#she spent a few hours in her outside pen

[kedreeva]

Bug, being very Fierce today

[ceilidho]

take me home, country road

[ao3]

prompt: 1800s price/reader…. reader flees to his town where Price is the sheriff after a murder in her previous town only to be mistaken for the mail order bride that Price just sent for ….and he’s not interested in hearing any of her excuses when she tells him that he’s got the wrong girl (part 3) part 1, part 2

-

“Neglecting your husband already?” he asks when you pull away from the arm curling around your waist. It’d migrated there from your back during the walk away from the courthouse. 

“You know I’m not—I’m not some horse that you can just…break in,” you seethe, glaring up at Price. Your arms are crossed tight over your chest, putting the slightest boundary between you and him. It’s more of a mental boundary than anything, a self-soothing gesture; you know it hardly even registers to him because the man still looks down at you with that unimpressed expression, like dealing with a particularly vexing child. 

“I hadn’t noticed,” he says dryly, looking you up and down. It’s a scorching, hungry look and it makes you shift from foot to foot. 

The two of you stand outside the front door of his house, the front door still shut tight. You put up a fuss on the walk from town as the reality of your situation finally sunk in, squirming in his hold until he threatened to just load you over his shoulder and carry you off. His tone leaves little for you to doubt. Nothing about him brooks skepticism; until the end of time, you’ll look at John Price and think, this is a man of action. This is a man that will move heaven and earth. 

You clam up after that, lips pursed shut though turned down at the corners. 

It’s a bigger house than you might’ve expected for a single man, but perhaps it was built with a wife and children in mind. The thought makes you swallow. A wooden two-story thing with a porch out front and an adjacent stable for his two horses with a pen around back. Speckled Appaloosas that look up at the sound of his boots and keys, attentive for all of a few seconds before losing interest. 

You know without asking that Price must have built this house with his own two hands. It’s not shoddy by any means, but his house has that indefinable quality that some places have. Organic. Homegrown, almost. It’s hard to put up against the houses of your youth, but then again, you grew up in the cramped quarters of the city, apartments thick with the scent of sewage on bad days and dust on the good. The two are hardly comparable. It’s even harder to put up against the estates that you’ve spent the better part of the last few years cleaning and learning inside out, but at least his house doesn’t make your stomach turn at the sight. 

There’s a moment when you first turn to him where you wonder if he’ll look for approval in your face, some sign to set him at ease, but when you meet his gaze, it’s steady and impenetrable. Quietly self-assured. It’s incongruent with the machismo you were raised around, the constant need to impress or transcend. It puts you on edge. It makes you almost feel like baring your teeth.

Your comment had come from seeing the horses and the house and the porch with the two rocking chairs, your hackles raising every step closer. Price built his house big enough for children because he anticipated a baby in his future. Children he’d have with his wife, which, though a fuzzy memory as far as memories go, you quietly stepped into the role of not half an hour ago. 

You’ve thought about it before. Motherhood; marriage, domestic living, settling down with a man to start a family. The reality of your life has always made it seem like a problem for the future. Years chipping away like flakes of faded paint off the walls of your bedroom, still living with your aunt and uncle well into adulthood, trying desperately to scrimp and save and stay afloat. Disappointing but not surprising that you’d never been considered the marriable sort, not with scrubbing other people's toilets for a living. 

And now look at you, ring on your finger and whisked home to be bedded. A shiver roles down your spine at the thought and you scowl at Price instead of sinking into the strange thrill. 

When he wraps a hand around your wrist to pull you towards him (his fingers easily overlapping; another thrill), you snap.

“That is quite enough with all the touching!” 

His eyes narrow. “I’ll have more than my hands on you by the end of the night.”

A more proper woman would gasp. You barely hold yours back. 

You know in the back of your mind that you’ve already lost any semblance of an upper hand in this situation. It has long spiraled out of your control. His ring sits on your finger all nice and pretty, and though you signed your marriage license under a different name—your own rather than the name of his actual intended—that Price hadn’t even bothered confirming, you are, for all intents and purposes, his to touch as he pleases. 

“I’m—” your eyes dart around, the urge to bolt a sharp and sudden compulsion lodged in your chest, “—I know I said yes, but I—there’s always the possibility of an a-annulment if we don’t…if…”

You flinch, startled, when he pulls you into his chest only to cup your face again. He has big hands with callused fingers, rough against your skin. Up close, you can see the way his beard is cropped closer than his mustache and mutton chops. It gives him a grim air, almost somber until you catch his eyes staring down at you with an affection that feels unearned, meant for someone else. 

“Deep breaths, darling, there’s nothing to fret about just yet. You’ll work yourself into a state like this,” he murmurs, dropping his head to sip a kiss from your lips again. 

You’ve been in a state since the moment you walked into the sheriff’s office and laid eyes on this man. Turned around and knocked sideways, like you’ve walked into a storybook without noticing. If only it hadn’t all been so sudden, you might’ve been able to approach the situation with a clearer head. You might’ve been able to think up some other way out of it beyond giving Price a fake name and waiting anxiously for your true identity to be painstakingly drawn out over the course of a week. 

“Don’t know why you keep working yourself up,” Price says softly, then slots your lips together for another tender kiss. “Figured you might be a little skittish, but…’m gonna be such a good husband for you, honey. Not gonna want for nothing.”

His slow kisses drag out longer than back in the courthouse, languorous and decadent. As if he has all the time in the world now. In a way, he does, now that he’s helped collect your belongings from the inn and brought you home. When you think of pulling away, the hand wrapped around your wrist lets go and slides to your back, pulling you flush against his chest. Your breasts flatten against his chest, pulse skittering like mad when you feel the hardest of his chest against yours and the muscle holding you in place. 

You can’t help the whimper that escapes your lips when the hand on your cheek slides to the nape of your neck and grips, holding you in place. The kiss deepens, the heat on your cheeks feeling palpably hot, vision swimming until your eyes have no choice but to flutter shut. Your suitcase sits forgotten somewhere in the dirt, toppled over onto its side. You pant low, hot breaths into his mouth when he breaks the kiss, letting his lips just hover over yours.

“There we go, darlin’,” Price mumbles against your mouth, sliding the hand on your low back down to grip the plump flesh of your ass through your dress, lips twitching when you make a broken, affronted sound. “Isn’ that better? Not thinkin’ so hard?”

You can’t think at all, in truth. When he kisses you again, your thoughts evaporate up into the clouds, the tongue licking into your mouth dispelling any ideas or notions you might’ve had. It disappears into the heat and lust and the fingers digging into your backside, groping at the flesh there without shame or compunction. You go with him when he clutches you closer, gasping again into his mouth when you feel something hard press against your low belly. He grunts when you twitch against it. 

“John—John—” you gasp, pulling your mouth away and whimpering when he chases after you, letting him steal another wet, slick kiss before your trembling hands clutch at the fabric of his shirt. “Enough—it’s not—it’s not proper—”

“No prying eyes around here,” he grunts. “‘Sides, who’s going to tell a man he can’t kiss his own wife?”

Trembling all the harder at his words, you dig your nails into his shirt sleeves and hope you pinch the skin underneath. All twisted up inside. The ring on your finger glimmers when it catches the light, brighter even than the sun this close to your face. When Price feels your nails dig into his arms, he groans, fingers pressing harder into your bottom and making you squeak. All the pent up lust finally trickling out of him and into you. 

“C’mon, honey, let’s get you inside.” He finally lets you go after giving your bottom lip one last wet suck, pulling it into his mouth while his half-lidded eyes stare into yours. It’s somehow more intimate than kissing. 

You’re still reeling when he turns around to pick your suitcase off the ground, certain that your knees will give way and send you tumbling as well. Every point of contact on your body sizzles, aches. You watch from outside of yourself as he turns back to you, suitcase in his hand now, eyes still dark and fixed on you. Hungry. Your eyes widen when they flit down to find a thick bulge at the crotch of his pants. 

Like a cold bucket of water has been dumped over your head, you hiss and back up three steps when he takes a step towards you. “Oh no, you don’t take one step closer! I won’t have anything to do with—with that!”

You must look like some feral barn cat, back all puffed up, teeth bared to the man trying to coax you towards him. Price must see it too because he grins, amused. “Still spittin’ mad, huh? Felt those claws in me before, darlin’…gonna love feeling them with nothing between us.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Price doesn’t bother clearing anything up, but you intuit it the second he takes another step in your direction, whirling around and sprinting towards the house. It feels counterproductive to seek shelter in the man’s house, but dusty plains stretch out in every direction apart from back into town, where you know not a soul will lift a finger to help you. His house is the only shelter you’re going to get.

You hurry up the porch stairs, tearing open the door before glancing over your shoulder to find Price not far behind. He advances on you at a walking pace, but each stride of his long legs matches two of yours, making you shriek and scurry up the staircase. You dart for the first open door you see, slamming it shut behind you and leaning your whole weight against it. Glancing down, you perk up at the sight of a lock on the door before flipping it.

It’s not long before the sound of boots clomping up the staircase meets your ears, headed straight in your direction. You shake when you hear him pause right outside the door, then startle when he tries the knob. 

“You gonna let me in, darling?” Price asks, grin in his voice. Even raps his knuckle against the door for good measure.

“No,” you snap. 

“Not even for your things? Got your suitcase right here.” You hear him set it down, a little clunk against the wood floor. 

“I can manage like this. I’ve slept in my dress before.”

He pauses. “Have you?”

You tilt your chin up proudly despite the door blocking his view. “Yes, and I don’t mind doing it again. You can just stay on the other side of that door until you…until you put that thing away.”

“Can’t do much about that thing, darling; it’s sort of grown on me over the years anyway,” Price chuckles. “Well, not much I can do with it behind this door. I’ll go tend the horses ‘till suppertime comes ‘round and then come back to tend to you.”

“Licentious…reprobate,” you hiss through the door. 

He laughs, the sound deep in his throat. Your stomach flips. 

The stairs creak under the weight of his boots as he descends back downstairs. You wait until you hear the front door open and shut behind him, until the house is completely quiet save for the blood pumping in your ears before you hastily unlock the door and dart a hand out just to pull your suitcase in. You shut and lock the door as soon as it passes the threshold. 

It takes a while to settle your nerves and for the trembling to subside. In the meantime, you sit on your bottom at the foot of the door, with your back still pressed firmly to the wood, and take stock. There’s a bed in the room, one you hadn’t noticed in your mad scramble to lock yourself in. A bigger bed than the one you’d slept on back at the inn, but just as sparse, with gray flannel sheets and a blue quilt folded and draped over the end of the bed. 

The rest of the furniture in the room—two end tables, a chest of drawers, a desk, and two chairs situated in the corner of the room—appears so consistent in its design that you have to wonder if Price made them by hand as well. Hardly a reason to question it. You think to yourself that you’ll have to ask him how he finds the time only to quickly shake that thought away. Can’t be getting too chummy, certainly not if you don’t expect to be around in a month’s time. Hopefully less than that. 

You chew on your lip at the thought of fleeing in the night.

It trickles into your thoughts while you open your suitcase on the bed and riffle around for your nightwear. Price will likely keep you under lock and key for at least the first week of your marriage, giving you little opportunity to take off any time soon. If only you’d held your tongue and played the demure bride, he might’ve had some cause to trust you. Certainly not now, after your most recent display. 

Your own stupid fault, as usual. It’s not the first time your temper has gotten the better of you. You’ve faced worse consequences for it. 

Outside the window on the far end of the room, a horse whinnies. You pause, remembering that Price hadn’t gone very far. When you glance out curiously, you see him letting the horses into the pen, giving one a good rub down the bridge of its nose. The horses seem to melt under his touch. 

It’s strange watching him from far away. From a distance, it’s hard to reconcile him with the man that bent you over his desk not an hour ago and tanned your bottom. You cringe at the memory. It’s not that Price doesn’t seem like a man that would take his wife over his knee if he saw fit to do so, but you still can’t imagine yourself as that woman. When you think about it, it feels like a play, something you saw happen to someone else. Not you wailing and squirming like a cat in heat. 

As if feeling your stare, he glances up at the window and winks when he catches your eye. With a squeak, you leap away from the window, scurrying back over to the bed. 

A couple hours pass in restless contemplation, practically biting your nails to the quick. Eyeing the windowsill like you still might go over there just to check on what Price is up to outside. You hear him come back into the house once or twice, tensing up at the sound of his boots, only to be left vaguely disappointed when you hear him leave and the screen door slam shut behind him. 

You spend so long holed up in the bedroom that you miss lunch entirely. Below you, you hear Price puttering around downstairs in the kitchen—the sound of a knife chopping vegetables and then the sizzle of meat on a pan. The hunger pangs nearly make you break, but you’ve gone without food before. 

Your heart skips a beat when you hear him ascend the staircase again and place something just outside of your door. He doesn’t try coaxing you out this time, just heads back down the stairs and out the front door. Again, you ignore the pang of disappointment; ignore the urge to open the door and holler down the stairs for him to stay gone. 

He leaves anyway. 

Curiosity needles at you though, so you open the door up a crack when you’re sure you’re alone. There’s a plate at the foot of the door with vegetables and meat, slightly cooled but still fresh, the plate still warm. He must’ve known you wouldn’t try coming downstairs and fixed you up a plate. 

You eat in silence at the desk, bad mood ripening. Angry at yourself and everyone else. Even John. Especially John. The audacity of fixing you up a plate, of thinking of you in the first place. Irritated enough to stand boldly by the window this time, hand clutched in the curtain, tracking the movement of his shoulders and hips when he moves with the horses and fetches water from the well. You lose sight of him a couple times as he finishes up the day’s chores around the house, but the flutter in your belly always settles when he comes back into view. 

It’s easy to let yourself admire him from afar, somehow less humiliating without his eyes on you. He’s a solid man, body carved into its shape from the rough labor that’s part and parcel of living out on the frontier. A wide back tapering down to lean, narrow hips and thick, muscled thighs hewn from lifting and pulling and all manner of physical work. You bite your lip when you remember what it felt like to cling to that back and dig your nails into his arms. 

You give your head a shake. It’s dangerous to let a thought like that latch on. 

In the few hours between lunch and sunset, you occupy yourself by reading one of the books stowed away in your suitcase. Then get bored and refold your clothes. The horses bray when they’re taken into the stables for the evening. The crickets out in the bushes in the yard chirp as the sun sets pink in the far distance. It’s quieter out here in the plains than back in the city, you think, something you haven’t yet had the time to appreciate. 

When Price comes in for the night, you’re firm in your resolve to keep the door shut. If lunch at the door was just an attempt to butter you up, he has another thing coming. In a house this big, there’s likely a guest room or somewhere else to sleep—a sofa or a sleeping bag tucked away under the stairs. He’ll just have to make do while you take the bedroom. There’ll be no sharing a bed with the man that grabbed your backside like a piece of meat. 

He doesn’t come up the stairs right away. Like before, you hear him rustle up supper, spatula scraping against a pan and knife coming down on a chopping block again and again. Not enough time has passed since lunch for you to feel more than peckish. You’re thankful for that when you hear him sit down to eat. 

The knock at the door startles you. You hadn’t heard him come up the stairs. “Ready to talk now?”

You stare balefully at the door. “No.”

“We have to figure this out sometime, darling.”

“No, we don’t.”

“I’m sorry if I gave you a fright earlier, but, honey, that’s how husbands kiss their wives. Nothing improper about it.”

“I’m not frightened, I’m just not—we don’t need to do any of that,” you huff, embarrassed all over again. “You’ve hardly given me any time to even think. I didn’t know you from Adam this morning and now we’re married.”

Price sighs, the sound muffled through the door. “What am I going to do with you, honey?” It’s said to himself, a fond exasperation that puts you on edge all over again. He has no right to be amused with you, no right to be delighted and charmed by your ire. 

“Well, you can sleep somewhere else for the time being. I’d prefer the bed to myself.”

He lets out a low, dark laugh. “There’s not a chance in hell that I’m sleeping anywhere but with my wife from this point on. You oughta come to terms with that quick.”

“Well then, you can sleep out there because I’m not unlocking the door!”

He lets out a mean sound, almost mocking. “Yeah, ‘bout time I addressed that, huh?”

His words make you frown until you hear a floorboard creak as Price does something on the other side of the door. Then the doorknob jiggles. Horrified, you watch as the door unlocks and the knob turns, your husband’s body filling out the door frame. You’d forgotten how well he could fill one out. He almost has to duck to come inside, mused hair from working outside all day brushing against the top of the frame. 

“Always put a key on the top of the door, just in case,” he explains, pinching the little silver key between his thumb and forefinger before shutting the door. Your heart jumps when he locks it behind him. “Ready to talk now, honey?”

[dlscenarios]

How I Long For Our Trysts

Anthony Bridgerton x f!Reader SMUT

I finished reading The Viscount Who Loved Me & i'm already missing this fictional man like he's my husband that went off to war.

Also ofc the title is a Taylor Swift reference. What else is new?

Cw: AFAB Reader + a few brief mentions of Reader being a lady, Bridgerton-typical society talk, Reader & Anthony are pretty handsy, No foreplay, Unprotected sex + Creampie

You were going to be the death of him.

Anthony Bridgerton always knew he was going to die young, but he'd always thought it would be a similar death to his father's — sudden and perhaps by the stinger of a measly bee — yet the agonizing wait for you to appear in the doorway of his study might do him in first.

His mother had invited what felt like hundreds of singles in the ton for another one of her house parties at Aubrey Hall. The woman was relentless in her task of marrying off her children, although she seemed to focus more on Anthony than his brothers. To the viscount's dismay (he was ashamed to admit his simultaneous delight), you were one of the invited guests. Anthony's mother had no idea that you and her eldest son had already become well acquainted with each other, having met earlier in the season.

You had a distaste for society and its strict rules, something that both intrigued and infuriated Anthony. You conducted yourself in a way that haunted his very being. Had you been a smidge less cynical, you would fit Anthony's idea of a perfect viscountess exactly.

Since your first meeting, the viscount would see you everywhere. At the shops, the park, every ball, there was even a time Anthony could have sworn you were in his bed beside him only to find out it was just an all-too-real dream. In hopes of getting you out of his head, he began pursuing you. Not in hopes of marriage, Anthony had carefully planned out every minute you shared together to avoid such a thing, but in hopes of turning his dream into a reality. And it worked. It worked far better than Anthony thought it would. Every moment he spent getting lost in your body felt better than it had with any of the women he had slept with before. He craved you more than he had ever craved anything in his entire life. While your moments together were fleeting, he made every minute count and seared the memory into his brain. 

Now that you were under the same roof as him, he could barely hold himself back. His siblings had coerced you to join their game of Pall Mall earlier in the evening and each time your ball and his sat near each other, it took every ounce of Anthony's strength not to pull you to the side and kiss you senseless. After the game, he stepped closer to your side, inconspicuously whispering into your ear to meet him in his study at midnight. If everyone else in the house was asleep, he could have you all to himself for hours. As long as the two of you ended up in your respective bedchambers by dawn, no one would be any wiser.

While waiting for the clock to strike twelve, Anthony tried to keep himself busy by going over a few papers, but eventually the dry scratching of his quill and the flickering light of the candle beside him began to make his head spin. Tossing the pen to the side and rubbing his face with his hands, the door finally creaked open. Leaning back in his chair, a smirk grew on Anthony's face at the sight of you shutting the door behind you.

"Took you long enough." he quipped, gazing at you with tired eyes. You returned his smile and approached the desk.

"It is better to be safe rather than sorry, my lord. I did not want to risk someone catching me outside of my chambers like this~" Your hand began to fiddle with the hastily-tied knot on your robe. With a light tug, the robe was untied and fluttered open to reveal that you donned only a chemise under it.

Anthony sucked in a breath, dark eyes trailing over your figure. Yes, he had seen you in less before, but you looked too damned stunning in everything you wore, no matter how many layers it consisted of. Even at the social events both of your families "coincidentally" attended, he could not tear his eyes away from you.

You stepped closer to his side, his hand wasting no time in settling on your hip. He was looking at you like how a puppy eyed its beloved owner. You kept that analogy to yourself, knowing full well that he would rid it the moment he became aware of it, but it was perhaps the most beautiful look he had ever worn. Your opposing hand came up to graze his cheek before your fingertips peaked into his hair. Anthony's eyes fluttered shut, leaning into your hand and turning to press a soft kiss to your palm.

"Always so eager." you said, smiling down at your lover. You caught the faintest, briefest smile on his lips before he kissed your palm once more with a deep hum.

"You cannot blame me." Anthony's voice was low and filled with passion as he replied, "Not when I have the prettiest lover in all of Great Britain," he paused to squeeze your hip, his fingers digging into the fabric of your chemise, "Right at my fingertips."

"Aw..." you teased, leaning down to meet his lips. Anthony lets out a low moan into the kiss as his hand slides from your hip to around your waist, guiding you down to straddle him in his chair. Your warmth was the comforting sort, the image of you in his lap serving as a reminder that Anthony had you. You were his, sitting so prettily above him, and deep down, while it hurt his pride to admit such, Anthony knew he was yours.

In the glow of the fireplace, the two of you held each other close, hands exploring previously conquered patches of skin. You had tugged his vest open as one of his hands slid under your chemise to grab your ass. His lips had left yours to trail hot kisses along your neck. Your breathy pants fanned against his ear while he suckled your clavicle, wishing so desperately that he could leave a mark. Anthony knew he couldn't. You were out in society, someone the viscount had sworn to never rope into his rakish encounters. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin your reputation and find himself at the receiving end of your relative's pistol.

Anthony let out a low growl, pushing away the niggling reminder that he had compromised you. What a hypocrite he was. Had one of his sisters been in your position, he would have ripped their lover to shreds, but something about you felt different. A warm and welcoming feeling that Anthony had never experienced before. A feeling that was suffocating him as he lifted his head to peck your jaw before guiding you into another kiss.

You yanked at his shirt, ripping the top buttons out of their holes. Anthony groaned as your hand trailed down his clothed chest, grazing over his stomach and inching closer to his waistband. His lips leave yours, pressing a feather-light kiss to your cheek before his own hand slips down to meet yours, expertly unbuttoning his trousers.

Anthony Bridgerton was never a patient man, something you had known since your first night together. He was never selfish — in fact, he was quite a generous lover, always checking to make sure he wasn't moving too fast — he merely found it difficult to hold back at times. You were a drug. Perhaps the only thing that could make him completely drunk, aside from the occasional brandy. As he freed himself from the confines of his pants, he gazed up, his dark eyes shining with a lustful glint as they met yours.

You shifted above him and pulled up the skirt of your chemise enough for him to line up with your entrance. His free hand rested on your hip before slowly guiding you down to take him in. With a groan, he squeezed your ass as you situate yourself in his lap. His hands slid up to your hips, urging them to roll toward his.

Anthony held you close, enough for him to lean forward and mouth at your clothed chest. You always felt like heaven, so hot and tight. You made him feel alive. Anthony groaned against your chest as his fingers dug into your skin, mirroring the new grip you had on his shoulders. Your soft moans against his ear spurred him to help quicken your grinding, guiding you along the length of his cock.

Before you had met the viscount, you had known of his rakish ways from Whistledown's column. The woman had never been wrong so you had no reason to disbelieve her reports on Anthony's past conquests. Opera singers, actresses, several women in London's brothels, he had allegedly bed them all. He was the biggest rake in all of Britain, yet as he held you tight and fucked into you as if he loved you, you couldn't bring yourself to regret meeting him. It could have been your inexperience in these sorts of encounters, but you could have sworn the Anthony Bridgerton you saw during these nights was a better man than the one Whistledown knew. He was always so attentive and skilled and beautiful and...

You contracted around him, ripping a gruff moan from your lover's lips, his gaze focused on your connection as he controlled the movement of your hips. His short nails bit through the thin cotton of your chemise, his own hips thrusting up to meet yours.

"Fuck..." Anthony groaned almost too quiet for you to hear. He always found it hard to last longer than you, yet another difference between you and his past lovers. He was already close and, judging by the way your moans took on a higher pitch, you were not far behind. One of his hands left your hip to slip under the bunched front of your dress, thumbing your clit in the exact way he knew you liked.

You squeaked out a moan, your grip on the back of his shirt hardening. "Anthony...Oh god, Anthony..." you repeated his name like a prayer.

Suddenly, your orgasm hit, stilling your hips and moaning into his shoulder. Like he always did, Anthony coaxed you through your release, continuing his ministrations and pressing soft kisses to the side of your head. Once your moans subsided, the hand on your clit left to rest on your back. You kept your face buried in his shoulder as he panted into your ear, his own sounds growing closer together as he chased his release.

You lifted your head enough for Anthony to steal your lips again. With another groan, he thrusted up into you one last time before his come began to fill you. He held you tightly against him as he deepened the kiss.

You moaned and weaved your hand into his hair. You didn't want the kiss to end. The moment it did meant your time with Anthony was coming to an end. You would have to return to your bedchamber alone, knowing the man you had accidentally started falling for was under the same roof.

Meanwhile, Anthony had no plans of letting you go once leaving your lips to catch his breath. He glanced to the nearby clock. It was only one in the morning, plenty of time to keep you locked in the study with him. He should be free to have you until six, when the maids would begin wrapping their wake-up calls on the residents’ doors. After only a few gulps of air, Anthony's lips were back on yours, keen on having you in every position he's dreamed you in.

Anthony Bridgerton never planned on catching feelings. Hell, his entire plan for the season was to find a wife he wouldn't fall for, yet as he admired you in the euphoric state he had put you in, he was starting to think his plan had failed.

[mashup-writing]

Power Naps; Donna Beneviento (Resident Lover)

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Requested? ❌

"Mananatili, sa iyong tabi mag damag."

"To stay, by your side for as long as can be."

Summary: Visiting your girlfriend, Professor!Donna in her office only to find her fast asleep. You try to wake her up, but she turns the tables and has you falling asleep with her on the sofa. It can't be comfortable, but with her trench coat draped over your shoulders you can't find it in yourself to fight the sleepiness off.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Resident Lover Masterlist

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A sigh leaves your lips as you spare another glance at your watch. You've spent the ast fifteen minutes knocking at the door to Donna's office in intervals but each attempt is greeted with silence. You're never impatient when it comes to your girlfriend, but right now your feet are starting to ache from how you've spent the past fifteen minutes standing outside the door and almost your whole day running around campus to help finalize your club's upcoming event.

You decide to knock once more, giving it another five minutes before you finally knock for the last time and open the door without an invitation- Letting yourself in before immediately shutting the door behind you.

The sight of Donna's office never fails to stop you in your tracks, you haven't been in here a lot but it's stark contrast to how the interior of her house looks like never ceases to surprise you. The walls are bland, and the shelves are empty except for a few volumes of botanical and toxicology texts. A singular file drawer stands behind her seat and the desk is barren except for the tests she's grading, a desk lamp, and a pen holder with a total of three pens in them.

It's said that the way an interior of a personal space is designed can tell you a lot about a person.

You take a moment to wonder why your girlfriend has her walls up so high whenever she's on campus.

You squint for a moment in the dim lighting, and it hits you that maybe your girlfriend wasn't giving you permission to enter her office simply because she wasn't currently in it. You wonder where she could be, you're sure that she's definitely done with her lectures at this hour- And she hasn't gone home yet because she had after all promised that she would drive you back to your dorm today once you were done with your respective responsibilities.

Your questioning thoughts don't cease until after you've looked to your side to find Donna laying on he back on her office sofa, her coat draped over her front- The iconic black trench coat, treated as a makeshift blanket. The sight almost makes you smile, but you take note of how Donna's using the arm rest as a pillow and you frown instead. That's gotta hurt.

You walk over to her side, kneeling on the carpeted floor before you gently brush her bangs away to place a gentle kiss on her forehead and on her scar separately.

"Mahal, wake up. It's almost 7 PM."

Donna's always been a light sleeper, so all it took was a gentle shake to her shoulder for her to start stirring in her slumber. She takes a deep breath before turning her head to face you, a gentle smile taking hold of her lips once her eyes adjust to the dimness of the room and she spots you by her side.

"Hello, Tesoro."

Donna takes your hand in hers and wastes no time in placing a kiss to the back of it. You feel her soft smile slowly shift into a grin when you chuckle at her actions.

"It's time to go home Donna, that couch can't be comfortable at all."

You move your hand to gently rest on her cheek, using your thumb to stroke skin in a gentle sweeping motion. Donna hums, her chest rises with a deep intake of air and her eyes flutter closed again.

"You are correct Tesoro. However, I believe I know of an immediate solution to this issue."

You're unable to get a word out before Donna moves quickly in a flash of black and grey, the next thing you know is that you're lying down on Donna and you're being readjusted so that the two of you can comfortably fit on the couch. A laugh escapes you as your girlfriend peppers your temple and your forehead in kisses.

Struggling against her grip was futile. So you choose to shift until you're comfortable before eventually calming down and just basking in how right it feels to be held in the Botanist's arms.

"We'll regret this when we wake up, I swear-"

Donna laughs without showing her teeth, eyes still remaining closed as if snatching you from the floor and onto the couch with her took no effort at all. She only shushes you before she stats to trace patterns on your back.

"Mia cara flore, that? Is a problem for future us. Right now I simply wish to share the silence and the serenity with you by my immediate side."

She places a lingering kiss to your lips, and you concede to her arguement with a contented hum before pulling away from her and settling down once again. You could never find it in your heart to deny Donna anything she asks for after all.

"A problem for future us. Agreed."

Donna adjusts her coat to cover your frame, the coat now acting as a blanket for the both of you to the best that it can as the ticking of the clock on her office wall lulls you both to sleep eventually.

----------------------٩(◕‿◕｡)۶-----------------------

Translations:

Mahal - Literally translates to "Love" formally it is a word for the emotion, but it is also used as a pet name for a significant other.

Mia cara flore - My darling flower

[milliesfishes]

⋆౨ৎ𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓐𝓬𝓽⋆౨ৎ

[fem reader] contains: copious amounts of angst, death, graphic description of blood pairing: billy the kid x fem reader author’s note: guys...what if I quit writing and delete my blog this hurt so bad Pinterest Board Spotify Playlist

You lived in everything.

Billy saw your essence tangled in wildflowers, swimming amongst the glitter of the sun reflecting off the surface of water. All that was good in the world, everything that brought forth a smile was rooted in you, he was convinced.

The one object of his affections, the recipient of his love, you were an angel of the highest order. In Billy's life, he'd never expected a woman to find it in her to love a man like him, let alone one as kindhearted as you. Open armed, endlessly forgiving. At the start of this, he had resolved to humble himself before you, to give you what little he had. It would never be enough, he knew. Not for a woman so beautiful she turned heads, so lovely that people were drawn to her like a hummingbird to a wildflower.

Holding you was paradise, kissing you was a strange kind of rush that he'd never get used to. To love someone so purely hadn't been in the cards for him. No, his hand had been repeatedly unlucky, robbing him of any pleasure life had to offer. But the universe had been holding out on him for now he had the best thing in it.

Billy's guilt nearly ruined the whole thing. He knew he was a whole lot less than you deserved, knew he was on borrowed time with you. Sometimes he wondered if the act of having you was a buildup, some new kind of cruel torture where he'd get to taste bliss only for it to be ripped away. With the law on his tail at every turn, he feared the life he'd built would be ripped away at the seams.

Every night when he crawled into bed, weary from the day's work, uttering quiet apologies for making it back so late, you would roll over and burrow into his chest. No words exchanged; they didn't have to be. He'd press grateful kisses to your head and you'd smile sleepily with your eyes closed.

This was heaven. This was a haven. Life with you felt like a dream. He couldn't have imagined it in his wildest fantasies, not in the years he'd spent galloping aimlessly along the prairie with no end in sight. Until he'd stumbled upon an eternal sunbeam bound up in the skin of a beautiful woman.

Now, in the sacred hours of the morning, when waking was laced with dreams, Billy traced the contours of your face with a single finger. Newborn sunlight was seeping through the cracks of the thin curtains, outlining your halo in delicate lines. He held you carefully, as if with one wrong move you'd crack under his hands and disappear into dust.

Your eyelashes fluttered and lifted as the first breath of waking drew from your lips. He watched, transfixed by your every detail, as you began to stir, turning sleepily on your side to snuggle deeper into his arms. It was a routine, one that would never take its place on the shelf of the mundane. He treasured it. Safety, one of the few things in the world he possessed that was adequate to give to you.

Lifting his hand to your hair, he ran two fingers over where it met your forehead like the tide to the sand: tracing the expanse and tucking a strand behind your ear. Billy loved your hair, fingered it like strands of spun gold, twisted it around his fingers in leisurely moments. He leaned down, lips meeting your temple as a quiet good morning.

Outside, the birds were chattering, speaking amongst themselves about the course of the day. The earth was coming alive as you were, as if it had waited for sleep to lift its heavy head from your shoulder.

"Mm," you hummed, nudging your head against his chest. Billy rubbed a hand up your back, where your sleep shirt had ridden up- one of his shirts. He drew hearts into your skin, his fingers the pen.

"Sleepy?" he murmured, using one hand to pull the blanket up over you without letting go. You were always tossing and turning in the night, no matter how sound you slept. It wasn't an uncommon sight for the sheets to be tangled around your legs come morning.

Nodding hazily, you rested one hand flat on his chest. Your left hand, perfect and smooth, only void of one thing: his ring. Billy had it hidden in a special place, waiting for the absolute perfect moment to ask the most important question he ever would. Maybe it was silly, maybe it was old-fashioned, but he wanted it to be special. His mama hadn't raised a gentleman for nothing.

For now he resolved to hold you tight, relishing the angel in his arms. The needs of the day were creeping close, and he didn't want to lose a single second he could be with you. Life gave and it took away-for every task he did reluctantly, he received another day with you.

When it was finally time to relent and drag himself out of bed, he pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead, squeezing you one last time and rising. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Billy drearily donned his work clothes, buttoning his shirt and pulling each suspender up over a shoulder. He sat at the edge of the bed to tug his boots on one by one.

From where he was sitting, Billy rolled over onto his stomach, crawling back to you without letting his boots touch the bed. Positioned half on top of you, he folded his arms, pressing gentle kisses to your cheeks. "You'll be okay, hm?"

"I'll be okay," you promised, one hand dragging up to his hair, fingers combing through it. Your smile was still lined with exhaustion, and his own lips turned up at the sight.

"Sleepy girl," he muttered, eliciting a breathy laugh from you. Billy leaned in, pressing a kiss to your forehead. "Rest your eyes a little longer. I'll be back in a couple hours, mkay?"

"Mkay," you echoed, and he smiled, thumbing the side of your face once before crawling off the bed and getting to his feet.

With one final lingering look at the pretty girl nestled all cozy in his bed, Billy plucked his hat from the hook on the wall and crammed it on his head, opening and shutting the door gently. His boots clunked a comforting rhythm on the wooden floor, and already he was looking forward to coming back home.

The windows were broken.

That was the first thing Billy noticed when he returned. Gaping holes in the glass, the clear substance scattered across the surrounding grass.

His foot nearly caught in the stirrup as he struggled to get down, paling when he noticed the door was ajar, swinging lazily from previous motion.

In an instant, he was scurrying up the steps, only one thing on his mind. You were still home...he'd left his girl all alone... Flinging the door open, he shouted your name hurriedly, eyes blown wide open as he searched for you. You weren't in the kitchen, nor the bedroom, though the sheets were messy, bed still unmade from this morning. From the paradise he'd separated himself from.

The house was empty, that much was clear. Void of any sign of you. It was both relieving and terrifying. A raw, biting feeling gnawed at his gut. Something's not right. Had you gone for a walk in the nearby forest as you often did, narrowly avoiding the break in? Or had you heard the commotion and managed to escape? He found himself praying, a pleading in his heart to whatever higher power was kind enough to listen. Please let her be okay. Please let her be safe.

Billy tossed his hat aside and rested a hand against the doorframe, any previous energy sapped from him like syrup from a maple tree. His heart pounded an echoing beat into his ribcage, mind overwrought with worries. Where were you?

His prayers began to change. I'll leave her behind so she's safe forever if that's what it takes. All this time he'd thought his presence was protecting you, but if it wasn't he would disappear without a backwards glance, no matter how much it would pain him and you to do so. Maybe you would be better off, without the ever present threats hanging over your heads.

He had been careless to show you off the way he did, to put a target on your back like that. Yet another reason you didn't deserve him. You were a treasure of the highest value, one that shouldn't be kept locked away. It was an impossible situation that he nearly brought himself to tears over. Where was a solution where he could love you and have you and keep you safe at the same time?

Billy wandered over to the kitchen window, despondent and fraught with anxiety. He lifted his eyes wearily to the garden, before something he spotted made his body freeze.

Time went motionless, the seconds seeming to tick backwards and forwards all at once. Billy could have sworn he felt his heart stop for just a moment as the realization carved him open from the inside, bones on display, vulnerable to the attack of emotion beating at them like hail.

His body reacted before he did, feet carrying him out of the house, down the porch steps and into the garden, where your broken body lay like a fallen bird in your beloved patch of flowers, the ones you'd planted early spring. They had begun to wilt at the end of the summer, and now they were your deathbed.

Blood spilt from the gaping wound in your chest, spattering the surrounding petals with crimson. Your white dress, the one you'd always giggled about marrying him in someday, was ruined by the sticky substance, like your heart was bleeding out.

In an instant he was kneeling before you, sliding his arms under your body and lowering himself to you, resting sideways in the flowers like he had this morning in bed. Your eyes were wide open, breathing no more than a whisper, but still there. Achingly, you choked, "Billy...Billy..."

Every portion of his body was drawn taut, the pure shock of the sight before him rendering him useless for anything except holding you. He stroked your hair, trying to soothe you despite the circumstances wearing away at time. "Baby..."

Now you were practically choking on air, brows drawn together, lips parted as you trembled, reaching for him. "I don't wanna die...Billy..."

He could feel tears stinging at his eyes, but held back for your sake, calling on every slight of resistance he possessed. "It's okay, sweet girl," he breathed, bringing you up to his chest with no more than a whimper from you. "Shh, I've got you. You're not alone. I'm here 'n I ain't leavin' you ever again."

"I'm sorry," you managed, chest trembling as tears soaked your cheeks. "I don't wanna...leave you...alone..."

He bowed his head, burying his nose in your hair, body rocking back and forth to soothe you. The last thing Billy wanted was for your final moments to be in distress. Not when the way in which you had lived had so clearly been the opposite. "Shh, sweet girl. You just rest. You were so tired before-" Tears pricked the back of his eyes and he cut himself off, swallowing thickly. Unable to keep the emotion from his voice, he continued. "Everything's okay, my love. I've got you."

Even his love had to be tainted by violence, from beginning to end. Billy smoothed your hair, dried your tears with his fingers, did anything to distract himself from the fact that he'd have to love you longer than he had you. He slid his hand under your jaw, all the while cradling you against him, ignoring your blood seeping through his clothes. Though his chest was heaving and his voice was broken, he found a melody on his tongue, the only thing he could think of to comfort you now.

"As Kathleen fair beyond compare, asleep upon a bank I spied." Tears seeped into each word as he tried to carry the tune. "All upon tiptoe I sought her side, and kissed her down in the daisies." Your breathing grew steadier, and he tried to smile for you, assure you in some way. "But up she starts and on me darts, the shafts of scorn from lip and eye."

Sometimes when you had trouble falling asleep, he'd gather you in his arms and hum quietly, relaxing your body and slipping you into your dreams. This song had been your favorite of the folk tunes in his repertoire, the ones his mother taught him.

Indeed now, it was working its magic, and you looked up at him, your lips turning up just slightly, tears like crystal pearls sliding down your cheeks like rain on a windowpane. He continued to rock you back and forth, grasping you tight as life drained from you quickly as your blood had. "Then in a storm goes sweeping by, and leaves me alone with the daisies."

Your body grew heavy, eyes hazy in a way that made him want to beg, plead, scream at the sky for some kind of answer. You were all he had in the world, his purpose, his love. Desperately, he grasped at you, leaning his forehead down to press a single kiss to your lips. It was the last kiss that mattered. But he hadn't thought it would come so soon.

Now the tears on your cheeks were not only your own. His salt mingled with yours, and he reached his thumb up to brush them away, finishing the song in a cracked whisper.

"But when next day I chanced that way, there Kathleen blushed in all her charms, with sighs she sank into my arms, and we told our love to the daisies."

Billy didn't open his eyes, but the moment you took your final breath he felt it. For a moment he pretended you were only sleeping, that his singing had done the trick and eased you into a dream from which you would wake in the morning. You would snuggle into his side like you always did, ask him for five more minutes before he left. And he would give it to you, never deprive you of anything ever again. "My girl," he breathed raggedly. "Please-"

If you were smiling at him, heart beating steadfastly under his hand when he opened his eyes, he'd give up the gun forever and marry you and relocate somewhere secret and never go another day without showing you how absolutely you consumed him. He'd do all the things he should have done before, everything he'd been putting off. He'd forget about the bastards who'd ended your life simply because you loved him and just be grateful you were still here.

But when he finally lifted his lids, yours were shut, already deep into an eternal rest from which he could never wake you. Not even with his softest kisses, his gentlest of touches. Billy didn't know that he would ever be able to accept what would never be. He would never get to slide his ring on your finger, never see your belly round with his child. He would never see the first strands of grey in your hair or hear your laugh or see your smile directed at him like sunshine in this life.

Still, he grasped at you, held you tightly to his chest, supporting your head when it lulled backward limply. Still, he rocked you back and forth, comforting you when you were long gone. His girl, his baby, his love and light. Right now he clung to every memory in fear that he would lose it. Billy knew how the aftermath of death went. He knew someday he would forget how you smelled, what your voice sounded like, how it felt to hold you. Even though he'd spend whatever time he had left missing it.

There was nothing stopping him from digging your grave and flinging himself in it beside you, no outside force preventing him from finding who'd killed you and begging them to take him too. Your last words: I don't wanna leave you alone.

At that, his tears began to fall, pouring torrentially down his cheeks and silencing any logic. Destiny was cruel, mistaking you for star-crossed when you were meant to be written in the stars. Billy wept into your hair, hoping your spirit wasn't watching. The crush of emotion cracked his being open and let forth everything he'd tried to keep underneath. His strength was fraying, its heart silenced.

You made a mistake, he wanted to shout. You were never supposed to take her. Suddenly the rest of his life stretched out before him like a woeful march, highlighting everything he would have to do without you. What was a soul without its mate, a lover without his love? Loss consumed him like a wildfire, flames licking at his chin. He let himself burn.

Your body was growing icy, and he squeezed you tight to him, rubbing his arms over your body. You hated being cold. His darling sweetheart would cuddle up to him no matter the weather if you felt so much as a goosebump. Billy sheathed you into him, passing you his body heat fruitlessly.

He had to let go. The thought probed Billy unwillingly, and he shook his head, feeling like a child. He didn't want to. He didn't want to dig you a crude grave and lay your broken body down, letting the earth hold you instead of him. He didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't want to wash his hands and body of your blood and burn the clothes it had stained. It felt like tossing aside a piece of you, when there were scarcely any left. Soon, the only thing remaining would be memory.

Billy set that dreadful idea adrift, letting it float out to sea. The waves would lap at it and bring it back to the shores of his mind eventually, but for now it was far away. He breathed in a shuddering way, lips finding your temple and pressing there.

"I've got you, sweetheart," he breathed, caressing your stiffening body. At the very least, he was glad you hadn't been alone. "Just rest."

No longer in an ocean, it drifted around him like coyotes circling a lonely traveler, baring its teeth and poising to strike, launching itself at him and consuming all that he held dear. He squeezed his eyes shut, having hoped shoving it down would erase its fruition. But it bloomed in his broken soul like the flowers you'd died atop.

The final act of love is letting go.

[andypantsx3]

Deceiving the Duke | 3 | Todoroki Shouto

pairing: Todoroki Shouto x Female Reader

length: 3.1k of 30k words | 3rd of 9 chapters

summary: When Camie Utsushimi elopes on the eve of her society debut, scandal threatens to destroy the family’s prospects. It’s up to you, a maid, to impersonate Camie throughout the Season, long enough that her elder sister can make a match. The only trouble? Lord Shouto Todoroki is also intent on making a match—and that match, quite impossibly, appears to involve you.

tags/warnings: romance, regency au, class differences, hidden identity/identity porn, aged up characters, eventual smut

Things were quiet the following week.

You successfully attended two other balls with no mishaps like your first, and an afternoon tea with some lady or another. You were careful to duck out of sight any time you caught a flash of red or white hair, and you stuck close to Caroline except for when she was whisked onto the dancefloor by some interested gentleman.

You seemed to draw little notice, except for a few younger sons of minor families. You eagerly waved your dance card full of made-up names at them when they approached, feigning regret. If any of them noticed you did not stand up with anyone after that, however, they were too polite to say so.

You spent the rest of your time outside of events agonizingly refitting all of Camie’s new dresses, astounded by the sheer number, going to bed every evening with your fingers numb and your eyes burning. Caroline kept up your dance lessons and tried valiantly to appoint you with some conversational tips that would keep you from exposing yourself as the servant you were, which you dutifully memorized.

You also wrote to Camie, addressing the letter to her eventual home at Lord Yoarashi’s estate. His staff would hopefully know where to forward it to. You told her of the harebrained scheme you had gotten yourself into, the horrifying run-in with Lord Shouto Todoroki, and your absolute certainty that this had all been a mistake.

A week and a half into said harebrained scheme, Lady Cathleen Bate hosted a ball at the assembly rooms. You wiggled into a cream-colored gown you’d prioritized fixing because the wispy material was so easy to work with—but you were quite regretting it now. It was awfully sheer, enough that you kept returning to Camie’s looking glass, nervous that your underpinnings might be fully visible through the fabric.

You tried to call as little attention to your bare decolletage as possible with a borrowed set of Caroline’s tiniest paste jewel set, but felt like every judgmental eye in the assembly rooms would flicker your way regardless. You hoped the relatively low profile you’d cultivated thus far would spare you.

When you arrived, you quickly filled your dance card with a suite of made up names once more, snickering to yourself as you penned in former king Yaoyorozu’s name and a slew of stupid things like Lord Scotchwaffles and Mr. Placeholder.

There was a small commotion as you made your way to the Utsushimis’ usual camp out along the fringes of the dance floor, watching across the room as a young lady in an elaborate headdress suddenly swooned onto the gentleman next to her.

You started when you realized the gentleman in question was none other than Lord Shouto Todoroki–and he looked bemused to suddenly have an armful of unresponsive woman. His face went carefully blank and he held her out from him, the way one did a baby that had soiled itself. You had to bite a laugh off into your glove. He really looked like nothing would make him happier than just dropping her.

Two mismatched eyes suddenly darted up, catching yours. Your laughter seized in your throat, turning into sputtering coughs, and you ducked behind Mrs. Utsushimi for cover.

You kept yourself hidden behind her silhouette as best you could for the next few hours, with the occasional break to fetch lemonade. Caroline was on and off the dance floor, and you thought you recognized one of her partners as a gentleman from last time–a Mr. Yosetsu Awase, untitled but kind and reliable, according to town gossip.

Fumbling around behind Mrs. Utsushimi, you accidentally bumped elbows with a pair of gentlewomen halfway through the ball. You murmured an apology, but they waved you off cheerfully, and leaned in to introduce themselves instead.

One of them was short and voluptuously curvy, with fawn brown hair and rosy cheeks–Miss Ochako Uraraka, whose family, like Camie’s, was untitled but landed, occupying the lower rungs of the peerage. The other woman had long green tresses that complimented her spring green gown, and wore them bound up at the back of her head, with big dark eyes fringed with long lashes–the Viscountess Tsuyu Asui.

“You’re Camie Utsushimi,” Miss Uraraka said, her voice high and sweet. “I saw you at the Monomas’, running for some lemonade.”

You choked, and fluttered your fan uselessly for a moment. “I—well, yes. It’s all rather a lot, isn’t it? The season?”

Lady Asui nodded vigorously. “Horrible, really. Like we’re at market.”

You laughed. You had to agree. Even knowing you’d be able to retire this scheme at the end of the season, this brief period had felt much like you were a fruit put out on a seller’s stand, to be inspected and purchased at a shopper’s whim. In this thing, the nobility were so much less fortunate than you were.

“Are there really no gentlemen you fancy?” you asked curiously, and Miss Uraraka blushed a furious shade of pink.

“No,” she squeaked out, a transparent yes even to someone who’d only just met her.

“She does but she’ll never admit it,” Lady Asui told you, smiling. “He’s not in attendance this season, at any rate, but she still comes hoping to hear news of him from his friends.”

“Who?” you asked.

Lady Asui cast a fond look at Miss Uraraka. “I’ll not say, but if you want to figure it out yourself, a chat with Lord Tenya or Lord Shouto would be most enlightening.”

You froze up at the mention of Lord Shouto again, eyes quickly darting about to make sure he hadn’t spotted you again. The last thing you needed was for him to accidentally spill the details of your conversation—and how improperly you’d spoken to a man who was possibly the future prince-consort of the empire, if rumors about his interest in Princess Yaoyorozu were to be believed.

Lord Tenya Iida, you remembered from the strategic dissections Mrs. Utsushimi and Caroline had done last season, was a baron, extensively landed, and a very respectable match for any young lady of good breeding. Like Lord Shouto, he was someone you would not want to be seen with, if you cared to minimize the fallout once your scheme had been exposed.

“It shall remain a mystery,” you said decisively.

Miss Uraraka looked surprised. “You don’t intend to meet either?”

You shook your head. “I’d prefer to wait, um, several more seasons before setting sights on a gentleman.”

Lady Asui tapped her chin with her fan. “Lord Shouto is sure to make a match this season or next—he’s got his pick, if he wants it. I take it you’ve heard about his courting Princess Yaoyorozu?”

Your skin prickled with the mention of him again, the memory of his eyes picking over you in the dark replaying itself in the back of your mind. “I have, yes. Perhaps that’s the wisdom in my choice–I’d hate to covet something of the princess’s.”

Miss Uraraka laughed, high and pretty. “This whole empire is hers–I wish you luck.”

You smiled. “I’ll set my sights on something smaller she’ll miss less, then.” Like a pile of money and a comfortable position at Camie’s new estate.

Lady Asui made a small noise in her throat, and you turned to look at her curiously. “That rather large something is headed this way,” she said, looking interested.

Your heartbeat spiked. Surely Lord Shouto wasn’t coming over to talk to you–to reprimand you for pelting him with apricot cakes, was he? He’d so far kept his distance, and you’d thought he meant to forget the whole thing. Regardless, you searched out a gap in the throng of people lining the dance floor, identifying your quickest escape route.

“I find I am suddenly parched,” you announced, snapping your fan shut. “A delight to make your acquaintances.” You made to dart for safety, but a deep voice stopped you.

“You must allow me,” someone intoned from behind you, and all your blood stopped in your veins. Slowly, you turned, finding Lord Shouto himself standing in front of you, immaculately outfitted in a dark coat and waistcoat, a silk neckcloth tied at his throat. He was even more handsome in direct candlelight, his features so careful and symmetrical, those mismatched eyes pinned directly to yours.

“I—you—um, Your Grace,” you said, frantically digging up the modes of address Caroline had gone over with you. You dropped a curtsey, heart pounding. “You’ll have to excuse me—I, the lemonade—”

A tiny smile prodded at the corner of his mouth, and you followed his gaze as it dropped to a glass of lemonade clutched in his fingers, which he pressed towards you.

“I recall you are fond of it,” he said, and your panic fully seized you. Miss Uraraka and Lady Asui’s attentions fixed on you with sharpened interest.

“I–-thank you,” you said miserably, accepting the proffered drink. You pressed it to your mouth to save you from having to supply any other conversation. You thought his eyes followed it to your mouth, and you wondered if there was some aspect of social etiquette you’d just violated for him to watch you so.

“I had hoped you might accompany me for a dance,” Lord Shouto said in that mind-numbingly low tone.

The lemonade hit the back of your throat wrong. You hurriedly flapped your dance card at him, feigning apology. “I’m afraid I’m terribly overcommitted,” you choked out quickly.

Those eyes darted up to yours curiously again, and he rather unexpectedly reached forward to grasp your dance card, reading it over with some interest.

“‘Lord Scotchwaffles’, ‘Mr. Placeholder’,” he echoed, the hint of a smirk pulling at his full mouth. “I cannot say I am acquainted with either.” He paused. “It looks like your next dance is reserved for King Yaoyorozu himself.”

Your insides shriveled up. “I—”

“Unfortunate that he will be unable to make it, bedridden as he’s been for the past decade,” Lord Shouto said. “I will be happy to stand up with you instead.”

Ice crept up your veins, stiffening your limbs. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck!

What was he plotting? Why go to the trouble of asking you for a dance if he was put out with the way you’d acted at the Monomas’? Was this some ploy designed to embarrass Camie and her family?

“I’ll hold your lemonade for you,” Miss Uraraka said, incredibly unhelpfully. Dainty fingers pulled the glass out of your hand, and Lord Shouto seized the moment, taking your hand and tugging you out onto the dancefloor just as the players readied themselves for a new song.

Your heart hammered in your mouth as you arranged yourself against him. His shoulder was horribly strong under your hand, his grip on you gentle but firm. You looked up into his face to find him watching you impassively.

You dimly recognized the music as it began, frantically dredging your brain for the steps Caroline had drilled into you. Thankfully you were able to slip into step along Lord Shouto, following his lead effectively, if not smoothly.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” you told him, for something to say. “This is my first dance–I’m relatively unpracticed.”

His fingers flexed where they held you, and he looked rather—smug?–-to note it.

“So long as it is better than your Ancient Greek,” he said, “I believe you will do well.”

You couldn’t help but laugh, your ears heating. “Well if that’s the case, I’m a comparative expert.”

A hint of a smile touched his mouth, and he spun you, catching your waist back in his hand in a way that sent a shiver skittering up your spine. “You are well-outfitted for prospect stealing, then.”

You scowled up at him, catching a little indent at the corner of his mouth, like he was teasing you.

“My objective is not thievery,” you sniffed. “For the purposes of this season I am simply observing, like a naturalist.”

“And what have you observed?” he asked as he spun you into him again. He was so close you could feel rather than hear the end of his question.

“That there is nothing natural about it,” you said, catching a glimpse of a couple frowning mother-daughter pairs at the end of the dance floor. It made you want to curl into Lord Shouto–to hide from their calculating gaze–but of course he was the whole reason they were glaring.

You decided to take the opportunity to remind him there were better dance partners available, whatever his purpose for calling you out here. “And that I’m rather underqualified. Did you know my Latin is just as bad as my Greek?”

“Your interests must lie elsewhere, then,” Lord Shouto said, gazing down at you curiously. “What are your hobbies?”

How to tell a nobleman that you had almost none? Servitude did not leave much time for hobbies, except for when Camie had insisted to her mother she had absolutely ruined a gown and would need to borrow you for hours–only to surprise you with a tray full of snacks, a few lurid novels, and hours of gossip. You could also play a mean game of cards, but of course it would be improper to tell a gentleman that.

“They’re secret,” you told him.

A white eyebrow went up. “Hurling apricot cakes at unsuspecting gentlemen, perhaps?” he asked.

You sniffed and purposefully trod on his foot. “Only when they surprise me in dark rooms.”

“I believe you surprised me,” Lord Shouto said. “I’d thought you meant to spring a trap closed on me.”

You look up at him, perplexed—then flushed furiously when it dawned on you. No wonder he’d asked whether he was free to go! “You thought I’d meant to trap you in an indecency scandal when I’d never even met you?”

Lord Shouto blinked slowly. “It would have been a bold debut.”

You shook your head furiously. “Rest assured, I have no designs on marriage at this time. Even if I wanted–” You cut yourself off, horrified that you’d almost just let slip your predicament, to the most powerful of persons you meant to fool.

Lord Shouto looked curious and bent his head towards you. “Even if you wanted—?”

You shook your head, and a small frown marred the beauty of his perfect mouth. “I’m talking nonsense.”

“I like nonsense,” he said earnestly—his tone surprising you.

You were thankfully saved from having to respond by the song ending, forcing the two of you into genuflections across from one another. You quickly backed up, as if to leave the dancefloor, but Lord Shouto’s hand snapped out, catching your wrist.

“Perhaps you might tell me about it over another dance?” He asked, his tone low, almost intimate.

Your stomach churned. A horrible little part of you wanted to–had liked how strong he felt under your hands, how sure his hands were around your waist, how upsettingly beautiful his face was up close. But you would not say more. And Caroline had informed you just this afternoon that an invitation to share more than one dance indicated some interest.

You doubted Lord Shouto had any real interest in you–but you could ill afford to draw more attention to the Utsushimi family than you already had.

“I am afraid I am spoken for—” you started, and Lord Shouto’s mouth hitched at the corner.

“I don’t see Lord Scotchwaffles at present,” he said, stepping closer to you.

It brought his horribly beautiful face that much close to yours, and you panicked, searching for a solution.

A memory of Lord Shouto earlier this evening flashed past your eyes–the swooning maiden, whom he’d looked like he wanted to drop. You could see his blank, uncomfortable expression, the way he’d held her away from him in fairly overt distaste. It was clear he did not much appreciate the dramatic machinations of eager young ladies.

Well, you could afford a bruised tailbone in pursuit of your escape. Here went nothing.

You quickly fluttered your hand in front of you, clutching your side like you were winded. You let out a noise like a wounded animal gasping for breath. You caught Lord Shouto’s eyes widening before you pitched sideways, closing your eyes and bracing for impact.

But the impact never came–-instead you collided with something firm, but much softer than the hardwood. Your stomach jolted as you were suddenly shifted and two strong arms went under you, pulling you close to a warm, hard chest.

“Miss Utsushimi,” Lord Shouto’s deep voice resounded in your ear, sounding concerned. Your heart rate doubled, realizing he’d picked you up, and the swaying motion meant he was carrying you somewhere.

Seven hells, you’d not meant for him to catch you!

“Miss Utsushimi, are you well?” Lord Shouto’s voice came again, and you were gently deposited upright, onto something cushiony–a chair. Two warm hands roamed over you, and you peeked an eye open to catch sight of Lord Shouto’s attentive gaze on you. His hand came up to take your chin, tilting your face to his.

An entire conservatory of butterflies erupted in your stomach at the gentle touch. Those mismatched eyes roved over you with worry–and something shrewder, almost like intrigue.

“Are you well?” he asked again, as over his shoulder you could see a crowd beginning to form–Lady Asui and Miss Uraraka, Caroline and Mrs. Utsushimi.

“I–yes–the dance must have winded me,” you said, quickly supplying an excuse. “I’m alright. But I’m afraid I should not dance any more.”

Lord Shouto watched you for a moment longer, before something that was most definitely a knowing little smile touched the corner of his mouth. “Of course,” he said, a strange hitch like amusement in his voice.

You startled, disliking his unexpectedly warm reaction. The point had been to scare him off, not entertain him!

But then Mrs. Utsushimi was carving a path through the crowd with Caroline at her side. Caroline looked worried, but Mrs. Utsushimi could not have looked more put out with you had she tried, though she rallied a valiant cry of, “Camie! Are you alright? We’ll take you home at once.”

“Yes, yes, I’m quite alright,” you said again, quickly sitting up, which brought you in even closer proximity to Lord Shouto, who hadn’t moved.

And it was then, in that moment, with Lord Shouto leaning over you with his eyes glittering, that you thought you were perhaps not alright. With butterflies tickling your stomach, and all your nerves alight under his touch—you realized you were, in fact, the opposite of alright.

You were in trouble.

Horrible, terrible trouble—in the shape of one handsome duke, who was perhaps shaping up to be much more shrewd than you had expected.

[jerzwriter]

Thank you, Nonny, for this three-word ask. As someone who grew up in New York City and cities in New Jersey, the moment I saw your Trystan x Carolina prompt, I knew exactly what I wanted to do! I hope you enjoy this!

Book: Crimes of Passion Pairing: Trystan Thorne (M) x Carolina Rose (F!MC) Rating: Teen Words: 602, plus 2 text messages Summary: There's a blackout in New York City, and Trystan runs into some issues attempting to get home to Carolina.

A/N: This was just what I was looking for when I asked for 3 word asks! Just some light fun! Thanks so much for this, Nonny! Participating in @julychallenge Pink: Playfulness, Love, Fun Black: Seduction, Attraction,

Carolina lay atop her bed in her darkened room, with sweat dripping down her neck. It was only four PM, but the shades were drawn to keep the sun out as much as she could. She did her best to remain motionless—anything to help with the brutal heat. Heatwaves were never fun, but in New York City during a power outage? They were hell. She had been in the office when the lights flickered out, and Mafalda picked up her phone.

“Yep! Con Ed confirmed it, it's a blackout!”

“Ah, fuck,” Carolina groaned, tossing her pen across the desk. “Just what we need!”

“Yeah, well, with the heat as bad as it’s been, it was bound to happen sooner or later. At least it's still light out. Why don’t you head home? We can’t do anything here, and I’d prefer you were off the streets before dark.”

Carolina quickly took her up on the offer; she knew the chaos backouts could bring to the city and would be happy to avoid it. She text Trystan to fill him in.

Nearly an hour had passed, and despite her discomfort, she couldn't wait for Trystan to arrive. Suffering in this heat was not fun, but somehow, suffering together didn’t seem as bad.

A commotion on the street below caught her attention, and she jumped out of bed to see what was taking place. She peered out the window to find children laughing and running around a fire hydrant they had opened, spraying water everywhere. She smiled as she remembered the summers from childhood that she spent the same way. Her father would open the hydrant and then tell the children:

¡No les digas a los bomberos que un policía hizo esto! (Don't tell the firefighters a cop did this!)

Her phone beeped again, pulling her from her memories.

Carolina couldn’t help but laugh,  imagining Trystan impeccably dressed, now drenched from head to toe. When he knocked at her door, she rushed over to let him in. There he stood, water dripping from his normally well-coiffed hair, his designer clothes clinging to his frame. Carolina bit her lip to stifle a giggle, but when Trystan broke out laughing, she happily joined in.

“Well, this isn't quite how I envisioned my arrival,” he said, stepping inside.

Carolina shook her head, a grin spreading across her face. “You look ridiculous.”

He took her hands, pulling her close to him despite his dampened state.

“Ridiculous or not, I’m here. And so glad to be with you.”

She leaned into him, relishing the coolness of his wet clothes against her burning skin.

“I missed you too.”

Trystan looked around the darkened room. “So, back to our original discussion... what can we do without power?"

“I have a few ideas," she winked. "But first, let’s get you out of those clothes.”

“Wonderful!” He smiled, batting his eyelashes. “It sounds like we have the same idea!”

“No air conditioning, remember!”

“Lina,” he begged, gently trailing his tongue over her lips. “You’re not going to let a little thing like that get in our way, are you?”

“Of course not,” she smirked, taking his hand and leading him to the bathroom. “That’s why God created showers!”

“Shower sex!” He exclaimed. “I like it! Can we have another power outage tomorrow?”

Carolina pushed his back against the tile wall, her lips overtaking his as she turned the water on them – clothes on and all.

“That can be arranged,” she cooed.

For the remainder of the afternoon, the heat outside was nothing compared to the heat in Carolina's apartment.

@choicesficwriterscreations

Tagging others separately.

[ageofevermore]

MIDNIGHTS

SUMMARY — just after midnight, when the world fades away, it’s just you and natasha that remain. or, in other words, you can hear it in the silence, you can feel it on the way home, you can see it with the lights out. you are in love.

WARNINGS — mentions of canon aou events, mentions of wanda basically being your child, tooth rooting fluff that should be illegal. the main thing is just nats memories of the red room but it’s very brief

Her lips are softest in the space just after midnight, after the day has exhausted her muscles and softened her walls, and all that remains is the truest reflection of the woman you love. Her skin shimmers in the orange hue of your bedroom, almost like she’s straight out of twilight and hiding something supernatural from the world. Beads of water drip down her back, creating a patch of wetness on the t-shirt she’s clad in. She’ll change again before she buries herself in the covers beside you, but for now, reminisce of her shower are visible on her body. She doesn’t leave physical evidence of life on her person for others to see. Never a stain on her top from a mishap in the kitchen, or a tear in the seam of a t-shirt that got snagged by the washing machine you’ve been meaning to replace. Outside of this space, outside of you, she is entirely picture perfect. You hate to say you’re keen on keeping this part of her to yourself, the human part, the gentle part. The world has hurt her and done her wrong so many times, and yet she still lets you see the vulnerability that isn’t quite faded as much as she likes to preach.

You’ve been in bed for a few hours, nuzzled into the headboard with the heavy covers over your thighs, reading yet another book that Wanda recommended. Your fingers trace the raised mark on the back cover. Months ago, you’d bought the redheaded witch her own embosser, and she’d happily sat with you for hours as she talked about her favorites and her least favorites, and stamped every single one with pride she tried to hide and push down. Although the young Avenger never complained, she was like your Natasha in a way, and having something of her very own after having to share and scour for scrapes for so long was the very least of what she was entitled too. You’d give her the world if she let you, but she was still new to this, new to freedom, and just like Natasha, she needed time to adapt. She had recommended a romance book weeks ago, left it outside of your bedroom door with a dainty ribbon tied around it and a new fountain pen for you to scribble notes in the margins with, but with reports to complete and clinical trials to run, you were only getting around to it now, and you clung to every word you read wishing you had gotten to do this sooner. To have this time to yourself to be just, Y/N.

The light flickered on in your closet, dismantling the orange glow of your reading lamp. The change in brightness burnt for seconds that felt like minutes, but you adjusted before Natasha even had the time to speak an apology into the space. These moments between you both were quiet, but thick. You’d crossed paths after she defected, and had spent the last how ever many years curating a relationship that didn’t need spoken words to survive. When she moved one way you moved the other, it was just in the way you loved each other. You could read her as easily as you read the book in your hands, and it was a privilege you recognized and didn’t take for granted. The first few months of Natasha being at Shield were rough. She was sharp on her corners and transparent in her own body, and one too many times she had snapped on you for trying to help, but you did wear her down eventually. It wasn’t your looks that did that either, although Natasha claimed on many drunken nights that you were the spitting image of an angel on earth, but rather your patience and your repetition in guiding her to trust her gut and the feelings she was taught were weakness. The anger she’d thought she’d felt in the pit of her belly for months when in your presence, had turned out to be fear. Fear of loving you, of letting herself be human, of becoming more than just an assassin or a follower. You would never take for granted where you are now, because just thinking about how things had started provoked a sickness to gather in the back of your throat. You didn’t hate very many things, too soft-hearted and genuine to believe that people could be inherently bad, but god did you hate what had happened to her and the people who had a hand in breaking her down. But, you used that hatred to fill her with love, to show her a side of people she didn’t think actually existed outside of fairy tales.

The closet light switched off after a few silent minutes, and when Natasha re-emerged, she was fully dry and dressed in your old college t-shirt and boxers that you had ordered for her a few nights before. Still, she didn’t like to buy things for herself, no doubt a deeply embedded trauma response and conflicting feelings of whether she deserved the full human experience, but you had no problem supporting her needs, until you got her through it. You had no doubts that one day, she’d buy a new pack of boxers for herself when she needed them, or even something entirely ‘useless’ like house slippers or a plant pot. Something just for her to enjoy because she deserved that. It would be little steps to you, but monumental leaps to her, and you eagerly awaited those days.

The bed sank with her weight as she climbed in, shuffling impossibly close and resting her head on your midsection. Her hair was still damp, and would leave a patch of moisture on your top when she inevitably rolled away to a comfortable sleeping position, but you didn’t mind. You craved feelings of her left on your body, knowing she had been there and she was yours and she was safe. She smelt of your body wash, a sign that hers had run out, and your heart warmed. You’d share everything with her for the rest of your life if you could.

“Wanda recommend another book?” She yawned, sleep heavy in her voice. Her arm that wasn't pinned to your side wrapped around your middle, and cold fingers snuck beneath your shirt and traced patterns into your skin. You hummed, taking one hand off the paperback book in favor of running your fingers through her hair. “She’s read all the ones in her library by now.”

The first thing Wanda had ever owned was the complete set of Harry Potter, a gift from you after her first week in the compound. Losing a family member wasn’t easy, losing your brother and moving in with strangers you fought against was even harder. She needed a distraction, and books had always been your preferred method. Something so intoxicating about falling into a world that wasn’t anything like yours, and letting any problems or stress fade away into background noise for a few hours. Wanda had loved Harry Potter, especially seeing as she had her own magic, and for a few weeks she’d cheekily repeat spells she’d read and twist scarlet wiggly-woos around in the air. Seeing how easily she relaxed when she was talking about a reality outside of the one she was stuck in was the only encouragement you needed to buy her more. Natasha suggested a few books too, though she’d asked you not to tell Wanda that. Her walls were high around the newbie, but there was no lack of love and understanding. To Wanda, trading books was your own little thing, but Natasha’s fingerprints were pressed into the spine of the hobby endearingly.

“Last I heard she ordered a new one was a few weeks ago, so she’s definitely finished it by now. We should get her more, Steve said she’s been excelling in training when I saw him last.” In the first few months of adjusting, encouragement was essentially gold, and showering Wanda in it felt like something you were meant to do. Natasha’s lips twitched, and she turned her nose into your side and nuzzled you sweetly.

“We don’t need a reason to get her new books, but I’m sure she’d appreciate a reminder that she’s doing well.” She taunted easily, loving the way that you cared for Wanda like she was your own. Admittedly, she had been apprehensive about the witch in the first few days of her being at the compound, rightfully so after being hurdled into memories of the red room and all the red in her ledger she was trying to wipe out, but you’d never harbored any negative feelings. You’d always just seen the broken little girl beneath a sharp exterior desperate to curate her own path and do good. The two of you weren’t sure if you’d ever expand your family, entirely content with it just being the two of you for right now, but Natasha would be a liar if she said it didn’t make her heart feel like liquid seeing how much you cared about the teenager.

“When are you going to tell her that yourself?” You questioned, deciding that you’d pick up the reading another time, and setting the book on your nightstand in favor of providing your girlfriend with your full attention. You hadn’t seen much of her in recent days, no thanks to her mission debriefs and training sessions as well as your own hectic schedule that just seemed to keep getting busier. “She looks up to you, Nat.”

Battling with the words she wanted to say, and trying to understand the feelings she’d not given much thought, there was an easy beat of silence before Natasha answered. “I know she saw some of what I did that night. Of the red room I mean. When we assessed her capabilities, it was something she mentioned briefly; that she could go into people's minds with them. I’m not– or I wasn’t somebody to look up to then. I see how much she clings to what I tell her, and… I want it to be right. I don’t want to say something half-assed when it means so much. To both of us. I see so much of myself in her from when I defected. What Clint said when he brought me in, it was perfect. She deserves the same.”

“When you’re ready, and you’ve figured out how to say it, it’s going to mean so much to her. I see a lot of her in your, not just from when you defected, but you’ve both got these iron walls built up. I think it would do both of you some good if you let each other in. She’s a sweet kid, Nat, and you don’t give yourself enough credit for how much impact your words have, anything you say will be perfect.” A lingering kiss was pressed into the crown of her head, and the arm around your middle tightened impossibly before it relaxed and she rolled away completely.

Voice thick with emotion she didn’t have the energy to confront, a gentle hint of Russian painted her words like it did most nights. Midnights were your favorite. Midnights were the only time when she let herself be the bruised Russian she hid away in the darkness and nothing more. “Can we lay down now? I just want to hold you and not think about how I have to train with Clint tomorrow morning.”

A breathy laugh shook your ribcage, “I’ll have to stop by at some point. Hopefully he doesn’t end up in a headlock again. Laura wasn’t too happy about that last time.”

Natasha grumbled lowly, pulling you down on the bed and into her arms just after you turned the reading lamp off, intending on wasting no more time than what had already slipped by. The hours the both of you were able to sleep were decreasing the longer you sat talking. “He shouldn’t have shot me with his stupid suction cup arrow then.”

“You had a red mark on your chest for hours.” You remembered fondly, pressing the tip of your nose into her. The curve in the bridge of your nose fits perfectly in hers, like a puzzle with only two pieces. Her lips puckered to peck yours before they relaxed, just resting easily against yours, and the remnants of her favorite chapstick was smooth between you. “It’ll be my turn to yell at him if he marks you up again. I should be the only one doing that.”

Despite her amusement, sleep was beginning to pull Natasha away from you. “Less talking, more sleeping.” She demanded, words only getting thicker with hints of russian as she let herself go and truly escaped everything that she’d done in the day.

“Goodnight, Natalia.” You pecked her lips with a purpose before you shuffled around and twisted so your back was flush against her chest, melting into her arms as they wrapped around you protectively. Over a decade out of the red room and she was still terrified of somebody taking you away from her in her most vulnerable moments, but it wasn’t something you’d ever complain about, feeling safe in her strong grip.

“Goodnight, дорогой.”

And within seconds, the both of you were asleep.

[chimivx]

ghosting ↠ txt

now playing ↠ "slut!" • taylor swift

He left you with letters. Envelopes that took you five years to finally read, acknowledge. They take you back through your past, forcing you to make moves not only for yourself, but for your family, for your children… His children.

part one of six ~ masterlist

word count ↠ 2573 warnings ↠ (same for all parts) 18+. mentions of drugs, alcohol, smoking. swearing. explicit sexual content. these people have kids, there’s family talk, pregnancy talk. absent dad, messy family ties. stepsib shit, stepcest. infidelity. if any of these things bother you, please keep scrolling. if i missed anything PLEASE let me know!! a/n ↠ the beginning of the end... <3 this has been a wild ride. I love these people. thank you for the support. xo if you're new, please click the masterlist to read about all thats happened to these people before you start here... trust me. <3 posted ↠ 6/6/24 ~ 9:06 p.m. est

 ~ may 2015 ~

Soft rumpled blankets beneath you, a plethora of colors warming your half bare body as you rested against the mismatched pillows thrown along the headboard, some having toppled onto the floor just over an hour ago, you waited. Hair ruffled, a mess courtesy of the boy in the kitchen, you didn’t bother to fix it while you twirled your fingers together, judging your chipped pastel blue polish in the light leaking in from the hallway. 

His room was half the size of the one in your house, not that you’ve seen it recently, you’ve been waking up between the sheets underneath you for the last few weeks. The bed was perfectly placed in the center, big enough to take up most of the space, each end table fitting satisfyingly beside it. A closet was tucked into the wall across from you, just right of the door that creaks when it's moved. 

It was truly the sweetest home. A story high, built in the seventies, the outside was half mint green siding and red brick, the front door stuck on the side of the brick hidden from the street. A single window on the front, one that looked into the kitchen, was a total change from the home you grew up in. Everything was close together, all the furniture, all the clutter. It was lived in. It was homey. And with all the time you spent there, the hominess grew.

There was a living area beside the kitchen, a step or so down to the couches that came from his mothers basement, cozy brown ones she was holding onto until he moved. A wooden coffee table from his best friend's older sister, once covered by his textbooks and notes that now shared the surface space with cases of your favorite movies from home and magazines you scribbled in. 

A piece of you lingering behind when you’d leave. 

Everything would be the way you left it when you came back. The extra pair of shoes kicked off by the front door, the shuffled magazines on the tables with the pen still saving the page you left off on, a sweatshirt slung over a kitchen chair, hair ties on his bedroom floor, a tube of mascara behind the faucet in his bathroom. Preserving your presence. A place for you to unapologetically take up space. 

Safety.

Across the short, skinny hall was another room, a second bedroom flipped into some sort of office space. A bookshelf was shoved to one corner and a desk in the other. Walking in there was like walking into a minefield, bits of school covered every inch, his and hers. Though your little square inch of space couldn’t compare to his mountains. Now that your two years were over, you were ready to burn whatever you had stored in that room.

“Okay, here we go.” His voice was light, yet deep, and even more so comforting. Carrying two wine glasses in his knobby fingers, his tall, slender figure appeared in the doorway with a smile. That smile.

Messy hair, smooth, cream colored skin, glasses perched on his button nose… You could climb him, and you wanted to, and you have. He was yours, the boy rounding the bed, Soobin belonged to you, all of him, not just the parts no one got to see. He was yours, and he was proud of it.

Shirtless, he sat on the edge of the mattress and moved closer to you, smirking at the shirt that hung down over your hips. “That’s my favorite.” Handing over one of the glasses, he snuck a kiss to your cheek.

Looking down at yourself, the acid washed Deadman Wonderland t-shirt you slipped on with Shiro’s face on the front of it made you laugh. It was worn, something he bought back when the anime aired. Tipping your chin back, you took the glass and smized. “It’s my favorite. You nerd.”

Sipping his wine, he almost blew it out of his glass. “Nerd?!” You answered with a nod. Soobin laughed, shaking his head, letting you tuck yourself into his side. Slipping an arm around you, he tousled his fingers through your hair before his hand settled on your hip. “I seem to remember you loving Ganta.”

“I do love Ganta,” you said, gazing up at him. 

Soobin sipped from his glass, his tongue poking between his lips for a second as he took you and your bare face in. “I love you.”

Three words you haven’t heard tumble from a boy's mouth in ages. Taking a deep breath, your cheeks flushing, heart skipping a beat, you blinked. Soobin smiled. It was the first time either of you had said it.

“I mean it,” he continued, eyes aglow with know. “These last few weeks I’ve…” He paused to shake his head, a shy laugh coming out of him. “I’ve felt it, and I know, I know, that this had the possibility to… scare you, but, I had to tell you. You don’t have to say it just because I did, I just-”

“Soobin,” you whispered. Shoving your glass of wine, that you haven’t touched, into his hand, you moved away from him for a brief moment. Feet tucked under you, you dragged your hands through your hair and took another breath. Part of you felt like crying. He was serious, you knew he was serious, you could tell he was serious. It’s Soobin for god's sake, the boy’s never told a lie in his life.

There was a sound behind you, him putting the glasses down, then he shifted on the bed and you felt it, his hands on your shoulders. Digging his fingers into your muscle, his lips pressed the softest kiss to the base of your neck.

With a breath, you shook your head. “How?”

He laughed quietly, and you felt him shrug. “Don’t do that to yourself.”

“I’m serious,” you said, turning around. Soobin’s hands dropped to your knees. Tilting his head he withheld a smile, fingers dancing gently over your skin. “How do you… How?”

The corner of his lips finally tipped up, his gaze positively driving you crazy. Nerd or not, the boy knew what to do. “How do I what?” 

Sighing, you closed your eyes. This was what he did. Communication. Clear communication. Looking at him, you whispered, “How do you love me?”

With the way Soobin’s beguiling gaze fell you would’ve thought the last ten years were splayed upon your face for him to see. Your past tugged at your heart, threatened tears into your eyes and yanked you further from Soobin in this moment more than you’d thought it would.

These words were bound to come up at some point, you’ve been seriously dating for almost an entire year. If you went off the date he first asked, it would be in two days, partially why you were sharing a special night together, to celebrate an anniversary of sorts, as well as your graduation. Fitting he’d save this for tonight.

“I’m serious,” he said. “Don’t do this to yourself.” Lifting a hand to touch your cheek, he hesitated and waited for you to nod, then touched you. He drug his thumb over your cheekbone, brushing away a tear. “Remember what I’ve told you. You’ve come so far, you’ve done great things for yourself. None of what you went through defines the kind of person you are. You are far from unworthy, you are deserving of everything great, everything beautiful and wonderful.”

Placing a hand on top of his, you laced your fingers together and watched him speak, letting his words patch up what they didn’t break. You wish you could say this was the first time he’s had to say something like this.

“You are worthy, and loved. I will never let you forget that. I’m also telling you the truth when I say that I love you. I love you a lot.” Biting onto his bottom lip, he studied your hands woven together on your lap and started to smile. “When you ask me ‘how’, I can’t explain it. You’re exceptional. You’re so kind, and entirely too cute. You’re smarter than me most days, and the way you love things is just… Overwhelming, in the best way.”

Gulping, you breathed and squeezed his fingers. “Not… smarter than you,” you mumbled. 

Soobin scoffed, scooting closer to you. “Are you kidding? You can figure things out faster than I can, my brain takes two to three business days to compute information. You’re wicked fast. You’re quick, you’re a fast thinker.”

Because I used to be sneaky, you thought. Because I was hiding the biggest secret and had to be quick on my feet.

He dropped his chin to meet your eyes that had fallen. “What are you thinking about?” After you shrugged, he said, “You can tell me.” After you shook your head, he said, “Nothing you say will make me-” Love you less.

You could see it all playing out.

Shying away from his touch, you rolled over on the bed and sat on the edge, staring down at the wooden floorboards.

Behind you, Soobin whispered, “Too much, got it.”

Not one bit of it was derogatory. He didn’t even mean for you to hear it. He was good at that, using the good tones when he spoke. You noticed this was something he’d been doing over the year you’ve spent with him. He’d pick up on these moments and save them, log them in his memory, learn from them, and know how to move forward. 

And he has the nerve to say you’re smarter than him.

You were nothing more than an observant, sneaky, slithery snake. A skill that sickened you. How an honest man like Soobin could sit here and tell you he loved you baffled you.

Beneath the guilt, the excitement bubbled. Beneath the, you think, fear? A small part of you was kicking it’s feet. He told you that he loves you. The cutest boy, the sweetest boy, the boy who almost tops every boy you’ve had in bed, the boy who brings you snacks when you’ve forgotten to eat, the boy who tries his hardest to get along with your parents, the boy who tells you day after day how important you are to him…

The boy who didn’t shame you when you told him bits of your past. The boy who keeps the alcohol in his home in an unknown spot, because he cares about you. The boy who has let you sleep over night after night, clinging to him in your sleep, finding sanctuary here beneath his roof instead of your own.

The boy whose brows shot up as you took your time turning around on the bed to face him. He didn’t reach for you, he didn’t say anything. He allowed you to do what you needed to do, he let you go. Everything Soobin did was for you. Never once, in your year of togetherness, did he force you to do anything, did he tell you what to do. All of your choices were your own, freewill. 

As fast as he made the face he pushed it away, not wanting any of his reactions to persuade you to do a thing. His lips rested in that always smile, and his hand took yours as you reached for one of his. Taking a deep breath, you nodded, studying the way your fingers fit between his perfectly. His long, knobby fingers complimenting your own. A perfect match.

“I… I love you too, Soobin,” you whispered. His lips parted. The gentle sigh that fell from them was clearly an accident, one he attempted to backtrack on.

“Hang on, I-”

You cut him off, smiling, letting go of his hand. Climbing into his lap he protested and took his hands to your shoulders. 

“No, I do,” you breathed, slinging your arms around his shoulders. Chest to chest, you kissed the tip of his nose and giggled as his cheeks flushed pink. “Don’t try to stop me from saying it. How could I not?” 

His brown eyes were alive, sparkling, gazing at you in awe. He really wasn’t expecting you to say it back, to mean it, to be so serious about it. 

Everything you’ve shared, everything you’ve done, everything you’ve told him about, it all lived between you in this moment. The past, both of yours, the damage you’ve both endured. When he opened up to you about growing up with a struggling single mother, having to grow up way too fast. The night you cried in his lap on his couch and told him all about Taehyun while he drug his fingers through your hair, letting you speak your truth. 

Taehyun, the fucked up, weird, emotional and physical cheating with Beomgyu, the drugs, how you never knew your father, the night at the club…

Over the last year he’s heard it all, and he’s opened up to you about so much more. And here you both were, holding onto one another, not judging each other for it. Choosing to love one another despite the depth of your shadows. 

“I’m so proud of you,” Soobin whispered, his hands slipping up the back of his t-shirt you wore. “For everything,” he continued before you questioned his words, and you usually would. “I know it’s been hard, especially these last few months, but look at what you’ve done. For yourself.” He paused while you took a deep breath. His eyes were locked on yours, making sure you were hearing every single word he spoke and every unspoken intent within them. “You did that. You.”

Not your mother. Not Taehyun. Not the people who’ve tried to hold you back from living a life you deserved. A happy one, a peaceful life.

You got that here. Wrapped up in Soobins arms, closing the space between your lips, kissing him roughly with an audible sigh, you got a peaceful life here. Falling backward onto the sheets with him as he let you take the lead, tugging down the waist of his sweats, you got the happy life here. 

The make-believe fantasy you once dreamed of, the privacy, the escape, the safety… You got it. This was where you were meant to be.

10/7/2019

.…If I can be brutally honest about all of it, I’m terrified. I mean, this is ridiculous, what the fuck am I supposed to do? Don’t read the bad words, ignore those, don’t use bad words. I use them when I can’t think of anything else to say, and truthfully, right now, I don’t know what else to say. Or do, for that matter. I don’t know what to do. I can’t even talk to my mom about it, and shit, she’d know exactly what to say, she always did. She was the best, and, yanno, I don’t know what’s gonna happen here, but if someday you find yourselves here with me, I’m sick that you’ll never have known her. But, you guys, I mean, shit, you guys have the best mom. The most selfless person I’ve ever met in my life. I know she’ll love you forever, and always. Take care of her, please. Love her. Love her with every bit of your heart, because I know she’ll love you with every bit of her own. You’ll never feel a love more true than hers….

☼ AO3 | wattpad | support | share with me ☼

thank you so much for reading. <3

[bluesylveon2]

And At Last I See the Light

This is my entry for the @merotwst and @cvlutos' contest. Also, I heard that it was your birthday, so happy birthday to @merotwst!!! Thank you for answering all of my questions, even though I started writing his a few days ago. I hope you like this fic I word vomited wrote based on "I See the Light" from Tangled (it's my favorite Disney song and it screamed Jamil) 😁

Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.

Note: Reader is referred to as "the Prefect" and is female, set during Book 5 (let's pretend that Jamil can sneak and the snow has melted some), and lots of symbolism

Word Count: 1246

Warnings: not beta read, possible OOC characters, and lots of exposition in the beginning

Jamil was used to being below Kalim. No matter if it was in studies, exercises, or games, Kalim had to outshine him in it all. If Kalim was a warm sunny day in the summer, then Jamil was a cold dark night in the winter. 

Everyone preferred the summer, just as everyone preferred Kalim. 

No one looked Jamil’s way. No one asked about how he felt. No one wanted to spend their days in the moonlight when they could sleep until sunrise. In short, no one wanted him to shine his light on them. In turn, Jamil was blinded by the sun that he could not see the world around him. The male was subjected to dreaming about a life where he was free.  

When Jamil saw his life become stagnant, he was determined to change it. The air became colder, and the night was longer when Jamil enacted his plan. Unfortunately, his plan was ruined by the Ramshackle Prefect, her cat monster, and the annoying Octanvielle trio. 

Life after the incident had slightly improved. He still served Kalim, but the Housewarden started seeing him as equal despite their positions. Jamil would not say it aloud, but it was a small step in the right direction. 

Another change included his relationship with the Prefect. The two had gotten on friendlier terms after he made up for trapping her and Grim in Scarabia and dealing with his overblot (read: he made a big apology meal for her and helped with anything she asked). The two had become even closer during the VDC training camp. 

It was during the time when the snow began to melt, and after everyone was asleep, was when the Prefect would stargaze outside the dorm. However, all except one was asleep the first time it happened. Jamil, having to be constantly alert in case an assassin was nearby, woke up to the sound of a creaking floor down the hall. He grabbed his magical pen and followed a dark shadow heading out of the dorm. He maintained a reasonable distance from the figure until the moonlight hit the figure’s frame. Jamil realized that the person he followed was the Prefect all along. An average person would immediately turn around and go back to sleep, but his feet moved automatically, and he joined her instead.

That night, Jamil had stayed up for hours getting to know the Prefect without using a fake persona or with no ill intentions. The Prefect treated him like she had known him for a long time. She had even defended him when Vil questioned Jamil’s eyebags that morning. Usually, Jamil would have told the truth, but he enjoyed spending alone time with the Prefect. He learned more about the Prefect’s world and her love of stargazing. In turn, the Prefect learned about different places Jamil wanted to see. 

Their nightly stargazing continued during his time at the training camp. After a few nights, Jamil realized how blind he was about everything. 

All his days were spent watching outside the windows of Kalim’s house. All of the years of the world moving, he yearned to see it. He never knew if anyone would look his way or ask anything about him, yet that person was in front of him all along. That person was sitting beside him, basking in the moonlight, retelling a story about an incident regarding her friends and the Heartslabyul Housewarden. It was when she laughed that Jamil saw everything clearly. His heartbeat increased, his body felt light, and he began to think about the Prefect more throughout the day. Jamil realized that night that he would follow the Prefect to the ends of the world. He wanted to show her the world because he knew she was where he was meant to go.

When the Prefect first arrived at Twisted Wonderland, she dreamed of when she would finally return to her world. Her mind was focused on going home and initially tried to ignore the world around her. However, she began to doubt her dream after meeting Grim, ADeuce, and the other NRC students. One person who stood out to her was Jamil Viper. Her perspective of him changed after the incident in Scarabia. She forgave him after everything because she saw his true self and how amazing and talented he was. The Prefect never looked down on him or saw him as average. She treated him as an equal.

Now, as the Prefect lay on the soft blanket at a short distance next to the male in question, she realized something as they stared at the twinkling stars in content silence. During her months of staying in this world, of her blindly hoping for the better, she grew to love how things were. The Prefect had love from her friends, entertainment from the Ramshackle ghosts, and support from her professors. Most importantly, she had Jamil. Although Kalim was the sun personified, she always noticed Jamil despite him staying in the shadows. Now, everything seemed crystal clear; she saw him. He was a light that felt warm and real, like sunshine on a summer day. 

“Hey, Jamil?” The Prefect turned to the raven-haired male, and he hummed in response. “What is your favorite season?”

Jamil raised an eyebrow and turned his head to the Prefect, “what’s with the sudden question?”

The Prefect turned to stare into Jamil’s gray eyes, “I’m just curious. So what is it?”

“Summer, because summers in the Scalding Sands are nice. It is also a good time to take a vacation.”

The Prefect chuckled, “You deserve one, Jamil.”

Jamil nodded in agreement, “What is your favorite season?”

“Definitely winter.”

Jamil raised an eyebrow, “Really? Why?”

“Well, there is snow and lots of fun holidays. The nights are longer too. In summer, the nights are short, so the moon is not out for long,” The Prefect looked up at the bright full moon, “In winter, the moon is out longer, like now. I like to use that time to look up and stare at it. I prefer it more than the sun. Besides-” The Prefect glanced at Jamil, “Don’t you think the moon looks beautiful tonight?”

Jamil felt his breath hitch. He could not explain it, but the Prefect’s words seemed to impact him unexpectedly. Jamil thanked the darkness for covering up his blush, and he prayed that she could not hear his rapid heartbeat. 

Meanwhile, the Prefect was having an internal battle about her boldness. Jamil may not know the implications behind her words, but she meant everything. She would focus on spending time with him and let him see another day.  

“Yeah. It really is,” The Prefect’s eyes widen due to Jamil’s voice sounding closer than before. She turned her head and was face to face with him, with his eyes staring straight at her. Both had red faces.

They stared at each other like it was their first time seeing the light. Their hidden feelings began to reveal as if the fog around them had lifted, the sky was anew, and the world shifted to focus on them. No one knew whose hands moved first, but Jamil had one hand on the Prefect’s cheek while both of her hands cupped his face. They moved closer until their lips barely touched each other. 

Now they saw each other as a new light grew between them. The two people complimented each other like summer and winter, or the sun and the moon.

A/N: I'm kinda proud of it although I wish I started later. Again, I hope you liked it @merotwst. Jamil is my favorite character so I hope I did him justice!

©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.

[kedreeva]

on the topic of peafowl play, would/do peafowl enjoy those pet puzzle toys? would they have the patience or interest to complete 1 outside of food motivation? i don't know why but i always imagine peafowl as the brilliant but lazy types and i wonder if that headcanon of mine has any plausibility lol

I gave my peafowl one of those chicken treat puzzles (this one) which they are supposed to peck/scratch at and roll around, which drops scratch grain slowly on the ground and gives them something to do until it is empty. It's basically two yellow bowls bungee-corded together by a single cord on the inside, anchored at that little black nub. You fill one half, and then "seal" it as a ball- but it's not clipped together or anything, just bungee tension holds it together.

I set it down for Aris for the first time, and rolled it so she could see it had scratch in it that would fall out. She pecked it once, examined it for roughly 10 seconds, and then grabbed it by the little black nub, and shook the hell out of it, bursting it open and flinging scratch all over the pen. She dropped it and everyone went about their business eating the scratch.

I taught Eris how to press buttons to "speak" to me; she had a few treat buttons, a food button, a water button, and some Word word buttons like "want" and "Eris" and "yes" and "no." She used them to argue with me and make fun of me for forgetting to put water in her wet food one day.

I gave Bug toilet paper rolls with holes cut in them, stuffed with paper towels and superworms. She learned to pull the paper towel out almost immediately. She gets a bowl of fresh foods when she goes into her pen in the mornings, and it started with me walking in and coaxing or carrying her in. Now she goes and waits on the perch where I put the bowl. I give anything leftover she didn't eat to the barn crew, so when I go to collect her in the evening, Polaris and Opal are usually waiting on the table where I put the bowl.

I bring Artemis indoors to do paintings with her, and she knows the order is indoors->bath->dry off->painting+treats, so if I bring her in, and she gets a bath, and I wait too long in the drying off, she will start scolding me until we start painting.

If I let the birds out of their pens, they get free range time while I'm outside. When I call "hup hup!" loudly and repeatedly, they all start walking back to the coops. Many of them know up commands. Artemis and Bug have both learned to put their trains up if I ask (and that's a no-treat trick, they just do it). Beep knew "ask nicely" when she wanted something (which is what led to me training Eris with the buttons), so she would scrape her beak on me if she wanted something. Beep also played with a lot of different toys.

I guess the point is that they are pretty smart birds, given a chance and good circumstances. They can be incredibly stupid, too, but the majority of them are pretty smart most of the time. But they don't have a lot of patience for things that are not either immediately rewarding or that they choose to focus on. Beep once spent an hour trying to get the button off my jeans, but if you offer Bug a mouse and move it away before she can get it, she'll usually just stop caring. If you give a treat to one bird, they might snub it, but they'll kill a man for it if someone else gets it and acts like it's good.

So COULD they become interested in a pet puzzle and possibly solve one? Maybe? It really just depends on what's in it for them, and/or how interested someone else is, and/or if they think it's their idea. They don't really have a lot of grabbing strength in their beaks, so that factors in, too. They do NOT like to peck hard things.

They DO like to destroy stuff though. If you could make an edible tissue box, they would absolutely lose their shit about it. Every peafowl I've ever owned LOVES tearing tissues out of a tissue box and ripping tissues to shreds to try to eat. Don't know what that's about. Leftover raptor instincts to disembowel things, I guess.

[george-weasleys-girl]

Hi sweets! Could you write a fic on it being Halloween at Hogwarts, and reader is spending it with her besties Fred and George pulling pranks on everyone, and also causing trouble along the way as always? One evening, reader is in detention with Umbridge for calling her out on defending her father Remus, after Umbridge said he was a rubbish teacher and reader went ballistic, with everyone backing her up, when she's on her way back to the common room, looking at her arm where Umbridge marked her (even though she doesn't feel pain it annoys her and Umbridge gets more annoyed she doesn't seem to be affected by pain) , she bumps into the twins looking for her when she's heading back to the common room. Maybe Fred admits his feelings for reader when they sneak out after dark.

A Halloween to Remember

Warnings: a few curse words

~•~

"Is this gonna scar?" Y/N looked at her arm and then glared up at Umbridge, who, for the second time that day, looked as if her head might explode.

~•~

Leave it to Umbridge to ruin a perfectly good day. The first half of the day had been spent with your two besties, Fred and George Weasley, setting off Halloween pranks all over the school.

Then, you had Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Pink Toad. And of course, Umbridge decided today was a great day to insult your dad. You'd spent your whole life listening to people make fun of him or put him down because he was a werewolf. Remus had always told you to just "let it go." You did your best to do that, for his sake. But Umbridge was a different matter altogether.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY MY DAD WAS A RUBBISH TEACHER, YOU SENTIENT MENSTRUAL CRAMP!"

The entire class had been yelling along with you, but as soon as that came out of your mouth, the room fell silent. Then somebody snorted, and everyone lost it, doubling over in laughter.

Except for you.

You waited with bated breath for the professor's head to explode.

But, alas, it did not.

And now you sat in her office writing, "I will not insult teachers" one bazillion times.

After about a half hour, Umbridge slammed the book she was reading down on her desk, causing you to practically jump out of your skin. "What's wrong with you?" You asked, the words spilling out your mouth before you could stop yourself.

"What's wrong with me??" Umbridge screeched. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" You leveled your eyes at her.

"Look at your arm, girl!"

You looked at your arm. Nothing.

"The other one!" The Pink Toad grabbed your other arm and shoved it in your face.

Oh.

What the fuck?

"I will not insult teachers," was carved into your skin, blood seeping from the wound.

"How the - " you began, but saw Umbridge's eyes flicker to the pen she forced you to write with.

Seriously?

You tossed it on the floor as if it were a piece of rotting food.

Fucking sadistic bitch.

You glared up at Umbridge.

"Is this gonna scar?"

~•~

"Oi! Y/N!" Fred's voice startled you out of your reverie. You turned to see him and George running down the hall toward you. "We were looking - " Fred's started, but then he saw your arm.

"Y/N, what the hell did she do to you?" George asked, holding your arm like it would shatter at any moment.

"It was my punishment," you shrugged.

"I'll fucking kill her," Fred hissed, his hands curling into fists.

"It's no big deal, Freddie," you coaxed. "You know I can't feel most pain."

"I don't care!" Fred's voice echoed off the stone walls. "The fucking bitch is gonna pay!"

"Yes, she will." You took one of his fists in your hands, massaging it until he relaxed his fingers. "But I have a much better idea than homicide."

~•~

You and Fred leaned on each other, laughing until your sides ached. The two of you had snuck outside after releasing your vengeance on Umbridge.

"I just wish I could see her face," you said after reigning yourself under control.

"Me too," Fred chuckled. "Conjuring up twenty fake kittens that fart dung bombs and setting them loose in her office was pure genius."

"Why, thank you, Master Frederick," you grinned, giving a flourishing bow.

"I'm serious, Y/N." Fred took both your hands in his. "I love how your mind works."

Your heart skipped a beat. Where was he going with this? He was never this sentimental, but you didn't dare let yourself hope. Not yet.

"I know this is really abrupt," he continued. "But I've been thinking for a while that we make a great team, you and I. And we've been best friends forever, it seems. And I... um... I was wondering if, you know, you'd like to maybe try being more?"

"More?" You stood frozen in place.

"Yeah, like, maybe my girlfriend?"

You swayed a little, your mind swirling like a whirlwind as you tried to process how today had gone from being one of the crappiest days of your life to the absolute best. "You want me to be your girlfriend?"

Fred let go of your hands to cup your face. "Yeah. I've liked you as more than a friend for a long time, Y/N. And I've finally worked up the courage to tell you. So, what do you say?"

"I like you as more than a friend, too." You smiled. "I'd love to be your girlfriend."

Fred's smile lit up the night. "Really?"

"Yes, really." You nodded, giggling at his giddiness.

"So, does that mean I can kiss you now?"

"Of course it does. Any time, any place." You grinned and met him halfway.

~•~

@milivanili99 @fancy-pantaloons @turvi @zvummyummy @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @georgie-weasley @nighttimemoonlover @jsjcue @wzrd-wheezes @fredweasleyyyyy @hufflepuffie @alexistonks @anvaaryn @samshifts @asuperconfusedgirl @superduckmilkshake @mysticsheepsoul @gemofthenight @1lellykins @junerprsh @sierraluvz @wolfkill16 @smallsweetvanillabean @costheticbabe @charmedfandomgal @hanne-montana @rhunew @greenapplegrass @lizzytrees @spididerman @Havenater1920 @jelloangela @whotfskai @netflix-addict @lunacurlclaw

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias x Black Reader - The Bodyguard Part 3/8

Summary - Reader is a popstars in trouble and Ruben is her new bodyguard, here to protect and help her find out who wants to hurt her. But what happens when the relationship between Reader and Ruben simply gets too personal?

Enjoy!

"What were you thinking? Y/N, have you completely lost your fucking mind?"

Your hungover crippled every part of your body except for your ears. The tounge lashing you received from your sister did nothing to mend your headache.

"Please can I have a day off." She said, mocking your voice. "My ass! A party. I tell you to lay low and you end up going to a party?"

Your hands went to cup your ears, having heard enough of the noise. Your sister had always been great at lecturing you. She basically raised you since you were kids.

"And you lost your phone on top of that, how great."

"And you..."

She turned to Ruben who stood in the corner, observing the ongoing dispute in the living room.

"Where were you? I thought you were a professional. My sister could have gotten hurt last night."

"It's not his fault." You muttered.

"Damn right it's not, it's yours! Now I've got to cancel important meetings today just to fix the mess you made with the press." She grabbed her purse on the go. "Whatever you do Y/N, don't leave the apartment until I get back alright?"

You nodded. "Fine I won't. I fucked up, I get it. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologies to me, I'm not the one who spent all night cleaning up your vomiting."

As your sister stormed out of the apartment you closed your eyes and sighed. There where a few tears that escaped your eyes, perhaps because you were generally stressed about everything going on in your life.

"I'll be in my room if you need me." Ruben said, leaving you alone in the living room. He was giving you the cold shoulder as well, perhaps because you made his job very difficult the other night. You bet that none of the Dubai sheiks had him clean up their vomit all night.

Determined not to waste the day away, you dragged yourself back to your room. You had the equipments to do your song writing in there, as well as record some of them. You had no problems writing your own songs and for the most part you really enjoyed it. The magic of your music often came to life during isolated moments, and locking yourself in your room seemed like the perfect way to salvage the day. With a cup of black coffee to battle the hangover, you took a seat on your bed and started to dive deep into your thoughts. Hours of solitude passed as you poured your emotions onto paper. Every lyric, every melody, was carefully crafted, capturing the essence of your late experiences. The pain, the joy, the excitement, all woven into a beautiful tapestry of art.

Oblivious to the world outside your room, you sang softly, letting your voice fill the empty space. You barely noticed that the door creaked open, revealing Ruben standing in the doorway. Silently, he observed you from a distance, only knocking on the door to gain your attention once he thought you were done with whatever you were doing.

"Yes?" You looked up from your notebook, suprised to see him there, watching you.

He cleared his throat. "Maria, your chef...."

"Yes?"

"She's leaving in an hour, shall I tell her to prepare you somthing before she goes?"

"Oh." You turned to the window, the sun was setting on the horizon outside. All day had gone by without your knowledge.

"Um...no thanks, tell her I'm okay."

You went back to your pen and paper. However you couldn't help but notice how the door never shut. Looking up, Ruben was still standing in the doorway, watching you.

"Yes?" You frowned.

"You should eat something." His throat moved when he swolled.

"But I'm not hungry."

His eyebrow twitched, followed by an expression impossible to read. He nodded his head but remained steadfast. "You should eat something anyways."

"Ruben, you can't tell me what to..."

"Dehydration is a known cause of death."

"I'm not dehydrated."

Ruben nodded uttering a faint, "Understood." He then left the doorframe, returning downstairs.

You tried to pick up on your songwriting after that, however, a plaguing guilt stirred your abdomen.

"Fuck me." You sighed, chucking your song writing things aside, heading downstairs.

"Senhora."

You entered the kitchen seeing Ruben and your chef Maria deep in conversation. Their eyes widened at the sight of you.

"Am I too late, is there still a chance that you can cook me somthing to eat?"

Maria looked not to comprehend. She turned to Ruben, who to your suprise, spoke to her in a different language, the two of them understanding each other.

"She says, what would you like to eat?" Ruben translated. Apparently he spoke Brazilian.

"I'll have whatever." You said, gesturing to Maria.

She smiled, grabbing her apron and tugging it over her head.

You took a seat around the kitchen island, watching Maria bring out everything she needed from the fridge and so on.

"You changed your mind." Ruben said, resting his elbows before you. His biceps clenched as he did.

"You were right, I should eat something, anything."

Ruben nodded. "Good."

You chuckled. "Great."

Maria threw together a dish you've never had before. It looked and smelled good, however you were a picky eater and not very fond of trying new things.

"It's called Arroz de Pato." Ruben said, as a plate was set before you. "It's like duck rice, a portuguese specialty."

"Right." You said, skeptically.

"Try it, you'll enjoy."

Ruben was given a plate himself and to your suprise, grabbed the chair in front of you to sit down and eat it.

You had never seen him take a break and eat before, especially not together with you. But as he dug in, like a child starved from a day full of adventure, so did you.

"Wow." You exclaimed, as the most soothing flavors watered your mouth.

Ruben nodded "It's good right?"

"Really good." You looked to Maria, hoping that she'd understand you.

"Ela gosta." Ruben said, which made Maria smile and bow her head with courtesy. You two were left to enjoy your meals once she cleared up the kitchen for the day and went home.

"So you're originally from Brazil?" You asked.

Ruben made you wait for him to chew his food before he spoke. "Portugal." He said.

"But you understand brazilian?"

"Portuguese you mean. They speak portuguese in both Brazil and Portugal. "

"Oh." Heat rose to your face. All this time you had been calling it brazilian.

Ruben chuckled.

"It's not funny."

"It kinda is."

"I just love brazilian food so much. I've been to so many restaurants that claims to serve traditional brazilian dishes, but none of them cooks like Maria."

"No? Maybe I can teach you some recepies, I know a few."

"Ruben that would be amazing, but isn't that kind of below your paygrade?"

He chuckled. "I've done alot of things below my paygrade lately, teaching you how to cook won't hurt."

"Yeah, I guess I owe you an apology for last night. I didn't mean for things to get so out of hand I promise." You had told Ruben to trust you, only to break that trust. Now he was never gonna let you out of his sight. You'd be smothered by his constant presence.

"I believe you." He said, setting his utensils on his empty plate.

"You do?"

He nodded. "As long as you don't lie to me again, I have no problem keeping my distance whilst still doing my job. I'm not hired to harass you Y/N, I'm hired to protect and serve you."

His words clenched your heart, especially the way his eyes darkened when he looked at you.

"Ruben I..."

There was a loud knock on your door.

Ruben shot up to his feet, gesturing for you to stay put.

"It's probably just my sister, back from her meetings."

"Your sister has a key." Ruben said and stayed close to the wall as he crossed the living room, approaching the door. You watch him bend forward and peep through the lookout.

"Who is it?"

"A woman." He frowned.

"Open up you fucking bitch."

"And she appears to be intoxicated."

"Let me see." You got up and out of your chair.

"Y/N, don't..." Ruben tried to stop you but you hurried to unlock the door only to be met with...

"Tanya?" You frowned. "What are you doing here."

"How could you do this to me, what do you even need five million euros for, your albums are doing great."

"My what now?"

"Do you know this lady?" Ruben asked.

"Of course,  she's my friend."

Declaring that she wasn't a threat to your life Ruben helped you to shuffle the tearful woman into your apartment. She was only dressed in a night robe and exclusive red bottom heels. You brought her to the living room, covering her in blankets as the nights cold had done her no good.

"Don't pity me, Y/N, this is all your fault." She said.

"What are you talking about, Tanya?"

She tossed you her phone, lighting herself a cigarette. The screen was showing a message thread from your number. The messages contained explicit photos of both Tanya and yourself, photos taken at a underground party that the two of you had attended two years ago. It was a nice party, but very adult themed. You rembered Tanya warning you to stick to her side at all times. You watched her do the most unpleasant things to her body, including letting other people snort cocain off her naked spine.

"You don't remember sending me these?" She said, pointing to the screen in your hand. The latest message from you read "Ten million or I'll crop these up and post them for you."

You shook your head. "Tanya I swear I didn't send you these. Those photos..." You looked to Ruben who stood near, overhearing everything. "...I would never share them with anybody, those were the rules, no?"

"Then how do you explain the message Y/N, they're all coming from your number. That's your number right?"

"It is but..." A punch in the gut as you realized. "I lost my phone at Elvis party yesterday."

"Great, so it's that munchkin who's trying to ruin me."

"Of course not, he would never."

"Then who is it then Y/N, because if this gets out I'm done. I have just patched things with my team, I did my time in rehab. Can someone please tell me whatta hell is going on?"

You took the matters into your own hands, typing a message into Tanya's phone.

"Y/N, you shouldn't..."

Ruben caught on what you were doing, but by then you had already pressed send.

The message read: "Who are you – xoxo Y/N."

The reply came almost immediately, taking the breath out of the whole room as the phone vibrated in your hand.

"What does it say?" Tanya said, blowing smoke out of the corner of her mouth.

Your hands trembled as you showed her the screen. The message read: "It's me, your favorite Dickonataor 3000."

[dulltoned]

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven

Clay sat perched up on one of the many stone clusters scattered around the entrance of the bunker with a clipboard sat on his lap, an inventory for Branch's perishables printed across each page in neatly made rows and columns. He wanted to help out with his brother's organization but Branch was adamant that his system didn't need any adjustments. Clay had hesitated then, wondering what else he could do to take some weight off of Branch's shoulders, but before he could even ask Branch had shoved a list and a pen in his hands and asked him to check the stock on the lower level. Clay was more than happy to have a task to do. This has definitely been the longest he's gone in quite a while without having a job to keep on top of and it was starting to make him antsy. He had only made it halfway through the five-page list, Branch had a lot more perishables than he expected, and so he made his way up to the surface after a few hours to get some fresh air.

That had been two hours ago. He's looked over the list at least fifteen times now, checking and double-checking that he hadn't overlooked anything so far, and he was quickly running out of excuses to stay outside. But Viva had come over with Queen Poppy and so her friends and his older brothers were locked in an outrageous water balloon fight over in the clearing he conveniently had a perfect view of. It looked like a lot of fun. Clay wasn't fun anymore.

He's been trying to subtly keep an eye on the all-out war waging just a few meters away, watching as the group laughed and splashed about. They cheered and groaned in equal measure with each blow that landed and Clay wondered with no small amount of yearning whether or not they'd split into teams or if it was a free-for-all game. It took all of his focus to not jump up and join in. He'd spent years proving that he was more than just the fun one, that he still deserved to be taken seriously, and he would be damned if he threw all of that away just for one silly little water balloon fight.

His frustration with himself only grew when his ability to do his one task was inhibited. He knew he was being ridiculous. He could very well just get up and head back inside but he hadn't yet found the willpower. Each time he nearly gave in and went back in to finish up his work another loud cheer would break out or they'd spread apart to start another round and he'd be drawn right back in.

He doesn't know why this was so hard for him. He's been just fine all these years and he found a lot of joy in the work he did for the community back at the golf course. It seems that his restlessness was starting to get to him in ways he hadn't really considered. There was an eagerness buried under his skin that called for something to do and he could admit to himself that he still wanted to throw himself full-force into the parties and events that made up Troll Village. There were a lot of parties and events in Troll Village. Clay has still gone to his fair share of get-togethers with Viva unbeknownst to his siblings. It was easy to let loose with Viva. Viva never once doubted that he was someone serious and respectable and she had been a large contributor to how he viewed himself now. It was also really nice to be able to come back to the peace and general quiet of Branch's bunker, unwind from a loud day full of bright colors in the comfortable quiet surrounded by muted and natural tones. There was a balance that Clay found for himself that he really enjoyed but he was afraid of showing that to his brothers. He'd been so adamant after seeing them all that he was no fun at all anymore but he'd never expected to spend any extended period of time with them again.

He couldn't escape it now, he supposes, and honestly he doesn't want to. He had forgotten how much he loved them. He'd never say that to their faces but he was grateful to have them in his life again. His cold relationship with John Dory has even improved significantly and he finds that it's actually really nice to talk to his eldest brother. They've spent a few long afternoons just chatting around the bunker, exchanging stories about their lives since the band broke up. It was still weird to see John really listening but it was a nice kind of strange.

Another round of cheers breaks out and drags Clay from his thoughts. He looks up to see one of Poppy's friends drenched, the big blue one, with an empty bucket rolling along across the grass beside him. He's clutching his pet worm to his chest as he guffaws, pushing his hair back with his free paw. Clay groans softly and lets his head fall onto the clipboard with a muted thunk.

A light chuckle from somewhere behind him startles him out of his wallowing and he whips his head around to see Floyd and Branch making their way over. "Having fun?" Floyd pressed with a soft smile on his face. It's clear that it's one of his bad days. His eyes have large bags hanging under them and he moves slowly without his usual grace. Clay can even see his hands shaking slightly after he gets a little closer.

"Me? Never." Clay scoffs and smiles back in greeting. He raises his clipboard in one hand, spinning his pen expertly in the other, "Just getting some fresh air while I check over my work." They exchange a look that Clay can't really place and Branch hoists himself up onto the rocks that Clay has made his home the last couple hours. "What brings you two out here? Poppy finally convince you to join in?" He turns a teasing look to Branch.

"Ha, ha," Branch deadpans, looking every part unimpressed. Fun or no fun Clay could never give up messing with his brother.

"Also getting some fresh air," Floyd cuts in before their banter could escalate. "I really needed to be outside for a little." He shrugs but Clay's smile drops at the haunted look in those pink eyes. Despite everything it could still be so difficult to overlook everything that Floyd has been through. He still hasn't told them just how long he'd been trapped with Velvet and Veneer but even the handful of hours that Clay had been held captive had been enough to rattle him to his core. Floyd was fragile in a way the rest of them weren't, his heart on his sleeve despite how delicate it could be. On days like this Clay was reminded that despite that Floyd was no less strong.

"Well, you're more than welcome to join me," Clay assures warmly, he glances back at his clipboard and very pointedly ignores the game going strong in the background. "Just don't expect much from me in terms of company." Because he was working and not because he was captivated by the water balloon fight. Obviously.

"Thanks," Floyd's smile is soft and he takes Branch's hand when the other offers him help. Branch easily pulls Floyd up and Clay wonders if Floyd is just that light or if Branch is just that strong. "What're you working on?" He asks as he settles down between Branch and Clay.

"Oh," Clay blinks. He had expected their conversation to end there. Sure, he wanted to be taken seriously but he didn't expect the others to have any interest in his work. He was always entertaining back then, he told good jokes and did cool dances, but he expected their attention to drift elsewhere when they realized he was being boring. He didn't really think that would change just because they were older now. It was the price he had to pay for the results he wanted. The only person who seemed to enjoy things like this in the way he did was Branch. It made something melt sweet and soft beneath his ribs to see Floyd expressing a real interest. "It's inventory for some of Branch's provisions. I wanted to help out a little so he asked me to take stock of the perishables." Saying it out loud he knows it doesn't sound interesting. All the detail work and the tedious counting rarely caught anyone's attention. Even Clay got bored of cataloging like this from time to time.

"Oh, yeah, should probably know what you have if it can expire." Floyd realizes, nodding along. He looks pale now that Clay can see him in the sun. Floyd's pelt is a bit dull still compared to Clay's own and there's a haziness to his eyes that speaks more to how unwell he's feeling than to bad memories. "I'm honestly a bit surprised you have more than what's in the pantry," Floyd turns his head to Branch and the older two bask in how the tips of Branch's ears turn a deep blue. Clay wasn't stupid. He's seen that Branch's skin isn't as saturated as the rest of theirs, even compared to a still-recovering Floyd. He doesn't know if anyone else has given it much thought and he's pushed it to the back of his mind. The possible implications made his stomach twist and he didn't want to jump to any conclusions. Maybe after years of holing up with Viva a bit of her paranoia had rubbed off on him. Either way, it was really nice to see some color back in Branch's face.

"I may have stocked up when I knew you guys would be staying." Branch mumbles, averting his gaze and staring intensely down at the tall grass brushing against the rocks.

"Aw," Clay coos because he can't resist. "You bought real food just for us." He reaches over, carefully avoiding knocking too hard into Floyd sat between them, and ruffles Branch's hair. Expectantly Branch quickly tries to push him away, hands flailing up to bat at the offending arm. It was becoming a running joke between the three eldest brothers to see who could manage to touch Branch's hair the most before they went home. Branch was usually quick enough to duck away or hide behind someone else but there were still plenty of opportunities to catch him by surprise.

"The rations are real food," Branch argues, successfully untangling Clay from his hair and scooting away for good measure. He shoots Clay a sharp glare and huffs, though he doesn't retaliate. "They're for emergencies though. I only had enough fresh food stocked up for me and apparently it's important to be a good host." Branch rolls his eyes and Clay can already picture Poppy ranting with great exasperation at Branch about the importance of taking care of your guests.

"Thanks Branch," Floyd says it with such sincerity that Clay couldn't even hope to follow it up with any more teasing remarks. Well played, Floyd. It's interesting to see Branch immediately soften under Floyd's kindness. There was a general affection that rested on Branch's features when he thought no one was looking, content in a tired way that felt like it should be foreign to the youngest of them, but he always visibly relaxed with Floyd. It makes sense. Floyd was the one who brought them all together, and Floyd caused the least amount of ruckus, but Clay thinks there's something more to it that he's just not privy to.

"Of course," Branch nods, shyly soaking up the gratitude. Clay has learned that Branch isn't really used to others being grateful for him. He doesn't know exactly why, whether no one ever really explicitly thanked him or he'd never had someone who could, but Poppy made it no secret that she was always grateful for Branch. His face got several shades darker every time.

Another round of cheers draws Clay's attention before he can think to ignore them. Viva is somehow covered in glitter and cackling like a madwoman, leaning heavily on a chortling Poppy to stay upright. Branch chuckles and Clay glances over to see the other troll shaking his head fondly with an easy smile on his face. His face always melts when Poppy is involved. The Queen flips some sort of switch in him that rounds out all his sharp edges. Clay doesn't know how to thank her for being there for Branch but he wants to find a way. Maybe he'll ask Viva.

"You know, you could always take a break," When Clay looks at Floyd his expression is far too knowing. Clay hates it when Floyd gets smug. He's sure the last twenty years have only made Floyd better at being a little shit. Floyd's expression only turns smug, though, when Clay doesn't immediately respond. He tilts his head towards the ongoing game, silently urging Clay to get up and enjoy himself.

"Psh, what?" Clay waves a paw, "Nah, why would I do that?" Even to his own ears he sounds painfully unconvincing. He had an image to upkeep now and he wasn't about to shatter it just because he had no self-control.

Branch tilts his head, raising an eyebrow, "Why not?" His confusion catches Clay off guard a little. He'd expected Branch to question him the least. Out of everyone, Branch is the only troll around who wouldn't want to participate simply because he didn't feel like it. "It's not like that's gonna take you the rest of the day, and it's not important anyway." Branch gestures to the clipboard with a shrug, settling back on his paws and turning his head back towards the fun. "The more the merrier, right?" Coming out of anyone else's mouth the question would've been rhetorical.

"It's not really my scene anymore, Bitty B," Clay tries to explain with a warm smile, watching fondly as Branch's face screws up at the nickname. "I don't really do that kind of thing anymore, I got my own stuff to do." He wiggles the clipboard again. Branch's frown doesn't move, if anything it only becomes more pronounced. Floyd and Branch look at each other again and this time Clay can practically see the silent conversation bouncing between the two. He doesn't know when this happened, they didn't have time to cultivate this kind of close relationship without everyone else noticing, but Clay has never felt more like the middle child than he does right now. With his two youngest brothers conspiring against him and his older brothers off doing the exact thing he yearned to do he felt particularly out of the loop.

"You know," Floyd starts. It's not a good sign when Floyd starts. Floyd won't hesitate to give him shit. "No one will care if you have some fun." Clay expects teasing, some remark about how he'll always be the fun one, but Floyd's face is sincere and open. Clay's stomach twists and he resists the urge to focus his attention back on the clipboard. That'd only look like he was avoiding eye contact.

Clay rolls his eyes, "That'd be great. If I wanted to." He places the clipboard aside and subtly stretches out his fingers. He hadn't realized just how hard he'd been gripping the wood until he'd let go. "Seriously, guys, I'm good. I'm right where I want to be." He goes for a reassuring smile but Branch is looking at him with those calculating eyes of his so Clay knows he's screwed. He sighs, sticking a hand into his messy hair and picking at a knot there, "I'm fine, really. I have work to do right now and I don't know if I'm comfortable being the fun guy in front of so many trolls." Branch's gaze softens and Clay lets out a relieved exhale. Floyd's smile is sympathetic as he hugs his knees to his chest.

"I get it," Branch nods, turning his gaze away again. That only sparks Clay's unease again. Branch avoided eye contact sometimes when things got emotional. Floyd says it's an easy way to disconnect yourself from the situation without leaving. Clay thinks Branch is just awkward. Bruce thinks they can both be right. "After the Bergens discovered that they could be happy without eating a troll a lot of Poppy's friends tried to invite me to things afterwards. Ya know, since I helped out. It took me a while to take them up on it, I didn't want anyone to think that I was an entirely different troll just because we all went on some crazy adventure together." He shrugs and clears his throat, turning his head back towards his bunker when his discomfort rises.

Clay laughs, "I don't know what that has to do with me," He tries to play it off but quiets quickly when Floyd shoots him a pointed look.

Branch huffs a soft laugh and turns back at him just far enough for Clay to see him roll his eyes. "I wanted people to still take me seriously, and not assume that just because I changed I suddenly wanted to do everything a normal troll does. Don't get me wrong I love being a troll, and it's nice to do things every now and then, but I'm also still me." Floyd gently knocks into Branch and offers an encouraging smile when it seems like Branch is getting off track. Branch clears his throat again, "Right, the point is that I know what it's like. To avoid doing things so that people don't look at you differently." Finally Branch makes eye contact again and Clay is taken aback by the open compassion there. It's warm and understanding and makes Branch's blue eyes shine. "You can still have fun sometimes, Clay. We know that's not all you are."

Floyd quickly agrees, jumping in to give Branch a moment to pull his thoughts together and compose himself. "No one is gonna hold it against you if you want to enjoy yourself." Which is such a nice sentiment and Clay knows they both mean it but… but it's different when it comes from your younger brothers. Of course they'd still take him seriously. To at least some extent they'll always remember the days when they were kids and he knew more than them. When they were kids they could come to Clay for things, whether they took him seriously or not, because more often than not he had the answers or knew someone who did. Floyd's encouraging smile dims when Clay clearly isn't convinced.

Branch sighs, tilting his head back with a small groan of genuine frustration, "Clay," he starts firmly, rolling his head back up to clock Clay with a dark look. "The only person who you're gonna convince with this is you. No one is all stiff and professional all the time, and everyone has hobbies that they do for fun. If you want to have fun you should. You're not the fun one anymore but that doesn't mean that you can't hang out with your friends." Branch stands with a grimace, holding out a paw to Clay. Clay stares blankly back for a few long moments before Branch impatiently shakes his offered hand and Clay takes it on instinct.

Branch pulls him unceremoniously to his feet and drags him off the rocks and off toward the commotion without so much as a pause. "Woah, woah, hey," Clay protests, trying to pull back only to find that Branch's grip is strong. He turns back to Floyd in search of help but Floyd just offers a smug little wave with a smug little grin. "What're you doing?"

"We," Branch corrects, "Are gonna go join a stupid water balloon fight." The closer they get the more trolls pause in their battle to send them curious glances. Clay can already feel the nerves building under his skin but they're chased away by the growing excitement and anticipation. Branch was offering him an excuse. He saw that Clay wanted to join but he was too caught up in himself to take the chance and he decided that he'd give Clay an in. Clay's heart bursts with affection, warmth seeping into his body that had nothing to do with the summer sun.

"Hey," John Dory greets, hair soaked and dripping water from tall strands hanging in front of his face. He tosses a water balloon lazily into the air, catching it lightly while his eyes flick between them. His smile widens when Branch and Clay stop only a few feet away. The whole field was still, waiting with baited breath for the next move. Clay was equally frozen wondering just what Branch would say. Branch, as it turns out, doesn't say anything. He takes one step forward, sighs a long-suffering sigh, and extends his arms out on either side of him in open acceptance.

Approximately three water balloons slam into Branch at once; John Dory lands a swift bullseye to Branch's face, Poppy hits him square in the torso, and Bruce gets a shot in on Branch's hip. Branch falls back like a man shot, landing on his back with a quiet oof, and looks up at Clay with a deadpan expression ruined by the shine in his eyes and the nearly imperceptible twitch of his lips. "Avenge me." He monotones.

Clay doesn't hesitate to jump into the fray. Chaos erupts across the field as every troll scrambles for ammunition. Viva joins Clay in his quest for vengeance and Poppy cries betrayal when her sister nails her in the back of the head. Clay can hear Floyd laughing from here. Branch sits up from where he'd fallen, watching with a soft smile as Clay finally lets himself have this. Clay smiles back. He has a lot of fun.

[strangerthingsstuff4]

A Story of Another Us- Chapter Six

Dahlia hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, constantly on edge of any little noise she had heard. She had left Aemond to go back to sleep reluctantly but had drifted off for a few hours. All dressed for another morning run, she quietly shut her bedroom door and passed the stairs, gently opening Aemond’s bedroom door peeking in to see him still fast asleep in bed, a damp flannel long forgotten on the pillow next to him. Despite him usually being up and out at this time, she shut the door and allowed him to continue sleeping. She bounced down the stairs and headed into the kitchen, opting to go without her morning coffee for the time being and pulling her hood up, sliding the doors open and stepping out into the rainy weather and jogging down to the stables.

‘Morning guys! You’re stuck with me today sorry’ she announces to the horses, receiving a few neighs and gruff’s in response.

She goes about the tasks that she assumes Aemond takes care of every morning. Refilling the horse’s pales with a scoop of grain and untying a fresh bale of hay from the back empty stall. Dahlia is stuffing the basket with hay to Balerion’s stall while he nudges her with his nose, sniffing at her and nipping at her, between her giggles and the rain hammers against the ground outside so heavily that she doesn’t hear the approaching footsteps.

‘Hey… you didn’t have to do this, should’ve woken me up’ Aemond mutters timidly as he watches her but avoids her eye contact at all costs.

‘Oh it’s… it’s okay, figured you could use the extra sleep’ Dahlia replied, smiling softly at him.

‘Right… about last night’ Aemond sighed, closing his eyes in embarrassment.

‘Don’t mention it’

‘Thanks… could you er… could you not tell anyone about it? I haven’t had an episode like that in a while and mum will make a fuss and ring the doctors and… well it’s a lot’ he mumbled as he moved to help her filling the baskets.

‘I won’t say a word’

‘Thanks, they all fed?’ he asked, slightly more confident speaking to her.

‘Yeah, although I saw that Balerion takes some vitamins for his joints but I didn’t know how you like to administer them so I’ve just left them for now’ She informed him as she finished off forcing the hay into the basket while avoiding Balerion’s nipping.

‘Okay, thank you again for doing this… I appreciate it’ Aemond repeated, actually making eye contact with her this time.

She noticed that his eye was bloodshot, red rings sat around it and his skin still had a slight red tint to it behind the leather eye patch he adorned every day. Dahlia offered him another soft smile and placed the bucket she had been using on for the hay onto the table the other side of the stable, she pulled her hood up once again and moved to exit the stable into the down pour.

‘You’re going running?! You’ll get soaked through’ Aemond exclaimed, stopping her in her tracks.

‘It’s just a bit of water, although I am dubious how well these trainers will cope with the mud on the trail’ she grumbled, looking down at her running shoes.

‘I could use some help here… if you wanted to stay that is’ Aemond muttered quietly, turning away from her and grabbing the bottle of tablets from the cabinet at the other end of the stable.

‘You sure? Don’t wanna step on your toes or anything’

‘Yeah, as long as you keep that know-it-all attitude to a minimum’ Aemond smirked at her as he threw her a grooming paddle.

‘You’re hilarious’ Dahlia muttered dryly as she caught the brush, her face splitting into a grin.

Aemond and Dahlia spent the morning together in the stables, he showed her how he preferred administering medication to the horses, he showed her the best way to saddle them and how to do a quick daily check of their hooves. They stood together in Sunfyres pen, Aegon’s prized blonde stallion, each stood on a side brushing him down. There was no tension between, no anger or heaviness, it was almost nice.

The rain was still falling heavily, Jace and Baela had taken a moment for just the two of them, away from the others. They sat outside of the house under the terrace just next to the kitchen, snuggled up together onto a wicker bench, listening to the rain and sipping on hot drinks. It was like a moment out of a rom com.

‘This is nice’ Jace smiled down at his girlfriend

‘Yeah, I miss spending time with just us’ Baela smiled up at him, leaning back against him.

‘I’m gonna see about booking us a proper holiday this year, maybe see if Rhaena and Luke want to come with’ Jace suggested, bringing his cup to him lips.

‘That’d be fun! Maybe we could go…’ Baele stopped speaking and held her mouth open as she examined the scene in front of her.

Aemond and Dahlia wandered up the hill together, both looking like wet dogs but laughing. Their faces both held big smiles despite being soaked through.

‘Well looks like they’ve made up’ Jace commented watching them walk through the rain, disappearing into the kitchen.

‘Was… was Aemond smiling? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smiling!’ Baela stated.

‘Yeah, it’s disturbing isn’t it’ Jace chuckled.

Aemond had allowed Dahlia to head up the stairs before him, both had agreed that they needed a shower to heat themselves up before coming down with a cold. Aemond had given her a genuine smile before disappearing into his room. Dahlia had pulled out a clean pair of joggers with a t shirt and matching hoodie, laying them out on her bed before she stripped down of her sopping wet clothes and stepping into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and went about grabbing her toiletries while the water heated up. After a few seconds she checked the water by holding her hand underneath the spray of water, it was still cold.

‘Fuck…erm…. Fuck’ Dahlia groaned looking around for some way to amend the issue.

She tried the tap again on and off but to no avail, what the fuck was she suppose to do?! She was naked! Wrapping herself in a towel, Dahlia grabbed her phone and rang Haelena, explaining the situation and waiting for a minute or so before she appeared at her door.

‘I dunno how to get it on, it’s been fine the last few days’ Dahlia huffed as she watched her best friend fiddle with the shower.

‘Yeah it happens sometimes, usually just have to give it a shake but… doesn’t seem to be working’ Haelena grumbled, walking out of the bathroom and towards the bedroom door.

‘Aemond! Can you come give me a hand please’ She yelled loudly down the hall.

‘Hel! I’m naked!’ Dahlia exclaimed at her best friend.

Her heart dropped as she heard the door at the other end of the landing open, shaking her head Dahlia turned away ready for the floor to swallow her whole.

‘Hot water’s not working’ Haelena explained briefly, allowing him past her into the room.

Aemond walked into the room and his eyes shot to Dahlia, scanning her down quickly as a rosy blush burnt at his cheeks, Dahlia gave him a tight-lipped smile as her own cheeks heated up and she avoided his gaze. Aemond awkwardly padded across the room and into the bathroom.

‘Hel! I think I burnt the food!’ Rhaena shouted up the stairs.

‘How?! It’s French toast!’ Haelena exclaimed walking towards the door.

‘Haelena don’t you dare leave me!’ Dahlia hissed at her best friend.

‘Byeeee’ Haelena sang with a smirk as she ran out of the room.

Dahlia had half chased her to the door but had failed at grabbing her, she was going to kill that girl. The spray of the shower got stronger behind her and she heard Aemond clear his throat as he exited the bathroom. She turned awkwardly, only looking at him for a second before averting her gaze to the floor. She felt like a teenager again, crumbling under the eyes of the coolest guy in school. She felt pathetic.

Her hand held tight to the towel that she had wrapped around her as she shifted uncomfortably. She would not look at him, still wearing his own wet clothes from being out in the rain, only now his jacket was missing and his t-shirt was clinging to his taught torso.

‘I sorted it… pressure drops sometimes’ he mumbled quietly.

‘Thank you’ she murmurs back, nodding her head.

Aemond chuckles lightly and starts towards the door, he attempts to step out of her way but stands in front of her as she had the same idea.

‘Sorry’ she giggled looking up at him, catching him as he looked at her lips for a second.

Dahlia held his gaze for a moment, the tension between them getting heavier and heavier the longer they stood there. She could feel herself struggling to breath as she stood in such close proximity to him, she could smell him, his aftershave powering through the damp. Dahlia’s mouth had gone dry and she couldn’t take it anymore.

Her eyes ripped away from him and looked straight at his chest, his ripped toned perfect chest. Gods she felt like she was about to pass out.

‘Give me a shout if you need anything’ He muttered out before practically running out of the room.

‘Mhmm’ Was the only thing Dahlia managed to get out as she tried to calm herself down.

The way she felt in that moment a cold shower sounded like the best thing in the world. She stepped under the hot water and relished in the feeling of her skin breaking out into goose pimples from the welcome change in temperature, a heavy shiver running over her as her nipples pebbled. Dahlia couldn’t begin to comprehend what had just happened between the two of them, was she the only one that felt the sexual tension or was she being crazy? Maybe he just thought she was being weird or annoying and here she was thinking that it meant something. She needed to stop, stop thinking that there was something there, even if there was he was her best friends brother, off limits. Damn that just made it hotter.

Scrubbing like her life depended on it did not help in getting the tall toned beautiful man out of her head. The way he arms had bulged through his shirt when he had lifted the saddle onto SunFyre earlier. How his big hands had completely enveloped her own the night before. How his hair framed his face when he wore it down, she wondered how it would feel having that hair dance over her skin as he lay above her.

Dahlia sighed frustratedly before climbing out of the shower and wrapping her towel around herself one again. She dried herself off and dressed in the comfiest clothes she owned. The grey joggers that she had lay out on the bed were soft as they slid over her skin. Considering the rain was still pouring heavily outside, everyone had decided to have a film day once the standard chores were done. Dahlia joined everyone in the large sitting room, torn between her relief that Aemond had decided not to join everyone and the devastation that he wasn’t there.

‘I save you space!’ Helaena grinned to her best friend from her seat on the three-person sofa.

Dahlia joined her friend as they settled in to watch their first movie of the day, all clad in their comfortable clothes or pyjamas. It was just the day she needed, they made food and had plenty of snacks, even had some of their duvets on the couches with them. With Jace, Luke and their girlfriends all snugged up together Dahlia and Haelena had decided to be each other’s snuggle buddies. The sun outside had started to descend as they decided on what was likely to be their fourth and final film of the day, the glass doors from the kitchen sounded as they were opened and closed. Aemond appeared in the doorway as the opening credits appeared on the screen.

‘Hey, you wanna join? We’re just starting Rush Hour three!’ Haelena grinned up at her brother.

‘No thanks, I’m good’ he mumbled, eyes catching Dahlia’s briefly before heading to the stairs.

‘Aeg’s up there with a girl by the way’ Hel shouted after her brother as he disappeared up the open plan staircase.

‘I saw that’ Baela smirked at the red headed girl that was snuggled into Haelena’s side.

‘What?’ Dahlia questioned, confused.

‘I saw the look’ Baela chuckled.

‘What look?’ Haelena quizzed looking between the two girls.

‘She knows what look’ Baela wiggled her eyebrows before the sound of Aemond returning downstairs sounded over the thrashing rain outside.

‘On second thoughts, I’m not listening to him hump that fucking banshee all night’ Aemond huffed hopping down the stairs, causing Jace to chuckle and Baela to grimace.

Haelena scooched up enough to allow him to slump down next to her before she snuggled into his side. Dahlia rolled her eyes at the smirk that Baela offered her from across the room, yes, the atmosphere in the room had gotten slightly more tense for her but she was sure that was just in her own head. The film rolled on and Dahlia could feel her eyes growing heavier and heavier. Convinced that she was just going to rest them she allowed herself to close her eyes for a few moments, obviously falling into deep sleep. No one had noticed until a vibrating sound erupted from Haelena’s phone.

‘Oh shit, Dahl I gotta get up’ she muttered to which she received no reply.

‘She’s asleep’ Luke informed them from his seat on the opposite couch.

Aemond tensed a little as his sister wiggled out from underneath her best friend, gently placed her sleeping body down against Aemond’s side on the couch. Dahlia’s head lay on his thigh, red hair splayed out across his pants sending a whiff of her almond shampoo up his nose, her hand moving up to instinctively nestle into him. Baela couldn’t help herself as she discreetly held her phone up and snapped a few photos, it was too adorable not too. Aemond’s hand had instinctively rested against her side and was drawing soothing circles into her side as Dahlia continued to sleep soundly.

They were an odd pair to anyone that knew them but it worked. Aemond was this tall lean asshole with the tough exterior, and then there was Dahlia. She was soft and kind and precious; it was all very Beauty and the Beast.

When the movie eventually drew to a close it had gone 9pm and everyone was more than ready for bed. They all shuffled about grabbing their blankets and getting rid of left over food and rubbish. Haelena had not returned from her phone call, everyone figuring it was the new love interest that she had been so giddy about lately.

‘Dahlia, gotta wake up chicken’ Rhaena cooed softly, bending down slightly to speak to her sleeping figure.

‘It’s alright I’ll take her up’ Aemond muttered as he lifted her head off his lap gently, allowing him to move out from beneath her.

Baela once again used her ninja skill to snap a few photos of the burley beast scooping up the delicate lady in his arms to carry her off to bed. She wasn’t as heavy as Aemond had expected when he lifted her sleeping form into her arms. He shushed her gently when she began to stir and tried to hide in his chest. Ignoring the fact that he could feel the rest of them watching him, he padded his way up the stairs to the top floor, his heart beating heavily at the concept of the whole thing. There she was curled up in his arms sleeping soundly, burrowing her face into his shoulder, this was the same girl that he had wanted to rip the head off only the day before. It infuriated him the hold she had on his entire being but he knew he would always crave more.

Aemond reached the top landing and noticed the screeching from Aegon’s bed warmer for the night had stopped. Once he had gotten Dahlia’s bedroom door open he gently placed her down in the middle of the bed and pulled the floral sheet over her. Huffing at the sight of all the clutter on top of her bed, Aemond began to clear it, smirking to himself lightly at the sight of her underwear, black thong he liked it. He couldn’t help his mind wander, thinking about how she’d look wearing it. How it would hug her hips and frame the curve of her perky behind. Aemond swallowed deeply as he felt himself twitch from the mental image.

Once her bed was clear, Aemond double checked that she was comfortable and covered by her blanket, lightly brushing a strand of her ginger hair from her face he couldn’t help but smile lightly as the little whine that escaped her. Despite how ridiculously irritating and infuriating she could be, Aemond could not deny that she was beautiful, her porcelain skin was smooth as glass and only marked by the soft freckles that adorned her nose and cheeks. Her orange hair was a sign that she had been kissed by fire, a fire that he swore he could breathe all day.

Aemond exited the room and gently closed the door behind him. He returned to his own room to take a long cold shower.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

A Vigilant Eye

Pairing: Éomer and his OC wife Mereliss (That translates roughly to “famously kind”. There’s more about her here, where she first appeared in the form of the “reader” character.)

Summary: Our king of Rohan stubbornly refuses to acknowledge a riding injury, but his wife is not going to let him get away that. This is as close to anything smutty as I’ll ever write—that is to say, it’s not really smutty at all in the actual sense, but it’s headed that way and you’re certainly free to imagine where it goes from here!

“Have you not earned yourself a break? I don’t think you’ve moved from that desk since I left here hours ago.”

Mereliss looked up from a stack of papers to see Éomer standing in the bedroom doorway, leaning against the frame and watching her with a wry smile on his face.

“I could ask something similar of you, as you have spent all of those same hours on your feet dealing with one problem or another.” She dropped her pen on the desk and leaned back to stretch. “Are you finished for the day?”

“Unfortunately, no.” He walked over to plant a quick kiss on the top of his wife’s head. “I have only a few minutes to change my boots before Hildred and I are due to inspect the new earthworks outside the main gate.”

He went to collect his riding boots from the closet, and as he walked she took note of the small hitch in his step that had been developing over the past few weeks. He would never admit to being in pain–it was against his nature to be perceived as complaining, no matter how legitimate the reason–and so far the effect was subtle enough to escape the eye of a casual observer. But Mereliss’s attention was far from casual when it came to Éomer. She knew every inch of his body better than she knew her own, and she watched over his health and well being with the vigilance of one who protects a priceless treasure. She had asked him about this slight limp two weeks ago, and he insisted that it would go away soon. But, if anything, it seemed to her a little worse now. She stood and followed him across the room.

“I cannot help but notice that your hip still troubles you. You spend so much time in the saddle, perhaps you should take a few days’ break from riding and allow it some rest.”

He scoffed. “There is nothing wrong with my hip, and certainly nothing that would make me unable to carry out my duties.”

He grabbed a pair of boots and moved toward a chair to put them on, but she stepped into his path and blocked his way.

“I never said that you were unable to carry out your duties. I am merely proposing that a short period of rest might help you to see to those duties more comfortably in the days ahead.”

He attempted to step around her, but she moved sideways in tandem with him. When a second step also failed to circumvent her, he frowned.

“I am comfortable enough already.”

“The way that you walk suggests otherwise. And if you do not take better care of yourself, it will only continue to get worse with time.”

He blew out a frustrated breath and raked his hair out of his face. “As I have told you before, it is nothing to be overly concerned about.” He put a hand on her shoulder and looked directly into her eyes. “You needn’t worry about me. I promise.”

She arched an eyebrow. His stubbornness was legendary, but she had learned her own counter maneuvers over the years. She could be very persuasive when she set her mind to it, and she had no intention of letting this particular issue go.

She pulled his hand from her shoulder and wrapped it around her waist instead, pressing in close to him and running her own hand up his spine to the nape of his neck. He inhaled sharply.

“Very well,” she said. “But if you refuse my advice to rest your hip for the day, then surely you would not also deny me just a few moments to attend to it myself?” Standing on her toes, she brushed her lips lightly across his and looked up at him plaintively from beneath her lashes.

He laughed, almost a nervous giggle. “Mereliss, I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work. I have many things still to do this afternoon.”

“Of course you do,” she murmured. “So do I. Just say the word, then, and I’ll step aside and we will both go about our business. Or…”. She snaked her free hand down and pulled the riding boots from his grip, dropping them to the floor with a thud. “You could stay here for a few more minutes and allow me to help you feel better.” The hand trailed slowly back up the inside of his leg.

“Mere, Hildred is expecting me.” Even as he protested, he leaned down to nestle his chin into the crook of her neck, breathing in the sweet floral scent of her hair. “He is waiting as we speak.”

“Oh, that is no cause for concern.” She pulled his shirt from his waistband and slid her hand underneath the fabric and onto his bare skin. “If I know Hildred, he is happily chatting up whatever woman happens to be nearby, and he’ll be glad for the extra time.” She pushed forward, her body against his chest and thighs propelling him backward step by step until his legs made contact with the edge of their bed. “Besides, it will ease my heart to lessen your pain, and a little tardiness can be forgiven if it is necessary to please your wife. Don’t you agree?” She pressed her lips to his jaw, to the dimple on his right cheek, to the corner of his mouth.

He turned his head ever so slightly to meet her lips, and she knew then that she had succeeded and he would do anything that she asked of him. Breaking their kiss, she grabbed his waist with both hands and slowly turned him around. “Lay face down for me,” she whispered into his ear. He looked over his shoulder at her, one heavy brow drawn up in surprise, but she shook her head. “Just do as I ask.”

He climbed onto the bed, face down, and she clambered up after him, shifting her skirt so that she could sit astride the back of his thighs.

“Mereliss, what are you—”. His question was cut short by the deep, guttural moan that escaped his lips as soon as she sank her fingers into the muscles around his left hip.

“Now is that a good moan, or a bad moan?” She already knew the answer, but she would enjoy hearing it nonetheless.

“It’s good,” came the muffled reply, his face buried in the mattress while his hands clung tightly to fistfuls of the sheets. “Very good.”

She smiled and set about working her way methodically through all of the tense, rigid muscles in his hip and lower back, alternating between light circular motions and smooth, deep arcs. The more she worked, the more she felt the rigidity start to give way until eventually the whole area was soft and pliant beneath her fingertips and his occasional grunts or groans sounded less of desperately needed relief and more of contented enjoyment.

When she was at last satisfied that he would be able to walk and ride that day with little or no pain, she lay forward onto his back and tucked her chin over his shoulder. “Éomer King, you are released now from my care and may go about your duties for the rest of the day as needed.”

He turned his head to look at her from the corner of his eye. “You know, it’s very strange, but all of the sudden I can’t seem to recall any duties.” He reached an arm back and put a hand on her leg.

“Oh, allow me to refresh your memory. Hildred is waiting for you to go to the earthworks.” Smirking, she put her hand atop his and moved it further up her thigh. “You’re already late.”

A low rumble came from his chest, and he suddenly rolled beneath her. In an instant, they had somehow reversed positions, and she was on her back below him, the weight of his body pressing her down into the soft sheets. He tucked a few curls behind her ear and smiled at her. “Well, fortunately, a very wise woman once told me that a little tardiness can be forgiven if it is necessary to please my wife.”