#remembered i had a few of these half-answered in my drafts HI
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*poke poke* 19, A, B and E for Grimm?
19) What is their favorite number?
dunno actually. at least nothing has presented itself as a recurring number in the story yet so ??? for now
A) Why are you excited about this character?
dog imagery babey! specifically coyote imagery <3
B) What inspired you to create them?
i talked abt it a bit here, but grimm was initially inspired by nezumi from no. 6 in that they're both ppl who have been raised in really harsh worlds who have a pretty bleak outlook on life. also the dark hair/grey eyes deal hehe it does look a lot like meis from promare but that was more of a coincidence than intention
tht being said there's also my love for coyotes and i wanted a character to really explore dog motifs with. i'm not one to really make characters who are literally dogs or anthro characters all that often so humanoid dogperson it is yeehaw
E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?
mmm. we would get along, but only on a surface level. that's bc grimm is so adverse to connecting with people, but isn't bad at talking to people. i know i'm decently chatty, so i feel like there would be a substantial amount of conversation, but everything on grimm's end would be a heavily omitted truth or just a straight up lie, the way they treat nearly everyone
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YN YLN and Charles Leclerc Take a Couples Quiz
pairing: charles leclerc x reader
author's note: this has been in my drafts for wayy to long, so ive decided to just finish it off and post it. im sorry lmao but i just couldn't watch this rot away in my wips any longer.
masterlist
๑ ⋆˚₊⋆────ʚ˚ɞ────⋆˚₊⋆ ๑
The video cut to you and Charles, sitting opposite each other in front of a yellow to red gradient, smiling at the camera.
"Hi! I'm YN", you say cheerfully.
"And I'm Charles"
"And we are here to take a couples quiz!"
You are handed a stack of questions from a person off screen, and turn towards Charles.
"Are you ready?"
"Is that the first question?" he retorts.
Your face drops, now showing slight annoyance but there is still a small smile you try to hide. "That's it. Minus 1 points."
"Oh c'mon! That is not fair."
You turn to argue but the video cuts to a different scene in which you ask the actual first question.
"What things do I have, of yours, that are my favourite?
He looks up in thought before chuckling and replying. "Theres a lot, you steal my stuff all the time."
You grin. "Yes, but what's my favourite?"
"My shirts? No wait! My bracelets?" He asks.
"Yeah!" you exclaim. Turning to the camera you add. "He gets so many bracelets from fans and they are all so pretty. We keep them in a bowl on our dresser so I like to take a few whenever I go out."
Looking back at Charles, you add. "You didn't know the answer, but you still got it right so I think you deserve half a point." The staff behind the camera gives you a thumbs up, noting it down for when they would edit the video.
"Ok! Next question- which song of yours is my favourite?"
He looks at you, his eyes widening with a confused expression on his face. He looks at the camera crew and then back at you.
"C'mon, I only have 2 it's not a very hard question."
"Then answer it." you reply, looking at him with a small smirk.
"Fine. Uh, AUS23."
"Wrong!" you exclaim, laughing at the way his jaw drops in surprise.
"Then what? I know its not Miami."
"Its the one you wrote for Baku." you slyly say, knowing fully well that he hadn't released it and you were possibly the only one other than him to have heard it.
You look down at the cards you had been given, reading off the next question. "What is the first thing I eat in the morning?"
You see his smirk growing in your peripheral vision and cut in before he answers. "If you dare make a joke, I will murder you."
He laughs at that, chuckling as he looks up to think. "Um. Breakfast? It's different things every morning, but if I wake up before her then I make cereal."
Noticing the evident confusion on the faces of the cameramen, you elaborate. "It's the only thing he's allowed to make without me present. The last time I let him cook alone, he burned the pancakes and half our kitchen."
Turning red at the story, he interrupts. "Okayy, next question amore."
"Which side of the bed do I sleep on?"
"Left."
"If I could get a tattoo of something, what would it be?"
"A bouquet of flowers. The flowers would be your favourite and my favourite together."
You are shocked at his response. "How did you remember that? I told you that ages ago!"
He smiles slyly to the camera. "That is why I am the best boyfriend, there is no need for these silly questions I am already the best. She told me so in be-"
"Right. Next question." You cut him off, eyes widening as you figure out where he was going with the statement. "This is the last one. If I could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?"
"Oh this is easy. Italy. You are always talking about how much you love it. But you also love Monaco and France so depending on how you feel, one of those three."
"Well.", you look at the camera, "I think that answer deserves 2 points." Handing your questions off to the side, you turn to Charles who has started reading the first of his questions.
"If I had a ticket to anywhere in the world, where would I go?" he reads. "This is similar to yours", he mutters.
"Home", you say confidently. "He's a mama's boy, tries to go back home as much as possible."
He blushes slightly before nodding to the camera. "Yup, 1 point."
"What was I wearing on our first date?"
You reply quick as lightening. "A shirt and pants. Very gentlemanly, I remember thinking, probably the best first impression I've had of a guy."
His eyebrows raise at the confession, cockily tilting his head in the direction of the camera. "You heard her! Next, what is something I hate?"
"A lot of things, Char."
"Is that your final answer, cherie?"
"Um." you pause. "Oh I know! When manipulate stuff that you say. It makes me really mad too. It gets really tiresome when they take stuff that Charles has said that turn into into a different story altogether."
"Thats true, I do hate that." He smiles at you, reaching over to squeeze your hand once to say thank you.
"How many kids do I want?"
"3, because you have 2 siblings. But, you said you want as many as I am comfortable with!"
"Of course, amour. You're the one whose going to be carrying them, your choice is more important here. What is something I get annoyed about?"
"Oh, when Seb and Carlos beat you at those Ferrari games you play."
His jaw drops in faux offence, shaking his head as he reads out the last question on his cue card.
"What is one my hidden talents?"
You look straight at the camera, not dissimilar to The Office. A smirk grows on your face and the lens zooms in. In the background Charles can be heard complaining.
"Oh I see! You can make these jokes, but I cant?"
The video cuts to the wider angle once again, you and Charles wave at the camera.
"Thanks for watching our couples quiz! I think it's clear that I've won."
Charles rolls his eyes, eyes shining with admiration and love for you. "Bye everybody."
Comments:
charleslover: OH MY GOD!! THEY ARE SO IN LOVE IT KILLS ME
ynandcharles: their facial expressions always kill me
username89: where do i get a charles leclerc bcs i will willingly offer all the money i have
doratheexplorer16: their love for each other hurts
#formula 1#f1#f1 x reader#charles leclerc#formula one#vanishingcherry#leah writes ──⋆˚₊⋆ ๑#charles leclerc one shot#charles leclerc imagine#charles leclerc x reader#charles leclerc fluff#charles leclerc blurb#formula one x reader#formula 1 x reader#charles leclerc x you#charles leclerc x female reader#charles leclerc fanfic#charles lecrelc#scuderia ferrari#couples quiz
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https://www.tumblr.com/webslingingslasher/721605644038389760/pregnancy-scare-with-fratpeter-what-would-he-do?source=share
Is there ever a pregnancy scare after they're in the girlfriend phase?
*cleaning out my drafts. mentions of pregnancy and a slight suggestion of abortion.*
you groan at the gentle shake you're receiving and you shrug it off while half awake. you're unbelievably tired and the small window of rest you got wasn't enough.
'trouble? c'mon, get up.' peter's hand comes down rough on your backside, you whine and roll over. 'but i'm sleepy-eepy.' the warmth of peter's bed is ripped away from you, he's holding the blanket in his hands.
'now i'm cold.' and while it's not peter's fault and he's only doing what you asked, you feel a little frustrated at the knowledge of not being able to go back to sleep.
'if you get up now, i'll shower with you. ten, nine, eight, seven... that's my girl, super proud of you.'
you might've woken up grouchy, but peter set your mood right in the shower and now you keep giving his arm little kisses. 'my handsome man.' peter speaks into your hairline, 'it's just a white shirt, you heathen.'
you softly dig your teeth into the thick of his bicep while his aunt has her back turned mixing up a side salad. you pull back without a trace and talk into his skin. 'and my man looks so yummy in it.'
'see? that nap energized you more than you thought.'
'that or your precious mouth and nice way you use it on me.' peter gives you a charming smile. 'you're on a roll tonight, trouble.' you wrap your arms around his and give a final mark, it's time to be a smidge respectful in his childhood home.
peter breaks away to refill your wine glass and top may's off. you thank him with a small kiss, may thanks him by asking him to grab rolls from the oven.
---
there's a positive pregnancy test in your shaking hands. each time you blink it becomes more and more clear, you clutch your stomach as if you already had a month nine belly.
'fuck.'
what are you supposed to do?
tears fall fast, they hit your palms and positive test before you look around the bathroom. why are you alone? where's peter? you think of your boyfriend, you think of how royally fucked this makes things.
call it selfish but you wanted peter all to yourself for a few years and now you're jumping forward a hundred steps. 'fuck.' this isn't fair to either of you, you don't have it figured out yet.
you stare at the test one more time, you need to be sure. you close your eyes and count to ten, no matter how many times you try, the answer doesn't change.
'holy fucking shit, i'm-'
about to piss your pants. you fly up from the bed lightning fast, hightailing it to peter's bathroom before holding your head in your hands. you're drowsy and reminding yourself it was just a dream, but it felt so real.
but, no, just a dream. it's a dream because you're not pregnant. you just had your period... you just had it... it's only been... your stomach drops, why can't you remember? in four seconds you are wide, wide awake and you're going for your phone on peter's nightstand.
it's three in the morning and you haven't had a period in at least five weeks.
'peter, get up.' you're not soft spoken or gentle, you're full of terror and he's about to be too. you push at his arm roughly, it stirs him just enough you could break through the sleep.
'peter, get up right now.' a slow whine, you're not playing and his stubbornness is about to have you wake up the entire apartment complex. 'get the fuck up, peter.'
you're mean but it's the only thing stopping you from going full blown psycho and curling into a screaming, crying ball on his floor.
'peter,' you rush out his name one more time, this time he responds.
'what’s go-‘
'i think i'm pregnant and i'm about to freak the fuck out and i really, really need you to keep me from doing that right now.' it hits all at once, you try to breathe but you can't. it's peter's turn to fly up from the bed, he only goes as far as he needs to wrap you in a tight hug.
'trouble,' the name makes you sob, you really are trouble. 'shh, you're okay, we're okay.' it's not fair of peter to hold you calmly as if he's not scared shitless himself. 'we're so fucked, peter. i ruined everything.'
your mind is spinning and your boyfriend is keeping you grounded. 'nothing is ruined, nothing is fucked. we're okay, i promise we're okay.' no, peter's not thinking how you are. he doesn't understand what you just did to you both.
'i did, i really, really did. we just graduated, we don't live together, you're still waiting for that research position to open and my boyfriend slash baby daddy is going to die because he's also spider-man.'
it's all ruined. you don't even know what you ruined and that's the worse part, you ended it before it started.
'hey, trouble. one thing at a time, okay? we have time to figure it out if we need to. do we need to go get a test?' you nod, the idea of your dream turning into reality makes you want to sob.
'speaking of dying, i killed the last three plants ethan gave me. so, how nice is that? a dead dad and a mom who kills.' peter hugs you tighter, he wants to push all your suffering into him right now. you go one further, this is the final nail in the coffin.
'what if i'm not ready to be a mom?'
'we have time to figure-' he doesn't understand. 'no, what if i'm not ready to be a mom?' a soft kiss on your forehead tells you he read between the lines, it also tells you he doesn't resent you for the idea.
'i'm here for you, okay? i'm here for whatever decision you make and we'll figure it out together. we're a team. and i promise you, trouble, i'm not dying. kid or no kid, i won't let spider-man be the thing that does me in.'
you want this with peter, you really do. just... not now. a baby this young was never in the cards, you feel like you shouldn't be in this position but you played stupid games and won an unexpected prize.
'fuck. peter, i really think i might be pregnant.'
peter's being a strong front because you need it but he's just as unprepared as you are. 'have you been feeling sick?' you shake your head, you've felt normal until this very moment.
'i had i dream i was staring at a positive test and it felt so real that it woke me up and then i couldn't remember the last time i had my period so i looked at my phone and we're charting into week five.'
peter almost lets a curse slip, he contains it for you. 'okay, we're okay. i promise we're okay, we just need to make sure if you're pregnant or not. can you wait until morning or do we need to go now?'
peter using 'you' and 'pregnant' in the same sentence makes you want to throw up and you can't blame it on potential morning sickness. you're disgusted in yourself. this wasn't the timeline.
you couldn't last another few hours in this state, you'd go mad in record timing. 'now. right now.' in under a minute peter is stuffing a hoodie over your head and a shirt over his. you feel yourself on the verge of a breakdown but peter's outstretched hand tells you he's here for it.
---
'what if you resent me in like...' peter's already shaking his head, you can't put a date on it, what if it's now? 'wait, is it already happening? do you hate me?'
peter stops with you outside of the bodega right up the road from his apartment, he had been listening to your spiral the entire time with a calm demeanor.
'stop. i know this wasn't the plan and i know this isn't what we wanted right now but i don't want you thinking i could ever hate you or blame you for this. i wish i could make you feel better about this, trouble. i love you, i love you more than i have ever loved anything. i love you more than i thought was possible. i love you more than any song or book or movie could ever describe. and guess what? i'd love our kid just the same. shit, maybe even more cause you gave me one.'
is it hormones or is it because that's the best thing he could've ever told you at this moment? you crush him in a hug, he's a little surprised but holds you just the same. 'thank you.' for the first time since you woke up, you're able to breathe.
peter doesn't say you're welcome because you don't have anything to thank him for. he's doing what he'd do if this was however many years in the future and when it was a bit more planned. 'i didn't bring my wallet.'
peter scoffs, 'you think i'd make you pay for this?'
'i already feel like a burden.'
'trouble.' you bite your tongue, if peter can be nice enough to hold a poker face, you can stop telling yourself he secretly hates you. you need an answer and it lies inside the shop in a little box.
peter's holding the test, you couldn't bring yourself to touch it. you're standing in front of the refrigerator section staring at the drink selection, more than half focused on your reflection instead. peter catches on and taps your hand, you blink awake and look at three different cans before your brain hurts.
'what should i get?'
'whatever you want, trouble.'
'i can't think.' you can't. it's either total silence and dissociation or racing thoughts, you don't know peace anymore. if you're carrying his child, peter can pick a drink for you.
'hm. are you in the mood for something flavored?'
sweet. sugary. something to coat your mouth with a lasting aftertaste even if the news you were about to receive was on the bitter side.
'yeah.' peter nixes the three shelfs of water. 'carbonated or not?' too much of a choice, you shrug half-heartedly. 'i don't know.' peter looks behind him, a different choice entirely.
when's the last time you had an icee?
you don't notice peter walk off, you slipped back into staring at yourself in a baggy hoodie. if you jumped forward six months, how tight would it be?
peter grabs a small cup, looks at the clear-blue box in his hand and grabs a large one instead. a mixture of cherry and coke, it's nearly freezing his hand. it's going to be enough to keep your mind in the land of the living.
you find peter, lean against his back and close your eyes, he makes small movements and allows you to rest your weight on him. you're tired. mentally and emotionally. 'trouble?' you perk up again, peter halfway turns to hand over a frozen drink big enough for four.
'a slushie?' you give it a taste, you sip it down until your throat burns. 'heck yeah. and look at that, you love it.' he's not wrong. you can't remember the last time you had one and this somehow just made things a little better.
'it's making me feel better.'
'see? everyone needs some sugar now and then.'
---
for someone who made peter get out of bed at three in the morning and force him down to the corner store for a pregnancy test, you sure can't stomach the idea of taking it.
if it's a no, it'll be the biggest breath of fresh air you've ever had. if it's a yes, you and peter's life is about to forever change and you don't think you're ready for that yet.
you might not get peter to yourself for a few years, but you have him tonight and that's comfort enough. 'ready?' you intertwine your fingers with peter as he asks and pulls you out the front door. it's a quiet walk back sharing your cup of sugar before you silently creep back inside his aunt's apartment.
'ready to pee?'
you shake your head, peter offers his laptop up. ten minutes into a show, you have to go. fifteen minutes, it's pressing. twenty and you're about to burst.
you're not ready for the answer.
you'd be a bad mom.
'i drank wine tonight, peter. that's so bad, i'm such a bad person.'
'you're not a bad person, trouble. guess what? no one knows they're pregnant until they know. it's not your fault you kept living life how you normally do.'
you might've fucked things up but you chose the best person to do it with.
'i have to pee.' for just a teeny, tiny second- peter's guard faults. he's just as scared of the results, it fills you with solace. you're not the only one here who doesn't want this, even if he won't tell you so.
'want me to come with?'
you shake your head and don't even look at the box when you swipe it from his desk. your hand shakes as you tear the blue plastic, it's dawned on you that this is the first time you've ever taken one. you never thought you’d be here.
you hold your eyes closed while you do it as if the results would show immediately. you snap the cap back into place and hide it behind you. starting a five minute timer, you wait on the answer to the future.
poking your head out from his bathroom you clear your throat. 'counting down.'
'how are you feeling? still doing okay?' you nod, you're really thankful he has your back tonight. it's nice to know that when you're truly falling apart, he's your backbone.
'i love you.'
'i love you too, sweetheart.'
you've been so good and so brave this whole time, you haven't cried once. but that just broke you and you can't place why. you try to will away the sting in your eyes, it doesn't work.
a broken whimper and you can't hold it in anymore.
you fall apart and before you could collapse to the floor, peter's tucking you into his chest and kissing your head. 'shh, you're okay. i promise you're okay, you have me. you'll always have me.'
'promise?'
'i promise, trouble. don't you remember? i couldn't let you go if i tried.'
'i know you said to stop but i'm really sorry and i need you to know that.' peter feels his heart break, he must've done something wrong at some point to make you think he could ever be upset at you for this.
but peter thinks you need him to accept it. 'it's okay. i know you're sorry and it's okay.' you relax and exhale into him, you stop your tears because crying is useless and it's only making you feel worse.
'i'm being so annoying, aren't i?'
'not in the slightest, do you see how long it took you to cry?'
you sniff and wipe away any stray tears before giving peter a pathetic pucker. 'kiss, please.' you're granted the slow and soft kind, the one that is just pure care and adoration.
'will you promise to keep having sex with me if i'm pregnant?'
peter can't hold in his laugh, you hear yourself and giggle with him. 'i promise, trouble. you can get it anytime. i mean, you already do, but with my baby in you- you'll get absolutely anything you want, whenever you want.'
'even if i want cheetos at two in the morning?' peter thinks that's light work, he graces your cheek with a kiss of the same kind. 'especially then.' it's not always rainbows and butterflies. 'what about when my belly pops, my hormones hit the ceiling, my feet are swollen, i'm hot all the time, and i just constantly scream at you?'
'you wouldn't do that.' well, you're not planning on it but you have no idea what effects this will have on you. 'but if you did, i'd take it in stride. if i was carrying around twenty pounds that made me constantly want to piss my pants, i'd be grumpy too.'
'we're gonna be so tired.'
'we already are.'
you chew on your bottom lip for a moment. 'what if i get stretch marks?'
'from growing my kid? couldn't think of anything sexier, trouble.'
it's not what was planned, but if this is how it'll be, you'll be okay. peter was right, you would figure it out. together.
'you have an answer for everything.'
'that's why you love me so much. you needed to find someone who could keep up with you.'
'and oh boy can you keep up and catch me.'
you match his smile, you feel good. you feel like things aren't so ruined now. 'it's my favorite thing to do.' you scrunch your nose up at him before giving a small jump to your alarm tone.
you end the timer. 'oh god.' that.
'don't undo what we just did. no more panic, we're okay with this, right? if it's a yes, we're doing this?'
it's terrifying to think you could be a parent in under a year but something tells you that you'll be just fine with peter by your side. 'yeah, we're doing this.'
peter nods towards his bathroom door, 'ready?'
for the first time tonight, you feel confident. 'yes.' you back up for the results, wrapping your palm around the middle until you're next to peter again.
you both take a deep breath and you finally get to see the answer.
peter exhales out, 'holy shit.'
your shoulders slump when you mutter out, 'thank god.'
'holy fuck, i thought my stomach was about to come out of my ass for a second. don't get me wrong if it was-'
'i was right there with you, petey. we could've figured it out but thank god we don't have to.' you hold a hand over your heart and feel calm wash over you. 'are we bad people for being happy about this?'
peter shakes his head. 'no, not at all. we're not ready for that yet, but now we know we could be.'
you think you're speaking for the both of you and you think it needs to be said. 'to be clear, we do want kids, just later down the road. and this was just a little scare but now that we know we don't want any right now, we should be a little more careful about how we do things, right?'
'a hundred percent, trouble. you said it before i could.'
'good.' you take another peek at the test, double confirmation. 'now can you please feed me? i'm famished.'
even if you weren't pregnant, peter would do anything for you.
'anything my baby wants, she gets.'
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Hihi can you do a luke x reader fic where reader has had a crush on him for the longest time but he never liked her back and once she started to loose feelings and liking other people he gets jealous and ends up liking her and they get tgt in the end
I love ur writing sm!!🙈🙈
THANK YOU!! 😽😽
I actually have the perfect idea for this in my drafts, omg.
EVERY1 WANTS HIM. luke (pjo)
( master list )
IN WHICH… Y/N L/N realizes she didn’t the only girl hopelessly in love with Luke. And when she finally lets him go, that’s when he decides to reciprocate her precious feelings.
“Everyone wants him, that was my crime. The wrong place at the right time.”
Warnings : Y/N is kind of girly, details differ, angst
—
Love was a funny topic. It often left you breathless with your head spinning and your heart pounding so fast that you feared it would abruptly stop. Or sometimes, it filled you with a sense of dread and envy that engulfed you. Y/N was the latter.
Being an Aphrodite child, she had no problem catching the attention of the guys at camp, including Luke Castellan’s.
He was the golden boy, the role model, the literal blueprint to a great demigod warrior. And Y/N was practically perfection in a human’s body. So why was keeping his attention so hard?
Y/N had tried to deny her feelings for Luke after realising he rarely batted an eye in her direction, yet every time she smelled his cologne, she almost swooned. Him sending her occasional bright grins when he decided to acknowledge her didn’t help either.
“Y/N, can you help Luke with setting up the targets?” Chiron’s voice snapped Y/N back to reality. She suddenly remembered that she was standing on a large grassy plane, awaiting to teach a band of small kids archery. Well, more like Luke was going to do the teaching part. She was only there as a small punishment for being out past curfew.
“Right.” She stammered, hurrying over to Luke. He handed her a target from his pile and when their fingers brushed, Y/N almost jolted. “Sorry.” She muttered.
She felt a little stupid right now. She wasn’t usually the shy one when it came to interactions with guys. Luke merely smiled, his gaze following her as she placed the target down, providing Y/N with false hope.
“You’re better at archery than I am. You should be teaching.” Luke uttered after a moment of silence. Chiron had already wandered off to attend to other parts of camp, leaving the pair of older kids alone.
“I’m not that good.” Y/N quickly replied.
Luke was silent for a minute more before he spoke again. “Why do you act so defenceless and dumb?”
It took Y/N a short second to register his words. “Excuse me?” She choked out. Was he insulting her? Last time she checked, she was decently smart. Definitely not on Annabeth’s level but her grades had always been higher than average.
“I’m not calling you dumb.” Luke quickly corrected himself, “But I’m just wondering why you pretend to be so weak when you’re actually a good fighter and why you hide your intelligent side and focus on your looks. Why do you act stupid to get male validation?”
Y/N didn’t know the answer to his random question. “Nobody likes a smart and strong girl.” She whispered as she set up the last target.
“Well, I must be a nobody then. My type is smart and strong.” Luke grinned before his eyes darted over to Silena, who stood a few meters away. “Your sister’s waiting for you.”
Y/N glanced over her shoulder, subtly waving at Silena. “I’ll get going then. Bye, Luke.”
“See ya, Duke.”
Y/N momentarily paused, “What did you just call me?” She asked in confusion.
“Duke. As in, Heather Duke? You know, from Heathers? She acts dumb but is actually really smart, just like you.”
Y/N could only stare at Luke with her lips slightly parted. “Okay.” She breathed. “Bye.” She jogged over to Silena, quickly grabbing her half-sister’s arm.
“He gave me a nickname.” She whispered to Silena.
On instinct, Silena squealed. “Oh, my gosh! He’s totally into you!” The younger camper effortlessly fed Y/N’s delusions. “Make your move at the campfire tonight, don’t be shy!” Silena nudged Y/N with her elbow.
“Do you think he actually likes me?” She mumbled. Silena immediately nodded. Y/N shakily inhaled. “I guess I could… sit with him at the campfire.”
Silena happily clapped her hands. “Let’s go find you the perfect outfit!”
The campfire was in a few hours. The sun was slowly beginning to set, giving Camp Half-Blood a break from its harsh and burning rays.
Silena dug around in Y/N’s closet, messily throwing articles of clothing over her shoulder.
“What on earth are you doing?” Drew scowled in disapproval as she was hit in the face with a short brown skirt.
“Y/N’s going to make a move on Luke and she needs to look sexy!” Silena exclaimed amongst all the chaos.
Drew lightly scoffed. “Just throw her into a black top and mini skirt. She looks good in anything.”
Silena gasped as she stood up straight. “You’re right!” She scrambled around to find what she was looking for before shoving a black off-shoulder top and a short grey and white plaid skirt with hints of brown into Y/N’s arms. “Get changed! Now!”
Y/N quickly hurried into the bathroom, a little overwhelmed by Silena’s sudden enthusiasm.
“Are you sure about this?” She mumbled, trying to tug the skirt down. She usually wore short skirts but never in front of Luke.
“It’s fine, stop fidgeting with it.” Drew snapped, linking arms with Y/N. Silena did the same on the other side, the two girls practically dragging Y/N out of the cabin. She nervously gulped as they neared the roaring fire.
“I’ve never seen you this nervous.” Drew piped up. It was true. Y/N was almost like a flirting machine yet her heart was always stuck on Luke Castellan.
Y/N’s eyes scanned the small crowd huddled around the campfire, freezing when she spotted Luke in the company of another girl. Silena, wondering why Y/N had abruptly stopped walking, followed her gaze.
“Oh… that’s…” Silena wrinkled up her nose, nudging Drew.
“That’s not right.” Drew furrowed her eyebrows together.
Y/N watched with an aching heart as Luke slung an arm around the girl’s shoulder and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
The girl in Luke’s arms immediately glanced at Y/N, knowingly grinning as if to silently say “There’s another girl in Luke Castellan’s life”.
Y/N almost started trembling. “I…” She clawed at her throat, “I can’t breathe.”
Drew immediately grabbed Y/N’s wrists. “Calm down.” She demanded, “You are Y/N fucking L/N. You don’t need a man. You are an absolute powerhouse by yourself!”
Y/N shakily inhaled before she nodded. She resisted the urge to glance at Luke again, knowing it would only suffocate her even more.
“Y/N, no offence, but maybe Luke just… doesn’t like you as much as you like him.” Silena murmured, despite being one of the only people that constantly fed Y/N’s imagination.
Y/N stared at the ground, feeling a mix of anger, sadness, and happiness all in one. Angry that Luke led her on. Sad that Luke would never see her the way she saw him. And happy that she no longer had to withstand the pain of seeing him with other girls.
“We can skip the campfire.” Silena gently said, placing a hand on Y/N’s shoulder.
Y/N quickly lifted her head, her lips curved into a delicate frown. “No. Find me someone to flirt with.”
“Theo, Ares kid. Handsome, good fighter, surprisingly didn’t inherit his dad’s anger issues.” Drew pointed a tall brunette boy sitting amongst his siblings. As Y/N stormed off towards Theo, Drew leaned to the side to whisper to Silena.
“She really is mother’s daughter.”
“Theo. Hi.” Y/N stopped in front of the teenager, smiling at him. Theo paused, lifting his gaze to stare at Y/N in surprise.
“Oh! Y/N… hi!” Theo looked unnaturally happy to see Y/N. He grinned up at her, welcoming her to sit next to him.
“I thought you would be sitting with Silena and Drew.”
“I decided I needed a change.” Y/N clasped her hands together as she gazed at Theo. She saw his cheeks turn bright red.
“And you chose to sit next to me of all people?”
Y/N shrugged, “Yes. Is there something wrong with that?”
“No!” Theo stammered, “I just wasn’t expecting you to sit with me! Because you’re so pretty- does that sound weird? Uh, you’re just really beautiful- that sounds weird.”
Theo’s siblings looked over at him and mockingly snickered together as he tripped over his words.
Y/N merely stared at him, her glossed lips set in a slight curious pout. “You think I’m pretty?” She asked, batting her lashes.
“Everybody thinks you’re pretty. Not just because of your looks but because of your vibe.”
Y/N’s cheeks unintentionally heated up. “Oh.” She murmured, glancing at Silena who was eagerly watching the pair. The ravenette subtly pointed over at Luke, whose jaw was clenched. His attention was no longer on the girl beside him and, instead, his focus rested on Y/N.
“Are you trying to make Luke jealous?” Theo suddenly asked. Y/N quickly turned her head to face him. “It’s not hard to tell you have a crush on him. I mean, he probably knows at this point.”
“I’m not that obvious.” Y/N retorted.
Theo chuckled as he took a sip from his drink. “You’re about as subtle as a sword. You wanna make him jealous? I’ll help you. I know how a guy’s mind works and right now, he wants to strangle me for even looking at you.”
“Why would you even offer to help me with such a ridiculous task?”
“I like watching chaos.” Theo moved closer to Y/N, their shoulders gently brushing. “And I like causing it even more.” He grinned, “What do you say? Partners in crime?” He held out his hand for a hand shake.
“I like the sound of that.” Y/N laughed as she pulled Theo into a tight hug, “I don’t think a handshake would cause enough chaos, though.”
Theo had that same mischievous glint in his eyes as Y/N did. “You’re right.”
“You should’ve seen Luke.” Silena giggled as she washed her perfectly clear face, “He was practically fuming!”
“He deserves it.” Drew piped up as she carefully plucked out any stray eyebrow hairs. “Leading Y/N on then acting like he’s all innocent. What a jerk. You’re better off without him, honestly.”
Silena hummed in agreement. “Hermes boys are always telling lies.”
Y/N remained quiet as she wiped the excess water off her face. Sure, she felt annoyed that Luke had played with her feelings but small part of her still yearned for his attention.
“Yeah. I guess.” Y/N whispered. Drew and Silena left the bathroom, leaving Y/N to tend to herself. She stared at her reflection, taking in the dark circles that had begun forming and how her smile never looked genuine anymore. Her lips were curved but there was no joy in her eyes.
“Y/N, are you coming? We’re watching to all the boys I’ve loved before.” Silena poked her head into the bathroom, alerting Y/N.
As Aphrodite children, romcoms were their favourite movies. They spent a lot of time watching crazy rich asians, 2000 romance movies, and even gossip girl purely for the unbelievable drama.
“Yeah, I’m coming. Hang on.”
Y/N practically stumbled out of her cabin. It was still dark, the sun still hiding behind the mountain peaks. Dim lanterns lit her path as she begrudgingly started jogging around the camp grounds. She was using it as a method to clear her mind, but she unexpectedly crashed into Theo.
“Morning.” He grinned down at her. “You out for a morning jog?”
“I have nothing better to do.” Y/N muttered back as she spotted some movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Luke slipping on his camp shirt as he stepped out of the Hermes building, barely awake. He saw Y/N and Theo but didn’t bother acknowledging them.
“Someone’s grumpy today.” Theo joked, lightly nudging Y/N. “He’s probably still jealous over last night.”
Y/N folded her arms over her chest. “I still don’t get why he’d be jealous. It was fun at first but why exactly would he be envious of you?”
Theo sent her a surprised look. “If a pretty girl was throwing herself at me and then suddenly stopped and gave other guys attention, I’d be jealous too.” Theo’s gaze flickered to Luke, “And here he comes now. See ya.”
Theo slyly slipped away before Y/N could grab him. Luke was quickly walking towards her, tightly holding a beige-coloured envelope in his hands.
“Y/N.” He uttered, “Here.”
“What’s this?” Y/N muttered as she took the letter Luke handed her. For a minute, she almost thought it was for her.
“I need your opinion on it. I’m going to give it to Isa.” Luke smiled, knowing exactly what he was doing, while Y/N thickly gulped.
“Right.” She muttered, staring at Luke’s surprisingly neat handwriting. It felt like she was opening a letter meant for her. Her eyes quickly scanned over the words, wanting nothing more than to run away. “It’s good.” She choked out.
“Would you give it to her? I know you’re relatively close.” Luke sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck while Y/N furrowed her brows in annoyance. She bit back a loud scoff, shoving the letter into Luke’s hands.
“I’m not your errand runner, Luke.” She snapped, “Give it to her yourself. And I’m not close with Isa. Wrong girl, you jerk!” Y/N couldn’t help but storm off. She felt ridiculed by Luke. It was like he was purposely embarrassing her to see how she would react.
If Luke wanted a fight, he’d get more than that. He’d get a war. People often forgot that Aphrodite was also a goddess of battles and that her children were often just as violent as the Ares kids if pushed too far.
By the time Y/N arrived at the Pavilion, Drew and Silena were already sitting in their usual seats. “He’s such a jerk.” Y/N grumbled as she slid into the seat between her sisters, “Ugh!”
“What did he do this time?” Drew asked, unfazed because she had expected Luke to mess up again.
“So I’m on my morning jog and I run into Theo so we talk but Luke approaches me, causing Theo to walk away. And Luke hands me a letter without any context! So I ask what it is and it’s a letter for Isa. And he asks me to give it to you because apparently, we’re close. But I have never even talked to her! And I realized he probably mixed me up with another girl!”
Y/N angrily stabbed her fork into a roasted potato. “The audacity! Honestly!”
“Good to know you’re finally acknowledging how stupid he is.” Drew drawled as she stared into a small hand mirror and perfected her lip gloss.
Silena, always the kindest out of the iconic Aphrodite trio, pursed her lips. “Don’t say that.” She muttered at Drew. She turned her attention to Y/N. “Maybe he’s having pretty girl withdrawal symptoms.”
Drew gave Silena a pointed look. “What does that even mean?”
“He misses Y/N fawning over him and after her interaction with Theo, he wants to get back at her. Thus, locking you two in a battle where both of you are too proud to fold.”
Y/N huffed. “Maybe I should just move on.”
“Please do.” Drew piped up, “He doesn’t deserve you.”
Y/N nodded her head in determination. “Okay. By the next campfire, I’ll be completely over him! I swear by it!”
Y/N was wrong. So, so, so wrong. She was not over Luke. In fact, she might be falling deeper into his undeniable charm. She sat with Drew and Silena, as always. Theo and Clarisse lingered behind them while Luke, Chris, and a few other Hermes kids sat to their right.
“Is that the new Apollo kid?” Drew asked as she nodded over at the boy strumming the guitar. He was quietly humming along, adjusting the strings every once in a while.
“Yeah. Eric or something.” Y/N replied, her eyelids drooping. She leaned back, accidentally bumping into Theo’s knees. She tried to pull away but he held her down.
“Don’t look now but a certain Hermes boy is staring at you. He looks green as fuck.” Theo whispered in Y/N’s ear as he rested his hands on her shoulders. “Laugh like I said something funny.”
Y/N lightly giggled, covering her mouth with one hand so nobody could see that it was fake.
“He looks even angrier now.” Clarisse added, enjoying Y/N’s little scheme.
“I thought you were moving on from him.” Drew butted in.
“The chaos is fun to watch.” Clarisse answered for Y/N. “Don’t look at Luke but look at Eric. He’s eyeing you up.” Y/N glanced at the new camper, immediately locking eyes with him.
Eric gently smiled as he began to sing along with his siblings, swaying to the beat and never once breaking eye contact with Y/N. Luke’s gaze darted between Y/N and Eric before he ran his tongue over his teeth in annoyance. Why was he feeling this way? He had never been interested in Y/N before, at least not in the way she wanted.
He agreed that she was beautiful but there was nothing more to her than that in his eyes. He never did give himself the chance to get to know her, though. He only liked the attention she gave him and when she abruptly ripped it away, he felt empty. Only now did he realize how many guys were actually interested in Y/N.
It only got worse after the campfire. Y/N was no longer seen following Luke around like a lost puppy and to other boys, they saw it as a chance to finally make their move.
“Oh, my gosh. This is so cheesy.” Theo laughed as he read the love letter someone had sent Y/N. She chuckled along with him.
“I know, right?” She sighed, plucking the letter from Theo’s hands. “I appreciate it but the rhyming scheme doesn’t exactly work out, does it?” Theo immediately shook his head.
“They have great words but they cannot rhyme to save their life.”
Over the past few weeks, Y/N ended up spending more time merely hanging out with Theo than plotting another trick against Luke. In all honesty, she enjoyed his company. It made her wonder why she let herself become so blinded by her adoration for Luke.
“Uh oh.” Theo muttered, “Lover boy incoming.” Y/N lifted her head to see Luke.
“Can we talk?” The brunette asked, though it sounded more like a demand. He didn’t even bat an eye at Theo. “Now?” Luke Castellan had finally cracked.
“Oh… sure.” Y/N stood up and glanced at Theo, who shooed her off. He sadly watched as she trailed after Luke, her hands clasped nervously behind her back.
“That should be me.” He whispered under his breath. “Castellan doesn’t deserve her.”
“Did I do something wrong?” Luke led Y/N to an isolated area of camp. And he eventually said something after a few moments of deadly awkward silence. “Why are you avoiding me and talking to all these other guys all of a sudden?” His knees felt like jelly when Y/N looked up at him.
“Excuse me? I have a right to associate with anyone I please.”
“Why aren’t you paying attention to me?” Luke blurted out. “Why are you flirting with other guys when you used to only flirt with me?”
“Because you’re a jerk, Luke. You don’t have the right to play around with my feelings and when I don’t give you attention anymore, suddenly you want it again! You should have appreciated it when you had it!” Y/N harshly poked his chest as she spoke in a tone she had never used before. Luke could only stand still as Y/N pointed out his flaws.
“But… I liked your attention.” He whispered just loud enough for Y/N to hear.
“Too bad. Go kiss Isa. I thought you liked her?” Y/N was mocking him as she waved him off.
Luke stumbled back, stunned. In that moment, he realised how truely beautiful Y/N was. He took notice of her charming smile, her shining eyes, the crinkles on her face as she grinned. And he remembered how kind she was. She never overstepped a boundary unlike other girls. She admired Luke from afar and didn’t act like a creepy stalker.
Luke slowly walked away, quickly glancing over his shoulder to see Y/N embrace Theo. He had never felt more jealous than before. He could see Clarisse, Drew, and Silena watched him, each smiling like they knew something he didn’t.
“Did lover girl reject you?” Clarisse taunted him, causing Luke to roll his eyes.
“Fuck off, Clarisse.” He grumbled. Drew let out a muffled laugh, finding amusement in the whole situation.
“She doesn’t want you anymore, Castellan.” Drew uttered, shrugging. “Get over it. Didn’t you treat her the same?”
Luke furrowed his brows. “I never treated her like that…” He trailed off, trying to remember when he had ever brushed Y/N off.
There was the time at the campfire where he kissed that girl on the cheek.
And when he showed Y/N his love letter to Isa, which was really just his shopping list shoved into an envelope.
And when he purposely mixed her up with another girl.
“Oh, shit,” He muttered, “I’m a jerk.”
“You just noticed?” Drew snapped. “You realise you miss Y/N because she only ever focused on you when so many other guys wanted her attention too? What happens now? What are you gonna do, huh?”
Luke lightly chewed on the inside of his cheek. “What am I supposed to do? It’s not like I share her feelings.”
Clarisse leaned against a wooden pole, staring at Luke with a small grin. “Yeah. But you’re starting to. You’re jealous.”
Luke scowled, “I am not.” He huffed. “You’re delusional, Clarisse.”
“Maybe. But at least I didn’t fumble a gorgeous girl like you, Castellan.”
Luke clenched his jaw, something he seemed to be doing quite a lot with recent events. “Whatever.” He muttered, quickly walking off.
“I thought she was planning to move on from Luke.” Silena spoke for the first time.
“Be realistic, she’d jump into his arms if he confessed.” Clarisse fired back. Drew nodded her head in agreement. Y/N had always been a hopeless romantic, especially when it came to Luke.
“So… are we going to help him out or…” Silena trailed off as she looked at Drew then at Clarisse, both of them having identical evil glints in their eyes.
“He can figure it out on his own. I want to see how it ends.”
Luke lay awake in his bed, a thin layer of sweat coating his body from the humid air. It was unusually hot in his cabin. The Hermes building was often cold when the wind blew through the small cracks in the walls but someone made the grand choice of leaving the heater on for hours.
Finally, he stood up, having had enough of overheating. He yanked the door open, the wind feeling euphoric on his flushed cheeks.
He stepped outside, deeply inhaling. His gaze flickered to another camper walking around, dressed in a blazer cinched at the waste and a mini pleated skirt. There was only one group of people who dressed that fancy for a simple walk; Aphrodite kids. And Luke instantly recognised their H/C hair.
“Y/N.” He quietly called out as he jogged towards her. Y/N resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she turned around.
“What?” She muttered, folding her arms over her chest.
“I’m, uh, sorry for upsetting you earlier.” Luke scratched the back of his neck, hoping and praying Y/N would accept his half-hearted apology. It wasn’t much but it was all he could muster up.
Y/N, however, wasn’t that easy to break. “You can’t treat me like that then expect me to forgive you. Get it through your head, Luke, I don’t like you anymore.” She was about to storm off but Luke was quick to grasp her wrist.
“Please… forgive me. I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to treat you like that. I didn’t know it would affect you.”
Luke was stunned when Y/N shoved him back. “You knew I liked you, Luke. You knew yet you still played around with me. And then when I move on, suddenly you want me back. You don’t get to decide that!”
“I know.” Luke murmured.
“You’re a jerk.” Y/N hissed, pushing him again.
“I know.”
Luke was expecting another harsh blow but Y/N only stared at him as she lightly panted. “You were jealous.” She muttered.
Luke quickly shook his head. “I don’t get jealous.”
“Admit it, Luke. Admit it.”
“I… can’t.”
“Tell me how you feel… and I’m yours.” Y/N stepped closer to him, their bodies almost pressed together. Luke’s breath hitched and in that moment, he wanted to blurt out everything.
How he felt like a failure after his quest.
How he thought he never truely deserved love.
And how he missed Y/N fawning over him.
Yet, he said nothing. He kept his mouth shut and he could see the hope in Y/N’s eyes slowly drift away.
It wasn’t a surprise to her that Luke remained silent. After all, he was never one to share his private thoughts.
“That’s what I thought.” She whispered, “Good night, Luke.” Y/N slipped away, not sparing him another look.
Over the next few days, Luke looked horrendous. Even Chris was staring at the boy in concern until he finally confronted Luke. “Dude.” Chris muttered, “You look terrible. What happened?”
“I haven’t been sleeping well.” Was all Luke answered with as he slowly stirred his spoon around in the soup. Clarisse, Drew, and Silena had all taken a notice of his rugged appearance as well.
“Do we help him now?” Silena questioned.
Clarisse sighed, rolling her eyes. “We have to. Otherwise, he’ll never have any game.”
STEP ONE: Lure Y/N out
“I don’t get why we’re going on a walk in the middle of the night.” Y/N uttered as Drew forcefully pushed her out of the cabin. “There’s harpies, you know.”
“Fuck them. Come on, hurry up. We don’t have all night.” Drew grumbled.
Silena was leading the way with Clarisse hot in her trail, holding a sword in case a happy did actually show up. The group of four girls wandered through the woods, their only source of light being a dim lantern Silena held in her left hand.
“Almost there.” The ravenette beauty spoke up. “Y/N, wait here.”
Drew and Silena rushed off while Clarisse stayed behind, grabbing onto Y/N’s collar every time the H/C-nette tried to walk back to her bed.
“I got someone’s dessert promised to be for a month. I ain’t letting you ruin that.” Clarisse uttered.
STEP TWO: Make sure Luke looks… decent
“Stop fiddling with the collar.” Drew slapped Luke’s hand away as he tried to adjust the tight buttons. He struggled to suck in a breath. “Gosh, men are such babies.” She rolled her eyes while Silena silently combed Luke’s hair.
“You look handsome.” Silena reassured Luke as she showed him his reflection. Luke stared at himself, feeling a little uncomfortable in such formal clothes.
“Are you sure?” He asked for the fifth time, finally causing Drew to snap.
“Oh, shut it, Castellan! We made you look good, end of story!”
Silena was quick to hush Drew in case Y/N heard her shouts. Luke sighed, adjusting his tie so that it was centred.
“I still think confessing to her on a beach is stupid. There’s sand in my shoes.”
“Hey, we offered to help you. You’ll take what you’re given.” Drew poked his shoulder before turning to Silena. “You can go get Y/N now.”
STEP THREE: Force Y/N to confront Luke and Luke to confront his feelings
Y/N furrowed her brows as soon as she saw the strange sight of Luke standing on a sandy beach. She turned to Silena but she had already dashed off, most likely to wait in the shadows until Luke and Y/N came to an agreement.
Y/N sighed. “What do you want, Luke?”
“I shouldn’t have let you go that night.” Luke answered. “I should have spilled out my feelings. I should have told you everything.”
“Well,” Y/N folded her arms over her chest, “It’s too late now.”
“I think you’re pretty.” Luke quickly said Y/N got ready to leave. She paused. “I think you’re beautiful. Gorgeous. Breath-taking. And I’m not talking about your outer appearance because as amazing as that is too, I’m talking about your heart and your vibe. I like how you’re the embodiment of pink. I like how you collect pearls and pieces of jewellery. I like how you adore heart-shaped things and how you’re always ready to lend a helping hand.”
“You noticed… all that?”
“I like how you always watch romcom movies with your siblings. I like how you wear the prettiest necklaces. I like your seashell collection and I like all your Vivienne Westwood clothes. I like how every time you leave camp for the holidays, you come back with a new fashion book and it’s all you read for the next days coming.”
STEP FOUR: High-five as Luke finally confesses (and Y/N cries - Clarisse)
“I like you.” Luke spoke the three words Y/N had been wanting to hear for years. She stared at him, silent and unmoving. He took that as a no until Y/N pulled him into a hug.
“Thank you.” She whispered, small tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Are you… crying?” Luke questioned.
Y/N quietly laughed. “Not many people notice all that about me… so if they do, I end up crying out of happiness.”
“Is this a yes to my confession?”
“It’s a maybe.”
“Good enough for me, Bella.”
Y/N sent him a confused look.
“You know, like Bella and Edward. Twilight, duh? How can you like to all the boys I’ve loved before and nor Twilight?”
Clarisse and Drew eagerly slapped their hands together while Silena fondly watched Y/N and Luke. She was happy for her half-sister because after all those years of pinning, Y/N finally got what she wanted.
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So what do we think about that draft where jean kill himself on the phone with kevin ? Or an au where kevin off himself because he couldn’t handle riko’s and jean’s death?
(coming back from my mini mental health break to drop... this. uuhhh cw for jean kills himself on the phone with Kevin sorry)
-
It was late when Kevin's phone rang, loud enough to startle him from a light sleep, a half enjoyed Exy match still playing on his laptop.
Jean
Kevin paused the video.
Why was Jean calling him at this time of night? He should've been sleeping - No, at practice. Maybe he had just finished. Which schedule was he even on, now?
He pressed the green button to answer, but the feeling of something off came much quicker than any voice that would have followed. Dead air, for a moment too long, an electronic hiss, and Jean didn't speak.
"Hello?" Kevin answered, hearing a movement as he held the phone to his ear. "Jean, did you mean to call me?"
Jean laughed, a weak laugh, short and muffled. "I didn't think you'd actually pick up. That makes this all worse, doesn't it?"
His words were not English, instead French, spoken too loudly to be a secret. Kevin sat up and looked at the time again to make sure it was really as late as he thought it was. Maybe it's nothing, he comforted himself with a lie, a way of ignoring the churning feeling in his stomach that something wasn't quite right.
Jean's breathing was heavy, accompanied with a hum every few seconds, less of a happy sound, more of a struggle to keep quiet in whatever pain he was feeling.
"Why are you calling me?" Kevin whispered, like he might be heard if he didn't speak quietly. "Where is he?"
Jean laughed again, taking an inhale into the deepest parts of his lungs, before he said, "It doesn't matter."
"It does," Jean's uncharacteristic lack of care as to the king's whereabouts worried Kevin - If Riko wasn't with him... Kevin looked at the time again and again, trying to remember Riko's schedule. Why couldn't he remember?
Where was he, and why was Jean alone?
His question came out cautious. "What's going on?"
"Nothing that you can change," Jean's sigh was tired, a dismissal mixed with pessimism and hopelessness. "It's already done."
"What is?"
His heart started to pound in his chest, pushed by the tone of Jean voice, speaking french out loud without a care, no fear in his voice, but something different taking its place; Kevin was afraid, scared of the truth. Jean would never be so careless - so reckless and nonchalant. Something was wrong, so very wrong, and putting two and two together only left Kevin with too many questions and a rope around his chest.
"I hoped you wouldn't answer." Jean's voice cracked as he spoke, and Kevin shut his eyes at the sound. "I'm not even sure why I called in the first place, but ah. Here we are."
"Stop that. Where the fuck are you?"
"Only where i was always going to end up." He laughed, but instead of an awful, awkward sound, behind the laugh was thinly veiled pain. Something hurt. Jean was in pain, and Riko wasn't around, and Kevin started to pace, like he would find the answer somewhere else around the room.
Jean swallowed hard before continuing, "I would ask you how to say goodbye but you're not known to afford such courtesies, are you?"
Kevin stopped. "Goodbye?"
"Ah, so you do know how to say it," The sigh that followed had something behind it, something wistful, something painful, something... final. "Goodbye," he spoke in english, before a shaky inhale brought him back into French. "Are you happy?"
"With what?"
"Everything." His breath blew loudly through the mic of his phone. "With who you are, away from this place. In general, Kevin, are you happy now?"
Kevin hesitated. "Sometimes."
Jean hummed. "Better than never."
"What did you do?"
Jean doesn't respond immediately, and Kevin knew then what he hadn't wanted to know at all. He didn't want to know, he didn't want to assume, but then the sound of a sniffle and a low cry followed, and Kevin felt his heart start to break.
"What did you do, Jean?" He asked again, no louder than a whisper this time, quiet enough that he could hear Jean's whimper as he started to gently cry.
"Will you stay with me?" Jean replied, a swallow in his throat, the phone being placed down somewhere. "I don't want to die alone."
"Let me call someone," Kevin begged. "Why? Why would you- Why? You promised. You promised."
"Be quiet." He pleaded, and Kevin covered his mouth with his free hand. Was this happening? Jean's words were not as angry as his tone would have suggested, instead a soft quiver in his voice, as he tried to hold back the tears that Kevin pictured rolling down his face. "Just stay with me or fuck off and don't let my last thought of you be that you're an insufferable bitch."
Kevin almost laughed.
He almost laughed, knowing what was happening, knowing Jean was fading away on the other line, as he cried, dealing with whatever he'd done to himself, however it was happening.
"Tell me something I don't know," His accented voice was getting weaker with every agonising second that passed. "Talk to me."
Jean knew everything about him, almost everything, so much so that he couldn't think of something new, something that he didn't know. This was his only light in a dungeon of darkness, and that light was fading quicker than he'd left him alone all those months ago. It was not comfort Jean was looking for, but perhaps company, or a presence, just to believe that someone cared, to feel like someone was there at the end of it all. He didn't really want to know Kevin's trivia and fun facts; He said it himself - he didn't want to die alone.
"Don't do this to me," It was all that he could say, a desperate, despaired attempt, no other words meaningful enough to get him to change his mind. "Let me help you."
"You can't," Jean responded. "Not this time."
And Kevin knew that it was the truth.
He thought for a moment. What was he even supposed to do? He thought about calling for help anyway - on the one hand desperate to keep him alive, while on the other hand knowing what would be waiting for him on the other side of survival. There were no scenarios in which Jean would prosper. If Kevin called for help, it would have caused a scene, and he swore he could already hear the cracking of bones under the Master's cane, and the muffled screams that would follow.
Kevin pictured a fate almost worse than death in every attempt to end that night differently; Jean's choice had been made - this was it, and this was his goodbye.
The understanding did not make the reality any easier to digest, though. Instead it sat heavy in his stomach, weighing him down, into the fabric of the sheets he sank back down into.
"I'm sorry," He said. "I've never said that to you before. I wish i never left you."
"I don't," Jean had started to slur his words. "You deserve to be happy. Even just sometimes."
"You do too."
Jean clicked his tongue, but he didn't comment.
Perhaps he knew it was what he deserved, but it had always been more of a mythical concept than anything achievable. He knew what that darkness felt like, the familiar sound of those swirling spirals, the thoughts of can I live like this forever? that fueled the fire to bring him to this point.
The silence on the phone line lasted for an uncomfortable moment too long.
“Jean?”
Jean mumbled his response after another long pause. “Mmm?”
“Tell me something,” Kevin turned his question back on him. “Something that nobody knows about you.”
Jean’s laugh was so weak it could barely be considered a laugh anymore; more an exhale of air with something behind it. “I wanted to be a writer. Before all of this.”
“What would you write?”
Jean thought for a moment. “Poems. Things nobody would ever read. Sometimes…”
Kevin’s heart started thumping again as Jean trailed off into a mumbling silence. “Sometimes..?” He prompted him.
“Hmm?”
“What would you write other than poems?”
“Something for the theatre,” His words were slow and tired. “Something to be… performed.”
“What kind of stories?”
“Ah.” Jean sucked in a long, laboured breath. “Dramas. Something to leave… Mmm-” There’s a dull thud on the other end of the line. He couldn't hold back his quiet groan. “Something…”
“Jean.” Kevin wanted to tell him to be quiet, to wake up, to perk up. He wanted to tell Jean that his joke wasn’t funny and he was waiting for the punchline to come.
“Kevin.” He said, long and drawn out, twice the length it needs to be.
“Did you ever show anyone? Your stories?”
“Only Elodie.” His sisters name rolled off his tongue with a wet, gentle cry. “My actress.”
Kevin thought about her then, not knowing where her brother is, not knowing that he was dying on the other end of the phone.
“Did she like them?” When Jean didn't respond, Kevin raised his voice. “Jean.”
“Mmhmm,” He answered, not much of an answer at all. More of an acknowledgment of his quickly dimming consciousness, a murmur of life to prove he was still there. “Can’t talk much longer.”
“I know.” The painful acceptance left his mouth with a bitterness Kevin couldn't quite describe. “Tell me about her. Elodie.”
“I wish…” Jean spoke through almost shut lips, and Kevin winced at the sound of sleepiness as it started to consume him. “All alone.” He finished a thought he never spoke out loud. “I think… I'm tired.”
“I know.” Kevin said again. “Are you going to sleep?”
There was a struggle in his inhale as he answered, "I think so.”
Fuck. “Are you sure?”
“Mmhmm.”
There's a moment of silence.
“Jean.” Kevin calls. He could still hear his hollow breathing on the other line, but he called his name again when all that followed was silence, “Jean?”
“Mmm?” His breath slowed down to nothing, and Kevin was certain he could hear the slow and irregular ba-bum, ba-bum, ba-bum of his friends struggling heart.
“I love you.” Kevin said, but he felt sick as the words left his mouth. It felt worthless to him then, an empty promise. Words that should've been said far too long ago. “And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep you safe.”
“Mmhmhm,” Jean hummed in three syllables. "Safe."
And Kevin waited as the silence drew on. He heard it, the final breath that left his lips, the rattle of his breath through lungs too weak to take it.
One second, he counted, and another.
Another, and another, and another, and a million moments passed with nothing but silence and the knowledge of Jean's soul hopefully finding solace in another, brighter place.
He put his phone down, too scared to hang up, and waited for a sign that this wasn't final - waiting for a sign that said this would simply result in a punishment taken too far, that in a months time when Jean's wounds healed he would call Kevin again and apologise for breaking his promise.
Kevin tried not to care about the promise, to not watch the duration of the call going up and up and up with not so much as a peep from the other end of the phone. He tried not to wonder what would happen next - would his parents be informed, would they care? Would they send his body back to France, or would he die, anonymous and insignificant, buried in some American plot of land somewhere, that nobody cared enough about to put a bunch of flowers on top of?
Would the Master call Kevin, would anyone let him know, when they didn't know Kevin had taken another breath after Jean had taken his last?
"Oh Jesus fucking Christ!" The voice on the other end of the phone scared Kevin out of the depth of his thoughts. Was it Zane? He wondered, his finger hovering over the button to end the call, or was it just another voice of a nameless Raven who would forget about this all once the sun rose? "Get the King, tell him it's-"
Kevin hung up before he could hear any more.
The panic attack that followed was not a friendly one - It started slow, but before long, his chest was stuck in a vice, and his heart was prepared to take off. Kevin couldn't hold it in anymore - he cried, choking on the breaths that left his hands numb.
Kevin didn't hear Andrew coming in, but he stood by the door frame, watching, hardly visible through the blurry haze of tears in his eyes. Andrew glanced at the still-lit-up phone screen on the bed beside Kevin, and shut the door gently behind him.
No words were enough.
There's nothing that could be done to make everything okay again, nothing he could hear that that would stop the guilt, and the sadness, and the hurt, that all-consuming hurt.
All Kevin had to offer then, was pain, and bottomless grief, as he held his racing heart while it broke into a million, tiny pieces.
#not a fantastic place to start after my four days of self care to stop myself feeling like dookie#but here u go im sorry#it isn't written great#its a bit stale#but its the thought that counts? right?#mine#ask#kevin day#jean moreau
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Hang on, I have an interesting (to me at least lol) thought about vamp! Rhys.
What the hell would he do with reader being on her period when she’s still human??
Am I asking this because I am on my period reading your vampire! Rhys fics… possibly… he’s just so hot 🫠and I wanna bite him affectionately lol💀
It’s a really good question in my opinion lol
This has been sitting half finished in my drafts and now I'm on my period and asking the same questions! But don't worry, I have some answers for you ;)
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Messy
Content Warnings: Fluff-SMUT-more fluff; Period Sex, Blood Play, Oral (fem receiving)
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You should have known something was up when Rhys had woken you up every morning for the last week with his fangs nipping at your throat, his sleep thick voice murmuring how good you smelled into your skin before taking the faintest of tastes. You write it off as him finally coming to terms with how he feels about you being human and embracing this new comfortability in your relationship, at first. But then you randomly catch him staring at you throughout the day, his gaze dark, pupils blown wide. He wouldn't do anything about it either. Usually, when he looks like that you find yourself flush against a wall, but these last few days he's just staring. Like he's waiting for something.
Then one night he asks you if you're in the mood for chocolate and comes back with a whole tray of ice cream and cookies and expensive looking candies and you're absolutely sure he's lost his mind.
You have half a mind to ask Mor if there's some weird dating ritual vampires have that you don't know about, because there's suddenly a lot more pillows and comfy blankets in your bed the morning after that. Along with a tray of some weird tea you've never seen before, and more boxes of chocolate things you can't name. But you don't even make it to Mor's wing of the house before Rhys waltzes into the bedroom you share with his arms full of towels and you simply cannot take it anymore.
"Rhys what are you doing?"
He takes his time folding them, studying each towel like it holds the mysteries of the universe within it. "Preparing."
"For what?" You ask incredulously, because he's clearly in on some secret you've never heard of.
He cocks his head to the side, looking very confused as to why you're asking. "Is it not almost your time of the month?"
That doesn't make his behavior any less confusing, but you run a hand through your hair in thought. It should be starting any day now, now that you think about it. "You've been keeping track of my period?"
He takes the perfectly folded towels and puts them under the bathroom sink for safe keeping as he says, "Of course. What kind of partner would I be if I didn't?"
You follow after him, still wildly confused. It's not like he can get you pregnant, there's no need for him to be keeping track. "But why?"
He frowns at that. "You were in a lot of pain last time, I wanted to help make it easier this time around."
Your heart clenches in your chest and you step forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "That's really sweet of you."
"I hate to see you in pain," he says, catching your face in his hands. "I don't really remember how the human body works, but I found some books in the library about what might help, since my blood didn't work last time."
He'd been very concerned about the amount of cramping you endured last month, even more so when it turned out Vampire blood was not in fact a cure all for every human ailment. It could fix a cold, but for some reason, it hadn't worked so well on your cramps.
Maybe it's your hormones, but you tear up a little at the thought of him rifling through the library trying to find the right book to help you. "That would explain all the chocolate and the tea."
"The books said they helped," he sweeps you up into his arms so he can hold you.
"What else did they say?" You ask as you kiss the tip of his nose.
He grins at that, eyes once again dark and hungry. "Ask me again in a few days."
That's never a good sign, but you'd be a liar if you said you weren't intrigued. He'd checked most of the boxes for your needs already, what else had he managed to find?
By the time you actually start bleeding, he's wrangled up every heating pad and pain reliever he can get his hands on. There's always a hot bath waiting to help you relax, and no shortage of pads stashed throughout the estate. He's hidden some in every desk and drawer he can think of, which pretty much means you'll never have to worry about it for the rest of your mortal life because he's not exactly sure how many of them you need, but it's the thought that counts.
By the second day, your cramps are so intense you can barely get out of bed and he stays dutifully curled up next to you, holding a heating pad at the base of you spine and massaging your tender hips like your own personal masseuse.
"Maybe today's the day, Rhys," you grumble into his bare chest. "I think I've had just about enough of this human thing."
He chuckles softly into your shoulder as his expert fingers loosen the tight muscles at the base of your spine. "That's not a very fun turning story."
"You've never experienced the pain of being a woman," you counter. "I think Mor would find it funny at least."
He kisses your shoulder, clad in one of his oversized shirts. "We still have a few things we can try before we resort to that."
"Such as?" You counter.
Rhys rolls you over onto your back, body sliding in between your legs. "I read that orgasms can help." His eyes are back to that dark, hungry look you've seen a dozen times in that couple weeks and it suddenly clicks in your head why he's been looking at you like that.
"That explains the towels," you say.
He kisses you gently at first, "Only if you want to, of course."
"At this point, I'll try anything," though you can't help the blush that works its way up your neck and face. You'd be a liar to say you hadn't thought about it, but you'd assumed this was too taboo a subject to discuss with someone so... old.
He's gone in a flash to grab the towels he'd stashed under the sink and back just as quick to lie them out across the bed, just so you don't ruin the sheet set that might just be older than you.
"You're sure you don't mind?" You inquire and he stills at the edge of the bed, giving you the same look he gives Cass when he says something out of pocket.
"I'm a vampire, Darling," he says, running his tongue over his canines so you get the point. "You should know by now how much I enjoy blood. Yours especially."
"Yeah, but this is-" You freeze as he kneels between your legs and starts placing soft kisses along the inside of your thighs. "Different."
One of his hands reaches up to push your shirt up your body, the other holds your legs open so he can move further up your thighs. "How so?" Fangs scrape over your skin in teasing strokes as he kisses higher and higher.
"You're not drinking from me," you start but a shiver works its way down your spine and steals the thought from your head as he brushes his nose over your clothed center. It is easy to forget how sensitive your body is during your period, and there is no denying how turned on you get when Rhys gets between your legs, but this time it feels different. This time, having him this close makes your body tremble, heat licking deep in the pit of your stomach. It usually takes some of his venom to feel this worked up, but there's none in your system yet.
"Aren't I?" He purrs, hands hooking in the waistband of your underwear.
You don't have time to ask before he starts pulling the material down your legs, the cool air of the room a stark contrast to the heat that flushes your skin. There is no beat in time between him baring you to him and him pulling a towel beneath you, his inhumane speed making it feel like you blinked and were suddenly bare. It's not even a breath later that he's licking a stripe up your center and all rational thought eddies from your mind.
"Rhys!" You should want to pull away, should feel some sort of mortification when he looks up at you, eyes so lust blown they're almost all pupil despite the slight flush of red on his lips, but you can't find it in you to do so.
"Relax," he orders mind to mind as his tongue slides easily through your folds. "Let me take care of you."
Your eyes squeeze shut as he licks another long stripe up your center, canines scraping gently, teasingly against you. It's too much already and he hasn't done anything yet. Your hands reach for the sheets, trying to hold onto something, to ground yourself from rocking your hips into his mouth in desperation.
"Feels good?"
Your legs instinctively spread for him, body begging for more as you whimper for him. "More, please, more!"
He guides one of your legs over his shoulder, giving him a better angle to dive into you and feast, tongue pushing deeper inside you.
Stars swim across your vision, breath rasping out of you in panting gasps as your hands fly from the sheets to his hair to pull him closer. Your body is white hot, muscles tightening around his head as the pleasure builds deeper and deeper inside you.
When he slides a finger inside you, you can't help but buck your hips into his face, writhing against the pleasure that's too much and somehow not enough. His name is a prayer on your lips, pleasure making you delirious as he drags you closer and closer to the edge.
He has to keep an arm over your waist to keep you from writhing too far away, the strength of him only serving to fuel the fire in your belly more. This is about you and your pleasure, and gods is he good at it, but knowing you can't squirm away from him, can't do anything but accept what he gives you makes your thighs clench around his head.
He moans into your center as you tighten around him, letting you know he's enjoying this just as much as you are, despite the wetness you feel dripping down onto the towel beneath you. At least he had planned ahead for the mess.
"Rhys," the whole house can probably hear you screaming for him as he slides a second finger inside you, stretching you out and chasing the motion with his tongue.
"Just like that, Little One," he coos. "Cum for me."
You're aware you're babbling, thighs shaking around his head as pleasure sweeps through you, but you can't stop. Can't do anything but float on the waves of white hot pleasure that crest and fall down your spine. He doesn't stop his ministrations either, not even as you fight to catch your breath. His fingers and tongue still move through your sensitive folds, still curl against that same, spongy spot over and over again.
"Too much," you whimper, trying to wiggle out from beneath him.
His large hand flattens over your stomach, pushing you down hard enough to feel the mattress bow beneath you. You aren't going anywhere until he's done with you, 'til he's had his fill.
"Look at me," he orders, tongue swirling in a new pattern, teeth lightly nibbling on your skin.
There's blood on the tip of his nose, on his cheeks and chin; all traces of violet are gone from his eyes, only lust and hunger in its place. Usually Cassian is the messy one, but tonight, he lets a little of the monster slip.
"I want you to watch as you come apart on my tongue again."
You're pretty sure it's his powers that pin you in place, holding you upright as he speeds up his movements, gaze pinned on the way he devours you like a male starved. He has eaten you out plenty of times in the past, but the sounds he makes, the reverberations of his moans only amplify your pleasure.
The edge rises to meet you again, the over-stimulation cresting between pleasure and pain, the lines blurring as he suckles on your clit.
Stars once again blur across your vision as every muscle in your body tightens. The grip you have on his hair has to be painful, even for an immortal, but he makes no complaint as he nips and sucks and twists his fingers in a way that makes you think you might die if you don't cum soon. Tears make your vision cloudy, all your heightened emotions amplified further by how good he's capable of making you feel.
"So pretty like this," he purrs. "Love those sounds you make for me, when you moan my name like a prayer."
It's taking everything in you to not squeeze your eyes shut as you buck your hips as best you can against the hand pinning you in place. Just a little more. Just a little harder. You're so close to the edge again, so close to that sweet, sweet bliss.
"We should have done this sooner, don't you think, Darling?"
"Yes!" You practically scream it as he flicks his tongue at the same time he curls his fingers and your release barrels through you so hard and fast your body shakes against it.
You're absolutely boneless as he works you through it, dragging your orgasm out as long as possible with his fingers. Only when your ragged breathing finally calms does he remove himself from your core. He leans back on his haunches, face an absolute mess of blood and your release.
Despite the fact that he'd just been between your legs, you still find yourself blushing as he slides the fingers that had been inside you into his mouth for one final taste. "You really are my favorite meal, you know that?" His voice is still deliciously husky, the clear sign of his own arousal fighting the confines of his pants.
But this is about you, and making you feel better. So instead of doing something about it, he takes one of the towels you didn't absolutely ruin and starts to clean you up. When he's satisfied that you're clean, he disappears into the bathroom to start the tub.
He'd taken that time to clean up his face too, so there's no blood on his lips when he leans over the bed to place a gentle kiss on your lips. "Feel better?"
You'd managed to forget for the entirety of it that you had been cramping in the first place. "Much better."
He sweeps you up into his arms gently, like you're something fragile and breakable and it makes your heart clench in your chest. He has always been good at taking care of you, but it really hits you in this moment.
"I love you," you whisper as you lean up to kiss his cheek.
The water of the tub is deliciously hot, easing any lingering tension in your muscles as he gets both of you in the tub.
Rhys settles you against his chest, pressing gentle kisses against your forehead. "Still thinking about turning?"
You lean your head back against his shoulder so you can look up at him, eyes twinkling mischievously. "I think I want a little more mind blowing period sex first."
He chuckles as he settles back against the tub. "Good, 'cause those books had a few more suggestions we can try out."
#rhysand x reader#rhysand x reader smut#rhysand x reader fluff#rhys x reader#vamp!rhys#vamp!Rhys x reader#vampire!rhys#vampire!Rhys x reader#acotar smut#acotar au#vampire au#vampire aesthetic#vampire smut#pro rhys acotar#asks#my writing#my fanfic
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Hi! If possible is would you write a fanfic about Daryl and reader (preferably fem) live in a cabin with dog in the woods after being together for awhile, when Daryl goes to Alexandria to visit, Carol and Rosita ask questions about her?
༉‧₊˚. 𝐜𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 || 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧
― pairings: daryl dixon x plus size!reader
― era: s10/mid whisperers era
― summary: as much as you love domestic life with daryl, you wanted him to go see his family, and he basically gets a pat down when he does.
― warnings: literally nothing besides fluff!!
― wc: 925
⋆ a/n: i have nothing much to say besides this has been sitting in my drafts for a while and i apologize that i have taken so long to actually answer this.
masterlist | AO3
Going back to visit Daryl’s family was your idea.
“It’s been awhile, you know?” You had said whilst running your fingers through his hair, his head rested on your chest as he listened to your heart beat rhythmically.
He had grunted in agreement, though he wasn’t really putting any thought to your words. His hands were busy with a sleepy Dog who had been resting as well, the archer running petting the hound sweetly. Daryl hadn’t really wanted to think about it if he was being honest. Of course he missed his family, but he was rather content basking in this extremely domestic moment with you.
When he’d gone to look for Rick, he was alone; but then came Dog… and then you. It was an aggressive first meeting he must admit, the two of you wrestling under the guise that the other meant harm, but after quite the tiring rumble, both of you had gotten acquainted and even became neighbors. After that, the rest of your love story was history.
“I mean it, D.” You pressed, much to Daryl’s tired irritation. He remained silent on the matter, but you knew he was beginning to ponder your words. “Just think about it, okay?” Drawing his face up to place a gentle – convincing – kiss against his lips. “Okay.” He whispered.
Now with his bags packed for a few planned days away, he was chewing on his thumbnail nervously at the thought of leaving you and Dog alone.
“Are ya sure ya’ll’l be alrigh’?” He asked.
You smiled softly at him, wrapping your arms around his neck to look him in the eye, his large hands settling on your plush hips. “We’ll be okay, hun. You know we can take care of ourselves.” He still didn’t look convinced. “C’mon, it’ll be fun! Plus, you’ll get to see Judith and RJ, Carol, Michonne.” You had only ever really heard stories of the people you had mentioned, but you knew they were important to Daryl, so if you had to use them as a selling point, then so be it.
You could see a longing look settle over his face at the mention of the names.
“You miss them, so go see them! Don’t stay behind on my account. You know I was just fine living on my own before I had met you, so you’re aware that I can hold my own.” He knew you were right, and with a designated sigh, he relented, his tensed body relaxing. “Yeah, I know. I jus’... I’ll miss ya too.” You laughed at his boyish confession, kissing his lips in delight.
“I know you will, and I’ll miss you too. I’m sure Dog will as well.” The boy yipped happily, brushing his nose along Daryl’s pant leg. A small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, and you knew you had won.
“Ya promise to try and radio me if anythin’ happens?” You nodded. “Yes, D.”
“Ya remember how to work it? Hell, why don’cha jus’ come with me?” You shook your head. “Not right now. I’d rather them have you to themselves before I’m added to the mix.” He knew that you were right and nibbled on his bottom lip.
“Go before I make you.” You said half serious, half joking. “Alrigh’ alrigh’, no need’ta threaten me.” He said with a small smile of his own.
The drive to Alexandria was long but familiar, and as he had approached the gates, he hadn’t expected to be ambushed by Carol and Rosita.
“Daryl!” Carol had cheered at the sight of him, pulling him into a tight hug. It was clear that she was elated by the sight of her best friend’s return. “Hey there stranger.” Rosita had said with a grin before pulling him into a hug of her own.
When they pulled away, Carol had given Daryl a slow once over, making the poor man shift in his place uncomfortably. “Wha’?” Her cheerful smile turned shit eating at her revelation. “You look different.” Carol teases.
“Yeah, he does.” Rosita only serves as an instigator, looking at him through playfully narrowed eyes.
“Is tha’ good or bad?” Daryl inquired unsurely, shifting back and forth on his feet at their piercing gazes. “Last time I visited your camp, I had to cut your hair myself. Now, it seems like it’s been neatly trimmed.” Carol says.“And his clothes have been patched up too.” Rosita added. “So, who is she?” She asked with a drawn out ‘so.’
“Don’t tell me you got a girlfriend out there, tarzan.” Rosita continued playfully.
“Wha’s it to you.” Daryl asked, sucking his teeth with a slight ‘mmcht’ sound.
“Oh nothing, I’m just surprised you decided to settle down, but you know, stranger things have happened.” Says Carol.
“Pfft, whatever.” But the red tips of his ears gave him away.
“So who is she? How’d you meet?” Rosita bombards.
“I dunno,” He shrugs, “The woods I guess.”
“And then we can guess she never left.”
“Obviously. I mean what’s the love story there?”
“Ain’t no love story. Jus’ met her digging around my camp and offered to share some of my food ‘s all.”
“I guess.” He didn’t want to continue to entertain the women’s ribbing, but they were right.
When you had first met, you were nothing short of feral, digging through his stuff in hopes of finding something - anything - to arm and feed yourself with. Daryl of course raised his crossbow at you and the rest was history.
But they didn’t need to know that.
ೃ⁀➷ my lovely taglist!: @alina02 @louderfortheback @minervadashwood @their-love @fandomsarelifee @theendofthe70s @nomajdetective @mgg-theprettiestboy @phoenixblack89 @murdadixon @hallecarey1 @bunnybabe-babydoll @khxna @dixonzzgirl @violettavirus @moonysreid
#✰ ― meau's inbox !#daryl x reader#daryl dixon x reader#daryl fanfiction#daryl dixon fanfiction#daryl dixon#daryl dixon fluff#daryl dixon x plus size reader#plus size reader#x plus size reader#plus size!reader#chubby reader#x chubby reader#fanfiction#fluff#daryl dixon imagine#daryl dixon oneshot#daryl dixon drabble#daryl dixon blurb#daryl twd#twd daryl#daryl dixon twd#twd daryl dixon#daryl the walking dead#daryl dixon the walking dead#the walking dead#twd
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The King's Men - Chapter Sixteen (18)
Day: Friday, April 5th / 6th* Time: 9:48 PM PST
"Is it over?" Neil's backliner mark gasps out. "Oh, thank god." Neil looks over at Alvarez and is floored to see her smiling. She thrusts a gloved hand his way even as her legs wobble and give out. Neil catches her somehow and helps haul her back to her feet. She props herself against him and scrabbles ineffectually at the straps on her helmet. It takes her a few tries before she realizes her fingers are too numb to manage it. She gives up and taps her helmet against his instead. "Is this what dying feels like?" she asks, and calls over her shoulder, "Babe, I think I'm dying. Do I still have legs? I can't look down. I don't think I have legs. I don't think I'll ever walk again." "Uh-huh," Laila says, trotting over to them. "You'd better figure something out, because you're definitely too heavy for me to carry off this court." "Rude." Alvarez gropes blindly for Laila's shoulder until Laila hooks an arm around her waist and pulls her off Neil. Alvarez is still smiling, that half-crazy too-wide look that reminds Neil a little of Lola and a little of Nicky. Neil tries to remember if she'd been hit in the head at any point tonight but the Foxes had kept the violence within excusable limits. It seemed only fair considering what good sports the Trojans are. "That was fantastic," Alvarez says. "I want to do it again. Next year, maybe, when my legs grow back." "Stop being such a baby," Laila says. "Ignore her," Alvarez says to Neil. "She's just sour because she lost nine goals in forty-five minutes. Don't know why, not like it's a new personal record or—ohhh, it is. Ouch, that's gotta sting a bit. So much for being first-draft." "Bitch," Laila says without any heat. "That's what you get for calling me fat," Alvarez says. She looks back at Neil and gestures past him. "Oops, looks like the party started without you. Go, go, go!" Neil looks over his shoulder to see the Foxes celebrating on the half- court line. He starts to turn toward them, then looks back at Alvarez and Laila. "Your team is terrifying," he says, inspired by Alvarez's enthusiasm to be honest. "We'll be cheering for you next week." Alvarez flashes a thumbs-up, so Neil jogs to meet his team. He hears Alvarez ask how anyone can still run after "the world's longest game", but he figures it is directed at Laila and doesn't slow to hear the answer.
Art used with permission by llstarcasterll. Thank you @llstarcasterll!
*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.
#aftg#all for the game#neil josten#tkm#the kings men#the foxhole court#andrew minyard#palmetto state university#psu foxes#andreil#on this day in aftg#otdiaftg#palmetto state foxes#otdi all for the game#nora sakavic#the foxes#on this day in all for the game#kevin day#nicky hemmick#aaron minyard#coach wymack#abby winfield#matt boyd#dan wilds#renee walker#allison reynolds#usc trojans#artists#llstarcasterll
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hey! 🫵🏻😐
you look like you want to read a jaeji draft where Jaehyun c*ms in his pants. i'm feeling gracious, so have a 3k nsfw drabble where jaehyun is tipsy, horny, and missing his wife.
warnings: masturbation, premature ejaculation, home-made porn (jaehyun records himself fucking his wife :3c), a man who is obsessed with his wife, basically
pairings: jeong jaehyun x oc female (if you aren't familiar with my work, feel free to check out ivoire and noir on ao3)
authors: one of my many many jaeji drafts that will never see the light of day. this specifically focuses on what would've been their engagement and talking about children. please note: this has nothing to do with the current timeline <3
“Jihyun?” Jaehyun called out on a Saturday night.
Ah. That’s right. It was Saturday. Jaehyun pouted. Jihyun would still be at work and after a night out all he wanted to do was cuddle up to his fiancée and hope for some passive head, but he would have to settle with either his hand or a nap. Tipsier than he would like, he stumbled up the stairs and yanked his clothes off his body before showering.
His shower was short as he didn’t want to be standing anymore than he was tonight at the bar, falling on their bed and landing head first into Jihyun’s pillow. He inhaled and smelled her scent and sighed, hugging the pillow close to his chest.
He reached for his phone shortly after and tried his luck with a quick phone call, his eye brightening when she answered and her face appeared on the screen. She smiled brightly at him and Jaehyun could only return the smile.
“Hi, Sweet Boy,” she beamed. Jaehyun was going to ignore his lower half twitching.
“Hi,” he doped. “How is work?”
“Good, I’m coming home soon after a few things. How was the bar?”
“Boring,” he sighed, rolling on his back, “its fun when we go and you start fighting.”
Jihyun snorted, “thanks. I’m just your entertainment.”
Jaehyun laughed and pressed his lips to the camera, “come home soon. I miss you.”
“I’ll be home in an hour or two. Get some snacks and we’ll watch a movie.”
“‘Kay,” he yawned. “Love you.”
“Me more, I’ll see you in a little.”
Jaehyun did as he was told and prepared the snacks as told after ordering them via delivery. He sat in bed and munched on a bag of popcorn until it was empty, even going as far as gnawing on the kernels until his molar hurt. He gave up on the bag entirely and settled for his movie, his eyes heavy and fighting them.
He had no idea what it was about, as he used the film as a time keeper for when Jihyun would come home. By the time it was over, he told himself, his fiancée would be in his arms.
He thought the movie was an action, and for the most part, it was. There was a secondary romance plot that bored him, up until the middle.
He didn’t remember looking at the rating but was shocked to see the main characters in a graphic sex scene. It jolted him awake, watching the girl rock her hips on the man’s lap. He swallowed and shook his head.
Jihyun does that.
Once his length is nestled in her warmth she’ll start slow, gauging how fast or how slow she’ll want to go by Jaehyun’s facial expressions. Jihyun would watching him through her eyelashes, her hair falling around her up until she would bring his hand up to her soft tresses for him to wrap it around his fist the way she liked.
She was so soft and she always smelled so good. He would never be able to describe it. Her natural scent always swirled beautifully with whatever fragrance she would wear, sweet like honey and warm like cinnamon, Jaehyun had no choice but to fall into her hold.
Said man groaned at his imagination and growing erection, hoping to will it away by squeezing his eyes tight enough. The action, however, only made it worse.
He could almost hear her. Her soft breaths whenever he thrusted into her. Her moans when she found her spot inside her. Jihyun was every bit vocal in the bedroom as she was outside of it, but was quieter, gentler, with more intimacy. Jaehyun loved when his name fell from her lips the most. He loved when she choked it out in between gasps and pleas, whenever he would turn them around and he would be on top, fucking her the way she loved, and her voice hitching up a few octaves. His name was always followed by a desperate kiss to wherever she could reach, his lips, shoulder, knuckle, anywhere.
And when she came…
Jaehyun shuddered. Then froze in horror.
He sat up quickly and looked in his lap to realize he had a full orgasm in his pants without even so touching himself. Humiliated, he peeled his sticky pants off to pull on a new pair before shoving his soiled pajamas into the washer.
Back in their room, Jaehyun sat in bed. Embarrassed and still hard.
He looked at his phone and swallowed harshly.
He pushed his pants towards his knees and unlocked his phone, his lip in between his teeth as he made way through his private photo collection.
Jaehyun let out a loud moan upon wrapping his hand over his length. Photos and videos of his fiancée were plenty, especially if she was so generous to share as many as she could.
He watched as she took his cock on screen, her cheeks flushed and pink lips parted. Her pants and cries were coming through his speakers as she took whatever Jaehyun gave to her.
“Fucking me so good, baby,” she moaned. “So, so, so good, Jaehyun—fuck—“
Jaehyun’s breath shallowed, his hand quickening over his length, “Jihyun…“
“Right there, Jaehyun, please don’t stop, please, please, please—!”
He grunted and fucked into his hand, his heart racing. Surely his own face is red at this point.
“So close, Jihyun,” he breathed, “so /fucking/close.”
“Close to what, baby?”
A cold sweat fell over Jaehyun. If his face wasn’t bright red early it was now, and violently. Shocked and distracted from his orgasm, he made eye contact with his fiancée who was now standing at the door, her eyebrows raised.
No matter how embarrassed…Jaehyun continued to run his hand over his length. He wanted to die, really, to be caught jacking off like a teenager. But the way Jihyun eyed him prompted him to continue, especially since she began to peel her own clothes off.
“Were you thinking about me?” She asked meekly, pushing her shirt off her shoulders as Jaehyun nodded dumbly.
He welcomed her into his arms and immediately went for her neck, drinking up her scent and quickening his fist.
“Want…to be inside…” he mumbled, kissing her shoulder.
Jihyun tilted his head upwards to capture his lips for a kiss, once that he so eagerly return. Jihyun held his face in her hands and locked eyes with him.
“Beg.”
Holy fucking shit, he thought to himself. He almost blew it.
“Please,“ he begged, shoving his head into her shoulder, “/please,/let me fuck you Gigi, please, please let me in your pussy.”
“You want it?” She asked, pulling her underwear to the side.
“Want it so bad,” he groaned, “I want you. I love you, I want you, Jihyun.”
“You have it, I’m yours, Jaehyun,” she all but cooed in his ear.
Gripping her waist, he pressed himself against her waist and shoved himself to the hilt, listening to her whimper before rutting into her. Jihyun threaded her fingers in his hair, rocking her hips against his.
“Missed you so much,” she said into his ear. “I feel like it’s been forever.”
Of course, it was a hyperbolic statement, but there was some truth with it. Both parties were busy with their respective businesses, Jaehyun coming home exhausted and fast asleep before Jihyun came home, while Jihyun left before he woke up. To say it’s been forever was dramatic, true, but to the newly engaged couple, it was arduous.
Jaehyun moved his hands from her hips to wrap his arms around her waist, securing her chest against his own. In his own way, he explained that he missed her just as much, if not more. Snapping his hips upwards, he welcomed her lips onto his, making sure to express his love in the only way he knew how. By giving, by servicing.
“Harder,“ she breathed against his lips. Jaehyun immediately flipped them over so that Jihyun laid on her back, her fiancé ripping her bra off and attaching his lips to a nipple before increasing his force.
“Fuck!” She cried out, her legs wrapping around his waist and her nails scraping down his back. “Right there—right there, Jaehyun, please—“
Jaehyun pulled away from her chest to hover over her, a grin on his face before kissing the tip of her nose, “beg.”
Jihyun gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, but a harsh thrust to her spot elicited a moan.
“Please don’t stop,” she pouted, her bottom lip jutting out before her fiancé pressed a kiss it it. “Wanna feel good with you, wanna cum over your cock.”
Jaehyun continued his pace again, making sure to snap his hips forcefully, “like that? Do you want it hard, baby?”
Jihyun was all but crying, her moans and curses growing louder. Her hands left his hair and reached for her pillow behind her, fisting the fabric tightly in her hands.
The sounds of their thighs slapping together bounced all throughout the room, and with the way the bed creaked under them, Jaehyun wouldn’t be surprised if he broke something or if something were to break. Jaehyun wouldn’t be lasting long himself either, his grip bruising her thighs.
Suddenly, the grip around his cock increased, creating a tight squeeze that he could barely pull out of as Jihyun cried out her orgasm. She shook under him as her fiancé continued to drill into her, sensitivity running rampant through her body as she tried to push him away just to catch her breath.
To no avail, Jaehyun continued to fuck into her anyway, groaning when he felt something warm splash against his groin and trickle down his thigh, pulling out to watch Jihyun squirt on their sheets and on his twitching cock.
“Fuck, Jihyun,” he gasped, running a hand over his length until cum spewed from the tip.
Judging by the size of the load, he was well pent up, a pool on her stomach that didn’t include the cum he pushed into her wet hole, shuddering as Jihyun squeezed against the tip.
He smiled at Jihyun’s thighs shaking before he snuggled on top of her, ignoring her whines.
“Jaehyun, we’re filthy.”
“I know,” he sighed happily, kissing her chest.
His fiancée scoffed and pushed him off to walk to the shower. Jaehyun frowned and watched as she nearly tripped and fell over, her face alight as her fiancé watched her with a grin.
“Careful.” He warned cheekily.
“Fuck you,” Jihyun huffed.
He sat laid back in bed and heard the shower go off in the background. He really should at least change the sheets, they were wet and full of…fluids. He barely managed to peel himself off before deciding the sheets were a lost cause, throwing them in the washer with his pajamas from early and starting the washer before going back upstairs.
He could make the bed. Or he could set up camp. Literally.
Jaehyun walked over towards the bathroom were Jihyun was now finished with her shower, her towel wrapped under her arms as she dried her hair.
She watched her fiancée circle around her suspiciously, her eyes narrowed until Jaehyun pressed himself against her, reaching to pull her towel off and let it fall against the floor.
His fingers caressed the goosebumps her arms and watched her nipples pebble at the cold before he took her breasts in each hand, his twitching length nestling in between her bum.
“I’m marrying you tomorrow,” he confessed in her shoulder. Jihyun snorted.
“I work a double tomorrow so I don’t know who you’re marrying.” She placed the hairdryer to the side and fell into his hold. Jaehyun nestled his cock in between her thighs and thrusted slowly.
“I just showered and you’re going to fuck me again?”
“I was going to settle for your thighs,” he admitted, pecking her neck. “But I’ll fuck your tight cunt if you want.”
Jihyun slapped him for his crude language but embraced him. “You’re disgusting.”
Jaehyun grinned, “I know. And you’re marrying me.”
“Tomorrow?” Jihyun continued the joke with a laugh, turning around in his hold to wrap her arms around his neck. Jaehyun returned the same goofy grin and picked her up to place her on the sink, kissing her sweetly despite his crass words.
“If you’ll have me,” he returned.
Much to Jaehyun’s dismay, the couple was dressed and settled for a mattress topper on the floor in front of the window. The windows were open, letting in a summer breeze and filling the room with sounds of crickets and leaves brushing against each other. Jihyun turned to kiss her fiancé in bed, pulling him up so that she was sat on his lap. He smiled as Jihyun cradled his head, her thumb on his lips and the other caressing his cheekbone. Jaehyun kissed the pad of her thumb.
Jaehyun’s eyes flitted from her lips to her eyes, leering at her through his eyelashes. “What?”
Jihyun only smiled and shook her head, granting his silent request for a kiss.
“I love you.” She smiled. The smile was pure, innocent, despite their state of undress. “You’re my best friend.”
Jaehyun swallowed harshly, his eyes scanning her face. His heart raced in his chest as Jihyun caressed the new flush on his cheek and nose.
“I really,” Jihyun took a deep breath,” really can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. You…have no idea how much I love you—how much you mean to me.”
Jaehyun smiled finally, securing his Jihyun into his arms as she pressed them down on the floor again. She listened to his heart beat wildly in his chest as she felt his hands on her shoulders, squeezing reassuringly. Jaehyun was always so bad with words, and always tried to replace that with his actions. Jihyun didn’t mind, at least, now she didn’t. It confused her at first, initially, but she knew now that the soft caress and the gentle squeeze was always an I love you more than I’ll ever be able to explain.
“I love you,” he said finally after some time passed. “But you didn’t need to hear it to know.”
Jihyun smiled, knowing that she was referring to her ear placed against his heart. It slow down some, but it was just a tad faster than usual. She laid her chin on his chest, looking up at her fiancé as he brushed hair away from her face.
“Do you want kids?” She asked. With their wedding a few months away, they should’ve had this discussion earlier. She thought she remembered him saying yes once. “Like really? Actually?”
Jaehyun picked up on her uncertainty and raised eyebrow, “Eventually. Why? It doesn’t sound like you’re too keen.”
“I do, I just could remember if you did.” Jihyun reassured, “How many?”
Jaehyun snorted, “isn’t that up to you to decide?”
“I want at least two,” Jihyun explained. “A boy and a girl.”
Jaehyun scrunched his nose and shook his head, “I’ve done my fair share of raising boys. I want two, but I want girls.”
“You don’t think it’d be nice for our daughter to have an older brother to rely on?”
“No,” he mumbled. “That’s why she has me.”
Jihyun hummed in response before perking up, sitting up instantly and holding his hand, “lets have a baby.”
“Now?“ Jaehyun shook his head, “No way. Your dad would fucking murk me.”
“He won’t because we’re getting married in two months.”
“We’ll try then.”
Jihyun whined and pulled on his hand harder, “why not!? No one is going to know. We’ll keep it a secret.”
Jaehyun looked at her in disbelief, “you? Keeping secrets?!”
“Fuck off.”
Jaehyun shook his head once more before snuggling in the blanket, “we have less than eight weeks. Be patient.”
Jihyun pouted and fell on her pillow next, playing with his fingers, “what if we made one earlier?”
“Please don’t jinx it.” Was the last thing her fiancé said before he drifted off to sleep.
#jaehyun#nct scenarios#jaehyun scenario#nct smut#jaehyun smut#jeong jaehyun smut#jeong jaehyun#jeong jaehyun scenario#nct jaehyun#nct imagine#nct scenario#nct fanfic#nct 127#nct 127 smut#nct 127 imagines#nct 127 scenarios#nct 127 mafia
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Heya love,
Thank you for taking my request! I hardly think you can ever disappoint!
So, Autumn Court is a rather traditional court, and we know how discriminating against females it is.
Picture Rhys and the IC being invited to Autumn for whatever reason may it be. There, he decides to wander through the grounds. Somewhere in a secured area within the forest, he finds a female sitting by herself—too gentle and demure to belong to Autumn.
She’s shy in her discourse and neglects to tell him who she is. Eris pops up suddenly and pries the female away from him in a manner that’s too protective and possessive to be friendly.
Later on, Rhys realizes that this young female is Beron’s only, and youngest daughter. Secluded from prying eyes, Beron has made sure no one knew who she is until he was ready to marry her off.
But when Rhys finds out, and the mating bond snaps for him, he’s ready to fight for her. Going as far as to ask for Eris’ help, who happens to be extremely close and protective of his baby sister.
I hope that was clear enough and not at all confusing. Take your time with it, love! And feel free to change any detail you deem necessary.
Thanks again🩷
This
Is
Perfect!!!!
Thank you so much🤩💕I love it so much that the story started to play in my head on its own and continued even in the dream. Hopefully, you'll like it
Moon princess
Word count: 9600+ (oops)
Warnings: mentions of Beron, court machinations, swear words, but no fights and no blood this time
I'm thinking about writing another part where they are slowly getting to know each other. Which I originaly wanted to add into this one, but tumblr stopped cooperating somewhere around 5k words in, messes up with saved text and takes forever to respond. Message is clear, I guess I have again too many WIPs in drafts. It happens all the time 🙄 Dividers by @tsunami-of-tears
Rhysand threw the pen on the desk and sighing leaned back in his big leather chair. Since early morning he was sitting in the office, writing letters, reading reports and sorting out complaints according to the urgency. It was already past lunchtime, but he didn't get even half through all the documents. He needed some distraction at least for few minutes.
In the very nick of time, the doors flew open and Cassian casually strode in, a massive sandwich in one hand, a piece of paper in the other one. He held only the corner of it between index finger and thumb, glaring at it as if someone had used it as a tissue.
"So.. What are we going to do with the invitation?" he asked with a full mouth.
"What invitation?" Rhys looked up, tired. This was hardly the kind of distraction he wished for.
"This one," general waved the paper. He flopped down to the chair on the opposite side of the desk. "From the Autumn Court."
Rhysand frowned. "I got invitation?" he asked with feigned calm.
"Yup," Cassian took another bite from his sandwich, a bit of dressing dripped on his shirt, but he didn't seem to even notice it. Rhys' mouth twitched.
"Oh, really? And remind me, when exactly did I get it?"
"Few weeks ago. Helion also got one. He wants to know what we assume about it and whether we will accept or no. He's still waiting for the answer by the way."
Rhysand raised brows at him. "So you wrote to Helion."
"Nope, he wrote to you right after getting it."
That was the last drop. Closing eyes, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "I think that we already talked about this at least a million times before, Cass. You can't take my mail, open it, read it and then keep it in your room."
Cassian threw up his hands and the dressing and slice of tomato flew out of the sandwich, landing on Rhys' expensive carpet. Rhysand eyed the stain, blood boiling in his veins.
"I don't do anything like that, bro! You know me. Plus, I don't remember that we've ever talked about such rule."
"That isn't rule I made up. It's called postal secret and privacy. Now bring all my mail! Immediately!"
"Fine, fine," Cassian fumed and rolled his eyes, but at last he stood up, throwing the invitation on the desk and left.
When the doors closed behind him, Rhys flicked his wrist and stain from the carpet disappeared. Then he reached for the invitation and cursed because it was smeared with dressing, too. Rhys licked his dirty fingers, commendably humming and wiped the rest of the dirt with tissue. His stomach loudly rumbled, reminding him that he should head out for some food soon.
He unfolded the paper, quickly scanning the text. Beron was inviting him and his family to a week of festivities on the occasion of a significant announcement. There wasn't written anything else, no more details. Rhysand sighed heavily, drumming with the fingers. His brain coils were working at full speed.
'Significant announcement'
What could it be? Considering that it was Beron, it couldn't be anything good. Because of Cassian, they had last two days left to prepare. He needed to know at least what to expect, so he could work up some plan later.
Azriel?
Claws of his power knocked on Azriel's mental shields. He answered right away, letting him in.
What?
Where are you now? Are you busy?
I'm preparing for the mission we talked about yesterday.
Rhysand considered it for moment, biting on his lower lip. Forget that thing for now or entrust it to someone else. This is urgent.
Azriel answered without hesitation. Fine. Are you in your office?
Rhysand loved how pragmatic Shadowsinger was. No questions. All he needed to hear to drop current job was that it was urgent. He didn't question him. Yes.
I'll be there in a minute.
When Az arrived, half hidden in his shadows as usual, he showed him the invitation and explained the situation. Azriel actually laughed when he heard how Cassian came, asking what was the plan. After that, he immediately disappeared in his shadows, heading to contact the spies they had in Autumn Court.
As expected, Azriel returned shorty before they were supposed to leave for the party. His spies didn't know much, only that Beron was secretly planning something big, the wards around his castle were strengthened and that the frequency of the correspondence between him and Spring Court increased in last two months. There was no time to contact spies in Spring whether they knew something more. Azriel planned to use the time they would spend in the Forest House to spy on Beron and learn more.
It was decided that only Rhys, Az and Cass would go. He didn't even try to ask Mor because he already knew the answer. However, he asked Amren and she clearly refused. She literally said that she would rather give up all her jewellery than listen to a single word of that old, pathetic excuse of a male.
Rhysand winnowed them to the Autumn Court close to the borders of the High Lord's estate. As soon as the world around them stilled, the brisk smell of autumn hit their noses. At gates, a dozen of soldiers stood on guard, armed to the teeth. They eyed them suspiciously, but let them pass. The three of them exchanged look as they stepped in, feeling the strong pressure.
"Putting up so strong wards and then inviting guests, one would think that your High Lord is planning something evil or he got himself a gem of size of his head," Rhys purred, but none of the soldiers even as much as blinked. Pursing lips he nodded. "Sharp guys. I wonder if they would stay still even if we started cutting off their limbs."
"I'm sure they would scream like females," Cassian grinned, folding arms on his chest.
"Are you trying to terrorise our guards, Rhysand?" a sly, bored voice spoke from somewhere behind them. They slowly turned around, arrogant as ever.
"Eris," Rhysand flashed his best cocky smile and shoved hands into pockets. "We are just merely testing them. Since when are heirs on the duty to come to the gates and welcome guests?"
"Ever since the so-called guests are mutts from Night Court," he snarled back, picking non-existent dirt from under fingernails.
Azriel was as always calm and composed, avoiding any attention, but Cassian was his opposite. He straightened up to his full height, squaring his shoulders and gritting teeth. "It's a good custom for the host to respect the guests, especially if they were invited, not to insult them. In Autumn, good manners seem not to be taught though."
Eris didn't react, only scoffed. He turned on the heel and started to walk towards the castle surrounded by reds and yellows. He showed them to their chambers connected by private sitting room, briefly informing them about the time of the evening party and that someone would come to show them the way later.
With a free access to the castle, Azriel didn't waste a minute and as soon as Eris left, he disappeared into the shadows to snoop around.
The party took place in a fancy ballroom. Rhys snorted at the sight of pure opulence, shoving hands into his pockets. Everything in this huge room was made of white marble with gold details, including a high vault ceiling. It was so polished that it looked like a mirror.
Autumn aristocracy and several of the High Lords were already here, so Rhys made a show of checking his appearance, keeping his mask of ruthless arrogance.
He had to admit that Beron knew how to show off his wealth. Massive golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, flooding room with bright light. In the vases next to each marble pillar around the perimeter of the room were big bouquets of flowers made out of gold and copper. The start of the party was planned for the sunset, so the whole room looked like made of gold. Amren would love this for sure.
Rhysand wouldn't let it show on his face, but inside he felt sick. It was overdone and suffocating. And he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Cassian was openly showing his disgust, Azriel scanned the surrounding from under his frowning brows, arms crossed on his chest.
"Finally some friendly faces and my favourite ones," a rich playful voice boomed on their left. Azriel rolled his eyes, not bothering to even look at the coming person and murmuring something about the need of a strong drink, he left. Rhysand with a cocky smile turned in time to see Helion, the High Lord of Day Court, giving a hug to Cassian.
"Good to see you, friend," he purred.
Helion hooked a muscular arm around his shoulders and winked. "What do you say about the host's taste?" he pointed with his chin to the ballroom, speaking lowly only for his ears.
"I say you must feel like home here," Rhys snorted.
Helion pursed his full lips, thinking about it. "Not really. But the drinks are good here," he swirled the golden liquid in his glass and waved them, already heading to the crowd. "I hope to see you later in the privacy of your room, so we can catch up."
Rhysand gave him just nod and his eyes turned to the dais in the same moment as High Lord of Autumn with his wife and sons appeared. Rhysand tried to keep his face emotionless as his eyes fell to the Lady of Autumn. He hated to see the visibly mistreated female, something about her reminding him of his late mother even though unlike Lady of Autumn she was strong and wild and didn't let his father to treat her badly. Maybe it was the motherly vibes they both shared.
He rather averted his gaze to the gathered crowd and half listening to Beron's speech, let his powers lurk around, looking for any useful information he could get from these people. His violet-blue eyes searched for Tamlin, the High Lord of Spring, between the High Lords. Maybe if he played it off well, he could find out more about the business Autumn and Spring were cooking up, but his golden hair and tall figure were nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Beron finished his boring speech with a promise of the big announcement on the end of this week of festivities. Rhysand despised the idea of waiting for the whole week. He needed to know what was going on in order the prepare for it, eventually come up with plan to sabotage it. The sooner he knew, the better.
He tried to find Azriel's mind in the crowd to give him orders, but with satisfaction he realized that Shadowsinger wasn't anywhere nearby, most likely already snooping around High Lord's quarters where he intended to send him. That male was a real workaholic.
As the evening progressed, Rhysand got even more bored. Chat with other invited High Lords led to nothing as none of them wanted to discuss anything of real importance at place where they could be easily heard by wrong persons. Cassian was cleaning plates, Azriel was who-knows-where and even Eris seemed to slip out to the night.
In need of fresh, cool air he moved to the terrace and then down to the gardens, looking for a quiet, dark corner where he could blow out the steam. The sounds of party slowly grew distant, number of guests on an evening stroll decreased. Rhysand didn't want to be disturbed, so he walked more deeper into the dark gardens. Thinking that he found the secluded place he needed, he looked around, noticing guards pacing on the edge where gardens turned into a forest. That piqued his interest. What could possibly be worth of guarding in the forest?
He merged with the night, getting pass the guards unnoticed. It was too easy and thus it was no fun. He hoped for at least a small hitch to make tonight interesting. Hopefully, whatever was hidden there, would be worth of the effort and provide him with some sort of excitement.
He dragged through the forest looking right and left, searching for something that didn't fit in. After half an hour he was ready to call it off, marking it as a great waste of time, when he noticed a soft light behind the thick bush. Carefully stalking closer, he stayed hidden in the darkness of autumn forest and took a look around.
There, hidden behind bushes and trees, spread out a clearing bathing in the cool silver light of full moon and in the middle of that on a fallen tree trunk sat the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. Her petite figure with soft features and porcelain skin glowed in the night. Dark brown silky hair fell in waves to her tiny waist. Dressed up in light, white dress that reflected the moonlight, surrounded by hundreds of fireflies, the small female looked like being of another world. Devouring that fragile beauty, he suddenly remembered the bedtime story mother used to tell him, his most favourite one. How could he forget it?
The story was about Moon Princess who spent her entire life, night after night watching Fae live, dance, laugh and love. Her desire to spend at least one day with them and experience the same things they did, grew so strong that she got sick, slowly fading away. When her father, Moon King, learnt about her desire, he decided to grant her her wish in order to save life of his only daughter. And so Moon Princess descended from the moon to the clearing in the deep forest, instantly feeling better.
At that time, young prince happened to be in the forest on his way back home, witnessing her descent. He immediately fell in love with her and took her to his castle. Gradually, she fell in love with the prince, but when the month her father granted her was coming to its end, she became sad and again fell ill. Her father couldn't stand to see his daughter suffer so much and allowed her to stay with her prince. After some time they got married, had a lot of children and grew old together.
When Rhys was younger, he dreamt about finding his own Moon Princess and having his happily ever after with her. Seeing this gentle creature in the woods now, he felt like he was witness of descent of Moon Princess he waited for. She took the air from his lungs and captivated his heart. Before he knew what he was doing, he stepped out from the shadows. Not wanting to scare her off, he cleared his throat, making as much noise as possible on his way to the fallen trunk.
Despite his efforts, she winced, covering lips like petal of rose flower with her delicate hands with elegant long fingers. Her doe eyes of colour of deepest sea gazed up at him. Recovering from the initial shock, she blushed, readying to run away.
"Don't! Please, stay. I mean no harm," he raised both of his hands, trying to calm her down. She was like a frightened animal. Rhysand assumed it would be for the best if he introduced himself.
"I'm Rhysand and I'm guest of the High Lord of Autumn. I was just on a walk when I noticed you sitting here alone. Are you lost?"
She shook her head, avoiding his gaze.
"What Court are you from? I happen to know all High Lords. I can help you get to the right one."
"I'm.. from here," she spoke shyly, her voice sounded to him like the sweetest melody. He swallowed hard, his palms sweating. What was wrong with him? He was feared High Lord who had more lovers in his life than he could count, yet he felt like inexperienced youngling.
"Can.. can I sit down here with you?" he asked out of breath.
How pathetic, Rhysand, he scolded himself. You finally found female of your dreams and you behave like total idiot. Bravo! She will certainly fall for you and agree to meet you again. You need to come with something better than this.
She bit on her lower lip, considering it, but at last she nodded, moving as far from him as she could. Rhys put on his most dazzling and kindest smile and sat down next to her. She blushed even more.
"The moon tonight is beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes, my lord, I suppose it is."
Rhysand snorted. "I'm not your lord. Please, call me Rhysand or just Rhys if you want. How should I call you?"
Female nervously fidgeted her fingers. "I think I should go." She was about to stand up.
Rhys' hand shot up instinctively, his fingers firmly but gently wrapped around her wrist. Mother above, she was so small and fragile like a porcelain doll. "Please, stay. I understand. No names."
She weakly twisted her wrist in his grasp and he let her go. She sat back down and Rhys sighed with relief, licking his lips. He wanted to make her speak more, yearning to listen to her voice from now until the end of his life.
"Do you come out here often?"
"I'm not allowed to go out much," she whispered hardly audibly, her shoulders slumped.
"How so?" Rhys asked with concern, his gaze again roaming over her petite body. However, he didn't get the answer.
Eris emerged from between the trees, his features twisted in anger.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed and taking female's hand yanked her to his chest. He looked her up and down, checking her for any injury quite roughly.
"Hey! Stop treating her like that! You are hurting her, asshole," Rhysand couldn't stop himself, his mask naturally slid down to its place and he was again fearsome High Lord. He stood up baring his teeth, ready to fight him off if necessary. He wouldn't mind to even kill him to protect this Moon Princess, as he decided to call her until she told him her name, and maybe even after that.
Female's eyes widened at him, but she didn't dare to say a word.
"How did you get here, Rhysand?! This is a private place where guests aren't allowed. If anything, the fact that guards stand at entrance to the forest, should make it more than clear."
"And you," he turned to the female. "What did you do here with this bastard? Why didn't you immediately leave when he appeared? If he finds out what happened here, we both will have a serious problem! Do you even understand that?"
"I'm so sorry. I wanted to leave, but.." she mumbled, cringing, her face pale.
"But what?! Return to your room! Now!"
"I don't know and don't even care who she is to you, but I won't allow you to talk like that with her," Rhys grabbed front of Eris's shirt, staring him down. He was only a few inches taller than the Autumn heir, though the effect was the same.
Female gaped at him in shock, but as soon as Eris let go of her arm, she backed few steps, then turned around and ran away. Rhys wanted to ran after her to make sure she wasn't hurt, but he banned himself to even move. His outburst was bad enough, giving out too much.
They stared at each other, heaving.
"Back off, Rhysand!" Eris snarled lowly.
"No!" he growled back. "Who is she?"
"That's none of your business," Eris glared at him, unmoved.
"Now when I met her, it is my business. I won't just stand by and watch someone hurt females for absolutely no reason."
Pushing him away, Eris burst into fit of laughter. "Good joke, Rhysand, really. Maybe you should clean up your own yard before you start poking your nose into other people's affairs." With that he left, heading in the same direction as the female.
Rhys just stood there, taken aback, gazing after his receding back. He didn't want to admit it, but Eris was right. There was still too much to improve in his Court, but that didn't mean Eris had any right to point it out. In this regard, Autumn wasn't any better than Night.
Later that night Rhysand was pacing in their sitting room, while Azriel and Cassian watched him from couch with concern.
"Don't you want to finally tell us where you disappeared?" Cassian groaned, sipping his drink.
"Did you find anything out?" Azriel added. Ever since he returned he was frowning, angry that he not only couldn't find anything useful, but also that Beron's office and chambers were so warded that he wouldn't be able to get in even if he had a whole month for it.
"Nothing like that," Rhysand growled. The thought of the female and her scared gaze where eating him up. He needed to see her, to make sure she was all right. But where to look for her? Then his gaze fell to his brother, half hidden in his shadows. If anyone was able to find her, then only he.
"Fine, so listen up," he groaned. While still pacing back and forth, he told them everything about his encounter with her and described every detail he remembered.
Azriel listened him attentively, nodding at last. "I will look for her while spying around. But I have to warn you - don't keep high hopes. There's an entire part of castle where I nor my spies couldn't infiltrate no matter how many times we tried it. And we work on that for years. If she is held captive in this castle, they can keep her there."
Rhysand sighed and ran hand through his hair. Eris knew her, but he wouldn't tell him anything. Could she be his lover? Or some secret fiancée? Wife? Or she belonged to another Vanserra? Just imagining that such fragile, young female was here to satisfy Beron's needs made him feel sick.
He needed to calm down, to do something to change the flow of thoughts, so he stepped to the bar and poured a glass of whiskey. He emptied the glass in one gulp, the liquor burning his throat. He grimaced and poured himself another glass. He sat down.
Cassian and Azriel started to discuss something, but he couldn't focus on their words even if he wanted. He could still see her in front of him, surrounded by silver moonlight, beautiful and so unearthly. He was only snapped out of the memory when Cassian put his big hand on his knee.
"Stop it," he muttered in amusement. "It's nerve-wracking when you nonstop tap your foot. Even Azriel here is getting nervous because of you."
"I don't-"
"You do," Azriel nodded, corners of his mouth twitching. With raised brow he looked at Cassian. "What do you think? Finally?"
"Finally," general agreed.
Rhys was confused. "Finally what?" he snapped.
"You are in love," Cassian howled with laughter and Azriel joined him shortly.
"I'm not in love. I'm just worried," Rhysand retorted, crossing hands on his chest and almost tipped the drink on his expensive shirt.
"And now he's even blushing like an innocent schoolgirl," Cassian was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down his cheeks.
"What's so funny?" Helion appeared on the threshold, light smile playing on his lips.
"Nothing. They are just two bored idiots," Rhysand groaned. Helion was the last person he wanted to find out about his encounter. High Lord of Day was the worst gossiper in entire Prythian.
"Oh, c'mon. I want to laugh, too. I'm bored here. This is the worst Court to be in."
"Because you would like to make out with a certain lady who is out of your reach?" Rhysand grinned. This lifted his spirit a bit.
Helion groaned, flopping onto other couch. "Don't even remind me of that matter."
To that Cassian started to laugh even harder.
Helion frowned at him. "Is he okay?" Rhysand only shook his head.
"Two lovesick birds," Cassian tried to calm down, Azriel next to him was massaging his hurting cheeks. He hadn't laughed so much in ages.
Helion watched them with wolfish grin and shiny eyes. "Idiots or no, I'd love to see them worn out in my bed anyway."
Azriel stopped smiling immediately, the idea had never been to his taste. Cassian just shrugged. "Maybe some other time, but thanks," he playfully winked at Lord of Day who obscenely ran teeth over his lower lip.
"I'm already waiting for the day."
Rhysand cleared his throat, grinning. "So.. Did you come for something specific or just to make obscene proposal to my brothers?"
"Actually, yes," Helion smiled, still undressing his long-term targets with eyes. "I and other High Lords are worried. You certainly already heard about something going on between Autumn and Spring."
"Sure, I did."
"I didn't see Tamlin at party tonight. I have quite bad feeling about this."
"Me too, friend," Rhysand swirled the golden liquor in the glass. "Me too."
"I guess that you don't have more detailed information on this matter that you could share with me."
"Unfortunately, I know just as much as you and the others. Azriel here is trying to find out something while we are here and his spies are snooping around in Spring, but we haven't heard anything new from them, have we?" He turned to Shadowsinger who only shook his head.
"But if you find out something, you will share it with us, right?"
"Of course I will. I can imagine only one scenario in which Beron is after the access to the Wall and human lands. We both know very well what it would mean."
"Do you think that Tamlin would allow such thing?" Cassian asked seriously.
"We can only hope that he has enough common sense to not allow it," Rhysand emptied his second glass.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
The week of festivities passed quickly. Beron prepared all kinds of activities to keep his guests entertained. Rhysand had stopped counting the number of hunts, competitions and banquets he absolved right after the first day.
Azriel spent most of the time in the shadows, spying all around the castle, following Beron like hound, but there were no news about the female nor the plans Lord of Autumn had.
Rhys started to have very bad feeling about this all and grew nervous with every passing day in dark. He kept his eyes on Eris who was obviously ignoring him, hoping he would make a mistake and take him to the female. However, Eris, the cunning fox, after the first ball never left the room, participating on every event from the beginning to the very end.
When it was finally time for the last ball, Rhysand was so nervous and irritated that even his brothers were avoiding the conversation with him. And he wasn't the only one. All gathered High Lords seemed to have enough of this shit show and masquerade, waiting only for the big announcement.
That evening, the atmosphere in the ballroom was suffocating, none of the Lords bothered to tune off their powers anymore. When Beron with his family appeared on the dais, five pairs of hostile eyes gazed at him from the crowd, waiting.
Thank you for coming and blah blah blah, Rhysand didn't really listen that old asshole, not until Tamlin appeared on the dais next to Beron who announced that they were intending to make an alliance together. Tamlin seemed to be taken aback to see everyone and to hear that they spent the whole week here, so apparently he wasn't invited for the shit show nor Beron bothered to notify him about the recent events.
"And to confirm my good intentions, my only daughter, Selene, will marry Tamlin," Beron declared.
The wave of shock ran through the crowd. As it seemed, even Autumn aristocracy didn't know about the existence of the mentioned daughter. High Lords looked at each other. Their worst fears had come true. Beron was after free access to the Wall.
However, right at that moment, it was the last thing Rhysand cared about. The doors behind Beron again opened and from the dark of the hallway a small figure emerged. Dressed in dress of moonlight colour with dark brown waves styled into a complicated hairstyle, his Moon Princess walked into the room. She looked up and their eyes locked. Exactly as that night in the forest, her beauty took all the air from his lungs, but it wasn't the only thing that happened at that moment.
Something inside him broke, the crack so loud everyone in the room had to hear it. And in that hole in the middle of his chest, a shimmering gold thread formed, blooming like a flower. The thread shot out, bridging over the entire room. Gently touching his Moon Princess, it wrapped around her and bound their souls together.
Rhysand watched it all with wide eyes and slightly opened mouth. As understanding hit him, he wavered and took a small step back, shocked. Beron's daughter was his mate. The Mother had a strange sense of humor, but in certain way it made sense. The feeling he had when he saw her on the clearing, the pull, the need to make sure she was safe. Of course she was his mate.
"What's going on?" Azriel, always the most attentive, as the only one noticed his moment of weakness.
Rhys couldn't take eyes off of her, barely managing to force his lungs to work again. "She's.. she's my.." He didn't need to finish the sentence.
Azriel's eyes also widened, jumping between him and the female. Even Cassian who overheard them, gaped at him.
"Are you sure?" Rhysand gave him a look and Azriel shook his head. "Of course, you are. Whatever you decide to do now, you can count on me," he said darkly, tendrils of shadows dancing around him.
"And on me," Cassian pat him on the back.
After the shocking announcement, the party was naturally over or at least for High Lords certainly, as they all left right away.
Helion stopped briefly at the doors of their chambers with grave expression to tell them that all the High Lords agreed that the wedding must not take place. For some reason they expected that the Night Court would take care of that, but they were ready to assist them if needed.
Honestly, Rhysand didn't remember much from what had happened after the bond snapped for him, not even how he got back home and to his bed. He lay there in the dark, unable to sleep, all the satin sheets suddenly too scratchy and insufferably hot. His mind was nonstop returning to the only thought - he had a mate and she needed his help.
He tried to analyse the moment when it snapped for him. He was curious whether she felt it too. Though, no matter how many times he replayed the scene in his head, he couldn't find a proof she felt it. Her eyes were sad, her expression shy and guarded. She walked into the room, stopped at Tamlin's side and accepted his waiting hand without a single wobble. She was shivering like leaf in the cold breeze, but all for the different reasons. At dawn he finally came to conclusion that she didn't know about the bond.
He kicked off the blanket and changed. He was determined to solve this problem as soon as possible. He wouldn't leave his mate in hands of any other male.
The Town House was completely silent when he ran down the stairs taking two at a time. The wedding was supposed to take place on the day of the autumnal equinox. That left him only a month to solve this. He didn't have much time and had to start right away. He rushed into his office, almost breaking the doors, and took a sheet of paper and a pen. Quickly he scratched letter and without reading it again sent it. He waited for the reply whole day, without leaving his office. He didn't even eat nor sleep. When there was no answer, next morning he wrote another letter.
Nobody came asking him what to do. His family already knew where they were needed the most. Azriel took all his spies and dividing them into two groups, he sent one group to Spring, the other one under his lead headed to Autumn.
Cassian collected all information and maps they had of the Forest House and looking for places where wedding could take place, he began preparing plans from kidnapping the bride before the ceremony to snatching her from groom's hands before they could say their yes.
Amren shut herself up in her apartment, searching old books with ancient magic for the ways how to break through wards.
For Mor, this was hard. She couldn't be much of help in this case, so she took it upon herself to take care of her cousin and made sure that he ate three times a day, took shower and tried to rest. She gladly accepted the role of an emotional support, listening to all his worries and self-loathing whenever he was in mood to talk.
On the fifth day when there was still no answer, Rhysand decided that he wouldn't wait any longer. He only had a limited amount of time and it was inexorably running out.
Without invitation he winnowed to the clearing near Tamlin's manor in Spring. As expected, it took only mere seconds and Tamlin appeared in his beast form, ready to turn the intruder into shreds. When he saw Rhysand waiting for him, he slowed down.
"What are you doing here?" he growled angrily. "I thought that not sending a reply is quite a clear answer."
"So you read the letters. I need to speak with you. You are doing enormous mistake-"
"That is not your business!"
"The problem is that it is my business. It's all High Lords' business, for the fuck's sake! You are going to open for Beron a way to the Wall!"
Tamlin snorted. "No, I'm not. I would do no such thing!"
"But yes, you are. Why else would Beron want to make an alliance with Spring?!"
"I can assure you that he won't get to the Wall."
"You are wrong and you know it. Whatever is going on, it won't take long and he will get what he wants."
Tamlin just gazed at him, muscles in his jaw ticking.
"What is it what you need so much that you are willing to work even with that old bastard, Tam?"
The beast's gaze wavered, but he wouldn't give in so easily.
"Tam, talk to me. We used to be friends and damn good friends. If it is a help you are looking for, I'll send you any kind of help. Do you need more soldier? You can have them. Money? Bride? Skilled officials to help you rule the Court? You can have it all, you just need to tell me. But don't go into alliance with Beron.."
Tamlin seemed to consider his offer. "I-.. I have tied hands.. I'm trying, but I shouldn't have been ruler.. I'm not built for state affairs. Everything is falling apart and now.. my advisers gave me an ultimatum.. They ask for heir otherwise they will leave me alone in this mess.."
Rhysand blinked in surprise at sudden honesty. With Tamlin, they had a lot of bad blood standing between them like a wall. Ever since Rhys' mother and sister were killed and he and his father killed Tamlin's family in return, they had hardly spoken. This was definitely progress or so he thought.
"I don't need your help, Rhysand," Tamlin murmured, "return to your Court before I make you." Tamlin pivoted, heading back into the forest.
Rhysand planned to solve this without mentioning Selene and the bond, but now there was no other way. Tamlin didn't want to listen and wouldn't accept his offer. This was the last thing that could change his mind.
"You can't marry her!" he called after Lord of Spring.
The beast stopped and looked back at him. "Why can't I?"
"Because.. she is mine."
Tamlin snorted, again moving.
"She's my mate." Rhys only whispered it, but the sweet spring breeze carried the words to his former friend. The beast halted in the middle of the step and fully turned to him. He searched him for any hint of lie, but when he found none, the emerald eyes widened.
"It snapped for me the moment she stepped into the ballroom and our eyes met. I think she doesn't know though," Rhysand continued quietly, hoping he would understand and cancel the wedding. All he needed, was more time to find a way to get her out of Autumn. He didn't ask for anything more. She didn't need to find out right away that he was her mate. He would be completely fine with only a friendship as long as he knew where she was and that she was safe.
Tamlin's eyes narrowed and darkened, one corner of his mouth lifted in a half grin. "Don't worry," he said lowly. "I'll take good care of her. She will have anything she wants and I will protect her. I promise you."
"But will she be happy? Without her mate?"
"If she doesn't know about that, I see no reason why she shouldn't be. One can't mourn something they don't even know that exists."
"Tamlin, you don't understand-"
"But I do understand," he interrupted him. "See you at the wedding. Or rather not. Now we don't want to try our luck, do we."
"Tamlin!"
"Get lost!"
Rhysand fought against the magic of wards that after the dismissal was forcing him to leave. He wasn't done here yet. However, not even a High Lord could stay in other Court if the Lord there expelled them. Unwillingly he winnowed back to his house.
He stood in the middle of his office, heaving heavily. Tears gathered in his eyes. He ran hand through his dark hair and then dragged it down his face. He looked around, searching for something that could ground him, finding nothing. He fell to his knees and yelled so loud that walls shook.
In a blink of eye Cassian appeared at his side and clumsily held him, checking him for injuries. He seemed to be relieved to find none.
"He refused," Rhys sobbed. "I told him and he refused.."
"I'm so sorry, Rhys," Cass spoke kindly. "But.. We will solve this. Don't worry. We all will do our best to get her out of there."
Next week Rhysand's mood was switching between being furious, coldly calculating and falling into depression. At the end of the week, Azriel returned and whole Inner Circle gathered to share all facts they knew and come with some solution. As far as they knew, Selene lived in warded part of the castle where only family members and chosen maids could enter. Azriel spent the whole two weeks trying to break in but to no avail. Amren also had no luck with her research. Wards were a complicated ancient magic and to break through so strong ones, they would need a very powerful and dangerous magical object like Cauldron that was lost for centuries and they didn't have time to look for it anyway.
Rhys only sat there, gloomy, listening. He was again falling into depression.
"What if we got help from the inside?" Cassian suggested, looking around the table.
"From Vanserras?" Azriel looked up. His hazel eyes lit up with idea and he turned to Rhys. "I think that it's quite good idea."
"Thanks," Cassian grinned.
"And who would you ask for help?" Mor rolled eyes. "Beron? His wife? Or his rogue sons?"
Azriel didn't pay any attention to her insults and continued. "I think that the heir would be willing to help us if we convinced him."
Rhysand finally looked up, frowning. "He told me that he doesn't want to see me anywhere near her."
"Exactly! Don't you see it? Who let her out during the party when Beron was too busy to notice it? Eris. Who was out there protecting her? Eris. Who is often visiting the warded quarters despite having chambers in a completely different part of the castle? The answer is again Eris. I'll bet that he goes there only to visit her. Several times a day actually."
"Why should he want to help us to kidnap her?" Rhys shook his head.
"Because he cares for her," Azriel answered simply, tilting head to the side in disbelieve that Rhysand didn't get it yet. "I heard that he isn't thrilled for the coming wedding."
Rhysand clenched hands into fists, thinking. During the last two weeks they had tried everything and nothing worked, even Tamlin laughed him out. There was nothing else they could do except of waiting until the wedding day and then try one of the risky plans Cassian had prepared for that case.
At last, he nodded. "Fine then. Can you deliver message to him?"
Azriel smiled. "Gladly. If you write it right now, he can get it tonight."
Two days later, Rhysand winnowed to the river bend on the border of his Court and hid into the shadows under the trees, waiting. He didn't have high expectations, he was avoiding the hope so as not to be disappointed in the end. The time ticked by while he watched flowing river, but in his mind he saw only her, his Moon Princess bathing in the silver moonlight with shiny big eyes and soft smile on her lips. He could keep watching her lovely profile forever. If that was all he was allowed in this lifetime, he would die a happy male.
Thirty minutes later another male winnowed to the same bend of the river, his red hair looked like blazing flames in the setting sun. He eyed the empty river bank and nearby tree line with arrogant, bored expression. He crossed hands on his chest, glaring into the waters.
Rhysand stepped from his hideaway, casually walking with hands in the pockets to the place where the other male waited at. "I already started to think that you won't come," he tried his usual cocky tone, but even to him it sounded fake.
"You are the one who wanted to meet up at this.. where are we actually?" Eris raised a brow, disgusted.
Rhysand shrugged. "Just old campsite. Nobody is coming here anymore, not after what happened here. Old story. The most important is that we can talk here without being overheard."
Eris clasped hands behind his back. "So? What is so urgent? I'm busy with wedding preparations as you know."
"That's the reason why I need to speak with you." Rhys swallowed hard. He was preparing for this discussion ever since Azriel left with his letter in the pocket. Despite everything he decided to be honest for once instead of making up lies. "That wedding must not take place."
Eris raised brows at him. "Why?"
"Because..," he tried to say it aloud, but couldn't, "it can't happen."
"Good try, but I don't have time for this. So if you don't have any good reason for this, I'm leaving." He pivoted.
"She's my mate."
"What?!" Eris turned back to him so fast that he almost slipped on the stones.
"You heard me. Selene, your sister, is my mate."
Eris just gaped at him, eyes wide, but at least he wasn't about to leave anymore.
"The wedding is the biggest mistake. I don't think she knows about the bond, but she won't be happy. You have to help me stop it."
Eris's mask slipped down for a moment and Rhysand noticed pain hidden beneath. "I can't. It's too late."
"It isn't. They aren't wed yet, there's still time."
"And what do you expect me to do? Do you want me to go to my father and tell him: hey, forget about the alliance with Spring, her mate resides on the other side of Prythian? That would 100% work."
Rhys rolled eyes. "No, just help me get her out of there. If there is no bride, there won't be wedding nor alliance. This will solve all the problems at once and nobody gets hurt."
Eris snorted. "And what about her? What will happen to my sister?"
"She can live here, in my Court. I'll protect her, give her home and take good care of her. You will be welcome to come visit her anytime you want."
Eris shook head in disbelieve. "You will keep her at your side like some sustained lover? No, in such case she's better in Spring with Tamlin. I saw them talking together and he was really kind and respectful to her. That's what she deserves, Rhysand. The respect. There might be no love between them yet, but it can change in the future. He will provide her with the same things you are offering, but he will make her his wife."
Horrified, Rhysand took a step back. "Lover? What? Don't put words into my mouth. She doesn't know about the bond and I won't push her into relationship with me. If she wishes so, we will be friends. She decides what we will be, not me. But if the bond snaps for her and she accepts it, I'll more than gladly marry her right away. In my Court, she will have freedom she never had and in marriage we will be equal. In everything."
He gave him a doubtful look, laughing. "Equal? Mother's tits! I won't believe such empty promises."
"These are no empty promises, I'm serious. Can you see me laughing? I'll make even a bargain with you. If she agrees to marry me, she will be my equal. I'll make her a High Lady."
"There is no such thing as High Lady." Eris stuck out chin, narrowing eyes.
"Then she will be the first one. Do you want to bet?"
"No, but I want that bargain."
"Fine," Rhys smiled for the first time since he learnt that his Moon Princess is doomed to marry another male. "So, what do you want in exchange for your help?"
Eris tilted head to the side, pressing lips into thin line. "Help for help. When the time comes, you will help me get rid of my father."
"We have a deal." After wording their vows, smell of magic filled the air and a small tattoo appeared on their bodies.
"Great that you agreed so easily. I was ready to get down on my knees if necessary," Rhysand grinned.
"That sounds like a lot of fun. Especially, in this awful state you are in. I think I'm going to change my mind."
"Good you can't," Lord of Night patted his shoulder with new tattoo.
Eris barked with laughter.
"Now tell me, just out of curiosity, is Selene really your sister or just half sister? It doesn't really matter to me, I'm asking because-"
"She looks so different?" Eris finished the sentence with fox grin. "She is my sister. Frankly, she looks like clone of father's great grand mother. I would show you her picture, but.."
"No need. I believe you."
Eris raised his brows doubtfully.
"How exactly do you imagine her abduction to take place? If your spymaster can so easily get into my chamber, I'd say you don't need me."
"Believe me when I say that we already tried to get to her. Unfortunately, not even my brilliant spymaster can get through your father's wards. That's why we need your help."
"I see. I'm relieved to hear there are wards that can stop you and your people."
"If we weren't in such time crunch, we would find way in for sure. But we don't have so much time now," he winked. "All I need from you is to get her out of the wards inside the castle. It really doesn't matter whether you take her to your room or to that clearing, as long as she will be somewhere where we can get to her."
Next hour or so they spent discussing the details of the abduction, so the both sides knew the exact meeting place, time and what to do. When Eris left, Rhysand return back home, feeling much better. In good mood he shared the plan with Cassian and Azriel who would go into the action with him. Now he just needed to wait for message from Eris. If he hadn't seen with his own two eyes how much young heir cared for his sister, he would doubt his intentions. This all was possible only thanks to the exceptionally strong sibling love and overprotectiveness. In moments like this Rhys thought about his own baby sister. What would it be like if she was still here?
Days were passing one after another without any news from the Autumn heir until finally four days before the wedding a small piece of paper appeared on Rhysand's desk. He opened it and skimmed a neatly written short message.
Cassian! Azriel! he called in his mind.
Ever since he made the deal, they were staying in their rooms in the Town House instead of the House of Wind, just in case they would need to quickly move on. It took them only a minute to get to his office. As soon as they appeared on threshold, he happily waved the paper in the air.
"Get ready! We leave an hour after sunset."
Exactly one hour after sunset Rhysand winnowed the three of them to the Autumn Court's borders, the rest of the way they had to fly to avoid being detected by the magic of the wards that Eris inconspicuously lifted for several minutes.
Thankfully, wards around the Forest House weren't so hard to get through and Azriel could safely get them in without any help. Under the cover of night, Rhysand led them through the grounds to the clearing where they were supposed to meet with Eris and Selene. They slipped past the patrol on their way, unnoticed. Just to make sure they weren't walking into a trap, they silently landed in the forest and went on foot the rest of the way. Hidden in the dark shadows under the trees, they waited.
Ten minutes later, Eris appeared on the clearing dimly lit by the waxing moon. And he wasn't alone. Holding his hand, a small figure walked behind him.
"Be careful here," Eris kindly warned his sister and she smiled in answer.
When they stopped in the middle of the clearing, Selene looked up on the moon, bathing in the silver light. With her long hair down and in the snow white dress, she was stunning. Meanwhile, Eris intently gazed into the night, his body tense. Rhys nodded to his brothers and moved forward. They assumed she would be less frightened if he went first. He let the dry twig to crack under his boot on purpose, notifying them of his arrival.
Both siblings turned in the same time. Tension in Eris's shoulders melted away, replaced by sadness. Selene seemed to recognize him and shyly hid behind her brother.
The males nodded in greeting. "Everything okay?"
"Nobody saw us."
"And Beron?"
"Some kind of troubles with goods for wedding in the port."
Selene watched their quiet exchange calmly from behind the brother's back, curiously peeking at Lord of Night. She didn't seem to be surprised by the turn of events at all.
Rhys nodded at last and leaning to the side to get a better view, he smiled at her.
"Hey there," he said so softy he surprised even himself. "Do you remember me?"
"Yes, my lord," Selene answered shyly and hid even more into brother's shadow.
Rhysand huffed in amusement. "I thought we already had this conversation, darling. Only Rhys for you."
Eris winced at the way he addressed his sister, but didn't say a word. Instead he took his sister's hand and pulled her from behind him. "It's okay, dear. He's here to take you.. to safety."
She looked up at him with her big bright eyes, waiting. "I'm sorry, Sel," Eris continued, "I can't let you marry Tamlin. I genuinely think that he would be a good husband to you, but you wouldn't be happy with him. That's why you have to.." He couldn't finish the sentence, his voice failed him. Rhys noticed the tears in his eyes and decided to ignore them for now. He understood how hard this must be for him.
"So you allow me to leave with my mate?" Her silent question made them both gape at her in shock. Eris recovered as first and smiled sadly. He reached into the pocket between the words and pulled out a bigger bag.
"I- I packed you some clothes for the start.. and a couple of your favourite things.."
"You know about the bond?" Rhysand's heart stuttered. He didn't expect that.
She met his gaze for a second and quickly shied away, blushing fiercely. "Since the night we met here," she took her brother's sleeve between fingers and stepped closer to him, partly hiding behind him.
Rhysand was so happy that he couldn't find words. He had so many questions that he didn't know where to start. Cassian and Azriel quietly approached them and Selene's eyes widened with fear.
"That's okay, they won't hurt anyone. They are my friends who came to help me get you safely to my Court," Rhys held out hands, explaining. "This is Cassian, General of my armies, and this is Azriel, Spymaster. They are big, clumsy and quite grumpy, but both are very kind-hearted, I assure you. We grew up together like brothers."
When introduced, Cassian grinned widely and waved at her, while Azriel put hand on his chest and slightly bowed.
Eris scoffed, rolling eyes.
"It's time. We should go before someone notices she's gone," Azriel murmured lowly. He was right. It was too risky to stay here for too long.
Rhysand cleared his throat nervously and offered her hand. "Can we?"
She looked up at her brother questioningly. Eris's jaw tightened as he turned to face her. At first he only held her hands, suppressing his feelings, but then he broke and pulled her into a hug. He whispered her something in the ear and tried to wipe his tears away stealthily while pretending to clean some dirt from her shoulder.
They parted and Selene walked over to Rhys' group, her cheeks wet.
Eris sadly watched as Rhysand gently picked her up and handed her bag to Azriel. "Everything is going to be fine. He will take good care of you.. I'll visit you soon," he looked at Rhys who nodded in agreement.
"Anytime you want."
"Oh, and take this," Eris reached into his pocket and handed her a blank sheet of paper. She turned it in fingers, confused. "It's enchanted. If you want to talk with me, just write on the paper and it will teleport to me. When I answer, it will return. If there would be any trouble with it.." His eyes moved to Lord of Night.
"I'll gladly help you with it or you can write a letter and Azriel will deliver it for you."
The mentioned one nodded in agreement and opened the bag so she could put it in.
"I'll miss you, brother," she sobbed.
"I already miss you. Stay safe." Eris stepped away, hardly keeping his tears back. He put on his cool mask of heir, but his amber eyes were giving him away.
"Thank you," Rhysand swallowed hard, hardly suppressing his own emotions. "When you are ready, let me know. I owe you for this. And don't worry. She will be safe and well cared of. I'll write you when we arrive."
Eris only nodded, fists clenched at his sides and retreated a few steps to give them enough space. Rhysand summoned his wings and carefully took off followed by his brothers. Selene watched Eris until trees obscured her view. Then she wiped her tears and rested head on his shoulder. It took him by surprise and for a moment he forgot how to use the wings.
"Sorry," he apologised for the shock and she hummed in answer. He exhaled shakily, again feeling like a youngling on the first date. "A-are you scared? Of flying?"
"No," she whispered between sobs.
Rhys tugged her closer to his body, gently rubbing her shoulder with thumb. "I know it's kind of scary for you. You don't know me nor my family, but I promise I'll do anything to make you happy. And the bond.. I won't pressure you. It's up to you-"
"I want the bond," she said firmly, interrupting him. "I saw that we will be happy."
"You did?" Rhysand raised a brow. Eris probably failed to mention that his baby sister was a seer.
"Sometimes I see little flashes of my future. I knew that you will come for me."
He huffed. "Of course you did. You are the Moon Princess after all."
"Who's Moon Princess?" She seemed to calm down at last and stopped crying, but she stayed hidden in the crook of his neck.
"Well, she's someone my mother used to tell me a story about. Do you want to hear it?"
She nodded and so Rhys started quietly whispering the story into her ear while they were sliding through the peaceful night sky, heading to their own 'happily ever after'.
#acotar#rhysand x oc#sarah j maas#acotar fanfiction#eris vanserra#azriel shadowsinger#azriel#azriel acotar#tamlin#rhysand acotar#rhys acotar#cassian acotar#request#autumn court#night court#beron vanserra#helion acotar
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Ford Comforting You Drabble
TW: Trauma? Major character death mentioned.
This has been sitting in my drafts for a few days. I need to clear out some space so I don’t get overwhelmed. Again, this is something wrote half asleep, as most of my fics are. Apart from Spooktober. Those get my full attention.
Please let me know if anyone would be interested in a full fic based on an OC I’ve had in mind for a while.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Ford soothed when he found you.
You’d been crying all afternoon. Everything was just too much all at once. After the last summer with Bill and Weirdmegeddon, you knew you weren’t okay. You’d lost it a bit when the kids went back to California. You lost it even more when Stan and Ford got on the Stan O’ War II last year. You had fallen in love with Ford before Weirdmegeddon began. He’d fallen for you too, but he insisted, and you encouraged, that he needed to rebuild his relationship with Stan.
Now, he was back. You were so happy. The lifeline you depended on to help you manage the nightmares that scarred you after last summer was back. You had comforted each other back then. While he was away, he and Stan called every chance that they could, but it was never enough because the nightmares still woke up.
So, you stopped sleeping. Your nightmares didn’t consist of the events of Weirdmegeddon. You didn’t remember most of it anyways. You were captured by Bill goons quickly, bait for Ford. He turned you to stone and placed you on a pedestal, a prize for Ford to receive once he joined Bill.
Though your nightmares consisted of mainly Bill Cipher, they focused on Stan. You had this horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach every time Stan had done something out of character. So, your dreams consisted of Bill not actually being gone, possessing Stanley and the only way to get rid of him was to kill Stan. Those dreams haunted you.
The dream you had when you dozed off in Stan’s recliner that afternoon had been particularly nasty. You had dreamt that you had come home to the Shack after a long day at the office. All you wanted to do was sit with the kids, your love, and Stan to watch Ducktective. When you walked through the door, the whole house was quiet. You called out, but no one answered you. As you searched, your scream had echoed through the hallways when you found Dipper, Mabel, and Ford slaughtered in the attic. That was when you saw Stan smiling over them. His eyes were yellow, pupils elongated as Bills laughter boomed around the room.
“Talk to me,” Ford whispered. He kissed you on the top of your head. He kissed your cheek and nose. He kissed your tears right off of your face, “Same dream?”
You could only nod in response. Your breathing was ragged as you sniffled. You couldn’t really breathe, on the verge of a panic attack. You had told Ford about this dream, as you had it before, when he was sailing with Stan. He knew it well, having the same dream himself.
He didn’t even need to offer you comfort because you took it without hesitation. Throwing your arms around his neck, “I can’t deal with this anymore.”
#gravity falls#gravity falls x reader#stanley pines#dipper pines#mabel pines#stanford pines#ford pines#ford pines x reader#drabble#chillinglyadventurousdrabbles
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Rumor Has It
Found this in my drafts and don't really remember writing it. I know it was prompted by a post I saw, but I can't find it . The only other thing I know is true in this AU is that Steve is not aware he isn't straight.
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Eddie didn't trust the rumors that plagued Hawkins. He heard them just like everyone else, sometimes he'd chase down more details if it interested him, but he didn't trust them at first contact the way that most of the denizens of the town seemed to. The ones that faded away in a few days were obviously fake. The ones that lasted weeks probably had some grain of truth. But this one, now six months old, but still only whispered about, should have been counted as truth. If it lasted that long, it had to be true. Eddie still didn't trust this one.
Not when it was a rumor that was, quite literally, the stuff of his dreams.
Steve Harrington was gay.
According to rumor.
The story started sometime after he got dumped by Wheeler and got his shit rocked by Hargrove. Eddie didn't know where it came from, but he heard it said for the first time a few weeks later. Hargrove never said that it was why Harrington got beat to hell, but he gave a nasty grin if the topic came up that implied a hell of a lot about Harrington on the rebound.
And Eddie didn't trust that. He didn't trust it when Tommy H started telling tales from their freshman year. Or when some of the guy's attempted-hookups started talking.
Eddie didn't trust it because it spread fast, stuck around, had plenty of sources, but it also never got said to Harrington's face. And if there was one thing that Eddie was sure of, it was that no one in that damn town had a problem throwing out slurs if it was even possible someone was different.
According to the rumor mill, that was because Harrington's dad had a connection with the mayor and enough money to bring the police down on anyone that started something. So it remained a rumor, remained in the background, and Eddie remained unconvinced.
Until Eddie went to the mall.
Embarrassing uniforms to earn minimum wage was not evidence. Though it was eye candy.
A different facet of the rumor said that Harrington Sr made Steve get the job as a punishment for the facade of heterosexuality slipping. So, no, the ridiculous, awful, wonderful, slutty little sailor suit didn't count as evidence of the guy's sexual or romantic preferences.
The lip gloss, on the other hand...
And maybe some eyeliner and mascara, but Eddie hadn't gotten close enough to be sure that wasn't his imagination.
And even then! That wasn't proof. A straight guy could use makeup. They didn't, they flipped out at the very concept, but in theory, it was possible.
Eddie wanted to know. Nay, he needed to know. His dreams, and his junior-year-crush demanded answers. Eventually, the temptation of fruit of knowledge grew to be too much.
Slipping into line behind a trio of girls, Eddie watched as Steve deployed the charming smile that had melted the hearts of half the school. Plus Eddie's. He watched it fail to work, catastrophically, and after six months of hearing this rumor and resisting the lure of believing it, he figured: fuck it, go for broke.
If it was bullshit, he'd get to be the one who broke the news to the guy, which might finally be enough to kill that stupid crush of his when Steve flipped out at the insult of the implication.
On the other hand, if it was true....
"Hi, welcome to Scoops Ahoy!"
"Well, hi there, sailor boy," Eddie flirted.
-
This is a hot potato fic. Continue it, steal it, whatever you please.
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碎鏡
My Qiaofang fic 《原諒我可好》 was originally the ending to a slightly longer draft, before I edited/cut it down and it became its own oneshot. However, I still like what didn't make it in, and Qiao Wanmian's perspective was a joy to write. So here is everything that happened before, as an extra (but can be read on its own).
Qiao Wanmian learns, days after the fact (again), that a man is dead, disappeared from the world (again), and as she feels the last ten years of her life warp, rush past, reset (back to the start, back to the end) the world fractures into sharp glass.
Qiao-guniang, are you all right? makes its way around the shards, the sound cut too harsh in its gentleness. Menzhu, do you want us to keep looking for him?
Qiao-nvxia, I'm sure he's still alive.
Qiao-guniang, he came back last time. He wouldn't leave you.
(For the second time, no one says.)
Days turn into weeks, turn into a month, strung together by a symphony of demand, of advice, of people who remember a heartbroken maiden mourning her destined, and no one beyond that.
Menzhu—
Qiao-nvxia—
Qiao-guniang—
Qiao Wanmian—
"Enough," she says, and for not the first time, she understands why Li Xiangyi wanted to run.
And so finally, Qiao Wanmian does too.
~*~
Here is the measure of Qiao Wanmian's life:
She is almost thirty, and two betrotheds have come and gone. She has spent half her lifetime dedicated to a sect, defining its name and its honour, but pride though it is, her name does not exist outside of it. Qiao Wanmian of Sigumen, as she hears it echoed in the streets.
And more than that, because the names of heroes will not, cannot die? Qiao Wanmian, Li Xiangyi's beloved.
What is it like, she wonders, watching a trio of girls walk through a market in a small town, sword wrapped in cloth for anonymity, to be someone who loves with the freedom of leaving it behind? What is it like, to exist and nothing more, as someone other than a widow who was never a wife?
What is it like for the world to look at oneself and see a person, not a story, perfect in her sculpted tragedy?
And somehow, somehow she finds the answer after two months of wandering. Or rather he finds Qiao Wanmian, seated at an inn toward the south, blue silk and silver stepping out of a storm and through the door for too-wide eyes to find her own.
"Qiao-guniang," Fang Duobing breathes. When Qiao Wanmian looks at him, all of twenty years old and too young to lose a first love, she knows that before him stands a shattered world too.
"Join me?" she says to that, and signals for another jar of wine.
~*~
Fang Duobing is an interesting one, Qiao Wanmian thinks, several hours later, studying him by the relief of candlelight. His hair sweeps over his shoulder, dark river with a few strands fallen loose, as he slumps forward to brace his arms on the table. He's staring downward as he props his chin up by one hand, the other fidgeting with his sleeve. "How long do you think it'll take to find him?"
Maudlin, he is. He hasn't had the years to build up a tolerance for wine, although Qiao Wanmian cannot say she's been sober this evening. The warmth to her face is from more than the inn torches.
How did Li Lianhua talk to this boy, when he was in this state? What was lie, what was truth, and for how long? Did it feel like this, where Qiao Wanmian knows the answer to Fang Duobing's words, but cannot let it escape her tongue?
"I don't know," she settles for instead, a soft lie to cushion the truth. "It might take a month. It might take years."
"It won't be years," Fang Duobing murmurs. The strings of beads in his hair rustle as he tilts his head to look at her. "We both already waited ten. I'll find him sooner than that."
Xiangyi, Qiao Wanmian thinks, thinks of the last ten years gone by without lighting lanterns for the dead. You always chose the ones who could never give up, didn't you?
"Good luck," she says softly, nearly a whisper, and takes a slow swallow of wine. The jar is nearly empty.
Silence unspools, punctuated by the flicker of the lights. Fang Duobing unstops the next jar of wine and brings it to his lips, neck a graceful curve in the lean of his head back, accented by the line of his jaw. He's grown into his features, for all the room he still has left to mature. If the jianghu hadn't called his name, he would have made a handsome aristocrat in the imperial court.
Is that what else Li Lianhua saw in Fang Duobing, for him to take on a companion after ten years of solitude? Qiao Wanmian wonders briefly, in the split moment before Fang Duobing glances at her again, then somewhere in the distance, darting away too quickly to count as an idle movement. "Something to say, Fang-gongzi?"
Fang Duobing closes his eyes, in a moment's thought. When he opens them, it is to lean closer, close enough that Qiao Wanmian can feel the shape of his breath. Perhaps this dearth of respectable distance, if anyone cares, can be excused by a wine-fuelled lapse in judgment. She chooses to let it be so.
"How did you survive this the last time?" Fang Duobing asks, less question and more plea. Qiao Wanmian can see now that it's been on his mind all evening, desperation forcing his tongue.
His eyes are dark now. He looks lost.
And before she can respond, "I'm asking because you were also someone who knew him."
Oh.
Qiao Wanmian doesn't deserve to have the word zhiji alongside her name. Not when it comes to Li Xiangyi. But she knows what Fang Duobing is searching for, and so she holds it out, that lifeline of kindred recognition.
Thousands mourned the loss of a legend. They both mourned the death of a man.
When her hand moves toward Fang Duobing, half by some instinct, half by impulse, he leans into the touch, letting himself be tugged up by his chin to face her.
"I don't have a good answer for you," she says, and there's no lie for this that will fare any less painful than the truth. "You'll get through one day hoping he'll be there waiting at the end, and he won't be, but you'll go to sleep so that maybe he'll find you in the next. He won't. But if it means you see tomorrow, then you have to keep hoping, until someday, you've found something new to wake up for."
It all comes out in a rush, and it surprises Qiao Wanmian by the honesty of it, so much so that her last words are too quiet by contrast. "That's how people like us keep living."
Fang Duobing's eyes are too bright. She brushes one gemstone of a fallen tear away with her thumb.
"You did this alone?" he says, and Qiao Wanmian recognizes the tremble to those words.
A wandering swordsman with a blade can fight any demon that throws itself at him. Fear, though, has ten thousand different ways to find you.
"You won't have to."
A promise, she realizes a moment too late, but she's already made it. These words were for him alone. Something else takes over Fang Duobing's expression: relief, like the first blossom of spring after a bleak winter.
He's too young for this to be his life.
And of Qiao Wanmian? What does Fang Duobing think? She waits, drawing away from him, the comfort of another's warmth gone.
His words are too soft in his mouth, gaze too earnest. "I know you haven't said anything about yourself all night, but you don't have to either, you know."
It feels like an arrow let fly.
Qiao Wanmian is left helpless by its wound, staring in the half-dark at a boy too sweet for her, willing to break her fall while he doesn't know how to land himself, and, and—
Something inside her breaks.
~*~
When she reaches for him, anything of him, drowned in the shadows by the doors to his room— waist, collar, mouth— he lets her.
#if you're familiar with the first fic you can tell what i took from this and added into it lol#but anyways#i wrote this all in a blur of an evening while procrastinating an essay and im proud of it#so here you go#mysterious lotus casebook#qiaofang#qiao wanmian#fang duobing#ashton writes fic
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The Collector - S.R x Hotchner! Reader
Oooookay!! I've developed a little bit of a pattern of having m u l t i p l e spencer reid fics out with only a few days between and I feel like my current wip is going in a direction I don't really like, so this is just a cute little fic because I feel the urge to publish something instead of watching more criminal minds or editing my current wip to fix it's course.
I've had a l o t of thoughts about spencer with hotchner! reader who's also an author and bibliophile, and while yeah, that's the premise for my current WIP, it's also a point in this one (they'll be two different depictions in two different settings) because I just can't stop thinking about it. The concept has me wholly entranced.
The fic title is riffed from the song The Collector by Searows because I listened to that while writing this one and I am simply too lazy to come up with something else.
Fic type - fluff with some hurt/comforty undertones
Warnings - there are mentions of a difficult case (not specified), there are mentions of sharks (hammerheads are blabbed about a la reidsplaining, and thresher sharks are mentioned), and this one is not edited beyond bare bones because I whipped it up in an hour and a half and wanted to get it out as soon as possible.
When Spencer gets home, the part of him that actively seeks you out is a little anxious not to find you in the living room, lounging on the couch while drinking tea and reading a book like you usually are when he gets home after a case, but it takes him a second before he remembers why the routine has changed.
You, a very accomplished author and person both, are writing again. Your agreement with the publishing house that's been with you since you were seventeen states that you have to have one book out every year, and while sometimes your books don't require a lot of research, a fair bit of the time they require at least or two of it before the drafting process begins.
And, Spencer remembers, you like to write in what he knows to be your domain--since you'd moved into a house that was almost too big for just the two of you, you've had a little home library. It's floor to ceiling with shelves, and the ceilings are pretty freakin' high out, taller than Spencer is by around four feet. You need a ladder to get to some of the stuff you read, and the walls are lined with more than 1,000 books that both you and Spencer had read in varying languages.
He sets his messenger bag down at a chair in the dining room table and pretty much makes a beeline for you from there--it's been a tough case. He's spent the last two weeks in Nevada and while he did get the chance to see Ethan while he was there, the case itself took a toll on his mental health and he just wants to steal one minute of your time.
He opens the door quietly in an effort not to disturb you, but it hardly works. You turn around when the door croaks because the hinges are rusted to hell and neither you or Spencer has had the time to put some WD-40 on them to stop the squeaking.
When you see him, your face breaks out into a grin. "Hey, Spence," you greet. He steps into the room, closing the door behind him as you approach, and like you know exactly what he needs, you pull him into a tight hug.
"How'd you know?"
"Aaron texted," you answer. "While you guys were on the way back--said you looked a little worse for wear. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he answers. "Just--case took a lot out of me, and I really missed you."
You've developed, over the last ten years of the relationship, the sort of innate ability to read Spencer like he's an open book, and you know he doesn't really want to talk about it so you don't push him.
"I'm right here," you respond, squeezing him just a little. You've missed him too, while he's been gone, but that feels like bullshit because you always miss him when he's away. Every single time, without fail, when you have to go to bed alone, you find yourself putting on one of his work shirts because it smells like him and spending the night all yearny because you miss him until you fall asleep.
When you pull away, your head tilts on instinct. "You okay?" You ask again. "What are you thinking? I can see the cogs turning in that handsome brain of yours, Spence."
"I'm sorry for interrupting," he says. "I know that you're working, Y/N, and--"
"You're not interrupting anything," you answer. "Aaron told me you'd be coming back today and I've been hopped up on caffeinated tea waiting for you to get home. I've been trying to do a bit of research with regards to the book I'm supposed to start next week, but I haven't been able to focus because you're the only thing I can think about."
Spencer smiles softly, and you turn your laptop off and then shut it before pulling him back in.
You bury your face in the crook of his neck before you can stop yourself, really--you've missed him like hell, and when you feel him do the same to you, you know that he's really been through hell since he was last in Virginia.
The two of you hug for a lot longer than either of you initially expect. You don't pull away until Spencer does, which must be fifteen minutes gone.
"We're staying in tonight," you murmur, e/c eyes meeting his brown ones. "Ordering pizza or pasta or--something good, and we're going to watch the shark documentary we saw on Netflix the day before you left."
"You've decided, have you?" Spencer asks, a teasing smile threatening to poke at the corners of his lips.
"Yeah," you nod. "And Penelope sent me her recipe for carrot muffins so I'm gonna make those to eat as a snack, and I've really missed your voice so I--just talk, Spence. Please."
You're grabbing him by the hand and leading him out to your kitchen as you speak, and when he starts rambling per your request, you're grabbing a mixing bowl and a spatula.
"Hammerhead sharks are a lot more interesting than they seem," Spencer begins. "Their scientific name is Syphrnidae, they keep to a carnivorous diet and they live 20-30 years on average while in the wild. They use their heads to help them hunt for their food, which is primarily stingrays as well as other kinds of rays, squids and crustaceans that live on the ocean floor. There are nine different species of hammerhead and with a length of an average 13-20 feet, the great hammerhead is one of the largest sharks in the world and it's the largest species of the nine in the Syphrnidae family."
As he talks, you get yourself busy with the baking, happy to let Spencer ramble until he runs out of breath because you've missed the sound of his voice. By the time the carrot muffins are in the oven, he's moved from hammerhead sharks to thrasher sharks and when you've closed it, he's stopped talking and is just--looking at you like you're the love of his life.
"What?" You ask, noticing his gaze.
Spencer shakes his head as though he means to clear his thoughts from it, shrugs, and says, "nothing."
You laugh. "I call bullshit," you say. "Just because my brother went on to be one of the profilin' types and I became an author doesn't mean I can't read you like an open book, Spence. What's going on in your head?"
He leans against the counter top, crosses his arms over his chest, and smiles.
"You fell in love with "one of the profilin' types", Y/N," he says. "And, yeah, you can read me like an open book. Never thought to be closed around you, and a decade gone, I am reaping the benefits."
"Yeah?" You ask, putting your dishes into the sink and giving them a rinse so that they're not mucky when they go into the dishwasher. "How so?"
"I'm home after two weeks on one of the roughest cases of my career," he says. "And I get to come home to you. That makes me feel lucky in and of itself."
"Yeah?" You repeat, turning to him with a grin as you wipe the water off of your hands and onto the nearest dry washcloth. "You're sure that the whole--the whole double PhD in Creative Writing and Psych, or the multiple pieces I've written that've been put into reputable news sources, or all of the books I've written since we met when I was nineteen and you were twenty--that has fuck all to do with it?"
He reaches out, his hands gracing your hips with a touch so delicate that it's almost intoxicating. "I fell in love with you for you, Y/N," he says. "Not your accomplishments, though boasting about you does have it's bonuses."
Your arms wrap around his shoulders. "I love you too, Spence."
"Because of my genius, or in spite of it?"
"Because of it, but it's not the only reason," you murmur. "I love you because of how kind you are, how courageous you are in the face of danger. I love you for your occasional sarcasm and the rambles that it seems nobody else in your office really enjoys. I love you because of earl grey tea on sunday mornings and forehead kisses when you're coming home from a case at three in the morning. I love you for who you are, not everything you've done."
When he finally kisses you, he tastes like earl grey tea and mint, and you love it--you love him so much that it just about consumes you whole, but you're happy to let it if it comes to that.
When Spencer pulls away, his brown eyes meeting yours just before your foreheads touch, he breathes in.
"It's good to be home," he whispers. "Amazing to be home, actually."
You laugh, kissing him quickly before turning your attention to the living room. You take him with you, the two of you waddle-walking because you don't want to separate after days spent only communicating through phone calls and facetimes.
When you finally plop onto the couch, you let yourself be held by him, and man, does it feel amazing.
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No title because I’m lazy
A/N~ Heyy sorry I’ve been so inactive the last while I’ve had severe writers block but I’ll try my best to get a few things done in the next week or so.. well hopefully lmao!! Yes it is another marauders post but it’s been in my drafts for over a year and plus I rarely see any new ones so why not put some out there myself?? Anyways enjoy the fic and I’ll hopefully write again soon💕
🛑WARNING: THIS IS A TICKLE FIC IF YOU DON’T LIKE, DON’T READ🛑
Lee(s): Mainly James but also Sirius, Remus and Peter
Ler(s): James, Sirius kinda Remus and Peter
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~
James Potter was what people would call a very tactile person. He showed his love and affection through touch.
He was never seen without an arm around Peter or his hands tangled in Remus’ hair. Sirius never thought about his actions until today when he was visited by a familiar friend of his..
The tickle monster.
“Jahaahahamehes stAHAP IHIHIT” He writhed beneath his attacker. James let up noticing the alarming colour of red that had engulfed Sirius’ face.
“Maybe next time don’t provoke me then okay?” He smirked.
Sirius was left alone sat on his bed when he began to think. James was always tickling him and the others, it was just another way he showed affection. But then it suddenly hit him that it was always James doing the tickling..
He couldn’t remember the last time James had been properly reduced to a pile of giggles and tears. He could name hundreds of times James was doing the “reducing”.
He decided to watch carefully for the next while to see if he could figure out if maybe James was actually doing this in hope of receiving the same affection back..
•~•~•~•~•
That evening, Peter spilled ink over an essay James had spent ages working on and they all knew exactly what was about to happen to poor Pete. He apologised hundreds of times but James had already set his target.
Immediately the room was filled with please and squeals as James got his well deserved revenge. It only lasted a minute or two but Peter was a mess by the end. He helped James clean up the mess and re write his essay and everything went back to how it was.
Sirius however hadn’t missed the slightest blush grazing his best friends face and a look of what he thought was disappointment?
Was James hoping it would escalate further into him being the victim? Definitely. In all honesty Sirius could just put James out of his misery and tickle him then and there but he was enjoying watching his friend become embarrassed and flustered by the situation.
Anyways, he needed to be 100% sure that James was really looking to be tickled before he struck. You know, incase he didn’t actually like it and Sirius was misreading the whole thing..
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
The next morning as always, James was the first to wake. The only difference is that Sirius woke up early too, he was too giddy about his experiment to sleep any longer.
Peter got up as well hearing the other two pottering about the dorm. Only Remus remained in his bed. As Sirius had predicted, James wasn’t having it.
When James is up everyone has to be up.
He had already called Remus to wake up multiple times. The others knew Remus hated mornings but James wouldn’t take no for an answer, even if it was a Saturday. James quietly tip toed towards the unsuspecting boy and crawled carefully onto his bed. With one leg either side of his friends torso he began to lightly walk his fingers up and down his sides.
Remus was laying on his stomach, hands above his head, leaving his entire back and sides completely vulnerable. He shuddered feeling the light pressure from James’ hands.
Too tired to know what was happening, Remus just lay there for a moment. Half asleep, he began to squirm and James’ actions had drawn a few sleepy giggles from the boy.
“Moony don’t make me do this, wake up mate!!” James insisted. All he got in return from Remus was a grunt.
“You leave me no choice..” He rapidly spidered his hands all over his ribs and sides. Remus jerked and burst into fits of giggles.
Once again it didn’t last long, just enough time for Remus to get in a few pokes himself, nothing major. James however fell off the bed in suprise!!
“James, don’t ever do that again or I swear to Merlin I’ll murder you!!,”Remus said helping James up off the floor.
This time, James’ face had very obviously reddened but Remus had the decency not to mention it.
Sirius did not.
“Mate you are as red as Lily’s hair, you alright?” He remarked with a grin
“Just fine thanks Pads.”
James rushed off and the others didn’t see much of him that day. Sirius suspected he must have been rather embarrassed and needed some alone time.
•~•~•~•~•
That evening James returned to the dorm back to his usual bubbly self.
Sirius decided he had waited long enough and now was his time to strike.
James sat by Peter and Remus, they were currently in the middle of a very intense game of exploding snap. Sirius moved quietly from his bed to the floor behind James.
It was James’ turn and Sirius decided it was now or never. James went to place his card when he felt two hands kneading his sides. He elicited a loud shriek and his card fell from his hands causing a minor explosion.
“Haha James you lose!!” Peter laughed dusting off the ash from his face.
“C’mon Pete let’s get cleaned up, we’ll be back for round two in a bit James!” Remus explained. The real reason he was dragging Peter out of there was because he totally knew what was going on and he wanted to, well, help Sirius on his investigation.
“Sorry James, that was a pretty illegal move there. I know you hate when I do that, I won’t anymore, promise.” Sirius was really trying to rile him up now.
“I uhm, I don’t mind it.” James mumbled so quietly that if sirius had been any further from him he wouldn’t have noticed he’d even spoke.
“You what?” He asked with an underlying tone of mischief. Finally, James turned to face him and blurted out “I saidthatIdontmindit-”
“Don’t mind what prongs?” Sirius enquired with a smirk on his face. “When you.. you know.” He gestured his hand at Sirius trying to explain what he meant. Sirius acted as though he had no idea what James was on about. “God Sirius I don’t mind when you tickle me ok!? You’re awful at taking hints,” he huffed while simultaneously covering his red hot face.
“No need for the attitude Potter,” he rolled his eyes in false annoyance and swiftly brought his hands down to his friend’s sides again preparing for attack. “You’re in no position to be rude right now.”
James burst into laughter as he was tickled to pieces on the dormitory floor. Even if you hadn’t done all the research Sirius had on him it was clear that James was really enjoying himself. He had one of those smiles plastered across his face where it was so wide he felt that if it got any wider that his cheeks would split. Sirius mirrored this because seeing his best friend so happy was everything he could want.
James didn’t even try to flee at this point because a mutual understanding was formed between them that this wasn’t embarrassing and he could just enjoy himself.
He spent the majority of that evening giggling away as Sirius poked, squeezed and scribbled over every spot he could find and it sent James into hysterics. Once Sirius reached his ribs though, he lost it.
“OHOKAHAHAY OKAHAY THAHATS ENOUGH!! PLEHEHEASE”
“Hmmm I don’t know Jamesie are you sure you’ve received all the attention you so clearly wanted?”
“YEHES”
“You 100% certain?” He was really teasing now.
“SIRIUHUS IHIM GONNA KILL YOHOUU”
“I’ll take that as a yes then.”
The curly headed boy flopped over as he regained his breath, hands attempting to rub away the phantom tickles he felt lingering.
“James you know if you really wanted me to do that you could’ve just asked?” Sirius was actually being sincere this time around, he wanted James to know he wasn’t judging at all.
“It was just embarrassing I guess, not really the normal thing to like eh?” He was still terribly red but he kept his wide smile.
“Doesn’t mean it’s embarrassing, sure I’m going to tease the hell out of you about this for the rest of your life but really, it’s not something to hide,” he grinned that Sirius black grin as his friend shoved at his shoulder.
“Thanks mate, I appreciate” sarcasm dripped from his voice but he smiled getting up from the floor.
They spent the rest of the evening playing exploding snap and yes Sirius did use that illegal move many more times but they all knew James didn’t mind. Let’s just say the next time he set off the cards he seemed to find his punishment very amusing and the gryfindor boys dorm was filled with laughter once again.
#sfw tickle blog#marauders tickle#tword community#lee James#harry potter tickle#tickle fic#James potter is a massive Lee confirmed#sirius is a little shit#Didn’t proof read please don’t come for me
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For the ficlet prompt. What do you think their first lunch was like after the Dominion camp?
Julian is reeling from the ramifications of the changling that took his place, which everyone liked better. And maybe he's disappointed in Garak especially for not recognizing the imposter.
But also he learned the truth about Tain and watched Garak see his father die (and WHY did Garak do that??) and Julian probably wants to comfort his friend / situationship.
Garak meanwhile is reliving all the lunches that were actually the changling over the past few months. And his dad died and Julian SAW it (because he wanted Julian there). And he's worried about Julian who just got back from prison and probably has PTSD. And also why didn't he recognize the changling is he losing his edge as a spy?
And neither of them can say anything directly at lunch. So is it awkward? Are they both just so relieved to have the other there that it isn't awkward?
Do they talk about some book that acts as a perfect metaphor for what one (or maybe both) of them are going through??
Thanks to some assiduous Garak trickery over Halloween, I've finally got there! Thank you for your patience! (I know I never promised prompts would end up fulfilled, but still - half of this has been sitting in my drafts since July!)
I'm afraid this is not a happy fic, but I hope it answers a couple of your questions nonetheless! Thank you for the prompt - it was super interesting to think about!
--
The sound of the door chime startled him, and something dropped to the floor as he realised that his mind had drifted off again. It was now 12:38, which meant that he'd been out of it for some twenty-seven minutes - not the longest stretch by any means, but long enough. He looked down at the duster that had landed on his foot; apparently, he'd been cleaning? A glance around the quarters confirmed it: everything looked just that little bit neater, the books on the shelf were in a different order, and the sofa no longer bore the evidence that he had been sleeping on that instead of the bed.
Julian shivered. He had meant to tidy up, rearrange some things - but the purpose had been to make the quarters feel decidedly his again, and this... this didn't.
The door chimed again, and he hurried to shout 'Enter', knowing how easy it had been to concern his friends these past few days.
For some reason, it had not crossed his mind that it might be Garak to come through the door, armed with his usual pleasant smile. Maybe Julain had got too used to all the worried looks his other friends had been shooting him, but he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or apprehensive about the Cardassian's appearance. Everyone else had been understanding, at least, about the weird ways his trauma had been making itself known since he had got back – even if he had been embarrassed to have them see him like that, surely reinforcing how inferior the real Julian Bashir was to the pretend one. But Garak, well... who knew how he'd react?
"I see you weren't expecting me, Doctor," Garak said.
"Not exactly," responded Julian. "What are you doing here in—"
He hesitated, voice stuttering to a halt over the word "my quarters". It still didn't feel right. "What are you doing here?" he finished weakly instead.
"Well, I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about our scheduled discussion," said Garak. "Although, of course, if you have other things to do…"
"No," broke in Julian, some part of him reaching out keenly for this time with Garak, no matter his anxieties. "No, I'm not doing anything. Please stay, Garak."
The Cardassian raised his eyebrows. "Stay, Doctor? But the replimat—"
Julian shook his head, looking away. "Unless it makes you uncomfortable..." he said, remembering too late that having conversation with Garak also meant eating lunch with Garak, and realising that he might trip over that very first hurdle. "I'm not, um— Food still isn't..."
He cringed at his own incoherence; he wasn't exactly making a convincing impression of a good lunch companion.
"I'm still adjusting to eating regular meals, and so the replicator here has been programmed to better accommodate my current needs."
And now he was sounding like a medical robot. Great job, Julian.
"I understand," said Garak. "Your recovery will be swift, I hope? But for now, there's little I would enjoy more than to accept your invitation. Where should I sit?"
"Oh, anywhere," replied Julian, gesturing at the sofas, grateful now for his unconscious burst of housekeeping. "Would you like something to drink?" he asked, just as much to put off answering Garak's first question as out of habitual politeness.
Garak replied that some rokassa juice would suit him well, thank you very much, and so Julian busied himself at the replicator, taking as much time as was believable over the task. He was rather out-of-practise at figuring out Elim Garak.
The trouble wasn't that Garak never meant what he said; most people didn't. But from most people, Julian would have assumed a question about his health was a simple pleasantry, and would have told them what they wanted to hear: yes, he was recovering well, and hoped to be totally back on his feet soon. With Garak, you had to listen out for what he didn't say, to know his meaning.
Your recovery will be swift, I hope? It was barely even a question. And that meant Garak could be asking it simply because it was the normal thing to do (and maybe Julian really shouldn’t be obsessing so much over it). On the other hand, however, he could be showing great concern towards Julian, but because this was Garak, masking that he felt anything at all behind the banality. Or maybe he was even trying to indicate that he had just as little patience for sharing discussion without having lunch as he did for having lunch without any discussion, and he was only staying because he felt obliged to. Julian had noticed how Garak had said that there was “little” more he would enjoy, implying that there were other things he’d rather be doing...
Damn it all. Usually, Julian enjoyed running all the possibilities through his mind, relishing in the challenge of trying to give Garak the answer he wanted, but right now it already felt like there was too much in his brain, and Garak had barely even entered the room! Julian was certain that his mind had been quicker than this a month ago, that there hadn’t been this constant fog which he now had to wade through to get to the end of any thought, that his anxiety had been neither this loud, nor this overwhelming.
The glass was in his hands, and he was handing it over to Garak; his feet had carried him back to the sofas without waiting for him to direct them. Julian sat down, mildly disturbed. The dissociation was nothing new, it had been following him since solitary – hence his earlier acceptance of the newly-clean room, rather than outright panic – but usually it had confined itself to times when he had been alone. He hoped this was just a blip, and not a development that was going to stay.
“How have you been?” he asked. His fingers had started to tap against his leg, and he pulled his hands sharply together, clasping them tightly. Maybe he ought to have made himself a drink, too, just to give his hands something to hold.
“I am better, certainly, than the last time we talked,” Garak replied. “And you?”
Following Garak’s lead, Julian gave an equally non-committal reply. “I’ve been worse,” he shrugged.
“You’re still experiencing… difficulties, though?”
“Is it so obvious?” Julian chuckled, wincing and praying that it really was just the obvious that Garak had spotted.
“Well for one thing,” Garak started, “—and do forgive me for pointing this out, I feel a little rude… but I do not believe that this is Rokassa juice.”
“I—”
For a few seconds, Julian felt as though his brain had come to a complete halt. He sat there, staring at Garak stupidly, before leaning across the coffee table to reach out for Garak’s glass. Now he was thinking about it, he realised that Rokassa juice usually came in a mug.
And this, unmistakably, was tea. Tarkalean, not Cardassian.
“Heh, must have been on autopilot,” he said, trying to laugh it off. “I’m terribly sorry, Garak – let me get you another—”
“Allow me, my dear,” interrupted Garak, smoothly rising from the sofa and leaving Julian to wonder how on Earth he’d failed to notice the mix-up himself. He supposed that he really must be more behind on sleep than he’d thought.
The fact that Garak had seemed to return almost instantly added to that theory. Julian hadn’t even heard the beep of the replicator, and startled when Garak suddenly appeared by the sofas once more, mug in hand.
“Don’t worry, I’m just tired,” he said, in answer to Garak’s quizzical look. “I haven’t been sleeping much lately.”
He hadn’t meant for that to slip out, and hoped that his earlier supposition was true: that Garak was just being polite, and wasn’t really checking up on him. Julian didn’t need yet another friend inquiring about his nightmares.
He had no such luck, of course. Garak almost seemed to pounce on this opening.
“It is my understanding that humans recover best only when they are getting sufficient rest,” he said. “Indeed, I seem to remember several occasions upon which you, my dear, lamented your patients’ inability to follow the simple instruction of “Get some sleep”.”
Julian groaned, leaning back into the sofa, twisting the glass of rapidly-cooling tea in his hands. “It’s not that simple.”
“Do you expect it to be?”
The question brought Julian up short, grating in its sharp lack of sympathy.
“I—Not really, I suppose? Not after what we went through.”
The ‘we’ slipped out without thought, an unwitting lie despite its truth. But it was easier, somehow, to claim the shared ghastliness of the final few days. ‘I’ sounded dreadfully lonely.
An unfamiliar expression stole across Garak’s face, and Julian wished he could tell what the Cardassian was thinking. Whatever it was, it seemed that Garak had lost control of the conversation too, the both of them reaching out for something to say, and returning with nothing – nothing they could admit to, anyway.
“Did you read any books while I was away?” he asked, before he had to contend with any awkward silence.
“None that were worth discussing,” Garak replied dismissively, leaving Julian wracking his brains for what he’d recommended that was so objectionable – before the unpleasant realisation swept over him that anything Garak had read, he would have discussed with the changeling. His stomach curdled, and he took a quick mouthful of his tea to try and swallow down the bile rising in the back of his throat.
“Can I—Do you—?" He was just saying words now, hoping that he’d stumble upon a suitable question and coming up laughably blank.
His stomach came to the rescue, interrupting his stilted thoughts with a growl. A rather loud growl, in fact, which had him wondering if he’d actually eaten breakfast that morning.
“I should eat,” he said, standing up and trying for a smile. “Thank you, Garak – this has been… nice—”
A frown drifted across Garak's face. “Are you we not sharing lunch, Doctor?”, he asked, his eyes flicking to the clock. Julian followed his gaze, and was startled to realise less than ten minutes had passed since Garak had entered. Oh.
But eating was difficult enough without the shadow of the changeling’s lunches looming fresh in Julian’s mind. “I can’t,” he replied. “I’m sorry, Garak, it’s just, I can’t—.” He broke off.
I can’t eat with you.
Why would Garak even want to stay for longer anyway? Surely he could see that there was no scintillating conversation to be found in these quarters today?
Unless Julian had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even realised what Garak had really come looking for.
“Garak…” he started hesitantly. “About Tain—”
“I’ll leave you to your lunch, Doctor,” Garak interrupted, speaking over Julian as though he hadn’t said a word. “I hope you have a pleasant meal.”
The Cardassian stood up, first putting his mug away in the replicator, and then crossing the room to the door. For once, Julian could see straight through him, the way that Garak was trying to disguise the fact that he was all but bolting from the room.
“At least I know I’m not okay!” he found himself shouting over the sound of the door’s opening swish.
Garak turned to look at him. “Is that a fact?” he asked – and then he was gone.
Julian sat down, aching in a way he could not name. His stomach hurt, and the quarters were not his, and he was once more alone.
#Gosh this was a marathon of a fic#Despite it being one of the shorter ones I've written 😅😅#Thank you for the prompt!#It really did help to get me writing again at the beginning of summer#which was what i needed to get a kick start on Vision Awry#Julian bashir#Elim Garak#DS9 fanfiction#Andi writes#wsb
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