#or she said she’s not used her tub yet. HELLO??

[babieken]

MTV Cribs >>>> Open Door Youtube

[kyra-cooneyx]

nena — barça femení x teen!reader

summary: you are the baby of the squad and your teammates never let you forget it

“hola nena,” mapi’s smile widened as she spotted the tub in your hands, eyes practically sparkling. “what do you have here?”

“cookies and cupcakes,” you answered, a little ‘duh’ tone slipping through. “but only enough for everyone to have one of each so go away.”

“wait!” mapi hear her hand up, stopping you from walking away. “you baked them yourself?”

“yeah.”

“was keira with you?”

“oh my god,” you rolled your eyes. “i am not a baby, i know how to use an oven!”

with a huff, you gave the spaniard one last dirty look before heading towards the cafeteria where you knew the others were gathered.

as you entered, pina and patri shot out of their seats and hastily approached you. you had told them the night before about your plans to try a new recipe and after they begged and begged, you promised to let them have the first taste when you brought the baked goods in.

you reached into the tub and handed them a cookie and cupcake each, looking up at them expectantly as soon as they’d both finished eating.

“so?” you asked, eyes slightly wide as you looked between them frantically. “say something, you’re killing me here!”

they both grinned widely and you scowled, reaching out to swat at patri since she was closest. “they are very good nena.”

pina hummed in agreement, frowning when you turned and swatted her hand away from the tub.

“one each,” you told her. “if someone doesn’t like one you can have theirs. but right now there is only enough for one cupcake and one cookie each.”

with that you swiftly made your way around your teammates, handing out the sweet treats until the tub was empty and you were sat snuggly between ingrid and frido, glancing around the room with a beaming smile.

“well if football doesn’t work out for you, you definitely have a career waiting for you in the baking world.” lucy said and your cheeks flushed as everyone else agreed.

“i’m gonna bake no matter what,” you told her. “it’ll just be a hobby.”

“a supervisada hobby.” alexia said pointedly and you rolled your eyes.

“i am not a child!” you whined.

“well technically—“

“shut up lucia.”

-

“that colour looks really good on you.” jana complimented as she laid down on your bed.

“thank you,” you smiled. “can you pass me that cover up?”

you took the garment from jana’s outstretched hand and slipped it on, whizzing around the room as you made sure everything was in your beach bag before dragging jana downstairs.

your phone buzzed as a text appeared on your screen but not even ten seconds later, an annoying screech of the car horn sounded outside.

part of you wanted to make pina and patri wait even longer but the horn sounded again and you were quick to swipe your keys from the coffee table, throwing them into your bag and leading jana out of the apartment complex.

“did you bring them?” pina asked as soon as you’d climbed into the back of the car.

you sighed and reached into your bag, thrusting the little bag of treats into her outstretched hand. she grinned and thanked you, placing the treats into her own bag.

“i didn’t bring enough for everyone,” you said as patri opened her mouth. “clau asked me to bring some, if you’d have asked i’d have brought some for you too.”

seeing the small frown on patri’s lips, you decided that ruining the surprise for the people in the car wouldn’t be such a bad idea. “i did bring these though and there’s definitely enough for everybody.”

you opened your bag enough for patri to see the little tubs that held even more sweet treats that you’d baked the night before. and as pina drove to the beach, you explained that you found yet another new recipe to try.

you were still talking as the four of you made your way over to where the other girls were sat under the giant parasols, a slight skip in your step as you walked along the sand.

“hello!” you chirped, gently placing your bag down before taking off your cover up and throwing yourself onto mapi’s lap.

“hola perrita.” mapi grinned as you looked up at her, shifting yourself when ingrid began tugging at your hair.

“i think i hate that more than nena.” you muttered, wincing a little as the norwegian braided your hair.

as soon as ingrid had patted your shoulders to signal that she’d finished, you shot into the water with jana, bruna, and esmee following.

the squeals of laughter from you all could be heard along the quiet beach, water flying everywhere as you all pulled out your best olympic style performances.

after another fifteen minutes, alexia rounded you all up to have some food, everyone eating quietly yet quickly.

you spotted mapi go into the water and was just about to stand up when alexia caught your wrist and pulled you over to her.

“ale!” you whined as she pulled out a bottle of suncream from your bag. “i wanna swim!”

“you burn, nena. remember what happened last time? the water washed this all off, you got burnt and you were complaining for days. put this on or you don’t go back in.”

you really tried your best to hold her hard gaze but eventually relented with a sigh, standing with your arms crossed as alexia lathered the sun cream over every sliver of skin she could see.

“there,” she said, poking your nose gently. “now you can swim.”

the speed you held as you ran back into the sea had alexia laughing with a shake of her head. just as she turned her back, she heard the war cry before a loud splash and spluttering.

you laughed loudly as mapi emerged from the water, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. your laughter came to a quick halt as mapi grinned wickedly and you’d never realised until that moment just how hard it was to run in water.

“no! no mapi! i’m sorry!” you cried out, wading desperately away from the spaniard. “it was a joke! it was a—“

almost as quickly, mapi’s arms were around your waist and then you were submerged, thrashing your limbs in an attempt to splash mapi enough that she’d leave you alone.

it didn’t work.

ingrid was the first to notice the commotion, pushing herself up on her towel. she couldn’t tell if you were screaming or laughing but she could see your arms flailing as you fought against mapi.

“why do they insist on playing so rough?” ingrid asked with a sigh as you tackled mapi back into the water.

“because they are children,” alexia said, lifting her sunglasses up to have a look. “well one of them actually is.”

your manic laughter sounded again as mapi flailed in the water, holding her arms out as you splashed her.

“if you stop i will buy you ice cream!”

silence followed and mapi peeked over her arms to see you nearly halfway to the shore. with a sigh she followed along, quickly catching up and dragging you towards one of the nearby ice cream carts.

and until it started getting dark you were in and out of the water, annoying mapi at any given moment and somehow concentrated long enough to dig a little moat around alexia’s body where she sunbathed.

“oh i think it’s someone’s bedtime.” lucy cooed mockingly as you yawned, dropping onto the towel ingrid had laid out for you.

“m’not tired.” you murmured, yawning again as you forced your eyes open.

“sí es usted.” pina said and you mustered your best glare.

“vamos nena,” you heard alexia say softly as someone lifted you up. a small whine left your lips but you leaned back into whoever it was behind you. “arms up.”

you did as you were told, feeling a t-shirt being slid onto your body. you looked down with tired eyes, knowing that any other day you’d be teased for how big it was on you.

you woke up enough to walk ahead with jana and bruna, pina and patri catching up as jana snapped the selfie.

the sky was darkening beautifully and as you yawned again, you were scooped up into someone’s arms.

“ale m’seventeen, not a baby,” you muttered. “don’t need to be carried.”

“maybe so,” alexia hummed, watching your eyes droop. “but you will always be our little nena. no matter how old you get.”

[shegatsby]

Love Thy Enemy

Summary; Y/N Atreides had always been a stranger to the entire galaxy, her bed wasn’t her bed, her home wasn’t her home due to the fact that she was sent to accompany and be sisters with Irulan. She had limited access to her actual family and over the years they grew distant. She thought she would be like Reverend Mother, alone, yet powerful, and soon she would realize that there was no need of being alone when a wild creature had his eyes on her for a long time.

A/n; Hi little doves, how are you?! I've missed you so much and here i am. Let me know what you think of this chapter. xxx

TAG LIST IS OPEN! (let me know if i forgot to tag you)

Warnings; Baron being a pedo, he is a pedo in the books and i wanted to keep it that way. Little bit of NSFW!

Words; 4.708K

Chapter Seven ''The Wedding''

Y/N Atreides found herself laying flat back on his bed, alone. After their small exchange of comfort Feyd Rautha didn’t say anything but left her to sleep in the living room section. Y/N changed, got ready and she noticed she was stumbling in the bed chambers, walking around, brushing her hair slowly but why? After some time she huffed in annoyance trying to get rid of what happened today from start to finish. She had bigger problems such as her wedding in two days. She turned on her side, curled up into a fetus position and closed her weary eyes.

Feyd Rautha Harkonnen was sweating under the Black sun of Giedi Prime, he had his morning training with his coach, an ex commander from Salusa Secundus, at his prime he used to crush men’s skulls with his bare hands, now he was an old man and transferring his skills to younger generations. Baron himself bought this man to guide Feyd in combat.

A strong hit came to his cheek, ‘’You seem distracted, Na-Baron.’’ Feyd heard the man’s rough voice, indeed he was distracted. ‘’Is it because of the stupid fight you had with your brother or.. something else?’’ the old man attacked again but Feyd was able to block it. ‘’I’m fine.’’ He growled in distress, sweating under the hot sun, ‘’Then prove it.’’ The man was skilled at getting under his skin too. Feyd launched at the man, he was screaming. The sun was boiling him like an egg, he had pent up rage within him and he unleashed the beast. The old man’s face turned into Rabban’s in his twisted mind and Feyd attacked religiously. At the end of the training the old man was on the floor with a bleeding face and he was laughing, ‘’Well done boy,’’ he was out of breath, ‘’Bring that to the upcoming battles at the arena for your wedding.’’

Harkonnen custom was to fight on your wedding day to prove to your wife that you can protect her and defend her no matter what. With the old man’s words Feyd’s mind altered a vision, a dream, last night he had a taste of fighting for someone, someone he is going to share his life with and he liked it. The animalistic instincts in him were triggered since that night and when they shared that soft moment between them last night he internally promised to himself that he is going to protect his wife no matter the outcome is.

He left the training grounds, his routine was to go to the baths to shower and relax, his legs were taking him there but his mind was too occupied to notice his surroundings, he marched to the bath chambers and closed the door behind him, ‘’Hello nephew.’’ Came the Baron’s voice, Feyd composed himself in a second. His uncle was in the stone bathtub, smoking, Feyd could see his ugly form.

‘’Hello uncle.’’ He said with a flat tone, and he walked to the bathtub, he wanted to be alone but he couldn’t leave now, his uncle would get suspicious. ‘’Seeing your disposition your training was successful.’’ He motioned to Feyd’s sweaty and muscular chest, ‘’Yes uncle. It was successful.’’ He repeated his uncle. ‘’Get in the tub. You deserve to relax now, perhaps take a servant to your room eh?’’ he laughed with his raspy voice, Feyd had to laugh with him, he took off his pants under his uncle’s curious eyes and got into the tub. Feyd leaned his back on the stone and closed his eyes, arms spread wide on the stone, ‘’Rumor has it that you haven’t visited any of your ‘’darlings’’ are they entertaining you anymore?’’ his uncle asked, Feyd knew that whenever Baron opened his mouth to speak he had a motive, his words hid something underneath, ‘’I have been busy recently.’’ He replied, his eyes closed, ‘’How does your wife-to-be take the news of your darling, is she jealous?’’

Feyd didn’t think to bother Y/N with this detail but if his uncle is mentioning it, it meant that she would be hearing it soon, ‘’I do not care what she thinks, as long as she does her duty then I shall be content.’’ He opened his azure eyes to face his uncle and caught him staring at his chest, ‘’Good boy. I expect great things from you Feyd and you have never failed me. Keep up the good work son.’’

Tomorrow was their wedding day and Y/N was occupied heavily, seamstress and other servants kept coming and going to her, getting measurements, talking about the design and the color scheme and the guests… ‘’Of course you must be ready to greet the Na-Baron after he wins the battle in your name..’’

‘’I do apologies but,’’ Y/N turned to face the servant girl, ‘’What battle?’’

Servants looked at each other before one of them bowed her head and spoke, ‘’In order to prove himself that he is the protector and provider.. Na-Baron will fight in the arena, for you.’’

Y/N never asked for a battle, whenever she runs from blood the blood follows her, she never asked to watch prisoners die before her eyes and the fact that  it would be on her wedding day.. she calmed herself with a Bene Gesserit trick. ‘’Thank you for the information.’’ She smiled kindly and continued with her day.

With a huff she walked into the living room, her skirts swirling, she shut the door and leaned her forehead on the cool metal, yes, the doors were metal.. like a prison.

‘’Long day I assume?’’ a raspy voice startled her, she turned to face the owner of that voice that haunts her dreams. He was sitting on the dining table’s chair, the table was set, candles lit, he leaned his back on the chair, his shirt looking tight on his chest. He gestured to the empty chair at the opposite top of the table, ‘’Sit.’’ She didn’t say anything, this was the first encounter after their soft ending of yesterday night, his face looked better, perhaps his doctor gave him medicine to make his wounds heal quicker.

She sat. The meat on the table smelled delicious and her mouth started watering, ‘’Please,’’ he gestured again to the table, ‘’eat. I bet you didn’t eat much today.’’

‘’I was busy.’’ She said and started her dinner, ‘’I figured.’’ He said in short, she was surprised that he wasn’t tormenting her. ‘’Are you-‘’ she began but stopped when she caught his complete attention.

He looked puzzled when she stopped herself, ‘’Please, continue.’’ She heard him say please two times in few minutes, was the galaxy dying? Was it Doomsday?

She kept her hands busy with cutting the meat, ‘’You seem tired.’’ She said with a flat tone, the meat she was dealing with looked more interesting than Feyd’s surprised face, if only she looked up to meet his azure gaze.

‘’Is someone worried about her husband?’’ his mocking tone came back, ‘’You are not my husband.’’ It was her generic response. ‘’Aren’t you tired little dove, tomorrow is our wedding day after all.’’ He drank his wine, enjoying cornering her, ‘’I cannot wait to become a widow.’’ She snapped back and earned his laughter, he enjoyed this banter dearly, ‘’Finish your dinner, I want to take you somewhere.’’

Y/N panicked for a second, ‘’Where?’’ she asked immediately, ‘’It’s a surprise.’’  He whispered jokingly.

It was late at night, full moon casting mysterious shadow, it wasn’t cold and yet she could feel her hands go ice, maybe it was because of unknown intentions of Feyd or maybe she felt the slight breeze. Feyd and Y/N were walking side by side, their shoes made echoes in the corridors, halls, guards were present at certain doors and they had their night shifts but they were so silent and blend in with the black walls Y/N felt as if her and Feyd were the only residence of the fortress. His hands were behind his back, ‘’Where are we going?’’ she couldn’t help her curiosity. Feyd stopped in his tracks, turned his face to the side, Y/N took a step back, ‘’Curiosity killed the cat.’’ He said mockingly but she could sense the irritation underneath so she didn’t reply and kept following him.

Feyd-Rautha had been planning and organizing this since Y/N first stepped foot on Giedi Prime, it was hard work but he managed to pull it off and he did it under the radar, he made some excuses for it so that his uncle wouldn’t search for a deeper meaning.

Together they walked out of the fortress to the barren courtyard, Giedi Prime’s courtyard was nothing but stone, few marble status and that’s it. Y/N noticed how quiet it was, guards were scarce and it was late, she was getting more suspicious with each passing second. The stars were bright, almost like glowglobs hanging in the sky to show them the path.

Feyd now was making her walk through shadows, and they reached to a glass door, he stepped away and extended his hand to the door, ‘’Would you like to do the honors?’’ he said and waited for her to open the glass door. It was dark and all she saw was the handle of the door, she opened the door and walked in. For a second the darkness continued until Feyd also walked inside and hit the switch for the glowglobes inside and Y/N had to close her eyes, it was too bright all of a sudden and when she opened her eyes she could feel her mouth open with shock.

They were inside of a garden filled with flowers and small trees from Caladan and Kaitain, the fresh smell hit her nostrils in a pleasing way, she had dreams where she walked in the gardens of Kaitain and her dream now came true, she slowly walked among the plants, flowers, there was a fountain in the middle of the garden, it was white marble and had fishes in it, everything inside made her peaceful.

‘’I didn’t know this place existed.’’ She said smelling a red rose, ‘’It didn’t.’’

Y/N turned to him, looking puzzled, ‘’I have arranged this,’’ he began, coming closer to her, he came to a stop in front of her, ‘’for you.’’ He confessed, his head low, suddenly the soil ground looked more interesting to him than her pretty eyes. Maybe he didn’t want to find any confrontation or rejection.

Y/N had no idea what to say or even react to his kind gesture, her Bene Gesserit mind immediately looked for any strategy or profit, why would he do something like this if he has no gain from it? However, a dark corner in her mind whispered to her that he did this for her comfort and to see her happy and content, she had been going through a lot especially with the rude comments of  Rabban…

He dared to see her reaction with his yearning blue orbits, her face soften when she saw his expression, he looked like a lost little boy, the boy she had met years ago.

‘’Feyd I-‘’ she began but failed to express how grateful she was, be that as it may, her hands went to his pale face, caressing gently, Feyd’s touched starved soul leaned in to her touch, of course he had been touched many times he was yearning for this kind of touch; soft, gentle and nurturing.

Y/N smiled, ear to ear, ‘’Even though we aren’t in good terms most of the time… this means a lot to me.’’ She finally said. ‘’Thank you Feyd.’’

Feyd started to take slow steps towards her, ‘’Say it again.’’ He begged, she could feel his hot breath on her face, she had to take steps back because of his movements towards her and she felt herself cornered between him and a tree, ‘’Feyd..’’ her hand still on his face, ‘’Again.’’ He demanded, his voice getting raspier and lower, his breathing getting quicker, ‘’Feyd-Rautha..’’ she whispered with her soft voice, so soft it made his insides melt, he was so close he could smell her fresh and sweet scent, her hair thick and long, his hand went to touch it. He was mesmerized every time, the texture of her hair was so soft it made him feel like he was touching pure silk.

Y/N lowered her hands and let him touch her hair, when he started to massage her scalp gently she closed her eyes, a soft moan leaving her shiny lips, Feyd smirked in victory. She was wearing a baby blue gown, fabric tight around her body and making her curves look dominant, he could see the cleavage of her chest, his mouth was watering but he had to keep himself for he promised to himself that she had to come to him, willingly. When he stopped massaging her scalp she opened her eyes in protest, fire in her eyes, ‘’The garden isn’t the only thing I want to give you.’’ He said and his hand went to his pocket, he showed her a golden ring with obsidian stone, ‘’It was my mother’s, now it’s yours.’’ And he took her left hand to place the ring, Y/N mind went to the knowledge she had of his parents’, was it a good time to ask? She decided that it wasn’t time or the place for that conversation but Feyd sensed her trouble, ‘’You don’t like the ring?’’ he asked with defense in his tone, ‘’No, no. I love it. I just.. I don’t have anything to give you.’’ Feyd chuckled, his hand went to caress her cheek, ‘’You are giving your hand in marriage to me. That is more than enough.’’ She was relieved, ‘’Although,’’ he began with a cunning smile, his eyes shining like a predator on a hunt, Y/N raised her eyebrows in question, ‘’a kiss would suffice.’’

Y/N wasn’t shocked to see his boldness, but why now? Her mind was racing like a race horse, she was comparing pros and cons, over the days he was getting more and more nice but there were things he did in the past such as beheading a servant because she refused to dine with him, but he defend her against Rabban who is his flesh and blood. And now they were standing in the garden he had built for her…

Y/N’s hands went to his face again and she kissed his plump lips, his lips felt so welcoming that she kept kissing him but her intention was to just give him a quick kiss. Feyd wrapped his arms around her to pull her extremely close. Wet sounds and soft moans leaving their enchanted mouths, she was water he was thirsting over, and he was the darkness she ran into. She could feel his stone of a body pressing her against the tree, his body felt so firm she wanted to touch him but in this position she let him use her mouth, he was getting more and more eager, Y/N pulled back when she needed breath and together they chuckled. ‘’Let’s go. We have a big day tomorrow.’’ Feyd extended his hand and together they left, till they reach to their chambers neither of them spoke or let go of each others’ hand.

(for some reason i listened to this when i was writing the Baron's part lol)

‘’My Baron-‘’ Baron Vladimir Harkonnen’s spy ran to his chambers, Baron was getting ready to sleep, his room was extra dark, ‘’How dare you disturb me at this ungodly hour? You better have something worthy to say.’’ Baron was furious, he never liked being disturbed, especially when there was a servant boy laying under his sheets, the spy’s eyes gazed upon the sleeping boy… he looked immobile and the spy understood the situation. ‘’Na-Baron and his wife to be, they have been spotted hand in hand leaving the garden Na-Baron had built for her.’’ He explained what he saw in details. Baron didn’t say anything and dismissed the spy with the promise of gold and the spy left smiling.

Baron Vladimir poured himself a drink, he loved to drink after he used one of the boys, he was in his device which made him float in the air, he moved to his window overlooking his city, ‘’So, you choose her over me..’’ he was talking to himself, his icy cold eyes focused on a distant building, he could feel the rage in him building but years made him act in a more strategic way, he learned how to manipulate his rage into the right path, he only agreed to take the Atreides girl as a pawn, to use her name and family to his ways. It seemed like the girl had her own plans, ‘’Not for long..’’ he said and finished his drink, his hand was shaking rapidly so he exhaled his breath.  He smashed the glass against the floor which made the boy in his sleep startle and wake up in terror, Baron turned to the boy, his eyes made the boy cover himself in fear, ‘’Please Baron,’’ the boy begged, he was moving towards the boy, ‘’No more, please..’’

And that night, as usual, the guards at Baron’s door heard the painful screams of the boy.

Y/N started her day earlier than usual, it was her wedding day. She was happy because she was going to see her family but she was also dreading the day. After having a small breakfast they made her wear a black velvet gown, the dress covered her body entirely, only her hands and face could be seen, it was the custom so she said nothing. Before the wedding she had to watch Feyd fight for her so she was guided to the seating areas of the arena, the guests and Y/N were going to witness the fights behind glass, their seats were high, the pit was under them so she had to use a device to see the fight like others. She greeted the guests, Minor and Major houses were there, their wedding was the talk of the ton, everyone was talking about how Feyd-Rautha demanded her and got her, how brave he was… no one asked her how she was, no one wondered how she was surviving in a place like this, among the monsters.

‘’Y/N..’’ she heard her mother’s voice, ‘’Mother!’’ she turned excitedly to see her and her smile turned into a frown when she saw her mother with that woman, Reverend Mother Helen Mohiam. ‘’The Reverend Mother wishes to speak to you… alone.’’ Her mother announced with her formal tone, ‘’I would love to talk to her alone.’’ Y/N said with an icy bite. Together they moved to a small room, Jessica closed the door for them to speak.

‘’You have been handful, get your mind organized or you will lose everything.’’ Reverend Mother began, ‘’I was brought here against my will!’’ Y/N protested,  ‘’Silence!’’ Helen used the Voice on her and made her stop talking, ‘’You listen carefully, this arrangement had been in the progress since before you and Na-Baron were born. You are a woman, you are superior than him, use your mind to manipulate him and you shall live or..’’ Helen noticed the change in the girls eyes, ‘’You are very pretty,’’ her voice softened like a mother, ‘’however that isn’t enough for you to survive. Baron Vladimir is a dangerous and jealous man. He has spies everywhere, don’t talk to anyone about anything. Watch your back all the time and convince him.. convince Feyd to get rid of his uncle. Or he shall be the end of you and your children.’’ With that Reverend Mother left the small room, Y/N knew how dangerous the Harkonnens were, especially Baron but if Reverend Mother herself was warning her directly then it meant Baron had made his moves already. As soon as she become Feyd’s wife she was going to be thrown into the battle so she had to be ready and she had to manipulate Feyd to get rid of his uncle one way or another.

The black sun of Giedi Prime made the arena look bright white, the spectators were cheering to see their Na-Baron, before the doors opened a male voice announced the importance of today and screamed his name, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. The doors were opened and prisoners, slaves entered, Feyd entered from a different door in the middle.  He had his two blades and the shield device to protect him. He greeted everyone and waved at her, she only bowed.  She was uneasy, never liked to watch battles, the fireworks were the color of black because of the sun, she hated the sun of Giedi Prime, it’s light made everything look black and white. One of Y/N’s maids whispered in her ear, ‘’My lady, the prisoners your husband-to-be is ought to fight are drugged before the event. See that one, he is limping as he is walking.’’ Y/N turned to the maid, ‘’So it isn’t a fair fight.’’ She cursed herself for saying that, ‘’It is the custom. Baron cannot risk his one and only heir’s life.’’ She noticed the maid’s eyes following a young man, ‘’Oh no, that slave isn’t drugged.’’ And she turned to see the man. The maid was right, others were limping but he wasn’t, he was walking straight.

Y/N watched the entire fight with her heart at her throat, his death meant her demise, he had killed the drugged ones but the last one was a problem, he was a skilled fighter just like Feyd. There were men covered in black  at the corners of the arena just in case. When he killed the man Y/N found herself cheering for her husband-to-be, she was clapping and smiling, she was relieved that he was unharmed.

‘’My lady, it is your turn.’’ Her maid announced, ‘’My what?’’ she started to get looks from the guests and servants and her maid whispered again, ‘’You have to get down to the arena and kiss Na-Baron’s blade. It means you are satisfied with his efforts and you shall have him.’’ No one told her about this, when the maid saw that Y/N wasn’t moving she gently held her arm, ‘’Follow me my lady.’’

Feyd was waving at his people who were cheering for his victory, he loved the attention he got. He intentionally didn’t mention this tradition to her to see the irritation and shock on her face. The door was opened for her to enter, she was startled when she heard screams and cheers for her, she slowly walked towards him, it was way more hotter here,  the sun burnt her eyes, she was uneasy with the attention she got.

She bowed respectfully, ‘’My Na-Baron.’’ She had to follow the traditions if she wanted to survive.

Feyd bowed in return, ‘’My Lady.’’ And he extended the blade he had killed his enemies, Y/N looked up to meet his gaze, ‘’Kiss it.’’ He ordered, there was a strange light in his eyes, his chest was heaving and his hands and clothes were bloody, she could feel her stomach twist but she had to. Y/N gently kissed the metal of the blade, her lips covered in his enemies’ blood. Feyd lowered the blade and with another hand he grabbed her neck and pulled her for an animalistic kiss. Y/N was startled, she didn’t expect him to kiss her like that in front of thousands.  He let go after the heated kiss and whispered,

‘’See you at the altar.’’

Later she was taken to her chambers to wear the wedding gown, when she saw the completed version of the gown on the tall mirror she couldn’t believe her eyes. The fabric felt smooth like liquid, the color was silver white, with grey strands of fabrics, she was flowing like a fairy,

(this is the gown, i've found it on IG the account's handle is @etheralsoftwear.ai )

she expected a hair style but the maid said something which left her speechless, ‘’Na-Baron has requested for your hair to be loose.’’ She touched the strand of her hair, where he touched…

‘’You are ready my Lady.’’ His personal maid said and they opened the door for Leto Atreides to walk in. She didn’t see him among the guest and thought he didn’t come. ‘’Dad!’’ she jumped into his arms, ‘’Hello love.’’ He kissed her forehead, ‘’Look at my little duchess, you look amazing.’’ Even though she was mean to him and also heartbroken because of the fact that she was here she really missed him.

He extended his arm, ‘’Shall we?’’ Leto looked handsome in his black and green suit, his medals shining with the glowglobes’ lights.

The wedding ceremony was at the grand hall of the fortress where the Harkonnes held important events. The hall was decorated in black and white, flowers were white, symbolizing purity and innocence, guests were seated at their tables talking among themselves, when Leto and his daughter entered all conversations ended, she could see the looks they got, admiring her dress and beauty, she had always noticed the people watching her, observing her in detail.

Feyd was waiting at the black altar, in his black ceremonial clothing, he had his boots, made him look more tall and menacing, his hands clasped in front of him, he had his silver ring on his small finger, she came up with an idea of getting him a wedding ring maybe just like the one she has but in silver..

His face was as if made of marble, Y/N noticed how stiff he got among crowed but when he spotted her she noticed the small smile and the shine in his azure eyes.

Leto walked her daughter and left to take his seat remembering the conversation he had with Feyd earlier today;

‘’Duke Leto,’’ he called for him, ‘’May we speak in private?’’ it was before the arena.

‘’Yes, we may.’’ And Feyd took him to his study. ‘’Do not have any fear for your daughter’s future for I am her provider and protector starting today. She will be taken care of the way she wishes. Not a strand of her hair will be harmed. You have my word.’’ And he bowed respectfully.

Leto looked at him different than the day his daughter was taken. Today he was going to be his son-in-law, the father of his future grandchildren, ‘’If you need anything,’’ Leto began, ‘’I will be there for you, son.’’ And he hugged Feyd. Feyd wasn’t used to getting hugs or sentimental things from his family members so he was startled at first but he hugged Leto back.

At last she was standing in front of him, holding a small bouquet of white tulips, officiant of the wedding was the Reverend Mother herself. Y/N guessed that the Mother wanted to see this through.

‘’We are gathered here today to join two houses, Harkonnens and Atreides in holy matrimony,’’ Reverend Mother began, there was no sound in the room other than her strong one. Y/N glanced at the guests, they were so elegant and chic but she knew the lies laid underneath and she saw him with his family… Pyramus…

His brown eyes found hers, his clothing looked richer than usual, he was wearing colorful rings and necklace, he looked like an important man now but to her.. he was nothing.

Feyd noticed the small exchange while Reverend Mother was giving her speech, he was the one who personally sent a letter to invite the low life and watch Y/N ‘s reaction, a reaction that he completely misread. He didn’t like what he saw.

‘’I announce you, husband and wife.’’ The old lady finished and the ton cheered, smiling and yet Feyd wasn’t smiling. He looked at Pyramus, captured his gaze and leaned to kiss Y/N. The kiss was more passionate than earlier, Feyd’s soft lips encapsulated hers, his hands went to her waist to pull her close, she could hear the cheers, screams, the ton was having fun. She didn’t want to make a scene but her hand gently pressed on his chest, signaling for him to stop, he pulled back looking offended. Later he held her hand walked to their table.

‘’Let the feast began!’’ Baron Vladimir announced and the servants started to bring the food.

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[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Hi) I want to say that I do love your works and your depiction of Aemond and I wonder if you are planning to write something about Y/N giving massage to Aemond after an exhausting training? or on the contrary Aemond wishes to have his wife relaxed and then his actions lead to some more intimate consequenses you know what kind it is 🤭🤭

Hello there! I can see you have unfollowed me since making this request, but I have fulfilled anyway as I am nice like that. I hope you enjoy it, if not perhaps someone else might.

Warnings: Mild angst, smut. Word count: ~1.1k

“Be in my chambers when I return from the training yard this afternoon.”

It had been uttered between soft kisses and needy touches, as Prince Aemond had dragged her into an alcove as they’d crossed paths in a corridor of the Red Keep. She had giggled, excitement fluttering in her belly at the prospect of what they might get up to, and had since wished the hours away for this very moment. She had been Princess Helaena’s lady in waiting for a year and her younger brother’s best kept secret for less than half.

Every brush of his fingers against her skin left gooseflesh in its wake, every press of his lips against her own made her heart feel as though it skipped a beat. She had not known that the One Eyed Prince was capable of such softness, yet the adoration she saw reflected in his eye when he looked at her assuaged all doubts.

Yet there is none of that tenderness there when he finally does return. He regards her coldly as he enters the room, staring at her as she sits on the end of the bed, waiting for him as instructed.

“Get out.” He commands, turning from her to unfasten his tunic.

She flinches at the harshness of his words, he has never spoken to her with such hostility before. Brow pinched in concern, she rises from where she sits, reaching for him. “But you said-”

“-I said get out!” He repeats, louder this time.

She presses a hand to his shoulder and feels it sag beneath her touch. He is warm through his undershirt, shaking slightly, his breathing quick and shallow. “Were you bested in the training yard?” She asks quietly.

“No, I beat Cole.” He replies, his voice quiet and sullen, keeping his back to her.

“Then what happened?” She gently urges him to face her.

He sighs, bowing his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. “My nephews…they’ve returned to King’s Landing.”

She does not know the full extent of Aemond’s animosity towards the Velaryon boys, but knows that one of them is responsible for the loss of his eye. She cannot imagine how he must feel at having to face them after that. She decides against questioning it, wanting nothing more than to comfort him instead.

“What can I do to make it better?” She looks at him earnestly, gently brushing a stray hair from his face.

He shakes his head, nostrils flaring as he takes a deep breath. “There is nothing to be done. Just leave me. I need to bathe.”

“I can assist with that.” She tells him, a small smile upon her lips.

A heady aroma of blackcurrant seed oil fills the air as the bathtub steams around them both. The crackling from the fire in the hearth beside them is the only sound in the room, besides the delicate splash of water as she moves her hands through it.

She straddles Aemond’s lap as he reclines in the tub, the two of them submerged to their waists, as she uses the combination of warm liquid and scented bath oils to massage her hands across the pallid skin of his chest and shoulders. He is tense, the knots in his muscles unyielding beneath her touch as his one seeing eye stares blankly ahead.

Threading the wetness of her fingertips into the dampness of his long silver-white hair, she rubs circles against his scalp and his eye flutters closed appreciatively.

“I will always be a laughing stock to them.” He finally sighs. “The indignity of it. They are bastards!”

“You are not a laughing stock.” She reassures him, peppering his face with small kisses.

He turns his face away, mouth pressed into a hard line, a quiet “hmmm” rumbling from the depths of his throat, clearly disbelieving.

“I can see you need some convincing.” She murmurs, reaching between their bodies to grasp at his length, softly stroking him to life.

He sucks in a breath, screwing his eye shut, the plushness of his lips slightly parted as he allows her to rouse him to full hardness, thick and satisfyingly heavy against her palm.

She smiles wickedly, kneeling up to position him at her entrance before sinking down slowly. They groan in unison at the pleasant stretch as he fills her inch by languid inch.

“Who are you?” She whispers against the shell of his ear, once he is fully sheathed inside.

“What?” Comes his incredulous response, his hands gripping her hips as she begins to slowly roll them.

“You are a Targaryen Prince,” She answers for him, delighting in the exquisite push and pull of her body against his. “You are Aemond Targaryen.”

He lets out a shuddered breath, the faintest trace of a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Who rides the largest dragon in the world?” She questions, a quiet moan escaping her as she increases her pace, the water in the bathtub threatening to overflow with the repeated undulation.

“I do.” He tenses beneath her, leaning forward to mouth hotly against her neck and collarbones, a hand leaving her hip to roll a pert nipple between his thumb and forefinger.

She gasps, the stimulation sending a jolt of arousal through her that causes her to clench around him. “Who bests the greatest knight in the realm on a regular basis in the training yard?” She asks, voice shaky.

“I do.” Aemond growls against her skin.

“Mmmm…” She sighs in satisfaction as slowly he begins to thrust up into her. “Who has me so desperate for them I can scarcely think of anything else?”

“I-I do.” He says with a groan.

“Yes, that’s right.” She agrees breathily. “So tell me who you are…”

Aemond plants his feet, water sloshing tempestuously onto the floor with the reckless abandon that he begins to fuck up into her with. “I am Aemond fucking Targaryen.” He all but snarls, his grip on her bruising as he begins to pulsate within her tight heat.

The feeling of Aemond’s peak triggers her own and she tenses and spasms around him, clinging tightly to him with a strangled cry as they both ride out their highs.

He pulls her to his chest, a large hand splayed out against her back as they lay there, allowing their breathing to slow.

“Thank you…” He whispers gratefully. “...for not leaving.”

She smiles. Even as the water cools rapidly around them, there is no place she’d rather be.

[winter-leftovers]

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter twenty eight: Childhood Home (28/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Merlin comes back with bad news.

Word count: 3621

Warnings: no

(Wizards Episodes 1)

Song?: A burning hill by Mitski

Previous - Next

Masterlist

Y/n sighed as she submerged her body into the tub, the hot water now kissing her neck. The wrinkles on her skin gave away the hours she had spent on the soapy water. The bathroom had turned into a warm, quiet refuge from the babies running around in the Lake’s house. The screaming, the noisy toys, the spit, the dirty diapers. It all had become too much for the wizard to handle. The only moments of peace she could find were when she would put her head under the water. The world disappearing for an instant, the only noise she could hear was the calming lullaby of her blood pumping under the boiling water.

The tiles vibrated loud enough to make the babies napping in Jim’s room to scream in desperation. Y/n sat up, water spilling out of the tub as she prepared herself to throw the culprit across the room only to look down at Toby’s smiling face on her phone looking back at her. The bubbling anger died down to be taken over by another type of annoyance, the one where you are the only one to blame.

Toby had been texting and calling all day and Y/n had been avoiding his texts and calls all day. She didn’t have a good explanation, she just wanted to be left alone. Since Jim left she hasn’t been able to be alone, not even while peeing ever since the babies learnt to walk. Always working, hanging out or taking care of someone.

Y/n groaned, submerging herself into the water. The tub was the only place where she could be, but from her water tumb she heard someone knocking at the door. She emerged, her shoulders already falling forward.

“Y/n? Honey?” Barbara called.

“Yes, mom?”

“You should check your phone”

—

Y/n’s hand trembled as she opened the door to the bookstore. Toby said that the world may be ending yet again, but that wasn’t her biggest worry. Merlin had been awakened for more than a few days and Y/n didn’t say a word to Douxie. She blamed herself. Why did she always listen to her father?

She breathed in and out trying to leave her fears out on the street.

“And Steve Palchuk, Creepslayer!”

“I have no idea who you are” books flew around the once well kept bookstore, Merlin sorted them out before packing them in a flying chest “but we’re desperate. Thankfully, we have the brute”

Y/n stood behind Douxie and whispered in his ear:

“Oh, he is in a good mood”

Douxie smiled, turning back:

“Hello, darling”

“Hi” she smiled back.

Douxie grabbed her hand and for a moment, they ignored what was happening around them, both lost in eachother’s eyes, in eachother’s warmth. “Aah!” Steve’s yelp pulled Y/n out of the enchantment.

“Careful!” Y/n called out the older wizard and the chest flying behind him for their recklessness“ Are you okay?” She ran to the blonde teenager, using the hand that held Douxie to hold Steve’s head.

“Yes” he sniffed.

“Y/n! That’s great! Now we have the brute and a master wizard” Merlin didn’t turn to greet his daughter.

“Good to see you too” she said sarcastically “What’s going on?” She looked around looking for the messy black haired boy “Where’s Jim?”

“Yeah, where’s Claire?” Toby joined the chorus “I thought they were with you”

“Answers forthcoming. Make preparations. We’ve a journey ahead” Merlin kept packing “and don’t…”

“But, master…” Douxie interrupted.

“ ‘But, master’ me” Merlin finished.

“Are you sure you want to count on these children? They’re clearly not ready for this” Douxie asked.

“Excuse me, college dude, these children fought off a fifty foot extraterrestrial” Steve accidentally punched the head off the enchanted armor.

“Oh, that’s why you kept calling me?” Y/n turned to Toby, guilt creeping up her throat.

“Don’t worry. We…” Toby turned to help Steve fight off the enchanted armor “Dude, let’s go off his head”

“Douxie is right, father” Y/n quickly followed Merlin and Douxie away from the teenagers “They already fought enough things. Kids shouldn’t be fighting. They can’t keep doing this”

“Master, I’m ready for this” Douxie pitched himself full of confidence.

“Doubtful” Merlin said, focused on packing.

Y/n sighed:

“Just hear him out…”

“Silence!” Merlin commanded.

Y/n mouth stayed open, her smile falling into a frown, the words still weighing on her tongue. The familiar warmth of anger quickly ran through her body.

“I mean, silence” Merlin repeated softer “all of you” turning to the fighting teenagers “Can you not hear that?”

The group shook their heads. After the battle, Arcadia was destroyed, again, so the strange sounds could be anything, a car finally exploding or a building giving up. What wasn’t normal was the power going out. Y/n turned her head to the window, in the darkness the only thing she could see was the reflection of the chimney’s fire. She twisted her wrist revealing her staff.

“Something wicked this way comes” Merlin walked to the window followed by Douxie.

Something hit against the glass activating the barrier. Douxie took a step back covering his eyes.

“Shadow mephits?” Merlin turned to his apprentice “Hisirdoux, did you lead them here?”

“No, no!” Douxie waved his hands around, appalled that his master would think that.

Y/n pinched her nose. She felt like she had seen this scene many times before.

“I mean, I don’t think so?” Douxie looked out the window once more.

“Yes, we did” Archie walked up to confirm their mistake.

Douxie nervously chuckled under his master’s incredulous gaze.

“The barrier won’t hold for long” Merlin turned back “We must make egress! Tobias, take my things” with a movement of his arm, Toby went flying on top of the chest through the stairs.

Before Merlin could keep giving directions, the shadow memphits broke down the barrier, entering the bookstore.

“All of you, to the roof!” Merlin screamed, killing one of the creatures with his magic.

Y/n ran behind her friends to the roof only to find the roof as full shadow memphits as the bookstore.

“Why is the roof full of shadow memphits?” Y/n heard Al’s voice. The girl turned and saw the cat biting one of the creatures’ tales.

“Al!” Y/n ran, picking him up before the creatures could return the favor.

“That tasted awful” he shook his head.

“Stand back!” Merlin alerted.

“Everyone on” Before she could turn to look, Aaarrrgghh threw her onto a ship.

“I would like a warning next time” Al left Y/n’s arms.

“Maybe when we aren’t under attack” Y/n stood up pointing her staff to the shadow memphits Aaarrrgghh had on his back, destroying them in a ray of crimson so Steve and Toby could help the troll get into the ship.

As she lowered her staff she saw Douxie grabbing the baranda, distracted by something in the ground.

“Are you okay?” She walked up to him, softly grabbing his elbow.

He didn’t turn back, his mind absorbed by what the blue light of the barrier was reflecting.

“Doux…” Y/n called looking down, finally seeing what paralyzed Douxie: a knight surrounded by dark magic Y/n couldn’t understand.

The knight looked back at Douxie, his empty eyes focused only on the wizard. Douxie shivered when he returned the look. The knight appeared soulless, there seemed to be no emotion behind the visor.

The shadow memphits started to crawl into the mystery knight’s body like they were returning to its home making Y/n shiver. That wasn’t natural.

“Boy…” the dark voice echoed in the wizard's minds.

Y/n’s nails dig into Douxie’s bicep, both frozen in place looking back at the knight while his voice poisoned their insides with fear.

“Look out!” Merlin pulled them down by their jackets before the knight’s spears could reach them.

Y/n stood up, looking back at her father with a frown, not out of anger but out of confusion, she doesn’t remember the knight attacking them.

“Are you alright, love?” Douxie grabbed Y/n’s cheek with both hands and examined every inch of her face.

“Of course” she smiled, shaking the confusion away “Are you?” She grabbed one of his wrists, pulling his hand away to lay in his chest.

“I’m alright” he pulled her closer.

Y/n closed her eyes letting the movement of the ship and the familiar warmth of Douxie wash the adrenaline of the battle out of her sistem.

“What the heck is that?!” Steve screamed.

“Welcome, young squires to Camelot” Merlin announced.

Y/n quickly opened her eyes up, slightly pulling away from Douxie. In front of them, flying in the middle of the night sky stood the old castle that she once called home. A nostalgia ridden sigh escaped out of her lips. The castle was frozen in time, everything looked the same except a big green stone under it but that still didn’t change the strange feeling of coming back home after a long journey that invaded her.

“Camelot? As in ancient-old-people-times Camelot?” Toby screamed.

“Let the old people jokes begin” Y/n turned to Douxie, laughing.

The boy chuckled but his eyes were still glossy with the nostalgia of their childhood home, he was still lost in the emotion of coming back.

Y/n smiled, laying her head against his shoulder letting herself too be lost in what used to be.

“Sir Galahad, how look the skies?” Merlin screamed to the old man keeping watch in one of the towers.

“All quiet, my old friend!” The knight reported back.

Y/n turned to look at Sir Galahad waving back. She messily laughed, euphoria cursing through her veins when she saw he hadn’t changed one bit.

“Keep your eyes on the horizon” Merlin ordered before starting his parking maneuver.

“Oh, lord” Y/n gripped the baranda as she felt the instability in the velocity.

“I say, coming in a little hot, don’t you think?” Archie suggested as he grabbed himself from dear life.

“Rubbish!” Complained Merlin.

“He’s going to kill us all!” Al screamed as the green light slowed down the ship.

—

“Whoo hoo hoo hoo!” Steve screamed as he walked the entrance of the castle.

“Woah!” Toby echoed.

“It’s been nine hundred years since I was last here” Douxie said more to himself, turning around observing the unchanged castle.

“It hasn’t changed a bit” Y/n looked around searching for a small vase out of place but not finding it.

“Well except for the flying part” Douxie added.

“Nine hundred years?” Steve chuckled “Yeah right. You’re like 19?”

Y/n and Douxie shared a look, with a smile reminding all the adventures they had in the last century.

“Give or take a few centuries” Archie explained before flying away.

“Wait, don’t leave me here!” Al quickly followed.

“So, how many things can your cats turn into?” Steve asked, following the cats’ flying pattern with his head.

“That depends. How many things are there?” Douxie answered.

“Uh, cool floating castle ship, but what’s the grave danger you keep talking about? Toby ran after Merlin before he could disappear in the endless hallways.

“Ah, there you are” Merlin opened his arms, welcoming his old guests.

“Claire!” Toby screamed.

“Toby!” The girl ran to his friend’s arms.

Y/n ran to the other side of the room, waiting to see her brother only to find Claire and an injured Blinky. She kept her smile, hiding her disappointment in her back pocket as the four of them hugged.

“I’m glad you’re okay” Y/n hugged Claire.

“Whoa, hey, Steve’s here too! How about…How about some love for Steve?”

“Oh. Hi, Steve” Claire pulled away from Y/n, her face devoid of feelings.

“What happened? Where’s Jim?” Y/n frowned, she had waited enough time.

“Follow me” Merlin sighed, walking deeper into the castle.

Y/n turned to Claire trying to look for clues into her face but the devastated look on the young wizard was as terrifying as the broken sigh in her father’s mouth.

She walked through the hallways of the castle with her heart in her palms as she has done many times before. How is she going to look at her mother in the eyes now?

“Jim” Toby ran to the table where Jim laid, kneeling by his side.

Y/n walked slowly, she couldn’t believe what her eyes were seeing: her little brother laying inside a crystal with a spear in his heart.

“What happened?” Y/n asked her voice sharp as the bottom of her staff.

“We were ambushed. Some ancient, dark warrior. An unstoppable knight clad in green who struck down Master Jim” Blinky recounted.

But Y/n didn’t care, the hot tears brewing in her heart didn’t care. All she could hear was: they didn’t do enough.

“Master, is that the same knight we saw at the bookstore?” Douxie's voice appeared through the cloud of anger.

“One and the same. That onyx shard is working its way towards his heart. I placed the boy in stasis, stalling its progress…for now”

‘I didn’t see it’ Y/n mind replays that moment again and again. How can she blame them when she probably couldn’t stop him either?

The anger softens and migrates to her neck, tying itself around her neck pulling tight becoming sadness, guilt.

“If I had my shadow staff, I could’ve saved him” Claire cried.

Y/n wishes she could say that that’s not true but she’s afraid that everyone can see what’s hanging around her neck.

“Who is this green knight? How do I get my hands on him?” Toby’s anger starts to spill out.

“I do not know” Merlin confesses “The green knight said but one name, which chilled me to the bone: Morgana”

Y/n frowned. This definitely wasn’t one of her tricks. At least, it didn’t look like one.

“I hate that lady” Toby said, the memories of the Eternal Night coming back to him “Wait” he looked back at the older wizard “I thought we kicked her bee witch butt to the Shadow Realm”

“Which he appeared not to know” Merlin frowned, still puzzled by the encounter with the mysterious knight.

“So this is not Morgana’s work�� Y/n question, certain in her heart of the answer.

Merlin shook his head:

“I cannot confirm his alliances but he wore the emblem of Camelot”

Douxie turned to Y/n, eyes full of confusion and worry.

“Come with me, quickly” Merlin turned, walking away, leading the group across a bridge to his studio “I fear the answer lies in the past. A dark menace is coming, one even I cannot face alone”

The room, as the rest of the castle, was the same as it was a century ago. Y/n could feel the ghost of her long skirt hitting her ankles and the knot in her throat everytime she would enter her father's workspace.

“You are all now soldiers in a war started centuries ago for the world of magic” Merlin opened a small white box, from inside it a blue sphere of light appeared revealing images of the past “Once, the realms of Magic and Man clashed in endless bloodshed” Merlin twirled the circle showing them an image of the late King “King Arthur sought to wipe out magic that ravaged the lands in his was against Gunmar. I brought what few spellcasters I could under my protection to spare them from the sword…”

“Including myself” Explained Douxie.

“And Morgana le Fay” added Y/n when Morgana’s image appeared in the magic circle.

“She was the finest student I ever taught” Merlin observed the memory of young Morgana, his eyes full of proudness, he thought she was destined for great things “…until she tried to kill me” he closed his eyes “Thankfully, in my all-seeing wisdom, I created a secret weapon” he touch the sphere “the Trollhunter amulet. The war came to a standstill and I imprisoned Morgana at the Battle of Killahead Bridge. This Green Knight that assailed us was clearly born of dark magic but I have no memory of him nor what connection he could have to Morgana”

Y/n looked back at the image of his sister, Guinevere’s words stitched to her heart “you can love the person you knew” and that’s what she’s been doing every day, carrying daisies to an imaginary grave, remembering the woman who would free the trolls from the traps, the woman who would sneak her extra dessert but she knew what she saw, what she felt. That Knight is not Morgana’s work

“I really don’t think he had a connection…” Y/n wasn’t able to finish.

“You never do, Y/n. You are not impartial” Merlin cut her off.

“I know what I saw. That magic is not Morgana’s!” Y/n hit the table.

Merlin opened his mouth to protest but the warning bells cut him off.

Before they could turn to see what danger was looking for them, the castle was hit, shaking the entire structure.

“What’s happening?” Claire screamed in fear.

“Have you never been under attack before?” Merlin helped Y/n to get up from the ground “To the battlements!”

Y/n ran, her staff in hand ready to confront whatever was trying to destroy Camelot like she had done many times before. What she didn’t expect was the amount of power their enemy seemed to have. ‘The Arcane Order’ her father called it. She considered herself an experienced wizard and she had only heard that name one time when she was very young and her father made it clear she wasn’t supposed to ask anymore questions.

“Everyone get to safety now!” Merlin ordered as soon as he saw the wizards emerge from the gigantic ship that was trying to board the castle.

The wizard with ice powers attacked first, quickly overpowering Merlin, throwing him into the ground and his staff off the castle.

“I got it” Archie flew behind.

Y/n was impressed. She didn’t have another word for it. She had never seen such ability, especially in wizards that seemed as young as her

Soon enough, cannons were fired making it impossible for anyone to stand.

“We must flee” Merlin ordered.

“I’m on it” Douxie ran to steer the ship away from The Arcane Order.

The castle shook once more, Merlin and Y/n turned, seeing their new obstacle: a bridge made of ice joining the ships.

“They’re boarding us!” Merlin screamed.

“I’m on it” Y/n jumped into the edge of the tower “Go get the staff”

“Steer us clear at my command!” Merlin jumped to another tower.

Y/n pointed her staff to the thick ice that joined the ships, a hot lightning melting the middle of the bridge. She frowned, she felt sweat dripping from her forehead, melting a simple block of a was being harder than it should be. She pulled back, falling backwards into the cold stone of the castle. While the ice wizard built multiple bridges, their ally was bombing the castle shaking the old structure.

Y/n stood back up, nodded her head, her eyes focused on this time, severing the connection between the ships. She tightened the grip on her staff and swung, a big ball of red lightning cut all the communications the ship had.

“Yeah!” Y/n screamed, jumping around alone celebrating her victory. Her short victory.

The wind changed. The wizard heard the crackling of the ice murmuring behind her, she slowly turned around, afraid to confirm her suspicion: all the broken bridges were made new again and were crawling with shadow memphits.

“You’ve got to be kidding me” Y/n climbed to Douxie’s post.

“Archie, find the staff or we are all dead meat!” Douxie screamed fighting off shadow memphits off the steers.

“What do you people think I’m doing?” Archie screamed back from the sky.

The castle shook once more, making Y/n’ stomach turn.

“I officially hate flying” she joked, eyes lost in the horizon.

“We’ll travel by boat. Old style” Douxie nodded.

“Flying castles suck!” Steve screamed

Y/n turned, they were joined by Steve wearing a helmet and Claire.

“Hisirdoux, now!” Merlin screamed.

“Please don’t blow us up” Douxie prayed as he set up the time map and steered the ship “Please don’t blow us up!”

“We don’t have enough power for the jump!” Archie flew close.

“Trust in Merlin” Screamed Douxie.

Archie was wrong. The time rift was opened but the Arcane Order wasn’t about to let them leave so easily. Y/n didn’t see them hit the castle, she just knew she was lucky enough to grab Douxie's hand before falling to the night sky, until she saw his brother fall through the time rift, then, she didn’t feel so lucky.

She looked up at Douxie knowing what she had to do but before she could apologize he nodded. He knew well what Y/n wanted to do and he supported it. They let go of each other's hands at the same time.

Y/n fell as she heard Claire and Steve’s terrified screams but she couldn’t be scared, not when her eyes were focused on Douxie.

A/n: sorry for leaving 👉👈 again

remember to leave love letters and death threats!! 💖

<Taglist: @douxiesaurus @fandomobbsessedb @queteimporta-99 @adrias23 @wickedlovely121 If your url is crossed it means tumblr didn’t let me tag you> want to be tagged next update? Let me know!

[wednesdayismyfunday]

IT support

Summary : Henry found y/n trying to print something and her computer isn’t working . Henry is more then happy to help.

Pairing : henry cavil x yn

Warnings : fluff . Smut . Bad jokes .

Henry was always much better at computers then Y/n . But she was determined to do this herself . She was booking a holiday away for their anniversary and the stupid computer wasn’t printing and kept freezing .

“ I’m pressing print ! I’m literally clicking you stupid f-“ beep beep . “ Why are you beeping ? What the hell , stop beeping.” Y/n stood up and threw her hand in the air. She knelt down to go under the desk to figure out if something wasn’t connected.

“ This stupid machine .” Y/n didn’t notice that Henry was watching the entire thing . He was leaning against the door admiring her ass while she looked at the plugs . Y/n tried to stand up and hit her head on the desk then pulled some plugs out on there way out. She had tangled herself with plugs and was on the verge of a mental break down . Henry bent down to get a better look at yn .

“ Hello darling , need some assistance.” Henry said smiling at y/n .

Y/n huffed and looked up at Henry. She felt so defeated .

“ I’m trying to print something.” Y/n sighed.

“ Do you need help?” Henry asked.

“ It was supposed to be a surprise .” Y/n whispered .

“ How about this . You get out from under the table. I’ll sort out the computer. Then when we print out whatever you want to print , I will act surprised.” Henry smiled.

“My Hero.” Y/n forced a smile. She felt like she couldn’t do anything right. Henry could sense she was upset so he concocted a plan.

“ I am gonna need a favour from you though.” Henry said as he began working on the computer .

“ Sure. What is it?” Y/n said.

“ Can you check in the top drawer for the manual and then read out section 13 to me .” Henry asked . He stood up and noticed there was something wrong with main board. He knew exactly how to fix it without the manual but this way he could get y/n to watch and learn . They started working . Y/n handing Henry small tools and watching him work . It didn’t take long before he had fixed the computer and the printer started printing . In fact it wouldn’t stop printing.

“ My darling how many did you print.” Henry laughed .

“ I honestly have no idea.” Y/n laughed as she tried to stop them from printing . It took a few minutes but she cancelled all the other prints. Henry watched again in amusement when she screamed in excitement . Y/n stood up and smiled at Henry . She walked up to him and jumped up. Henry effortlessly lifted her up so he was carrying her. Y/n kissed Henry while smiling . Henry could feel her smile.

“ Are you gonna tell me the surprise?” Henry asked breaking the kiss.

“ I booked a villa in Italy for us . Very remote”-kiss- “private pool”- kiss- “ for our anniversary”. Yn said. Henry laughed .

“ We should really stop surprising each other . I booked suite in Paris .”kiss-“ Penthouse” -kiss- “ best view of Paris” - kiss-“ private hot tub” Henry moved yn to there bedroom . Y/n smiled as Henry lay her on their bed.

“ I know . I saw the booking. I booked for after that. “Yn smiled cheekily . Henry laughed, he should have known. They were awful at secret keeping . The kisses became hungrier and more urgent . Henry lay half on top of yn and put his hand on her hip. Gently digging his hand as the kiss became more passionate. Y/n moaned in Henry’s mouth . Henry moved his hand up to Y/n just below her bra strap. Y/n put one hand on his chest and the other in his hair . Tugging and digging to earn groans from Henry.

“Put your hands above your head.” Henry demanded. Y/n put her hands above her head.

“Good girl.” Henry said. He pulled down her pants leaving her in her underwear and used the pants to tie her hands. Y/n squirmed underneath Henry. Henry realised he hadn’t taken her top off yet and tied her hands up to quickly.

“My darling , how much do you like this shirt.” Henry said as his hand gripped the hem of her shirt. His thumb touching just above her underwear.

“I would like it more if it was on the floor.” Y/n whispered suggestively. This wasn’t the first time Henry got ahead of himself. Henry smiled and started ripping the bottom of the shirt . He ripped the front of the shirt and the sleeves to free y/n of her top. Y/n now in a bra and underwear.

“ Henry darling , you can’t rip the bra. It’s gonna have to stay on. Next time you need to be more patient.” Y/n laughed. Henry grunted in response . Henry took off all his clothes painfully slow . Y/n’s whole body felt like it was on fire. She could easily get out of the hold she is in but last time she did that Henry didn’t let her finish. She knows better now.

“ Henry please .” Y/n begged . Henry smirked and left the room. Y/n sighed and looked at the ceiling . A few moments later Henry was back in the room with a stack of papers.

“ Henry ? What is that?” Y/n asked.

“ Well these are all the things you printed. Let’s read them .” Henry sat down infront of yn and read the itinerary. He turned the pages and kept reading .

“ Henry it’s only two pages long , why are you reading all of them.” Y/n asked.

“ Well I don’t want to waste it. So I’m reading every single one of them.” Henry laughed.

“ Oh my gosh Henry please there’s like 30 pages.” Y/n groaned . Henry smiled but kept his eyes on the pages . Y/n started clenching her thighs together . Needing some relief . Then an idea popped into her head . Something she knew Henry could never ignore.

“ Henry, if you don’t come here now I will take matter into my own hands.” Y/n said. Henry knew what she was doing , he flinched but didn’t look up. Y/n got up hands till tied up on this time it was infront of her . She moved towards Henry , who still hadn’t looked up. Y/n put her tied up hands over his head and around his neck and sat on his lap.

“ You keep reading Henry.” Y/n whispered. Y/n positioned her self so she was riding one of his thighs. He was trying to ignore the moans. He could tell she was getting close. He threw the paper on the floor and grabbed y/n’s ass. He forced her to stop. He place her on his lap and moved her underwear to the side. He positioned himself inside of her and began thrusting. It was rough and animalistic. It was desperate. At some point they had moved to the bed. Henry had gone from hungry to loving . They went into waves of pleasure for hours. Both trying to prove to each how much love they had .

“ My dear y/n , why did you choose Italy.” Henry asked while holding Y/n.

“ The pasta .” Y/n responded . Henry laughed and kissed y/n in the forehead .

“ Ask me why I chose France.” Henry said .

“ Why did you choose France?” Y/n asked.

“ The pastry.” Henry asked. Both burst into laughter .

“ I could go anywhere with you , aslong as there is food.” Y/n whispered .

“ So a stranded island with no food is a definite no.” Henry asked.

“ Sorry I don’t love you enough. I need the food” Y/n laughed .

“ Don’t worry , I’ll find you something good to eat.” Henry winked . Y/n laughed and hit him in the shoulder.

“ Henry .” Y/n said while sitting up.

“ Yes”. He replied sceptically.

“ I can hear the printer again.” Y/n said motioning towards the door .

“ How many did you print?” Henry laughed.

“ I honestly have no idea.” Y/n smiled

[daddysfangirls-dc]

UnTamed CH.18

Damian Wayne x OC!Female

Prev | Next

Damian leaned against the bathroom threshold, watching an Otter play about with a rubber ball and splashing and swimming about.  Asta looked happy playing with her ball, lost in her little world. It was nice watching her enjoy herself.

All her injuries were gone, and she was not even scared like they were never there. Fully healed. And she was still around. Damian had assumed she would take off once she got the all-clear, but she didn't. It was a shock and relief. He enjoyed having her every day and being closer. It made things more intimate, and he liked it.

But some things could be better.

For instance, she rarely left her room unless she was sure no one but Alferd and/ or Damian were home. He was concerned she was isolating herself. Asta had been there for several weeks yet had very little communication with his family besides Jason and Alferd. He wanted her to get along with his family; he didn't want conflict.

"Hello," Damian said as she sat on the tub's edge. She swam to the edge, putting her head in his offered hand. 

"You look like you're having fun." She tossed her ball into the air as if to show him. She shifted to human. 

"Got any plans for the day?" she asked. 

"My schedule is empty for the moment," he says as he runs his hand through her hair. " I'm about to take Titus for a walk."

"Can I come?" she asked, clearly excited. He smiled, kissing her forehead. " I'll find you something to wear." as he goes to leave, he hears loud splashing behind him and turns around to find a Husky sitting in wait. He takes a moment. 

"Okay ... I'll go get a coat and Titus."  she tilted her head in confusion. He doesn't seem excited to go outside anymore. 

-

"Hey," Dick says. He finds Damian out back with two dogs." When did we get another... Astarea?" Damian nods, confirming. He'd have to get us to that. The two stood back and watched the dogs jump around and play in the snow. 

"How is everything? How is she?"

"We are well."

"Haven't seen much of her."

"she prefers the company of animals over humans. Solitude is something she enjoys." Damian says. He whistles, calling Titus over. Asta follows.

While Titus comes to Damian, Asta slowly approaches Dick. "Hello," he says as he crouches down, petting her. While she doesn't lean into his touch, she allows it. 

"Inside now," Damian said. The doggies shook off their fur before stepping inside, and the boys shook off their coats and did the same. While a doggie bowl of water was waiting for Titus on the floor, there were three cups of hot chocolate on the counter. The Husky turned into a Budgerigor and flew up to claim a cup. She squawked her appreciation to Alferd. 

"I'll be preparing lunch soon," Alferd said. " Something warm considering the weather."

"That sounds nice," Dick said as he petted the little birdie. Damian whistled, calling his little birdie to his shoulder and Titus to his heel. 

"Please inform is when lunch is completed." 

"Of course."

-

"Fun, fun, fun," Asta tweeted as she flew around the room before shifting and flopping on the bed. "That was fun. We should do that more often."

"Yes, it was. Perhaps Dick can join us."

"I'm not fetching any sticks, maybe freebies or balls. I can do balls."

"Two legs would be more appropriate." This had her sitting up and looking down at her nude body and back at him. "you have a closet full of clothes."

"Of fancy clothes, fancy dresses. Made of satin, linen, and Georg-Georg-you know what I mean. That other fancy fabric. None of these are good for playing in."

"your nudity has never been a problem before. Why now?"

Asta sighed, flopping back on the bed. " It's not."

Damian crawled into bed and lay down next to her. "Talk to me, please." she groaned, rubbing the heels of her palms in her eyes.

" I didn't make a very good first impression." he removed her hands from her eyes. "And that dinner wasn't any good. It was more like an integration."

"I'm sorry for that. I should have stepped in sooner ." she shook her head. 

"My meeting with Jason definitely could have gone better."

Jason had taken her proposal and agreed, and although no action would be taken due to it being winter, he still brought forth a blueprint. It seemed nothing more than business.

"I just don't want to ruin anything else or give them a worse impression of me."

"What prompted this sudden interest in others' opinions?" Damian sighed, rolling on top of her on his forearms. He pecks her nose. " My darling," he chuckles as he brushes his lips against hers. "My family is full of idiots. Do not waste your breath trying to impress them."

"But-" he presses his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. 

"You are perfectly imperfect. I'd have it no other way" 

"Okay," she whispered as he kissed her jaw 

"Okay?"

"I'll - I'll try again. I'll try harder-"

"No," he kissed down her neck. " Just be you," he found her lips again. " That's all I desire".

[shalomniscient]

Hello, first I would like to say that I hope you and yours can stay safe and take care during the holidays and that you have a merry thanksgiving.

That said, I also come bearing a gift as yet another shameless thirst has stricken me and left me plagued with both wonderous and terrible mental images.

This may be something I make into a ficlet on here and ao3, but for now I bestow it upon you.

P.S. NSFW Ahead, let the SS Thirst set sail.

You recall the maid cafe idea I sent you?

Imagine that the chief decides to surprise some of the Sinner women by dressing up as a maid and taking care of them, namely imagine the reaction of Rahu and Shalom when they return from an assignment to be greeted by the Chief wearing a maid outfit and waiting for them.

Imagine she has made them their favorite meal, drawn them a bath, with the chief helping them bathe, and even gives them a massage to help them relax, that said massage includes a 'happy ending' that leaves them a puddle of contented warmth as the reader asks them if they want anything else, maybe something tight and hot and wet?

Or maybe they would prefer something thick and hard, maybe made of cold plastic or maybe it is made of warm and pulsating flesh and is already dripping from the tip?

Or maybe they are spent already, and just want to bask in the comforting warmth of the chief's body and lay together in the bed and cuddle?

Some, such as Rahu and Zoya, would be all to eager to take the opportunity and have some more fun, while I can imagine others like Shalom are already spent and while they may like to play more, they enjoy the idea of resting a bit more.

For those that want to sleep and cuddle, they find themselves either lifted off their feet, Shalom swooning as she is cradled against the Chief's body, and tucked into bed beside the chief, their head nestles against their chest with the heartbeat of their beloved echoing in their ears as the chief lovingly coos at them and strokes their hair till they relax and drift into slumber.

For those that want to keep going, the chief smiles at them and guides them to the bedroom, where they begin to undress until they have all of their clothes neatly arranged on the ground around them as they take a naked dogeza position as they tell the Sinners that 'This Chief is all yours, please use them till you are satisfied.'

If Shalom had not been tired after the massage, then this is the point where she goes full body red, just as Rahu and many others would I imagine.

After all is said and done, the Chief and the sinner sleep like it is described above, with both falling into a deep slumber.

As you can probably tell, I don't do ideas halfway lol.

That said, take care and stay safe.

hey hey back at it again !! and merry thanksgiving to you too my liege :)

once more, holy fucking shit ??? love love love the domestic/fluffier side of this, especially pampering the sinners when they get back from a long mission 🥺🥺🥺 shalom my darling my beloved ,,,, she would SO appreciate coming home to you. just, the fact that she has one is so special to her already. so many years spent as a tool to only go from one problem to another, never able to find somewhere to rest and take this burden off her shoulders—until now. until you. she doesn’t need any particularly grand gestures either, just waiting for her in the living room so she can fall into your arms at the end of the day is good enough for her. her home has always been you, anyway—she’d follow you to oblivion and back. AND RAHU 🥺🥺🥺 sometimes rahu wld take a massage over sex im ngl, being a bodyguard is hard work, much less a soldier for p*aradeisos. a nice, warm bath would be so heavenly to her that sometimes she straight up falls asleep in the tub LMAO she’ll give you lazy but sincere kisses in thanks before flopping into bed and wrapping her arms around you, ever so protective even in sleep. dgsgdhshdgksh in conclusion, the intimacy of domesticity with ptn women (might offer more brainrot about this down the line…………. who knows)

side note to be 100% honest w you the maid stuff is kinda secondary to me in that it’s cool but i’m kinda neutral about it lol ?? BUT ur brainrot is still fun to pick apart and expand on my liege and i appreciate ur asks nonetheless :) take care !!

[clumsy-jiminie]

ɪɴᴇᴠɪᴛᴀʙʟʏ ʏᴏᴜʀꜱ | ᴘᴊᴍ | ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

❝ ᴀ ᴄᴏᴡᴀʀᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ᴅɪᴄᴋ ❞

↣ summary :: Kiara Smith had dreamed of true love for as long as she could remember. from being obsessed with the Disney princesses who found affection in the strangest situations to dressing up as a bride from kindergarten to fourth grade. it was the only thing she ever truly desired, so much so that a pleasant smile and kind eyes could have her smitten in seconds. right when she thought she found the one, a chance encounter with Park Jimin—the city’s famously perfect fuck boy with a smile so warm and a heart of ice—has her feeling quite the opposite. he knocks her off her axis and derails her life as she knows it, yet the universe seems to have another plan for the two.

↣ rating :: 18+

↣ genre :: fluff, angst, smut, e2l, slow burn

↣ pairing :: business owner!jimin x fem!artist!oc ft. taehyung

↣ word count :: 4k

↣ chapter warnings :: mature language, implied marking

↣ notes :: shit is about to get JUICY. from here on out will be the banter I mentioned before and I am SO excited. thank you for reading! 💕

↣ next :: previous :: series m.list ↢

ᴄʀᴏꜱꜱ ᴘᴏꜱᴛᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴡᴀᴛᴛᴘᴀᴅ

if you have any questions, comments, or concerns PLEASE don't hesitate to message me or send me an ask! my inbox is always open. 💖

"maybe we could've been friends if I met you in another life."

- ꜱᴋɪɴ, ꜱᴀʙʀɪɴᴀ ᴄᴀʀᴘᴇɴᴛᴇʀ -

Kiara's shoulders slightly raised and dropped as she heaved heavily. She stared at the canvas ahead of her, tilting her head to the side as she reached down to grab another water balloon from the trays beside her. The concrete walls that surrounded her were stained with different colors. Despite the tarp on the ground, paint still made its mark on the grey slab. Shelves lined the walls adorned with various shades and hues of paint cans. The room was a mess, and she was a mess, but it was art. Every splash, every drop, every spill had a story along with it. This place was her safe haven, allowing all her ideas and feelings to flow without restriction. That's all her art was: a display of her feelings poured onto a blank canvas.

She bounced the somewhat heavy water balloon in her hand as she examined her canvas. Blues and teals spread over the once-white base with rough brushstrokes and thrown paint. She swung her arm back, throwing the paint balloon at the canvas. It exploded on impact, staining the middle of the two colors with a lovely blush pink. She smiled to herself as she wiped her hands off on her denim overalls, adding any leftover paint to the collection of stains. She left the piece to dry before adding her signature touch of gold or silver accents. As she walked out of the garage-converted studio, her phone buzzed sporadically in her pocket. She approached her kitchen, quickly washing her hands before pulling the device out of her back pocket. She answered the call without looking at the caller ID, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder.

"Hello?" She said as she dried off her hands. 

"I have the best news!" She instantly recognized the voice as Aimee's as the girl squealed in her ear.

Kiara's brows squished together as her nose wrinkled at the sudden pitch that invaded her eardrum. "Yeah?" She questioned as she opened the fridge door. "And what would that be?" She glanced over at the various food items before grabbing a yogurt. She tried to pull the foil lid off with her fingers before using her teeth.

"Someone just brought out your new collection!"

The tub of yogurt fell from her hands, landing on the floor and tarnishing her kitchen tile with white. "What?! It hasn't even been a month since it's been out!"

"I know!" Aimee sounded excited for her. "We finalized the payment today! All six pieces, and at full price, if I may add." 

It took a moment for the reality to sink in before it hit her like a brick wall. She began to squeal, causing the woman on the other line to do the same, as Kiara bounced on the balls of her feet. 

"So, you know what this means," Aimee said after the girls calmed down.

“What time is the reservation?" Kiara asked as she cleaned up the spilled yogurt. Whenever someone brought out a collection of hers, she would have dinner with them to show her gratitude. It was a risk every time, but Aimee ensured she protected Kiara with an NDA and a few security guards. Keeping her identity a secret was sometimes challenging; it was a bit pricey but worth it.

"Seven. Remember to dress to impress!"

"When do I not?" Kiara chuckled before hanging up the phone.

It didn't take long for her to get ready. An hour passed, and she had showered and styled her waist-length hair into a high ponytail. She sat at her vanity in her bedroom, applying makeup as she heard the front door open. It wasn't long before the shape of Taehyung walked past her to put his bags down. He returned to her reflection, standing behind her before kissing her head.

"You look gorgeous as ever," he said as he pulled the suit jacket off his body. "You going out with the girls tonight?"

She shook her head before spraying her face with setting spray. "Client dinner!" She grinned as she fanned her face with her hand. "Someone brought out my latest collection." She stood up, turning to face him with a proud smile on her glossed lips.

He returned the same smile, his large hand finding her waist to pull her in. "I'm so proud of you." He kissed the top of her forehead carefully to make sure not to ruin her makeup. "My baby is such a hard worker and so pretty." He leaned in to kiss her neck, causing her to giggle. "Mm, and she always smells so good. What time is dinner?"

"Seven."

He glanced at the watch on his wrist before smirking at her. "You have time for a little quickie." She squealed as he leaned into her neck again.

"No, I don't!" She giggled as she escaped his grasp. "Plus, nothing is ever a quickie with you." She grabbed her purse off of the bed before walking to her closet.

"Are you saying I last too long?!"

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing!" She laughed as she slipped on her heels. "Just not good when you must be somewhere in 30 minutes."

He sighed dramatically, plopping himself on the bed as he took one last look at her. "What time will you be back?"

"Like ten, probably. Maybe earlier?" His lips formed a pout as she rolled her eyes, a smile present on her lips. "You know you'll be up, don't act like that." She leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "And when I come back, you can take as long as you want."

He looked up at her with his brown eyes glazed over with lust. "Yeah?" She nodded, goosebumps raising on her skin as his fingertips grazed her leg. He briefly bit down on his lower lip, eyes peering over her frame. She could always make a simple black dress look like a Met Gala gown. The material hugged her frame in a way that only provoked the imagination. "Let me get a little taste, at least." Before she knew it, Taehyung had already pulled her into his lap.

Kiara stepped out of her car and walked up to the restaurant. She cursed softly to herself, already feeling the tender spot of her neck stiffen and form a bruise. Taehyung had to be so convincing, making her nearly 20 minutes late. She pulled her faux fur coat closer, hoping to shield herself from the brutal wind. Dress to impress resulted in a tight black dress that stopped around her mid-calf with a sweetheart neckline. It was barely suitable for the winter, but usually, these dinners took place in warmer weather. She could remember how nervous she was for the first one. An older man with eyes so kind it calmed her within minutes. He was genuine and thoughtful as he purchased her collection for over the initial selling price. He told her to know her worth and never sell herself short; she took his words to heart. That one dinner sparked the custom into what it is today. As she entered the restaurant, chatting and soft music drowned out her heels clicking against the polished wooden floor.

She stopped to check in her coat before approaching the maître d', who stood with a broad smile behind a podium. His brunette curls contrasted with his sea-green eyes. Sun-kissed freckles littered his tanned skin, making the man's face appear more childlike. "It's always a pleasure to see you, Luna."

"As well as you, Eric." She smiled warmly, resisting the urge to pinch his cheeks. Despite being years younger, the man was taller than her, forcing her gaze to travel upwards to look at him constantly. "Is my guest already here?"

Eric nodded. "He arrived at least 15 minutes before the usual time." He said in almost a question as he ushered Kiara to follow after him. Her brows furrowed as she walked, wondering why that was.

They walked past tables with dining couples and families. The establishment had a nature theme, with flowers and vines intertwined with the wooden beams on the ceiling. A small bouquet of carnations sat at each table with twinkle lights intertwined between the stems and buds. She felt confident walking through here. The owner was a close friend of her father’s, and he was gracious enough to let her hold her occasional meetings here without asking many questions.

"Can you tell me what he looked like?" She asked as curiosity filled her. First, it was a he. Second, he brought multiple pieces at full price. And third, he was early? She just wanted to know if it was the older gentleman from her past dropping by to say hello. She wouldn't put it past him.

”Isn't that unfair now, Luna?" She could picture the smirk on the younger's lips, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Who's side are you on, Eric?!" She huffed as he laughed.

"I think you'd like him," he said before slowing to a stop in front of a black door. He turned to face Kiara, pushing the door open to let her slip through. She stared at him momentarily, hoping he would cave just a little and give up at least a hair color. But he didn't. Instead, he just waited patiently with a smile for her to pass.

"Screw you," she pouted as she walked past him.

He chuckled softly. "Enjoy your meal!" He let the door close, abruptly silencing the sounds from the other side. Quietness filled the air, making it heavy as her eyes connected with her guest for the night. Her eyes widened, and he mirrored the expression. Their contact broke as his eyes darted around briefly. His lips moved slightly, mouthing as if he was trying to find words that left his mind too quickly. Kiara walked over to the lone table, lowering herself into the seat across from no other than Park Jimin.

His brows furrowed as his eyes shamelessly scanned over her once again. Kiara gulped softly, her palms growing sweaty as her mind went wild. She's never had dinner with someone she previously met. All the people who knew were either family, friends, or under contract. But now there was him, the first person to figure out both sides of her. And though she was protected, she had yet to determine if he could buy his way out of the NDA or hire some expert lawyer to find the smallest of loopholes to run with. Did he plan this? Did she slip up somewhere when they first met? Or did Taehyung slip? Could he have caught on from—

"Well," he exclaimed, putting her rackety thoughts to a halt, "there goes my hope of flirting with my idol all night." His plump lips tugged into a slight smirk. He didn't miss a beat, oozing the same confidence from their first encounter.

Kiara raised an eyebrow slightly, her eyes falling over his appearance. He was dressed in a blue dress shirt with the first few buttons opened and a black suit jacket with a single silver chain to match the earrings that adorned his ears. The man knew he was attractive, and that was her problem. He was still remarkably handsome even after he was rude. She scoffed as she opened the menu, trying to keep up appearances like him. "For some reason, I don't believe you."

"What?" He gasped dramatically, causing a little smile to tug at her lips. "Me? Flirt with my friend's girlfriend? You think that lowly of me?"

”Yeah," she answered quickly. Her eyes met with Jimin's, matching his playful energy with ease. "If I recall, you kept checking me out even after discovering I was dating Taehyung."

He opened his mouth to say something before closing it soon after. He leaned back into his chair with a smirk on his lips. "OK, you got me there. You're just so beautiful; it's hard not to stare."

Kiara felt her cheeks flush with heat as she rolled her eyes. Her head shook from side to side as she looked at the menu again. "See, couldn't even last five minutes."

"Is calling it like I see it really flirting?" He asked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Yes, if you intend to get in bed with the person."

”Who said I wanted to do that?" She looked up at him again, seeing that smirk etched on his face as he bit his lower lip. He sat up, leaning his arms and chest onto the table. "Maybe I just like complimenting people. Maybe I like complimenting you." Her eyes widen before darting back to the words on the menu. She shouldn't be blushing this much, especially since she was in a relationship. But there was something about him. There was something about how his lips formed words, his tone dripped with sweet sultriness, and his eyes never left hers, taking every moment to drink her in. Even the way he smiled. He was too attractive for his own good. And she shouldn't be feeling this way. She shouldn't be this flustered.

"Oh yeah, I figured. What was it again? You hold a beauty one could only dream of containing." Jimin's eyes went wide as she let out a fit of giggles.

"Give me a break! It was a good line!"

"If I were a love-sick fool, maybe, just maybe, you would've had me," she laughed.

Jimin shook his head despite the smile on his lips. "You mean to tell me if Taehyung had you that line, you would've reacted the same?"

"Yes."

They stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Stone cold," Jimin said as he leaned back into his seat.

Kiara felt the nerves wash away as she continued to talk to Jimin. Surprisingly, he was a very entertaining person to talk to. He didn't question her about her work or what inspires her, but about herself. It was a change of pace. Most clients would praise her like a goddess and ask the same three questions: Who's your inspiration? How long does it take you to paint? Do you take commissions? It felt like Jimin wanted to know her for her and not for the work she does. It was nice. The conversation only slowed when they started to eat, switching the subject to the food quality.

"So," Jimin started once the waiter had collected their plates. He picked up his glass, putting it to his lips to take a sip of red wine. "Why do you hide?"

Kiara's brows furrowed. "Why do I hide?" She picked up her own glass of water as he nodded. "I don't hide, necessarily. I just don't think I need to show my face for people to understand my art. Plus, I enjoy still having a normal life."

His brows knitted together as his head tilted to the side. "A normal life?" He put his glass down. "I hate to say it, but it sounds like you're a coward, Kiara."

"What?" She asked sharply.

"Think about it; you're hiding your face and missing out on all the beautiful opportunities to have a 'normal life'. It sounds like you're scared of the fame."

"I'm not scared of the fame," she quickly objected. She could feel her heart beating in her face like she just ran a 5k. It was solid and brisk, spreading up to where she felt the pulse throbbing in her cheeks. "I just don't want people to take advantage of me."

"They'll take advantage of you whether or not your name is known. So what is it?" His eyes then narrowed as he straightened his back. His shoulders appeared broader than before. "Why do you hide?"

Kiara stared at the man for a second, eyes searching for an answer in his. She's been Luna for so long now. She couldn't even remember why she hid her name and face. Was it anxiety? Was it the fear of rejection? Was it the fear of being judged? It could've been all of the above at this point.

"It's OK to admit that you're scared."

His words were all but comforting. "I'm not! I just…." She trailed off, eyes leaving him and resting on the tablecloth before her.

"You had me sign an NDA before I could even step foot in this restaurant. There's this special section specifically made for you to have these types of dinners. There's even security at the door to get in!" He spat out before she even got the moment to gather her thoughts. She felt under attack, though it was just a simple question. Even his points were valid. She never prepared herself for a question like this.

"Sir," she started to reel back in the conversation, but his eyelids lowered at her. "I have these dinners to discuss my work, not to be disrespected."

"But Luna is your work. I'm asking you questions to understand why you actively chose to stay hidden. You have the opportunity to come out every day, and you ignore it every day. If it's not because you're a coward, it's because you're selfish."

"Excuse me?!" She fumed, her eyes narrowing at the man.

He didn't flinch at her glare. Instead, he chose to shift his position by leaning closer toward her. "Choosing to stay hidden robs you of the chance to do any public charity event. You have to let people see you or at least hear your voice. Right now, Luna is only a thought. No one even knows if she's human. People have the right to see who they're supporting, and you shouldn't have to make them spend over ten thousand to meet you." 

The more he spoke, the more infuriated Kiara got. Being interrogated or called out wasn't the reason she had these dinners. This conversation was barely a discussion but a lecture from a 20-something-year-old nepo baby who thinks he can speak about how she chooses to live and spend her money. Her lips pressed into a taut line, keeping herself quiet when all she wanted to do was curse him out.

"And it's not like you could slap on some wig and be Hannah Montana. People aren't that dumb." As he continued, her eye twitched a little. "So which is it?" Jimin watched as Kiara nodded her head a few times. She grabbed the napkin off her lap and placed it on the table.

"And to think that maybe you were just having a bad day earlier." She chuckled softly as his brows furrowed. "Turns out that you're just an asshole regardless."

"Excuse—"

Kiara swiftly threw water in his face, drenching him and his hair as she stood up. He scoffed loudly, hanging his head down to keep any more water from going into his eyes. "Does that answer your question?" He looked up at her and locked eyes one last time, exchanging the same look of hate before she stormed off to the door. "Fucking dick," she mumbled to herself as her heels quickly led her through the restaurant. She dug her hand into her purse, feeling around until she grabbed her cell phone. She clicked on Taehyung's contact before putting it to her ear while getting her coat. It declined on the first ring, adding fuel to her fire before she tried again. Then it went straight to voicemail.

She groaned, putting her coat on and heading outside. She scrolled through her contact list as she reached her car, finally settling on calling her best friend.

"Hey!" He picked up on the second ring, sounding cheery as ever. She could hear the sizzle of a hot pan in the background. "You finished dinner already? It's kinda—"

"That guy was an absolute dick!" Kiara yelled, cutting the man off as she got in her car. "You know, I thought he was nice at first. We seemed to really get along, but then he had to open his dumbass mouth, and ugh!"

"Woah, slow down. What happened?"

Kiara began to drive home, trying to monitor her speed, but it was nearly impossible. "So I met one of Taehyung's friends at my last art show. He seemed nice until he made a slick comment about Tae. I thought maybe he was having a bad day, and me rejecting him was the icing on the cake. Turns out he was the one to buy my collection. We had dinner, and then he called me cowardly and selfish!"

The man began to choke on the food he was eating. "What?! You're the least selfish person I know! What would even make him think that?"

"Because I use a pen name and hide my face."

"WHAT?!" He practically yelled, prompting some annoyed muffling from his roommate. "How the fuck do the two even correlate?!"

"I don't know, JK! He was going on about how I can't donate because I don't show my face like people don't anonymously donate all the time! Like they can't write my name on whatever I donate! But of course, Mr. Nepo Baby is obsessed with pictures and showing everyone his good deeds."

"Wait, he's a nepo baby?" Jeongguk asked as he shoveled some more food into his mouth. "So that means he's loaded, right? Is he looking for an assistant?"

"Stay focused!" Kiara warned.

"Right, right," he said with stuffed cheeks. After he swallowed, he continued. "I wouldn't take what he says to heart, Ki. He's obviously a prick who doesn't know you or care to know you."

She sighed deeply, "OK…, yeah…." She wanted to change the subject but couldn't stop thinking about how he looked at her. It seemed like she was having dinner with a completely different person at the end of the night. She's never had someone look at her with so much disdain. It was jarring.

"You want me to beat him up for you?" Jeongguk asked unexpectedly.

Kiara laughed as she pulled into her driveway. "No! Why must you always resort to violence?"

"Some people just need to get beat up. These hands stay ready." Kiara laughed again, shaking her head as if he could see her. "You still coming tomorrow?"

"Of course!" She grinned. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I'm glad you said that. I wouldn't want to have to beat you up." She could hear the smirk playing on his lips.

Kiara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Just because someone is taking boxing lessons doesn't mean they're hot shit."

"You couldn't even beat me up on my bad day."

"You know what?" As she gathered her purse and phone, Kiara scoffed, exiting the car. "Remember you said that. I got something for that ass." 

They laughed as she walked to her front door, bidding Jeongguk goodnight before stepping inside. The house was dark and quiet, signaling that Taehyung had fallen asleep. As she walked into the bedroom, her assumption was correct. She swiftly got undressed before slipping on one of Taehyung's t-shirts. After completing her night routine in the bathroom, she crawled into bed. She fell into the familiar spot on her boyfriend's chest before he sleepily wrapped his arm around her. But she was far from tired. All that consumed her mind were the events of tonight.

Why couldn't she answer him? Could she be one of the two things he called her? Or what if she was both? All these years, she thought she was being genuine. She thought slapping her signature on a check would be sufficient. Was there more to it? A coward. Selfish. Neither of those was supposed to be Luna's intention. She was supposed to be a safe sanctuary, unaffected by criticism. She was supposed to be someone that people understood. Someone who gets it. A friend. And people didn't even know she was a person. All she wanted to do was make art and have people experience her feelings, knowing someone out there felt the same. She never thought she would get this big; she only ever dreamed of it. And now that she was there, maybe she bit off more than she could chew.

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[sjsmith56]

None Shall Sleep

Summary: Bucky comes to the aid of his neighbour one night when he hears her crying after breaking something in her apartment.

Length: 5 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Sam Wilson, named but not described OFC, minor OFC, Pepper Stark.

Warnings: Description of eye surgery (personal experience), trust issues, Bucky feeling inadequate, health insurance company assholes.

Author notes: Inspired by this video of a tenor who sang Nessun Dorma (from the opera Turandot) accompanied by a flash mob orchestra in a German bookstore. The video showed up on my FB feed but I’ve always loved this piece, as it’s full of passion. My description of the opera is taken from the internet. https://fb.watch/pE60YHrtsM/? I’ve been to one opera in my life (La Boheme) which I enjoyed. Bucky is a big softy in this one shot which ends very romantically.

👁️ 🎶 🌖

Sam carried the last box into Bucky's new Brooklyn apartment, taking note of the high ceilings and windows this place had, compared to his old place, the small studio apartment.  With the settlement for his back pay, and damages for what had been done to him awarded from the now unfrozen assets of Alexander Pierce and several other high ranking HYDRA officials, James Buchanan Barnes was finally in a position to live in a manner that he deserved.  Buying this apartment was the start of his new beginning.  He also had plans to take some college courses so that he could prepare for a life that didn't involve using just his physical attributes.

"This is really nice, Bucky," he said, as his friend came out of the bathroom with an empty box, pulling the tape off the bottom so he could flatten it.  "Pepper found this place for you?"

He looked around.  "Yeah, it is nice.  Still has enough of the old features like hardwood floors and finishes, vintage claw foot tub in the master ensuite bathroom, mosaic floor tiles in both bathrooms.  Feels familiar but it's mostly modern so it should last a long time.  Not sure how the other owners feel about me living here but no one's said anything yet."

"Why would they?" Bucky scowled without answering.  "Hey, your money is as good as theirs.  You're quiet, you're not a criminal, and honestly, it will likely make criminals think twice about trying to break in.  I'm sure you'll be attuned to everyone's coming and goings pretty quickly."

"You calling me a busybody?" 

At least he said it with a grin.  It was true.  His bad sleeping habits meant he was often awake at night, watching out the window for anything out of the ordinary.  Knowing his neighbour's habits came easily to him but wasn't always understood or appreciated by them.  Still, his previous landlord and Pepper Stark wrote character references for him when he first applied to buy in the building.

A week later he had met several neighbours, finding most of them quite nice.  It surprised him on the one night when he heard crying from his nearest neighbour's apartment, a woman he hadn't met yet.  At first, he listened carefully for any sounds of fighting or abuse, but it sounded more like frustration than anything else.  Then he heard the sounds of something breaking and jumped out of bed.  Approaching her door, he listened carefully again then knocked before speaking.

"Hello?  Is everything alright?  I heard the sound of something breaking."

He could hear the sounds of someone approaching the door.

"Who are you?" Her voice sounded both anxious and upset.

"Bucky Barnes.  I just moved in next door.  I could hear you crying but tonight sounded like you broke something.  I can help."

"Fuck."  He could barely hear her swear.  "Hope he's not an asshole."

With the sound of her locating the locks and turning them, he waited, only to be surprised by the sight of a woman with both eyes heavily bandaged.

"I'm sorry if I woke you," she said, extending her hand outwards, not quite in the right direction.  "As you can see I have temporarily lost my sight.  I'm supposed to have someone to help me but they haven't showed up for the past two nights and that's left me trying to fend for myself."

He took her hand gently in his, squeezing it then releasing it.

"Well, I'm here and I can help you if you wish."

"I know I broke something, and I stepped on it."  She lifted one foot, that seemed cut open.  Spreading her hands helplessly, she began to cry again.  "Could you just help me?"

"I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the bathroom," replied Bucky.  "You have cut your foot.  I can take care of bandaging that.  Then I'll clean up what you broke.  After that, we'll see what more I can do for you, okay?"

She allowed him to pick her up in his arms, carrying her into her bathroom, where he placed her on the counter.  Returning to his place for his first aid kit, since she only had a kit of bandages for her eyes, he gently cleaned her foot in the sink, then checked the wound for any pieces of the broken glass.

"What's your name?" he asked, as he applied some antiseptic to it.

"Roberta," she replied.

"That's a pretty name," he smiled.  "How long have you lived here?"

"About a year.  I sublet from the owner.  You just moved in?"

"Yeah, a week ago.  If it's not too personal, may I ask about your eyes?"

She lowered her head.  "I was mugged, hit my head pretty hard on the pavement.  It gave me a concussion and partially detached the retinas in both eyes, so I had to have surgery to fix them.  It sounds kind of gruesome, but they had to empty the eyeball of the vitreous gel to do it, then used a laser to seal the tears, and then a bubble of gas to reinflate the eye was inserted to keep the retina in place.  As the gas is absorbed into the body, the eye replaces the gel with new liquid, but it takes about six weeks for it to heal properly.  This past week I had to sleep on my stomach at the hospital, face down so that the bubble stayed at the back of the eyeball and kept the retina from detaching again.  I had an aide to help me at night for the first two nights when I was released, to make sure I didn't flip over onto my back, but she didn't show up last night or tonight.  Since I can't see, I can't call my insurance company to find out what happened to her and the woman they got for the daytime doesn't speak much English.  She just cooks and cleans for me."

He listened, fascinated by the medical process that would restore her vision, knowing that during the 1930s the success rate for repairing that was abysmal. 

"When were your eye dressings last changed?" 

"Two nights ago," answered Roberta.  "I was trying to do it myself because it felt gross, but I knocked something over and it broke."  She lowered her head as if she was looking at the floor.  "I just feel so helpless.  I'm sorry I woke you up."

Once again, he took her hand in his.

"I'm a lousy sleeper and was already awake.  You stay here while I clean up then I'll see if I can help change your dressings.  Is that okay?"

She nodded, waiting patiently for her neighbour to return.  At least he sounded nice.  Bucky wasn't a common name, perhaps it was a nickname.  Carefully, she listened as she heard him sweep a broom over the floor and into a dustpan.  The running of water was followed by the sound of a cloth being wiped over the floor, presumably to clean up the blood from the cut in her foot.  Then she heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Just me," he said, before he entered.  "Everything's cleaned up out there.  Now, how do I take care of your eyes?"

She told him to boil some water first and let it cool, then add a little salt to help with cleaning.  He left coming back a few minutes later.  He washed his hands, then unwrapped the larger bandage which released the plastic eye shields that protected her eyes.  Under them were gauze pads, which he carefully peeled off.  All she saw was the light of the bathroom, and the bubble of gas inside her eyes which kept her repaired retinas in place.  Everything else was blurred or distorted.

"It's pretty red," said Bucky, his face close enough to hers for her to smell his aftershave.  "Is that normal?"

"Well, it's pretty invasive eye surgery so I guess it is.  If you could take some clean gauze and dip it in the boiled water, as long as it's not too hot, you can clean the guck off, gently."

Patiently, she waited as he did as he was told, slightly surprised at how gently he cleansed her damaged eyes.  She noticed the sound of whirring and that one of his hands was warm and the other cold, which she brought up.

"I have a prosthetic arm and hand," he explained, hesitantly at first.  "It's a very high tech one.  I'm kind of the only person in the world with one like it.  It functions almost like normal, but they can't make it feel warm, or mask all the sounds it makes.  I'm thankful for it but I worry about how people see it."

Roberta smiled.  "Good thing I could only hear it and feel it then," she said.  "Although, I bet it's impressive looking.  Is it a prototype?"

"I guess," he admitted, then she was aware his face was further away.  "Okay, that looks better.  What's next?"

"There's a tube of ointment," said Roberta.  "If you pull the lower eyelid out, you can squeeze a small portion into each one and distribute it a bit.  That's to heal the incisions."  She waited while he did it.  "Okay, new gauze to cover my eyes, then the shields over top.  Just check that the shields are clean.  They can be cleaned with soap and water if they have anything on them."

She smiled as she heard the sound of water, assuming that the shields needed cleaning.  Then they were placed over her eyes, and she held them in place as Bucky wrapped the bandages around her head to keep them there.  By his silence, other than his breathing which seemed to shift slightly as if he was moving his head, Roberta assumed he was checking his handiwork.

"How is that?" he asked.

"Feels great," she answered.  "Thank you."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?  I'm guessing anything involving the eyes are out."

"I wouldn't mind listening to some music," she answered.  "My phone is around here somewhere.  If you could open the playlists, I could choose one.  You're welcome to stay if you're not sleepy."

She felt his warm arm circle around her waist as he helped her off the vanity, then he placed her hand on his arm as he led her out to the living room, telling her when they were a couple of steps away from the couch.  He joined her a moment later, as he placed her phone in her hand.

"Needs to be unlocked."

"Oh, it's set to Face ID which won't work with these bandages.  If I give you the code, do you promise not to go snooping?"

"Scout's honour." She could just feel the smile from him.

After giving him the code she waited while he opened her playlists, then he began listing them off.  When he got to her guilty pleasure one of opera, she told him to choose that.

"I'm a bit weird, I know," she joked.  "Not many people my age like opera but it was something my dad and I would do every time the Met put on a new one.  We always had discount tickets, would go for dinner, then to the opera.  Dad loved it and it was time well spent with him before he died."

"I'm sorry.  You must miss him."

"I do.  He died of cancer just five years ago." 

The sounds of La Traviata came on and he smiled as she relaxed, slightly leaning into him.  She quickly told him the plot of the opera and encouraged him to close his eyes and lose himself in the singing.  There were several other arias from other pieces that played then another came up and she straightened a bit.

"This is one of my favourites," she said.  "It's called Nessun Dorma, from Turandot.  A disguised prince falls in love with a princess who is indifferent to him.  To win her hand a suitor must solve three riddles, but if he gets any of them wrong, then he will be executed.  The prince succeeds but she still refuses him, so he challenges her to guess his real name, which would allow her to put him to death.  If she doesn't then she must marry him."

"Does she?" asked Bucky.

"That's the mystery behind this opera," said Roberta.  "The composer, Puccini, didn't finish it as he died, so no one really knows if he meant this to have a happy ending or a tragic ending.  This piece, Nessun Dorma, means none shall sleep, as the princess commands everyone to put aside sleep and find out the prince's real name.  Whether she found out and chose to reveal it or not is one of the great mysteries of Turandot.  Both endings have been used, written by other composers."

He listened with her, finding it a stirring piece of music.  As they listened to several more, he became aware of her breathing becoming deeper and more regular.  Roberta had fallen asleep.  Gently, he extracted himself from beside her then remembered what she said about sleeping with her repaired eyes.  Going to the linen closet he pulled out some towels and rolled them into position on her bed, to surround her face, keeping it off the surface of the sheets.  Then he returned to the couch and gently lifted her into his arms.  She whimpered a little and buried her face in his chest.

"You smell good," she whispered, sleepily.  "I like it."

"Thank you," he whispered back.

Gently, he positioned her face down, making sure that she was set in a way that was comfortable but allowed her to breathe.  Then he covered her up with her bedcovers and turned off the light.  Returning to his apartment, he laid on the couch, falling asleep until the morning.

Knowing that Roberta wanted to phone the insurance company about the aide not showing up, Bucky woke up early then listened carefully to any signs of the young woman getting up.  When she did, he went over and knocked on the door, waiting as she approached.  Instead, it was another woman who opened it and he looked at her a little surprised.  She spoke Spanish, identifying herself as Maria, the daytime helper who cooked for Miss Roberta.  Addressing her in Spanish, Bucky identified himself, waiting while she checked with Roberta before she let him in. 

"I thought you might want me to help phone the insurance company," he said when she came out of the kitchen.  "Find out what happened to your night-time aide.  I also speak Spanish if you want me to tell Maria anything."

"Yes please, to both," said Roberta.  "Thank you for putting me to bed last night.  I actually had a good sleep because of how you arranged the towels.  How did you know how to do it?"

He shook his head.  "Just seemed right."

She gave some instructions for Maria, which he passed on, then dialled her insurance company for her, placing the phone on speaker so she could talk to the agent.  When she told them the aide hadn't shown up for two nights they disputed her account, saying the woman had clocked in.  Bucky frowned as he listened then asked if he could speak.

"Hi, I'm Roberta's neighbour," he started.  "I can't say about Monday, but your aide was definitely not here last night because I heard Roberta crying after she broke something and cut her foot open.  I looked after her, cleaning her eyes and changing her dressing.  She wouldn't be phoning to complain if your employee actually showed up, don't you think?"

"Well, our employees are very professional and whose to say that you aren't lying on behalf of Miss Paxton?" said the woman on the other end.

Roberta's face reddened when she heard that, and Bucky felt his own irritation grow at the insinuation.

"Well, why don't I give you the name of someone to verify my identity," he said.  "If you would be so kind to contact Pepper Stark at Stark Industries, I'm sure she can vouch for me."

"Your name, sir?"

"Bucky Barnes, currently one of the Avengers.  My full name is James Buchanan Barnes."

There was no sound from the insurance agent for a moment.  Then there was a little cough, and she came back on.

"I will make that call and get back to you, Mr. Barnes," she said.  "Will you be at this number?"

"Yes, I'm not going anywhere." 

He hung up and placed the phone on the table.  There was silence between them until Roberta extended her hand towards him.  Gently, he took it and held it.

"You're really him?  I didn't quite hear your last name when you came in last night."

"Yeah, I'm him, the former Winter Soldier.  Once we get this cleared up, I won't come around anymore, if my presence makes you uncomfortable."

"No, I mean, I would like it if you came over.  I enjoyed your company.  You were kind to me and let me talk about opera and never once interrupted.  That's more than most men have ...." 

She coughed, then began to cry and Bucky reached into his pocket for his handkerchief, then looked at it, realizing her eyes were still bandaged.  Maria looked at him, whispering in Spanish that perhaps an arm around the young woman would be acceptable.  With a slight smile to her he did just that and pulled Roberta close.

"I'm sorry.  I'm kind of predisposed to being rejected and kind of jumped the gun on your reaction to who I was."

His phone rang and he fished it out of his pocket, seeing that it was Pepper.  He explained to her why the insurance company was calling, smiling as she expressed dismay that they would leave a woman without home care when she was basically helpless because she couldn't see.

"If they don't send anyone, I'm happy to help her," he said to Pepper.  "Roberta is very nice, and we got along just fine."

"Well, if they don't send someone, or if no one comes, you let me know, and I'll hire a small team myself to help her out."

He passed on the message to Roberta, who thanked Pepper profusely, then hung up, expecting to receive a call from the insurance company.  When it still didn't come an hour later, they phoned again, were put on hold then the call was dropped.  At that time, Maria came out of the kitchen with her phone, looking like she had bad news.  With a halting voice, she told Bucky she was laid off, as Miss Paxton's insurance policy had been cancelled.  Worriedly, she looked between Bucky and Roberta.

"Hold on, Maria," he said in Spanish.  "You won't be laid off, I promise.  Wait with Miss Paxton while I make another call."

After telling Roberta he had to make a private call he headed out to the hallway and called Pepper to pass on what he had learned.  She swore profusely, then he heard a large exhale of breath from the executive. 

"Alright, I'm assembling a team to take over Miss Paxton's care, and you tell Maria she now works for Stark Industries starting at twice the measly pay they were probably giving her.  Then I'm calling my lawyer and getting them on the sudden cancellation of her policy.  They can't do that, and I won't let them get away with it if I have to buy the company myself.  Don't you worry, Bucky.  We'll take care of Miss Paxton while you're on mission."  She hesitated for a moment.  "Okay, I wasn't supposed to say anything, but you'll be getting a call shortly."

Returning to the apartment, he broke the news gently to Roberta, then assured her that she would be looked after.  He also told Maria she still had a job, with Stark Industries, sending the woman into her own joyful expressions that someone would do that for her.  As she thanked him enthusiastically for his help, he received his mission alert from the Avengers and looked at the readout.  He had six hours to report for duty.

"Well, I have some sad news," he stated.  "I'm being called out for a mission, but you can take Pepper Stark's insistence on a team to look after you as the complete truth.  She'll make sure you're taken care of while I'm gone."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know but we can talk whenever I have a chance," he replied.  "Give me your phone and I'll put my information in."

He entered his information in her phone then did the same to his.  Then they sat together on the couch.  Her hand slowly inched its way towards his and he held her hand while they waited.  An hour later, the doorbell rang, and the first member of Roberta's care team, Julie, arrived, along with a contract for Maria to sign that she explained fully to the woman.  He stood up, then began to walk towards the door.

"Bucky, can I see you privately for a moment?" asked Roberta, then she blushed and grinned.  "You know what I mean."

Julie took Maria into the kitchen, leaving the couple alone.  Hesitantly, Robert lifted her hands towards Bucky, and he took them, holding them in his hands.  She stepped closer, until there was barely any space between them.  Raising one hand to his face, she cupped his cheek as he watched her intently.

"Thank you for taking care of me," she murmured.  "You're a very nice man."  He began to protest but she placed her fingers on his lips, and he instinctively kissed them, bringing a smile to her lips.  "You are a nice man and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  When you get back, I would like to see you again.  I don't know many nice men and I kind of want to keep you around."

If she could have seen it, his smile likely would have dazzled her.  With his free hand he brushed some hair over her shoulder then leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips.

"I would like to see you again, Roberta," he answered.  "You're a very nice lady and I don't know many.  You let them take care of you while I'm gone, okay?"

She nodded and they kissed again, for longer and with some feeling.  Then he caressed her face and left to get ready for his mission. 

Two months later.

Carefully, Bucky looked at himself in the mirror of his apartment, satisfied with his haircut and the trim of his beard.  After making sure his tie was right and that there were no white cat hairs on his black suit, he turned towards the window.  Alpine, the stray kitten he found on the mission and brought back with him, watched from her cat tree in front of the large window.  He confirmed he had his wallet and his car keys, then checked the inside pocket for the tickets, smiling at how excited Roberta would be when he told her where they were going.

"What do you think, Al?  Do I look good?"

A cross between a meow and a trill greeted him, confirming that he did indeed look good.  Leaving a light on in the living room, he gave the kitten a quick stroke on the head, then left, locking the door behind him and walking to the apartment next door.  He could hear opera playing in the apartment and smiled, then knocked loud enough to hear the music stop and footsteps approaching the door.  It was opened and for a moment he was dazzled at the vision in front of him.  Roberta was in a form fitting black dress that seemed to glitter like the night sky.  Its open neckline highlighted her collarbones, and a hint of décolletage completed the top part of the dress.  A long slit on one side showed off her shapely leg, along with the strappy-heeled sandals she wore.

"Wow!  You look amazing," he said, leaning forward to kiss her on the cheek.  "Pepper helped you get that dress, didn't she?"

Roberta blushed.  "Maybe.  We've become good friends, I think.  So, we must be going somewhere fancy because you're looking good as well."

"Darlin' I always look good," he grinned, then his face grew soft as he came closer.  "I mean it.  You look like a dream and I'm the luckiest guy alive."

They kissed and she used her thumb to wipe off the lipstick that transferred to his lips.  Taking her lipstick out of her clutch she reapplied it then waited as Bucky approached with her coat, helping her put it on.  They held hands on the elevator down to the parking garage, where Bucky held the car door open for her until she was belted in, and he got in behind the wheel.  As they passed over the Brooklyn Bridge, he told her to close her eyes so that it was a surprise.  When he pulled up in front of the Metropolitan Opera House, he reminded her to keep her eyes closed.  After helping her out, he handed his keys to the valet, then whispered in her ear.

"Open your eyes."

She opened them, ignoring the camera flashes from the paparazzi and seeing they were in front of the Metropolitan Opera House.  A big smile appeared on her face, and she looked up at him.

"It's Turandot, isn't it?" she asked.  "You got tickets?"

He nodded, then took her hand into the crook of his arm and began to walk to the entrance.  There were several calls of his name, and he stopped once, to the sounds and flashes of multiple cameras going off, then they turned away and continued inside.  After dropping off her coat at the coat check, they went up the staircase to the Parterre, where they were shown their seats, two in the front row of the left center box.  Two programs were already waiting for them, and he watched with an amused smile as she excitedly read it through.  When the music started, she watched the performance intently, occasionally glancing at him and squeezing his hand. 

At the intermission, they went out and ordered champagne for her, bourbon for him, sipping it as several celebrities approached them, introducing themselves.  Bucky was polite but reserved, his attention directed all towards Roberta.  The second half of the performance was just as enthralling as the first, especially when it came to the performance of Nessun Dorma, which drew a standing ovation and cries of "Bravo" for the tenor who sang it.  Bucky watched Roberta's face as she sat, enthralled at the whole experience.  When it ended and the theatre started to empty, she sat bright eyed, still staring at the stage until she turned to him.

"That was amazing," she enthused.  "I've never seen it before, and it was everything I ever hoped it would be.  Thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled, standing and offering her his hand.  "Now, we can go to dinner, or we can pick up some takeout and have it at your place.  I'm good either way.  Which do you prefer?"

"You really don't mind takeout?  These sandals are beautiful, but I'm not used to them, and I wouldn't mind changing into something more relaxing."

"Takeout it is," stated Bucky, as they approached the coatcheck and he helped her on with her coat. 

On the drive back to the apartment building, they held hands, stopping only when they picked up some Chinese food.  They were both quiet on the elevator ride to their floor.  Inside her apartment, Roberta left Bucky to open the containers as she disappeared into her bedroom, coming out in a pair of leggings and a soft tunic.  He took his jacket off, draping it over the back of the chair, then slipped his shoes off.  They both ate a good portion of their food, then Roberta winced when she stretched her one foot, noticing she had a blister forming.  Putting his food aside, Bucky switched positions on the couch and gestured for her foot, gently massaging it.  As he ran his hand over her foot, he rubbed her ankle then her calf muscle, watching her intently.

"Stop," she whispered.

He stopped.  Carefully, she shifted closer to him, ending up on his lap.  Looking at his tie, she loosened it enough to raise it over his head, then unbuttoned several buttons on his shirt, placing one of her hands on his upper chest. 

"Stop," he murmured.

She stopped, still perched on his lap, close enough that she was well aware of the warmth of his body radiating through his shirt and the hands that rested on her thighs, in addition to the bulge already forming in his pants.  They gazed at each other then Roberta leaned closer.

"None shall sleep," she said softly.

"You're sure?"

"Very sure."

Slowly, he ran his right hand up her body to her neck.  Placing his hand at the back of her neck he pulled her closer then wrapped his arms around her as they kissed passionately.  They explored each other's lips and mouths thoroughly, before pulling away, each of them a little breathless.  Lifting herself off of Bucky, Roberta went over to her phone and brought up the opera playlist then turned off the light and stood in front of the couch, offering him her hand.  He kissed it, then raised himself off and picked her up in his arms.

"You smell good."  Her eyes were luminous in the dark that was lit only by the moonlight coming in the floor to ceiling windows.  "I love you."

He smiled softly, kissing the top of her head.  "I love you, too."

To the sound of her favourite arias, Bucky carried Roberta into the bedroom where neither of them slept until much, much later.

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One shots Masterlist.

[polutrope]

#13 doing crafts with maeglin Celegorm and Aredhel?

Love this prompt! There will be a part 2 to this, hopefully tomorrow, using another of your prompts. ~1.3k words, featuring Aredhel/Celegorm, tiny Maeglin, plus Elenwë and tiny Idril. Rated G. Posting these to AO3, here. Prompt list. Little context: Aredhel and Celegorm are related by adoption only (Feanor was adopted). They dated in university and recently got back together after Aredhel's divorce. She and Maeglin are temporarily living with Turgon and Elenwe. See Beleria Cast of Characters for more!

Aredhel plopped Maeglin on the ground at the end of the walkway and fumbled through her hip bag for her house keys on the way to the front door.

“You’re sure your brother’s not gonna be home?” Celegorm asked.

She glanced back at him. He was hoisting one of their two stuffed shopping bags over his shoulder to free a hand for Maeglin to hold. Huan trotted beside them.

“No,” Aredhel answered, “he’s been spending most days at the university now that classes are over. Says it’s quieter than home.”

“And Elenwë?” Celegorm asked.

“Idril has swimming lessons after school. Then they usually go visit my mom and dad afterwards.”

“She’s already doing swimming lessons? Isn’t she, like, three?”

Aredhel chuckled as she turned the key in the lock. “No, Tyelko. She’s five. She’s in first grade.” She pushed the door open. “Hello?” she called.

“I thought you said no one was home.”

“Well,” Aredhel grinned, “you never know. A lot of us live here!”

Celegorm eyed her warily as he passed over the threshold behind her. He kicked off his boots and proceeded to the kitchen where he dumped the bags on the dining table and flung his bulky coat onto the couch. As Aredhel hung her own coat in the closet, she watched Celegorm help Maeglin onto a chair. They set about unpacking the craft supplies.

“Hey!” Aredhel said. “Don’t bring that all out yet. Turno’s gonna kill me if we don’t put down something to protect the table! And Lómion, you need to take your boots off, dear.”

“Oh yeah,” said Maeglin, seating himself to yank them off. He threw them on the floor and Aredhel sighed. She let it go: proper shoe etiquette would be a battle for another day -- one when she wasn't also fighting against Celegorm's unhelpful behaviour modelling.

“Okay,” Aredhel said to her son, “why don’t you go get your paints and brushes from our room?” Maeglin hopped off the chair and trundled off down the hall. “Tyelko, help me set up here.”

A few minutes later, the three of them were seated around the table, now adequately protected by a bright yellow vinyl tablecloth. Open tubs of paint, each speared with a fat paintbrush, were lined up down the middle. Celegorm tore open little bags of glitter, pompoms, googly eyes, and many sequins shaped like stars and trees and snowflakes and (for some reason) dinosaurs, then handed each of them off to Maeglin. He in turn inspected each new material with wonder before dumping the bag’s contents into recycled plastic containers.

Aredhel carefully removed coloured paper sheets from the pad and spread them over the table.

Yule pop classics spilled from the speakers and Huan, mercifully, was curled up contentedly on the couch after a long walk earlier that day.

Maeglin clapped his hands. “Craft time!” he said gleefully.

He grabbed two sheets of paper and shoved them in Celegorm’s direction. “You fold, I decorate,” he instructed.

“That’s it? I just fold?”

“Yes, and make sure it’s straight,” Maeglin said soberly. “Don’t be sloppy.”

Celegorm laughed.

“All right!” Aredhel had pulled a crumpled list from her bag and was smoothing it over the table. She counted up the names. “Looks like we need… twenty cards? I am probably forgetting someone. Let’s see. My brothers, Mom and Dad, your brothers, your parents, Grandma, Finarfin and Eärwen, Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor, Galadriel. Any other family?”

“Orodreth,” said Celegorm.

“Oh, shizzle, you’re right. I always forget him.”

“Who’s Oro’deth?” Maeglin asked.

“You haven’t met him yet, Lo-lo. He’s in the army.”

“Does he have a gun?” Maeglin asked, amazed.

“He probably does, yes.” Aredhel added Orodreth to her list. “Tyelko, do you think I need to do two for Amrod and Amras?”

“Yes,” said Celegorm.

“Really? Okay, well that’s another one then.” Aredhel set the list aside. “We better get to work. Whose card would you like to make, Lo?”

“I wanna make one for Uncle Finno.”

“Great! He’ll love that.”

“I’m gonna draw a spider on it because he’s Spiderman.”

“That’s right, he is, sweetie.” Aredhel grinned remembering Maeglin’s enthusiastic reception of her brother’s Halloween costume.

“A spider. How festive,” Celegorm drawled.

Maeglin snapped his head up to look at him.

“Don’t worry,” said Aredhel, “Celegorm is just grumpy because he’s not a superhero like Uncle Finno.” She winked.

“Oh.” Maeglin frowned, thinking. “You can be a superhero, too. You’re… Dogman!”

Celegorm shook his head, but Aredhel watched the flush of satisfaction claim her boyfriend’s cheeks at his new title. They shared a smile across the table.

Gradually, the table filled with bedazzled handmade cards, laid out to dry.

Maeglin, however, was unimpressed with his adult companions’ work.

“That’s it?” He wrinkled his nose at Celegorm’s latest uninspired creation: a green tree decorated with sequins against a red background. “You should put more effort, Tyelko.”

“Noted, boss,” said Celegorm.

“Put a dog on it,” Maeglin suggested, and turned his attention back to the card he’d spent the last twenty minutes on. He had almost completed the border of alternating star and dinosaur sequins around the folded blue sheet.

“Who’s that card for?” Aredhel asked.

“Idril,” he replied. “Blue is her favourite colour, she told me. And I like dinosaurs.”

“That’s sweet,” said Aredhel, stroking his mop of black hair from his eyes.

“I like Idril,” Maeglin said.

At that moment, a key clicked in the door. “Hello?” It was Elenwë. “We’re home!” There was some muttering and rustling, then Elenwë strode into view.

“Doggy!” With a delighted shriek, Idril darted past her mother and clambered onto the couch beside Huan. The dog obligingly lifted his chin to receive her pats and scritches.

“Oh my goodness,” Elenwë said as she entered the dining area and caught sight of the crafting chaos cluttering the table. “You have been busy! Oh, hi, Celegorm.” There was a tense moment of silence; then she smiled. “Nice to see you.”

Celegorm exhaled audibly. “You too, Elenwë. You look well.”

“Shoot, what time is it?” Aredhel said. “Sorry, El, I thought we’d be done by the time you got home. We can clean up—”

“It’s no problem,” Elenwë said, pulling some leftovers out of the refrigerator. “Maybe we can make some with you, what do you think, Idril? Do you want to do some crafts?”

Upon seeing Idril, Maeglin had risen to his knees on the chair and assumed a stooped, defensive position over his card like some sort of gargoyle. His wide eyes bore into Idril, but she was far too preoccupied snuggling with Huan to notice.

“Yeah, okay,” Idril agreed.

“No!” Maeglin snarled.

“What?” Aredhel and Elenwë asked at once.

“No, we can’t make cards with her!”

“Why on earth not, Lo?" Aredhel asked. "You just said, you like Idril. You’re making her a—”

“No, I don’t! Am not!” Maeglin snapped, and turned his glare on Aredhel. “I never said that. She’s mean, I don’t want her to make cards with us.”

Idril looked up from patting the dog. “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms and scowling. “I won’t.”

After some conciliatory efforts on the part of both their mothers, Maeglin and Idril’s dispute was settled, and the children agreed it would actually be quite nice if they all made cards together.

Plates of leftover lasagna and salad were passed around to fuel their efforts. After dinner, Celegorm took Huan for a walk and came back with a bag of marshmallows and a box powdered hot chocolate from the corner store, winning the adoration of the kids and the intrepid gratitude of Elenwë and Aredhel, who exchanged knowing looks as both of their children downed cups of sugar at 8pm.

It was in this way that Turgon, coming in exhausted after a ten-hour day of grading papers, found them.

[panickinganakin]

stepping stones to hell ch. 13 (ronance fic)

hello! all previous chapters of this fic can be found here.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The drive to the hotel was a fairly quick one. Within twenty minutes Nancy and Robin were getting out of the car. “I haven’t actually booked a room yet, so let’s hope there's a vacancy.”

Before Robin could stop herself the words sort of tumbled out of her mouth, “You can stay in my room.” She knew she had said them fast, she had wondered what they sounded like to Nancy; were they coherent or a jumbled up mess? Robin had a knack for producing word salad at the worst times, unfortunately.

Nancy was pulling out her bag from the trunk but she had paused to raise an eyebrow in Robin’s direction. “Are you sure? If they have an open room I don’t mind getting one. I don’t want to intrude in your personal space.”

Robin shrugged, trying to act more nonchalant. “I don’t mind. I have my own room anyways. You can totally crash my party.”

Robin could see Nancy smile as she shut her trunk. She grabbed her own things from the back of Nancy’s rental car before they started heading for the entrance. “Well, if you’re sure. It’ll be like a sleepover or something.”

Luckily for them, the check in process was painless and within a few moments they were using the elevator to head up to the ninth floor. “This place is pretty snazzy. Have you stayed before?”

They stepped off the elevator and Robin nodded, “Yeah. We actually stayed here last year once. The free breakfast is soooooo fucking good.”

“Do they have a waffle iron?”

“Oh yeah. And, they have a whole bar of toppings. Chocolate chips, dark, milk and white chocolate. Peanut butter, whipped creams, strawberries, blueberries.” Robin was sure she got the point but it was hard to stop herself from saying every item she remembered.

“You’re making me hungry,” Nancy said fondly.

Robin used the keycard to enter the room. It was very seventies themed in the best way. The walls were a shade of rusty orange with accents and swirls of dark green throughout. In the middle of the room was one huge king sized bed with a green comforter and tan colored sheets and pillows. Robin didn’t think about the fact that not every single hotel room in the world had at least two beds. “Uhm, last time I stayed I had a room with two beds. I’ll sleep on the floor though.”

Nancy pushed past her, laying her bag on top of the bed before pulling off her combat boots. “You’re joking right? We can both sleep on the bed. This thing is ginormous.”

Robin smiled, “Right. We can share the bed. Adults do that.”

Nancy let out a small laugh, “Adults, friends, other… things. They share beds all the time. It isn’t weird. Unless it is for you? I didn’t think about that. I totally get it if you aren’t comfortable sharing the bed. It was rude of me to assume-“

Normally Robin was the one rambling on so it was nice to stop Nancy for a change. “Nance, we can share the bed. It’s okay. I will, however, lay claim to the first shower. Drumming is a very warm profession.”

She rummaged through her bag, pulling out a pair of shorts and a Billy Joel shirt. This pairing was her typical PJ set on tour. Robin had an assortment of comfort clothes. This PJ set was to her on tour what her Bowie shirt was to her when home.

The shower was interesting. It was a large stand up area rather than a tub and only had half the glass. It seemed like the design would make a mess but after Robin had finished washing herself and her hair, the floor on the outside was still impressively dry.

Robin toweled herself off before sliding into her clothes. She looked in the mirror and her makeup was smeared rather than gone. Her lipstick was smudged on the sides of her lips while her eyeliner looked like a black eye. She sighed, “Hey, Nance,” she called. Maybe she would have something better to take it off.

She heard the bed creak before Nancy rounded the corner, “Oh, my,” Nancy said before letting out a giggle.

“What? You don’t like my new look?” Robin asked, pretending to be genuinely offended.

“Come on, I have some remover.”

She motioned for Robin to follow her. She snagged a washcloth from the rack and pointed to the bed, “Sit,” she instructed.

Robin sat as she was told while she watched Nancy dig around her bag. “This stuff works wonders,” Nancy said after pulling a pink bottle from the clutch. “Here, close your eyes. I’ll be gentle, I promise,” she promised after Robin gave her an apprehensive look.

After Nancy dabbed some of the lotion-like substance onto the towel Robin finally closed her eyes. As Nancy had promised, she was gentle. She moved the cloth around both of Robin’s eyes. “I didn’t realize how many freckles you had.”

“Oh, I have a ton. I always have. My mom said it was because she let me play in the sun too much as a kid.”

The comment made Nancy laugh lightly, “Hmm, maybe.” She paused for a moment before asking, “What’s your mom like?”

Robin thought about the question as Nancy still worked on removing her makeup. “Uhm. Fine I guess? They are? She was? Ugh.”

“You don’t have to talk about it if it’s not a comfortable topic.”

“No! It’s totally fine. It’s just my parents were kinda iffy about the whole lesbian thing and the music thing. More so the music. They wanted me to go to some big school and earn a fancy degree. I think they wanted to be able to tell their friends at all their little dinner parties how successful I was. When I came out I received the typical ‘Oh we always envisioned our future full of grandkids.’ response. Which of course isn’t fair to me. They should have had more than one kid, ya know? Then when I told them I decided not to go to school because Corroded had a record deal, oh boy. They blew their tops.”

“They said that it was irresponsible. I was throwing away everything they had worked so hard for. It wasn’t about me at all. It was about them. Their image, their social status. It was just exhausting.”

Nancy pulled the cloth away from Robin’s eyes so she opened them. Nancy was standing so close to Robin.

Normally Robin stood a good six inches taller

than her. It was the first time Nancy was the one towering over. “Your lips?” Nancy held the towel back up to Robin's face.

She took it as her cue to stop talking. As Nancy ran the towel over Robin’s lips gently, she knew her face was turning red. This was the closest they had ever been besides hugging. This felt oddly more intimate. Nancy was helping remove her lipstick. She was touching her lips. Nancy’s cheeks were turning pink. Was she thinking the same thing too?

Robin looked into Nancy’s eyes but she was staring at Robin’s lip. Her heart felt like a huge butterfly in her chest. Of course she’s staring at your lips, idiot. She’s literally taking lipstick off them. Shut up. She argued with herself in her head.

Nancy paused for a second, the two of them locking eyes. She knew the redness of her face was probably creeping down her neck because it was for Nancy too. She pulled away quickly, sitting down beside Robin, the two of them looking straight ahead instead of at each other.

“Sorry,” Nancy finally said in almost a whisper.

“Thanks for helping me,” was all Robin could respond.

“I should use the shower now,” Nancy said before getting up to gather her things.

Robin sat on the bed listening to the water run for a few minutes. She picked up the paper on the nightstand, searching for room service. Pizza and bottle service were the only two things offered twenty-four hours of the day.

Luckily for her, they had discussed pizza on the phone last week which meant Robin knew to order a supreme pizza for her.

After calling in their order she started moving both of their things off the bed so it was clear for them to sit and sleep on. She stacked their things off in the corner neatly before turning on the television.

When Nancy made it out of the bathroom Robin was hunkered down beneath the blanket completely lost in Beetlejuice. “Ooh, I love Winona Ryder,” Nancy said excitedly. She slid beneath the blanket, staying on the other side of the bed.

“Me too. This movie is so good. I also have the biggest crush on Geena Davis.”

“Ooooh, so is that your type? Tall? Gorgeous? Long hair?” Robin asked with a light hearted tone.

“I mean, not necessarily. I don’t think I have a type. I just enjoy pretty women. Of course all women are beautiful so a lot of women fall under the category of ‘Women who Robin Buckley could be, or probably is already, attracted to.’”

Nancy rolled her eyes before laughing, she opened her mouth to say something but a knock on the door interrupted her. “That must be our order,” Robin said.

“What order?” Nancy asked.

Robin opened the door and was a little surprised to see Steve and Eddie holding two pizzas and two bottles of wine. “What are you guys doing?” she asked them, raising an eyebrow.

They stepped through the door after she stepped to the side. They laid the food and drinks on the table and took a step back to the door. “We ran into the delivery guy, asked where it was going, and told him you were our friends. So, just wanted to drop that off and say goodnight.” Eddie gave a stupid grin that Steve mirrored.

“Yep, goodnight. Oh, and that we love you.”

Robin rolled her eyes, “Goodnight mom and dad.” She held the door open, motioning for them to go.

“Night guys!” Nancy called after them with a grin.

“Okay so,” Robin began, grabbing the boxes of pizza. She opened the top box up, it was Nancy’s. “This one is yours. Supreme, of course.” She sat the box on Nancy’s lap before moving back to the table to pour them both a cup of wine in the plastic cups provided by the hotel.

“This looks delicious, thank you.” Nancy said when Robin took her seat beside her again.

She passed Nancy her cup and sighed, “A perfect night.”

“So it seems.”

The two started eating their pizza in silence before Nancy laughed, “What?” Robin raised an eyebrow.

“I still can’t believe you eat cheese pizza. Just cheese. Not even sauce.”

“Oh don’t start this again,” Robin groaned, pretending to be irritated. When they had the discussion on the phone about pizza Nancy had been absolutely shocked at how plain Robin liked hers. It wasn’t just pizza really, “I’m sort of picky eater. Like, I enjoy a ton of food but I usually like it plain. Like I like most things that’s on your pizza right now but not on the pie itself. I like those separately. Putting them all together on a pile of sauce and cheese is a little icky to me.”

“Icky? Are you two?” she laughed lightly.

“Be nice to me or you’ll have to go rent your own room and watch the meteor shower tomorrow alone.”

“You wouldn’t?” Nancy put on a good shocked expression, looking stunned and offended all at once.

“You’re right, I wouldn’t.” Robin nudged her elbow into Nancy’s arm playfully, “I intended to spend every second we can together.” Pink danced across Nancy’s cheeks and she took a bite of her pizza, trying hard to hide her grin. “That’s what I thought,” Robin added.

After the movie was over and the pizza, including one bottle of the wine, was gone, the two decided they should build a blanket fort. Hotels had a way of always putting out more sheets, pillows and blankets than one room could ever need. It was the perfect plan.

They worked together to move two chairs in the room across from each other further apart than the bed. They draped two sheets from the bed to the entertainment center. They had three more sheets in the closet which they used one with a comforter to make a pallet inside the fort and the other two to hang down the chairs so there was no outside light coming in.

“That was tough work,” Nancy said after they were laying side by side.

“We could be interior designers or something. If our careers ever start to slip maybe that’s a good backup.”

Nancy smiled and gave a huff of a laugh, “Paid to build semi-okay blanket forts.” She laughed again, shifting herself up to reach for her wine glass. Her opposite hand brushed against Robin’s.

Robin knew her face was turning red but it was lucky the lighting in the fort was bad. If not, maybe she would have been able to blame it on the alcohol. There were no words spoken between them for a few long moments and Robin was able to absorb Nancy’s presence. “I’m glad you came, Nancy. I know I’ve said it, but I’m so happy you’re here.” She spoke quietly.

It was true, of course. Not only had she missed the woman but if it weren’t for her, she would be alone in this hotel room now. Laying in the boring bed rather than a fort and probably already asleep. “Can I say something? Even if it’s sappy and maybe sad?”

“Anything,” Robin encouraged.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a friend. Like the girls at work, they are my friends. But it’s been so long since I’ve had a soul bond type of friendship. I’ve been lonely for so long. You’re my best friend, Robin. I mean it so deeply. I know it’s only been a few weeks but I think about you everyday and I’ve missed you so bad since you’ve been gone.”

Robin’s own confession burned in her throat as tears threatened to line her vision. She couldn’t say she knew exactly how Nancy was feeling because she was close with everyone in her band. But, she had felt lonely in other aspects. Nancy had said their friendship was a soul bond. Did that mean that she only saw her as a friend or she was hesitating from calling it what it really was?

Her silence must have lasted too long because Nancy let out a weak laugh, “I told you it was sad. I probably sound like a widowed cat lady or something.”

Robin chuckled light before sitting up, reaching for the wine Nancy held. “No, you mistake my silence. I know what you mean, well, sort of. I’m lonely too. I mean, not in the way that I don’t have people or friends around me. But, there’s always been a hole in me.” Robin’s hands were shaky as she lifted the glass to her lips, she tried hard to hold steady. “It’s probably cheesy but spending this time with you has sort of filled a void.”

Nancy smiled and even the darkness couldn’t conceal the pink that dusted her cheeks. “You’re right, that was cheesy,” she said softly.

Robin rolled her eyes and shoved her arm gently, “Oh shut up.”

She gasped, pretending to be offended. They fell back into their banter as if the moment had never happened but it had. Something so vulnerable they had both laid bare. It had changed something but not in a negative way.

Robin sat the empty glass at her feet before laying back on the pillows. “What should we do tomorrow?”

Nancy laid back as well, humming softly. “Mmm. Definitely visit a coffee shop. Maybe a bookstore, oooh, definitely a record shop. Then, I don’t know, we wait for the meteor shower?”

Robin nodded silently, “Don’t forget a thrift shop. We have to find t-shirts.”

A yawn from Nancy seemed to be the only confirmation she would give. For a moment they laid there, Robin sure Nancy had fallen asleep as her breaths became slower and deeper. She had just closed her eyes when Nancy shifted. She laid her head on Robin’s chest before whispering, “Is this okay?”

Robin wrapped an arm around Nancy, tucking her in tight letting the affectionate gesture be her answer. It definitely was okay and Robin would sleep better for it. “Goodnight, Nance,” she finally said softly but Nancy was already asleep.

[thesullengrrrl]

“Hello, hello beautiful person! 🌟 Now that Elaine and Rosie are married, I have some questions about them.

Please describe what Elaine and Rosie were wearing at their wedding.

What was Elaine wearing underneath her wedding dress?😏

Where do they live now that they are married?

What do they wear when they go to sleep?

Where did they honeymoon?

What is something modern that Elaine has taught Rosie, and he found it very useful?

What is one of Rosie’s habits that Elaine did not know about and found out when they got married?🤭

What is one of Elaine’s habits that Rosie did not know about and found out when they got married?🤔

That’s it for now! I will hit you with more questions later!

See you soon 😊

nonny, ngl, some of these q's feels a bit like a quiz 😂 some of these i haven't really thought of yet! (can i skip the ones i haven't thought of yet? 😂)this is quite long, i hope my answers will satisfy you!!

wedding garb: elaine wore a two-piece suit (not white ofc) with a hat pinned on her hair, while rosie wore his best suit

underneath elaine: opted for the classic pair of black bra and undies with garter belt 🤷🏻‍♀️😏

living arrangements: i can imagine them not leaving the city for a while since they're both city folks. elaine definitely moved out from minton's when they got married and they lived in rosie's apartment until a little one came along and decided to move to the nearest suburb

sleepwear: elaine sleeps with night slips (a win-win, easy to wear, easy access), her old shirts (or rosie's it doesn't matter, it's hers anyway) with undies underneath. while rosie sleeps with sleep shirts, boxers, pajamas when it's cold

honeymoon: i'm going to say they went somewhere in california to be in the sun and the beaches. palm springs, perhaps!

something modern elaine taught rosie: hmmm this is quite hard since i can't really imagine her teaching him something without the help of modern tech! but i think she's more helpful in other modern aspects of life like food and culture, something like that. he's gonna expand his palette for sure hahaha

rosie's habits: rosie still has that military discipline in him, so he wakes up early and stretches to wake him up. she finds him one morning doing lunges and all that jazz and let's just say she liked it very much it made him late for work. also makes coffee for both of them but learns that he 'burns' the coffee so elaine does it (taught him how to do it but prefers elaine to make it "it tastes better when you make it" —rosie)

elaine's habits: elaine indulges in a bath every once in a while—complete with a bath tub tray (she had a piece of plank smoothed for this particular use), candles, and music softly playing from the living room. rosie came home one night with the apartment's lights closed and music softly playing. when he finds her, she was in the bath tub, reading with a drink in her tray. she only said "i've had a long week". a week later, he asked if he could borrow the tub tray.

thank you nonny for being invested with these two!! ❤️ i truly appreciate it 🫡

[waterdeep-weavemoss]

The sound of the water stirs him, but it’s Doe’s presence that wakes the captain. Pushing himself up from the chaise, he takes a few slow steps towards the bathing chamber door, her voice only slightly muffled from the other side. 

“Here, at home…” 

A corner of his mouth can’t help but twitch upward at the thought of Doe considering his ship to be her home. He waits a moment longer, both to continue to wake himself up and to settle the nerves beginning to tingle in his palms. 

“Hello, my darling,” Astarion says, just loud enough for her to hear from within. His fingers rest on the handle, ready to open the door at her command.

'Hey, baby boy,' says Doe softly. 'C'mere.' She stands and steps out of the clouded water, emptying the tub and filling it afresh. 'Smoke and cherries are a little too strong for me,' she says with a lopsided smile. 'Did you rest?'

She crosses to him, kisses him softly on the mouth. 'Sorry to wake you my love. Though now that you're here…' she takes his hand, guides it into her hair. 'Would you mind terribly washing that devil out of my hair?'

She gives him a cheeky smile, bright and sweet despite her tiredness. 'Pretty please?'

The softness in her face threatens to melt him to ash right there. Astarion's hand tightens into a gentle fist, fingers threaded within the dark strands of her hair. He admires her for a moment before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Of course, my sweet."

'I am,' she says, face breaking into a full grin. Stepping out of his grasp, she settles back into the water, dunking her head and re-emerging with the near-black tendrils of it clinging to her back. 'Now I really do look like a siren.' As Astarion settles in to washing her hair, she purrs at his gentle touch, leaning into it.

'Now, don't be too mad at me,' she says quietly. 'But Gale told me what happened to him, with the marid. So… I made a decision. Faust arrived with a note from Raphael. It said, if I ever needed him, to send the bird and he would find him.' She turns to meet his eye, almost comically upside down. 'I sent him to set up a meeting. My thought process was as follows.' She has a slightly formal lilt to her voice now, as though putting forward a legal case; she's thought this through, and won't be interrupted until she's done.

'As far as he knows, we're friends. And a powerful friend is better than a powerful enemy. He's done nothing to hurt me, in fact quite the opposite. He healed me, and he took a dance and only a dance as payment. Faust was a gift, though he may feel I owe him for that, as well. I suppose you never know with devils. In any case, he is someone who understands pacts, and how they are made and broken. If we can get some information out of him it may be of use. And if I have to keep him sweet to do that, well…' she shrugs. 'I'm prepared to. I'll discuss terms before I ask for anything. If the price is too steep, then we find other avenues. But you should know… he tried to manipulate me beyond my being inebriated. He called me 'captain', deliberately put the thought in my head that Karlach and Shadowheart were my crew, because he could tell I was upset and angry. In the moment he seemed harmless enough. Of course now I can see that it's a touch less harmless. He's trying to use me. For what, I don't know yet. But,' she says seriously, 'maybe we should take advantage of his good graces. It might be mutually beneficial.'

Astarion's fingers work a bar of shampoo throughout Doe's hair, listening. Though the idea slightly unsettles him, the confidence in her words is reassuring. He lathers her hair from root to ends, then slowly begins to rinse her hair with handfuls of water.

"I've heard rumors of a Raphael who lies in wait, palm outstretched to those in need," Astarion says quietly. "I don't want you to meet with him on your own."

She laughs softly. 'I was going to ask you if you'd go with me. I don't want to be alone with him either. Contrary to what some on this ship believe, captain,' she shakes her head playfully, drenching him in water, 'I'm not some silly little songbird. I could play him. He thinks I'm naïve, vulnerable. He's dead wrong.'

Astarion smiles, his playful tone returning now that he's fully awake. "Oh I know this," he says. "Which is precisely why I've been considering your position on board. I was thinking something along the lines of a spymaster -- how does that sound?"

'What?' Doe's jaw falls open, her stomach flipping at his words. 'You're serious?' When he nods, she grabs him by the shirt collar in a surge of water, kissing him hard. Where with Gale she was soft and yielding, this kiss is slightly possessive, a little dominant; the emotions she might've conveyed are drowned out by the sudden need to leave a mark. She even growls- unlike her, despite her tempestuous nature. She finally lets him go, eyes burning with passion, gratitude, and- ambition?

'Yes.' She takes in the sight of him then; curls dripping wet, shirt gone sheer, mouth in a little 'o' of shock. She smirks, satisfied. 'Pretty boy. Lost for words for once, hmm?'

Astarion’s moment of shock quickly turns devilishly wicked. “My my,” he tuts, leaning to lean in over the edge of the bath. “If that’s the thanks I’ll get for promoting you, you may reach captain status sooner than I’d thought.” He gets close enough to share breath, his lips hovering just above hers. “Ambition looks quite extraordinary on you, my dear.” He thinks for a moment, withholding the kiss. “Just like that red gown, which I noticed had been tossed in the fire — care to enlighten me?”

Doe whines softly, trying to press closer so he'll kiss her. 'I'm not going to usurp you, Astarion, don't you worry,' she says, a little gentler now. 'I'm not sure I'm built for leadership.' She shrugs; it's a clear insecurity. Booping his nose, she gets out of the bath, wrapping a towel around her head.

'You must have noticed the smell,' she says. 'I don't want to smell like him. So apologies, my captain, for acting out of turn. But I'm sure you will find time to mourn.' She pouts. 'But I need sleep. It's been a long night, and I am but a small defenceless little songbird who requires protection.' Her eyes gleam; she's not tired, just playing. 'I've told Gale to find me here in the morning. We have a lot of things to discuss and plans to make. Unless…' She tilts her head. 'You would rather do something else now, captain? I'll defer to your command, of course.'

“I think you’d make a fine captain, Doe,” Astarion says, rising to stand and prowling towards her. “And you know as well as I, you’re far from defenseless.” He admires Doe for a moment when he reaches her, lifting his hand to brush a finger along her jaw. That wicked smirk still graces his lips. “As far as the dress goes, I don’t mind at all — it just gives me an excuse to put something new together for you.” Taking her face in his hands, he finally presses a kiss to her lips. “I wouldn’t want to keep you awake after such a long night…” he tilts his head in thought, “but I could think of a few ideas. Though, I think I’d rather be at your command tonight.”

'Oh?' Doe's eyes glitter. 'I see…' She walks back into the main cabin and sits by the fire. 'Will you braid my hair for me? And, when you're done…' she smirks. 'I have a surprise for you to find. You'll have to play a game for it, though.'

Gazing up at him as he prowls after her, she admires the feral, wolflike way in which he moves, the peek of sharp white fang as he gives her that devastating lopsided smile. Mine she thinks. And Gale's… but for now…

'I love you,' she says simply. 'And I want you to memorise me with your hands.'

A low whine escapes Astarion as he walks to Doe, kneeling behind her before the fire. He begins sectioning her damp hair. “I love you too, Doe,” he says, taut restraint filling his voice. He begins neatly weaving the strands together. “What is it exactly that I’m looking for?”

'Good boy,' she says, leaning into his touch, reaching up to cup his jaw gently in her hand. 'You'll know it when you find it. But you'll have to be very thorough. I know you can do that, Astarion. You're a clever creature.'

Satisfied with the state of her hair when he's done, she takes his hand, guiding it over her throat, down her chest where the tendrils of her tattoo curl across it. 'Like this. Gentle, and slow, and deliberate.' Her voice drops to a sultry purr. 'Don't miss any spots. When you find it, and only then, you can have a taste, hmm? And,' she says, her mouth turning up into a small, impish smile, 'you have to close your eyes. You'll feel it when you get there. You must trust me. Okay?'

At his nod, she smiles, indulgent. 'Not enough, baby boy. Use your words. Tell me you understand what I want you to do, and that you'll obey like a good little pup.'

Astarion's mouth first parts in protest, but he's quick to playing the game. "As you wish," he whispers, closing his eyes but keeping his smirk. "I shall obey your every command."

His hands begin to rove just as she'd instructed: gentle, his fingertips softly grazing along her skin as they travel along the curve of her breasts. Slow, as if he'd needed to capture every minute of sensation as his hands travel further down towards her waist. Deliberate, because he'd needed to find whatever it was she was hiding from him, carefully traversing the plane of her stomach before making it to her hips.

Astarion lets out a satisfied purr when his hands roam over her rear, settling into a kneeling position before her. Eyes still closed, he reaches up a hand.

"Care to join me down here, my love?"

Doe lets out a soft sigh, focusing entirely on the sensation of his hands, cool against her skin. At his question, she strokes his curls gently, smiling.

'You're doing so good, sweet boy,' she says, taking in the sight before her. She runs a thumb gently over his cheek, soothing and soft, and then over his mouth, her thumb pushing between his lips to slide over his tongue. 'I rather like how I have you just now. Keep going, you're so close…'

She relishes the sight; the captain of this ship on his knees, eyes closed, trusting her with his body. 'I can't wait to see when you find it. When you do, you can open your eyes, and feast. But don't get distracted now, my love.' She removes her hand from his mouth, resists the urge to guide his head where it needs to go, and waits patiently. 'I promise it's worth it.'

Astarion's bones groan at the loss, but he remains determined and straightens his shoulders. His palms slide down the backs of her thighs, carefully wandering to the backs of her knees and around her calves. Gods, this was torture -- but whatever it was that she had waiting for him was within reach. And then…

He pauses at her ankles, rocking back to sit on his heels for a moment before he decides to put his hands on the insides of Doe's legs and making their way up and up and up at a painfully slow pace. His heartbeat picks up as his hands get closer and closer to the top of her thighs. "Please, darling -- tell me I'm getting closer," he whines playfully, his intrigue with the game and his desire for her battling within him.

'You certainly are,' she says in a hoarse whisper, losing her composure a little. His touch burns through her, even tickles a little. 'Up a little more, on the left.' Her breath hitches, hands moving to his shoulders to brace herself. 'Astarion you're so close now. A little further…'

Astarion follows her instructions once more, his desperation seeping through. His chest thrums at the feeling of her hands on him, reveling in her closeness as his fingers brush against a patch of skin with a peculiar raised outline that he can't quite make out. He hesitates there for a moment, as if awaiting her command.

'Clever boy,' she gasps. 'Now you can open your eyes. And if you want to drink… I'm all yours.' The heat from the tattoo burns almost uncomfortably hot, but his cool fingers soothe as they trace it. 'What did you find?' she asks, watching his face. 'And do you like it?'

Astarion's eyes open, and he's taken aback for a moment. There, etched into her skin, is the outline of a dagger. "It's beautiful," he breathes, eyes fixated on the dark ink. "Of course I like it, I--" Astarion searches for the words. It had been one thing, to see the skin of her shoulders marred with inky swirling tentacles in homage to Gale. Though he'd been jealous at first, the understanding had come. But this -- this secret nod to him, something shared only between the captain and his love…

The words did not make their way to his tongue. Instead, Astarion moved to stand, pressing his lips against Doe's in a claiming kiss, one hand at her jaw and the other at her back. He pulls her body close and plants needy kisses along her cheek, below her ear and down her neck - right until his fangs are lined up with precision. As the hunger stirs once more, he sinks his teeth into the soft bend of her neck, and drinks.

Having fed earlier, Astarion doesn't take much, though when he pulls his head back the warmth of her blood fills and warms him. He takes a few long, deep breaths before folding Doe within his arms. They stay like that for a moment, breathing her in and trying to match the pace of his heart to her own.

"I love you," he tells her. "And the dagger -- it's beautiful. It's everything."

'I love you.' Doe whispers, laying her head against his chest. She feels a little lightheaded, having been fed from earlier as well, and sleepy. Her body sags against him, heavy and pliant. 'My beloved boy. Nothing will ever take you from me. Ever.' She closes her eyes, breathing softly in his embrace. 'I think that's enough excitement for one day. I am feeling like a fragile little songbird just now.'

She gratefully accepts when he guides her to their bed, curling into his arms and falling straight to sleep; it is dreamless, deep, and safe. When she wakes to sunlight, she opens her eyes blearily. 'Mornin'. You're beautiful.' Kissing the tip of his nose, she cat-stretches. 'I think we missed breakfast. Oops.' She attempts to move, earning a soft growl in response. 'Astarion… we have a lot of work to do today. Things to discuss. Gale will be here any minute… you horrid little beast,' she says jokingly. 'You can't keep me all to yourself. Come on.'

Though truth be told, she found his growling protests warmed her, a blush creeping into her cheeks. The day ahead was daunting; not only training of the martial and magical kind, but Faust's return was imminent; they would have to face the devil at some point. Still, she had to at least try to be a voice of reason, however weak-willed that voice was.

[ailendolin]

What do you think about

🛁 Bathing together/platonic bathing (specifiy)

for Gabrian. I just see so much potential for angst and comfort at the same time 💙

Hello, dear 💙 Fingers crossed this ficlet comes close to what you had in mind when you sent me this prompt. I hope you'll like it!

Next up:

⚡ Scared of thunderstorms - Robin

🎶 Dancing - Robin, Humphrey’s body, Mary & alive Kitty

🥶 Cold - Fanny

✊🏽 Protecting - Thomas & Francis

💪🏽 Bridal carry - Pat & the Captain

🐾 Pet-names - Humphrey’s head and Annie

🎁 Presents - Julian

💀 Near-death experience - Milton, Mike & Death

Ask Game is here. Filled prompts are here, here & here on AO3.

Prompts for this ask game are closed.

————

Bath

🛁 Platonic bathing

“How are you feeling this morning?”

“Like someone ran me over with a cart,” Ian whispered hoarsely from the bed and gave her a pitiful look.

Gabriel smiled.

“Well, that’s better than half-dead,” she joked and placed her hand on his brow. “Your fever seems to have broken and your wound–“ She lifted the blanket and pulled the bandage on his thigh aside. “–no longer has that angry red colour to it. I think we can safely say you’re on the mend now.”

She didn’t make a big deal out of it but they both knew how close Ian had come to death after the infection set in.

“Anne and Susanna are heating up the tub if you think you’re up for a bath.”

The look of longing on Ian’s face was answer enough so Gabriel helped him out of the bed and wrapped a warm blanket around his shoulders before carefully assisting him down the stairs. When they entered the kitchen, Anne and Susanna both looked up from their work. Matching smiles lit up their faces the moment they spotted Ian.

“Someone’s feeling better, I see,” Anne said, the relief clear in her voice. Noticing the way Gabriel was holding him upright, her face softened. “It’s good to see you back on your feet, Ian.”

“Thank you,” Ian mumbled. “I’m sure I can make myself useful and repay you for your kindness in no time.”

Anne and Gabriel exchanged a glance before Anne wiped her hands on her apron and rounded the table.

“Don’t you worry about any of that, all right?” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You getting better is payment enough.” With another smile, she gave his shoulder a squeeze and let go. “We’ll leave you to it.”

Susanna followed her mother out of the room and once they had closed the door behind them, Gabriel said quietly, “I know you don’t think they mean it but they do. They’re good people who stand by their word.”

Colour rose to Ian’s cheeks and he ducked his head, embarrassed that his thoughts had been so plain for her to read. “I think I can manage from here.”

Gabriel frowned. The way his legs trembled, especially the injured one, begged to differ. She knew why he wanted privacy, though. He might not remember them dressing him in clean nightshirts after the fever took hold of him, but Gabriel did. The sight of bruises and scars, too many to count, littering his body was not something she would not forget anytime soon. They told the story of a harsh, unforgiving life – a lonely one, too – and as much as she understood his need to hide that from her, Gabriel knew she could not leave him alone, not yet; not when the fever had left him with so little of his former strength. “Please let me help you into the tub, at least. I promise I won’t look.”

Ian sighed but did not protest – another sign of the life he’d lived – one that had taught him not to disagree or argue with others. Keeping his shame-filled eyes firmly on the floor, he let go of her arm and reached for the table to steady himself. Gabriel silently looked away as he shrugged the blanket from his shoulders and struggled out of his nightshirt. She only stepped in when he tapped her arm to help him into the tub.

“Oh, this is heavenly,” Ian sighed once he was submerged up to his neck in the pleasantly warm water – a rare luxury he probably had not often been able to afford before. Gabriel sneaked a glance at his face: his eyes were closed in bliss and his lips were slowly relaxing into a small smile that tugged at her heart.

“Would you like me to wash your hair for you?” she asked him softly.

Ian blinked his eyes open, and when he looked at her, his face was full of wonder. “You’d do that?”

His voice broke on the last word and Gabriel felt her throat close up.

“Of course,” she reassured him. “It’s no trouble at all.”

With the utmost care, she poured water over his head and began to untangle the dull, wet strands of his hair with her fingers. She took her time with it and eventually allowed her touch to gentle into one of comfort until even the last bit of tension had drained out of Ian’s body. Only then did she reach for the soap.

“There,” she whispered after rinsing his hair again. “How does that feel?”

When Ian didn’t reply, Gabriel leaned around the tub to see if he might have fallen asleep. He hadn’t. His eyes were wide open and silent tears were running down his cheeks. “Oh, Ian.”

“I’m sorry,” Ian sniffed and turned his head away from her in shame. “It’s just–“

“I know,” Gabriel interrupted him softly to spare him the mortification of having to explain how overwhelming it was to feel a kind touch for the first time in years. She reached for his hand. “It’s all right. I understand.”

He nodded, more to himself than to her, before he bowed his head and stopped fighting against his emotions. His shoulders shook as sobs wrecked his emaciated body, and Gabriel held him through it all.

[skyler10fic]

Sweet Like Honey: Ch. 2 Pool Party

Summary:

Carol and Daisy meet some fellow guests at the pool (a few original and a few faces from the MCU), including giving Kate Bishop some bisexual encouragement and hope for her future.

Notes: This chapter is pure queer fluff, so if smut isn’t your thing, this one is for you.

Read on Ao3

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After lunch and some sun lounging, they made their way to the pool. They weren’t alone, though. More queer couples and groups floated around, gathered in corners, or relaxed in the hot tub. 

One of the guys called out to the others as they stepped in. “We have newcomers!” 

Daisy and Carol exchanged a look. They weren’t expecting this to be a social club. 

“I’m David,” he introduced himself to them and pointed to the others. “That’s Harry, my partner, then we have Kate, Trish, and Sharon. Jessica is too cool for us so she’s over there hiding in the shade. Then Matteo, Braydon, Joey, and Anderson. Hot tub crew is the enbies: Casey, Flynn, and Sequoia.”   

Daisy and Carol waved and said hello to the other guests whose names they had already forgotten. David was joined by Harry and some of the women. 

“I’m Carol, and this is my wife, Daisy. How do you all know each other?” Carol asked. Before, she had assumed that they were all strangers, but clearly she and Daisy had interrupted some sort of gathering. 

“Technically, we don’t,” one of the blond ones, Sharon, said cryptically. 

Kate, a young brunette in a flamingo float ring, rolled her eyes. “We say what happens at Pegasus stays at Pegasus. Like Fire Island or Dinah Shore. Or so they tell me. I haven’t been to those yet. But the point is, not everyone you meet is 100% out yet, but here, you can be whoever you wanna be.” Kate smiled and traced her fingers whimsically over the water’s surface. 

Daisy admitted, “We’ve never been to those either. Do you all meet up for vacation?” 

David spoke up with his chin in the air. “Only because I am a master planner. If I didn’t, we’d never see each other again. Most of us met here in college, but we switch up the vacay location every year. It’s Harry and I’s 10th-anniversary trip, so we came back to where it all started.”

“I’m new too,” Kate explained. “I’m Trish’s cousin. She brought me as a college graduation trip before I start work. How about you two? First timers? What’s your story?”

Jessica sighed at Kate’s enthusiasm from where she sat on the pool wall in the shade. “Maybe their story is they came to the pool to relax and want you to leave them alone.” 

Daisy dismissed Jessica’s comment. “No, no. It’s fine. It’s our honeymoon, and yes, our first time to the Cape in general for both of us.”

David slapped the water with his palms. “Shut up! First time here ever? Okay, we are here for you. What have you done so far?” 

Carol tried to remember the name of the restaurant. “Um, we went to a fish place on the boardwalk down there?” She gestured to the area with all the restaurants along the shore. 

Harry blinked. “Girl. That’s, like, all of them.” 

Carol looked to Daisy for help, but Daisy just shrugged and said, “It was a long day. Week, really. Months. We started planning our wedding in February.” 

“Of this year?!” David shrieked. “What?!” 

“That’s a lot of work,” Trish affirmed. 

Kate bounced in her flamingo ring. “Ooo I love weddings! Tell us about it! No, wait, tell us how your story of how you met and got together. Then the wedding.”

Daisy glanced at Carol and started, “We also met in college and were part of the same group of friends, then we got closer just the two of us and fell in love…”

“But I wasn’t out to my super homophobic parents yet. Then after we graduated, I lived with my best friend to help her with her little girl, my goddaughter.” 

“But then,” Daisy picked up, “they moved out to a house and my roommate got married to another one of our friends, so I asked Carol to move in with me a year and a half ago at Christmas, and then a year later, last Christmas, we got engaged.” 

Sharon asked, “Christmas proposal, nice. Who proposed?” Carol could tell she was trying to discern the dynamics of their relationship. 

“We both did,” Carol answered, smiling at Daisy. “We had the same idea. I got her a ring and put it in her stocking, and she did the same for me with her grandmother’s engagement ring.”  

“Aw, that’s adorable,” the others gushed.

“Not these, obviously,” Daisy explained. She held out her left hand with the silicone ring. 

“Good,” David sassed. “Because whew, I’d be trying to figure out how to tell you, honey, your grandma lied.”

They laughed as Carol held out her left hand next to Daisy’s. “No,” Carol confirmed. “These we got from a queer-owned outdoors company. They were exactly what we needed.”    

Upon closer inspection, the pool group saw that Carol’s was orange, white, pink, and maroon marbled and Daisy’s was purple, blue, and pink. 

“Are those your Pride flag colors? That’s so cute,” Kate cooed. “I want one! Not as like a wedding ring. Just for the bi flag like that.” 

Carol winked. “Catch me later and I’ll send you the link.” 

“Okay!” Kate got them back on track. “So after the mutual proposal, which is adorable, by the way, then what happened?” 

Of all of them, Kate and her genuine curiosity and friendliness charmed Carol most. 

David spotted the bar was empty and led his entourage to the pool stairs. Only Kate stayed behind, eager to continue their conversation and hear more about the wedding.

“We’re getting drinks,” he said, looking back over his shoulder at Daisy and Carol. “Come if you want to.” 

Daisy turned to Carol and touched her arm. “I could use a drink. Want me to get you something?” Her eyes flickered to Kate, signaling that they were clearly hitting it off and she didn’t want to take her away from her new admirer. 

“That mango margarita on the sign? Or something like that. You know what I like.” Carol shrugged. 

Daisy smiled and waggled her eyebrows in silly suggestiveness. “Yeah, I do.” 

She climbed the stairs out of the pool with a little extra swing in her hips, knowing Carol was watching as she emerged from the water with her bikini clinging to her body.

“Hashtag goals,” Kate sighed. “Both of you. Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.” Carol led them to the corner of the pool, and she leaned back and rested her arms over the side casually. For someone who got married two days ago, Carol was already feeling like a queer big sister to Kate.

“So, Daisy’s bi like me, right? That’s why she had that ring specifically?”

“Yep.” 

“Do you ever worry—this is dumb, sorry.” Kate hid her face in her flamingo.

“No, go ahead, we’ve been together for a long time. I promise we’ve heard it before. And if it can help you, it’s worth asking.” 

Kate looked off to the side and started again. “My last girlfriend broke up with me because she didn’t trust that she was really enough. She’d see me with boys and get so paranoid that I was going to leave her or cheat on her with my best guy friend because she thought it was easier for me being with him and pretending to be straight. She said I ‘acted straight’ with him. But I didn’t feel anything like that for him. I loved her so much, but no matter what I said, she didn’t believe me.” Kate sniffed and swallowed back her emotions. “Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” 

Carol frowned and lightly touched Kate’s forearm for a second to get her attention back away from her fresh memories of heartbreak. “Hey. That sucks. I’m so sorry to hear that. That’s her problem, not yours.” 

Kate nodded, so Carol continued. 

“And to answer your question, no. It was hard to believe at first that we could be happy because I’d had so much fear about my future and about being gay, but I don’t doubt Daisy when she says she loves me or worry she’d leave me. And definitely not cheat. She’s had every opportunity to find someone else or say this was too hard. My parents cut off contact and kicked me out when I came out to them, but Daisy and her family became my family too. Even long before I came out to my parents, they basically adopted me.” 

“Really?” Kate listened with interest. 

“After that night, telling my parents about us, I literally walked to their house in the snow on Christmas Eve and they took me in,” Carol recalled. It had only been a year and a half, but it seemed so long ago now. “But don’t worry. The right person will accept all of you.”

“Even being bi? Girls don’t trust me, but guys think it is some sort of kink or about having threesomes or something.”     

“Yeah, especially before we were engaged and had rings, sometimes guys would hit on one of us, assuming we’re just friends and not together like that. We laugh about it, but it sucks too. But my point is, she’s had plenty of offers if she wanted to find a guy, but she wants me and I trust her. I look at it this way,” Carol explained. “Out of everyone, of any gender, she chose me. She could have anyone she wanted, and she wants us. That’s true love.” 

Daisy returned with their drinks, and Carol pushed herself up to sit next to her on the side of the pool with their feet in the water. 

“I only heard the last bit about having anyone I wanted and something being true love,” Daisy confessed. “At least, I assume it was me? What are you two talking about?” 

“Kate is bi too and she’s faced some really bad biphobia,” Carol explained. 

Daisy sent Kate a look of sympathy. “Oh man, that sucks. I’m sorry. I’ve been there.” 

Carol continued, “She asked if I ever worried about you leaving me for a man, which is what her ex-girlfriend was worried about.”

“And why she broke up with me.” Kate traced her finger in the water mournfully. 

“And what did you say?” Daisy asked Carol, intrigued, and took a sip of her pink frozen cocktail. 

“I said a girl worthy of her will feel honored that she chose her out of everyone,” Carol repeated, slightly paraphrasing to emphasize the lesson to Kate, though she was talking to Daisy. “I told her you could have anyone you wanted. But you’re mine.”

“And you’re mine,” Daisy returned in contentment and put her free hand on Carol’s knee. “My wife.” 

Kate observed them with hope and heartache mixing in her big eyes and furrowed brow. “You didn’t ever wonder if life would be easier with a man?” 

“God no. First, men are not easier. The problems are just different,” Daisy scoffed before adding more seriously. “Second, it’s not us who need to change. It’s the world. Yeah, life would be easier without homophobia and biphobia. That’s the enemy. Not each other. And third, she’s worth it. Sure, I’d die for her, but what’s more important is the life we share. That kind of life isn’t about what’s easy. It’s about what’s worth fighting for.”  

Carol couldn’t help but peck a kiss to Daisy’s cheek. She moved her drink to her left hand and covered Daisy’s hand on her knee with her right. 

Daisy giggled as her hand reflexively stiffened under Carol’s. “Oh my god. Your fingers are so cold from holding your drink.” 

“So is yours!” Carol defended but moved her hand and didn’t know where else to put it. Daisy grabbed it with hers and intertwined their fingers. 

“It’s okay, we’ll warm each other up,” Daisy said, satisfied at their object lesson for Kate of what true love looked like. “When you find your person, labels and fears don’t matter so much if you know from a million little things that you can trust them to be there.”

“Thanks,” Kate said. “For listening and for talking to me about this stuff. You guys have helped more than any of them all week.” She nodded to where David and company were lounging on the deck chairs. Trish called to her. 

“What?” Kate called back and made her way over to the opposite side of the pool. Trish offered to buy Kate a drink if she’d get her a refill too. With that deal, Kate said goodbye to Carol and Daisy and headed over to the bar. 

Alone again, Daisy leaned in and said quietly, “Did you notice the guys’ names were Harry and David?” 

“What?”

“Like the fruit baskets. You know, those pear and apple boxes vendors send to the office at Christmas.” 

Carol laughed and tried not to spit out her drink. “Is it offensive if we start calling their group the fruit box?” 

Daisy thought for a second. “Hm, or even more specific… How about the pears?” 

“The As and Ps, the apples and pears society.” Carol bumped Daisy’s shoulder with her own. 

Daisy laughed and bumped her back. Carol put down her drink and tickled Daisy’s bare side with her cold fingers. 

“Don’t! Don’t. You’re gonna make me spill my drink.” Daisy laughed but got up and moved away, protective of her pink margarita slushie, and Carol pouted. 

“Come back! I promise I won’t.” 

Daisy gave her another chance, and, as soon as she was back, Carol pulled her in for a kiss, just because she could with no hesitations or dread of judgmental looks from strangers here. Somehow, their cold fingers didn’t bother each other this time. 

Carol pulled away from the kiss slowly but still kept her attention fully focused on Daisy. 

“What are you thinking about?” Daisy asked, noting the pride in Carol’s expression. 

Carol shook her head slightly. “Just so glad we’re the ones giving that talk now.”

“I didn’t think we ever needed that talk?” Daisy tilted her head. “At least I didn’t. Did you?” 

“Okay, I didn’t know enough about queer stereotypes to need that talk specifically,” Carol confessed. “But I just meant like, being the mentors. Giving hope to the youth. True love lives!” 

Daisy giggled. “The youth? She’s like three, four years younger than us?” 

“Graduation feels like a lifetime ago.” 

“True that.” Daisy raised her glass and Carol toasted it. To all the life experiences they’d been through since then: internships ended and jobs started, a post-grad degree completed and another abandoned, family gained and lost, tears cried and comfort given, fights and compromises, the ache of time apart and frustration of too much time in each other’s space, the reunion sex and the makeup sex and the lazy Saturday slow-burn sex just because they could. From anxious nights in a dorm wondering if they could make it work and someday have what they only dared to dream about to the blissful but real post-wedding exhaustion now. 

They drank their frozen cocktails and enjoyed observing the other guests. It was rare to be in a place so predominantly queer. Like on the boardwalk the night before, they could relax here. 

“I can tell why they keep coming back,” Daisy admitted and nodded to David’s group as they gathered up their stuff to leave and went back to their rooms. “It’s different than a normal vacation.” 

“Yeah, we don’t normally see that, for instance.” Carol gestured with her near-empty drink to the hot tub off to their right, where the androgynous 20- and 30-somethings they had been introduced to earlier had been replaced by two large, graying men, whose kisses were turning more and more passionate. Their wet T-shirts came off, and Daisy and Carol averted their gazes to allow them some privacy.

The only one left from David’s group was Jessica, who was far on the other side of the pool on the deck chairs with her sunglasses on and earbuds in with a book on her chest. 

“Either napping or pretending to nap so no one will bother her. Smart,” Carol remarked. “Seems like a good idea to me. What do you say, time to go back inside?” 

Daisy yawned in response at the mere suggestion. “Yeah, I guess so. The sun is making me sleepy. And the alcohol.” 

They toweled off, slipped on their flip-flops, and put their empty glasses on a return tray at the bar, then headed up to their room for showers and a nap before they needed to get ready for their fancy dinner reservation at the resort restaurant.