#she accepted him for what he thought himself to be even with

[merveloyd]

<prev

Quine Harley wanted to give back to the community that helped her through so many hardships, so she put her degree to use and started offering complimentary therapy to anyone who needed it on the weekends. Her most recent client was odd to say the least, how he always wore that mask, how he always asked about patient confidentiality, how he only introduce himself as 'Joker', how long it took for him to open up, it was all very intriguing to Quine. Eventuality he started speaking casually with her and she realized how funny he was! One thing led to another and they decided to go out for coffee. A couple dates later she opened up about her family troubles, how her brother had died in prison a couple months ago.

One day he took her to an abandoned mall, he told her it was a special place but she didn't expect it too look like a city, he led her through the mall until he was stopped by someone who started arguing how he didn't want to bring her into this before stopping when he saw her, it was her brother, they don't know how long they hugged each other. Later they started catching up, he explained how they needed a doctor but how they couldn't really pay her, she accepted, Joker started speaking more openly to her after that about what he did, how he was always under threat by insane villains, Quine stopped him and asked him to clarify. He talked about their elaborate schemes, how deranged they were while she thought about how they showed such obvious signs, how they needed serious help, how she could maybe help them and how the least she could do was try. He was surprised by her but joyfully agreed to make her a costume, she was kinda excited for this, after all, she loved clown since she was young.

She wants to let the villains and goons heal and hopefully make allies, let them spill their anxieties and worries to The Harmless Harlequin.

Grey Bruce was eternally grateful for Mr. Bruce's generosity, he was so lucky to have been picked out of all the children from the orphanage, he overheard the children words laced with pity how he was a 'tax write-off' but what did they know? He was sure that under his uncaring exterior Wayne was a kind man at heart. Mr. Bruce was quite the busy man, Grey rarely saw him around the mansion, anytime he needed something one of the many butlers would provide, they were all named Alfred for some reason that he didn't quite get. It took a couple of months before he found Mr. Bruce in a strange cavern bellow the mansion, he was half wearing a bat costume and looked shocked to see him.

He revealed his secret persona of The Madbat to Grey, how he offered vicious criminals a change to reform themselves and contribute something of value to society at large, how the public perception of him was a necessary evil so he wouldn't be unnecessarily idolized, how the damage he caused was only necessary to stop even greater damage and how he wanted Grey to join him. Grey was amazed, here was a great opportunity to prove his worth to him! Mr. Bruce entrusted him with a suit of armor that has been in his family for generations, Grey thought for a moment that it looked similar to the dozens of armors lining the halls but he dismissed that thought as Mr. Bruce entrusted him with his loyal bodyguards. The armor was clunky so Grey decided to modify it, he took inspiration from the bird watching he used to do with his folks back at the circus, he treasured every memory he had of them.

You can count on Madbat's right hand Crimson Shrike to take care of the vicious criminals of the night.

the sidekicks

[klaus-littlestwolf]

A Fair Exchange -Aemond T.

(A little warning at the end for what is probably Aemond and his wife becoming mass murderers…?)

‘They’ve taken something of mine, I shall have something of theirs.’ Aemond spoke, stopping his mother from attacking Rhaenyra again and his father seemed to deem this acceptable.

‘What is it that you wish for then?’ He asked and Aemond smirked, looking over at the boys before tightening his grasp on the hand holding his tightly.

‘I will have their sister as my wife.’ He declared and no one moved, it seemed that everyone was shocked though at the same time no one was shocked at all.

Y/n and Aemond had been close since they were babies and they refused to fall asleep for a nap without the other until they were nearly 4 years old. Everyone thought they would end up together except their mothers who never wanted it. Also Daemon of course, who was her father though no one “knew” as he couldn’t claim her and admit Rhaenyra cheated on her husband, though he had admitted in the past that if he could without ruining her life, he would in a heartbeat.

‘I don’t see why not, perhaps it will bring our family together as they should be! My son Aemond Targaryen and my granddaughter Y/n Velaryon will be married when they come of age, and this matter is now finished! This infighting will cease now!’ The King limped his way out of the room and everyone was silent, not knowing what to say before Alicent spoke.

‘Are you sure this is what you want, my boy?’ She asked. Alicent didn’t have malice towards the sweet girl who had been her lonely sons only friend but she worried he would have his heart broken and for her sweet boy, that was the last thing she wanted.

‘It is all I want and you know it. Y/n will be my wife…all is forgotten.’ Everyone knew as Aemond said it that it was very untrue, even his sweet girl felt the tension before speaking.

‘In that case, it is my duty to tend to my betrothed. You need to rest, it is the only way you will heal.’ Aemond just smiled despite the pain in his face as she pulled him towards the exit and led him back to his room. ‘Here, you change, I will wait in the hall.’ He rolled his eye as she did this but allowed it, changing quickly before calling her back in with his shirt half on.

‘I can’t see it right.’ He lied, making her believe that he couldn’t tie his shirt closed and she moved quickly, taking pity on her best friend. ‘Thank you for taking care of me, Byka Zaldrīzes.’

‘Of course my love, I will always take care of you.’ Aemond pulled her into his bed with him as he laid down, painfully.

‘They’re going to take you from me again, especially now…promise me this feeling won’t die. No matter how many days or years we spend apart thanks to your mother. Swear it. Swear you will not stop loving me!’ He held her hands tightly as his mother and a maester walked into the room, bringing him milk of the poppy to sleep.

‘I swear it my Dragon, now it is time for you to sleep. You must take care of yourself-‘

‘Don’t leave me!’ He demanded. ‘You will be here when I wake, promise me!’

‘I will promise if you sleep now, drink.’ She holds the jar out for him and he does as she says, drinking the jar before clutching her hand and allowing himself to drift off.

‘You know your mother will want to leave again in the morning, as we must?’ Y/n nodded to the Queens question, sighing heavily and moving to snuggle into Aemond’s side as they had done hundreds of times over as children. ‘I will check on him in a few hours. If anything happens you send for me immediately, especially if he wakes, he will need something for the pain for quite some time.’

‘Of course, you have my word, your grace.’ Y/n agreed and watched Alicent walk to the door.

‘Don’t hurt him. You’re the only one who hasn’t yet, I don’t think he could survive unscathed.’ The Queen left before the Princess could respond but she thought on her words, knowing that she would never purposefully hurt her best friend and soon to be husband.

For the rest of the night Y/n was in and out of sleep, too worried about Aemond to sleep soundly until he awoke just as the sun began to rise. ‘Ah!’ He hissed, moving to grab at his face only for her to catch his hand before he could.

‘Don’t touch it my Dragon, you need something for the pain. Wait right here-‘

‘Don’t leave!’ He pleaded, tightening his grip on her hand.

‘I won’t leave the room, give me a moment.’ She jumped up and opened the door quickly. ‘Guard! Send for the Queen, inform her that Aemond is awake and in terrible pain! Go Now!’ She demanded and one of the guards at the door jumped to do as she shouted. Y/n may have been a sweet girl but she’s still Daemons daughter and has his rage inside of her tiny body. ‘She’ll be here soon.’

Aemond didn’t speak for a moment, just gazed up at her. ‘You are beautiful, my love…are you sure you wish to marry me?’

‘What is this nonsense, Aemond?!’ She laughed but he didn’t, he just stared straight ahead before speaking again.

‘I know I must look a fright, and you deserve a strong, handsome husband to-‘

Y/n cut him off with a swift slap to the non injured side of his face before moving to straddle his lap and force him to look at her. ‘Don’t you ever speak that way about the boy I love again, do you hear? You are strong, handsome, capable and in a few years you will make a wonderful husband and father to our children. If I didn’t want it I would have spoken up last night…losing your eye does not make you less of a man, my Dragon. And I would be heartbroken if you were to call off the wedding.’

Aemond looked more relaxed now before leaning in and pressing his lips to Y/n’s delicately before pulling back to see a dark blush on her cheeks. ‘I needed to do that…just once before you’re gone.’

‘Well then, do it right.’ She spoke, pressing her lips back to his. Aemond loved how soft her lips were as he wrapped his arms around her firmly for several seconds before pulling away and moving her to sit beside him.

‘Thank you for calming my worries.’ He kissed her hand tenderly and saw no malice or disgust in her eyes as she looked at his butchered face and it brought him comfort, a comfort he knew he would need for years to come.

Those years came and went very slowly as both of them were forced apart. It was assumed that Y/n would come back to the Red Keep once she was a women but that came and went as well, the Queen finally putting her foot down and ordering Rhaenyra to send her back when Aemond and Y/n were 17 (having heard rumors of her trying to find a different husband for her daughter). She had mounted Vermithor several years earlier so rather than her family bringing her and ending up in a huge family squabble, she flew herself to Kings Landing and her mother and family would join before the wedding.

She landed in the courtyard, people scattering like rats as the second largest dragon in the world descended from the skies and by the time she was greeted she was off of Vermithor’s back and petting his face just how he liked.

‘Princess! We are honored to see you back.’ Y/n turned to find the Queen and the hand of the King waiting for her at a safe distance, eyeing the dragon before a silver haired man came running from the castle behind them, stopping short to see her as she did him.

‘Hello Aemond.’ She greeted, stepping away from her dragon so that he could take her hand and he did, kissing it firmly, his eye never leaving hers and noting that once again her gaze held no disgust or fear.

‘My beautiful Bride, it is wonderful to see you again. I have missed you.’ He admitted and she couldn’t hide her smile.

‘I have missed you something fierce as well. I would like to spend time getting to know my future husband again, however I would like out of my riding clothes first.’ She spoke, removing her gloves and Aemond couldn’t hide his smirk before holding out his arm.

‘I would be happy to show you to your temporary room.’ Y/n knew he was hinting at her moving into a room with him once they were married, one larger than either of them has now which was probably already being prepared.

‘Dinner will be served in an hour, I’m sure you can escort her there too my son.’ Alicent smiled, happy to see her second son smiling once again. It was something she hadn’t really seen since Y/n left apart from the occasional conversation with Helaena.

Aemond walked her to her rooms and waited in the hall until she had changed into a dress, unable to take his eyes off of her as she walked back out of the room and suddenly he felt like Aegon. Drooling over a women like a dog, desperate to rip her clothes from her body.

He had never felt like this before.

‘You are a vision, my love.’

‘Apparently you would like me to spend all of my time here blushing.’ Y/n teased, taking ahold of his arm.

‘I thought we would take a walk in the gardens before dinner.’

‘That sounds lovely.’ She agreed, happy to follow wherever he led her, knowing she would be safe. ‘We used to tease couples that took a walk in these gardens every day, do you remember?’

‘I do.’

‘And now we understand, it was just to get away from prying eyes and ears.’ Aemond snorted, knowing that she was right.

‘You’re in Kings Landing my love, even the flowers have ears here.’ Aemond held her to his side firmly as if terrified she would disappear again but she clutched onto his arm just as firmly.

‘I am glad that your mother sent for me. I thought I was going to have to flee on my own, my mother was trying to form a bond between myself and the Wolf of the North since we met last year. The last thing I need is to be sent to freeze with Northerners for the rest of my days.’ She teased but Aemond did not find it funny.

‘She tried to take you from me?’ He tried to control his tone so he did not sound like he was angry with her but she could see his upset clearly as they sat on a bench by the cliff overlooking the ocean.

‘My mother wanted me to want to break our engagement myself, she knew that is the only thing you would have respected. Clearly she does not know me very well to assume I would be willing to leave my Dragon alone.’ Her soft smile settled him a bit but he still had the urge to set all of Dragonstone ablaze.

‘I would have needed to hear it from your lips my love, they will never take you from me again. You are mine, tomorrow we will be married and anyone who tries to come between us will be burned alive.’ Y/n’s eyes lit up in excitement and it shocked Aemond a bit. Any other Lady would have been put off by that but not his girl, not his soon to be wife, rider of the second largest dragon in the world.

‘Promise?’ She questioned and he tilted his head in question. ‘Promise me you’ll burn them, anyone who comes between us, every one of them, because I would…any women that tries to take you from me will be Vermithor’s dessert. Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve fed him several guards dumb enough to think they had a chance with me. I truly believe my dragon finds it amusing.’ She teased, giggling as if he had told a hilarious joke and not just heard her admit to feeding the guard to her mount.

‘I promise. However, you will need to stop doing that here. This is not Dragonstone, someone will notice.’ Aemond laughed, his bride surprised him, she is not the sweet, shy little thing he remembered and he enjoyed it quite a lot.

‘I can do that. We could feed peasants to them though…’

‘You really want to watch your dragon eat people.’

‘It’s one of the best perks of having a dragon. If someone is mean to you, you feed them to the beast, except family cause my mother would frown on Vermithor eating Jacaerys…have I scared you away?’

Aemond shook his head, leaning close and resting his forehead against hers. ‘Never my love. You are all mine, you have a strange hobby to be sure but I think a few peasants could stand to go missing…I want to give you something. Obviously I’ve missed quite a few of your name-days-‘

‘And I’ve missed yours. Let’s just say they cancel each other out and go from here.’ She proposed.

‘Yes, but! I have gotten you an early wedding present that I hope you will like…it is different admittedly but I had it commissioned just for you.’ Aemond nervously handed her the box and she grinned in excitement, loving presents and he knew it. She gasped loudly upon opening the wooden box to find a thick necklace covered in sapphires along the front with a large one sitting right in the middle. She took it out and noticed it would sit across her throat rather than down her neck and as Aemond helped her put it on it put pressure on her throat in a strange but nice way.

‘No one will ever doubt that you are mine again.’

‘Most assuredly not…I love it Aemond! It’s beautiful!’

‘Really?’ She nodded quickly, touching the large sapphire. ‘Good, because I had hoped you would wear it to the wedding…and after the wedding…?’

‘You want everyone in attendance to know that you own me.’ She giggled. ‘I will wear it everyday for the rest of my days…husband. A symbol of my dedication to you and our lives together.’ With that Y/n leaned over and pressed her lips to Aemond’s, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her close to deepen the rough, desperate kiss.

Y/n did wear that choker for the rest of her days, never taking it off. Aemond often found himself looking at it, reminding himself how much his wife loved him.

He stared at it when they were married before their family and the Gods.

He stared every time she was abed giving birth to one of their 4 children.

And he found himself staring when they got away from everything to engage in their hobby, which became their favorite thing to do as a couple…besides fuck of course. Y/n was wonderful at finding willing men and even women to follow her down to the dark beach with promises of rich food and sex only to find themselves being eaten by one of the largest dragons in the world.

Everyone “knew” when they were children that they belonged together…they had no clue how right they all really were…

Aemond Targaryen Masterlist

[dyns33]

New life

!! SPOILERS - Careful, Venom The last dance spoilers here !!!

I was wondering while watching the movie if that would give me new ideas for Eddie and his tiny alien, and yes, yes it did.

When Y/N had met Eddie Brock in a New York cafe, he had hesitated at first before accepting her into his life.

It had taken him several weeks to open up, talk to her, understand that she liked him, and then admit that he liked her too.

Once he had offered her his trust, he had explained why to her. Really explained everything, adding that he understood that she thought he was crazy and that she would decide to run away from him when he was done.

First, he had completely ruined his career and his relationship with his fiancée Anne by being selfish and stupid. For a long time, Eddie had refused to see the truth, making excuses, but he had to admit that it was all his fault.

Then, there was Venom. The alien symbiote who had brought as much joy as problems into his existence, before sacrificing himself to save him, along with the rest of humanity.

"He was my best friend." he said, trying to hold back his sobs. "He could be annoying, but I wasn't a gift either. We were supposed to see the Statue of Liberty together, but… Well. I miss him a lot. It's weird not hearing from him all the time. It's hard without him."

Not only did these revelations not scare Y/N away, but she found herself even more in love and touched by this wounded man who was doing his best to move forward despite everything he had been through.

Like a wild animal, it took a little more time to reassure Eddie that she really loved him and especially that he wasn't going to lose her.

For their first date, he offered her an ice cream, not far from Lady Liberty. Y/N took his hand, to support him, but especially so that he knew that she wasn't going to try to make him forget Venom.

Just because they were together didn't erase everything he'd experienced with his alien parasite friend, who was a lot like a boyfriend when he told her all their stories.

"Nah, just a friend."

"You said you loved each other."

"Like buddies."

"You had arguments as a couple. He was jealous and protective. You gave him chocolate on Valentine's Day."

"Once ! And to keep him quiet. And the rest was just a symbiote thing."

"You admitted to me that he 'took care of' your erections when he was in full form. Why did you have erections anyway ?"

"… Shit, I was in a relationship with Vee."

He cried again, in shock. Not because he was ashamed, but because he had not understood the nature of their relationship, much more intense than simple friendship. He did not blame Y/N for opening his eyes, as she did not hold back from doing so, thinking that it was necessary for him to grieve properly.

Several months passed, life continuing in an excellent direction.

After using his contacts and abilities, Eddie Brock had become a formidable reporter in New York, even if he was a little more careful about his methods and the people he wrote about.

In his private life, he made Y/N very happy, learning from his past mistakes to become the best boyfriend possible. No secrets, no lies, no manipulation to get information for an article. They were not in symbiosis, but almost.

Much more relaxed and open than before, he kept his calm in most situations. Even when they had some cockroach problems. Or rather one cockroach problem.

"It's still there." Eddie noted while drinking his coffee, observing the insect that was partially hidden behind the couch.

"Do you want me to call someone ?"

"Nah. He doesn't hurt anyone, that little guy. We don't leave food lying around, we throw out our trash. No point in staying here or calling his friends. He must be lost, he'll leave eventually."

"What if he thinks you're so cool that he tells the others to come over just so he can watch you sleep ?"

"Eww, babe, gross. Listen, if he's still here in a week, I'll take care of him. But it must be a neighbor with questionable hygiene who has a colony, he'll go back there."

The cockroach stayed, but like Eddie had said, he wasn't that much of a nuisance. Most of the time he was nowhere to be found, otherwise he stayed in his corner.

Strangely, he showed up when the couple was together, as if he was waiting to watch them. His presence was still abnormal, in addition to being possibly dirty, so Y/N decided to take matters into her own hands, trying to get him out.

"I know you're the most impossible thing to kill on this Earth." she said to the cockroach that was hiding under the closet. "And besides, Eddie decided he didn't want you to die, so let me put you in this jar, I'll take you to a landfill, and you'll be the happiest little cockroach, okay ?"

Of course, the insect wasn't ready to cooperate, putting itself as far away as possible, in an impossible place to reach. It was ridiculous, but Y/N had the impression that it understood perfectly what she was saying.

Eddie found her on the living room floor, her hand under the closet, trying for several hours to catch it.

"Need some help ?"

"Thanks, Eddie, it's between him and me now."

"Poor little thing that has no chance against someone stronger than them. Accept that he's winning."

"You're hilarious. He's staring at me without moving, he's making fun of me, it's personal. I'm pretty sure I saw him smile."

"You been upside down for a long time, babe ?" he asked as he sat down next to her, rubbing her back. "Come on, I'll take care of it, I'll get rid of the horrible monster."

"No, Eddie… Please…"

It was probably the first time someone had dropped their shoe to cry and try to hug a cockroach, but Eddie being an extraordinary man, Y/N was only half surprised. Same thing when the insect started talking again, small tentacles coming out of it to wrap around her boyfriend. She had thought she had imagined that voice.

Losing its dark color, the creature was thrown out the window, while the tentacles remained around Eddie, before disappearing, as if absorbed by his heart. Then an alien head appeared near his shoulder.

"Wait… Is that Venom ?" she asked, a bit lost. "You told me he was dead."

"I thought so too ! Last time, he was just exhausted but still inside me, but this time… Vee, I thought I'd never see you again !"

"Eddie… I told you it wasn't goodbye. It took me a lot longer than I thought to find you. Cockroaches are tough, but their legs are tiny, not as fast as a horse. And then… I saw you with your new love. So I didn't know if you'd want me to come back."

"But of course I…"

Remembering the discussion they had had, Eddie turned to Y/N, as if he was scared. Now that he knew the feelings he had for his symbiote, without ever realizing it when they were together, it was embarrassing to say that he wanted him back while he was in a relationship with her.

Maybe Venom had insisted for a long time that he get back with Anne, because it seemed to be the key to his host's happiness, but then there had been no one between them.

The alien didn't know Y/N. He had spent several days observing her, seeing if she was good enough for his Eddie, and after accepting that she was a suitable partner, he had wondered if he wasn't going to ruin everything by showing himself.

After all, Eddie had often said that it was his fault that he had lost everything. Venom didn't agree, he knew that most of his host's problems were the result of his bad decisions, but maybe he had turned his life upside down a bit, forcing him to give up certain things for him, like Vee had given up certain things to please him.

A relationship was certainly one of those things. With Anne, it might have been possible since she knew about the symbiote, but someone new ? That would have been hard to sell.

"You told her about me ?" Venom realized as he stared at Y/N. "Weren't you ashamed ? Didn't you repress your feelings because of the stupid social conventions that say men should be strong and insensitive ?"

"Of course I told her about you. I made a lot of resolutions after… After. I wanted to honor your memory, while being honest with Y/N."

"That's good, Eddie ! You're a little less of a loser !"

"Thanks, buddy, so nice."

Poor Eddie grimaced, probably accepting that this insult was a compliment, but Y/N quickly understood that there was a parallel, silent discussion going on between them in his head. She could easily guess that Venom was wondering if he would be able to stay, if she would leave because of him, or worse if his host would have to make a choice, which would make him unhappy.

Ensuring the happiness of his human was so important to him that the symbiote would have been ready to stay hidden under their couch, to be close to him without risking disturbing him. Who could hate such an adorable alien ?

"If we don't adopt chickens, and we buy lots of chocolate, I guess cohabitation won't be impossible." she smiled shyly, before they found the courage to ask her opinion.

"Babe ? Really ?"

"You really chose well, Eddie ! She might even be too good for you !"

"Thanks Vee, really super nice again. But babe, are you sure ? He can be… We are… You can say it if you find it weird."

"It's weird, but it doesn't bother me."

Almost every day, Eddie kissed her tenderly, in the morning, before leaving for work, when entering their apartment, when they went to sleep, but he had never been so passionate when he kissed her at that moment, repeating that he loved her.

As if he had been there forever, the alien had surrounded them with his tentacles in an attempt of a hug, commenting on the scene that he considered the most beautiful and romantic thing he had ever seen, even better than in his favorite telenovela with Maximiliano. He immediately ordered them to watch it when Y/N told him that she didn't know who he was talking about.

Not as invested, Eddie fell asleep on the sofa, keeping her in his arms and snoring lightly in her neck, while Venom explained the previous episodes to her with great excitement, as if everything was normal.

[thewistlingbadger]

Yeah the comparison to the queer community was extremely helpful. Since I'm a POC, I personally use an analogy under that light. Vi reminds me of a person of color who tries to assimilate into white society whatever means necessary just so they themselves can feel validated by white people (this never ends up working in their favor. They always end up chasing validation that they're really never getting). She also gives me "I only date white people, they make me closer to whiteness" vibes, as well as "I'm not (insert ethnicity), I'm (insert nationality)."

Like babe just be true to who you are. Let go of all the nastiness you've learned and come back to who you truly are. It's not a good look, you look stupid, and you're annoying everyone around you INCLUDING those are trying to impress.

And man the more I think about this the more realizations I make. Silco was right about what he said about vi. "Everyone betrays us: Vander, HER- they will never understand. It's only us." Yes he was saying it just to diss her but he also recognized the truth in it. Which is so astounding because he's only been with Vi for a few moments throughout the whole show, and he's already been able to read her like an open book and predict her future actions.

Even though she never actually did betray Jinx he knows she's going to betray her in the future because her and Jinx have DRASTICALLY different viewpoints of zaun and what it means to be a Zaunite. Vi has the inferiority complex that she got from the bridge and never let go off. Jinx was raised by a radical politician/business man who ALWAYS emphasized the importance of what he was fighting for and the rights zaun. This is something that's been so embedded into Jinx even though she herself does not actually care about design or the plight to freedom.

Jinx and Silco are truly the only people who understand the nature of zaun. They've both lived it they both embody it and it's been taught to jinx since an early age/something silco learned as a child. Silco and jinx are both the two biggest characters that actually accept change in the show, where most of the other characters reject it (vi being a big offender of this.

To me piltover is representative of control and zaun is representative of chaos. Change is nature and nature is chaos with balance (most of the time). Jinx is very chaotic where Vi is mostly very controlled.

ALSO, separate thought: if we're comparing vi to Viktor and we look over at Jayce and Caitlyn, I'd argue they're very different. They both have prejudice just by being pilties but the difference is that Caitlyn feeds into Vi's insecurities and her inferiority complex. Her and vi are basically shaking hands when it comes to being prejudiced against zaun. Not so much with jayce and Viktor. Both of them uplift each other. To Jayce, Viktor's achievements are extraordinary due to the nature of the achievements, NOT because of the nature of who those achievements were made by. This can be very encouraging and damaging at the same time, because we see that because Jayce doesn't really recognize Viktor as being a Zaunite, it ends up warping his view and it leads to tension in their relationship. I also think it's important to recognize that Jayce tries to learn from his mistakes. He apologizes to Viktor, he tries to broker peace between zaun and piltover, we see him working with Ekko, trying to solve a problem that negatively impacts zaun that he himself started. Overall their relationship is very positive where the girls' relationship is very negative because they're both feeding into each other's negativity. Caitlyn never really apologizes for her prejudice and Vi never really makes her.

Both Caitlyn and Jayce don't really see their partner's nationality. The difference is that Caitlyn sees Vi as an exception, she knows shes a Zaunite but she's "one of the good ones" and Jayce just does not care that Viktor is from zaun (this can be seen as both positive and Negative).

The second the illusion shatters of Vi not being like every other Zaunite, Caitlyn tosses her aside like she was nothing. Jayce doesn't see Viktor as an exception, I think he deadass just forgets that he's from zaun (and can we blame him Viktor has been living in piltover for years and dressing and acting like a piltie for years. It's assumed that him going to visit singed is the first time he went back in a long time, perhaps even since he left. Vi makes it very clear that she's undercity, it is her identity ((that complex again)). Viktor being undercity is only PART of his identity, it is not entirely who he is. Another reason why he doesn't really present himself as undercity is because he's assumedly spent more time in piltover than he has his home.)

This has been spinning around in my head since I watched season 2 arc 1, and I can't refrain from putting it down to post anymore.

In season 1, Jayce and Viktor get into a fight when Viktor evades the blockade to go speak to Singed in Zaun. During their fight, Jayce snaps at Viktor that he didn't know that Viktor's friend was from the undercity, and when Viktor asks why that matters, Jayce says the above: [people from the undercity] are dangerous (earlier he had also said, "there are people down there who seem hell-bent on destroying us!"). That's when Viktor grows cold, reminding Jayce that he is from the undercity, and even after Jayce apologizes, Viktor knocks his hand away, choosing to stand up on his own.

In season 2, chembarons hired by Ambessa (though no one knows that at the time) attack the memorial for the dead council members. In the aftermath, Caitlyn calls them animals. Notably, Vi shows no reaction at all to this; she doesn't so much as flinch at Caitlyn's word choice. Instead, while she does downplay what happened to an extent ("they wanted the spectacle, they're trying to scare you"), what's notable is that she separates herself from the people of Zaun. This is especially notable when she tells Caitlyn to call off the invasion, because of the risk it poses for those not from Zaun:

"Down there, you'll be on their terms."

Viktor seems to have pride in the fact that he is from Zaun. He has love for his home. As difficult as life was there, as much as the pollution led to his illness and disability, he has no shame that he's from Zaun and he still sees value and has love for the people there. This is why, when Jayce writes the Zaunites off as "dangerous", Viktor grows cold. He is no different from them, in his mind; if they're dangerous, then so is he.

Vi is . . . different.

In season 1 arc 1, Vi expresses to Vander that she has bought into and believes that those in Piltover are more than those in Zaun:

Now, here, Vi is still grouping herself in with the rest of Zaun. But there is a level of self-hatred (and hatred for one's home) that we don't see in Viktor. Viktor doesn't see himself as lesser than those in Piltover. He doesn't see the Zaunites as lesser than those in Piltover. Vi, however, does. She states this as if it is a fact. And while she loved her family, and has parts of Zaun that she likes (e.g. Jericho's food), it's worth noting that at the end of season 1 episode 1, she isn't telling Powder that they'll liberate Zaun, or fight for Zaun, or anything like that. Instead?

"This city's gonna respect us." This city. Not our city. Here is the first moment we see in which Vi puts some separation between herself and the rest of Zaun. She wants to make them respect her (and Powder). Even if she's less than those in Piltover, she still sees an opportunity for herself to be above those in Zaun.

All of this is to say that, when she has no reaction to Caitlyn calling Zaunites "animals", when she refers to them as "they," when she refers to Zaun as "their terms" . . . ultimately, it isn't too surprising. Vi represents a type of person who does exist in marginalized groups: the self-hating type, who hate others in their group for "drawing aggression" or "negative attention."

Think about queer people, for instance, who hate those who are flamboyant or open about who they are and who they love. The ones who think, "If we just assimilate more, be less of a bother, be less obnoxious, then the queerphobes will accept us." Obviously, other queer people find this type of person extremely frustrating, sometimes even infuriating, because we know that it doesn't matter what we do or how we act; bigots will never accept us.

But what we should understand, and extend compassion for, is that self-hating marginalized people are that way because it's a defense mechanism -- a survival mechanism, really. They can't square why bigots hate them, so they reach for any kind of explanation they can find, even if that explanation ultimately blames others in their own group and does more harm than good. Not to mention that hating yourself for who you are is often a result of long-term, systemic abuse -- the exact same kind of abuse that comes from living under an oppressive regime that murdered your parents and will assault you at any given opportunity, even for something as petty as your little sister miming shooting them with finger guns.

Vi says that she, "grew up knowing [she] was less than them." This is extraordinarily damaging to the psyche, and Vi's self-hatred -- and the extension of that hatred toward Zaun, not wanting to save them but wanting to make them respect her -- is a trauma response to that. One that Viktor, obviously, doesn't share (and neither does Ekko, or Jinx) -- but everyone reacts to trauma differently.

The point is, we saw shades of this already in Vi's childhood; her statement that she's less than topsiders, but that she wants those in the undercity to respect her. So when Caitlyn calls the Zaunites animals, Vi doesn't flinch. She agrees. And she speaks of them as separate from her, because Caitlyn has already designated her as one of the good ones (reinforced to her by what Maddie told her Caitlyn said right before the memorial), and because, well, those who attacked the memorial did do something horrible. And maybe if they wouldn't do that, and maybe if Jinx hadn't blown up the council building -- maybe if they were better behaved -- then the enforcers wouldn't have to invade and do what they were about to do, now would they? Those in Zaun -- or at least those in Zaun who decided to strike against Piltover -- brought it on themselves, so Vi isn't with them. She's with Caitlyn, and is okay with referring to them as animals.

It's interesting to think about.

[acciotaitlynn]

How about a nurse having a crush on zayne bc his relationship with MC wasnt well known yet and then she found out by busting zayne n mc in heat moment in his office haha

Get well soon!

Hiiii ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ Sorry this took so long! I hope you're doing well! and that you like it ♡♡♡

» mild sexual content, 18+, vsex, oral꒰fem!receiving꒱

shorty; 944 wc

ـــــــــﮩ٨ـ Anya should be paying attention to the heart transplant before her, but she can’t focus on anything except the man performing it. 

Zanye’s bright, golden-green eyes assess the matter before him with his usual stoic expression, movements calm and confident as he asks her for a vascular clamp. 

Luckily, she can respond; she can barely breathe watching him work.

Her mind fills with visions of those slender, experienced fingers tracing her skin, and she trembles slightly as she passes the clamp.

Unsurprisingly, Doctor Zayne occupies the fantasies of many women and men who work alongside him.

He doesn’t notice the longing eyes that follow him like a persistent shadow. But you do.

It’s endearing, really; he has no idea how wonderful he is. 

He must have some idea that their friendliness holds another note, though, after receiving more gift baskets, cakes, and homemade meals than you can count, complete with flirty handwritten notes.

If he does notice, he never mentions it. Justs accepts their gifts with genuine gratitude before sharing them with you.ᵕ̈  

Anya’a attraction ꒰*cough* obsession꒱ is growing unbearable.

The first thing her mind latches onto upon waking and the last before bed, Zayne even lingers in between shifts when her fingers find their place deep inside her; often so worked up from his presence, she’s unable to resist seeking release. 

She’s imagining it, but she thinks the brushes of his fingers are starting to linger, and a look of desire is blooming in his eyes. 

Zayne knows her name, just as he knows most hospital staff. He’s kind and cordial to her, just as with anyone else. But that's it.

This lady has no idea that he's lost in thoughts of you if there’s anything like that in his gaze. 

Take right now, for instance. 

Zayne is washing his hands with a dreamy, faraway look in his eyes, mind swimming with a never-ending replay of your bare, blissed-out form beneath him last night. 

Thoughts of things he wants to try tonight play next as he smiles gently before clearing his throat and shaking himself out of it, failing miserably with a quiet groan, seeing his cock deep inside you seconds later. 

Anya follows him down the half, chirping about how well the surgery went and how incredible Zayne was.    “As always!” 

Zayne is asking when to expect you, and upon receiving your reply of “waiting in your office,” relief courses through him, a pleased smile gracing his features as Anya misinterprets it as a response to her praises. 

She also 100% misreads the desire coursing through him at what he plans to do to you when he gets there. 

He decides he can’t wait until tonight to have you, and he’s practically rushing away with nothing but an apologetic smile while not feeling sorry at all.

How can he when his lips meet yours moments later, and he feels genuinely awake for the first time today? 

Anya is hiding in the bathroom, hand traveling under her scrubs when she has the worst idea of all ideas. 

She checks herself in the mirror, pinching her cheeks and pepping herself up. 

She’s been receiving “signals” for weeks, just too scared to move.

But she’s tired of waiting. If she keeps it up, another of Zayne’s admirers will beat her to it.

Her steps are resolute as she makes her way to his office. With a light knock on the door, her pounding heart stops as she peeks inside. 

Your legs are spread open on his desk, and Anya can see every trace his tongue makes on your clit. 

Every sound of pleasure leaving you both as your hands run tenderly through the raven hair she’s been dying to touch is a stab to the gut. 

Her breath comes quick and quiet as she watches through the crack. 

She recognizes you as Zayne's longtime friend who occasionally visits him at the hospital. She didn’t realize that it was nearly daily; she just didn’t witness it. 

Zayne doesn’t divulge his personal affairs, so your relationship is quiet. His fan club isn’t aware of you—yet.

But best believe they will be soon. 

Zayne’s heated murmur of, “This is unlike me,” before freeing his cock, playing messily before pushing into your warmth, has her thighs pressing together. 

He’s so different with you… So open. So raw and needy. 

He literally whimpers as his hips start moving, and he admits, “You haunted me mercilessly through the entire procedure. If you hadn’t been here, I’d have had to care for myself.” 

You giggle at his words and adorable flustered expression, pulling him in for a lingering kiss.

Your gazes hold far more than a newly blossoming relationship. 

A fierce wave of nausea hits her as she closes the door quietly. 

The resolute plan to tell everyone every little detail forms. But she can’t even think about getting started until her fingers fuck the image of Zayne’s cock filling you up from her mind. 

From now on, no one mistakes Zayne’s daydreamy gazes for anything else, knowing what’s on his mind. 

After a while, he notices the knowing look people give you when you take lunch in the cafeteria or walk along the gardens. And though he likes to keep such matters private, he enjoys people knowing he’s yours now. 

He’s relieved that the suggestive smiles and gifts ease up and that people know where his heart truly lies. 

He pulls you close on the bench, kissing your head with a content smile, unaware of the daggers aiming with deadly precision from a few floors above. 

♡ ya'll better watch out for that one. (¬_¬) like I'm picturing her with our voodoo doll

[taemcains]

eroticism, sensuality & how cain embodies it

i've always called cain erotic but since the kiss has taken over every last braincell of mine, i've been wondering what exactly makes him so. from the moment i read i want to do with you what isn't customary to say out loud, the with immediately struck me. not do to you but with. which could either mean what he wants them to experience together, as equals, or having her helpless and at his mercy, or both.

the verbal aspect of sex is what almost everyone gets wrong in media, especially when it comes to men. dirty talk is cheap, vulgar, and disgusting but why does cain do it so well? because he reveals just enough to leave you wondering, grasping desperately at your own imagination. i should've been crucified long ago for my thoughts about you. so what are you thinking? sublimating admitting to animal basal impulses, considered dirty and impure with so much grace and sensuality. saving all his confessions for such a significant moment, as they always step around each other and walk in circles, never saying anything outright so when he does it's shocking, outrageously hot.

and the inch he does give is painted vividly. where the blood boils and languid sighs fill the air.

he doesn't impose himself onto her, doesn't overpower her, make her smaller. it's more of an enveloping, surrounding, surrendering. he hardly touched her in the church, but his words and presence eclipsed the outside world, making sin religious.

while he is more, or even completely, dominant in their relationship, his dominance isn't to assert his desire onto her, but to allow the revealing of hers. he doesn't push her around, doesn't order her but carefully spins a web around her, trapping her senses, trapping her in a web of her own desires, disregarding her inhibitions. everything about him is subtle and slow and seductive, and every final decision has rested on her shoulders. in the church, he has his fingers over her stomach, he looks up, he waits. in the bathroom, he has her trapped between his body and the cross, he says his piece, he waits. only when she touches him back does he kiss her.

the power gap between them, purely antagonistic of the usual immortal/mortal ship, is blurred and coexisting. cain was the one laying out his cards, his barest desires and wants but it was lane who felt caught between his jaws, like this was her surrender. he was pulling the strings even as he was being vulnerable.

over all this, intimacy and understanding is the most erotic thing of all, and it was captured beautifully in the kiss scene. cain knew what i liked because we were so similar. cain being able to read all her nonverbal cues, to know which is permission. cain laying on her lap, talking about acceptance and understanding and eternity.

it's so rare to see a male character who is actually erotic, not vulgar and as a 'bring back real sensuality in media' girl i'm fucking up this buffet. i can't wait to see how this evolves in his later scenes and thank you taemin for birthing him.

[obsessive-reylin]

TW: heart disease, operation, forced operation, hospital and doctors

The yandere content that I’m writing is absolutely in no way me promoting this type of behaviour. I do not romanticise it; this is just a way for me to explore the more darker side of my writing. If you do relate to these characters or think that it’s romantic, please seek help.

You are welcome to send asks/requests about my existing characters or others. Just make sure to read my rules.

A couple of months ago, it felt like your world fell into shambles. You didn't really understand what kind of sickness your sister had, but it was explained by the doctors that she needed her heart replaced. You visited her every single day, talking to her and supporting her, and then crying your heart out on your way to work. It felt wrong to be giving up on her sister, but then again, what kind of monster you would be, wishing for someone else's death to die, for her to survive ?

In the end, you didn't have to do that for her, since one of the doctors that were treating her found a legitimate donor. You were overjoyed by the news, even as far as hugging the doctor in question and crying into his shoulder. But it seemed as though he didn't mind, dare say even enjoyed it. Either way, you didn't pay attention to that, nor the joyous stare that he was giving you.

After your sister's operation, everything seemed to go back to how it was, that was until the doctor, Liam as he presented himself to you, asked you out on a date. At first, you weren't really into the idea, it felt like he thought since he saved your stater, you owned him something. But your sister convinced you that it probably wasn't anything of the sort, telling you that you should just give him a chance. Worst case scenario, it doesn't click between the two of you during the date, and you just part ways.

You had to admit, it was a good argument on her part, since you asked around and his female coworkers never once uttered a displeased comment about him. And also the fact that you were pretty desperate for someone to be your other half, so you finally decided to accept his offer.

Soon enough, you and Liam officially started dating. You were never too interested in that aspect, but with Liam it felt ecstatic. For you, he was the picture-perfect boyfriend. Scratch that, the embodiment of romance, that's what he was to you. He would always make sure that you were taken care of in every way possible. He asked for your consent to everything, listening intently to everything that came out of your mouth, taking you out on dates, and buying you everything you wanted and more. 

Meaningless to say, it didn't take long for him to convince you to move in with him. And it might have been his worst mistake, because soon after, something in you just clicked. Everything just felt too perfect, for your licking, something was definitely not right. You knew that you had a bad habit of becoming paranoid and tried to brush it off, but at the back of your mind, you couldn't just ignore this inner feeling of uneasiness. That's why you decided to rummage through the house, since you figured Liam wouldn't have a problem with it. 

Not even ten minutes in, you find yourself standing in front of the door heading towards the basement.

“I didn't know we had a basement…”  You thought to yourself as you opened the door and headed downstairs, bracing yourself for what you were about to find inside. At first, everything seemed normal, everything was tidy, like Liam usually liked. That is until you went further and discovered MRI machines, CT scanners, sedatives, opioids, and a bunch of other stuff that you were pretty sure were not legal to keep at home, even for a doctor. 

You didn't really know what to do. On one hand, you wanted to call the police, but it felt a little too extreme, you were dating the guy after all. So you decided the next day to go to the hospital and ask one of his close colleagues, so that one of them could shed some light into the situation without taking any legal actions. 

But just as you were about to do that, you felt a familiar hand on your shoulder. Turning around, you find Liam smiling down at you. But this didn't feel like his usual smile, for some reason it felt creepy and unsettling. 

“Honey, are you alright ? What are you doing at the hospital ?”

“Yeah… I brought you lunch, that's all.”

You quickly handed him his lunch that you thankfully prepared in case you would run into him, hands slightly trembling as you did so. You started to regret not calling the police. Looking at him now, knowing what he hid in the basement, you felt really uneasy being around him, knowing that he could be doing literary anything with that equipment.

“Oh honey, how sweet of you…” You could practically feel the sarcasm dripping from his voice, and it made you ten times more anxious, making you question if he knew that you entered the basement.

Not long after, he insisted on taking you home, since he would finish his shift soon enough. Through the entire car ride, you couldn't help but anxiously fidget, waiting for what would happen once you're home. Liam didn't show any signs of anger or anything of the sort, but that didn't stop you from feeling like the day wasn't going to end on a happy note. As soon as you step into the house, you are hit on the back of your head with something hard, and you feel your body collapse on the floor. 

The next time you woke up, your head was throbbing, and you couldn't focus on anything, or remember what had happened, until Liam came into the room, a wide smile on his face.

“Darling ! You finally woke up, that's good.”

“What happened ?”

“Well you see darling, I haven't used the basement for quite a while, so imagine my surprise when I noticed yesterday that the door handle wasn't dusty.”

He sat beside you on the bed and took your hand in his. He had the same smile that he always showed you, and yet you couldn't help but be afraid of him, afraid of what he might do to you.

“By the way, your phone has a tracking app, so I knew you wanted to snitch on me to my colleagues. And you know what they say, snitches get stitches, so that's what I did !”

You were utterly confused by his words, until he started lifting your shirt up and to your horror, you discovered actual stitches. Your body completely froze at the sight. You finally understood what this monster of a man was doing down in the basement with all of that medical equipment. 

“I took your liver out. I remember you telling me that wanted to donate your organs, so consider this a start.”

He then grabbed your chin, and made you look at him. His grip was so tight you almost started crying, or maybe it was because you didn't want to be close to him. Either way, you were hurt, inside and out.

“Now listen darling. You have two options. One, you forget everything that happened. Two, you make me upset like you did yesterday, and you're going to be a frequent visitor of the basement.”

And with simple threat, he gently kissed your cheek. Never once you thought you would go from craving his touch to despising it.

Thank you so much for reading ! Why don't you spend some more time on my blog and look through my navigation ?

[gotta-winwin]

2019 debut year <> first meetings - maknae line

word count: 2.1k TW: a bit of swearing, cyana is sad for some reason italics are in english and bolded words are in Mandarin this is a continuation from the hyung line fic, so please read that for continuity's sake!

౨ৎ ─── ─── ──౨ৎ─── ─── ──౨ৎ─── ─── ──౨ৎ

MINGHAO:

Although he had been all but ready to make fun of Jun when he was nervous and shy, Minghao found himself suffering just the same as Cyana approached him. Being the final member to meet her officially, he had the gruelling process of waiting as she slowly made her way through members before finally reaching him. "Hi. Nice to meet you, I'm Xu Minghao." He opted for a hug rather than a handshake, smiling when Cyana wrapped her arms comfortably around his waist. Parting, Cyana shot him a bright smile. "I'm so glad you and Jun speak Mandarin. I haven't met anyone besides my parents who knew the language." Minghao was glad to have brought her a sense of comfort. "We're just as happy. It's always nice to meet someone connected to home. Where in China are you from?" "My parents lived in Shenzhen before moving to Vancouver." Minghao's eyes widened and he glanced at Jun, who was lazily stretching, warming up for practice. "Jun's from Shenzhen too." Cyana followed his gaze, frowning when she saw the boy. "He's very quiet." She gathered. Minghao nodded, chuckling. "He's shy around strangers. He'll warm up, don't worry. He was quiet around me too, when we first met." He turned to look at her, studying her before continuing. "You're quiet too though, a little bit." Cyana flushed. "I don't really speak much, yeah. Prefer to listen most times." Honestly, Minghao didn't mind. He enjoyed the peaceful nature that seemed to radiate off her even within the short time they'd met. It was a change from the usual chaotic energy SEVENTEEN oozed of that Minghao accepted gratefully. "If it ever gets too much, Wonwoo and I are usually quieter company. We don't like doing too much outside of work." He didn't miss the way her face soured when he brought up Wonwoo's name. Cyana took his advice and invitation gratefully, promising to tell him if things ever got too much and to come find him whenever necessary. He savoured the look on her face, one of pure innocence and blissful unawareness of the tumultuous waves idol life could be. He distinctly remembered entering Korea with the same wide-eyed look on his own face and made a quiet promise he'd help keep that glow in Cyana's face as long as possible.

DK:

"Hi hi~" DK bounced up to Cyana, shaking her hand vigorously. He had heard Seungcheol's warning in the beginning -- to be calm and not to overwhelm the girl -- but he just had so much excitement to share! This was a day of celebration, having a new member join them, and it irked him a bit that the others were not treating it as such. "I'm Dokyeom, nice to meet you!" He sang, smile widening when Cyana moved to match his energy. "Hi, Dokyeom~" Cyana giggled at the boy's actions, unconsciously matching both his tone delivery and his movements, hands in his as they both jumped with excitement. She found it endearing, how energy seemed to spill out of him uncontrollably. "I wanted it to be a big celebration," He explained, pausing for Joshua to quickly translate. "I was going to order a cake, put up decorations, maybe some gifts-" Cyana protested profusely. "No, no- that's too much work." Deterred from his original train of thought by her sudden Korean, DK cooed, shaking her as he died at how cute it was. "Ah~ so cute!" Cyana blushed, unsure of what to do with the amount of attention DK was giving her. She was also hyperaware of the fact that he was still clutching her hands from before. Noticing how stiff her posture had gotten all of a sudden, DK immediately took a step back, unlatching himself from her and apologizing. Cyana shook her head. "No, no, it's okay. Just caught me off-guard." She sent him a warm smile. "This is nice." She admitted after a pause, enjoying how comfortable she was around him. She felt as if she had known Dokyeom for ages. DK sent back a blazing smile of his own. "Yes." He agreed happily, "So nice. So amazing. So unbelie-bubble." Cyana let out a loud laugh, startling everyone, including herself. It had been the loudest sound she'd made since entering the room. DK grinned, proud. Her laugh was really pretty, he realized. It made him want to make her laugh again just to hear it, to bathe in the warmth of it. Hell, he'd bottle it up if he could.

MINGYU:

Mingyu knew Wonwoo was hiding behind him. A coward, he mused, as he watched Cyana make her way slowly towards them. He couldn't understand why so many of them were nervous to meet her, Cyana was just a girl like so many others they had met before. "Hello~ I'm Mingyu." He opened his arms tentatively for a hug and felt both pride and relief when she had accepted. Okay, maybe he was a little nervous. He was scared she'd find him intimidating because of his sheer height and size. "You're- so tiny." He said, gesturing with his hand how short she was compared to him. Cyana gave him a look. "We've only just met and you're making fun of my height?" Mingyu spluttered, backtracking. "I- um." He pointed wordlessly at a cackling Vernon. "He teach me- to say." Vernon had insisted the line would be a good icebreaker. Now she seemed more amused then offended. "Ah~ I see. It's okay, I was only joking. You are very tall." He nodded, agreeing. "Yes. The most tall." He thought she seemed quite impressed by it all. "Your English is good!" She complimented, happy that they were able to carry a decent conversation on their own. He grinned. "Practice." He pointed at Vernon again. "Vernon." Cyana smiled. He liked making her smile, it brightened her face and the hint of sadness within her eyes disappeared when she did. Mingyu wondered what on earth could have made her so sad so early in the morning, but figured they were not close enough to directly ask. He didn't really know how to say all that in English anyways.

SEUNGKWAN:

Seungkwan found it both a bit endearing and amusing, the way Cyana was following behind him as they toured SEVENTEEN's floor. He likened her to a confused and intrigued cat, running her hands across the wall as he led her down the hallway towards the main lobby. Her eyes shone, and she was listening with full attentiveness at whatever he was saying. "This is- uh, recording studio, three recording studio, here." He pointed to the hallway to the left of them. "And here-" he paused, doing his best to recall the English word for 주방. "Here is kitchen. Eating~" He mimed eating food as Cyana nodded. He'd noticed that Cyana was very quiet and only ever talked if it was to answer a question. He didn't mind of course, many members had been like that too when they'd first met, but it confused him why a child actor would be so shy. "You are actor?" He asked, stopping in the lobby to get her response. He could almost feel the shift in the atmosphere the moment he asked the question. Cyana's shoulders tensed and she nodded. "In LA, yes." "That's cool." He offered lamely, not really knowing what else to say. Getting the sense that she didn't want to talk about the topic, Seungkwan gestured over to the large screen that overtook one of the lobby walls, currently displaying scenes from SEVENTEEN's music videos. "Seventeen." He said, still at a loss of words. It was rare for him not to know what to say, he prided himself in being good at filling silences, but this particular silence felt heavy and sad. He glanced at Cyana, who had her neck craned up as she watched the bright screen flash. The lights reflected against her irises and Seungkwan could swear she was holding back tears. Perhaps it was the homesickness, he deduced, scolding himself for bringing up her acting career. She had probably found it hard to leave everything behind. She turned to him and the heavy silence was gone. "These are all you guys?" She asked, pointing at the screen. Seungkwan nodded. "You guys are amazing." She marvelled. "So synchronized and captivating." "You." He pointed at the screen, having only understood the first compliment. "Soon." She smiled ruefully. "Hopefully. I wouldn't want to let you guys down." He wanted to let her know that he was sure the company had told her that everything was on her shoulders and that their success depended solely on her but the members wouldn't think that way. They'd all been there before, moments before debut and wondering if they'd somehow fail and disappoint the others. He wanted to tell her not to think like that. That she should be performing and working hard for herself and not because she had to. If he could say it in Korean and have her understand, he would have.

VERNON:

"Wassup, I'm Vernon." He shook Cyana's hand, confused when the girl seemed to be fixated on his face. "Is there something on my face?" He asked, reaching up to pat it. Cyana blinked out of her stupor. "Sorry. No, it's just-" She pointed at his sunglasses. "Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors?" "Oh." He took them off sheepishly. "I don't really know." Cyana let out a tiny laugh, gesturing for him to put them back on. "Keep them on, I didn't mean it in a judgemental way." Vernon placed them back on and Cyana couldn't help but laugh at how he seemed to just listen to her without thinking. Maybe it was the tie-dye tshirt or the terribly ripped jeans as well, but Vernon just seemed like a walking meme to Cyana and she found it incredibly funny. "Well, now I just feel like you're laughing at me." Vernon complained, although he was sporting a similar grin. Cyana shook her head, still laughing. "No, no, I swear I'm not." "Don't lie~ You so are." Vernon found that he liked the easy banter that seemed to flow seamlessly between them, realizing just how fast they seemed to click. "No, I'm laughing with you, not at you." "Right. You're going to tell me you actually enjoyed watching Birdbox next." Cyana's jaw dropped. "I actually really hate Birdbox." Vernon's eyes lit up. He'd tried using that line once on Joshua before, but the older boy hadn't understood what Vernon was getting at. "No fucking way." Vernon couldn't contain his excitement. "No one ever gets that reference." "You watch movies too then?" She asked, smiling when he said yes. If Seungcheol hadn't called everyone in for a group huddle before practice, Vernon would've whipped out his letterboxd to compare with hers right then and there. As if having a new member couldn't get any better.

DINO

Dino thrummed with anticipation as he patiently waited for his turn to speak with Cyana. She was really pretty, Dino observed, and she was really shy too. She seemed to interact with most of his hyungs with a sort of apprehension, as if secretly a little bit terrified. Dino couldn't blame her. He supposed they probably did look a little terrifying, all 13 of them when there was just 1 of her. "Hello~" He said, nervous when she approached him. "I'm Dino. And Chan. We're same, uh- old? age. Same age." His ears turned pink at his little stumble. Thankfully, Cyana didn't react to his mistake. "Really?" She said instead, lighting up. "I didn't know that. I've always wanted a friend my age." He thought for a little bit before replying. "Me too." He gave her a bright smile, praying that it'd make up for his poor English. Something about the fact that they were both the same age seemed to have soothed Cyana, as she took a step closer to Dino and held at her phone. "I- um, could you," She flushed as she tried to explain. "do you have the wifi?" Dino's shoulders relaxed, thankful it was a question he could answer. Taking the phone, he recognized her wallpaper to be a view of the Han River. Upon pointing it out, Cyana explained that she had passed by it on her way here and had fallen in love with how peaceful the waters were. He could understand what she meant. He often visited the Han River just to watch the current when he was a trainee. It served as a way to both relax and clear his mind. Handing the phone back, now connected to wifi, he mustered up the courage to ask her something before she could leave to say hi to someone else. "I- Han River. We can go, uh- together?" Cyana smiled and nodded. "Of course."

author's note: thank you so much for reading! thank you for all the love you've given this series and i'll be updating as much as possible. i've fallen in love with this universe and cyana lol.

[jessicaloons]

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince:

Chapter 6

Masterlist - Previous - Next

The Heartbreak Prince

23 April 2023:

"She’s gorgeous. Look at this beautiful girl." Pascale Leclerc cooed at her granddaughter, eyes full of love.

"She really is. And she’s so small… like a little doll." Charles smiled, watching his mother cradling his daughter to her chest, when his phone rang "That’s Fred. I have to take it."

"It’s okay, don’t worry, I’ll stay here with my beautiful, little girl." his mother said, not looking up from the bundle of joy in her arms.

Charles walked outside, accepting the call.

"Fred…"

"I got your text earlier. Congrats Charles, mother and daughter both okay?" his team principal asked.

"Yeah. Both healthy."

"That’s good. Really good. And the rest- umm… everything arranged?"

"Yeah. It’s been taken care of." Charles sighed.

"Good, good… I really don’t like to do this Charles- but I have to ask. Will

you race in Baku? I would understand if you didn’t want to… but- well it’s Baku. You always been quite good there, so I think… maybe…" Fred stuttered a little, as a father himself, he knew what he asked of his young driver.

"No. I have to… I said I would do everything in my power to be able to do both. Race and be a good father…" Charles replied, although he honestly didn’t want to leave his precious girl behind.

"You don’t have to come with everyone else, be here on the 27th, for media day, that’s fine…" his Team Principal suggested and he nodded slowly.

"Thanks Fred, see you in Baku."

"See you in Baku…"

Charles pocketed his phone, leaning against the wall when the door to the hospital room opened, his mother looking outside.

"You need to feed her, come on in…" she smiled at her son and Charles pushed himself off the wall, following her back in.

The gorgeous baby girl scrambled in the little crib, soft cries leaving her.

"Here, it’s warm. Take her and sit down…" his mother instructed him and he did as told.

After a couple of minutes a comfortable silence fell over the room. Only the newborn’s tiny sounds while eagerly suckling on the bottle were to be heard.

Charles eyes were full of love and adoration for the tiny human being in his arms, to think he would only have 4 days until he had to leave his little girl for the first time hurt him beyond belief. But he knew that he made a promise. He would do everything to give his daughter the best life possible.

"It’s just you and me, mon ange… just you and me, but I promise you, I will do everything to keep you safe, keep you happy." Charles leaned down to gently kiss his little girls forehead "I love you, my beautiful Ava."

"And this will be your room, I mean, when you’re a little older of course. I know, it’s nothing special. It needs colour, decoration, maybe even different furniture… but I wanted to have the nursery ready before you were born… we change that, don’t worry, pretty girl." Charles cradled his daughter to his chest, standing in the middle of the plain, white nursery. It looked sterile. Cold. He knew it. He just didn’t have the time to change it until now "You’ll sleep in my bedroom for now anyways… here, I show you…" he walked outside the nursery, down the hallway, through the door at the end "This is where we sleep, how do you like it?" he looked down at the sleepy baby girl, chuckling "It’s not like you’re going to answer, right? I guess your silence means you love it…"

"I hate it, I want my own bedroom, daddy!" Joris' high pitched voice behind him made Charles roll his eyes "I thought you’re a millionaire, why do we have to share a room?"

"Ha-ha, very funny…" the Ferrari driver turned around, glaring at his best friend "Before she’ll move into her nursery, I need to make it homely first. Worthy of my little princess." his eyes softened as soon as he looked back down into the baby’s face.

"You still got time, don’t worry. For now, you should enjoy the next couple of days with her, before leaving for Baku…"

"I can’t believe that I’m saying that, but I don’t want to race, I want to stay here with her, I don’t want to miss anything she’s learning, or doing for the first time!" the new father sighed.

"I know. But let’s face it, Ava is only 3 days old, she won’t do much besides sleeping and pooping…" Joris shrugged his shoulders.

"Watch it, Trouche, or I’m rethinking my choice of making you her godfather." Charles turned slightly, smiling at his best friend.

"Wha-… are you-… are you serious? M- me? Godfather?" he stumbled over his own words, eyes wide as he stared at the young father with his daughter in front of him.

"I’m serious, yeah… I mean, obviously only if you wa-…"

"Yes! YES! Of course! I just… I didn’t think you would choose me? Lorenzo? Or Arthur… but… wow. WOW!" Joris stepped closer, looking at the little angel in her father’s arms, his goddaughter "My beautiful Ava. I will try to be the best godfather, I promise!"

"And you know what? One of your first duties is to help me change her diaper… I did it the last days with maman’s or a nurses help… but now… I’m scared…"

"I mean, how hard can it be?" Joris chuckled and followed Charles to the changing table, where he gently laid down his little bundle of joy.

"Yeah, shouldn’t be that big of a problem." the new dad shrugged.

It was a problem. A big problem. And when ten minutes later the little girl was all fresh and dressed up, both young men slid down on the floor, leaning against the bed and drawer.

"I will have nightmares of this- this experience…" Joris mumbled and Charles nodded slowly.

"How can this precious, sweet little thing create such an atrocity?" he looked down at his daughter, who dozed off already, letting out the sweetest sounds.

"And now look at her! All cute and adorable!" Joris smiled and his best friend scooted over a little.

"Do you want to hold her?" he asked and looked at him.

"Umm-… sure. But you have to show me, I never held a baby that little!"

"I’ll show you, don’t worry…" Charles replied and showed Joris exactly how to held his little baby girl.

"Oh wow… oh wow… she’s so tiny…" Joris mumbled, looking at his goddaughter "She’s so cute…"

"She is perfect… I know that it won’t be easy, being here for her, taking care of her. My career. Keeping her safe from my crazy life. The media. My fans. I know the next months, maybe years will be pretty tough… but when I look at her? I just know it all will be worth it." Charles almost whispered, his gaze softening.

"I think you’re right… I mean, just look at her…" Joris replied, gently taking Ava’s hand in his much bigger one, inspecting her tiny fingers.

"I know this all was unusual. A drunk one night stand. Hiding her mother away from everyone. Keeping her a secret? But I would do it all over again, just to have her…"

Joris looked up at Charles, smiling at the way how his best friend’s soft gaze lingered on his baby girl. A content smile on his lips. His eyes full of love. He always knew that Charles would be an amazing father one day, the way he treated his little fans a clear indicator, but seeing it happening before his eyes made his own heart double in size.

"She’s your little girl."

"My little girl. My princess." Charles whispered, gently kissing his daughter’s tiny hand "My everything."

Baku 2023:

"Question for Charles, you only arrived today, everything okay? I’ve, and I’m sure I’m not the only one, noticed that you’re a little pale?" a reporter asked at the press conference and Charles picked up the microphone, clearing his throat.

"I’m good, thanks. I had to sort out something back at home, nothing bad, don’t worry, just a family- a private matter. It’s all good and I’m here, ready to race." he said it with a big smile on his face.

A smile he kept for the rest of the press conference. A fake smile. Leaving Ava behind after not even a full week hurt. It didn’t sit right with him. But he promised his team he would race. He promised him being a father now wouldn’t affect his career and he planned on keeping that promise.

"You’re alright mate?" Max asked when they left the press conference and Charles nodded "Everything alright at home?"

"Yeah, sure… it was just-… my mum. She was sick, nothing serious, but there were some things we had to take care off. Her hair salon. Stuff, you know?" the Monegasque was a horrible liar and he knew he had to improve in order to keep his secret under wraps.

"Okay-… well, I’m glad she’s good again?" Max replied.

"Hmm. Yeah. All good…"

"Alright. What do you think? Another pole this year here?"

"I much rather would start in P2 but actually win the race… but honestly? I’m not having much hope." Charles sighed, thinking about the weekend ahead, hoping for a decent outcome at least. And when Sunday came and he sat in the plane back home late at night, the smile on his face wasn’t just from being happy to see his daughter again, but also from a second place in the sprint race and a third place in the main race. His mood was only dampened by the fact that he would have too little time with his baby girl, considering he had to catch his flight on Thursday to Miami, but even if it would only be for 10 minutes, Charles would take the detour. Every single second with his daughter was precious.

"Hey my little princess…" Charles cooed at his little one, inhaling the unique newborn smell, sighing contently when he finally made his way back home "I’m back baby girl and this time I’m staying for longer than just a day!"

He thought back to last week when he made a quick stop over in between Baku and Miami, hating to leave her after only a day already.

"She was a perfect little angel." Pascale smiled, packing her granddaughters bag "Are you sure you want to drive home? You could stay here?"

"No, I really should go home. I have to get used to taking care of her alone…" Charles replied.

"Okay, here, I’ve got her a car seat." Pascale sat down the Maxi-Cosi and helped her son buckling in the little baby girl "If you need anything, call me, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks Maman, for taking care of her." Charles kissed his mother’s cheek, who gently squeezed his arm.

"I told you, we’re all helping you. It’s going to be fine. And now off you go. It looks like it’s about to rain soon…"

And Pascale was right, the moment Charles left the underground parking garage in his car the first drops fell and by the time he reached his own home it was already raining cats and dogs. But it was good like this. Not many people out in the streets. No one walking up to his car to take a picture. When he took Ava out of the carrier and laid her down in her crib he dialled his brother’s number.

"Hey Charles, how’s Ava?" Lorenzo asked and Charles rolled his eyes a little.

"What about me?" he pouted, gently stroking Ava’s cheek.

"You’re right, sorry! How are you? How is Ava?" his older brother chuckled.

"We are both doing fine. But I realised something today…"

"Yeah? And that’s what?"

"I need a new car. A bigger one. A safer one. With tinted windows. I can’t risk someone recognising me and then coming closer, taking pictures and spotting Ava. Chasing us…" Charles quietly left his bedroom, leaving the door a crack wide open.

"Okay, yeah that shouldn’t be a problem."

"Good… and now I have a week with my little one before I have to leave her yet again…" the young father sighed.

"Although I don’t know how you must feel, but let me tell you this. Formula 1 is your job, it’s been your life the past few years and you’re on a good way of finally making one of your biggest dreams come true… don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re doing your job, so it’s okay. And it’s not like you leave Ava all alone! You leave her with Maman who adores her!" Lorenzo said and Charles nodded slightly.

"You’re right… I know that… it just… it sucks a little…"

"Enjoy your week off with her for now, okay? The rest we’ll figure out! In the meantime I’ll check some cars out for you!"

"Thanks Enzo…"

"No worries little bro…"

Charles sat in his bed, Ava comfortably snuggled into his chest, watching the news about the weather in Italy.

"Looks terrifying, no?" Arthur said quietly, walking inside "I’m not even sure if we’re racing…"

"Yeah… and look at all the damage. Those poor people…" Charles sighed.

"Isn’t umm-… Alessia and her family aren’t they living in the Emilia Romagna region?" Arthur said hesitantly and by the way his brother’s head snapped up, looking at him he held up his hands "Sorry… I shouldn’t have said that…"

"You’re right. You shouldn’t have. I don’t know where they are. I don’t care where they are. I hope they’re safe, like everyone affected, but that’s it. I don’t know these people. I don’t want to know these people."

"I have food for you, from Maman…" Arthur tried to change the topic and Charles was more than happy about it.

"I’m starving…" he replied and his little brother nodded.

"I’ll go and fix a plate for you and then you can eat and I snuggle with my little bumblebee…" he left the bedroom and Charles looked down at Ava again.

She slowly opened her eyes, yawning and squirming a little.

"Hi my little princess…" Charles whispered, leaning down, kissing his daughter’s cheek "Did you have a nice nap, baby girl?"

He had to chuckle. He used to shake his head at people who exaggerate using a baby voice when tending to their babies. But now he was just like that, cooing at his little girl with a high pitched voice, waiting for a reply that wouldn’t come.

"Here you go… and now I want my little bumblebee…" Arthur sat down a plate on his older brothers night stand, looking at his niece, smiling when Charles gently laid her down in his arms "She’s so fu-…"

"Arthur!"

"- freaking cute! So incredibly, incredibly cute!" he cooed at the little girl in his arms.

"That she is…" Charles replied "I don’t want to leave on Monday… but it’s Imola, there is a ton of events Silvia couldn’t pull me out off, so I have to go…"

"I don’t want to leave either, staying here would mean no fu- messed up race weekend…" Arthur mumbled and Charles looked up from his plate.

"Don’t be too hard on yourself, Arthur…" he began but Arthur shook his head.

"4 race weekends, 8 races and only one P3… no win, no pole position, mostly finished out of the points, crashes here and there… I guess I’m just not good enough…" he sighed.

"Hey! Stop that! It’s only the beginning of the season, you need time to get used to an F2 car!" Charles sat down his plate, looking at his little brother "You wouldn’t have made it into F2 if you weren’t good enough!"

"Everyone is saying I only made it because of you…"

"What? Who’s saying that?" Charles was confused.

"Everyone. It’s everywhere, experts, journalists, they all say it. Or write it." Arthur replied, smiling at Ava holding onto his finger with a tight grip.

The older Leclerc brother grabbed his phone, opening Google typing in his brother’s name and to his shock, his little brother was right. He clicked on the first YouTube video, not wanting to believe that people would say things like that.

"… now let’s talk about his team mate, Arthur Leclerc…" the blonde woman said, looking at her two male co-hosts.

"Leclerc didn’t have the best start of the season and some people start wondering if he deserves a seat in F2 and of course how much his brother had to do with him having a seat." the dark haired reporter said, while the blonde haired guy next to him nodded.

"Don’t get me wrong. Racing is in the Leclerc brother’s blood. But I guess you can say, when back in the day their parents had to decide which brother could continue and which had to stop, they made the right choice."

Furiously he exited the app, locking his phone.

"Are you watching that?" he looked at his little brother who only shrugged his shoulders "If they can’t talk shit, they’re not satisfied."

"But they’re right, no? I’m not having a good season. I am not good enough…" Arthur mumbled "So yeah… I guess it really made sense that mum and dad put all their money on you instead of me…"

"It had nothing to do with who was better, Arthur! I was older, already further into my racing career. That was it. Nothing else." Charles said and Arthur sighed.

"If you say so." he shrugged.

Charles got off from his bed and sat down on the stool in front of his brother.

"This all, racing, it’s already tough enough without all that bullshit coming from so called experts and you know it! It had nothing to do with me, that you got your seat, Arthur! You had an amazing season in F3. You won the Formula Regional Asian Championship. That’s what got you your seat. You have proven that you’re good enough. Got it?" he said, looking at his younger brother intently who just nodded after a while, his eyes still trained on his niece "And now come on. I want to go for a little walk with her, and now that Enzo brought my new car, we can drive a little out of town to somewhere quiet. Let’s worry about racing and that all tomorrow again, okay?"

"Okay… but just so you know, I’ll sit next to her in the car, I just love looking at her…" Arthur smiled a little and Charles chuckled.

"Same, Arthur, same."

"It’s cancelled. You can go home." Mia said and Charles cocked an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yeah… I know you just arrived early this morning… but it’s official. You won’t race. You can go home." she smiled at him and it didn’t take Charles longer than 5 minutes to pack his bag and leave.

"Hey! You’re leaving?" Carlos.

Charles stopped dead in his tracks and turned around slowly "I thought we had this dinner with some sponsors later on? Discuss what we can do to help? Or at least that’s what Silvia said?"

He was right. Silvia told him about it, but also said that if the race got cancelled she would make Carlos attend alone.

"Yeah-… umm. I know… it’s just- there is a family emergency back home. I have to go." Charles lied and his team mate looked at him empathically.

"Oh shit, mate. I hope nothing too serious?"

"No. It’s, it’s not too bad, but I have to check in and make sure it stays that way."

"Alright. Do that. And take care, the streets are flooded at some parts and the re-routing isn’t working at all times…" the Spaniard clapped his back and Charles smiled at him.

"Will do, thanks. And sorry for leaving you alone with Silvia and the wolves…" he felt bad.

"Don’t worry, cabrón."

Charles slipped into his car, starting the engine, his mind already at home with his little one. He drove off the Ferrari premises and quickly made his way to the motorway, thankfully without any serious delays or issues. When he finally arrived back home in Monaco and parked his car he leaned back in his seat. Closing his eyes for a minute. He flinched when his phone beeped and he saw a text from his manager, Nicolas, coming through. A new brand collaboration. He sighed, closing the message and getting out of the car. Another gig would mean more time away from his daughter. Something he didn’t like.

Charles quietly closed the door behind him, slipping of his shoes, when he heard the soft voice of his mother, cooing at her. He stood in the doorway of his bedroom, watching his mother sitting in the rocking chair, his beautiful baby girl in her arms and his heart almost bursted.

"Look, little Ava, your papa is here…" Pascale cooed to the little girl and got up, walking over to her son.

"Hi my little princess…" he smiled at her and then kissed his mother’s cheek "Let me take a quick shower and then I’ll take her and you can go."

"Take all the time that you need." she replied, sitting back down in the chair "We are just fine…"

"I can see that." Charles chuckled and grabbed some fresh clothes, making his way into the bathroom, where he took a quick shower before joining his mother and daughter again.

"You look tired, Charles…" Pascale looked worriedly at her son, dark circles under his eyes.

"Driving late last night to Maranello, just an hour or two of sleep in the morning and then driving straight back home around noon? Yeah… I’m tired. But it’s okay. I would do everything for her…" Charles yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Why don’t you eat something and I make Ava bed ready? Change her, feed her, take her to bed and then you can go to bed as well and take over from then on?" his mother gently rubbed his arm "There are some leftovers in the fridge."

"Sounds like a plan. A good plan…" he mumbled, walking out of the room to warm up the leftovers, eating in silence before returning to his bedroom where Ava was already sleeping in her crib.

"Look at this little angel." Pascal whispered.

"She is perfect." Charles replied quietly, disappearing in his bathroom, getting bed ready himself "You should stay here Maman, it’s late."

"I’ll be fine, don’t worry. You sleep now!" she kissed his cheek "Good night, Charles."

"Good night, Maman… and thank you."

"Not for that…"

The next days Charles spent in pure bliss with his little girl. He felt like he learnt every other moment something new about her, saw a new expression in her face, a new movement of her head.

"Look! It’s like she understands what I’m saying!" he exclaimed "You’re so clever, Ava! So, so clever!"

"She doesn’t understand you. She just recognises your voice!" Lorenzo chuckled but his younger brother didn’t listen "So- umm have you thought about what to do during the Monaco GP?"

"What do you mean?" Charles looked up from his daughter, cocking an eyebrow.

"Charles, you cross the street on any normal day and at least a dozen of people swarm you here. But this week? It’s going to be crazy! Your fans will even follow Maman around, as soon as they spot her somewhere, imagine how they would stalk her if they saw her with a stroller… and she can’t stay inside the entire week with Ava! Also, everyone knows that she’s always in the paddock in Monaco. If she’s not here this year, people will start talking, and when they talk, they will look even more for her…"

"Fu-… damn. I haven’t even thought about that… but you’re right. Oh god what am I supposed to do? I don’t want people to assume that something is wrong with Maman, first Baku and the mysterious family matter why I arrived late, then the dinner in Imola that I didn’t attend because of a family emergency… if she’s not here this weekend… some people would start looking for her..." Charles leaned back, ruffling his hair.

"So umm we- no Charlotte had an idea… when I talked to her about it. We weren’t really spotted together by anyone, so she’s kinda unknown, no one would connect her in any way to you… she could take care of Ava? Go for a walk here and there with her? Watch her at least enough for Maman to be at qualifying and the race?"

"And she would be okay with that? Didn’t you ask her to join you this weekend?"

"She wouldn’t offer it if it wasn’t okay, I’ll ask her to join me next weekend then." Lorenzo replied and Charles nodded.

"If it’s okay for her? She would definitely help me out big time."

"I’ll text her then…" he said and typed away in his phone, a reply coming through almost immediately "'I can’t wait to spend some time with the precious little princess'"

"She’s an angel, tell her that. Thank you! Like seriously. Next weekend in Barcelona, you book the nicest, most luxurious hotel for you two, take her to dinner to the best restaurant. My treat."

"Stop that. She loves to help out. Also, she loves Ava, I think we’re doing her a bigger favour…" Lorenzo laughed but Charles shook his head.

"Doesn’t matter. My treat next weekend."

"She’ll be delighted."

"It’s like this." Charles mumbled, shaking his head while leaving the garage with Andrea.

"You can still get up on top…" he replied but Charles scoffed "It’s not impossible! Just wait… and even if not, then you drive home and cuddle your little girl."

"Yeah. Holding her is better than lifting any trophy out there." the driver smiled.

"See? That’s the spirit." his athletic trainer bumped his shoulder.

"Yeah, I’m trying to…"

"Now come on. Let’s get home, eat something and relax, tomorrow is a new day."

And although Charles gave his best, he wasn’t able to make up any positions. He climbed out of his car, frustrated and congratulated Max on his win.

"Well done mate, congrats."

"Thanks man." Max clapped his back and smiled "Maybe next year you’ll beat the curse."

"There is no curse. Just me or my team not delivering." Charles mumbled and walked off.

He knew how everyone talked about his Monaco curse, but looking at it, it was always just a mistake by himself or, like last year, his team. After his weighing he made his way back to the Ferrari garage and prepared for the media pen.

"Hey Charles. Another year, another disappointing result for you. What went wrong?"

"I didn’t qualify good enough. In Monaco your starting position is crucial for the race outcome. And with the penalty, starting in P6, in the middle of the DRS train in Monaco? Yeah you will most likely finish in P6, like I did." Charles sighed.

"You complained about the stiffness of the car, do you think that will be an issue next week in Barcelona as well?"

"I don’t know. We will see I guess. If the car is like this next week… we have to wait and see…"

"It’s your home GP so now you go home, have a little time with your family and then off to Barcelona?"

"Yeah. Weekend debrief with the team now and then back home where my da-…" Charles stopped abruptly, eyes wide, thinking about what to say "Where my dance partners in crime wait for me." he scolded himself.

"Dance partners in crime?" the reporter cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah after a race like today I need to dance it out, you know?"

"Okay… umm- then have fun and see you next weekend."

Charles could kick himself. He had to be more careful from now on.

"You covered that up quite well…" Mia whispered, seeing how tense Charles was "Sure it was a little… well it was different. Nothing people are used to from you but it’s okay…"

"Dance partners in crime? Dance it out?" he sighed.

"Yeah, I mean, after this weekend? Who wouldn’t want to dance it out." she squeezed his shoulder "Now come on, let’s make this quick and then you can go home, to your dance partner in crime."

"Very funny." Charles groaned and when he finally slipped of his shoes back at home, he couldn’t wait to see his daughter, knowing that she would make him forget the whole weekend with just one little smile.

"She was just a perfect little angel." Charlotte smiled at him when he walked into his living room "She watched her daddy race and then she fell asleep, just like a good little girl."

"There wasn’t much to watch today, no?" Charles mumbled, picking his daughter up from the sofa "But it’s okay… I’m here now…"

"You’ll come back stronger next week."

"I guess we’ll see."

Chapter 6 - Ladies and Gentlemen, baby Ava has arrived and she’s already wrapping EVERYONE around her tiny little fingers. Writing Charles as a dad is one of my favourite things and I can’t wait for you all to read more about him and his little girl.

Please leave a comment/ like/ reblog/ message and tell me how you liked it! I'm dying to hear your thoughts!

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Last but not least, English is not my first language and although I tried my best: please excuse any mistakes I made!

Taglist:

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[nicestprinceofdeath]

The other day I was watching a film with the trope of some unpopular smart girl helping other no so smart popular girl get the boy and the boy finds it out and fall in love with the unpopular smart girl. So I thought why not that BUT instead, the girls fall for each other and the guy just befriend them, and jegulus. And now I want a fanfic.

So my thoughts were something like this:

Lily wants to write a song. She told James that she's writing a song for Marlene to Dorcas (even though the truth is she's writing it for Pandora/Mary, haven't decided yet), so it's a love song and James thinks it's the perfect excuse to tell her what he feels hidden in love lyrics. And James who is stupidly madly in love with her, tells her that he is super good with lyrics and stuff. But the truth is that he is not, so he asks the other marauders for help and they also don't know how to write lyrics, and somehow Sirius tell him that his little brother used to write loads of sad boy poems, so maybe he knows something about how to write lyrics. "Songs are poems with music, aren't they?"

So James tries to convince Regulus to help him who at first says no. Needing a good excuse (more than him been in love with James) for him to agree to help James, like a bet, a party or I don't know. Finally, Regulus accept to help him. And they start talking to each other and planning how are they going to do this, and Regulus teaching James some poetry and ahhh. They find a spell in which they can speak to each other without other people hearing them and hearing what the other is hearing (como un pinganillo de toda la vida or something like that). (I don't know the name in English, but like an earpiece to talk to each other, each in different rooms).

And with all this James goes to see Lily to help her with the song. Lily play the guitar a bit and shows James the background music that she had for the song. She asks him for suggestions for the song (a love song) and Regulus who is in other place (probably in some corner of the Slytherin common room or in his dorm) start making some beautiful love verses (or read some of his verses from his poems on his hidden journal with his secret love poems, obviously not about James) (he tries to change the pronouns and stuff like that but it's kind of easy to those because... The song Lily told James they were writing was from Marlene to Dorcas, so for Regulus both ships are similar. One Slytherin one gryffindors, James and Dorcas 's skins are dark and Marlene and Regulus are pale but maybe "we're not putting that James" "why not is not as it's not true" "yes I know but I don't know, I don't think it feets, even though the lyrics were beautiful". James talking to himself: "yes, they were, just a beautiful verses from a beautiful poet". Lily: ? Meanwhile Regulus on his dorm talking to James via spell: "shut up Potter and pay attention to what you should be doing. Okay if she doesn't think that feets maybe try with this..." James to Lily, back to reality: "Anyway, what about this instead..."

Also the quidditch rivalry, etc.

James hears the lyrics and loves them. Obviously tells Regulus all that and they continue talking and flirting and James continues helping Lily with her song and so weeks go by and James starts feeling more and more attach to Regulus and starts thinking that maybe he's not as in love with Lily as he thought, and starts he likes Regulus just a bit.

And you know it has to have drama, so in one of those James helping Lily and Regulus helping hidden in his dorm he forgets they're actually helping Lily doing her song so he let out the actual verses from one of his poems. Like: -bla bla he is bla bla (I don't know poetry), So James is like: "he?". And Regulus panics and corrects himself: "she! I meant she is bla bla".

And James being the curious and gossiper he is later would be like: "So... do you like anyone? Are those verses actually poems for the love of your life?" "no, and don't be dramatic" "you definitely like a boy! Tell me everything! Is he a Slytherin, one of your friends, or maybe he's in another house? Have you been telling us your poems?" "James just drop it, I'm not in love with anyone, I just like writing poems, okey?" "if you say so..."

We all know he didn't drop it, and he starts trying to figure out who Regulus is in love with. And mix with that he starts feeling a bit jealous of the guy who has Regulus attention and who he writes love sad poems about.

[inkedaway]

Hot and Cold (Dandadan)

Title: Hot and Cold

Notes: I don't often post fanfiction but man, something about this show grabbed me, so here I go. This is just me having a lot of speculative thoughts about Okarun's Turbo form and me just wanting to put them down on paper. This is a what if scenario - what if it took time for him to calm down instead of returning back to normal immediately?

Pairing: Momo/Okarun romantic undertones, this is fluff

Rating: G

Summary:  But the one thing she did remember from her several few ordeals with him so far in his new form, was the strange attitude shift, and the fact that he curiously, ran cold. Temperature wise. Temperament wise… everything, really, but specifically, to the touch. She clearly recalled the first time she'd gripped his hand, and he'd closed it around hers, and how the surprise had been only just glazing the shallow parts of her brain that oh, he was quite a few degrees colder than he'd been just a few moments ago, and wasn't that interesting? Ao3 link: Here Can also be read under the read more here.

Momo hadn't really realized that she hadn't spent a lot of time observing Okarun's newer form. Every single time he'd used it, she'd had, metaphorically speaking, much bigger fish to fry, and hadn't managed more than the cursory surprise the first time, and just plain acceptance that this was, indeed, just a thing now.

Not once had events slowed down enough for her to actually pause and process what she was seeing, or what he was really doing beyond the surface level. In her defense, it was quite hard to think on her feet, while running away from potentially life and death situations, and also take a moment to appreciate the changes her new friend had gone through. She could not be blamed for it, really, but the one thing she did remember from her several few ordeals with him so far, was the strange attitude shift, and the fact that he curiously, ran cold.

Temperature wise. Temperament wise... everything, really, but specifically, to the touch. She clearly recalled the first time she'd gripped his hand, and he'd closed it around hers, and how the surprise had been only just glazing the shallow parts of her brain that oh, he was quite a few degrees colder than he'd been just a few moments ago, and wasn't that interesting?

Still, like with everything in those situations, it had been swiftly and efficiently shoved to the back part of her brain, in favor of focusing on figuring out how they were both going to get the fuck out of their current situation with at least (most) of their parts still firmly attached.

This wasn't to say she hadn't thought of his form, or the boy in general. She had.

Unfortunately, it had become a common occurrence for her thoughts to stray to him throughout the day. Sometimes, she wouldn't even begin the moment by thinking about him, and then her train of thought would veer right and into a mountain side, as she got entirely distracted by some stray notion, landing back on Okarun.

Despite this, she hadn't really given that form... much thought outside the obvious. Which was, perhaps, why she was so surprised when the door to exit the school roof opened, and rather than the hunched over, geek boy she'd been expecting to join her for lunch, it was the other form that practically dragged itself over.

He looked tired.

But then, he always looked tired like this, and for a moment, she remain quiet as the boy walked over and then, just... allowed himself to flop on the ground near her feet, like a marionette whose strings had been cut, boneless, lifeless, "What happened to you, anyways?" she asked between bites of food as she angled her head to look down at him, "What's with all... this?" she gestured vaguely at him, from head to toe, waving the food she'd been holding on one hand at him.

For a moment, all she got was a grunt, or perhaps a sigh, it was hard to tell like this. His position remain flopped on the ground, both eyes having closed, before one opened and settled on her. Red, unblinking and strangely reminding her of a large cat, "Got mad," this explained absolutely nothing to her, and must have been obvious from the way she stared at him, because he let out a long, soul wrenching sigh as he closed his one eye again, "Can't change. No idea why. Not that it matters."

Granted, he wasn't entirely wrong; most students couldn't see the difference like she could. There was little danger in him being in that form at the current moment in time, "Uh...huh," she said as she ate, "You still mad?"

She got no response this time, just a small flick of a large hand that she interpreted as a vague negative, but otherwise he remain stretched on the floor, near her legs.

It was then the notion came to her; he reminded her of a sunning lion, too lazy to move in the heat of the day, but still dangerous enough that he could spring into action at any given moment, "Cool," another bite of food and soon enough, her sandwich was finished, and Momo scrunched the paper it'd come in within her hands, "So, just a thought but... every time to use your powers, you tend to go back to normal. That likely hasn't changed. Give it a go maybe?"

A whine exited his mouth, or... his mask, without it moving. Heavy, mournful, like she'd just asked him to give up his first born or something equally ridiculous, "I don't wanna move, Momo... I don't wanna do anything, just leave me here."

"For the love of-" Momo rolled her eyes and swiftly decided this just would not do, "Get up. C'mon, up, up, up!" her hand reached out and began to move him, pushing his shoulder several times, to no avail, "If we tire you out, you'll stop this downer bs thing you got going."

Despite her best efforts, the most she got out of him was another small sound, the one eye reopening to fix back on her, "Nooo... what if I need to use those full bursts later? I ain't gonna do that," and, well, he did have a point, not that she wanted to concede that to him. As such she continue shoving on his shoulder, until one of his hands shot out, lightning fast, grabbed her arm, destabilized her, and forced her to crash half on top of him awkwardly.

"Okarun!!" her first reaction was mild panic, swiftly followed by severe annoyance as she hovered over him. He was still looking at her, almost languidly, from that one open eye. And perhaps Momo had misrepresented him; less of a lion, more of an overgrown, lazy dog, flopped over, refusing to move. She lifted a hand, and gave his shoulder one last smack before she righted herself back so she was sitting beside him once more, instead of partially over him. A huff of breath escaped her lips before she looked at him out the corner of an eye, "Were you aware you run cold in this form?"

"Is that why you won't lay down with me, Momo?"

There was zero innuendo in the question, no sort of implication to the words, just curiosity, and perhaps, melancholy there. She turned her head fully to watch him then, "No, you idiot, of course not," rather than actually responding to his question and following that very dangerous train of thought to its inevitable conclusion, instead she frowned down at him, "You're cold, but not uncomfortable. Also, why do you only call me Momo while you're like this, anyways?"

Both his eyes opened then, and strangely enough did a full on blink, "Momo is Momo," as if this were any sort of explanation. When all the response he got out of her was a clearly confused look, he apparently gave up explaining himself and closed his eyes again, "I'm tired..."

"You've literally done nothing today, it's noon, Okarun. You can not be tired," The small huff of sound he made, like an upset, annoyed dog seemed to contradict her, but since he didn't really use his words, Momo let out a sigh and rolled her eyes at him, "You plan on returning to class like that?" another sound, this one sad almost melancholic, like he couldn't be arsed to even begin thinking about class at the current moment, nor any moment in the near future.

Lifting her phone out of her pocket, she looked at the time; there was a bit more than half hour before they'd have to leave, which gave them, hopefully, enough time to fix their current predicament, though Momo guessed it couldn't be that bad. Worst case he'd just flop on his desk and no one would pay him any mind.

Given her previous thoughts, she turned her head and simply watched him for a while, taking note of the way his spiritual energy merged with his hair and his clothes, specifically, making both look almost engulfed in flames. From her own experience when she'd held onto him, neither hair nor clothes were heated whatsoever, though then again, she hadn't really paid it that much mind, what with the killer crab chasing them at the time.

Before she even knew what she was doing, her hand had lifted and reached out towards his hair, curiosity taking her. Her own movement didn't register until he apparently sensed the hand and both eyes opened to settle on it, before they slowly moved to fix on her own, languid and unblinking, but a clear question there, "Oh, sorry, just..." there was zero judgement in his gaze, if anything, a vague curiosity there, "Your hair," his expression did not change, not even an eyebrow twitch, though he did offer her a very slow, once again, almost feline like blink, and given he did absolutely nothing to stop her, she moved her hand in the direction of his hair.

Momo wasn't someone that kept herself from doing or saying the things she wanted to often, and besides, she was more than well aware that had he wanted no contact, she would have never even been able to get close to him. He may have been still at the present moment, but he'd demonstrated twice already that he was more than cognizant of the world around him, "It looks like fire, Okarun. I was wondering why it also runs cold, is all. Do you mind?" her hand had stopped only a few scant inches away from his strands, and she waited for him to make a noncommittal sound before she lowered it into the white mass, sweeping her fingers like they were a brush.

She watched him close his eyes against her ministrations, and once again, the animal like comparison returned in her mind, "C'mere," she said after a few moments, and slowly moved herself and him, fully aware that the only reason she was managing to move him, was because he was allowing it. He remain mostly dead weight but he did nothing more than make a vaguely whine like sound at losing contact with her hand in his hair.

"Momoooooooo..."

She grabbed at his shoulders and he offered no resistance to her when she pulled his head on her lap, "Maybe if you fall asleep, you'll change back," no response other than a small huff, but his eyes didn't close again until one hand returned to sink in his hair, moving carefully through it. It felt, to the touch, much like normal hair would, and if she closed her eyes, and blocked out his looks, she was certain she would not have noticed the difference.

Idly, it made her wonder if she would ever manage to get the boy to lay down like this while not in this form, and would the texture of his hair be any different. She focused her attention on the phone she had clutched in her free hand, and as she petted him, her mind drifted, her thoughts discombobulated while she scrolled through her phone. On instinct, she knew it was still a while before the bell rung and they'd be forced to move anyways.

Her attention only returned back to him when she heard a soft snuffle like sound, her eyes tracking down to see her hand now moving through black, unruly hair, which interestingly enough, did indeed feel the same, the boy having actually managed to fall into a light sleep in place, his form having returned to normal.

Less of a dangerous predator in this form, more of a lap dog, cute and vulnerable, she thought, but her hand did not stop its movement.

She still had five or ten minutes left after all.

[izvmimi]

“Thank you for always being so understanding about all of this,” Izuku says between spoonfuls of soup. You look up from your own bowl, then around; Inko has stepped out of the room to use the restroom, and the two of you remain facing each other at dinner.

Tenko hasn’t joined the three of you tonight, citing “other plans”, but you have the impression that nerves have gotten to him finally and Izuku agrees with your assessment. The thought of Tenko, once Shigaraki, being nervous about how the general public will receive him feels somewhat ridiculous, but it is a very fair thing to be worried about given the circumstances.

After all, it’s only been 5 years since the meta war, and even if he’s proven himself to Midoriya and the Hero Commission, he has no guarantee going public in this matter will be well received, even if Deku will be by his side, promising emphatically and empathetically in his own very Deku way to stop him again if things get awry, and the people believe in their Symbol of Hope.

Yet, what Izuku is referencing is something unrelated completely. His hand reaches over the table to cover yours gently, and he smiles warmly at you, and in that look, you remember how happy he was to see you from his hospital bed, adjusting a few flowers and cards on the counters before being startled by the sound of his voice. He was happy to see you intact, safe, despite having gotten precariously close to the main fight. 

Izuku remembers your body moments away from disintegration every so often, the expected turn in his stomach not lessening over the years, and often wonders why you’ve managed to forgive Tenko the way you have, allowing him to crash on your apartment sofa and eat up all your snacks, and to permeate daily conversations between the two of you.

But you, like the people will during the press conference tomorrow, believe in his ability to be good.

Your lips part slightly with the touch as though you were to say something in surprise, but you choose not to, smiling instead, using your other hand to finish your soup. 

The words I trust you and I have hope, are left unsaid.

—

The cameras don’t stop flashing but Deku and Entropy continue to face the cameras politely, smiles matching, Entropy’s not as wide but still warm. The dreaded tomato isn’t tossed at his face and while there are a few insults hurled from the back of the crowd, understandably, they’re easily drowned out by the cheers of support.

The two young men both pledge to keep the city safe.

The trial period of their partnership will be for about a year before they’ll eventually act independently, and while it seems like a sensible idea upfront, you and Izuku find out that the netizens have quite a lot to say about it.

Parole officer Deku…

They’re really running out of new concepts, aren’t they?

Do you think I could turn him back? He might have been sexier before…

That last comment has 200+ replies and you pore through them on your phone while Tenko returns with four iced beverages, three of them coffee and the fourth a lemonade with an alarming amount of caffeine in them. Sparkles eyes his drink, while accepting her latte from him, then shakes her head.

“You know those kill people, right?”

Tenko blinks for a moment, then shrugs before putting the straw in his mouth. 

“I mean…” you pipe up and Izuku gives you a look to warn you not to make the joke you want so desperately to make, and you press a finger to your own mouth coyly.

Sparkles figures out where you were about to go in that sentence and kicks your leg under the table. Tenko sips on his drink and says nothing.

“You guys looked great out there,” you say, instead. “I would definitely trust my life to you both,” you add and Sparkles nods enthusiastically. You watch her pat his shoulder gently, then catch herself, pretending she was wiping off a bit of lint.

You’ll send her a text reminding her she doesn’t need to pretend that he wasn’t with her last night in a couple minutes, but for now you let the two newly partnered pros give their own press conference perspective.

There are many new books to be written and you wonder which page you’ll turn first.

[monotonesmile]

Hello beautiful person, well I would like to ask for a request if it is not bothersome! (⁠´⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠.̫⁠ ⁠.⁠ ⁠`⁠)

I would love if you could write a Rise!Leon x fem!reader. Only if you want of course. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

Maybe they meet by accident when Leonardo is on the roof of Reader's building? And they start talking through the window but without her being able to see him, Because Leonardo is afraid that she will get scared or something like that? (⁠ ⁠╹⁠▽⁠╹⁠ ⁠)

And in the weeks that they talk, they fall in love with each other! (⁠☆⁠▽⁠☆⁠) Reader doesn't really care that he's a mutant turtle!

Sorry if it's too long, you don't have to do it if you don't want to, thanks for your time (⁠´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠)

Rooftop Meeting? No. Fire Escape Meeting.

[Leo x Fem!Reader]

[Word Count: 4,204]

[Warnings: Small amount of blood and mentions of injuries, insecurity, possible ooc Leo]

————————————————

Being rudely awakened by the sound of metal breaking and a loud thud from what she can presume is something hitting her fire escape is not how she expected to wake up at four in the morning on a Sunday. Sitting up in bed with a groggy grumble, she slides out of bed, walking over to her window and sliding it open.

When she looks up, she can see the fire escapes above hers broken with a massive hole going through their flooring. She looks down at her, finding it only dented with specks of blood littering the rusty metal alongside metal fragments from the broken fire escapes.

“Uh…is anyone out here, are you okay?” She calls out in a quiet voice, leaning out her window slightly to try and see if anyone was nearby, worried that someone may be injured, though, how can anyone survive that.

She can hear some shuffling from…somewhere…she can’t see much in the dark, she leans back into her window, staying quiet as if waiting for someone to respond. While waiting she rubs her eyes to try and remove the sleep from them.

While doing so a voice piped up from the darkness, “yes…” the voice was masculine in nature so her first instinct is to assume this person is male, her thoughts are interrupted by more shuffling and a quiet wince.

“Do you need a medical kit? I can go get mine for you…” She asks in worry from hearing a wince, confirming her suspicions of injury, after all there’s blood speckling her fire escape.

“No, no, I’m fine! Uh, no thanks…” The voice rushed out in a slight panic, as if accepting her offer was wrong, but she persisted regardless, refusing to let this person just walk away while likely bleeding, besides, it’s obvious he’s not fine.

“No. I’m going to get my medical kit, I can see the blood so stay put, I’ll be right back.” She huffs, moving back into her bedroom, but not before hearing him sigh in defeat.

Leo, to his dismay, can’t exactly just leave now, thinking this girl would likely try and find him, plus, it might be a good idea to at least treat the cuts on his skin, he’s going to be feeling this in the morning…

She is quick to find the medical kit she keeps in her room for emergencies, walking back over to her window. “Here, you can use this.” She sets the medical kit on the fire escape, waiting for him to grab it but he doesn’t.

“Fine…but I’m staying hidden! I’m all bruised and cut up, I’m not letting you see me when I’m not looking my best! It’ll ruin my image!” The voice huffs with an excuse as to why he’s still hidden in the shadows.

“That’s…fine, I guess? I’m going to go get you some water…uh, what’s your name?” She paused at the end realizing she has no idea what his name is, having stepped away from her window slightly.

“Oh. Uh, I’m Leo.” The voice, now known as Leo, mutters in response, introducing himself with a slight nervous twinge in his voice. “What’s…your name?” He asks quietly.

“Y/N. Now, I am going to go get that water, uhm, patch yourself up…okay?” She says with a slight smile, walking away from the window and further into her apartment to grab a glass of water for Leo.

Leo nods even though she can’t see him, waiting for her to leave fully before grabbing the medical kit and opening it, starting on disinfecting his cuts, wincing slightly as he wipes away the blood. Luckily, or unfortunately, Leo has experience with patching himself up, so he’s pretty fast at wrapping his arms and legs with gauze and bandages, before making sure his head is okay, he did fall through like…five fire escapes. After deeming himself alright, he pushes the medical kit back towards the window, waiting for her return.

“Alright, I’m back, here.” When she returned, she went back to her window, placing the glass of water down on the metal grating of the fire escape floor, taking the medical kit back so she can quickly return it to its original place in her room, disappearing from the window, which allows Leo to take the glass of water.

“Okay, wow, you drank that fast.” She blinks a little in surprise when finding the glass of water back in place but completely empty after returning to the open window, leaning out of her window to pick it up.

“I was thirsty.” Leo jokes a little with a small laugh following, watching from the shadows as she picks the glass up and sets it somewhere beside her in the room she’s in.

“Clearly,” She chuckles a little at his joking tone “is that all? Do you need anything else?” She returns to making sure he’s truly alright, finding herself worrying over a complete stranger, enough to offer things to him.

“Uh no, I’m all good, thank you by the way, for the water and your medical kit…I appreciate it. I do have to go though, it’s late, my family is probably worried and they get a bit…panicky…if one of us goes missing for more than ten minutes.” Leo sighed, shifting slightly to head down the rest of the fire escapes so he can return to the lair, preferably before his brothers go insane while looking for him.

“Oh! Right, get home safe, Leo.” She steps back from her window, making sure to close it only after hearing him leave, locking the window and returning to her bed, thinking about how weird today is probably going to be after that.

————————————————

It’s been a few days since she saw, more like heard, Leo, currently sitting at her desk while watching something on her computer, only to be taken out of her relaxed and zoned out state by a knock on her window. She looks over at her window with a confused expression, turning her computer off as she goes to check what made the sound, unlocking and opening her window, she looks out into the darkness the night has cast across the city.

“You know, you probably shouldn’t open your window for just anyone.” The familiar voice of Leo came from somewhere in the darkness, his tone teasing, she could practically see the grin on his face.

“Haha, very funny, Leo.” She rolls her eyes, her words sarcastic yet light before she decides to question his random visit, thinking he’d probably not come back after the night he fell unceremoniously onto her fire escape. “So…why are you here?”

“Oh, can I borrow your medical kit again? I, uh, got banged up again…” Leo admits sheepishly, like he’s disappointed that he has to ask for help from her, as if he is ashamed to be injured at all.

“Yeah, I’ll go get it, is there anything else you need while I’m still here?” She chuckles a bit at his sheepish tone, finding no problem with him asking for some help.

“Uh, yeah, could we just chat for a bit? If you don’t mind, that is, if you’re busy I can just go but if you aren’t-“ Leo starts to trail off into a ramble as he tries to excuse his question, only to be interrupted by her soft laugh, making him pause, looking at her from the shadows.

“Yes, we can talk, I don’t have anything else to do.” She laughs softly at his rambling, finding it kinda cute. “I’ll go get my medical kit for ya, just wait there.” Her laugh trails off into a soft confirmation as she returns to inside her room, grabbing the medical kit, silently thanking her past self for restocking it after Leo’s first visit.

Once she returns to her window, she sets the medical kit on the fire escape, nudging it towards what she assumes his direction is.

“I’m gonna go get a blanket, it’s chilly tonight, so do you want one? I can go get you a blanket.” She hums after pushing the medical towards the shadows, leaning out of the window slightly, arms resting on the windowsill.

Leo perks up at the offer of a blanket, it is a rather cold night tonight, that’s what they get for living in the north though, nights are cold. “Yeah, I’ll take a blanket!” He chuckles a bit, watching her head back inside to go grab two blankets for them, to which he quickly grabbed the medical kit and once again started patching himself up.

Leo looks up when a blanket is chucked at him, successfully hitting him in the face, making him wheeze with laughter as he can practically feel the surprise and guilt radiating off of her as she winced after hearing the blanket make contact with him, even if it couldn’t hurt him.

“Ah, sorry!” She quickly apologized while wrapping her blanket around herself, pulling her desk chair over so she could sit and be more comfortable while they talked, after grabbing the medical kit and dropping it next to her inside her room.

“You have great aim!” Leo wheezes, pulling the blanket off his head and wrapping it around his newly bandaged body, a wide grin on his face despite the fact she can’t see him, not that he wants her too.

“Shuddup!” She grumbled, pouting as he teases her for her impeccable blanket throw, crossing her arms while leaning back in her chair. “You said you wanted to talk…?” She mutters, her pout disappearing as she looks over at the shadows.

“Oh…right. Uhm…” Now that she’s acknowledging the second half of his request, Leo is suddenly more sheepish and shy. “Okay, so the reason I’m always getting injured…”

She was patient, letting him get his bearings while he tries to air out what she assumes is pent up emotions. Leo finds it a bit odd that he finds comfort telling this stranger his problems, thinking that because they don’t really know each other, it makes it easier to open up, but it’s nice, comforting.

“The reason I’m always injured is because I fight these really bad people, and it’s the reason we originally met…I’d been fighting one of them with my brothers when I got knocked off the roof of your building, and crashed through multiple fire escapes…” Leo sighs, sheepish as he admits the reasoning behind his injuries to her, wrapping the blanket around him tighter.

“So, you’re essentially a vigilante? Or a crime fighter?” She questions, tilting her head as she listens to his reasoning for his injuries, realizing that it suddenly makes much more sense how he came crashing into her life through fire escapes, although she does find it odd that he managed to not only survive it but from what she could assume he sustained only a few injuries from it, especially because of the force one would have to be thrown to break metal that way.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that, pretty cool, huh?” Leo’s original cockiness came back for a moment and she could feel the smugness coming off of him, clearly proud of his work.

“Yes, very cool.” She chuckles quietly at his cockiness, not finding it irritating like most would, she found it humorous.

“I fight alongside my brothers, they’re cool, I get worried every time one of them gets hurt, I don’t like seeing them hurt, but I just…can’t seem to tell them that, I mean! They know I care! But…” Leo exhales heavily as he sighs, trailing off, his smugness fading into melancholy as he crosses his arms, finding some comfort in the blanket around him,

“It sounds like you’re afraid to tell them you care despite them knowing you do, like you’re undeserving of their love towards you, even though you’d do anything for them.” She mutters, leaning her head in her palm, arm propped up on the windowsill as she listens to Leo’s voice.

“Yeah…I guess I do, I feel like I’ve failed them so many times that I just…don’t deserve them.” Leo’s voice drops, lowering into a soft whisper, his tone visibly showing insecurity, he has never liked showing his insecurities to anyone, yet she makes it so easy to lower his guard.

She lets Leo vent for a while, knowing when to stay quiet, sometimes something just needs to be let out without any input afterwards. Leo's soul feels so much lighter as the hours pass by, getting his emotions out finally makes him feel better, more confident than he already is.

“Hey, Y/N?” Leo murmurs, looking at her while staying hidden in the shadows, his lip twitching slightly in a small grin as he notices her sleepiness.

“Mhm?” She blinks, tired from staying awake all night, her eyelids threatening to droop closed.

“You should probably hit the hay, you look exhausted!” Leo laughs a bit, covering his mouth to muffle his own laughter, eyes crinkling from his grin.

“Heh…you’re probably right, I’m gonna go get some sleep, goodnight Leo…” She yawns a little, pushing herself out of her desk chair so she can shut her window but not before she says one more thing through her sleepy daze. “Hope to see you, or well…hear you, again, Leo…” As she finishes the sentence, she shuts her window and the curtains cover it, cutting off visibility inside.

“I- Uh, y-yeah, you too!” Leo stutters out, surprised by her final sentence, sitting still for a moment before he slinked off the fire escape, and to the alleyway below, not realizing he’s just taking the blanket she gave him with him as he disappeared below a manhole.

————————————————

Leo hops onto her fire escape once again, it’s the next night, and Leo felt like he had to see her again, she was just so sweet to him, she held no judgments even though she has not a clue on what he looks like. He places the blanket she gifted him last night on her windowsill, neatly folded and freshly washed (he does live in the sewers after all), he then places some snacks and drinks next to it, feeling he had to repay her for her kindness towards him, so he got her gifts!

Leo taps on her window multiple times until he heard her shuffling around and a groggy groan from inside the apartment, he chuckled quietly at the realization that he just woke her up, hiding back in the shadows as he waits for her to open the window and see the gifts he left for her.

The window slides open with her expression going from grogginess to surprise as she notices the folded blanket and treats on her windowsill, having the sudden realization that she forgot to get the blanket back from Leo, now finding it sweet of him to return it and give her little gifts, a small smile spreading on her face before she chuckles and asks “Leo? Are you still here?”

“Still opening windows for just anyone, I see?” Leo hums from the darkness, a grin on his face as he teases her for her somewhat dangerous habit of just opening her window if someone taps on it.

“Oh hush,” she laughs, shaking her head in amusement as she picks up the folded blanket, setting it aside in her room. “Thank you for returning my blanket, I had completely forgotten about it yesterday.” She smiles gently as she looks at the snacks, confused why he brought them but finds it still sweet nonetheless.

“You’re welcome, I even washed it too…which I had to make an excuse as to why I had a blanket that clearly wasn’t mine to my brothers when they saw me putting it in the wash.” Leo snickers at the memory of his brothers questioning him as to where he got this random blanket from, which was easy to excuse, just saying he got a new blanket.

“Ah, of course, the suspicious blanket.” She grins at his snickers, laughing along with him as she jested about the blanket being suspicious. “And the treats?” She hums, picking up a packet of fruit gummies.

“Oh, I wanted to repay you for letting me use your medical kit and just general kindness towards me…” Leo rubs the back of his neck as he admits the reason behind his gift, noticing the soft smile that appears on her face from it.

“Wanna share?” She smiled, tilting her head slightly as she offered some of the snacks and a drink to him, even if she doesn’t know exactly where he is, she places the snacks and drink on the fire escape.

Leo blinks, a soft blush appearing on his cheeks when she offers to share with him, surprised and a tad flustered by it before his normal bravado returns. “Yeah! I’ll have some.” He pulls the snacks and drink towards him, the soft blush not leaving his face.

They talk for a while while sharing the snacks, more than happy to just talk about their days, or it’s Leo talking about past fights he and his brothers fought, being very animated and excitable as he speaks of the past battles, likely exaggerating a few areas to make himself look good, which makes her laugh, smiling as he recalls tales of the past before a question pops into her mind.

“Hey Leo?” She looks up from her drink, setting it down after screwing the cap back on as she looks over at the shadows where he might be.

“Yeah?” Leo looks over at her, having stopped mid sentence in his story because she brought his attention back to her with her question.

“Why are you staying hidden? You’ve probably healed up by now, so, are you ever coming out of the shadows?” She mutters, finally getting this question out of her mind after it’s been eating away at her for a while.

“Uh- I- uhm…I’m still bruised? I got a nasty bruise on my face…” Leo stutters out, caught off guard by the question as panic runs through his veins for a moment, his excuse is choppy and obviously a lie.

She doesn’t look convinced by his obvious lie but doesn’t ask anymore questions about his anonymity. “Your story?” She raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.

Which was absolutely a relief to Leo, exhaling a sigh of relief before he grins and continues his story about when he and his brothers fought two crabs, which confuses her a bit but she says nothing, letting him have his moment.

The moon is high in the night sky when she looks up, noticing how late it’s gotten, she smiles a bit as she admires the stars and moon far above them, Leo taking notice and watching her eyes shine in the moonlight, a moment of silence passing between them as she admires the moon while Leo admires her from his place in the shadows, wishing he could reach out and touch her in that moment, not even realizing the way his heart skips a beat.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” She murmurs quietly as she is still looking up at the moon, before looking back down with the same gentle smile on her face, and Leo has never been happier that the shadows hide him than he is now.

Leo blushes even more at the comment about the moon than anything else before, he mutters out a quiet agreement, keeping his flusteredness out of his voice as he swallows a lump in his throat, questioning in his mind why a random comment of the moon's beauty made him so flustered all of the sudden, letting the silence fill their surroundings like a comfortable warmth.

————————————————

Multiple week pass by, an entire month having passed and gone since that fateful day when he crashed onto her fire escape, not only has their friendship grown but Leo has found himself gaining romantic feelings for her, only realizing after the comment she made about the moon weeks ago, but he’s gotten more and more flustered by her sweetness, he can’t stop thinking about her, and he’s decided it is time to not just confess but also reveal himself to her, only hoping that she won’t be disgusted by him.

The moon is high in the sky, a clear night, no clouds to be found while the quiet background noise of cars honking fades away as Leo focuses on her, having told her he had something to say, and her concentrated expression is making Leo even more blushy than he already is.

“Y/N, I’ve been thinking about this for a week now and I just need to get this off my chest, I-I like you, a lot, more than as a friend, you’ve been nothing but kind to me even though you have no actual idea of who I am, and I just…I really like you…” Leo mutters out his true feelings, stuttering a few times as he fidgets with his hands, glancing up at her to find her smiling softly, her concentration had fallen into a soft blush.

Although his next words catches her attention, surprising her as she can hear him shift around, assuming he’s standing up. “And I want to show you myself too…just promise not to be weirded out or anything?” Leo takes a deep breath before stepping out of the shadows, finally showing himself.

His movements are stiff as he stands for a moment, taking her silence to be at least a good sign, she hadn’t started screaming so that had to be good? He steps over to the window so he’s closer to her, looking down at her as she’s resting her crossed arms on her windowsill, smiling up at him, expression having not changed at all, there is no disgust or hate, just her sweet smile.

“You’re…not weirded out that I’m a mutant turtle?” Leo raised a nonexistent eyebrow, confused on why she’s not a little confused or freaked out by his appearance, a blush still very present on his face, which he can’t distinguish if it’s from being flustered or embarrassed.

“Hehe…I uh…had my suspicions you probably weren’t a human from the beginning…I mean, no normal human could survive crashing through multiple fire escapes, not without multiple scraps of metal in them…” She chuckles sheepishly as he tilts her head while looking off to the side as she scratches the back of her neck.

“Oh…yeah, I should have probably thought about that.” Leo blinks before laughing along with her at the obvious answer to why he survived such a damaging blow. “So…uh, do you feel the same? If you don't, that's fine.” His laughs trail off as he looks back down at her with a suddenly shy expression.

“Hm…lean down for me, Leo?” She hums, waving him down with her hand, which makes Leo a bit confused but leans down so they’re more face to face now.

“Uh…what’s up-“ Leo was about to ask why she wanted him to lean down but was cut off when she pushed herself up on her windowsill to connect their lips with a soft yet quick kiss, a bright blush blooming on Leo’s face as she pulled back with a smirk.

“Yes, I feel the same.” She smirks at his blushing expression, his eyes wide as his mind has gone blank, his body slouching while she bites her lip to contain her snickering, covering her mouth as he blinks at her.

“Wha- I- you just-“ Leo can’t even get any words out as his brain had all but bluescreened at the sudden kiss, still processing the feeling of her soft lips against his.

“Oh god, you are so adorable…” She snickers quietly behind her hand, watching Leo just break after the kiss as her eyes widen as a low purring noise comes from him, which makes her snicker even harder.

Leo doesn’t even care as his entire demeanor softens, blinking for a moment as his expression turns into a soft smile, watching her snicker at his churring, just happy that he accidentally crashed onto her fire escape an entire month ago, because now he has the sweetest girl in the world as his girlfriend and he could not be happier, leaning back down to grab her wrist.

“That kiss was way too quick for me to appreciate it fully, darling.” Leo grins as he pulls her hand away from her mouth so he can cup her cheek and kiss her again, smiling softly against her lips while his tail wags behind him, feeling her giggle against him before returning the kiss.

————————————————

[Requests are open!]

[yallthemwitches]

Whispers in the Dark

“And—I dunno. They’re barking mad but I love them. I’m an only child so I imagine you understand now why I’m like this.” He makes a rare self-deprecating gesture towards himself, something the James from a year ago would never have done. It makes Lily break into a real laugh.  “And this,” Lily mirrors his gesture, “meaning…” James grins, and it does something downright delectable to her heart. “This meaning an arrogant git who is too thick to notice other people’s personal lives.” 

When Lily is awarded her prefect badge in fifth year, they warn her that James Potter has a talent for disappearing. But if that's true, why does he keep coming to her night after night, hoping to be caught? Oneshot, Rated T--- AO3 Link Here

Fifth Year 

By the time Lily was awarded her badge, James Potter was already bestowed a nickname among the prefects: The Shadow. 

“Don’t you think that's a bit too ominous for a git who just mucks around all night?” Next to her, Remus snorts but keeps his eyes low. 

“You won’t understand until you have your first patrol—it's like he just…disappears.” The way the Head Boy says it, it makes James sound like some sort of spectre plaguing the corridors, not some untidy haired knob trying to explode the toilets. Lily’s eyes sink as Remus covers a cough that suspiciously sounds like a laugh. 

“Care to elaborate on your mate then, Remus?” She flashes him an innocent smile. Even under the newfound pressure he doesn’t straighten, rather pulling a pack of muggle cigarettes out of his cloak and tapping it on his knee. 

“Nothing to say,” Remus replies cooly, shooting Lily an equally saccharine grin, “just that you better hope he never hears about his little nickname if you don’t want him to be even more incorrigible.”

“Why? I thought you boys dug little nicknames.” She narrows her eyes, accepting the challenge to get him to respond with anything other than collected nonchalance. 

“Trust me on this one—he will be unbearable.”

* * * * *

The worst part of it all is that the senior prefects weren’t wrong, he really would just be there. 

“Alright Evans?” 

She whips around, wand already poised. The corridors leading to the dungeons are more shadowed than the rest of the school, but her eyes have already adjusted to the dark and from what she can tell, she is alone. 

“Potter—I’m not in the mood.” 

There’s a shuffle and she hears a boy's voice murmur ‘when is she ever’ before a round of clipped laughs trickle in the darkness. She turns again, trying to find the source. 

“You gits—I know you are here and I'll give you detention whether I can see you or not.”

She turns again and lets out a small gasp. James stands at the far reaches of her wand light, eyes dancing with mirth behind the reflection of his glasses. 

“Congratulations on the ah…promotion,” he grins and she feels the bristle of anger pull at the hair on her neck. 

She wants to prove herself as the only muggleborn prefect—and what better way than to catch this so-called Shadow. She takes a cautious step forward, worried he will skitter away like a wild animal if she moves too quickly. James just continues to grin, a hand grasping something shimmery behind his back. 

“You’re not supposed to be out.” She takes another step and he eyes her warily. 

“Oh, is that right?” He makes a show of looking around, brow furrowed in confusion. “Wow–sorry about that! Guess I got the time confused.” Another round of muffled laughter comes from behind him.

“C’mon, I’m escorting you back to the tower.” She moves to grab his arm but he jumps backwards, running into something that she can’t see but an oof and hey! ring out from the shadows. 

“As much as I’d love a romantic stroll with you Evans, I’m actually late to another engagement,” he tuts, his smile turning into a sly grin. The hand that has been behind his back lifts up and a portion of his arm disappears, then the rest of his body until his face hovers completely detached in the dark. 

“Raincheck though?” His grin hangs in the air for a second longer before the darkness takes him, but his presence still lingers. Nothing remains but the cold feeling of being watched. 

* * * * *

She’s still not used to it. The random appearances, the floating grins, the whispers in the dark which make her feel like she is living in a rabbit hole rather than a castle. It’s no wonder the prefects leave catching him up to Filch these days—he haunts them. 

“Hey Evans—”

She hopes that wherever he is hiding, he doesn’t see her jump. Turning towards the sound of his voice, he appears just a couple of steps away, hand already running through his hair. 

“I’ll make you a deal Potter, if you fuck off and don’t talk to me, I won’t give you detention.”

She expects him to consider it, but he doesn’t. His eyes are missing the glimmer they usually have when she runs into him at night. Instead, he keeps his head bowed, a frown weighing down his features. 

“I came to talk…to apologize for today.”

She doesn’t want to hear it. Turning on her heel she stalks off in the other direction but he catches up easily. 

“I don’t want some fake apology. I want you to leave me alone.”

Of course he doesn’t listen. He keeps her stride, angling his face to catch her eyes with his.

“It’s not fake–I really am sorry,” he gasps out, “ I was a git and never expected for Snive–Snape to say those things about you–.”

She stops dead in her tracks, her whole body contracting in anger. 

“Sorry? Are you sorry for all the other times you have bullied him too? Sorry for all the other shite you do to everyone around you? I don’t want your apology from you or from him–and I especially don’t want to rehash it with you right now.”

James doesn’t coil back, eyeing her with a brooding pain that feels out of place on his features.

“I know he was your friend. He shouldn’t say those things to you–friends don’t do that.”

It catches her off guard. She certainly isn’t looking for friendship advice from Potter, but he also has hit the nerve that’s been plaguing her all day. 

“I know I’m an arsehole–especially to Snape...but I’d never say something like that to my mates…or to you.”

Her eyes start to sting but the thought of crying in front of him feels like the most incorrigible thing that could possibly happen. She jerks away, stumbling in the direction they had come from. 

“Leave me alone—please.”

He doesn’t follow her like last time and she forces herself forward, rubbing the tears from her eyes. At the end of the corridor, she turns around, expecting to see him standing where she left him and some sick part of her hopes for it. But he has listened for once: he is gone—actually gone. 

* * * * *

She wishes she could disappear as easily as he could right about now. 

“Uhm… Evans?” James leans against the trophy case, a wet rag hanging at his side on his pointer finger. 

She calculates the possibility of turning around and pretending she never entered. Zero to none. On the table, a detention slip sits idly. A scratchy hand reads:

James Potter, Gryffindor, 5th year

Offense: Hexing and physical altercation with Slytherin boys ( 5th and 6th years)

Punishment: Trophy polishing—2 hours

She sighs, placing the paper down and settling her bag on the floor. “Filch is out dealing with a hinkypunk—I’m surveilling tonight.” She doesn’t look at him, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. “So, go on—I’m told you have some trophies to polish.”

James’ eyes remain wide as he nods, turning back to the case. With his back to her, she steals a moment to take him in—his shoulders are squared and there is something more wooden about his movements than she remembers. They haven’t spoken since she told him to leave her alone and she wonders if that’s the reason she hasn’t been seeing him as often. She hates to admit it, but patrols have become boring without him. 

Too busy deciphering his body language, she doesn’t catch him pulling his wand out of his pocket. With one swish, all the trophies gleam. 

“Hey! That’s not the punishment.”

 He turns, an eyebrow cocked upwards. “Yes it is, you said to polish the trophies… So I did.” 

Arrogant little shit. She hates when he’s right—which unfortunately is more often than she wants to admit. She sits on the ground and starts to fish through her bag, pulling out a transfiguration textbook and a parchment.

“Fine, fine. Then just be quiet over there—I have to get this essay finished.”

But she’s a fool to think that he will follow directions. He makes it about thirty seconds before he is up off the ground, coming to lean down and read over her shoulder with his head tilted downwards.

“It’s pretty good so far but you mis-characterized the difference between illusionment and deflection charms.”

She looks up with an insult already poised on her lips but is stopped short by the proximity of his face. Leaning down, his glasses are slipping off and she can see a small bruise blooming on his cheekbone just under his rims.

“Did a Slytherin give you that?” 

He pokes at the bruise curiously, also just noticing it. 

“Ah bugger.” He sits down next to her, splaying his legs in front of him while leaning on his hands. “Mulciber’s work I think. He’s fine at dueling but shite at punching—surprised he even got a decent hit.”

“So what, you’ve moved on to physical violence for fun?”

He whips his head around. For once, his eyes are absent of anything other than seriousness. 

“No actually. Just sticking up for my friends.” His stare is so intense she has to look away.

“I think Black can stick up for himself fine.”

“Yeah, Sirius can, but Remus can’t—not always.”

Now it’s her turn to stare. She had been curious as to why Remus hadn’t been on patrols earlier. It was hard to imagine him in a real argument, much less a physical scuffle. 

“Is he ok? Remus I mean.” The worry in her voice softens his gaze a bit, shoulders relaxing. 

“Yeah—he’s…he’s going to be fine.” James teeters off, something hidden behind his words. 

“Well–I’m glad.” She means it, though it feels understated. Her mind wanders to how often Severus would theorize about Remus’ absences and pushes away the idea that he could be behind the fight. 

“Do you want something? I mean for the bruise?” She rummages around in her bag again and pulls out a vial of white liquid. Handing it to him, he eyes it warily before opening the bottle and giving it a sniff. 

“It’s Mountain Arnica. I made it myself—heals cuts and scrapes pretty well.” 

James pulls his glasses up to his forehead and uses the pad of his finger to dab some onto the bruise. She makes a subconscious note that his eyes are much clearer without the glasses covering them. 

“You getting into a lot of tussles to warrant a bottle of this?” He flashes her a sly smile, warming back into form. 

She shrugs. “In second and third there were some Slytherins that liked to bother me. I guess I got used to carrying it.”

All amusement drops from his face, eyes flooding with concern. “But I thought you were mates with Snape.”

“Yeah well,” she sighs, “we’ve both seen Snape’s track record for sticking up for me.”

She waits for a cutting jab at Severus’ expense but he gives none. 

“Thanks for this,” he says and reaches the vial back out.

“No, you keep it.” She doesn’t know what compels her, but she gives him the first genuine smile in years, “I’m sure you can find better use for it.”

The smile he offers back feels warm, real. 

“Thank Evans,” he says as he slips the vial into his pocket.

“Remus will love it.”

* * * * *

For once, and unfortunately so, she finds him completely visible.

“Ah don’t be such a puss Evans. James was just escorting me back to my dorms.” 

She finds the two walking down past the kitchens, easily detected by the way Olivia’s voice bounces off the cold stone of the corridors.They weren’t touching when she caught sight of them, but as she approaches, Olivia clasps onto James’ limp arm, giggling with a coy smile.

“Don’t know if you can read a clock, but whatever you could have possibly been doing to need an escort was already past curfew.”

James shifts his weight, being more silent than she has ever seen him in five years combined. Olivia gives another high pitched giggle, tightening her hold on his arm. 

“Sorry Evans, we were just busy. Lost track of time y’know?” Lily can feel her dinner resurfacing in the back of her throat.

“Well, I don’t care to know about your extracurriculars,” she turns her head, hoping to mask the flush she can feel on her cheeks, “it’s still twenty points each and a round of detention.”

James raises his head and eyes her with a curiosity that she is unwilling to acknowledge. Beside him, Olivia feigns a pout.

“Ah, bugger. Well, I guess that means we will be seeing each other again, right James?” 

Lily’s eyes flick over to him. His curiosity has settled into a tense stare, eyes blown out and focused solely on her. 

“Er, probably not,” he says with a wooden tone. Olivia’s eyes narrow, her fingers uncurling slightly from his bicep but not letting go. 

As per protocol, she escorts them the short distance to the Hufflepuff dorm which they do in silence. Olivia keeps herself attached to James’ arm, but he gives no reciprocation, letting it swing loose at his side. At the entrance, Olivia casts another hopeful glance at him, expecting some form of goodnight, but he remains distant, pulling his arm away from hers like removing an annoying arm brace. With a huff, Olivia ducks into the common room without as much as a goodbye. 

With Olivia gone, it’s business as usual and Lily escorts James back to the tower like she’s done so many nights already. But instead of the teasing, the idle small talk, the quippy banter, James remains quiet, their steps echoing through the halls. 

Even in the silence, even with James’ new pensive behavior, Lily feels lighter with Olivia gone. She steals a glance at him and she can see there is red blotching under the rims of his glasses, eyes focused only ahead at the darkness. A sick part of her wants to demand what he was doing with Olivia– wants to hear it even if she knows her stomach will fill with bile from the answer.

“I really was just walking her back.” His voice cuts through the silence, clear and firm. 

So maybe he is a mind reader now. 

Like him, she doesn’t stop walking. “Bad luck Potter. Maybe next time choose a snog partner who can be a little quieter.” She means to tease, but her voice is cutting, filled with a malice she didn’t realize she was holding. 

He stops and she feels fingers curl against her elbow. For the first time that night, their eyes lock. 

“I wasn’t going to snog her.”

She ignores the feeling that her heart is about to take flight and searches his face for a glimmer of sarcasm.

“Coming from you, a serial liar, it's hard to believe.” She snorts.

“But I’ve never lied to you.”

She doesn’t know what to say. Suddenly, the corridor becomes very hot, the hand still holding her by the elbow now constrictive.

“Whatever, just drop it Potter, It’s really none of my business.”

And he does drop it, letting go of her elbow and taking a few strides in front of her. She rushes to catch up, wondering who is leading who back to the dorms now. 

Their newfound silence and the change in power dynamic makes something like anger take form, twisting her guts into a perilous place of recklessness. 

“Y’know, you could do a lot better than Olivia Gueresso.” She waits for a physical reaction but nothing comes. 

“Well it’s not like you're interested.” He says. His voice is so low and so quick she almost misses it. Almost.

“Potter–” she warns, but James is already bounding through the portrait, hand passing through his hair. She follows him down the tunnel, footsteps echoing around them.

 She doesn’t know what else she wants from him, but if they reach the firelight of the common room it will be too late. 

“Hey, Potter,” she calls louder and the sound bounces. He turns quickly on his heel and Lily runs straight into him, ricocheting back against his chest. Two calloused hands steady her by her shoulders. 

“You know Evans, you’re really lovely in the candlelight.”

It’s that look again. His eyes glazed on her like there is nothing else in existence. It’s the second time he has touched her that hour but this time it feels familiar, perhaps even welcome. 

“What are you—”

But the light of the fireplace takes him. He lopes away up to his dorm, not even giving a goodnight. 

* * * * *

Sixth Year

He wants to be caught. 

Like normal, he steps out of the shadows but it no longer jars her like it did back in fifth. She hadn’t gotten a good look at him at the welcome ceremony but now she can see he has grown over summer. His body is somehow more lean and muscular all at once; his hair wilder, curling farther down his neck. Instead of his typical urge to immediately run a hand through it the second he spots her, his arms stay casual by his sides. 

“Trying to be awarded the first detention of the year, Potter?” She says cooly, but her heart is already betraying her—something it’s been doing more and more often as her thoughts drifted to him over the summer. 

“If it’s from you, it would be an honor.” His grin grows, his dimple more pronounced. 

Lily attempts to scoff, but finds it much more bearable to avert her eyes. Maybe he had stumbled into some good candlelight, but the longer he remains in front of her the more it’s clear what’s so different about him: he is now infuriatingly fit. 

“Ok–so where’s the gang? Might as well give it up since you are getting detention no matter what.”

His smile doesn’t waver. “No gang-–I’m solo tonight.”

She dares to look him in the eyes, ignoring the whooshing feeling in her chest. He’s telling the truth. 

“Alright, so what? You gonna get early revenge on the Slytherins by yourself?”

He makes a humming noise and his cheeks start to take on a bit more color. 

“No– actually I just wanted to see you.”

It stops all of her thoughts dead. Something about how a small blush colors his cheeks makes her heart beat a bit faster.

“And you couldn’t see me at dinner or in the common room like a normal person?” 

“Yeah well, it’s not like any of our mates would act normal if I tried to ask about your summer over the welcome feast,” he mumbles, running his hand through his hair, now clearly a move of anxiety more than arrogance.

She takes a small step towards him. “That’s really what you want, Potter? You broke school rules on night one to ask me about my holidays?”

“I mean—-yes?” He rubs a hand through his hair again, eyes starting to shift away. A rush of something that resembles pride takes over her. James Potter is feeling sheepish because of me.

She lets him stew for a minute, mostly to take in the rare power she is wielding before giving him a smirk. 

“So do it.”

“Do what?” James gives her an incredulous look, face now so red he could have been slapped. 

“Ask about my summer—or did you already forget that’s what you are here for?” 

It takes a second, but a grin breaks out on his face, returning him back to form. “Alright Evans—how was your summer?”

Lily hums clasping her hands behind her back. “Well my dad died so—”

“Bloody hell,” James runs both hands through his air, all facial features frozen in complete shock. “I mean, Godric, Evans I’m so sorry–that’s…that’s…”

Lily waves a hand in dismissal to distract from any emotion that could be peaking on her face. 

“Eh, don’t worry about it. He was a raging arsehole anyways.”

He looks at her, eyes wide and fixated. “Yeah but still—is your mum ok?”

She looks down the hall, trying to stay nonchalant. “Yeah, I mean she’s fine—seeing as she’s been dead since fourth year.”

“Godric Fuck.” He does a quick spin on his heels, taking a step away from her with his head in his hands before turning back.

“I’m– shit--How did I not know this?”

Lily frowns at him, tilting her head. “What do you mean? It’s not like we’re close or anything.”

Something about saying that feels false but she pushes the thought away.

He shakes his head. “Yeah, but we’ve been in the same class, same house since we were eleven. I reckon I’d at least know something—something like that.”

She finds it quite endearing that he reels from this—that they could cohabitate in the same space for so long without knowing the most basic facts about the other. He continues to rub his face in his hands, looking more tortured by the second. 

“Well, to be fair, I don’t know anything about your family either.” She offers.

He straightens up a bit, sensing her attempt to level the playing field. A glimmer of discomfort still sits in his eyes and despite her being the one newly orphaned, she feels a pull to comfort him. 

“Well go on,” she prods, hoping to shift attention away from her, “Tell me about yours. I know they are purebloods…”

He raises an eyebrow, wary to move away from her loss, but letting her take the lead. 

“There’s not much to say—”

 Lily bats her eyes, urging him forward. He sighs.

 “They are still together and disgustingly still in love, which I guess I should appreciate.”

It makes her giggle, thinking about some old wizarding couple making kissing faces while James feigns puking in the corner. His shoulders relax further, leaning into her amusement. 

“And?” 

“And—I dunno. They’re barking mad but I love them. I’m an only child so I imagine you understand now why I’m like this.” He makes a rare self-deprecating gesture towards himself, something the James from a year ago would never have done. It makes Lily break into a real laugh. 

“And this,” Lily mirrors his gesture, “meaning…”

James grins, and it does something downright delectable to her heart. “This meaning an arrogant git who is too thick to notice other people’s personal lives.” 

It is a sentiment she would have agreed with a thousand times in the past, but hearing it from him now makes her reconsider. It might have been true a year ago, but the boy standing in front of her is decidedly changed—for one she likes standing next to him in the dark corridor. 

But she can’t say that.

“Your words.” She doesn’t elaborate but she offers him a real smile, not one with any edge to it and he returns it. 

“Yeah,Evans. My words.”

* * * * *

It starts a sort of friendship between them.  

He learns her schedule quickly, finding her in various places of the castle on any given day. She questions him about how he does it: disappears and reappears, knows exactly where she’s going to be despite intentionally changing her route to confuse him— but he never answers more than a teasing finger wag. “I’ll never reveal my secrets–you know that Evans.”

He no longer hides from her but hides from the others to get to her. Once found, he appears as usual but with conversation already on his lips. He asks about her life, about the muggle world, about music and films and anything that he can think of—making good on all the lost time in the past six years they have been so close but knew nothing of each other. In turn, she does the same: she finds out that Sirius moved in with the Potters, that his dad is celebrated for a hair taming potion that miraculously doesn’t work on his own son (“I swear, it’s my genes Evans, it openly rejects the stuff—I can’t help it.”), that he likes autumn and quidditch in the rain and the color green…

And she is surprised how much she starts to look forward to it. Time has treated him well, the looming war knocking more sense into him than previous years. Instead of being arrogant and self serving, he listens intently, hanging on her every word. They talk passionately about the rising conflict with blood purity and their shared disdain for the dark arts, life after school, their fears for the future. They have more light-hearted moments too: he charms the corridors to play music, daring to take her hand and dance down the hall, brings her a bit of warm bread with cinnamon and sugar from the kitchens, and consistently offers her silly anecdotes that make her laugh harder than she thinks she ever has in her life. Even the silence is comfortable—warm and encompassing like she imagines his physical touch would be if one of them just made the move…

“God, I love Halloween.”

 They sit inside a bay window in the charms corridor, pulling out candy from a plastic bucket shaped like a grinning jack-o-lantern.

“Alright Evans, what in Godric's green potion is this bloody candy?” He holds up a package of candy corn and she giggles, snapping it out of his hands. 

“Don’t act like you’re too good for muggle candy—we both know how disgusting the wizarding stuff can be.”

James feigns aghast, clenching his chest. “Do you mean to tell me you don’t like bogey flavored sugar beans–how could you Evans? An outrage!” 

She lets out a real laugh, one that makes her head tilt back. He’s been making her do that more with each meeting and every time she does the same look crosses his face: one of triumph mixed with something tender.

“Here, just try one—I swear it can’t be worse than anything you’ve already tasted.”

His eyes squint in a mischievous way, turning his head back and forth like a baby refusing a spoon. 

“Nope, no way.” 

She leans over more, encroaching into his personal space to poke his tightened mouth with the tip of the candy. 

“C’mon Potter? Where’s your courage? Your sense of adventure? Your—”

He opens his mouth, sucking in the piece. Her hand falls to his lips, feeling the warm press of his tongue on the pads of her fingers. 

She jerks back, her face blazing hot. Something burning and raw takes over her senses, flooding all vision. 

“Sorry,” he sputters, trying to not choke through his flustering, “I didn’t–”

She doesn’t wait to talk herself out of it. She leans back in, pressing the soft line of her lips to his. His mouth immediately molds into hers. Eager and warm, he tastes like sugar and something unmistakably him. 

“I’m sorry,��� she says when she pulls up for air, “ I just wanted to know…we don’t have to—,” but a calloused hand cups her cheek, pulling her mouth back to skim over his. 

“I don’t want your apology,” he whispers and the heat of his breath makes the room spin, “but I would like you to kiss me again.”

Her mouth is already opening, slotting into place with his. He sighs into her and she can’t think of a more wonderful sound in the world. 

“Alright Potter, I’ll allow it.”

* * * * *

“Are you sure they can’t see us?” It comes out more as a pant than a sentence. James’ lips are working down her neck, hands taking advantage of her open shirt to explore undiscovered skin. 

He hardly lifts his mouth and her body reacts to the heat of his breath, arching forwards into him for more. 

“We can go somewhere else...”

Her mind is screaming a loud, resounding yes, but the clock is telling her she still has an hour of patrols. She forces her eyes open. Looking past the hazy screen of James’ cloak she can see the portraits sleeping soundly as though they never existed. Between the discovery of an invisibility cloak and the feel of James' body against hers, it's too much for her to take in at once. 

He lets out a sigh and she feels the words so lovely being mouthed into her skin. Everything is crackling around her, the world disappearing besides him and his hands and his tongue now dragging lower…

“Tomorrow,” she gasps. “Find me tomorrow right when I get off patrol—-then take me anywhere you want.”

James detaches his mouth and looks up at her, his swollen lips hung open in wonder. 

“Does that mean we need to stop today?”

He tries to pull back, but she grips onto him, not ready to lose the hard line of his body against hers just yet. There’s still an hour left of patrols, but is it not still patrolling if she can see the corridor?

She pushes up on her toes to capture his mouth again, their lips slanting together in hot melding kisses. 

“No–never stop.”

* * * * *

It turns out James Potter can actually follow directions. The next night he shows up with only five minutes left of patrols to spare and they don’t waste a second to slot together, making good on the promise to go wherever he pleases.

Over time her speculation of his invisibility cloak lessens, almost preferring the danger of it to the dingy passageways and small alcoves that he pulls her into each night. But she will take whatever she can get—waiting impatiently through her patrols for that moment when he slides out of the darkness to pull her back in with him. 

In the safety of the cloak or the darkness of some secret hiding spot, she feels a hunger she has never experienced. It’s almost pavlovian in nature—the second the clock nears eleven, her body vibrates at the thought of him, prickling under the anticipation of his touch. When reunited, they wedge together like two pieces of the same stone, hands and mouths frantic and roaming, words coming out in soft sighs and quiet pants that rise into the air like smoke. 

Patrols are no longer enough and nights feel achingly short for the amount of desire they have for each other. Their meetings start to seep into the daytime— ending up in the same passageways and closets but now with the added danger of roaming students and curious friends. During classes, they steal glances and sometimes dare to sit beside each other to let hands travel deliciously out of sight. When no one is looking, they pass notes between classes, trying to convey all the sweeping emotions into tiny phrases like I can’t wait to see you, I need you, you are so lovely, you make me so happy.

It stays like this for days, then weeks. Him always coming to find her, her letting him take the world away. Their time together always a sure thing.

Until it isn’t. 

A quarter past eleven and he hasn’t shown up. She stands in the hall, one of the many recurring places he has found in her the past couple weeks. Her body still vibrates on cue, hungry to feel the scrape of his hands on her, but mentally she knows that something seems wrong.

Would it be impossible for him to not come?

Hearing a noise echo down the hall she turns on her heel, excitement flooding her cheeks, but instead of James loping out of the shadows, someone else stands there, face twisted like a predator hunting prey. 

“You look happy to see me.” Antonin Dolohov purrs out, his eyes scanning down her body with a salacious grin.

“It’s past curfew Dolohov. That’s 20 points and two days detention.” She doesn't let his lewd gaze affect her, keeping her chin high while her hand hovers over her wand pocket. 

“Detention,” he tuts, “I much prefer doing the detaining if you catch my drift, but I’m interested in how a mudblood like you plans to go about it.”

He takes a step forward and Lily pulls out her wand, pointing it straight between his eyes. 

“Enough.”

His smile twists again, nonplussed by the threat. “ I see why Snape has always had such a hard on for you, Evans. You are a pretty girl for a mudblood. Why don’t you be a good little girl and get on your knees for me like you do to keep old Slughorn—

“Stupefy.”

She doesn’t even blink. The proximity of her wand to his forehead makes him knock back and he lands with a thud on the ground. The anger and fear that has been mounting since he appeared boils over and rushes out of her, her wand hand moving on its own accord. She can hear herself as though through a tunnel, hitting Dolohov’s motionless body with spell after spell, each one landing and sizzling into him like a lightning rod. Tears fall hot and globbing on her cheeks. 

Lily! Lily!

She feels strong and familiar arms wrap around her, pulling the wand out of her hand and throwing it to the ground. She makes heaving noises, pushing away from James as he wrestles her in his arms, trying to reach her through the fury. 

“Lily, that’s enough, You have to stop.”

But something inside her doesn’t want to stop. Her time with James has been a good distraction, but she is tired. Tired of the blood purity talks, tired of the endless bullying and spiteful words, tired of forever being a freak no matter what she does and no matter how much she tries to prove herself. Her prefect badge, her good grades, her perfect transitions from one world to the next will never be enough, because people like Dolohov won’t let it. 

 Her legs give out, letting the tears fall in choked sobs. James collapses on the ground with her, pushing her head into his chest, letting his shirt become soaked through.

“You didn’t come…” She cries out. It’s the smallest of the things on her mind, but it’s the only one she can accurately put into words. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I was just coming to find you—-Sirius’ mum had sent him a howler and–”

“So now you're selfish too,” she hisses to herself. Pushing herself into him more, she tries to calm the animal noises that keep spilling from her mouth. From behind them, Dolohov groans, some of the hexes starting to wear off. 

“Lily, I need you to breathe. We need to get out of here—did he touch you?” He pulls back to surveille her.

She is still taking ragged, shallow breaths, eyes burning from the salt of her tears. Sounds echo from down the corridor and James quickly scrambles to pull her into his arms, hoisting her into a cradle against his chest. 

Like always, they disappear together, this time behind a tapestry where there is enough room for them to spread out—though they don’t.

“It’s alright–I’m right here.”

She clings to him, and he continues to whisper comforting words, caressing her hair, her ears, her neck. Finally, she drifts off to sleep, the smell of him and the rhythm of his breathing the only thing tethering her from some sort of madness. 

* * * * *

Seventh Year

“Lily, please–”

But she keeps walking down the corridor, actively looking in directions that are anywhere but at him. 

“I’m not going to give up. Why did you stop answering my letters? Everything was so—so perfect…”

It had been. The summer days were spent writing letters back and forth, exchanging photos, filling in for time spent apart. At first they had to come up with creative excuses to see each other without anyone finding out (“Oh, well I was just thought a quick run to Diagon Alley would be nice.”) before Dumbledore gifted them with the greatest excuse of all (“Sirius, you’ll be at your Uncle’s, yeah? Lily is popping in to do some Heads’ planning—don’t worry, it will be more of a chore…”).

The days they spent that summer bouncing between each other’s houses were some of the best she had ever experienced. Safe from the wandering eyes of classmates, they held hands openly, caressed each other without shame, and spoke admiringly for the first time in normal speaking voices. They snuck into the other’s house at night, crawling into the other’s bed unable to wait the days or hours to press together again, unable to bear wasting another second without their breaths intertwining, bodies always unimaginably hungry for the other’s touch. 

But then there was silence. 

“Is it about the sex? Because we can go back to taking things slow I don’t–”

“Of course it’s not about the bloody sex,” she spits out, unable to contain her shock. “That—that was incredible but–”

“But what? Lily, I’m going mad. Ask Sirius–I've nearly burrowed a path into my sitting room floor from all the pacing I did in the last week.”

She doesn’t want to look him in the eye because she knows if she does he will see it all: Snape coming to her door, warning her about the Dark Lord’s rising, his plan to kill anyone who is a traitor to his cause…

If I did something, I will fix it, I swear,” his voice cracks, tears on the brink of falling, “I just…really need you back. I miss you.”

This time it’s her turn to disappear. She continues walking down the hall, snuffing out her wand light so he is left in the dark. 

* * * *

He isn’t looking for her, but he gravitates towards her anyway.

He was lucky he didn’t miss her entirely. Way up in the highest rung of the stands, the light of the stars betray her by reflecting auburn hair like a beacon. He knows it’s only self-sabotage at this point to approach, having spent exactly two weeks now with no communication whatsoever, but he does it anyway because he can see her shivering from all the way down on the pitch—and because he has never been able to resist her, even now. 

“It’s too cold to be out here like that.” 

He takes off his quidditch cloak and offers it to her, but she doesn’t even look at it, staring off into the distance. 

Taking her silence as an invitation, he sits, leaving enough distance between them to show his caution. Just like in the candlelit corridors, the light from the stars mingle with the color of her eyes, making them glimmer like jewels on her face. It takes everything in his body not to reach for her, fearing that the sparkle will subside the minute he does. 

“There’s a war out there,” she says, her voice hollow and cold like the wind. 

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.”

There’s silence again. The wind cuts through the stands and brushes her hair up into the air like fire dancing. 

“The potions master I applied to apprentice under owled back today—he says he won’t accept my application because I’m a mudblood.”

His head jerks in her direction. He has never heard her say that word before. Instinctively his hands clench at his sides, anger like waves in his chest. 

“Then he doesn’t deserve you, the tosser—-People should be lining up to work with you, you’re bloody brilliant.” He means every word, and he can tell she knows he means it too. A small, pitiful smile tugs at her lips. 

“Bloody brilliant doesn’t change my birth—might as well revert back to a muggle at this rate…”

He doesn’t want to hear anymore. He stands and forces himself in front of her and she looks up at him with a deep, pained look.

“What has gotten into you? The Evans I know wouldn’t say shite like this. The Evans I love wouldn’t—”

He stops cold, watching her catch the word before he does. Love. The Evans he loves. 

“You don’t want to love me,” she whispers, tears falling hot now against her cheeks. 

“But I do—” It comes out as a gasp, the suffering of two weeks without her pouring out of him like a broken dam. “Is this what it’s all about? That you’ve decided you aren’t good enough?”

“I’m not though,” her voice rises, face twisting into a sob. “I’m not good enough for the bloody wizarding or muggle world, not good enough to find work after school, not good enough for you.” 

The last word comes biting out and James freezes in place, feeling as though he has been stunned. 

“Lily, what are you talking about? When have I ever, ever said you aren’t good enough for me.”

Her eyes dart around, hands thrashing to remove the tears that keep coming. 

“You don’t have to say it. You’re a pureblood—I’ve heard the talk. The death eaters will come to your family eventually and ask for support. If I’m with you…” a sob cuts off her words. She stands up, preparing to bolt but he grabs her by the forearm, holding her there with the wind tugging at her hair. 

“If you’re with me than fuck them.”

The tears make her eyes glimmer but not in the way he wants to see them. He expects her to try to run again, but she doesn’t. 

“Lily, I don’t care. I don’t care. You could be half troll and I would still want to be with you. Don’t you see? This is what they want, for you to be afraid—to give up.”

He takes the chance to slide a hand onto her cheek, wiping away some of the tears she has failed to stop. 

“I–I love you, Lily. And if you don’t want that because you don’t feel it back, then I will disappear. But if you don’t want it because you are scared then…then I won’t accept that.”

He searches her eyes, wondering if he is making the biggest mistake of his life by pushing her. She looks back and even with all the pain he can’t stop thinking about how absolutely lovely she looks in the moonlight. Her hair, her eyes—even the tears. He burns the image into his memory, knowing that even if it’s the last night next to her, at least he will have her beauty in this moment forever. 

“I don’t want you to disappear.” 

The wind carries her voice and places it right into his beating heart, suddenly as warm as sunlight. 

“I don’t want you to disappear, because I love you too.”

* * * *

Now, they disappear into each other. Instead of dimly lit corridors, he pulls her into a kiss the second she leaves class. Whispers and hidden notes are replaced with laughter and shrieks of joy as he lifts her up and spins her after a quidditch game, not caring to even glimpse at the house cup. In the sunlight by the lake they tangle together, studying, laughing, snogging–especially snogging, making up for all the lost time in the weeks they were apart and for all the other years they could have been together. The night becomes a special place—one of nostalgia and hope. Instead of meeting in grimy alcoves, she follows his lead to his bed where they slot together like two pieces if a whole, trying to meld back as one. 

He was always a beacon of light in the darkness, but in the sunlight he is breathtaking. Always a presence of comfort and joy and love. So much love that she wonders if she had ever felt it before—not even the love of family could compare to what  he is capable of showing her. She gives it back tenfold, keeping him impossibly close and hoping she will never have to let go. 

“James–you can’t just hide.”

It’s odd to see the shimmering movement of the cloak in the daylight. A muffled voice calls out from where he was just next to her, sheepish and frantic.

“Don’t mind me—just completely turned to dust from embarrassment.”

A smile cracks on her lips, her heart makes fluttering beats in her chest.

“You don’t have to answer me today—-or at all. We could just pretend it never happened.”

She reaches out towards where his voice is coming from, but hears his feet move back on the grass. 

“James,” she sighs, “ I was going to say yes.”

It hangs in the air. She can practically feel his heartbeat from whatever distance away he stands hiding. 

“So, if you would stop freaking out–” she adds, cheeks filling with pink, “I’d really like to kiss my new fiancé.”

His head pops out, floating detached in front of her. It would remind her of the first time she ever caught him past curfew, but instead of a mischievous grin, his face is flush and eyes blown wide. 

“I’m not freaking out,” he murmurs, “But—just to be sure, did just call me your fiancé?”

She moves quickly, grabbing hold of the cloak and pulling herself under into his arms. She can feel his body buzzing against hers, fingers moving in shock to wrap around her body. 

“Yes, I did,” she says, pressing her lips into his. “And yes, I will marry you.”

If the cloak falls away, they don’t notice. He picks her up and she wraps herself around him, the warmth of his skin and the May sunlight working in tandem. His shock has worn off and he kisses her in earnest, and she is more than happy to reciprocate. 

They could have stayed like that for hours, days—it didn’t matter anymore. With him, everything else disappears. 

[caliburn-not-calculator]

Any thoughts on the angst potential of Legendary VR-LA? Just rewatched the episode and am curious on any opinions

Okay so this has just been sitting in my drafts and I completely forgot about it for… too long. But yes!!! I have thoughts. Sorry for how late of a reply this is

Okay so. My first thoughts are more related to everyone else rather than VR-LA himself.

The Per Aspera crew left without one of their members, the ship finally void of its longest continuing inhabitant. He never seemed to make that much noise but it is notably quieter. He had more personal effects than most of the others, and with them gone… it hollow. So dreadfully hollow.

Emi no longer has VR-LA there to guide her, raise her, teach her. The person she was begining to model herself after is gone. Dani has lost her first mate and best friend, another brother gone beyond her reach, no one to work with deep into the night or stop her from doing so. Vhas who would usually stop by VR-LA’s room to antagonise him finds nothing but silence on the other side of the door, no lighting or snark at his back in battle. Kyana stargazing with no wizard pointing out his favourite constellations and telling her their stories. Finbar has one less serving to prepare (he always forgets, and they end up with extra food).

He’s not dead, they have that at least, but he isn’t there. Perhaps sometimes he can visit. Every few months he’ll appear at the Sprite Spring, or standing in the doorway to the Per Aspera’s common room. Seemingly out of thin air, and vanishing much the same. There isn’t enough time. It’s hard to accept that there never will be.

On the sanctum his loss his somehow felt more acutely and subtly simultaneously. They were already used to not seeing him for long periods. They had adapted to communicating via infrequent sendings and letters, but this is different. VR-LA rarely has time for even that much anymore. C-RA has lost another friend, someone else she couldn’t and can no longer protect. K-LB, whose brother was taken from him in memory and then finally returned, finds that closed gulf suddenly tearing open. Things keep changing… he wishes things would stop changing. AS-TR takes it better than most, there is a pride in the way she regards the situation, she is glad to see her friend go so far yet still finds herself melancholy at his absence when they’d had so little time together. E-DN tries not to be angry at him, or Mystra, or anyone else. She’s been trying to cut down on those emotions, but still, things end up broken when she hears that he is, one way or another, gone.

Maxim is… complicated. He feels betrayed, he is angry, and somehow he is relieved. VR-LA was meant to step back, he was meant to stay safe, they were meant to have… something. It seems the gods can’t help but take what he loves. Greedy and uncaring, keeping those he loves from his reach. The one solace he has is VR-LA is alive. He is safe. He is still out there somewhere and Maxim still may see his face, and for that he suppresses what might be rage. He was so used to feeling either grief or nothing, the way his gears are wrenching at the injustice is a new feeling.

As for VR-LA. He saw himself growing old, settling down, living a long and full life with the friends he has found and freed.

He doesn’t know if he can grow old anymore.

But he does know there is no settling. He was meant to step back, but instead he has stepped up. Balancing on the precipice of something beyond mortality and terrified of what it could mean. Terrified that the choice he made to save his friends may lead to him losing them. Time and existence doesn’t work the same as it once did. He may outlast them, out pace them, become something so much more than them that he can no longer be who they care for.

What he can do is watch. Only occasionally, but more often than he can visit. A simple scry to look over his friends, to ensure they are well. Eventually he finds that he can even bestow minor boons. Gift them with echoes of his magic to aid in their adventures in ways he can no longer. To remind them he is still there. That he still cares.

To ask they please not forget him. To not abandon him as a memory or a tragedy. To pretend that maybe, things aren’t so different than before.

[emeritusemeritus]

Heyy, do you think the Weasley twins would cheat on their s.os? Just curious what your take on that is:)

Hi anon! Please accept this essay about my thoughts on the matter, because apparently I have many 😂🖤

George would never.

Fred… maybe… but it would be a very specific situation like a prank gone wrong/ Polyjuice potion fail/ case of mistaken identity. Like he’d get carried away with talking about his inventions and wouldn’t notice the girl getting a bit too familiar until her lips are chasing his. He just thought she really liked what he was creating.

I think it all boils down to how you perceive them. I’ve read a few fics of ladiesman!Fred and though I could potentially see it in an AU, I never personally view him that way.

I tend to always write George as the shyer, more sensitive twin and i think that he is naturally a lot less confident than Fred, at least underneath. He uses humour as a deflective shield and falls into his role of prankster wholeheartedly because it hides his true nature that underneath the surface he’s a little bit insecure. He’s the second twin, always the other one, the other half of something bigger than him and quite often follows Fred blindly, having to explain and rationalise his slightly older brother’s ideas and words. SO, when George gets a girls attention, and it’s only him and not Fred, he’d be a bit of a mess and would probably plan what suit he’s going to wear to his wedding by the second date. I can’t see George ever cheating, it’s just not in his nature.

For some reason, I feel like George wouldn’t find love in his school years but would find someone absolutely perfect for him at the shop, like a meet-cute within their universe and the person would fit right into George’s life.

Fred however, he’s the more outgoing, more confident twin who seems completely unashamed and proud of who he is, both as a twin and in himself. I personally don’t write him as a fuckboy but he’d be quite a good fit if I did under certain contexts. I tend to write Fred as finding ‘the one’ young, probably in their school days and being certain right away that she’s the one. He’s a fiery guy, often quick to anger and doesn’t think of consequences of his actions so he’d need someone that balances him out, reminds him of what’s important and someone that he actually listens to when he needs to pull back a little.

Like he would get the attention of other girls but he’s completely blind to it because he only has eyes for his girl.

I always see him as being friends with the person before, a typical friends to lovers trope with a big event or a big realisation that it’s been her all along.

My own personal HC is that his love story would follow Arthur and Molly’s up to a certain point (being young, finding love, getting married early). I think it would be one of those ironic life twists that always seem to come full circle as he’s often quite anti-authority and against conformity, particularly when it comes to Molly’s expectations for him and George. So to see his life mirror his parents as hard as he’d tried to deny it would be ironically beautiful.

So I think with that in mind, I really couldn’t see cheating being an option. George likes having an easy life and if the relationship wasn’t right or he knew he couldn’t give it his all then he’d find a kind way of ending things, not cheating in any degree even if the relationship was rocky. If the relationship was happy, he wouldn’t even dream of it. The grass is never greener to George Weasley.

Fred wouldn’t dream of it because he knows he can’t do better than his long suffering girl. There’s too much history, too many inside jokes and his parents have practically adopted her into the family anyway so if he ever stepped a toe out of line, his mother would probably kill him. The length of his relationship is a mark of pride for Fred; being secretly sentimental he’d love to be able to say proudly how long he’d been with his girl to anyone that asks, knowing that even from a young age after so long together that you’d been together longer than you’d ever been apart in your entire lives.

The Weasley men just love their SOs okay?

Any one else have opinions on this?!