just fooled your boss on a date! and wow, the universe must really hate you because he found out <33 and now you're sitting here across him, apologies endlessly spilling from your mouth because you're such a desperate peasant for money. he's like "i don't like people who waste my time." and you be like: "ok i'm sorry *cries* :((" but then...he sets up a proposal??? a proposal where you two have to fake date and then get married just to get his grandpa's pestering off his back. wait this isn't a marriage proposal, it's a business proposal!

Scaramouche — Flower of Evil🌹

everything was perfect, it was the same old morning routine you would never get tired of. waking up to your husband cooking breakfast, your daughter's eyes creasing when she sees you, and your giggle that warms the house. your husband thought it was perfect too, and he wanted to stay like that forever...but how could someone who had a dark past pretend like it didn't exist? the past will never let him go and Scaramouche will do anything to keep his family out of danger. unfortunately, it can't be helped, you are a detective after all. fate it may be, your team is the one who's investigating your husband's case. the moment you picked up that watch, when you recognized it, hid it from your colleague, doubts started to rise and suddenly you can't breathe. was it all lies? your cold neighborhood crush who eventually warmed up and loved you...was it all fake? just like your husband's identity? every night, laying on that bed with him, his touches on your skin now bring pain rather than relief. no, you're not going to let love blind you. you are a detective who swore to bring justice. and you are gonna bring justice. even if it's against your husband, even if this fragile dollhouse falls apart, as long as you're alive...justice will prevail.

Itto — It's Okay to Not Be Okay✍️

the moment you saw Itto and that big beefy arms of his, you wanted him. and what you want, it's what you get. that's what always been happening in your life, everything is so easy to get! except for this stubborn himbo who disregards your romantic and sexual advances. is he gay? maybe asexual? nah, you don't think so. but why does he always reject you? any attempt of dressing up in grand designer clothes doesn't seem to catch his eye and it's so frustrating. oh, he's busy taking care of a granny and a kid in a retirement home...that's sweet and...attractive. the visits to the retirement home get more and more frequent because of the everyday itch of seeing his face. the more you stay, the more you learn about life and the deeper your feelings get. don't worry about unrequited love, because this big man is also falling in love with you despite your eccentrics. the time spent with Itto is a time well spent, a short period that cannot compare to the dark and empty life you had before. this is a path of healing, a path of love, and a path of family. you'd gladly take this path in any life because of the happiness it gives. you're working on a new book with the kid whom Itto takes care of as the artist. this is not child labor, this is just commissioning an artist! you close your eyes and recall the past months you had with Itto and the people at the retirement home. then colorful imagination, sceneries, and characters just pop up in your mind as you hurriedly scribble down the train of thought. "kid draw this." you pass the notes to the boy who's sketching on a notepad and he nods while he gets his materials. you lean back with a satisfied smile as you smell the incoming money from this bestseller book.

Thoma — Sweet Home🌇

so this it...this is the end of your short life. you're a year from graduating and reaching your dreams and now this stupid zombie apocalypse happens out of nowhere. you haven't even stepped foot in Switzerland yet! goodbye mother, father, friends, relatives. goodbye world it was a mid life. wait are they even alive— "hhk!" a quiet hitch escapes your lips and you quickly bite down the flesh as the monster's ears turn and face you abruptly. your face contorts in horror at the terrifying appendage that's nearing your face; your body instinctively presses on the wall even if there's no room left to hide. you were accepting moments ago and now you're keeping quiet because you want to live. 'guess this is human survival instinct. and your survival instinct is telling you to hold your breath and keep quiet but your pounding heart won't listen, and you know the monster could hear it. this was a terrifying way to go, your heart pulled out of your chest. the ear gets awfully close to your nose and you close your watery eyes while your ears ring, lips bleed, and body paralyzed. 'let's just make this quick please. it's just like sleeping right?' a sad thought enters your mind as your body calms down while preparing for the blow. then a shrill shriek startles you as you open your eyes, watching the ear pull out quickly. A stabbing sound squelches and your heart drops as your hands absentmindedly place over your mouth. you don't know if you're relieved or guilty but you just press your knees to your chest and close your eyes. then, the atmosphere changes as a familiar voice calls out to you: "hey, are you okay? are you hurt?" your eyes take in the sight of a blonde guy holding a knife-broom with a worried expression on his face. then suddenly, every piece of nerve just connects together and your mind is back on track. OMG IT'S THAT CUTE MALEWIFE MATERIAL NEIGHBOR! IT'S THOMA! your sight then follows the familiar dog walking around the apartment and it turns to you as if smiling, serotonin immediately overwhelming you. you're very happy thoma and taroumaru are alive— oh, another man is holding a katana and a woman carrying a guitar! glad to know you're on the winning team!

Kaeya — Nevertheless🦋

he's the type of guy who doesn't like commitment and thinks relationships are a bother but likes to flirt. what a total asshole. and of course, you don't know that this potential danger is now approaching you since your back looked so appealing. kaeya sits beside you and asks: "is this seat taken?" you turn to speak but then you're met with the hottest man you've ever seen. one eye covered but the other is dark blue, tan skin, has a tiddie window, and an aura that just screams sex. you've been mesmerized by his appealing looks that it left kaeya chuckling, snapping you out of your dream. "n-no it's not taken." you reply to him as he sits beside you, ordering a drink for himself. you just broke up with your boyfriend and yet this man is currently occupying your mind, is that even right? that night continued with the both of you playing darts and enjoying each other's company. a small detail you noticed about him is that he has a butterfly tattoo on his nape. you wanted to ask him about it but it seems it has a deeper meaning that's not suitable for light talk. lucky you, he's surprisingly a schoolmate of yours! kaeya's visits to your apartment become frequent since he says he wants to get close! supposedly innocent touches become heated ones that lead to the bed. nevertheless, this unsafe attraction is what keeps you bound to each other.