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janeyseymour · 3 months ago

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She Didn't, But Melissa Did- part 1

HEY BITCHES REMEMBER HOW I SAID THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY OF "SAVE ME BEFORE I LOSE MYSELF" CONTINUING ON?? YEAH- IT'S HERE. HERE WE GO.

Save Me Before I Lose Myself- Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9.

Summary: Carrie didn't do a lot of things. But what Carrie didn't do, Melissa did with ease.

WC: ~2.7k

Millie is all grown up. She’s nearing thirty, she’s happily married with a little girl of her own. And yet, Millie still chose to keep her last name- your last name now too. Legally, Millie is Amelia Marie Schemmenti. She’s stopping by your house to visit you and her step-mother.

“It feels like it’s been forever since we saw Mill,” your wife chuckles from her place next to you on the couch.

“What are you talking about, Mel?” you laugh as you playfully swat at her leg. “She came by last week with Hadley.”

“To drop Had off so she could run to work,” Melissa sighs. “She wouldn’t even stay for dinner ‘cause Noah was home and gettin’ ready to make dinner.”

“Well, you know how it is,” you tell her. “Hubby’s home and cookin’ dinner. What was she supposed to do?”

“Tell Noah to get his ass over here so I could cook for everyone,” the redhead rolls her eyes. “He hadn’t even started yet!”

“Well, they’ll both be here today, and I’m sure you can convince Mills to stay for dinner. You know how our daughter still prefers your cooking to anyone else’s.”

“You’re damn right she does,” the retired teacher sighs. “And she should. My cookin’ could put anyone else’s to shame.”

“I don’t know,” you drawl out. “Millie’s a pretty good cook herself.”

“Yeah,” your wife huffs. “And who taught her?”

“That would be you, my dear.”

There’s a knock on your door as your wife and you are waiting for your daughter and her family to stop by, and then they’re entering the house and kicking off their shoes. Well, Millie and Noah take their shoes off before entering. Hadley couldn’t care less and runs as fast as her little legs will take her to join you and Melissa on the couch.

“Hadley girl!” Melissa grins as she lifts the four year old up into her lap and peppers her face in kisses.

“Nonna!” the little girl giggles. “That tickles!” It takes a few more seconds before your wife lets up, and your granddaughter launches herself at you, eager for hugs.

“Mommom!” Hadley squeals and plants a sloppy kiss to your face.

Millie and her husband both approach the couch with smiles on their faces. Noah greets you warmly with hugs and kisses to the cheeks, expressing how nice it is to see you. And Millie lights up at the two of you- it’s like she’s seven all over again, just a little girl with so much love in her heart.

“Momma,” your daughter grins as she leans into your embrace over her daughter. Then she reaches for Melissa. “Hey, Ma.”

“You’re stayin’ for dinner this time, right?” is all your wife asks as she hugs your daughter tightly, pressing a kiss to her head.

“Yeah, Ma,” Millie laughs. “We’re staying for dinner.”

“Good,” Melissa smiles with a sharp nod of her head. “I’m makin’ chili.”

“Oh hell yeah!” Noah grins.

While Hadley settles herself on the floor surrounded by the toys that you and your wife keep around the house for her, you, your wife, your daughter, and her husband all begin to catch up on life. They tell you how much their little girl has been growing before their eyes, to which you respond that it feels like just yesterday Millie was Hadley’s age. Noah tells your wife about the renovations he’s been making on their house; your wife makes sure to put in that she’s more than willing to call a guy to help him for free. You and Melissa tell them about the trip that you had taken over the weekend to the Poconos to relax. And then the topic of their jobs comes up. Noah is a highly respected business man who has much success. His success only continues to grow, and you wouldn’t be surprised if he told you he was Senior Manager of the company within the next few years. And Millie is a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“That’s actually why we’re here today,” your daughter says, and you can tell she’s nervous with the way she’s fiddling with her fingers- a habit she’s picked up from you.

“You need a reason to visit us now?” You raise a brow. “And here I thought us being your mothers was a good enough reason to come visit us with our beautiful grandbaby.”

Hadley’s eyes light up at the mention of her, and she picks her favorite stuffed animal on the floor before setting in on your lap.

“Well, no,” your daughter bites her lip. “But we- I came to show you a piece I’ve been working on. My boss wants me to publish it, but I wanted to run it by you first, Ma.”

“Me?” Melissa points to herself as her brows furrow. Her head cocks slightly to the side in confusion.

“Y-yeah,” Millie shrugs.

“Hun,” Noah reaches over to rub his wife’s back soothingly. “We talked about this. It’s okay- we both think she’ll like it.”

“I-” the usually confident and bright woman fades into a shy and insecure one right in front of you. “Uh… yeah. Yeah. I wrote it, and I brought it, and uh-” She digs through her purse for a second and pulls out a few pieces of paper printed big enough for Melissa and you to read.

While the print is rather large, both you and your wife still pull the reading glasses from on top of your heads and set them on your faces.

The title of the article is enough to make a tear spring to Melissa’s eye:

My Biological Mother Didn’t, But Melissa Did- by Millie Schemmenti

“Mill, what is this?” Melissa looks to your daughter.

“Just- read it,” your daughter instructs nervously.

So, the two of you begin to read.

——

I wasn’t born Amelia Schemmenti. No. I was born Amelia Nowak- daughter to Carrie Nowak and Y/N Nowak, with Carrie having given birth to me. While Y/N, Momma, was and is the perfect Momma- the one every child wishes they had, Carrie wasn’t anything like her. Carrie was, to say the least, somebody who should have never been a parent or a wife in the first place. For the first seven years of my life, Carrie was an absent mother. She was there physically, but not mentally or emotionally. While Momma was up with me everyday, Carrie was busy either working, drinking, or cheating on my mother. Carrie was abusive- tormented my momma when she thought I couldn’t see or hear it. The truth of it is, I saw much more than any child that young should have. When I was seven though, everything changed. Everything changed because of one woman who would enter my life as my teacher, and remain in my life for the rest of my days. Melissa Schemmenti, my second grade teacher, saved both mine and my momma’s lives.

——

You have to pause your reading to wipe a tear away from your face. Even though all of that is long behind you, it still haunts you. It’s still a skeleton in your closet that you haven’t been able to shake despite years of therapy. It’s clear Millie still hasn’t closed that door entirely either. The thought of Carrie still lurks in the back of both of your minds.

“Millie,” you whisper tearfully as you pull her in close.

“Keep- keep reading,” she tells you softly. “It’s a happy piece, but I had to add a bit of the backstory to balance it all out.”

You nod shakily and lean back against Melissa to continue.

——

Miss Schemmenti, the rough and tough, no nonsense, second grade teacher at Abbott Elementary, was my guiding light. I knew there was something special about her from the start. For as tough as she played, Miss Schemmenti was had a warmth to her- one that few got the honor of seeing. I was lucky. She had seen something in me, and years later, I got her to admit that I was her favorite student.

——

“Do you think I would’ve adopted just any student of mine, ya buffoona?” your ma chuckles. “Of course you were my favorite.”

You just smile at her, and gesture for her to continue.

——

Miss Schemmenti, when things weren’t safe for us to continue living with Carrie, took us in. She didn’t have to, but she did. She allowed us to move in with her temporarily (reader: it was not temporary. She and my mother still live in that same house together) while Momma tried to piece her life together and figure out how the hell she was going to get away from Carrie. For three months, we lived in Miss Schemmenti’s house with her, and she did everything she did to keep us safe. She drove Momma to work, took me to school, made dinners, read bedtime stories… all while helping Momma with her impending divorce and a custody battle over me. Without getting into detail, the custody battle was a hard battle fought on both sides. And in history, stories are told from the winner’s point of view. Reader, I am the winner in this case, so you get to hear my point of view- I got to stay with Momma. I never had to see Carrie again after an outburst in the courtroom. And because I got to stay with Momma, I also got to stay with Miss Schemmenti- Melissa, I called her mostly now. On the occasion that I was especially tired, she was Melly, much to her dissatisfaction at first (Don’t worry, she got over it).

——

“I still can’t believe I let you call me Melly for all those years,” the retired teacher groans.

Millie lets out a laugh. “You wouldn’t even let Aunt Barbie call you that.”

“I still don’t,” Melissa huffs. “Woman knows if she does, she don’ get any of my meatballs.”

——

After all of the divorce hearings and custody hearings were settled, Momma and I settled into our new lives- away from Carrie. We settled into a life with Melissa. Things were… easy. Natural. A dream. I still remember the day that Momma and Melissa sat me down to break the news to me that they were dating.

——

“Millie!” You called up the steps. “Honey? Can you come here?”

Your little girl came jumping down the steps, curious why you would be calling her down into the living room at three on a Saturday. She saw you and Melissa sitting on the couch, and her nose scrunched just the slightest bit.

“What’s going on?” Millie asked.

“Hun,” Melissa spoke up from her place next to you. “We have to have a little chat.”

“About?”

“Millie, Mel and I have been talking,” you said softly.

“You guys talk all the time,” your little girl rolled her eyes playfully.

“Seriously talking,” you stated nervously. “And… we just wanted to let you know… that we’ve decided to start dating.”

“Dating?” Millie’s eyes went wide. “Like, dating dating?”

“There’s really only one kind of dating,” the redhead chuckled. She took your hand in her own. “But yes. Your momma and I are dating. Is that okay with you?”

Millie pursed her lips.

——

After everything Momma had been through with Carrie, I was terrified to hear that she was dating again- and my teacher, no less. But, if Momma wanted to date, I would choose Mel over anyone in the world for her to pick. I already liked Mel, and she already liked me. We already all lived together, and we had been for some time now. I remember thinking that day, even after all of my questions had been answered about this new change, that I hoped Melissa would stay nice- that she would stay the Mel I knew and loved. I had hoped that she wouldn’t change once they were out of the honeymoon phase of dating. Reader, I want you to know that my momma and Melissa have been married for seventeen years at this point, and they still aren’t out of the honeymoon phase.

——

“I’d say we’re out of the honeymoon phase,” Melissa rolls her eyes playfully and nudges you.

You shrug. “I don’t know about that one, honey. Just last night, you were-”

“Please!” Millie’s eyes go wide. “I don’t need to hear about my parents’ sex life!”

“Just last night, your ma was sharing her ice cream with me,” you finish. “Jeez, Mills. Not everything is about sex.”

“All I know is the last time we talked about how the two of you were still in love, I learned more than I ever needed to know,” your daughter groans, and her ears are red. “Keep reading, before I traumatize myself all over again thinking about it.

——

I remember thinking that I would never call Melissa Mom.

——

“You don’t call me ‘Mom’,” Melissa points out.

You watch as Millie rolls her eyes. “Just keep reading, Ma.”

——

As soon as I was aware of the fact that Melissa and my momma were dating, it was abundantly clear how much better life was going to get. My biological mother never did things for Momma just because. Melissa did. I watched Momma get flowers just because Melissa thought they were pretty- that they were Momma’s favorite shade of pink. I saw Melissa look at my mother in a way that I never saw Carrie look at her- as if she was the most beautiful person in the world first thing in the morning, bedhead and all. I never heard my biological mother tell my momma she was beautiful (and my momma is one of the most beautiful people I know, both inside and out), but Melissa still tells her to this day that her wife is a stunner. My biological mother never told Momma that she loved her just to tell her she loved her. Melissa made sure to tell my mother she loved her each and every day, once the two of them finally had the courage to start saying those three powerful words to each other. My biological mother used to walk out of the house without so much as a goodbye to my momma. Melissa, to this day, has not left the house without saying goodbye to my mother and letting her know she loves her. My biological mother opened up a whole new world for Momma. She woke up the side of my momma that was easy-going and carefree, while Carrie did her best to bury that part of Momma as deep as she could. My biological mother couldn’t, didn’t want to. But Melissa did. Melissa did everything she could, and it would be for the best.

——

“You paid this much attention to us as a little kid?” the redhead raises a brow, although it’s clear she’s a bit teary-eyed at your daughter’s writing. She lifts her glasses back to the top of her head to wipe away the tears threatening to spill over.

You shrug. “I took in a lot. But I’ve also been doing a lot of thinking lately.”

“She’s right,” you whisper, and you kiss your wife’s cheek softly. “You brought out a side in me I never thought I would see again. Carrie did everything she could to rip that away from me, but you did everything you could to save that side of me.”

“It was always there, mi amore. You just had to find it again.” Melissa smiles at you. Then she turns to Millie. “Mills, this is beautifully done. If you want to publish this piece, I would be honored.”

“Well,” your daughter chuckles nervously as she pulls out another small stack of papers from her purse. “There might be more. I just… needed to see what you thought of the beginning before I showed you the rest of it.”

“Give it here,” your wife holds out her hand expectantly.

Millie hands over the papers nervously, tucking a few loose hairs behind her ear.

Red glasses slide back down onto your wife’s face, and the two of you begin to read once more.

TAGS: (and let me know if you want to be included!): @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @sweetcheeksschemmenti @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @a-queen-and-her-throne @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld @cosmichymns @sasheemo @m1lflov3rrr @ricejucie @temilyrights @emilynissangtr @squinnchy @dopenightmaretyphoon @emeraldoceansstuff @shinyfaerielights @kmaxmadness @blkmxrvel @marvelwomenrule

#abbott elementary #abbott elementary fanfiction #abbott elementary fanfic #melissa schemmenti fanfiction #melissa schemmenti #melissa schemmenti fanfic #melissa schemmenti x reader #melissa schemmenti x you

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rasb7rry · 2 months ago

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hey assholes it's your girl himi and im gonna prove to you that the new leaks are FAKE (credits to Sammy and fawx on twt for alot of evidence) some evidence (mostly in the end) is just my own speculation!

1) FIRST OF ALL THE CHANGE IN ARTSTYLE like sure horis artstyle has evolved and improved but the artstyle is easily distinguishable, the leaks just don't look right

2) the missing scars -- in the new leaks both izuku and shoto are missing their new scars

3) ochako holding things with her pinky is odd because everywhere else she doesn't use her pinky to make sure she doesn't make them float HORI CAN'T FORGET A DETAIL LIKE THAT

4) the official leaks are supposed to come out on the 4th of december

5) theres too many pages – every other time there were 3-4 pages max, why the hell would the leaks have these many times this time ONLY

6) the english translations took time, why did they come out this early this time..

7) we have no clue where leakers are finding these leaks

8) none of the leaks picture a book and theyre all digitized unlike every other time..

9) a japanese speaker went on the official website and the extra chapter is NOT official

10) in the previous leaks other credits are tagged

11) izuocha being canon would be forced and rushed – like it doesn’t add up to me, ochako putting away her feelings about izuku is the start of her character development.. It doesn’t make sense if she goes back to those feelings she put aside BEFORE THE WAR this late into adulthood

12) the fact that there’s barely any mention of the suit in general is throwing me off too – like in the last chapter there isnt enough info about it either so id expect the extra chapter to have atleast A LITTLE MORE INFO

13) himiko and katsuki just being izuochas wingmen makes zero sense to me like this feels like fanfiction its OUT OF CHARACTER FOR THEM ALL

14) hori HINTS romance rather than stating it – like bkdk his hinted in the japanese manga and togachako isnt as subtle but its HINTED so him randomly deciding to make izuocha obviously canon just feels wrong

15) NO MENTION OF HAWKS?? A MAIN PRO HERO?? OR ENDEVOUR?? ANOTHER IMPORTANT CHARACTER??

16) WHERE THE FUCK IS THE LEAGUE..? LIKE HIMIKO AND DABI ARE THE ONLY ONES MENTIONED. WHERE IS SHIGARAKI. THE MAIN VILLAIN. IZUKU COULDNT SAVE HIM PROPERLY SO THAT MUSTVE SCARRED HIM SOMEWHAT..?

17) okay so its said that izuku joins KATSUKI’S AGENCY first of all its wonder DUO, ITS SUPPOSED TO BE THEIR AGENCY – putting that aside no way in hell would katsuki open an agency that fast.. like since izukus still a teacher here, we know he went to get a teachers degree after highschool so its confirmed that hes in his early 20s, and katsukis the same age, its unlikely that he could open an agency that quickly

18) adding to my last point, in the last chapter, katsuki kept his hero ranks low on purpose until izukus suit is over so its way more likely that he probably working for an agency and also the fact that he probably started working after most of his classmates because of his heart issues SO NO WAY DID HE SET UP AN AGENCY ON HIS OWN WITHOUT IZUKU THAT FAST

19) THE PAGES AREN’T RELEASED DIGITALIZED UNTIL THE OFFICIAL RELEASE

20) text bubbles from the leaks look like theyre from some shoujo more than horikoshis

21) if a handhold is soooooooo romantic then what the hell was bkdks handholds…. handholds plural btw BKDKS HANDHOLDS ARE ALSO WAY MORE INTIMATE.. LIKE?

22) how are you still dreaming about toga after like a decade and then u decide u want some guy who u liked for like half a year and who you GOT OVER

23) ochakos character revolves around izuku in these leaks which makes NO SENSE BECAUSE CANONICALLY SHES MORE THAN THAT. THAT CRUSH IS OVER. ITS BEEN ESTABLISHED. HER DREAM WAS TO SAVE PEOPLE AND SEE THEM SMILE, NOT WIN OVER IZUKU,, HER CHARACTER IS SO MISUNDERSTOOD BY FANS SO ITS VERYYYYYYYY LIKELEY THAT A FAN LIKE THAT DREW THESE LEAKS

anyways in the actual last chapter bakudeku kiss and himiko comes back to life for ochako and everybody lives happily ever after ❤️

#im too lazy too add images but go check the twt links i added at the top for them #i know im biased and this is VERY ship heavy but still i refuse to believe those leaks until december fourth #my hero academia #boku no hero acedamia #mha #bnha #bakudeku #togachako #izuocha #boku no hero academia #izuku midoriya #bakugo katsuki #bkdk #deku #katsuki bakugo #toga himiko #ochako uraraka

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ghxstlike · 1 year ago

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you shut my mouth (and buckle my knees)

pairing: mike schmidt/gn!reader

content: reader is michael's next door neighbor, mike is so awkward, mike has social anxiety & is bad at words, reader is so oblivious, reader is 19 & mike is 20/21, reader has daddy issues, fluff, this takes place before the events in the movie, no use of y/n.

summary: mike’s been avoiding you recently, and you automatically think he’s mad at you. when babysitting abby, she tells you the truth about his feelings about you.

author's note: the title is a lyric from ‘i want to be with you’ by chloe moriondo! also!! the fnaf movie is AMAZING and it’s one of my favorite movies now. this is cross posted on ao3!! enjoy :)

he’s never this quiet.

he’s always somewhat quiet, yeah, but not deathly silent. and he usually doesn’t avoid you, either.

being a babysitter is something you never expected when you moved into the house right next mike’s. you moved in about a year ago with your mom, due to her divorce with your dad. your dad wasn’t the greatest man, nor the best dad. he never left, but he was never involved in your life. so, your mom was pretty much a single mom. your mom wanted to move far away from your dad, landing up in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

a few days after moving in, your mom introduced you to mike and his little sister abby. the first time you’ve ever seen mike was…awkward, to say the least. you could tell mike wasn’t very comfortable in the conversation at first, with the way he swung back and forth on his heels. you, on the other hand, couldn’t focus with the most hottest man you’ve ever seen in your life standing in front of you. you loved the shade of brown his eyes were, they reminded you of a beautiful forest in the fall, late at night.

mike voiced to you both about how his recent babysitter wasn’t returning his calls and wasn’t showing up, so you stepped up to be abby’s new babysitter. you’re glad you did, since now you’re able to do fun things during the day and not sit in your room reading some lame book. you don’t get paid much, but that was the least of your worries.

now, you’re in the kitchen cleaning dishes. it was about 8 pm, so abby was already fast asleep. you and abby baked cookies and there was already a huge mess. in the middle of mixing the wet and dry ingredients together to make a dough, abby pinched up a bit of flour and threw it at you. you looked up at her with an exaggerated gasp and a hand over your heart. to play with her little charade, you grabbed a tiny bit and threw in her direction. the fight of throwing flour between the two of you suddenly stopped as mike walked through the door. a feeling of guilt ran through your body when you realized what you’ve done, but there was still a huge smile on your face as you waved at him.

ever since then, he’s been sitting on the couch watching some sort of old cartoon. he usually stays in the kitchen with you, sitting at the table and talking about your day with abby. out of seemingly no where, mike stopped this routine. it bummed you out, obviously, but you didn’t want to force him to talk to you.

you sigh, grabbing the green and yellow sponge that was placed next to the sink. your mind began to wander, thinking about earlier that day. you feel terrible, but you just wanted abby to have a bit of fun. you shouldn’t have let it go that far.

you know how it feels to start something fun, and have it end up with your body filling with shame and embarrassment. especially at abby’s age. the last thing you want abby to feel is embarrassment from an adult. you also never wanted mike to be mad at you, but you have a slight feeling he already is.

you sigh again as you realize you haven’t apologized to mike about what he walked into. you bite your lip, turning around to see mike still sitting on the couch, eyes fixated on the TV.

you gently place the remainder of the dishes in the dishwasher, then quietly walk over to mike. you sit on the same couch as him, but on the other end of it. you look down at your lap, your eyes tracing the all the lines in your palm. after a few moments of being silent yourself, you speak up.

“mike?” you say in a hushed voice. his response was almost immediate.

he hums, eyes flicking to you and back at the screen. “yeah?”

his flat, low voice always made you feel warm inside. making your heart and stomach flutter with butterflies. but this time, the warmth that his voice brings goes directly down to your stomach, twisting it with anxiety. his whole presence made you feel giddy, like you were in high school with a newly founded crush. you swallow thickly before you speak again.

“i just wanted to apologize for earlier.” you pause, trying to find the right words to say and not mess this up. you want mike to speak to you, you want mike to spend time with you, you just miss him. “i-i shouldn’t have let it get that far.” you murmur.

mike doesn’t say anything at first, he just looks over at you again and nods. “you’re good.”

your stomach churns at his dry response. you nod at him, wiping your clammy hands on your jean-clad knees. “i should get going,” you say under your breath. again, mike doesn’t respond. he just watches you walk to the door, putting on your shoes in a hurry.

mike runs a hand through his curly hair, trying to figure out what he wants to say. he wants to say something, atleast a goodnight, but nothing comes out. you were too busy tying up your shoes to notice his conflicting face.

you open the front door of mike’s home and look over your shoulder. “have a good night, mike.” you say with a smile. mike’s hand does a slight wave, not returning the smile. you shut the door quietly, feeling absolutely crushed.

one of mike’s hands run down his face, hating himself for not saying something before you left. he also hated the way his heart clenched as you looked so sad when you walked out the door. “god dammit.” he grumbled to himself.

days have passed from that night. mike is still avoiding you, and being extremely quiet around you. you know it’s just you he’s being quiet around, since you hear him arguing with abby when you enter his home in the afternoon. just the thought of mike being mad at you pains you to your core, so much so that you avoid him yourself. you feel absolutely terrible, but stirring the pot could make it worse.

mike obviously notices your recent behavior, but didn’t say anything about it. instead, he’d think about it deeply when he’s in bed late at night. for weeks, he’d sleep terribly, just staying up all night figuring out what to say to you to make things better. he misses talking to you, he misses hearing your beautiful laughter and how your eyes sparkle with life when you talk about your interests.

today wasn’t very eventful, it was rather peaceful. you and abby sat at the dinner table, drawing each other pictures and talking. you noticed a drawing she was finished with and picked it up. it seemed to be you, mike, and abby all holding hands in front of a house. you smile softly, glancing up at abby, who’s doodling away with a yellow crayon. you look back down at the artwork and notice a small detail between the drawing of you and mike.

“abs?” you call out, not looking up from the paper. you hear a quiet clank as abby set down her crayon.

“yes?” she looks up at you, a slight smile apparent on her face. you set down the paper and slide it over to her. she looks down at her art, then back up at you.

“what’s up with the heart between me and mike?” you question, your stomach filling with nerves.

abby shrugs, the smile on her face never faltering as she talks. “he likes you, duh.” she giggles.

you sit up straight as your eyes widen. “what?” you whisper. your mind is running wild with all sorts of thoughts- he likes you?

“mike talks about you all the time,” she explains, picking up the yellow crayon again. “i hear him talking to himself about how-”

“abby.”

both of your heads snap toward the front door. it’s mike, he seems angry; his face is a slight pink and his hand is tightly clutching onto his bookbag that’s slung over his shoulder. abby quickly gathers up all of her art supplies that were scattered across the table and flees to her room, giggling loudly. you watch her run, smiling at her cute antics.

you hear a chair being pulled out and see that mike is sitting across from you. the picture of the three of you remains. mike only glances at it and seems to wince with a clenched jaw. he doesn’t look happy at all. you bite the inside of your cheek, getting all wrapped up in your head about what mike is thinking.

abby clearly had a misunderstanding of what mike was actually feeling. she had to.

minutes pass, and not a single word is said. to save your embarrassment (and his), the chair under you screeches as you stand up. “i-i’ll leave,” you suddenly mumble. you don’t notice the way mike’s head snaps up, watching you start to make your way to the door.

mike calls out your name before you’re able to reach the door. “stay,” he pauses to clear his throat. “uh, please.”

you turn around to see mike staring at you with his eyebrows slightly raised. without hesitation or any word, you sit back down. “is everything okay?” your voice sounds so soft, it makes mike’s heart melt.

he nods quickly, scratching the back of his neck. you can see that one of mike’s legs are bouncing and you can see sweat build up on his forehead. he loosens his tie, which makes your whole body warm up. you could feel the warmth spread throughout your limbs, stopping at your toes and fingertips.

“you don’t look okay, a-are you sick?” you exclaim with a worried look on your face. mike shakes his head no, huffing out a laugh.

“no, i’m okay, promise.” a grin appears on his face, amused with your sudden worry. “i just- abby wasn’t lying.” he blurts out, his eyes not meeting yours. you seemed to have a confused expression, so he went further. “when she said i like you.”

oh.

“oh.”

mike looks back at you, seeing that you’re completely and utterly flustered. he was right, you don’t see him the way he sees you. he feels himself sweat more, “is there something wrong?”

“no! no, no,” you ramble, laughing awkwardly. “is that why you were avoiding me for weeks on end?” you ask, your voice getting into a higher pitch. mike nods silently, eagerly awaiting for your response.

now that you think about it, everytime that you were in close contact with mike, his whole body would tense up and his face would turn pink. you almost hit yourself for not noticing sooner. instead, you laugh quietly. one of mike’s eyebrows raise, looking at you with a confused expression.

“i thought you were mad at me.” you mumble, fiddling with your fingers.

mike’s expression softens, “why would i be mad at you?”

“the day where abby and i made a mess out of the kitchen with flour,” you replied with a shrug. “that was the day where you started avoiding me.”

mike’s mouth opened, then closed. he did this a few times before finally saying: “that day was when i realized i liked you.”

you stayed silent as he continued. “i really didn’t mean to avoid you, but i just..” he stops and takes a deep breath. “i just, y’know, couldn’t find words when i was around you.”

your heart almost skipped a beat at his words, smiling ever so brightly at him. you felt so many emotions in that moment, where mike felt like he was about to faint from how pretty you look when you smile. he gives you a grin in return.

“i like you, too.” you say, still smiling. you giggle as mike sighs in relief.

his hand reaches over the table to grab yours. his hand is a little sweaty, but you don’t mind a bit.

he clears his throat, “that means i can take you on a date, right?”

you squeeze his hand tightly and nod before you realize something.

“who will babysit abby?”

#x reader #fnaf #five nights at freddys #fnaf movie #fnaf movie x reader #mike schmidt x reader #michael schmidt #michael schmidt x reader #mike schmidt

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afro-hispwriter · 8 months ago

Text

A Good Wife Prequel

Aemond Targaryen x Targaryen!reader

(Daemon and Laenas daughter, no aegon x reader in this)

Prequel to “A Good Wife” but can be read as a standalone

Warnings- targcest(cousin), set during episode 8, oral(f receiving), p in v sex, virginity loss, sexual tension, choking, smut part inspired by Rhaenyra losing her virginity to Criston sorta (you'll see), Aegon's advances, jealous!Aemond,

Summary- you hadn't seen your cousin Aemond in 2 years, only briefly meeting at your mother funeral and another at a name day celebration, but after being called to KingsLanding, attractions come to light

Switches between 3rd and 2nd person(i tried to be grrm at the end lol)

Wc- 6k

Thank you @fan-goddess and @jasminecosmic99 for the help!

Your mother is dead. You had to watch her struggle to give birth to your newest siblings then painfully walk to her dragon, Vhagar. Your father had rushed out after her, you tried to follow after but he didn't let you. So you went up onto the walkway which looks out over the beaches of Pentos. Yet what you saw was utter heart wrenching, as you watched Vhagar open her mouth wide and set your mother and baby brother ablaze.

Daemon had fallen to his knees on the beach and couldn't move as he continued to merely stare at his wife’s body. He wasn't sure how long it had been before he felt a small hand on his shoulder.

The funeral came quickly. The last time you were in Driftmark was when you were born, but even then Laena and Daemon managed to take off to Pentos not soon after.

There were so many new faces, but not of your grandparents. They held the three of you tightly as your Uncle Vaemond Velaryon led the funeral, and as her casket fell into the sea the realization settled in that you would never see your mother again. Never feel that warm touch. Never hear her soothing voice again.

You sat on the beach with your legs crossed as you dug into the ground with a stick. Your tears had long dried up and you were down to just sniffles.

"Y/n?" A small voice came behind you and you turned around. It was a young boy, around your age maybe. Targaryen as well.

"How do you know my name?"

"My mother told me. I'm Prince Aemond Targaryen."

"Oh, the king's son." You stood up and dusted your black dress, followed by a small curtsy. Aemond just frowned and shifted on his heels awkwardly.

"You don't have to do that." He says and you press your lips together. An awkward silence fell on the both of you. "Why are you down here alone my lady?"

"I-I." Your eyes started to well up with tears and you wiped the first layer away but suddenly they were falling fast. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I should take you back." Aemond offered you his hand and you wiped your eyes before wiping them on your dress and taking his hand. Letting him lead you back into the castle.

From above Alicent and Otto stood, Alicent with a glower and Otto with amusement painted on his face as they watched the two children below hold hands and walk up the steps together.

"It isn't a terrible match, it could help us secure Daemon. He loves his daughters no doubt about that." Otto states.

"There is no securing Daemon Targaryen.” Alicent said, her glare still prominent. “We need Aemond available for future use if it comes down to it." With that, the queen walked away just as the two children came up the steps with Aemond leading his cousin through the crowd and dropping her off at her designated chamber where she would remain through the night. All the way through the chaos that would come. However, until Daemon came in the morning and announced they were moving to Dragonstone with Rhaenerya and her sons.

Dorne was nothing but beautiful the 2 years you resided there. Only now returning when the conflict for the next heir of Driftmark was being called into question. You didn't HAVE to be there, but it was for "moral support."

Vermithor had you in King's Landing in just 3 days. You were sad to leave Dorne. You’d learned and experienced so much that it hurt to leave but you couldn't deny how much you missed your father and sisters.

You ended up landing just after they did. There's been a slight chill covering Kinglanding and your new wardrobe from Dorne did not help you one bit to help you accommodate it, but the small shawl that simply buckled softly around your neck sufficed.

You hadn't been there long enough to know exactly where you were going. As not many people knew you were even attending, you didn't even have an escort, but you eventually made it inside the Keep. So much has changed. But it was more like the Hightowers had changed. Everything Targaryen or more like nothing that wasn't Seven approved was taken down and replaced with that damned seven pointed star.

"It’s a shame really." A deep voice spoke behind you and you turned around just to look up at your dear cousin.

"Prince Aemond." You say with a smile which he returns.

"Lady Y/n, was Dorne everything you hoped it to be?" You didn't miss the way you cousin's lilac eye took you in. All of you. No doubt you had grown since the last time you saw each other at Aegon's name day celebration.

"It was quite the experience, I learned a lot."

Your hair was longer, your eyes were deeper, and don't get him started on your dress. It was so different from the modest one he last saw you in Aegon's name day , asThis one was true Dornish style. The material was soft silk and there was a mesh addition to leave much more to the imagination. His mother would have a heart attack at the dip of the dress at your chest.

He had grown too though. Taller. Broader. A dark aura shined around him and it drew you in. He made your chest tighten.

"Are you not cold?" He asks you with a smile.

"Not really, I’m getting quite warm actually." You say as you undo the buckle of the shawl and let it fall so it rests on your arms. You turned around suddenly and you could hear Aemonds breath hitch.

The dress was backless. Aemonds eye traced along your skin before settling on the material that sat bunched up just above your ass. The smallest tug could reveal so much. If Alicent wouldn't have a heart attack, Aemond certainly would.

"Like what you see cousin?"

Oh you little-

You let out a giggle and Aemonds looked down while his face turned red. You strode up close to him and turned your head slightly to catch his eye.

"Don't be ashamed my prince, we're Targaryens. it’s in our blood." He looked up this time but as soon as he did he quickly looked away again from you making you smirk. "Prince Aemond?"

"Yes, Lady Y/n?"

"The rest of our family is here already but I'm having trouble finding them. Could you help me?" Aemond did not know what game you were playing at, but he was still willing to be a pawn for you at any time. He offered you his arm and you gladly took it.

It didn’t take long for you to find your family, or rather, they saw you. They were all huddled together speaking lowly, but Luke saw you first and his face broke into a wide smile. You broke away from Aemond and Luke had you in a tight hug instantly.

“I miss you.” He said as he laid his head on your chest while you smiled. Aemond took a step back as the rest of your family from Dragonstone and Driftmark approached. Daemon Targaryen rolled his shoulders back at the sight of his grown nephew The boy now towered over him. The One-Eyed had matured, and any man or woman could see he had his sight set on Prince Daemon and Lady Laena’s firstborn.

“Thank you, for aiding my daughter.” Daemon says as he kisses the side of your head in a possessive motion. “I'm sure your mother is wondering where you are.” There was a tension built in the atmosphere just between the two men, and you took the liberty of an attempt to dissolve it.

“Thank you, for helping me, Prince Aemond.” You say and separate from Daemon to go up on your toes to kiss Aemond’s cheek.

“It was no trouble my lady.” He nods before turning away. You bite your lower lip as you watch him leave, the act going unnoticed by Daemon.

“What were you doing with that Hightower cunt?” You rolled your eyes and hugged Rhaena tightly.

“He was only helping me find my way to all of you, nothing more.”

The throne room was packed, so many overlapping voices. Rhaena and Luke had wanted to know everything about Dorne that you hadn’t already incorporated in the letters sent, while Jace simply listened in.

Daemon however noticed the eyes of the many lords who looked over at you and whispered to each other. No doubt he would be approached once this was over by lords either presenting their sons or themselves for your hand.

The moment Otto started talking though you made sure to tune the man quickly out.

Your cousins on the other side of the room seemed to be doing the same as it appeared Nobody truly wanted to be there.

Aemond on the other hand loved it deep down. He saw you less than an hour ago and you’re all he thinks about now. You shined brighter than anybody in the room, even in the gloomy light shining through the windows.

His look did not go unnoticed by you and you couldn’t help but think howSomeone has to show your one-eyed cousin how to be subtle. But to tease the man a bit you brought your hands up as if you were brushing your shoulder randomly, your thumb “accidentally” getting caught on the material around your breasts and brought it down slightly, Revealing the swell of the sides of your breasts. His breath hitched and he looked away. That action did not go unnoticed by your eldest cousin Aegon though had noticed as well and he licked his lips.

The arrival of the king brought you back. Your father going to help the old sick man who dropped his crown and could barely stand.

It wasn’t long before once again, Lucerys’ claim was established. Again. Your great uncle Vaemond had a say in it, which resulted in part of the man's head chopped off.

You were escorted out after that. Brought to your chambers where you learned the king asked for a family dinner. It was the perfect moment for you to get closer to Aemond, so You made sure to tell one of the servant girls to inform the others who were preparing for the dinner to put a chair next to Aemonds.

The servants scrubbed you down and cleaned you everywhere, trimmed where anything needed trimming or cut completely.

The dress you wore was more modest, but still with your new found Dornish style.

As you finished with your accessories, someone knocked gently at your door.

“Come in.” You called and turned around in your chair to see the door open. A man opened the door, helmet in hand and head low. “Eoywn!” You stood up and ran to your friend and wrapped your arms around the man.

Eoywn was a stable boy on Dragonstone andYour first friend after the move. The two of you would watch the knights train which is what convinced him to join. A little help from you, and he was being trained. Eoywn was always a handsome boy. Brown hair, brown eyes, and his warm olive skin shined always.

“Ser Eoywn now I suppose.” You chuckle and hold the man at arms length. He certainly grew. “I didn’t know you'd be here.”

“I was being briefed and introduced to King's Landing, my apologies My Lady.” You cocked your head to the side.

“Oh please don’t start with the Lady.” You groaned as he chuckled.

“Your father sent me here to escort you to dinner, so you don’t get lost again. in his words.” You rolled your eyes.

“Lead the way.”

Aemond stood talking with Aegon when you walked in with Ser Eoywn behind you. He instantly stopped talking to his brother and locked eyes with you while Aegon turned to you and instantly smiled.

“My beautiful cousin.” He says and holds his arms out to pull you into a hug. You were tense, but you still greeted the man. He pulled away and let his hands drag along your waist. “You’ve grown.”

“Everyones been saying that.”

“Because it's true.” He squeezed your hips. “So very true.”

“Leave her alone, Aegon.” Aemond says behind him and Aegon rolls his eyes.

“Simple innocent fun brother. You do know what fun is right?” Before Aemond could respond, everyone fell silent as King Viserys was carried in. Everyone then took their places, you walked round the table while Aemond sat and Eowyn pulled out your chair right next to the prince and pushed you into the table once you settled in it.

Daemon was leaning back in his chair staring directly at you.

Aemonds demeanor changed, as he clasped his hands together in his lap and straightened his back. You sat to his right, allowing him to look at you out of the corner of his eye . Aemond was glad you chose something a bit more modest, but no less beautiful. If you had shown up to dinner in the same dress from earlier, Aemond would no doubt be having another date with his hand after the dinner was over.

“He should’ve stayed in bed.” You mumbled looking at the king. Aemonds chest jumped slightly as if trying to stop a laugh. “Me and you could have had our own dinner, just the two of us.” You grabbed a napkin and flattened it across your lap.

“We still can.” He says lowly. “Just leave now. Nobody will notice.”

“Hmm and do what?” You smirked at him. “Eat or-.” You were cut off by Viserys standing. He proceeded to go on about the family and how divided everyone was and how that shouldn’t be. When the man took off the golden mask revealing how bad the illness truly was. You swallowed deeply as you couldn’t tear your eyes away.

It didn’t take long before the king finished and Rhaenerya and Alicent followed with their own toasts. You’re not sure what Aegon had said but Jace’s reaction was enough. Everyone looked at him in confusion and suddenly Aemond stood up tall, chair creaking as he did so. You kept looking between the two, tension was clearly high between them and everyone waited for the other to act.

Aemond instantly going to his brother's defense made the fire already burning inside of you burn hotter.

Jace punched Aegon's arm softy and lifted his cup of wine, saying toast to his two uncles. Once it was done Aemond was the one still standing, glaring at Jace.

“Aemond.” You whispered and he looked down and licked his lips before sitting back down. Helaena stood up next with a smile and wine in hand.

“I would like to toast to Baela and Rhaena.”

“Don’t let them get to you.” You whispered to Aemond. “They’re only boys.” Aemond didn’t respond, just drew his shoulders back. You rolled your eyes and grabbed his pale hand and squeezed it. You smiled at him and he showed no emotion but a flicker of his eye to your lips. You leaned forward and he leaned back, cheeks dusting pink making you giggle.

Music started and food was brought out. Everyone dug in passing around plates of potatoes, peas, and salads. You’ve let Aemonds hand go to start filling your plate full of food.

“How does it look compared to Dornish cuisine?” Aemond asks and you shrug.

“There is more color in Dorne.” You took a bite. “And more flavor, but I missed this food nonetheless.”

“Y/n.” Otto bumps into the conversation. “Was Dorne everything they say, I rarely go.”

“It was fun, I learned a lot. They express themselves a lot, it makes me admire them.”

“Any suitors?” Aemond asks and you raise an eyebrow.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, cousin.”

“I would actually.”

“And why is that?” There was a sly look on your face and Aemond tensed his jaw.

“Aemond?” Alicent caught her son's attention and shook her head.

“My apologies my lady, I did not mean to intrude.”

“No harm.” You say taking another bite and shifted your knees to push into his. “What of you? Any ladies lining up.”

“None.” He says, you would say it was a tone of disappointment but he didn’t let it show.

“Well they are fools.” He let out a hum.

“Are you a fool, my lady?” He asks.

“I won't be the fool if you anger me, my prince.”

“Then I should see that I don’t.” He raised his cup to you and brought it to his lips, followed by you copying his actions. The king's health seemed to drop even further and the man was carried out.

A steaming pig was brought out and placed in front of the two of you. You licked your lips and instantly grabbed a knife and fork to start cutting your own pieces. You missed the way Luke laughed at Aemond, it wasn't until the man stood up, slamming his fists on the table and grabbed his cup.

“Final tribute.” He says and everyone stops. “To the three strong boys.” You set your utensils down and stared up at him.

“I dare you to say that again.” Jace says and the two started walking towards each other.

“Why? Do you not think of yourself strong?” Jace swung hard at Aemond but didn’t make the man stumble. All while Aegon slammed Luke onto the table as your sisters tried to jump into the fight. Aemond shoved Jace to the ground and turned around, flashing you a big smile and you shook your head in disappointment.

“Your brother certainly is strong, my lady.” He whispered in your ear as he set his cup down. You rolled your eyes and simply drank more wine.

Jace scrambled to his feet and tried to charge again, Aemond readying himself to humiliate the boy again. But Daemon stopped it before anything happened. This time you did stand up to try and intervene but it was Ser Eowyn who stopped you.

“My lady.” He says while shaking his head. Your shoulders slumped and you took a step back. Aemond and Daemon stared each other down before Aemond backed off, looking straight ahead and walking out the room.

Dinner was clearly over. You dismissed yourself and walked quickly to try and catch up with Aemond with Eowyn in tow. Only for him to be stopped by Daemon.

“Make sure my daughter goes straight to her chamber’s. By force if needed.” He says, emphasizing on the “her”. Eowyn nodded and took off after you.

“My lady.” He calls after you as you’re already down the hall. “Y/n stop!” You stopped in your tracks and whipped around.

“Yes?”

“Your father has given me strict orders on making sure you go straight to your chambers.”

“Orders.” You rolled your eyes. “He can suck my cock.” You turned around again and started walking when Eowyns gloved hand encased your wrists.

“You come willingly or its by force.” He says serious this time.

“As if you would.” You said offended and ripped your wrist from his hands and crossed your arms.

“I care about you my friend, I truly do. But your father scares me more.” Suddenly you were over the man's shoulders and he was walking towards the direction of your chambers.

It was a fight the whole way there until he set you down right in front of the door. You huffed and smoothed your dress out and opened the door.

“Sorry.” He says and you shut the door in his face. You had to see Aemond, there was no way you were able to stay in King's Landing now.

Your best course was to get ready for bed and wait a bit until everyone was surely asleep and you could sneak out somehow. Ser Eowyn should be patrolling the halls by that time.

You finished wrapping up your hair and threw a robe on. As you were looking in the mirror your door slammed open making you scream. Daemon walked in with a heavy step and started looking around the room.

“Are you mad? What if I were naked?” You crossed your arms and glared at him.

“Well it seems that's where you're trying to go with my nephew.” He looks into the closet.

“What are you talking about?”

“A blind man could see what's going on between the two of you. You’re so infatuated with him you didn’t even defend your brothers.”

“My brothers?” You scoffed. “They’re my half cousins at best. And maybe we wouldn’t be here if Rhaenyra made sure at least one of her sons looked the tiniest bit like me, don’t you agree?”

“Mind your tongue.”

“Or what, you’re going to chop my head off?” You scoffed again and sat in a chair. “I'm not a child anymore, father. Please leave.” He let out a deep sigh before turning around and leaving.

“I'm glad he did not see me.” A voice sounded from behind you and you almost jumped out of your skin.

“Aemond?!” He stood there in the window and brought his hood down. “You can't be here.”

“Why not?” He asks and unties his cloak and tossed it on a chair. “Were you not planning on seeing me?”

“Yes but my father made it difficult.”

“Hmm.” He says and your eyes flash to the dagger on his hips. “You’re not mad I shoved your brothers.”

“Hmm, no.” You say standing up to stand before him. Aemonds heart started racing. “I don’t care enough to be mad.” Suddenly you unsheathed his dagger and playfully pointed at him. “Unless you want me too.

“Give that back, I don't want you to hurt yourself.” He says holding out his but you shake your head.

“Hurt myself? Who do you think I am? I can cut you down right here and nobody would know.” You say and started backing up. Aemond frowned and tried to lunge at you but you ran to the other side of the bed

You were playing him.

“Y/n.” He tried again but you dodged it and giggled. “Are you done?” You pouted and flipped the dagger so the blade was in your hand and the handle faced Aemond.

“You’re no fun.” Aemond rolled his eye and walked towards you. The second his hand was reaching out to grab the handle, you tossed the blade to the side of the room and grabbed Aemonds wrists and yanked him down so you could press your own lips against his. The prince was stunned but he let it happen. You slowly let go of his wrists and pushed yourself into his body. Aemond wrapped an arm around your waist so you could reach up and wrap an arm around his neck and back.

The kiss was getting heated and you could feel yourself get dizzy at the lack of air. It was Aemond who pulled away first.

“That was unexpected.” He squeezed your waist tightly making you bite your lip. You kissed him again and this time Aemond let his lust take over and walk backwards until the back of your knees hit the bed and you fell. He let you go so you only bounced on the bed. You brought your knees up so your nightgown fell and revealed your thighs. Aemond licked his lips and grabbed your knees.

“We really shouldn’t.” You said and lifted yourself up to get rid of your robe.

“No. We shouldn’t.” Aemond says and he sinks to his knees and pushes his face down to disappear under the dress. “No small clothes like a common whore?” He kissed your inner thighs a few times before letting his tongue deleve straight into your folds making you gasp. You bunched up the bottom of the gown and scrunched it towards you so you could see Aemonds face. He pushed his nose into your clit and inhaled softly. Your face burnt in embarrassment.

“Aemond no.”

“You smell divine.” He muffed and opened his mouth wide to devour you. Your fingers made their way into his hair and pulled tightly making him groan. His lips closed around your clit and he sucked harshly.

“Aemond.” You arched your back and your leg made its way over his shoulder. “So good.” Aemond brought a finger up and plunged it in your hole. Your jaw slacked and your stomach tensed.

“Oh gods.” He started thrusting his finger in while still not letting your clit go. It was better than your fingers would ever do.

Your moans were loud while Aemond was practically silent. You bit the sheets of the bed and bucked up into his face, forcing hips lips off your clit and the hood of your clit catching on his nose

“Aemond fuck.” You grabbed the back of his head and pushed his face flush against you. It allows you to start moving your hips up and down. Aemond just let it happen, regardless of how much he couldn’t breathe. He curled his finger slightly and your belly tightened and you let out a loud squeal as your orgasam washed over you.

You slowly let Aemond go as your muscles spasmed. He sucked in a deep breath to fill his lungs back up before dipping down again and licking any juices that dribbled out. The overstimulation was unbearable so you practically shoved Aemond so he fell on his ass.

“Too much.” You laughed out of breath. Aemond shook his head in amusement before standing up. His erection pressing heavily against his pants was very evident. “Do you need help?” Your foot made its way up his legs before settling on his groin and you pushed against it. Aemond groaned and clasped a hand around your ankle.

“I shouldn’t stay and you know that.”

“But I want to return the favor.” You sat up completely and slowly shed the robe from your shoulders. “Don’t you want me too?” Aemond looks down at you with a dark glint in his eye. He dropped your ankle and stepped in between your legs.

“If we get caught. There would be a scandal.” He says and started undoing his vest.

“I live for drama.” He tossed the material to the side to reveal his bare chest. He lifted one knee onto the bed and leaned over you, supporting his weight on his arm.

“Then let us be the biggest scandal this kingdom has ever heard of.” You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him flush against your body. He kissed you deeply before pulling off and reaching down to the tie of his pants. He pulled the strings to loosen them up then pushed it down his hips to set under his ass. His cock jumped out, sliding against his stomach and sticking straight at you.

“Is this what you’ve been hiding from court?” You reached out and tried to grab him but he slapped your hand away.

“No time for that.” He pinned you down on the bed by your wrists with one hand. Your dress was once again around your waist but this time Aemonds hand ripped the top of your dress with one tug, releasing your breasts from their confinements. He took one in his mouth and released it.

Aemond grabbed his cock and pushed his hips down so he could swipe the head along your fold. The tip got caught against your hole making you jump and struggle against Aemonds wrists. At seeing your struggle he instantly let you go.

“Gently, Aemond. Please.” He chuckled.

“Such a tease but you haven’t even let anyone touch you.” Your face burnt in embarrassment. “Did you learn anything in Dorne? They are known for being so open.”

“Shut up and just fuck me Aemond.” He didn’t have to be told again as he pushed in. There was still some resistance so he reached down and rubbed your clit. You were a mix of groaning in discomfort and moaning in pleasure once he was fully inside you.

Your hand found his and they entwined. He slowly started thrusting and you felt yourself loosening up. Aemonds eye fluttered shut and his head lowered to your ear, letting you hear his quiet sounds of pleasure.

Your legs locked around his waist. Aemond sped up, your tightness was squeezing him deliciously. You bit his shoulder to muffle your moans. Your hands have found your breasts to allow you to pinch and tug at them, just to amplify the pleasure more. Aemond captured your lips again, your mouth opening to moan allowed the prince to slip his tongue in.

You released your chest and grabbed the back of Aemonds hair and tore the band holding the strands of hair up. It framed his face and the speed of his thrusts and closeness of your bodies let the end tickle your body. You tugged his hair to force him off your lips and pressed your foreheads together as your body jerked at his harsh thrusts.

“I-I want to see you as I cum cousin. All of you.” Aemond stopped his thrusts and your heart sank. He stared at you, seeming to be deep in thought. If you were any other woman, in any situation. He would’ve said no. But the way the moon shone on your body, revealing the glistening from the layer of sweat or how your face was blissed out all due to him.

He shed the eye patch and threw it across the room. You looked at him in awe, the shimmering of the gem was beautiful. But it turned into pleasure once again as his hand grabbed your throat and pushed you into the bed. Holding you to the bed as his thrusts started again, deep and harsh.

“A-Aemond.” You squealed and his hand tightened to cut your airways slightly . His cock continuously rubbed against the spot inside you leaving you even more breathless. “Gonna cum!” Your face twisted and your jaw slacked as you came all over Aemond. He groaned at the tightness which squeezed him tight enough for his seed to shoot out and fill you up. Your legs tightened against him, pulling him even closer.

He let you go and grabbed your legs to unwrap them from his hips so he could fall down. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of the two of you trying to catch your breaths.

You would’ve fallen asleep if it weren’t for Aemond getting up and putting his clothes.

“Why are you leaving? The fun has just started.” You brought your knees together and swayed them side to side.

“It is late, cousin.” You rolled your eyes at his sudden bluntness.

“Just one more time, please.” You pleaded with a pout. In the process of tying his pants together, he looked behind himself to give himself a taste at the sight below him.

His pants were dropped completely this time.

It was the cool steel blade resting on Aemond’s jugular that woke him up. He swallowed deeply and he stayed still. The one thing he could think of was to awaken you. So he squeezed your hips tightly from under the blanket. You stirred instantly and turned around.

“Wanting more alr- father.” You scrambled out the bed, taking the sheets with you. You stood up with the sheet to your chest. Aemond was still frozen, now bare for everyone to see. “Please don’t.” Daemon looked at you then down at his nephew before pulling the blade back.

“No need for the hostility uncle.”

“Shut up, and get out.” The man says and Aemond gets up. You were looking down, frozen in place. Aemond tugged his pants on and found his eyepatch to slip it on over his wild hair. His boots followed, then he grabbed his dagger and ended with his vest. Aemond walked out the room in silence.

“Father-.” Daemon simply held a finger up to silence you.

“Make yourself decent.” The Dark Sister was placed back in her usual spot on the prince's hip. Before Daemon walked out, the flash of red on the bed stopped him. The little blood splotches on the sheets reminded him of everything that transpired during the night.

You were led to the council room by a knight. There was Alicent who was scolding Aemond, who looked very unamused. Otto stood behind him with his arms crossed. Rhaenyra sat on the other side of the table silently, while Daemon paced back and forth. Alicent stopped talking once she took notice that you stood in the entrance. Everyone else looked up.

“Sit.” Daemon sharply pointed at the open seat next to Rhaenrya and you obeyed instantly. The second you were seated the screaming started.

“How could you be so foolish!”

“I raised you better than this.”

“Do you understand the consequences of your actions?”

“You’ve brought shame to our houses, to our family.”

It was safe to say everything said was directed both to you and Aemond.

“You knew not to taint yourself and you do it anyway.” Daemon says and you roll your eyes.

“Oh please like you hadn’t gone through every whore in Fleabottom by the time you were my age.”

“Aemond you know better than to take the maidenhead of a lady, what if she becomes with child?”

“Then marry me to her.” He says and everyone's eyes widen in shock. “Save yourself the drama and marry me to her.” He says again and turns his face to Daemon.

“Nobody would question it.” You say. “The people would be told it was a way to fix our split house, but in reality if I were to have a baby. They wouldn’t know.” Otto and Alicent shared a look.

“It isn’t the worst idea.” Otto says.

“No.” Daemon says. “I’ll just marry her off to an old fat lord in the North who is in need of an heir.”

“Daemon.” Rhaenerya instantly stood up. “She is your child, you wouldn’t dare send her through such horrors.”

“My child decided to act like a whore.”

Your chest tightened and your breath hitched, trying to hold back tears. Suddenly Aemond slammed both his fists into the table and drew his sword. Otto grabbed Alicent by her arms and pulled her away.

“Say that again.” Daemon unsheathed Dark Sister and the two blades met across the table. Rhaenerya grabbed your hand and led you out the chair.

“Now you believe what's best for her?” Daemon says and Aemond cocks his head to the side.

“I'm not threatening to send her away uncle, I am a far better man than any in the realm.”

“Oh stop this madness, I am your Queen!” Alicent says but neither man stepped down. “Y/n is of age, if she chooses to marry Aemond, then I will allow it.” Tears were running down your cheeks but you nodded furiously.

“Yes. I will marry him.”

Aemond gave Daemon a sly smile with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“So be it.” The older Targaryen man walked away. Aemond let out a satisfied “Mmm” before putting his sword away.

“Aemond?” You say from the other side of the table.

“Yes my lady.”

“Thank you.”

Mushroom would write that it was Lady Y/n and Prince Aemonds lust for each other that kept Princess Rhaenyra on King's Landing. Just after the betrothal of the Lady and Prince, it had been announced that King Viserys had passed. Otto Hightowers plans were thrown from the window as he witnessed the coronation from the crowds with a mighty scowl noticeable by all.

As for the Lady and Prince. Their wedding was in 4 months, but in just a month in a half. The wedding was quickly rushed to happen in two weeks from when the Lady discovered she was with child. The child who would be Rhaegar Targaryen.

A/n- don’t worry daemon and y/n’s relationship does eventually fix itself as we see they are very close later in the series.

#aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen #ewan mitchell #aemond x reader #aemond targaryen smut #daemon targaryen

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ryeriy · 9 months ago

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slipping through my fingers | lewis hamilton

-> summary: Lewis is watching is daughter slip away through his fingers

-> pairings: dad!lewis hamilton x mom!reader

-> a/n: this was a really cute idea in my head but I hope it turns out okay 😭

mamma mia series

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15 years ago, January 29th

It was just a few hours ago that little Savanna was born into this world. She had already been adored by both of her parents that loved her so much in these first few hours.

"She's quite cute isn't she?" Lewis said while looking down at the baby girl in his arms. Savanna was swaddled in blankets and being held by her father. Y/n looked over at Lewis as he held their newborn daughter. Even though y/n was very tired, she couldn't help but to slightly smile.

"Probably gets that from me." Y/n let out a soft laugh. Lewis laughed too.

"I couldn't agree more with that one," Lewis smiled at the baby in his arms that's his.

He couldn't believe that something this perfect and tiny was his. He has a child now and if felt so unreal to him still. It felt like to him it was only yesterday she was showing him the two pink lines on the pregnancy test, now he was holding his baby girl in his hands.

"I wish I could just freeze this moment and treasure it, it's so peaceful."

"Me too..." y/n agreed.

Y/n looked over at Lewis holding their daughter smiling at the sigh of it. They're finally a family after nine whole months of waiting. Their lives couldn't have been any better.

10 years ago, September 1st

"Okay, do you have everything you need Savanna?" Y/n asks as she grabs her daughter's Hello Kitty backpack, putting it onto her back.

The five-year-old nods her head and looks up at her mom. "Yes, mommy, you asked me that before we left the house too!" Savanna giggled in response. "I know, I'm just making sure!" Y/n smiled at her daughter and pulled out her phone from her pocket.

Lewis was standing next to y/n looking at Savanna and smiling at her. He leaned down to kiss her head and ran a hand through her hair. Savanna clung to Lewis hugging him.

"Okay fine...just one more picture though!" Y/n let out a soft laugh opening her camera.

"Mommy! I've got to go!" Savanna giggled again putting a smile on her face. She pulled away from Lewis standing in front of both of her parents.

"Just one more hug?" Y/n asked looking at Savanna getting down to her level to hug. Savanna ran up into her mother's arms embracing her mom. Y/n kissed her forehead and smiled at her. "Okay, okay! Just have fun and we'll pick you up after school?"

"We can even go for ice cream later!" Lewis exclaimed as he kneeled in front of Savanna. Both of them were smiling ear to ear pulling her into a tight hug.

"Yay!" Savanna exclaimed wrapping her arms around Lewis' neck.

Savanna pulled away one last time and looked around seeing other kids laughing and playing. She looked eager to go meet new kids and looked back up at her parents. Lewis and Y/n were standing next to each other. Lewis had his arm wrapped around y/n as they both had their eyes on Savanna. "Go, go have fun!" Lewis said to her and y/n smiled.

Savanna smiled at them and ran off to the entrance of the school where the other kids were. She turned around looking back at her parents, waving to them. "Bye, mommy! Bye, daddy!" She smiled and ran up to a group of kids.

Lewis and Y/n waved back and softly smiled at Savanna. They couldn't believe that she was growing up so fast. It was their daughter's first day of school and she wasn't looking back and rethinking.

8 years ago, July 25th

"You'll do great, sweetheart," Lewis hugged Savanna.

Today was Savanna's first big gymnastics competition. She's had competition before but nothing this big. There were so many other girls her age competing. It was quite intimidating, especially for a seven-year-old girl. Lewis and y/n would be there though to support their daughter even if they had to watch her from afar, they were still supporting her.

"You promise?" Savanna looked up into her father's eyes.

"I promise you, me and mom are going to be in the stans cheering you on the entire time, okay?" Lewis comforted her. He gently brushed a strand of curly hair out of her face.

Savanna hugged Lewis and y/n with a wide smile on her face. She took her water bottle and her bag with her and ran off to go with her team. Lewis held onto her hand until she started to turn away from him. Both parents were proud of their daughter and how far she's come along.

Savanna placed fourth overall in her events. Even though she didn't get first place, she still got a medal and a proud smile on her face.

"Mommy! Mommy! Daddy! Daddy!" The little girl came rushing up to her parents smiling at them. Savanna barely had her bag on her back and her water bottle hanging her tiny fingers. "Look! Look! I got a medal!"

"Oh, look at that!" Lewis looked at her and hugged her tightly. He placed a kiss on her forehead. "You did really good sweetheart."

"We're so proud of you, baby!" Y/n said as she looked at her daughter and smiled.

"Can we get some ice cream now?" Savanna looked up at Lewis and y/n with puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, we can go get ice cream now," y/n laughed softly and kissed her daughter's head.

Savanna smiled widely and let out a giggle. She was so excited to go get ice cream after a well-deserved day full of gymnastics. "Yay!"

Present Day, January 29th

"Happy birthday dear Savanna, Happy birthday to you! Blow out your candles, sweetheart."

Y/n smiled as she took a photo of Savanna, who was sitting in front of her cake with fifteen lighten candles on top of it. Lewis was next to y/n smiling at his daughter as blew out all fifteen of the candles on top.

"God, you're so old now!" Y/n joked as she smiled and looked at Lewis and Savanna.

"It's like yesterday you were in my arms for the first time and your mom was fawning all over you!" Lewis laughed and so did y/n while Savanna cringed.

"You guys are acting like it's a big deal, I'm only fifteen!" Savanna said as she looked at her parents.

Only fifteen.

That was the only thing Lewis could think of. He didn't realize it but his little girl was growing up right in front of him. He remembered thinking back on the day she was first born, when he said to y/n, "I wish I could just freeze this moment and treasure it, it's so peaceful." He wishes he still could.

#ryeriy #ryeriys blog #f1 #f1 x reader #f1 fanfic #lewis hamilton x reader #lewis hamilton #mamma mia #slipping through my fingers

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lovelyiida · 9 months ago

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KATSUKI BAKUGO X SECRETARY READER • A 500 FOLLOWERS SERIES!

❥ SYNOPSIS: as the years passed, Bakugo came to the realization that he was the last among his class to tie the knot. As the days grew colder, and the nights became lonelier. Bakugo finds the desire to get married, but he doesn't really feel like falling in love. At least he has his trustee secretary!

implied fem reader, aged-up! Pro-hero MHA characters over the age of 27, vulgar language, suggestive wording and content

❥: CHAPTERS

❥ MASTERLIST

❥ JOIN TAG LIST!

WORDS: 4.3K

PS: Please let me know if you have filled out the tag form since the last update so I can keep up to date!!

CHAPTER 8: VULNERABILITY

PHASE 2: CONSOLE

“Beady-eyed, dog-mannered, dimwad!”

Headline, headline, headline!

PRO-HERO DYNAMIGHT EXPLODES IN ANGER DURING INTERVIEW

[unreleased footage from Pop! Magazine spreads like wildfire!]

Over 3 million views, and 10 thousand shares.

Since the dawn of the moon, you have been repeatedly refreshing the page. Each and every comment was scanned with frantic-fast movements. Relishing in this whole interview fiasco from the comfort of your queen-sized bed, you moaned in anguish.

Your face became increasingly hot as you read the comments with your third glass of wine in hand. As much as you thought the comments would be demeaning to the pro-hero, the exact opposite happened!

[COMMENT] Did you see how he took up for his secretary? Omg, that was so hot.

• 45k likes • 216 shares

[COMMENT] The way he took her hand going off the set!!!!

• 78k likes • 12k shares

[COMMENT] Oh god, send me a man like Dynamight…

• 57k likes • 2k shares

[COMMENT] Bro there’s no way they aren’t fucking

• 180k likes • 3.8k shares

Of course, that’s the top comment.

Staring at your computer, you tried hard to fathom the situation you were now slapped into. The video of you and Dynamight has gone viral, and everyone now suspects that you two are in a relationship.

And they're not entirely wrong...

Despite your late-night attempts to contact the fiery hero, your calls went straight to voicemail and your texts went unanswered. Letting out a large sigh that was once trapped in your chest, you had no choice but to sit there and let the bomb explode. And await the absolute nuke that was urging to be dropped at the office.

Staring at the messages you sent Dynamight, you scowled. “Flashy piece of carbon fiber pants thinks he’s the shit and can just ignore my messages? Leaving me to the wolves once again!” you shouted in anger. You threw your phone to the end of your bed and buried yourself in your plush duvet. Your throat becomes tight as your eyes are welled with tears.

“I’m gonna teach you, Dynamight, to never fuck with me or any other secretary again.”

The pattern of clicking heels and bustling conversations filled the office today. Usually, the bleak energy of Dynamight's office could be caught with little to no attention. But the sight you’ve seen today was out of the ordinary.

“The printers are down; just send emails!”

“Has anyone been in contact with Pop Magazine? They’re completely blocking our calls!”

“God damn it, I need a raise!”

The chitter-chatter amongst your coworkers is at an all-time high. As you started to quicken the pace of your steps around the office, scowls and stares were slapped across your face. Stepping foot by foot, you reach the bathroom and hide in the nearest stall.

The door bursts open before you can even think about taking another breath. “Can you believe Dynamight fired Hitomi and Sakura for telling the truth? I mean, the whole floor has seen the video! Even Red was speechless.” A woman says her friend snickers at her remark before chiming in.

“I’d like to see little miss Secretary say something now; she’s not beating the slut-cretary allegations at this point–”

You didn’t know what came over you at the moment, but your feet began to move before your mind could comprehend what the actual fuck was going on. Slamming the stall open, you watch the two women flinched at your action. Eyes going wide, they stare into your soulless eyes, filled with an incomprehensible anger that you didn’t know was held within you.

“First off, let’s get one thing straight right now.”

You said it flatly, closing the stall behind you. You walked up towards the duo and closed in on them. “Me and Dynamight are not a thing; have you ever taken into consideration that I’m the only person who’s in charge of this man's reputation and career, as we both fucking know it?”

"So, of course, I’ll be hip-and-hip with the brute. Do you think I want that man in that play-pen he calls a fucking office? Oh please, Dynamight needs my ass because he can barely keep his head on every second of the day. So just maybe, we should all realize how valuable I am to all of your lives!”

“Because I know that if I wasn’t here, this building would be in flames, man-made or not.”

You spoke sternly with each huff of your breath, and the two women in front of you were left speechless. Your frown soon curled into a small twitch of a smirk before you spoke once more. “So excuse me for needing to be spoken up for. You bitches, have a nice day.”

Without looking back, your feet trailed confidently out of the boss battle that was the ladies' room and straight toward Dynamight's office. With each harsh click of your heels, you stepped closer to the office, your frown stuck and growing deeper by the second. Your coworkers took into account the drastic shift in your demeanor. From shy and outspoken to confident and ten cans of bitchy.

Without thinking twice, you throw the door open with a small huff and walk into the domain of the pro-hero. Closing the door softly, you turn at your heel and scowl at Dynamight. His amber eyes burn back at you with an almost unamused look, unphased by the absolute chaos ensuing beyond the Acia wood door.

“So what? Are we just going to ignore what the press is saying about us?” You said flatly.

“I ignored your annoying ass text messages pretty much the same way,” he snapped back slyly.

This asshat.

As you stormed towards his desk, you slammed your hands against it with a loud slap that made your palms sting. “Is it possible for you to actually talk about the issue and not be a fucking brat?” You spat with anger.

Dynamight's laidback/unbothered exterior soon crumbles in slow motion. From sitting back in his seat, he approaches you with a smooth motion, his eyes glowing amber-red as his elbows land on said desk. Looking straight into your eyes, a devilish smirk etches across his face.

“Say that again for me, Y/N; go ahead.”

Faces close to one another, you could feel the heat radiating off of the hero. You frown at his attempt at intimidation, snapping your eyes away for a single millisecond before you feel a strong, warm grip on your face.

“No, don’t look away now, pretty. Say what you just said to me again. Since you have all the audacity in the world today,” he said with amusement oozing from his tone. You groaned at the sensation of his hand gripping your face, swallowing down your fear. You spoke once more.

“I said, Man up, brat.”

A long-standing pause settles over the room as his gaze burns into your eyes. Suddenly, Dynamight stands up with one swift move. The blonde removes his hand from your face, you moan in anguish at the fade of his unsettling grip and stare into the blonde's eyes once more.

You watch as the hero points his finger at himself with a mischievous smirk,

“You wanna see a brat? I’ll show you a fucking brat!”

He brushes past you and storms out of the room. Shouting your name for you to follow, you quickly turn to follow in blood-curdling anger. You knew he was a pro and all, but there’s a statistic that for every 1 out of 5 chances, a villain can take a perfect hit at a hero of his caliber.

So you might take a chance and strike him at his weak point…

Preferably somewhere in the lower region.

You watch as Dynamight calls for an emergency meeting, calling for all staff to be in attendance. All staff from each agency scurry behind his steps, and even Red Riot follows suit. He tries to calm the hero down, but his efforts fail.

As the workers sat swiftly to hear the beloved hero's comments, your heart began to beat a new rhythm as the truth dawned on you about what you dreaded would happen next.

"So, I believe we all understand why we're in here. So let's address some rumors and set them to fuckin’ rest."

A sudden pang of fear hits your chest and seeps into your body as you hear the words fall off Dynamight's tongue and through the audience of your coworkers. Eyes scan the room until your eyes fall upon a certain red-headed main in the back towards the exit.

Letting out a soft exhale of relief, you speed your way toward Red Riot.

“Red!” You spoke aloud as you gained the attention of the other pro hero. His eyes snap towards you and he points towards his beloved partner in utter confusion. “What the hell is happening now?” He exasperates in exhaustion.

“He’s having a hissy fit because he can’t handle when the public negatively views him–”

“Negative?” He interrupted. You roll your eyes and raise your hands, completely giving up on the situation playing in front of you. “Dude bumped up 10 ranks in public favor, what the hell could he be upset for?” Red Riot spoke in confusion.

Holding your briefcase towards your chest, you sigh at the current baby of the hero stabbing daggers into your form.

“I…I’m not sure.”

As the assembly room filled up, every person in their seat watched attentively as they awaited the hero's urgent message. The blonde clears his throat before groggily shoving them in his pants. Silently pacing back and forth the head of the room with slow steps, eyes still trained onto you.

“I know what everyone is thinking to themselves, why the fuck are we here? Well, I need to address some petty rumors that are going on in the concrete hellscape.”

“All Might save us…” Red Riot groaned quietly as he watched in secondhand embarrassment at the Blondes' stunts.

"If you think me and my secretary have a romantic relationship, I'm afraid you're damn wrong.”

“Don’t listen to what I might’ve said in the past, or what I’ve said in the present. It ain’t true.”

Blah blah blah, blop blop blop.

You swore you could’ve seen physical bullshit fly out of his mouth.

“To prove this…I’m happily engaged!” The hero boasts confidently to the crowd of his workers. Shoving his right hand out of his pocket and out towards the expecting crowd. A diamond-banded ring shone brightly in the bright haze of corporate lighting.

Then, in a moment both shocking and surreal, Dynamight seizes the attention of the room with a declaration that sends ripples of astonishment through the assembled crowd. With a brashness that borders on audacity, he confronts the swirling rumors head-on, his words cutting through the murmurs like a lightning bolt.

In the sudden hush that follows, the truth is laid bare, raw, and unfiltered. The bombshell revelation of your engagement sends shockwaves through the room, leaving jaws agape and minds reeling. Eyes widen in disbelief as whispers erupt, spreading like wildfire among the stunned onlookers.

Yet, amidst the chaos, Dynamight stands undaunted, his demeanor unwavering despite the tempest of reaction he has incited. His confidence radiates as he confronts the storm of speculation with a rare candor, unapologetic in the face of scrutiny.

Calm within the midst of the business casual storm.

As for you, on the other hand, you could only think of one thing to do in this situation. Your feet rush towards the blonde with a speed never before seen, and your hand flies back as far as possible before landing a seething slap on the hero’s cheek.

Dynamight lets out a gasp of shock (and so does everyone else in the room) at your hit. You stood in front of the hero for only a moment before rushing out of the room and straight out of the office.

And now what was left of you was your body sulking under your covers once more. Leaving you to pick up the pieces of your self-worth once more.

You should consider just giving up, calling off the engagement, and leaving the industry for the rest of your life. A soulless desk job would be better than whatever the fuck this reality is right now.

So much for that speech in the ladies' room...

You tried hard to care for and take up for the hero you worked for, but at times like this, your vendetta only grew stronger. And the more your sister became right. But there's a voice in the back of your head that is somewhat empathetic for the hero.

Look at his family, for All Might’s sake!

An overprotective bitch for a mother, and an emotional father with no backbone.

(it’s okay for men to show their emotions!!!)

Of course, that would create a man with a lack of emotions and a soul-crushing ego to overcompensate for it.

Of fucking course!

Sighing into your pillow, you could only fantasize about the words you’d want to say to that man right now.

“Tight pants, brazen-boned, bastard.” You grit your teeth together, as the words only make you angrier. “Beady-eyed, dog-mannered, dimwad!” You throw your blankets off your body and jump out of bed. Rushing towards the kitchen, you grab the fridge handle and swing the door open.

“Fuck!”

No beer.

Huffing out a defeated sigh, you eye the clock on the counter. It read 11:45.

Licking your lips, you ponder as you stare at the fridge and back at the clock. You might as well go out for a walk to cool some steam off. Shuffling over to your coat rack, you lazily threw on a hoodie and some slides. Grabbing your purse and your keys, you open the door to your apartment.

Rummaging in your purse for some convenience store coupons, you continued on your slew of words. “I bet he’s not even a real blonde, just a poser of a man-baby–”

“Hah?”

Eyes snapping wide from the voice, you jump back in shock as you see the man of the hour.

“What the hell are you doing here, Dynamight? Do you know what time it is?” You exclaimed in shock, mouth twisted down into a frown. You stared down at the blonde in anger and in utter embarrassment. Looking down further, you noticed he had a couple of bags in his hands.

Beer and chicken?

“Let me in, we need to talk.”

You scoff at the man's words as you throw your purse over your shoulder. “As if, do you know how you embarrassed me and you today?” You spoke with venom at the hero. Dynamight rolls his eyes before he speaks once more, “If it makes you feel any damn better, I made them all sign NDAs.”

You stare at the hero once more in confusion, and he stares back…unwavering in his actions.

“Okay, sure, do whatever you think will place a bandaid over this whole shit show for all I care.” Placing your hands on your hips, you watch the pro hero step towards you. “Yeah? Well, it's a pretty strong bandaid.”

You hum back in response before the both of you fall into silence. The both of you gazed at each other awkwardly, before tearing your gaze away. A light blush warms your face which makes you look down once more. Looking at the bags of fried chicken and beer, you look at Dynamights hand…

His engagement ring is still on!

“You idiot!”

Frantically looking around the outside of your apartment, you turn back and quickly open the door. You then hold the hero by the collar before shoving him inside. He follows suit with a grunt before shutting the door behind him.

“What the hell is your problem?” He cursed at you.

“My problem? My problem is that you come out to my doorstep late at night bearing a peace offering with your ring on, shining brighter than ever! Fuck-face!” You cursed back. This makes the blonde smirk at your complaint.

“If you think someone is watching us, then you’re pretty late to the party,” he chuckles.

“W-what?” you stuttered in anxiety, breaking from his gaze. You locked the doors and shut the blinds to your home. “Calm down; I paid them off a long time ago,” Dynamight rummages through the bags before setting the food and beer out on the dining table.

“Paid them off?” you asked.

“Yeah, they started watching you as soon as you pulled that stunt at the children's interview a while back. They were going to trample your door down just for a couple of gabs about me.” He spoke, cracking open a can of beer. The hero takes a couple of gulps before placing the can down.

Pulling out a chair, the hero sat down and began to speak. “You think you do all of the protecting when it's me.” He takes another swig of his beer as he stares into your eyes. You swallow a lump in your throat before you grab a seat as well.

“But you can’t say I haven’t.” You trailed off.

“Haven’t what?” He asked.

“Took care of you; everyone thinks you're this strong force to never be reckoned with, but you’re the complete opposite,” you rambled as you grabbed a can of beer and cracked it open. Taking a refreshing, much-needed swig.

Katsuki never responded.

“Y’know, it’s crazy how much this position has changed me. For the good or worse… I’m not so sure.” You spoke softly towards the hero.

“And why do you think that, Y/n?” He asked.

You bit the inside of your cheek at the question. “Before I came to this agency, I never knew what it was like to take care of someone besides myself. And even then, I was doing a shit job at it. My life was teetering on by a thin string.”

The room was silent, the only noises being the taping of Katsuki’s foot, the ticking of the clock, and the hum of your refrigerator.

“So what? You’ve never helped someone out before? Beating someone’s ass with your quirk? Nothin’?” Katsuki spoke, trying to understand where you’re coming from. But you could only let out a big sigh.

"Well, technically, I’m kinda quirkless.”

Katsuki’s tapping stopped.

He gave you a look you’ve never seen before; his eyes were growing soft and his chest began to fall. Like he’s loosening up or something. The blonde stared intensely at you, waiting for you to speak once more. Biting your lip, you continued once more.

“It's like it comes in little spurts, no matter how hard I try to concentrate and force it out. It’ll only come out at the randomest of times. I’ve never seen myself at full power before.”

“One moment I was just like you, young and so excited about my quirk. I grew up thinking that I was going to save the world and that I’d work hard and conquer my way to the top. But the thing is, as yours grew stronger, I was only getting weaker. And the next thing I knew, I woke up, and it was gone.”

“So I went through life with the mentality that I needed to give myself a bit more attention; I couldn’t just wing through life knowing that my quirk could save me. But I knew that if I could have a position of power, that would make me feel like I was making a difference out there for you of all people…”

You suddenly laughed at yourself, taking another swig of your beer.

“Sorry, I don’t even know what I’m saying, I’m already buzzed.”

“No.”

You looked at Katsuki as he spoke, a frown on his lips as he shook his head. You couldn't help but laugh at his demeanor. “All I’m saying is that maybe I wasn’t as cut out for this as I thought I would be. Maybe I’m meant to be a walking target that villains can smell. I’m a walking damsel in distress, honestly. If we didn’t meet through the agency, we could’ve met that way most likely–”

“Shut up.”

Katsuki deadpanned at your words.

“I knew someone who was quirkless, and that loser is stronger than me for all might’s sake!” He exclaimed.

“All I’m saying is that you have a good life, so be proud of it. You work hard, harder than I’ve seen most of the chicken heads that I’ve hired. So bask in that glory.” He says softly, you roll your eyes before you start up again.

“I have a good life? Says the multi-acclaimed pro hero Dynamight! Ranked number two out of the whole country, he drives a red sports car, lives in a nice childhood home, goes to a great school, gets to roll around in money, and gets to tell people how they should dress for five days out of the week? Right, my life is really good.”

You snorted at yourself, reveling in the truth you spoke. But all Katsuki could do was shake his head.

“That same person who you were talking about has almost died countless times, kidnapped in their first year of high school, and has lost too many friends and mentors to count. So yeah, I consider you to have a good life.”

You let out a bittersweet chuckle at his words, “There’s one more thing too.” You added on, Katsuki raised his eyebrows in amusement, “like?”

“You’re also the last to get married.”

Katsuki rolls his eyes and lets out an amused smirk. “Right, that’s checkmate for me–”

“How come you’re the last? I would think that you’d be the first! You’re not a bad-looking guy; you might need to work in the emotional availability department but. You’re crystal clear.”

“I uh… I tried to do the whole young love thing but it didn’t work out in my favor.” He responded softly towards the touchy subject, but you decided to persist.

“And why do you think that, Katsuki?”

Back when Bakugo was a younger, newly emerged pro, there was someone of his caliber that he found perfect. They had the spunk, the quirk, the personality, the looks, even the barons. He believed they were perfect for each other.

He had his sights set on them since he had been working in the force. At first, they were a nice distraction. Clever banter turned into hot makeout sessions. Training days turned into blanket-covered nights where the both of them would talk about their future.

And back then, he believed it. He believed that he had a future with them.

Sometimes he would envy Kirishima; he didn’t understand why he wasn’t chosen to bear the burden of love. A warmth beyond his comprehension, a family that he could selfishly call his own.

Sometimes his mind would trail back to that night. A night that he wished he could forget. A thought that he wished could be locked away forever. He remembers the sight as he looked into their eyes—the utter betrayal.

The smirk of mischief and evil as the one and only person he ever could love has turned against him. The moment when he got stabbed in the chest, too close to his heart. And in that moment, he had to choose selfishly in a way he never wanted to.

And that choice was his life over theirs.

You didn’t know what to say at the moment, Katuski just dropped the biggest bomb you had the burden of holding. Stammering with your thoughts, you say the first thing that comes to mind. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, Katsuki…”

“I would’ve never known–”

“It wasn’t for you to know; I don’t even know why I told you that,” he said to himself. You softly smile at his harsh words.

“Well, not to toot my own horn but I’m your fiance,” you chuckled. Katsuki gives you a smirk before he looks at your hand. "Then, where’s your ring?” He asked.

“In my room, placed somewhere safe and out of harm's way!” you smiled.

"Well, I’m gonna need you to start wearin’ it more,” he retorted.

“I figured that after your little speech, you gave us away like you weren’t even trying.” You spat out sarcastically. “I didn’t even mention your name!” He raised his voice in protest. “Yeah? Well, I’m sure everyone connected the dots to a perfect fuckin T.” You spoke with a smirk.

"Well then if they decide to connect those lines to the press, that NDA will be there waiting for them to get bit in the ass,” he snapped back.

You laugh at his words before taking a final sip of your beer.

“Why did you choose to give yourself a chance with me?”

Oh, you were buzzed.

“You are a hero that’s supposed to date other heroes, top models, and superstars of your caliber. Why date some small-town secretary that doesn’t even fully have a quirk?” you spoke, just above a whisper. Scared of his next response. Feeling that as if you got the wrong response, you just might hurl all over him.

Katsuki lets out a sigh before he silently panders to himself. He was eyeing you up and down before he finally spoke with a smirk.

“I’m not sure, wishful thinking?”

“asshole”

YAAAAAAAAASSSSUHU IM BACK IM BACK

I saw all your comments begging me to come back, next chapter when? next chapter when? NEXT CHAPTER NOW HOE

As you all might know now, I am a busy college student who finally has time to fantasize and write to my heart's content. SO YOU WILL BE GETTING MORE CHAPTERS OUT OF ME VERY SOON!!

Thank you all so much for the support, I love you all and hope you guys have an amazing read! Please let me know how I did in the comments. Comments and reposts are very much appreciated!!

— lovelyiida

❥: @xo-evangeline, @inlovewithteo217, @im-better-than-your-newborn, @nar00, @king-dynamight, @gold24fish, @xasilex, @the-queen-of-sorrows , @itgetzweird08 , @yoyosocks165 , @pebblepoop , @lovra974 , @bakugospartner , @gaby-11 , @akqsa-xxi , @jolynegf , @goldenglow149 , @aliruuiz , @zukowantshishonourback , @ilovedenk-i , @atsushiki , @smolbeanzzz , @lem-hhn , @stevenknightmarc , @katsu-shi , @ryumiii , @idontevenknowlolls , @lyn07 , @kennshifts , @ackerman-suck-3-r , @alicen23 , @xasilex , @elegantvoids , @lowkeyremi , @plutounderbridges , @k0z3me , @thecurlyhairedgoddess , @sunyrose , @winterv-black , @chuugarettes , @kiarathace , @thisbicc , @thekookiecorner , @hyu-hl , @katsukisxslut , @optimisticprime3 , @cosmicbreathe , @yessimo , @sanemishina , @snxwycloud , @cosmic-rainstorm , @vinivave , @venus-xxoo , @lavender99 , @iluv-ace , @artfulthoughtsblog , @thatcreepycat , @prettylittleshady , @lavalampfullofsoup, @melodykittya , @bakugoiidaswaifu, @queendynamite2001, @starxsage, @mikestuffffs, @queendynamite2001, @kazuumii, @Minori-taiga1, @Liveurlifetothefullest

#lovelyiida #mha headcanons #mha #mha imagines #mha x reader #bnha x reader #bnha headcanons #bnha insert #mha fanfiction #bakugo x reader #theracetoweddingbells

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mmimagine-40 · 7 months ago

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Pup pt.1

Alpah!Steve x Omega!Female Reader

Hello...Its been ..awhile...

But I am back! So much stuff has been since I last updated and I really wasn't sure if i'd come back. But after re reading my pup story I wanted to finally come back and finish the story and some others I didn't finish. So I am going to be republishing Pup the Alpha! Steve x Omega! reader story, redone. Its the same story just written a bit different I hope the new people enjoy and anyone who is an old reader is excited to see the story is back. Lastly I know I had many people who were tagged in this series, I didn't want to tag them all if they were no longer interested in the story. So if you are interested to be tagged so you see the update right away please let me know. And I hope you enjoy the story!

Warnings: Talk of abuse, harsh words and mistreatments, Age gap

SideNote: In this story Steve is older then the Reader. By like 8-10 ish years. (more or less read how you would like). But I wrote this as a reader who is 22 and Steve is around 30. I believe I talked about this is an ask before but I want to make it a point again. The reader is not underage. The nickname of Pup is my idea in the ABO fantasy how you would call a partner Baby. I hope that makes sense.

_________

Y/n’s breath came out hard and raspy. Her chest was burning and hurting a lot. Her whole body was so tired and wanted to just collapse to the floor. But she couldn't, she needed to keep pushing. Keep running. Running away from him and that house and that town. It took her months to plan and get to that alpha to let her go out with him and finally make a break for freedom. “Come on little omega, come back to your alpha.”. That voice growled out. Echoing through the woods and towards Y/n. Y/n pushed off the tree that she stopped for a sec to lean on. Pushing herself to keep going. Although no matter how much she runs or how fast she runs , she feels like she can’t get away. That he is getting closer. It was only a matter of time and he would have her back in his grip. At that point there was no telling what would happen to her. What he might do to her.

As had been running so much at a point she can’t tell him her vision is blurring from the tears that kept running down her face or from how tired her body was. But she kept on. As she did her vision got more and more blurry. The woods around her turning into only a vision of greens and drowns. She wasn’t able to make out an of the objects around her to the point that she started to trip over branches , rocks and other items covering the ground in her way. As she looked behind her to make sure he wasn’t close after all her tripping , she didn’t see the large tree root sticking out of the ground. Which she tripped over. Lodging her foot in the root. Causing her to twist her ankle and fall to the ground with a loud scream. As it left like she broke or tore something in her leg/ foot. A chuckle comes from in the woods, not too far from where she laid in pain. “Oh little omega. Did you get hurt?”, the voice said in a condescending way. “Come on omega. If you just come out now we can get you some help and then maybe your punishment won’t be so bad if you just listened.”. Y/n bit her lip hard as she drug herself behind the huge tree. Wedging herself into the little carved area of the tree. She was about 90% sure he would find her and drag her back to that hell hole. But that 10% hoped he wouldn’t that he would leave her. Even if she died out here in the woods injured and unable to get back to a town that would be better then having to spend another second next to that disgusting Alpha.

As she leaned her head back closing her eyes, she tried to take deep slow breathes. Hoping he won’t hear her harsh breathing from being out of breath and being in some much pain. As she rested her eyes a smell filled her nose. A musky smell. Not a bad over-powering one. But a nice one. One that felt warm. It felt like being wrapped in a cozy blanket in front of a fire, inside a warm cabin hiding from the harsh cold outside. The smell thats away all the pain. Not just to forget a bit about her leg but also all the pain of that other Alpha. The pains of her childhood. The Pains her father put her through. Everything disappeared as her scenes where overtaken by this smell.

As Y/n was going through this all she didn’t see that Alpha whos scent it belonged too not too far away. Who didn’t see her but stopped his work of getting fire wood as he smelled the distressed omega smell. He was about to walk closer to her when he stopped as he heard the mean and grimmis voice of another Alpha. “Omega! You're making me angry er the longer you stay out! And you know what happens when im angry!” The voice bloomed as he screamed out. The other Alpha’s eyes narrow at the alpha. Seeing him walking around looking very upset. He stood between the Alpha and where he came smell the omega. Holding him axe in hand , he cleared his voice. “Excuse me but your on private property.” The alpha that was screaming turned around ready to yell at the person who dared to stop him. Only To stammer back as he sees the build of the Alpha. Who towered over him and looked like he could knock him out with one punch. “I’m sorry. My girlfriend and I got into a disagreement and she ran off into the woods. I meant no harm”. The mean alpha spoke with a small smirk. Trying to play off a nicer caring vibe. The Alpha narrowed his eyes as he looked at him. The yelling and his body langue told him that wasn’t the case. “Well I’m sorry to hear sir. But I’m sorry I haven’t see your girlfriend or smelled her around here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave now”. He said to the wicked alpha. Whos face turned twisted. He wanted to argue. But only being able to smell the alphas smell and not picking up Y/ns anymore, along with the fact he was slightly scared of this alpha. He just nodded and walked off. The other Alpha watched him. Once he was sure the alpha was far enough away he turned back to the scared omega. “He gone now” He says aloud. Knowing that she heard them. Which she did. Y/n sat against the tree listening to everything. Coming out of her little day dream of the other alphas smell when she heard the grimace voice of the alpha. Her breath catching in her chest as she hears the other alpha defend and hide her. Scaring off the one casing her. “I can’t” She says softly in a raspy voice as she had tried to stand but couldn’t with her hurt leg. As well as her whole body felt still. Almost shut down from all the running she put it through the last few days. Slowly the alpha made his way over to her. He made slow step towards her to show her he won’t hurt her. “Are you okay?”, he asked as he got closer. Looking down at her ankle that he can see was turning purple from where some of her skin poked out from her leggings and shoes. He also noted how her clothes where torn and very dirty. Looking like she had been running through the woods for days. By the state of her in all he would guess that was the case. He kneeled in front of her as she shook her head no to his question. Finally opening her eyes again as she looked up at him as he looked her over. He was taken back a little as she looked pretty young. “What's a pup like you doing out here?”. Y/n slightly started crying again. She didn’t even know she could cry anymore at this point but here she was crying again. But this time she really wasn’t sure what about. If it was the past and what that alpha did to her. Or if it was the fact that she could possible be free of him. Or its also possible it was this feeling she had around this new alpha. Growing up she was always afraid of all the alphas around her. Taught they where higher then her and would not hesitate to remind her of that. But this alpha was different. He felt warmer, safer then all the other alphas she met before. His smell , his looks , just his whole aurora around him felt so safe.

The alpha in front of her looked worried at her. Worried about what she has been threw. The torment she has had to deal with so far. What the hell that other alpha put her through. “Hey, its okay your safe now I promise.”. He said softly as he looked back down at her ankle. There was no way she could walk on it like this. He looked back at her with a soft look. Trying to stay calm and soft with her. “Your ankle looks really bad. I’m going to have to carry you back to my cabin. Are you okay with that?”. He ask, watch as she nodded. He was careful with her. Picking her up gently as he walked them back to his cabin. Y/n wasn’t able to hold herself back as she leaned on to the alpha. Taking in his sent and relaxing. Feeling her relaxe in his arms the alpha smiled a bit. “So whats your name pup?”. “Y/n” , She says softly. “Well Y/n its nice to meet you , Im Steve.”

After a bit of a walk Y/n and Steve get back to Steve’s cabin. While holding her he was able to slide open the back door as they enter the house. Steve carries Y/n over to the couch and gently puts her down. Helping her to sit down. He takes a seat on the coffee table infront of her as he gentle pulls her injured leg onto his lap. “I can see toue ankle is already turning colors and swelling. I’m going to have to take your shoe off. It might hurt okay?”. He ask trying to be as gentle with her as possible. Y/n nodded as she gripped the couch bracing herself. Steve nodded as he untied her shoe trying to be gentle as he took off the shoe. Y/n winced and moaned in pain as the shoe came off her swollen foot. Steve looked over her foot, frowning. “I’m not going to lie pup, this does not look good”. “Do you think it's broken?”. She asks biting her lip not to scream in pain. Steve Gentle propped her foot up on a pillow as he stood up. “I’m not sure your foot is very swollen, so it's hard to tell. I’ll get you some ice to see if that helps bring the swelling down. Unfortunately that's all we can do as the doctor is closed for the day as it's pretty late in the day. I can take you there first thing in the morning.”. Steve said as he walked over to the kitchen grabbing an ice pack and coming back over. Wrapping the ice pack in a towel before gently setting it on Y/n's ankle. Y/n groaned lightly at first as the towel touches her but slowly relaxes as the coldness actually feels good. Steve sighs as he sits on the coffee table again next to her leg. “I understand if you're not ready to talk but can I ask what you were doing in the woods running from your alpha?”. Y/n looks down at her hands. She wasn’t ready to fully talk about it but she knew she probably should tell him a bit if he is helping her. “He’s not my alpha and I'm not his omega. We aren't mated. I was forced to marry him. I ran away when he tried to mate me, I didn’t want it. I-”. “That's okay you don’t have to go any farther with it.” Steve cutts her off. He could see how much it was hurting her. He didn’t need to know all of the story. Just that she was trying to get away from this alpha. She doesn’t want to be with him and needs help getting away. Y/n looked at him a little shocked. But thankful that he understood she has been through something terrible. She needed help, that's all he needed to know. Not the full story till she's ready. “ Okay , so we will get you to the doctor first thing tomorrow. For now lets get some food in you and get you cleaned up.” Steve says standing up. He headed to the kitchen.

After they eat some food. That y/n couldn’t tell was actually really good or she was just that hungry after not really eating for a few days. But either way she ate all the food quickly, starting to feel a bit better with having some food in her. After cleaning up Steve helped get a bath set up and set up a little stool in the bathtub that she could move from the toilet to the side of the tub to the stool. So she didn’t put much pressure on her leg. Y/n was very thankful for all he was doing. “I know its not the best but at least you can get clean up a bit. Get some of that dirt off of you.”, Steve said as he helped her into the bathroom. Y/n nodded as she slid to sit on the closed toilet lid. “Heres some clothes they might be a little big for you but hopefully they will do for now.” Steve set some clothes down on the counter along with a towel for her. y/n thanked him as he walked out. Being careful to slowly take off her dirty torn clothes. Tossing them to the side. She bit her lip as she moved her slef to the stool in the tub. Using an old cup and wash rag steve gave her to help her clean up. Y/n couldn’t help but to take the wash rag and scrub her body. Trying to wash away all the memories , touch and smell of that other alpha. Wanting it all off of her. Scrubbing so hard her skin started to turn red. Only being happy when his smell was completely off of her. Replaced with the smell of the spiced body wash that was Steves. It wasn’t as nice as his alpha scent but it was better then the smell of that other alpha.

Y/n softly moaned as she washed her hair out too. It felt so nice to wash all the dirt and sweat out of her hair. She even took a little more time to double wash it just to ensure all the dirt was out of her hair. Finally leaning up to drain the water. Starting to feel cold as the warm water turned cold. She leand over to grab the towel. Sitting on the stool as she dried her self off before moving herself back over to the closed toilet seat. Y/n leaned back a little out of breath as her body was still very tired, very running. After a little bit of a break she reached over to grab the clothes Steve left for her. An old sweater that looked too small for Steve. Maybe he once wore it but now he was too bulk to wear it. She slipped the sweater on, thankful for the warmth it wrapped her in. Along with it were some old looking sweatpants as well. Far too big for her. But she made it work with rolling them and tying them tight around her waist. After she was done she made her way to the door. Holding her foot up as she leaned against the counter and wall to walk to the door.

As the door opened Steve jumped up making his way over to her to make sure she is okay and help her back to the couch to sit down. “Ill leave it up to you but you can either sleep here on the couch or you can take my bed. Whichever would make you more comfortable.” Steve said as he helped her prop her foot back up. Y/n looked around making notes of the exits. Just in case. Its not that she doesn’t fully trust Steve but in the situation shes been in anyone would be worried about any alpha. “Its okay you can stay down here if it makes you feel more comfortable. I understand.” Steve say nothing how she looked around. He can see this omega is pretty messed up. Whoever that alpha was he messed her up pretty bad. Steve brought some blankets and pillows over for Y/n helped her to set up on the couch to lay down. “Okay , you okay pup?”. Steve ask after getting Y/n all settled down. Y/n looked up at him nodding. Steve nodded as he stepped away heading to his room. “Ill leave my door open so if you need anything don’t be afraid to yell for me pup. Okay?”. Steve said watching to make sure Y/n nodded and that she was okay before turning to head into his room “Night Pup”.

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blueepink07 · 1 year ago

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Passage of time in Milgram is very weird and hard to understand. Although for some characters there are some visibile changes like hair growth and, despite that in timeline conversation they celebrate their birthdays, their age is the same. One might say that it is just a choice made my creators, simply because in TV shows or games characters usually maintain their age. However, at the beginning of the trial 2 they updated the profile, so wouldn't it make sense to also change it, considering that Es is sleeping for a few months and how long the trials themselves last...? An aspect that seems to be more than once pointed out, which indicates that the time is not passing much different than ours.

"Yuno: Good morning, Guard-san. My name is Kashiki Yuno… Did you remember that properly?"

"Fuuta: …Kajiyama Fuuta. It’s been a while, Guard. What were you doing until now..?"

"Muu: I’m Kusunoki Muu. Guard-san, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?"

"Shidou: I’m Kirisaki Shidou. It’s been a while, Es-kun. While you were gone, a lot of things happened."

"Mahiru: …Shiina Mahiru. It’s been a long time, Es-kun… I wanted to see you…"

"Kazui: Good morning. (Laughs) Guard-kun is a sleepyhead, aren’t you? I’m Mukuhara Kazui. Do you remember now?"

"Mikoto: Ah, Guard-kun. It’s been a while. Ow, ow ow… My head hurts…"

Jackalope also points out that the MVs are posted at the same time when Es extracts them.

Merch is also a good indicator that states that their age is the same.

Amane and Es didn't grow up further, them being the ones for we should see more visibile changes, the only thing different is the lenght of the hair for some characters.

But hair is something that grows really fast, so considering that Milgram began like three years ago, since the beginning of the first trial and now, their hair should be more longer! I doubt that many of them considered cutting it or cared enough about it especially the guilty prisoners...

Because the characters don't seem to suffer much physical changes, a question arose in my mind. If that's the case, than doesn't it mean that their bodies are also healing very, very slow?

It is over a year since the beginning of the second trial and Shidou admits that he has to constantly take care of Mahiru.

Which seems quite odd, doesn't it? Considering her injuries, if not fully recovered, Mahiru should at least feel better, something that doesn't seem to be the case...

Neck sprain -> time to recover (4-6 weeks usually, a severe one 3 months)

Rib fractures -> 12 weeks without fixation, six months or one year after surgery

Fractured arm -> 12 weeks with still some discomfort

Compression fractures -> 8 weeks or more if surgery is needed

Lacerations -> dependes a lot of how bad the wound is, but most of them heal earlier than 3 months

Mahiru should have been much better, but she isn't, despite that most injuries require 3-4 months for her to have a better condition...

Fuuta, who Shidou doesn't mention a lot, despite also suffering from injuries, I don't think is doing any better. Although, in his case, most of the injuries require surgery, something that Shidou can't currently do.

Orbital fracture and retinal detachment -> requires surgery in most cases

Chest injuries depending on how severe they are can heal in 6 weeks. However, considering that Fuuta is in a lot of pain, with how difficulty he is sometimes speaking, makes me believe that he needs surgery even here.

What makes me worried is how, despite receiving care from Shidou, especially Mahiru, there aren't a lot of changes in their condition during the trial. It's like their bodies can't heal, they are stuck in time. Which will surely be a big problem for the next trial, if someone else gets injuried... It also makes me wonder if Mahiru and Fuuta will truly be better at the beginning of the next trial...

#milgram #thoughts #mahiru shiina #milgram mahiru #milgram fuuta #fuuta kajiyama #milgram shidou #shidou kirisaki #milgram theory

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thewhitewitch-bitch · 3 months ago

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In Astris Supra (Chapter 8: Prima Nocte Videt Notus Lateri Tuo)

Agatha Harkness x F!OC

Read it on AO3

CW: Demons, demonic possession, blood, slight gore

New York City

December, 1724

"I appreciate your discretion in all this, Doctor." I said as our footsteps echoed off the cold stone steps, "Given that you reached out to me in particular, I'm sure you're aware of the potential circumstances?"

"Indeed," he replied, producing a wrought iron key from the pocket of his black wool coat, "You're not the first witch I've encountered in my time, but thankfully you're the first one who hasn't tried to kill me. Not to mention that I find your published works on the effects of various poisons on the body's systems to be quite an interesting read. I figured you would be willing to look into this."

The memory of the original proposition played over in my mind, occupying my thoughts as we continued down the frost laden, dark tunnels beneath Fraunces Tavern.

The letter was brought to me surprisingly by Hatch some two weeks prior, clutched tightly within his beak. According to the note, Dr. Christopher Connors, a coroner in New York City, had been asked to conduct an inquest into the manner of death of two young girls, ages fifteen and seventeen, respectfully. The older gentleman was at a loss, the nature of their deaths seemed... unnatural. Having read my findings in the British Medical Journal under the pseudonym Dr. Anthony Druid, and being an associate of Rupert Kingsley's, Connors sought me out and offered to pay a generous sum for my assistance in the case.

"I don't trust it." Agatha had said after looking over the letter for herself, "Never trust a man."

"Says the woman who's spent the last twenty years rampaging through Salem after killing her coven." I mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear me. There had been something else included with the letter that I had not shown her. Connors had provided a series of detailed charcoal sketches of both victims. Just a passing glance of them told me that I had no choice but to assist.

"You can't possibly be considering it!" Agatha exclaimed. I glanced over at her, folding over the sketches and tucking them into the pocket of my wool overcoat that hung by the door of Agatha's cabin. While I had not been a permanent resident there, I did establish myself there as a regular visitor, maintaining my lodgings in Boston to further my studies in private.

"I'll be back by the new year at the latest." I said, loud and clear as I waved a hand, summoning clothes and food into the saddle bags beside my coat, "Trust me, darling; I need to look into this."

Her hand reached out to grab my wrist, but I was too quick for her. I ducked out of her grasp and out the door before she could protest any further.

I opened my palm to form an orb of light, illuminating the cold tunnel in a pale, white glow. Connors was a bulky man, I realized as I followed behind him. His thick frame might have been intimidating to others who were not equipped to fight. But his gentle green eyes and his kind face gave no evidence of foul intentions, despite his rather morbid occupation. Agatha was right to assume that most men couldn't be trusted, but looking through the eyes of a Lunar witch, the lenses were different. It was easy for me to read the intentions of a person by simply studying their face. He was no threat to me, or to anyone for that matter. Looking past him, we were fast approaching a large wooden door with a heavy padlock. The bodies had to be in there, kept out of sight from mortals who were incapable of understanding what they saw. Connors' heavy footsteps came to a halt in front of the door, the key in his hand shaking as he did against the cold. He glanced back at me with a cautious glance.

"Are you sure you want to see this, Miss Stuart?" he asked me softly, his breath wafting past his mustachioed lips like wisps of smoke.

I nodded though my heart was slamming against my ribcage, "I have to be sure. If this is what I think it may be, our very existence may be at risk."

Connors nodded and put the key into the lock. It clicked loudly, the sound echoing menacingly off the walls followed quickly by the creaking of the door as it opened. The smell hit us hard. The sickening decay of flesh despite the numbing cold was enough to turn even the strongest of stomachs. I reached into the pocket of my coat and pulled out a small jar of aromatics to hold to my nose. Connors held a handkerchief over his nose as he stepped inside, his complexion turning pale green as we approached a pair of sheet-covered lumps on a wide oak table. The room was even darker than the hall, if that was even possible, but with a quick flick of my wrist the light floating above my hand moved about the room, lighting candle stubs and lanterns before wafting up over the table to fully illuminate the room.

"Tell me about them." I said, my eyes glued to the pair of covered corpses as I approached them. Connors tucked himself into a corner of the room where he wouldn't have to look at them again. Once had been more than enough for him it seemed.

"Edith O'Brien, age fifteen, and Mildred Adams, age seventeen," he explained, his tone flat as if he were reading straight from his notes, "orphans staying under the care of a Miss Rebecca Stanworth. Both girls were supposedly on their way to do the day’s washing when they suddenly became afflicted with some sort of neurological condition. They began to have fits, collapsed to the ground, and died within minutes."

"Who informed you of this, Doctor?"

"Miss Stanworth did. She saw the whole thing from the kitchen window. The girls barely made it past the garden gate before they fell."

Keeping the jar of herbs under my nose, I stepped over to the smaller of the two bodies and drew back the sheet. Just as the sketches had shown, Edith’s body had been left in horrid condition.

She was thin, though most girls her age could stand to have a bit more meat on their bones, but from simple observation it was plain to see that the girl was suffering from malnutrition. Her cheek bones were hollowed in, her eyes sunken into the sockets, her ribs protruding, her golden hair brittle as dried straw. Even after two weeks of decomposition, the body had stayed in decent condition, no doubt due to the cold. But what was most alarming about her was her skin. Though pale and faintly greyed due to her current condition, situated brightly over her chest was a mark. It was viciously large, spreading across her chest, down her left arm and up the side of her neck, sourced directly from her heart. Colored like a fresh bruise, in various shades of mottled purples, reds, and blues, it had spread like poison in her veins, like a parasite that had suffocated her slowly then all at once.

Taking a quick glance at the Adams girl, the condition was exactly the same, down to the pattern of the mark on her body. I sighed heavily and stepped away from the table, covering the girls back up as I did.

"Is it what you feared, Miss Stuart?" Connors asked me. I glanced back at him with worry in my eyes.

"What do you know about demons, Dr. Connors?"

He shrugged, "Outside of what is written in the Lord's book, not very much."

"Then allow me to enlighten you." I offered, propping myself against a wall across from him. "Demons as you know them are servants of a Dark Lord. They are called 'fallen angels', 'hellspawn', 'children of Satan'. But demons have existed far longer than your God. They are quite nearly as old as the earth itself, and they are harbingers of chaos and cruelty. Demons as you know them have been portrayed as slaves to a darker power, but this is simply not true. They work as singular entities within a greater sphere of evil, creating doom and chaos as they see fit under the watchful eye of the High Lords of Hell. But something isn't right here."

I pointed to the girls on the table, "These girls were possessed by the same demon at the same time. For a demon to be able to split its soul into two pieces... it's just never been recorded before. No witch or sorcerer has ever seen this before. Did Miss Stanworth mention any odd behavior? Foaming of the mouth, speaking in Demonic Script?"

Connors shook his head, "Nothing like that at all. Perhaps if this demon has managed to split himself in two, his power is not at its full strength?"

"Perhaps..." my voice trailed off as I tried to run through every possible scenario I could think of. Connors watched me diligently as I pondered, eventually clearing his throat to draw my attention back to me after he thought of something.

"Miss Stuart, if these girls are deceased, then does that mean that this demon is roaming free once again? Are more people in danger?"

"Yes, Doctor. I'm afraid so. I don't believe this is a lower demon running amuck amongst the people of the city. Only a demon with a great amount of power would be able to do something like this. I fear that a Lord of Hell has come to unleash terror upon the Colonies." I muttered, though the sound bounced off the walls so easily I knew he could hear me loud and clear. He made a gesture over his chest, the sign of the cross, if I remembered correctly.

"W-Well, how do we stop it? Do we need to exorcise it? I can fetch a reverend-"

I held up a frozen free hand to stop his rambling. The last thing we needed was a reverend to be involved. The poor bastard would only get himself killed trying to banish the thing without any magical authority.

"That won't necessary, Dr. Connors." I drawled, straightening up off the wall. "Demons, higher demons especially, have a particular fondness for witches of my variety. I'll summon it outside the city and banish it properly. No need for anyone else to get hurt."

Connors tilted his head curiously, dropping his handkerchief back into the pocket of his coat, "You're a curious woman, Miss Stuart. I do hope you're successful in your endeavor."

"So do I."

-------------------------------------------------

I had every intention of dispelling a demon that night. Standing atop a snow-covered hill north of the city, summoned tomes in hand, surrounded by candles, I was fully prepared to begin the summoning ritual when I was interrupted by the sound of furiously flapping wings. Glancing up into the cloud covered night sky, outlined against the barely shining first quarter, was a raven, making a dive toward me.

"My lady!" Hatch cawed exasperatedly as he set himself down in front of me. He shuddered against the cold of the night and looked up at me with urgency. "I'm so very sorry to interrupt, I know you told me not to but-"

"What, Hatch? What is the matter?" I asked him calmly.

The raven shuffled his little feet in the snow, as if he were afraid to tell me. Then, he looked up and spoke.

"You recall the encounter you had with one Lady Death prior to my transformation, yes?"

Of course, I had told him the truth. No secrets were meant to be kept between a familiar and its master. I nodded, urging him to continue quickly.

"When she said she would allow you to save me as a favor to a 'her', you assumed it was your mother, correct?"

"Yes, I could not think of anyone else who-"

"It was Miss Harkness, my lady." Hatch interrupted. My brow furrowed.

"What?"

"They were... and I believe still are... intimate with each other. I figured you would want to know the truth, rather than be deceived any further."

I should have felt angry. I should have felt enraged. I should have wanted to kill her. But all I felt was the gravity of my chest caving in again. She used me. And I was completely blind to it. Even with my guard still up, I felt as though I had the wind stripped from my lungs, the warmth pulled from my body. I was alone again. I fell to my knees. The candles around me shuttered against the rush of air, but they did not extinguish. No tears sprang forward, no cry escaped my lips... I just... felt... numb.

I had had every intention of dismissing a demon that night. But now that intention was gone, replaced by a sensation of emptiness that I thought had been cast aside long ago. I was exposed, vulnerable. And that was exactly what he wanted.

As I sat there, my familiar at my feet, the air became colder, so much so that even the smallest drop of water would freeze solid once exposed. Hatch ruffled his feathers and hopped out of the circle to warm himself beside the candles. The skin on my fingers began to turn blue, tiredness washed over me suddenly, and a voice, low and raspy whispered in my ear.

"Poor little witch... all alone in this world. Perhaps... you'd like a bit of... company."

A shadow passed over me. The bitter cold of the air returned to its prior chill. My frostbitten skin returned to its normal shade of pale pink. The hole in my chest remained, but a new sort of ache over my heart had formed. I winced and pressed a hand against my chest only to feel a sharp pain. Glancing down, I drew back my winter cloak, coat, and shirt, to see that a bruise, no larger than a penny had formed there, its coloration and nature alarmingly familiar.

"Well then," I whispered to myself after a hard swallow, "if this is to be my punishment for trusting in her, so be it. But you will not drain me, Demon. Not as long as I have any say in it."

I pulled the small knife from my boot and held out my right palm over the pentagram at the center of the circle. Pressing the blade into my hand, the sting of the blade was partially numbed by the cold and was quickly replaced by the warm flow of crimson blood.

"Adprehendo te daemonium, virtute mea alligatum, usque ad mortem meam!"

As droplets of blood curdled on the pentagram, the voice of the demon in my head growled menacingly. He did not expect a witch of my caliber, but the decision to kill me had come too late. He could not do so now unless I allowed it.

"Fine... but you will grow weary of me soon enough. And when you do... your flesh... shall burn. So sayeth Asmodeus... Bane of Solomon... Lord of Hell."

I rose to my feet and stepped out of the circle. Hatch followed behind me until he caught up and perched on my shoulder. I climbed onto my horse and took a strong hold of the reins.

"Hatch, deliver a message to Miss Harkness for me, please." I ordered flatly.

"Of course, my lady. What would you like me to tell her?"

"I will not be returning to Salem again. And she would be wise to not seek me out. Aislin Stuart will no longer associate with the lover of Death."

Hatch dipped his head and fluttered off my shoulder, turning southward as I spun my horse to the west, aiming to put Agatha and our history behind me.

What a fool I was to believe that I could...

#agatha all along #agatha harkness #agatha harkness x oc #agatha harkness x reader #marvel cinematic universe

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sixhours · 7 months ago

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i know you by heart - chapter 8

Series Chapter Index | Read on AO3 | Complete

Rating: Explicit, 18+, here be smut Series tags: The Last of Us, The Last of Us (HBO), Prospect, Joel Miller x Ezra, Joel & Ellie, Ezra & Cee, Joel is bad at feelings and relationships, Ellie is a little shit (affectionate), mostly follows canon after season 1, SMUT, gay sex, bisexual!Joel, period-typical homophobia, alcoholism behavior, light angst, angst with a happy ending, romance, age gap (~10ish years), I've probably forgotten some so please let me know <3

Chapter notes: The happily ever after. <3 Smut ahead, it's clearly marked.

He finds Ezra leaning on the porch railing, looking out over the back yard. It’s a crystal-clear December night, the bitter-cold air bringing every star into sharp focus against the inky black sky above.

“What’re you doin’ out here?” Joel asks. “S’fuckin’ freezin’.”

“Ah. Just admiring nature’s majesty and marveling at our place in the cosmos, I suppose.”

Joel joins him, back to the railing, sidling up to him until he can feel the shared heat of their bodies instead of the chilled air. Then he squeezes a little closer just because he can.

“Isn’t it a wonder to think that a billion different possibilities coalesced in just the right way to make the very star system, the very planet on which we find ourselves? The light from the stars takes billions of years to find us. Somewhere, some other civilization could be watching this very universe being born and think it nothing but a pretty illumination in the sky.”

“Are they freezin’ their asses off, too?”

Ezra breathes a low laugh into the night. “Such infinite complexity suggests that, perhaps elsewhere in this great ethereal realm, there exists another world similarly ravaged by plague, with similar creatures looking beyond their atmosphere and pondering the possibility of our very existence at this precise moment.”

“I reckon they’d have better things to worry about,” he grunts.

“Perhaps. And yet…here we are. Watching the sky, contemplating our place amidst the chaos.”

Joel huffs a sigh. “You’re startin’ to sound like Ellie.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere, cher .”

He ducks his chin, folds his arms across his chest, toes at a loose board on the porch. “So, what…you tryin’ to wish yourself off this planet for a while? Thinkin’ of doin’ some space travel?”

“No, no,” he chuckles softly. “Just thinking how fortunate I am to have found you in this universe, songbird.”

When he finally finds his voice, all Joel can utter is a quiet, “That so, huh?”

“Undoubtedly,” Ezra stands, sliding over to thread his arm around Joel’s waist, lightly fixing him to the railing. The cold is momentarily forgotten. His hands slide down to slip into the back pockets of his jeans–he can think of worse ways to warm his fingers–and his breath is stolen by a kiss.

“Joel, where’d you put the–ugh, they’re doing it again,” Ellie's voice rings out from the back door.

The first time she caught them, the chastest peck, her theatrics could be heard three blocks over. At least tonight, she just rolls her eyes and goes back to looking for whatever she was looking for in the kitchen.

“Get a room!” Cee calls helpfully.

“Christ,” Joel breathes. “S’my own damn house.”

“Another time, then,” Ezra sighs, gaze lingering long enough to send a shiver across the back of Joel’s neck.

Then a commotion, the sound of pots banging in the kitchen, Cee and Ellie laughing, and Joel reluctantly pulls away.

“C’mon, spaceman,” he rumbles. “Girls are waitin’.”

“What’s on the cinematic docket for this evening?” Ezra asks as they head inside. They’ve started sharing movie nights along with the occasional family meal. It’s been a slow and tentative process, not for any hesitation on the part of the girls, who are clearly fast friends.

It makes Joel think, not for the first time and not without a pang of grief, that Sarah would have made a good big sister.

“ It’s a Wonderful Life . Ellie’s pick,” Joel grimaces. “Not my favorite, but t’is the season, I guess.”

Ezra frowns. “Oh…pity. I abhor this trope.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Joel mutters, then stops. “Wait, didn’t you…weren’t you there last year?”

“Your young prodigy may have cajoled me into attendance.”

Joel blinks. “She did what now?”

Ezra smirks. “I suspect she had it out for us long before we were ever in the loop, songbird. As I said, she’s wise beyond her years.”

“Damn,” he whispers. “That little–”

“Shit!”

There’s more clattering from the kitchen and the faint smell of burnt popcorn. And more giggling.

“Ellie?”

“Cee?”

“It’s fine, we’re…fine!” Ellie calls back.

“Nothing to see here!” Cee adds, as if that makes it better.

“Y’all, please don’t set the damn kitchen on fire again,” Joel calls, shuddering at the vivid memory of flames licking up the sides of an overflowing pot of popcorn left on the stove too long.

“That was one time ,” Ellie says.

“Zero times is the number I’m lookin’ for, kid.”

“Should we…intervene?” Ezra asks, nodding toward the commotion.

But then the girls enter the living room carrying two bowls of popcorn. There are flecks of the stuff stuck to Cee’s sweater. Later, Joel will walk into the kitchen and find the source of their laughter, kernels scattered on every surface, and he’ll have to harp on Ellie to sweep up the mess.

Yeah, the girls are getting along fine.

Joel takes his usual corner of the couch and Ellie plops down next to him, stretching out her legs to hog the rest. Ezra takes the other corner, and Cee opts to keep to the floor, leaning against Ezra’s knee with her bowl in her lap.

“Ready?”

“No,” Joel and Ezra grunt in unison.

“Too bad, suckers,” Ellie declares cheerfully as Cee presses Play.

An hour into the movie finds three of the four asleep; unfortunately for Joel, he’s not one of them. Ellie has dozed off against his shoulder, her feet tucked under Ezra’s thigh. He picks a stray kernel of popcorn out of her hair and tosses it into the mostly empty bowl. Cee leans against Ezra’s knee, and his head is tipped over the back of the couch, snoring.

“Buncha deserters,” Joel whispers, thinking he should reach for the remote and stop the stupid movie, but he doesn’t. Instead, he places a kiss on Ellie’s temple and watches his family sleep, savoring the rare moment of calm.

They have good days and bad days. On the good ones, they practice guitar and watch movies and share meals and she kicks his ass at Boggle. The words come easily and the silences are warm and comfortable and it’s almost like old times.

The bad days are less frequent, but they hurt like a scab. Eventually the wound will scar, but until then, it’s an irritation, too easily picked at and never quite healed.

Then there are days when she doesn’t speak to him at all. Days when she’s up and out of the house before the sun, where she doesn’t come home until after dinner or, worse, she just doesn’t come home. The first time that happens, they have a talk. Now she leaves a note on the kitchen counter, usually a single word: Dina’s .

He still hasn’t figured out how to bring that up in conversation.

It will never be the same, he knows. Her trust was a fragile thing to begin with, and his lies made cracks in the foundation of their relationship that only time can repair.

But they’re trying.

Today is one of the good days. When he jostles her awake, she lingers sleepily against his arm. At the door, she indulges him with a hug, even hangs on long enough to let him plant a kiss on her forehead. Yep, definitely one of the good days.

“You stayin’ with Cee tonight?”

“Mmhm. You two can do…whatever it is you do when we’re not around,” she says, wrinkling her nose.

“Y’mean sleep?” he says, barely stifling a yawn.

“Sure. Don’t miss me too much.”

“Stay outta trouble, both of you.”

Cee has an arm around Ezra’s waist in a brief side hug. They’re not usually so affectionate, still walking that strange line between close friends and family.

“Goodnight, birdie,” Ezra offers, voice going soft.

They don’t talk about Cee's father and Joel doesn’t press it. There are times when she looks at him as though she wants to ask him something–her father’s last words, or if he spoke of her, or if his death was drawn out or quick and painless–or maybe the weight of the death on his conscience has him imagining things. Part of him will always be waiting for the consequences of his actions to darken his doorstep.

They stand in the doorway and watch the girls walk down the street and around the corner until they’re out of sight. Joel wonders if Ezra has to resist the same urge to follow them until he knows they’re home safe. Tonight they’ll crash in Ezra’s office and plug Cee’s headphones into the record player and drink the beers in the fridge–the ones Ezra stocks specifically for this small act of teenage rebellion. Joel sighs as he closes up, thinks if that’s the most trouble they get up to tonight, he’ll count them lucky.

He leaves the door unlocked.

They really had intended to sleep.

Joel is not young. Ezra is not much younger. And while they had plenty of opportunities for alone time now that they were fully out, much of their original boyish urgency has faded, replaced by a comfortable companionship that’s probably more fitting for their ages.

And that was just fine.

But Ezra’s easy declaration on the porch lit a slow-burning flame. Skin to skin, warm and curled around each other, hands wander and find familiar holds. Ezra’s lips trace that spot on Joel’s throat that makes little electric sparks shimmer up his spine, and soon there are two pairs of boxers on the floor and Joel is caged by his partner’s broad shoulders, pinned to the bed under his lithe frame.

+++++++++++++++++++++++SMUT+CUT++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ezra prepares him well, pushes inside until he’s sheathed to the hilt, so full the blunt edges of Joel’s nails dig into the meat of Ezra’s lower back until his body remembers and relents.

Joel ignores the throbbing ache in his groin, content to watch as Ezra’s eyes flutter shut and re-open, heavy-lidded, pupils blown wide. He admires the furrow in his brow, the slack in his jaw, feels the taut rippling of his stomach against him as his weeping cock slicks the fine hairs at his navel. He strokes the patchy scruff on Ezra’s jaw, pulls him down to nip at his chin, lick into his mouth, press a kiss to the crescent scar on his cheek.

“Good?” Ezra whispers thickly, eliciting a dazed nod before their mouths meet. He lowers himself onto his elbow, resting his weight more firmly on Joel, changing the angle until he’s rutting in tight, shallow thrusts, hitting that spot inside that makes Joel groan.

He reaches back and finds Ezra’s hand, grasping it, letting their fingers twine like the rest of them. His thumb brushes the tip of Ezra’s tongue where it peeks out of the purse of his lips. Ezra groans and takes it inside the warm hollow of his mouth, bites down gently on the knuckle, traces the whorls of his fingerprint.

“You gonna come for me?” Joel growls, pulling him down until they’re chest to chest, hand cupping the back of his neck, threading in his hair and tugging gently. The other reaches between them, giving himself a few lazy strokes to ease the ache.

“Mmm, songbird…I…ohhh, amour , you…fuck…please…”

It comes out as a whimper, a whine, and Joel chuckles. For once, his partner has nothing smart to say as his thrusts grow harder, more erratic. Ezra’s mouth crashes into his, messy and desperate, feeding him a moan that fills Joel’s chest with the force of it. Ezra’s cock swells and throbs, warmth spreading sticky between his thighs, then he sags against his chest, panting and trembling with the aftershocks.

Joel urges them to the side and wraps his leg around Ezra’s hips, keeping them joined for just a little longer. Joel gently strokes his ribs, taking pleasure in the way the muscles twitch and jump under his fingers until he lets out an overstimulated hiss into his neck.

“ Amour …”

Joel grins, studying his partner’s face, the fire in his gut settling to an ember. He could almost be content to stay this way; sleep is hard-won, and if he allowed himself to drift, to pull the covers over them and close his eyes, it would be welcome. But then Ezra comes back to himself, sighing and nuzzling into Joel’s chest, circles one nipple and then the other with his tongue.

“I believe we have additional business to attend to,” he says, reaching down to stroke him slowly, letting his foreskin do the work, sliding over and over.

“Y-yeah?” Joel rasps, tongue thick in his mouth as his cock hardens under his partner’s touch.

“Tell me what you want, cher .”

“Mmm, I…ah, fuck, Ez, I–”

A growl rumbles up from deep within his chest and he pushes Ezra onto his back, covering his body, kissing him deeply. Ezra’s fingers stroke the planes of Joel’s chest, circling a spit-slick nipple with one finger, slides lower to trace the thick scar on his stomach and cup his arousal as it throbs and kicks between them. Joel hums in pleasure, momentarily distracted by these ministrations, then remembers what he intended to do. Carefully he crawls up the length of his body and straddles the other man’s chest. Ezra’s eyes flash with interest.

“Oh, I see we’re trying something new, songbird. I greatly look forward to seeing how you intend to–”

“Ez,” Joel says fondly, breathlessly. “Shut. Up.”

He cants his hips forward until his cock is grazing Ezra’s lips, parting them slowly. Forward, forward, watching the length of his arousal disappear until he feels the head hit the back of his throat. He thrusts experimentally, eliciting a choked gagging noise as Ezra’s eyes widen. Joel pulls back.

“This okay?” he whispers, suddenly contrite.

Ezra has the audacity to grin, and if Joel wasn’t already balanced on them, his knees would probably give out at the sight.

Then Ezra’s lips lock around his length and he sucks, hard .

“Ah, fuck, fuck,” he grunts, flames fanned to a roar, a blistering heat twining its way up the base of his spine. Ezra responds by gripping Joel’s ass with his hand and giving a sharp tug, pulling him forward, forcing Joel to brace himself against the wall.

“Jesus, Ez,” he growls. “You want it, huh? You want more a’ that?”

As if in answer, Ezra gags again, a tear escaping the corner of his eye. Fascinated, Joel reaches down to cup the man’s cheek, gentle even as his cock hits the back of his throat again, and again, and again. He lets Ezra set the rhythm, lets the waves of pleasure wash over him with every stretch and press of his cock deeper into the warm, wet cavern of his mouth.

Joel can’t look away, can’t tear his gaze from Ezra’s hungry eyes, his expression so trusting, so loving he aches with it.

“Yeah, you like that,” he whispers as one thumb delicately traces the track of a tear, wiping it away, a gesture that’s almost too sweet, too tender for the kind of fucking they’re doing.

“Take it, baby,” he murmurs. “Take it. All of it. There ya go.”

He groans as Ezra sucks, the back of his throat gripping the sensitive head while his tongue strokes and swirls around the length of his shaft. It’s not long before they find a steady rhythm that has Joel chasing his release.

“Alright,” Joel grits out. “Alright, yeah, I’m…Ez, Christ…so good…fuck…”

Ezra grins again, and any control Joel might have had over the situation slips from his grasp with a whimper. He’s at the mercy of Ezra’s dark eyes and that cocky smile, lips glossy with slick. He gives a low chuckle that sends pleasant vibrations up the length of Joel’s cock, then his strong, capable hand squeezes his ass, forcing him deeper. Joel tries to groan out a warning, a barely intelligible sound of pure pleasure before he falls over the edge. His forehead rests heavily against the wall as every nerve in his body is set alight, as his cock throbs and spills down the back of Ezra’s throat.

+++++++++++++++++++++END+SMUT+CUT++++++++++++++++++++++

Limbs like jelly, head swimming, he manages to extract himself from his precarious position without kneeing his partner in the face.

“You alright?” he murmurs, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “Didn’t hurt you?”

“Not in the least, mon cœur .”

Joel kisses him on the nose, nuzzles against it until he’s stretched out alongside him, half pinning Ezra’s body to the bed with his own.

Ezra gives a contented sigh of approval as Joel trails the gentle slope of his partner’s stomach, the fur at the junction of his thighs, the thick length of him soft and spent. He tucks his face into the crook of Ezra’s neck and breathes him in, wrapping his waist with one arm.

They should clean up. Even as he’s thinking it, his eyes are heavy, and it’s all he can do to fumble for the blanket they kicked to the foot of the bed. He pulls the comforter up to cover both of them and drifts in that post-orgasmic haze, face pressed to the side of Ezra’s neck, feeling the comforting thump of the other man’s pulse against his skin.

“Sing for me, songbird,” Ezra whispers into his hair.

Joel snorts. “Hell no. Guitar’s downstairs.”

“Last I checked, you don’t need a guitar to sing.”

“Yeah, but it covers all my mistakes. Ain’t got the voice for it.”

Ezra scoffs. “If you don’t, I will, and then you’ll deeply regret it.”

“Can’t be that bad,” he mutters, tipping his head up to bite at his earlobe, soothing the nip with his tongue. Goosebumps ripple along the curve of Ezra’s neck.

“Very well. You’ve been warned.”

He takes a deep breath. The most broken and off-key sound comes out of Ezra’s mouth and Joel is ready to smother him before he’s finished the first word.

“Christ, stop that racket,” he gasps, pulling back as Ezra’s laughter bursts and shudders against his palm. “Holy mother of…you weren’t kiddin’.”

“I hate to say I told you so.”

“That’s bullshit, you love to.”

“It’s true. But now you have to sing for me, amour .”

“Fine, fine, I’ll…just don’t do that again. ‘Least not til the rest of my hearin’ goes. Jesus.”

“It’s a deal,” Ezra says.

“The hell do you want me to sing?”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

Joel sighs. Outside has grown dark, the stars from earlier in the evening obscured by thick clouds. The first flakes of a winter storm have begun to fall, snowfall illuminated in a faint silver glow by the single street light outside. He can just barely make out the shape of the record album propped on his dresser for safekeeping. He never did give it back, and Ezra hasn’t asked.

Joel clears his throat.

“For you…there’ll be no crying,” he begins, whisper-singing the song that has become his namesake into the crook of Ezra’s neck. “For you…the sun will be shinin’.”

“But I feel that when I’m with you, it’s alright,” he says, leveraging himself up, brushing the sweat-damp hair from Ezra’s temple, taken by the shine in his partner’s eyes. “I know it’s right.”

He ducks his head, murmuring the words into the hollow at the center of Ezra’s throat, punctuating the ending with a gentle kiss. “And the songbirds keep singin’ like they know the score.”

His voice is clear and unbroken as their noses brush, as his hand cradles his jaw, the softest intake of breath as he whispers the final lyric against Ezra’s willing lips.

“And I love you, I love you, I love you like never before.”

Fin.

#the last of us fanfic #queer fanfic #joel x ezra #prospect fanfic #prospect #joel miller #ezra prospect

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koyagifs · 4 months ago

Text

shattered trust

pairing: Ravenclaw!Hongjoong x Hufflepuff!reader au: harry pottergenre: angst | fluff | Summary: as the years go by, you never noticed the dark side of your lover.a/n there is going to be a HUGE time skip, Sorry :(

Warning(s):

Some cursing, their ages will be aged up a bit! This fic is not meant to reflect how Ateez are in real life. This is a fanfic.

st masterlist | ateez masterlist

.𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖˖☾

Mina’s heart raced as she observed you and Hongjoong walking side by side, the laughter between you two echoing in her ears like an unwelcome melody. The sight sent a jolt of fury through her. You were everything she had wanted to be—the center of attention, the one who made Hongjoong smile. But that was all slipping through her fingers, and she couldn’t stand it.

She knew she needed to act fast. Clenching her fists tighter, she felt a surge of dark determination. Her initial plan had been so carefully crafted, but it had begun to backfire, and now the stakes were higher than ever.

As you and Hongjoong entered the classroom, Mina stepped back, the shadows swallowing her as she concocted her next move. She could not let this opportunity pass her by. If she wanted to regain control, she needed to find a way to isolate Hongjoong from you once more—no matter the cost.

“Maybe a little reminder of who’s really in charge is what he needs,” she whispered to herself, a smirk creeping onto her lips.

She turned on her heel, ready to devise a plan that would not only reclaim her influence over Hongjoong but also put you firmly in your place. Mina's mind raced with possibilities, each more sinister than the last. The game was far from over, and she intended to win it, one way or another.

Mina walked toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, her heart pounding with a mix of excitement and trepidation. The proud smirk on her face belied the chaos brewing within her. Professor Moody was already in the room, his magical eye swiveling around to assess who had walked in, but he caught sight of her approach.

“Mina,” he said, his voice gruff but not unkind.

She rolled her eyes, " professor"

" how did it go with that boy?"

Mina let out a tsk, her eyes wondering around his office." it went wonderful father"

Moody let out a grunt, " watch it"

Mina’s smirk widened, relishing the brief moment of power over her father, even if it was just for show. “Come on, Dad. I thought you’d be proud. I have everything under control,” she replied, her voice dripping with false confidence.

Moody’s magical eye narrowed, scrutinizing her. “Control can be an illusion, Mina. Remember that.” His tone shifted slightly, revealing a hint of concern beneath the gruff exterior. “You know how dangerous it can be to play with others’ minds.”

“Don’t worry, Professor,” she said, waving him off. “I’m not going to hurt anyone—at least, not in a way that would be a problem for us.” Her words hung in the air, and she could see a mix of pride flash across his face.

.𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖ .𖥔 ݁ ˖☾𖤓☽.𖥔 ݁ ˖˖☾

Mina paced in the shadows, her mind working furiously as the third task drew closer. She had already lost control over Hongjoong, and with the Imperius Curse no longer keeping him tethered to her, her frustration was bubbling over. She knew the task would be her last real chance to strike before things spiraled completely out of her control.

Mina gritted her teeth, watching from the shadows as you stood among your friends, oblivious to the danger that still lurked. Yunho and Jongho hovered protectively near you, their loyalty clear in their constant presence. Every time she thought she had a chance to get to Hongjoong—or even you—they were there, blocking her path, whether intentionally or not. It was maddening.

She knew she couldn’t strike with them always by your side, and the presence of the rest of your group didn’t help either. Mingi, San, and even the ever-watchful Yeosang weren’t far from you, all of them invested in the upcoming task and keeping an eye on one another. There was never a moment of vulnerability.

Mina clenched her fists. She needed to get them alone, to isolate Hongjoong—or you—from the group, but every attempt so far had been thwarted. If she couldn’t catch you off guard here, she’d have to think bigger. Something that would shake all of them.

Mina stood amidst the crowd, her sharp eyes locked on you as you sat between Hongjoong and Mingi, with the rest of your friends—Yunho, Jongho, San, Wooyoung, Seonghwa and Yeosang—all hovering nearby. The group’s protective circle around you was impenetrable, their lighthearted chatter masking the subtle vigilance that kept Mina at bay.

Her frustration simmered beneath the surface. She clenched her fists so tightly her nails bit into her palms. Each time she glanced in your direction, you were laughing or sharing a knowing glance with one of them, oblivious to the storm brewing just a few feet away. Mingi was talking animatedly about something, and Hongjoong... he was just as guarded, casting occasional glances at you, as if reassuring himself that you were still there.

The bond between you all was strong, and it only made Mina angrier. She needed to find a way to break that bond—to drive a wedge between you and the boys, or better yet, strike at the heart of the group. If she could take you out of the equation, everything would unravel.

Mina moved swiftly, weaving through the crowd as she made her way toward the bottom of the stands, where her father—still disguised as Mad-Eye Moody—stood observing the scene. Her mind buzzed with a plan, one that would ensure her victory, one that would tear apart the bond you had with the boys.

As the crowd erupted in cheers, their attention drawn to Harry's triumphant return, Mina took the opportunity to slip away, her smirk deepening as she followed closely behind you and the boys. The excitement of the crowd provided the perfect distraction, and you, like everyone else, were too caught up in the moment to notice her presence.

You and the others began to move away from the crowd, chatting and laughing, completely unaware of the shadow that trailed you. Mina’s eyes narrowed as she kept her distance, watching for the right moment to strike. Her mind raced with possibilities, each one more tempting than the last.

Moody had moved swiftly as well, his magical eye constantly scanning for threats as he kept an eye on both the crowd and his daughter. He knew she was up to something, but he didn’t stop her. He had his own role to play in this twisted game.

The further you moved from the bustling stands, the quieter it became. Hongjoong was beside you, his hand brushing against yours as he spoke, his voice soft amidst the fading cheers. Mingi and the others were close, but Mina could sense the cracks—the moments when you were vulnerable. She just needed to find the perfect one.

#angst #ateez imagines #kim hongjoong x y/n #kim hongjoong x reader #kim hongjoong ateez #hongjoong ateez #hongjoong angst #ateez hongjoong #hongjoong x y/n #ateez x reader #ateez oneshot #hongjoong x reader ateez #hongjoong #kim hongjoong #ateez fanfic

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cypressure · 10 months ago

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Have you got any recommendations for dinosaur nonfiction books?

Your art makes me so happy 🥺

hey thank you, i appreciate your saying so (and also giving me the opportunity to talk about dinosaur books)! under the cut for length--

starting off with an overview before getting down to specific topics, my first recommendation is Dinosaurs: How They Lived and Evolved by Darren Naish & Paul Barrett. this was first published in 2017, but the third edition was just released with plenty of updates to reflect new discoveries and hypotheses. it's very thorough and accessible, and takes you through all the major clades of dinosaurs and everything we know about their evolution and ecology. this is definitely the best starting point for getting up-to-date with dinosaur science.

the end-Cretaceous extinction has been getting lots of popular attention lately (thanks to DePalma and the Tanis site I suspect), so if you'd like to learn more on this subject, I love The Last Day of the Dinosaurs by Riley Black, also from 2022. this is the scariest dinosaur book i've ever read--she paints an incredibly vivid and horrifying picture of the aftermath of the meteor impact, and of how the animals which survived the event managed to live on.

if you want to read about how exactly we know all these things about dinosaurs, I just recently picked up Dave Hone's How Fast Did T. rex Run? (titled The Future of Dinosaurs in the UK i think), published in 2022. he delves into what we know from the fossil record and how paleontologists work to figure these things out, as well as what we don't know yet and what we probably will never know, and the difference between those two. i suggest it for learning about paleontology as a scientific process, and it's a very interesting read.

so far, all of these books have been about dinosaurs as a whole; if you are looking for popular publications about specific groups, there are not as many options unfortunately (for some reason there isn't a huge audience for 200-page books about obscure thyreophorans. sighs disappointedly). most of what we get is about the large, more familiar clades; you will see books on tyrannosaurs, and there's a few field guide-style books about Mesozoic birds (which tend to be very beautifully illustrated but kind of technical; see below for titles). my pick for clade-specific books is The Sauropod Dinosaurs: Life in the Age of Giants, by Mark Hallett and Matthew Wedel, from 2016. this one goes into serious detail about every conceivable aspect of sauropod paleobiology, which as you can imagine is a huge and fascinating topic, and all the artwork is gorgeous. caveat: it being 8 years old means there's some science in there which will be outdated by now, but as far as i can remember it's still worth checking out.

and finally, as a paleoartist, i have to mention paleoart books! if you're interested in the science behind the choices paleoartists make when reconstructing extinct animals, especially for your own practice, i cannot recommend enough Mark Witton's The Paleoartist's Handbook, from 2018. he thoroughly explains how to interpret fossil evidence and paleontological research from an artist's perspective, and covers about everything from soft tissues to composing a scene. this is one of less than a handful of books on this particular topic, and it's definitely the most in-depth.

with any scientific subject you have to be careful with older books; this is especially true with paleontology since the discipline has accelerated so much over the past few decades and shows no signs of slowing down. i would even hesitate to recommend anything published more than 10 years ago, since new discoveries and technology have made so many questions and hypotheses moot (and in turn created new and more interesting ones)! the only exception to this is a recommendation for historical significance: Robert Bakker's 1986 The Dinosaur Heresies is essential to understanding what modern paleontologists call the Dinosaur Renaissance, or how our perception of dinosaurs changed from lizardlike evolutionary dead-ends into the active, successful bird ancestors we see in reconstructions now. this book kickstarted that change, and it's easy to see how: it's a very engaging read, Bakker argues his points very effectively, plus there are cute dinosaur cartoons. (i also love a lot of older works for their personal significance, but gushing about formative dinosaur books is something for another post.)

finally, thanks to the wonders of the internet, books are not the only way to learn about current dinosaur science! the best way is always by reading paleontology papers, where scientists directly describe and illustrate new discoveries or hypotheses. however, i know jumping straight into the technical literature may be overwhelming: fortunately a lot of paleontologists have social media, blogs, and/or podcasts where they write about their work and new developments in the field. the heyday of science blogs is kind of past, but there are still a few very good ones out there: this list on Feedly has a good selection to browse. being just self-published material, all of these don't have the benefits of peer review that papers and books do, so always be willing to take things with a grain of salt and do your own research.

of course this is a non-exhaustive list, especially limiting myself to both works recently published and which i have actually read. i've certainly forgotten or missed out on many new paleontology books (Dean Lomax's Locked in Time is one of these which i still haven't gotten ahold of yet, but which im very excited to get to); i welcome any additional recommendations or thoughts from the rest of paleoblr!

i hope this was helpful and i wish you luck in your reading :)

#paleoblr #paleontology #book recs #process #cypress #< - the fursona you see at the top of this post. say hi #sorry this took me so long to post! both putting it together and then actually remembering to post it took more time than i expected #but i wanted to be thorough

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urf1lterr · 2 years ago

Text

lovesick | pedro pascal [4]

"and on this night and in this light i think im falling, im falling for you."

previous chapter: [3] series masterlist

summary: in which a 1975-obsessed film student accidentally falls in love with an older man she can't have.

pairing: actor!pedro x intern!reader

genre: acting world!au, big age-gap!, strangers to friends- maybe lovers?? au | angst, mature, awkward, love- eventually

word count: 10.6k

status: in progress

author's note: so sorry for the long wait! but i tried making this chapter longggg. i typically have my days off altogether and the rest of the week booked with work/school. i try to post many chapters within my short timeframe (bc im booked af) so pls expect another update soon after this one! sadly, it takes me around 8-10 hours to write one bc its hard to think lol. also, i don't want this to be too long of a series and kinda wanna connect the dots- slowly but surely, ya know? not edited.

"So, he just came knocking on your door at 6am?" Joon questioned, taking a sip of his smoothie soon afterwards. "I can't even wake up that early."

"We had to do that everyday for our last job."

"I woke up ten minutes before I had to be out the door," he shrugged. "Men get ready fast."

"Anyway," you eyed him as he cluelessly did the same, confused as to why you wouldn't look away. "I don't remember him coming."

"Yeah, because you fucking freaked out and hallucinated over Lady Gaga," Jules exclaimed, you automatically cringing just at the horrible memories you've recently faced with that damn cat.

Once she explained what had happened hours after you had woken up, you were disturbingly shocked.

And the fact that your sleepiness was to blame had you going insane- imagine all the other odd things you may had committed while under the covers.

But you will admit you did remember some of that night's events clearly, again like you practically making out with Lady Gaga- although she was the one who licked your face endlessly first.

Mortified just by the thoughts, you will never be able to face Pedro again sanely.

How could you when you recently dreamed about a man 25 years older being intimate with you- that's...confusing. And the worst part of it all was you couldn't say anything to anyone with the fear of being judged or laughed at- maybe both.

The thing was you couldn't quite understand why you had to dream about that. Maybe your time of the month was coming and your hormones targeted the first guy you had nonstop contact with?

No, that would've been Joon.

Attraction may had played a part but Joon definitely had that, Pedro as well but a little different...age-wise at least. There's no way you felt allured for men with bad jokes and rough skin- no offense. Right?

He did text you that same morning he dropped by and commented on how creepy you are half asleep and whether or not you agreed to his 'business' proposal. Not trying to start a conversation you knew you couldn't finish, out of second-hand shame, you just replied a simple:

LOL but busy with school atm to make a final decision- tell ya later

That later still hasn't arrived.

Unfortunately, you forgot to ask him why he made a random visit that morning- but you weren't going to ask him days later. In your mind, you need to avoid him. There's no way you'd be able to act normal after have unholy fascinations about him.

Not that it'll be a problem, you two hadn't seen each other for weeks before your cafe encounter, you're sure you can do it again without him noticing your distance.

It's been about two days since then which meant you didn't have to prioritize so much of your time on homework, you'll just save that for Sunday when it's all due.

"Did you bother to ask him why?" Jules added, turning to you. "He obviously wasn't coming to see me- I barely know the guy."

"You do know him!" you argue as she rolls her eyes. "You literally got mad at me for not recognizing him the first time we met."

"He's a celebrity- everybody knows him," she defends before tilting her head in curiosity. "But you two are oddly close, it's kind of weird."

"No," you shake your head, trying to laugh off her suspicions. "We are casual friends who fan girl over the same things."

People did take notice how close Pedro and you were but it wasn't anybody's fault you two had so much in common. Both of you loved Starbucks, going on hikes- when you weren't lazy, and believe Matt Healy is extremely attractive.

If they have a problem with that they can sue you.

"I see it," Joon adds, jumping up a bit. "Him and I barely talk and we're men- we should be bonding easily!"

"You're...you," Jules cringes, making Joon glare in return. "I can understand why he chooses not to be close to you."

Laughing, you watch as Joon quickly flips her the finger before he continues on with the conversation. "I just feel like he always comes around only to see you, it was pretty obvious since the first time he took us home."

Furrowing your eyebrows, you didn't understand what he meant by that. Pedro offered all three of you a ride home, not just you.

Already feeling done with this topic, you wanted to switch it before things started escalating and freaky theories started unfolding. They had every right to question your friendship, but you were starting to think they might be leading down a road where they may soon develop other impressions as to what your friendship might have been.

Why are you even thinking that? That's so inappropriate to imagine.

"You two are silly, he probably needed my advice on something or wanted to workout," you suggest, their faces showing they weren't fully convinced. "But anywho, did you call Yoongi yet?"

"I don't think that's a great idea," Joon declared, adjusting in your warm sofa. "He's not really a skating kind of guy."

Since it was Friday and you had no plans, you thought it would be a fun idea to be adventurous for once and do something you would never do on a regular basis.

Ice Skate.

Your friends were extremely down with the idea, but you needed a fourth person to make the group complete. Why not a skinny, impatient blonde man who would probably spend the whole night complaining about why this plan was awful?

Right now you could use some other grumpiness in your life.

"Just tell him to go," you beam back, clapping your hands in excitement as you'll soon be able to fall countless of times on the ice. "I'll buy him hot cocoa."

"You better do it or he'll never let that go," Joon states.

After hours of sitting around and blasting random music through your speakers, the three of you were ready to set off on your journey of locating the ice rink.

If it wasn't for Joon's constant whining to stop walking to take pictures of the scenery you probably would've arrived 15 minutes sooner than your actual arrival, but too bad your friend is a nature freak.

"You taking pictures of the pigeons better not be the reason why you're late," you heard Yoongi grumble as the three of you finally found him sitting on a bench near the entrance of the rink, staring directly at Joon who just scoffed.

"I'm sorry if my happiness bothers you," Joon snapped back as Yoongi just stood up from his seat and made his way to your trio.

Grabbing your ice skates wasn't too difficult as the long line seemed to flow by smoothly, but standing on them was a different story.

"I can't do this," you squeal as your hurriedly motion your arms around to find some balance. "I'm falling!"

Yoongi sent you a questionable look as he watched your poor attempts to stay still embarrassing. "We're not even on the ice yet."

Feeling a hand grab a hold on your shoulders and practically drag your feet towards the ice, you glance up to see Jules steadily directing you to face your fears.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"Are you going to push her in?!" you hear Joon gasp a few feet behind you but you couldn't turn your head as you rather focused your attention on yanking yourself off of Jules.

"It was her idea so she'll be the one going in first."

"Ahh!" you screech, putting all your pressure on your feet to stop her hard pull. Spiraling your ankles in the most crucial ways, you start to lightly slap her arms off you as she continues to fight them off.

One thing about her was she's going to make sure to remind you that this was your idea.

Feeling an arm gently tug you off her grip, you landed on Yoongi's side as Jules whined in return, offended that he ruined her vicious plan. Respectfully, he kept you stable with an arm wrapped behind your middle back as you gripped his other one, fearful she might snatch you away again.

"Why would you do that?!"

"I don't think watching her fall face first on the hard ice would be a fun sight to see," he bluntly returned as Jules huffed. "The sight of blood gives me the ick."

"I was waiting for that moment all afternoon," Jules sighed, disappointed that she wouldn't be seeing you fall- yet.

Waiting for her to walk away to go on the ice, you see Joon follow her before you released your friend, relieved that she wouldn't be partaking in her scandalous scheme just yet.

"You do know how to skate, right?" Yoongi asked, his uncertain eyes on yours as you crazily wave your arms in front of him to rub off his questionable thoughts.

"Do I? Of course I do!" you argue, making your way towards the ice until you were two feet away from it. Putting your feet on the edge, you hesitate as you could feel the cold breeze wrap around you legs. "I'm gonna go now."

"Yippy," he states, waiting at your poor attempts to convince him.

Giving him a thumbs up, you clap your hands together to try to reassure yourself that you could do this, forgetting that he was right behind you secretly laughing.

Taking one final breath, you placed your right foot on top of the ice steadily, trying your best not to make any harsh movements, until you felt a hard jerk on your upper body, making you lose yourself in an instant.

"God, if you don't know how to skate why would you suggest it?" Yoongi grumbled, gliding both your bodies along the ice as he held tightly onto your arms. You were practically skating like a wet dog in front of him, begging with your eyes for him not to abandon you.

"I always wanted to try."

Sending you an annoyed look, you zipped your mouth as his arms were now securing you, closing any gaps there may have been and giving you the ride of your life.

Shutting your eyes harshly, you didn't dare to witness the environment around as you felt the icy wind slap your face the faster you two- or at least by Yoongi's swaying, got.

There were times where he did pretend to lose his balance, causing you to cry in horror and him immediately placing his hand over your mouth by how loud you weaped.

But other than that, you came to enjoy his help as your two other friends rudely abandoned you guys in order to practice their poor attempts of leaping across the rink.

"Okay," Yoongi started, releasing his left hand from your side and keeping you close with only his other. "Now you try on your own."

Fear creeping up in your face, you rapidly shake your head in disagreement and try catching his recent abandoned arm, which he denied. "I can't."

"Can't or won't?" he countered back making you silent.

He did have a point.

"C'mon, it's not that hard. If Joon could do it, you can."

"He's literally on the ground right now," you whine as Yoongi quickly averts his eyes in search of your tall friend, soon finding Joon clutching his knee in pain as Jules records on her phone.

"No."

Sighing, he continues to look around, trying to plan out an idea that would at least convince you to slide a few feet alone without his help until he smirked and met your eyes.

"What would Matt Healy do?"

Widening your eyes, you were taken back by his question.

Only Pedro used that line on you.

And for some reason it felt odd when Yoongi did the same. You shouldn't be bothered by his choice of words...but you were a little.

He wasn't him to be saying it.

"He wouldn't force me to do something I didn't want to do," you reply back, causing him to groan.

"I feel like you just want to be in my arms," he retorted with a grin, immediately making you revolt and fly out of his arms, your bottom hitting the ice hard. "Well that's one way to make you skate."

Feeling immediate pain on the back of your thighs, you just knew you were going to be bruised and swollen the next day. But hey, this technically counts for your workout for the week.

Awkwardly swaying your body around, you couldn't get up off the damn ice. You were sure you looked like a fish out of water by how crazy you were moving.

"Get on your knees," Yoongi commented, causing you to send him a death glare as he lifted his hands up in defense. "It helps you stand."

Or he could just grab your arms and help you himself.

Cautiously following his suggestion, you slowly pull your right leg up and place it firmly on the ice before slowly trying to do so with your left one. As you began to feel satisfied with the weight being supported, you felt your body finally working and lifting up off the ground before he poked your shoulder- making you fall again.

"I'm going to murder you!" you threaten as you stare at him on your back, whole body restlessly laying on the ground in misery as he cackles loudly.

He may have advantage on the ice, but oh man- once you regain your balance off it you were going to end that slender man's life.

"Isn't this just a sight to see," you heard someone exclaim before hands grab your arms and soon lift you back on your feet.

Moving your eyes to the ones in front of you, you burst out in smiles. "Bella! Nico!"

"I take this as my queue to leave,'" you hear Yoongi mumbles but you swiftly grab his arm from his close proximity and halt his plans.

He was not going to desert you now.

"What are you girls doing here?"

Not seeing them for a few weeks didn't make things awkward, but different. It was like catching up with old friends, even though you barely met them less than three months ago.

"Had nothing to do tonight so why not ice skate?" Nico giggled.

Bella examined you up and down before pointing at your head. "My god, your hair grew so long. Has it really been that long?"

Rolling your eyes, you were about to answer her before Yoongi cut in. "No, it's her fake extenstions."

Gasping, you turn your body to him and smack his shoulder as he smacks you back. One thing about him, he's all about equality. You touch him, he touches you- simple.

You don't see the way Nico and Bella exchange smirks to one another before Nico slides in front of you and pulls out her phone. "We should take a selfie! You know, for memories."

Laughing, you agree. You took some pictures with them but never really out of the work environment.

Uncomfortably standing still, Yoongi hastily moves to the side a bit, not wanting to intrude this moment you were having with your friends. He was a pretty sociable person, but only if they had things in common and he fairly knew them.

Yoongi didn't know these two young girls and he sure as hell didn't want to be the one being kicked out of this picture- so why not kick himself out first?

"Where are you going, we need your long arm to get us all in the frame!" Bella exclaimed, motioning Yoongi to move back as he sent her a flustered glance.

"I can just take it with the three of you."

"Nonsense!" Nico argued back, shaking her head as you giggled. "We don't leave people out."

Biting his bottom lip a bit, he scratches the back of his neck swiftly before increasing the speed of his skates to the girl, accepting her phone. "I suppose."

Fixing your posture, you stand behind your friend as he carefully raises his right arm up in the air, positioning the phone that was able to capture all four of you in the frame.

Pulling out the gummiest smile, you bursted out a gigantic grin after seeing the rare radiant expression Yoongi was giving. He was never one to show much emotion so finding him giving in for a picture amused you.

Taking the phone out of his hands, Bella examined the screen before chuckling. "Wow, you've got one adorable smile."

You could've sworn you saw Yoongi blush as he lowered his head while shaking off her compliment, trying to act natural but he wasn't fooling anyone.

He was shy.

Gasping at the sight in front of her, Nico pointed at the concession cart near one of the exits of the ice. "They have hot cocoa! We must get some."

Faking a groan, Bella allowed her friend to drag her away but not before sending you a pout to follow, which you were happy to do. You were freezing to death without even realizing it until you stopped your attempts to skate for the picture.

"I was promised a free cup," Yoongi stated as he was gliding behind you, softly pushing your back as you proceeded to do nothing but allow him to direct you to where your desired hot cocoa was.

Scoffing a little, you shush him as you reached the exit ramp. Jumping off, the two of you slowly waddled to Bella and Nico who were next in line.

"Wait," you start, pausing your footsteps which resulted in him almost falling after slamming to your side. "Shouldn't we ask Joon and Jules if they want one?"

Peeking over your shoulder, Yoongi looks back down to you. "Nah, don't wanna ruin their fun."

Following his recent glance, you could see Joon and Jules in front of one another, both holding hands as they try to catch a faster pace while twirling in big circles.

You were sure they were eventually going to knock a small child over soon.

"Next," you hear the worker call out, sitting behind his register waiting for your arrival.

Quickly walking up, you place your order as nothing else but the hot drinks seemed to interest you. The total came out to be the cost as what four drinks at your local cafe would be, but you shouldn't be surprised since this place was pretty popular to the public.

Pulling out his wallet so fast, you didn't have to process what Yoongi was doing until you caught the view of his credit card as he handed it over to the man in front of you.

"No-" you try intercepting what had just happened by giving your card to the worker who just shrugged as he had already paid for the drinks on Yoongi's card. "Why would you do that?"

"You're too slow," Yoongi bluntly said as he grabbed the two drinks and moved to the side so the next person in line could place their order.

"But it hadn't even been three seconds since he said the total before you handed him the card," you protest.

He handed you your cup, hoping it'll shut you up as he took a small sip from his own. "And?"

Is he being serious? "'And,'" you question as he continued to be unaware as to what you were getting at. "Since the beginning I vowed to buy you hot cocoa."

Yoongi laughed at how stubborn you were becoming. "Vowed? What a great word choice for this scenario, fiance."

Rolling your eyes at his teasing, you hated the fact he was avoiding your question. You knew he did it because he wanted to be a gentleman, but the problem was he didn't want to admit he was one.

Again, he was being shy.

"I see you are kind," you smirk as he gave you a disgusted glance. "Don't worry, I won't tell people you have a heart."

Before he could leave a snarky comeback, Nico and Bella came back in giggles as Yoongi retreated back to his natural state of looking lifeless. "Oh my gosh- we went to get napkins and I kid you not I may have poured my drink on the back of this poor little girl."

Lightly gasping, you widen your eyes as Yoongi confusingly replies back. "May have? You don't know if you did or not?"

Bella makes an accountable face, scrunching her nose in the process. "Okay, I did. But she's the one who ran into me!"

"Well, she was really small and you kind of didn't search your surroundings before kneeing her," Nico exposed, causing Yoongi and you to give each other a concerned look.

"You kneed her?!"

"Only in her side," Bella excused herself, sending Nico a betrayed look. "It wasn't like it was her stomach."

"It practically was...," Nico mumbled but became silent when her co-star eyed her hard.

Coughing uncomfortably, Yoongi caught everyone's attention as he tried to avert the conversation into something that wasn't as horrific as striking a child with hot cocoa and a knee. "We should probably hit the ice again soon before Jules and Joon find out we got these drinks without them."

"Jules is here?!" Bella beamed, searching around for her through the large gatherings of people on the ice. "I missed that crazy lady, she was the only one who would get my coffee order right."

"She told me she would threaten to get the baristas fired if they kept getting it wrong," Nico recalled, chewing her mouth a little. "That's why I stopped letting her take my orders."

Sighing, you looked up in the ceiling in disapproval as you could feel Yoongi laughing his ass off beside you. That was very Jules of her to do.

After another two hours of trying to figure out how to skate, and basically latching onto Yoongi the whole time as Bella and Nico were doing laps around you guys, you finally made it home.

To say you were exhausted would be an understatement- you were drained.

No, seriously. You hadn't worked out this much since Jules and you almost missed the subway two months ago and had to run three blocks to catch it on time.

That day was dreadful, but you were sure if you went to bed you were going to wake up lifeless like a worm.

"I call the shower first!" you hear Jules scream, running to her room in order to grab her belongings but you were faster and instantly made your way to the bathroom, locking the door before she could break in. "You bitch! How dare you steal it with my back turned!"

Grinning evilly to yourself, you wanted to get your night routines over with so you could hit the pillows quickly. Even after taking off all your makeup, taking a very steamy shower, and doing your nightly skin care routine, you were sure you could easily knock out sitting on the toilet if you had the chance.

We all have done it once in our lives.

Opening the door, the steam flows out smoothly as you face your very displeased roommate on the other side, glaring at you. "All yours," you smile, stepping to the side but she roughly pushes you in response, causing you to yelp as you manage to catch your balance midway.

Mental note, burn her eggs next breakfast.

Stepping into your room, you change into an oversized hoodie and sweats before throwing yourself under your covers in excitement.

The moment you've been waiting for all day: sleep.

Closing your eyes, you feel all your senses slowly drifting away from your body as relaxation crept up from all around. It was truly intoxicating how in trance you were.

But of course with your luck, nothing goes as planned- ever.

Wildly jumping up from the loud blaring of your phone, you cover your face in agony as the vibrations and noise cause pain throughout your entire body.

Who the hell was calling you at 10 o'clock at night? This should be illegal.

After taking a minute to control yourself, the ringing stopped. Good, now you won't have to make time to engage in a conversation. Quickly falling back down onto your pillows, it wasn't even ten seconds later before you feel your phone going off like crazy again.

With you eyes shut, you move your hands around your bed until you feel the cool object underneath your pillow. Lazily pressing any button, without batting one eye open, you move the phone to your ear before releasing a groggy, "What?"

"What a lovely way to greet somebody, kiddo."

You instantly freeze, automatically thinking about the vivid dream you had about him, then Lady Gaga, and felt a blush creeping in.

Slowly pulling the phone away, you let out a loud but fast scream before moving it back. How the hell are you going to begin a conversation without thinking about his lips on yours. "What do you want?"

Pausing for a second, you can hear him move around through his end. "Did you just scream?"

It's not like you didn't just dream about him kissing all over your body two nights ago.

"Did you just wake me up to ask me the obvious answer?"

Act like you don't care. Like you are perfectly fine.

He chuckles lightly and you can tell by his tone he was close to passing out too. "Somebody's cranky, is it past your bedtime?" Pedro teased.

You were definitely not in the mood to handle his ridicules at this hour, especially by how nervous he was slowly making you. What did he want?

"Yes," you simply reply before hitting the red button, ending the call and laying your head back on your pillow. Good, just end it before you make a bigger fool out of yourself.

It hadn't even been another ten seconds before your phone was ringing once again. Pulling it up to your face, you let out a huff. What a shocker, it was him again.

"You better have an insanely good reason as to why you chose to wake me up in the middle of my dream," you immediately say as you press the 'accept' button.

Hearing him laugh, you just know he has a sarcastic comment coming any second. "Wake you up? Honey, you're still living your dream talking to me."

Honey.

No, not another nickname for him to call you in future dreams.

Shaking that thought away, you rejected the idea of him being in any more dreams- you forbid it.

Loss at words for a second, you almost let your next words trip over one another before calmly gaining your composure at the incidental choice of your pet name.

"So funny," you reply back, trying your best to sound sane. "Pretty sure I was dreaming of a very shirtless Matt Healy playing 'Please Be Naked' to me."

Why the fuck would you slip that out.

"Are you trying to hint at something?" he smirks, making you press mute and hold your hand over your mouth to hold back the screams you feared would release.

Feeling like your soul was about to leave your body, you couldn't believe he just said that.

Actually, you couldn't believe you would even recommend that song. God, your sleepiness was messing with your mind.

Finding your energy once again, you unmute the call and try to seem unfazed by his last comment. "Yes, that I want to sleep. Goodbye now."

Before you could hit the red button again, you could hear him chanting over the phone to do the exact opposite. "Don't!"

Groaning, you clutch the phone harder in despair. "I am so tired. Don't do this to me, please. I am a girl who values her sleep!" you whine as you hear him continue his light giggles in the background. "If I don't sleep I will die, is this what you want. Are you trying to kill me?"

"I can reassure you I don't plan on keeping you up long," he explains. "And I wouldn't dare wish for your death."

Your heart fluttering, you glare at your chest. "Then what do you want?"

Moving his phone from one ear to the other, he lays in his bed while smiling at his ceiling. "You," he declares, making you widen your eyes as he shuffles around in his blanket. "Tomorrow, let's hang out."

Sitting up against your bed frame, you furrow your brow. "Hang out? For what?" There's no way you will be able to act normal for a long period of time, your weak-self can't do it.

Placing a hand over his chest, he lets out a light hiss in fake hurt by your comeback before continuing. "Can't I hang out with you by choice and not by a work schedule? Unless you're so disgusted by me." That's when he started his fake cries. "I'm so sorry I am not Matt Healy and can't do a great British accent."

Shaking your head, you try to intervene as his ugly cries become louder through the line. "That's not what I meant, stop being dramatic," you complain as he instantly stops while smiling widely. "Is there a specific reason why you want to hang out?"

Taking a deep breath, he fiddles with the fingers on his non-occupied hand. "Does there need to be a reason?"

You pause for a second. He's acting too kind for your liking and it's making you question what his intentions are. In this point of time, you're sure he's going to take that moment to convince you to work with him in Canada.

"With you there's always a reason."

Scoffing lightly, he grumbles. "I just want to go on a hike and need a hiking partner."

Oh hell no, you already did enough working out this evening. You were not about to do that again, that's for sure.

"Yeah, nooo," you exhale lowly. "I already did too much working out with my body if you know what I mean and-"

"I don't know what that means," he cuts you off.

"It means I am going to be sore for days so my body has no strength to walk for more than five minutes," you declare as he falls silent.

After a few seconds that felt like forever, he replies. "Fine," he blankly states. "Have a goodnight, sweetheart."

The warmth as blood began drawing to your face became present as you quickly reply with a simple "night" before ending the call. And for some reason you felt as if you couldn't breathe normally by the pounding on your chest.

What the hell was happening to you. Looking up at the ceiling, you silently pray you don't have a Lady Gaga 2.0 fiasco.

As you were questioning why your heart made you feel as if you were going under cardiac arrest the night before, your body was currently making you feel if you really needed to make that trip to the ER by how tender you were.

It also didn't help that Jules was the one waking you up at the crack of dawn, half asleep with her eye mask clinging onto her forehead.

"W-why are you-" you grumble, rubbing your eyes as you look at the alarm clock near your bedside. "-waking me up at 6:18am? It's Saturday."

She sent you a death glare for assuming she randomly wanted to wake you up for the fun of it as she was the one who was woken up first. "Someone's here for you."

Positioning your body upwards, you squint your eyes up at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Why don't you take a look for yourself," she gritted her teeth, swaying her head towards your door.

Slowly standing up, you make your way to it before sneaking a peak of the view of your living room. That's when you see a very annoying man you were sure you both agreed on the phone last night to not go hiking.

Luckily, he didn't notice your wandering eyes as his were glued to his phone, scrolling through his social media.

What was he doing here? You can't face him without thinking about his body wrapped around yours and his lips doing dangerous things.

Oh no, you truly were screwed.

Lightly shutting your door, you nervously turn back to your roommate who looks displeased. "I told him no."

"No means yes, I guess," she replies, snaking her arms around her body for warmth. "I'm going back to bed."

You could hear her walk out of your room as you frantically begin searching for something warm yet comfortable clothes to wear on this undesired hike. You knew if you tried backing out he would stay until you caved, he was very persistent to get what he wanted.

And what he wanted was for you to get your ass up and exercise.

You were also certain you heard Jules let out a "thanks for the invite" to him before hearing her bedroom door shut.

Running out of your room, you made sure not to look in his direction so he wouldn't see your morning appearance clearly- well he already has but why reveal yourself in this state again?

Quickly brushing your hair, teeth, and washing your face, you change into a baggy green sweatshirt and some black workout leggings before slipping on suited running shoes.

Try to act natural. Give him little attention so he won't speculate anything. You aren't into old men and did not vision him smooching you on your sofa.

"You are so buying me breakfast," you deadpan as you walked straight out of your door, not even daring to wait for him to follow.

Good, be straightforward.

Laughing to himself, Pedro promptly jumped off the couch and jogged after you once you shut the door on him and continued down the halls to the elevators.

Finally catching up, he barely made it through the elevator doors as they were closing to find you leaning against the corner, mad and tired. "Good morning to you, too."

You let out a small cry as you lay your head against the wall in pain from how frustratingly exhausted you were. If one cold breeze hit you outside you were sure you were going to burst into tears.

"Oh, come one," he walks over to you and nudged your shoulder to wake up some more. If he unexpectedly touched you again you were sure you were going to rip his arm off. "In a few minutes you'll be wide awake and fine."

"How dare you assume I'm going to be fine!" you whine, trying to hit his side but he manages to capture your arm and that's when you give up and allow your worn out body to fall on him.

He instantly wraps his arms around you as your head falls just beneath his chin, your eyes slowly closing and your thoughts drifting away as his warmth was making you drowsy.

You tried to stay focus, but your poor state was taking over and you suddenly weren't as anxious as you once were. Being sleepy really made your mind roam.

"Hey, now," he whispers and looks down to see you snuggling up against him. "You can't fall asleep on me. I do not want your security guards thinking I drugged you."

Tightening your arms on how lower sides, you ignore him as you feel yourself easing closer to dozing off by the constant beating of his heart. "Stop," you mumble, clutching your ears softly before positioning your head on the other side of his chest.

"What?" he curiously glances down at you.

"You heartbeat's annoying me," you lightly whine. "It's pounding against my ears."

Pedro was extremely glad you were too tired to process his heartbeat and the bright red tint plastered across his face. Your drained-self definitely saved him from embarrassment.

Finally, the elevator doors opened and you still weren't moving. You were too comfortable to make any effort to walk on your own and if he really wanted you to hang out this morning then he was going to have to find a way to make you move.

And to him, dragging you was his best option yet. But with care.

Delicately keeping his arms secured around you, he gradually walked out with you still engulfed by him, eyes shut and only moving your feet with his pace.

Honestly, you were surprised how much rhythm you had.

Stopping to pull out his car keys, he unlocked his car and opened his passenger side door once you two reached the garage complex. Gently, laying you on the seat, you station you head against the headrest as he buckled you in. "God, I really hope security doesn't report me."

And once he made it to his side and hopped in, he laughed at the state you were in, head instantly bent to your side and legs tangled together in hope to create some kind of warmth. "Adorable."

But of course you were too dumb to not catch that.

You were awoken by a small speed bump and the instant hit of warmth through the heat vents, your eyes slowly glancing around your surroundings. Taking a quick peep at the screen indicating the time, you read that it was almost 7am.

Tilting your head and leaning against the headrest, you lazily stare at Pedro as he continues to drive to god knows where.

"Don't I look so handsome in the morning?" he jokes before meeting your eyes, sending you a warm grin.

And handsome on top of you.

Shutting your eyes tightly, you beg your imagination to please shut the fuck up.

"You mean drastic," you mutter, moving your head to the opposite side, against the window to force some sleep again.

Better to make time fly by faster knocking out where you were sure you wouldn't say anything stupid.

"Hey, no..." he whines, moving his right arm across to shake your chin softly to keep you conscious. "Don't pass out on me again, I'm lonely."

"And I'm tired, deal with it."

Shuffling in his seat, he looks over to see you curling yourself up in a ball with your legs to your knees and arms wrapped around. Not thinking things throughly, he hits the brakes hard for a split second and watches as your body jolts forward before swinging back against his seat.

"What the fuck!" you shriek, propping your body up and facing him in pure rage. "Are you trying to irritate me?!"

"I'm lonely and you're not helping," Pedro calmly states, shrugging as you continue your daggers his way.

You were beyond pissed. How could he think you would be energetic and talkative right now? How could he attempt to make you fly out the window? You could feel your nerves slowly fading away by the fury growing inside you.

If he wanted you awake then fine, you were going to be awake.

Doesn't mean you had to talk though.

Silently sitting up, you stare at the windshield in front of you and watch the cars drive as he continues to spare you a glance every once in a while.

Honestly, your silence was terrifying the fuck out of him. Normally, you would have some snarky comeback or violent punch to return to his evil tactics, but you were doing nothing.

Literally nothing.

And he knows damn well the sights of trees and cars did not interest you.

"Hey...," you feel Pedro lightly poke your side, pursing his lips once he saw your non-existent reaction. "You're not mad, right?"

Ignoring him, you continue your deep stare now onto more trees as you two were getting closer to nature than streets. You must've been out for some time as you barely noticed how far away from the city you really were.

Joon would really love this.

Gradually lifting his arm up, his places it on top of your own and gives it a small squeeze while laying it there. "C'mon, don't ignore me."

As if that would make you stop your scheme.

Blinking slowly, you acted like you paid no attention to his puppy dog pleads as the car was making its way towards an almost empty parking lot, all surrounded by a forest that only had one route starting within an old wooden bridge.

Pulling up to a nearby parking spot, Pedro parked the car before turning back to try and capture your attention but nothing was working.

You were so damn frustrating, it was infuriating. But he was still desperate to gain your attention.

"Are you just going to sit in here all day or what?" he questions as he waves a hand over your face to make you blink.

You didn't and that kind of frightened him. Work of the devil.

"I am going to cry," he warned, swatting his hand over his face to prepare for his fake tears.

Yet you showed no mercy. Sitting there patiently, you inhaled and exhaled softly, causing him to internally flip the fuck out because why were you being so aggravating when the two of you should be walking and pointing out the squirrels fighting over nuts.

And sadly, he was slowly giving up.

"Imagine if I really was crying," he began, offended you did not care one bit. "Really means a lot how unconcerned you are."

But when you suddenly started examining your nails and carefully picking at them is when he totally lost it.

Reaching over to you and moving his arm down your arm, he swiftly intertwined your fingers with his before moving you posture to face him.

His hand was huge.

"No, no-" he started, pulling a face as you gave him a blank stare back. Act natural. Pulling your shared hands in front of his chest, he sulks. "-please, for the love of whichever god you believe in, or if you're an atheist- for the love of you, please talk to me."

Watching him beg for forgiveness has always been funny in the past, but his pleading for attention now makes you feel bad.

"If you talk to me I will buy you breakfast and a very delicious milkshake that will make you extremely happy for the rest of the day," he continues, using his free left arm to wrap around you as his right one still clutches onto your palm.

He's so warm.

Pursing your lips a bit, you send him a skeptical glance. "Oreo shake with a lot of whipped cream?"

He instantly nods, a smile breaking out. "Of course, anything you want."

You look at the car's steering wheel before averting your eyes back to his. "And a red cherry?"

"I'll buy you a full jar of cherries if it makes you happy," he declares.

"And fries?"

Agreeing, he lets out a quick nod again. "With extra seasoning."

Biting your lip, you proceed to think about other stuff you may want with your milkshake and fries. "A burger?"

"My goodness, woman" he sighs, letting go of you and jumping out of the car before running around to your side and opening your door. "I'll buy you the whole menu, now let's go!"

With that, he vigorously yet cautiously pulls you out of your seat and throws you over his shoulders.

"Oh no!" you squeal, trying to find something to hold on to as he begins his journey, walking towards the bridge to start the hike. Grabbing a hold of his neck, you try not to choke him as you place your arm around it.

If you were going down, you were sure you were going to break his neck in the process. At least it would be a learning lesson for him.

"If you drop me I am never talking to you again," you threaten as he continues down a path.

"Said that before and just did it half the car ride here," he begins, moving his shoulder to give you a little fright of your life. "Now I just found out that all I have to do is buy you food and you'll yap again."

Glaring, you choke him a little to which he chuckles. "Didn't know you were into that."

Speechless, you couldn't believe his words. What the hell was he on this morning?

"Put me down!" you exclaim, immediately moving your body so he would lose his balance. Once he did so, you scowl as he ruffles your hair, making it tangle around. "Hey!"

"Can you stop being negative for a few minutes and enjoy the environment?" he asks, pulling his arms up to twirl around. "Just take in that fresh air mother nature gifted us."

Scrunching your nose, you frown. "It smells like rotten eggs."

"Because of the ducks," he pointed out before patting his pockets. "Which we will be feeding with the bread I brought."

Examining his pocket, you shoot him a curious glance. "How big are your pockets?"

"Not important," he states, grabbing your arms and dragging you along with him down the long trail. "What's important is finishing this trail to feel accomplished."

Pouting, you allowed him to drag you along as you miserably dreaded the next few hours to come. The energy you had to give off just for some damn breakfast.

Shame on you for loving food so much.

Encountering many frogs, lizards, and pigeons who loved flying right by both of your heads and scaring you to death, you had long forgotten about how anxious you were being around him. Being distracted constantly had you occupied which was a relief.

Eventually, you two finally found the drugs.

Or the ducks.

Walking by a huge pond, there were numerous amounts of ducks leaping around with their families following behind. It was really cute, but the smell wasn't.

"I wonder if they can choke on this?" Pedro muttered as he pulled out a large bread. Slowly nearing one medium-seized one in caution, he rips a piece apart and throws it. "It is kind of thick."

Taking a moment to check the bread out, you sigh. "Are you feeding these ducks bolillo bread?"

He pauses, not sure why you would care to ask. "Yes and?"

"They have thick crusts!" you exclaim. "And why not just feed them normal wheat bread?"

"Who even eats wheat? It's bland." he protests. "Plus, this is leftovers from my dinner last night."

"They're ducks! They don't care," you argue as he shakes his head.

"Just imagine if you were a duck," he began, making you huff in annoyance as you just knew he was going to say something ridiculous. "Wouldn't you love to eat this nice bolillo bread, maybe visualize a torta with some carnitas, onions, avocado, can't forget the refried bean-"

"The duck is choking!" you squeal and stare in fear as the poor duck starts to wheeze sharply.

Pedro's facial expressions drops as he sees the poor duck quacking in agony. Nervously rushing to its side, he looks up at you. "Do we pat its back? CPR? Call 911?!"

Pulling out your phone, you type away to find answers for your current problem. It was indeed true that you aren't supposed to feed ducks bread.

Especially thick Mexican ones.

"Give it mouth to mouth if you want chlamydia," you read aloud, causing Pedro to instantly leap away from the duck as it hastily begins to lay on the ground. "Wait, you get that from birds, not ducks. Silly me."

"Ducks are birds," he discloses, trying his best to softly pat the ducks back, finally giving it one powerful swat to help but instead the duck ends ups being thrown a few feet away by his force.

"Do I look like a fucking duck doctor?" you spit out, making him look up confused.

"You mean a veterarian."

Ignoring his last comment, you continue scrolling through more of google's suggestions, finally finding some information that may help. "You need to press down on its chest with 1-2 fingers or just give them water to drown it down."

Immediately grabbing the duck and placing it on its back, you worriedly watch over the duck from Pedro's shoulder as he works his fingers on the poor animal.

However, no luck was given as the duck was beginning to look weak and drowsy as pressure kept being projected on its chest. "We need water!"

Running towards the pond, you motion for Pedro to follow along with the duck as you look for a safe ramp to lead the duck onto. "Let's just lay him down near the water and splash him with it."

"He?" Pedro asks, stopping his movements. "But it looks like a she-"

"We are not arguing over its gender when its literally dying in your arms!" you exclaim, causing him to quickly nod and follow the ramp you found towards the water.

Gently, Pedro lowered his arms near the water with the poor duck taking over his hands. Trying to move the flow of water towards its face, he calls you over. "He's not accepting it, you need to scoop some up in your hand and pour it over his beak."

Rapidly nodding, you do as he says and take a handful and try not to spill it before gradually pouring it over the duck's beak. This water was not clean, but at least it was something. Nothing was happening until your third scoop once the duck began to actually swallow some of the water slowly.

"I-I think it's working! We did it!" Pedro cheered, trying to give you a high-five, failing incredibly as he somehow managed to lose his grip and dump the poor duck hard in the pond. "Oh shit!"

Squatting down, you try to reach for the duck as its face was buried underneath the water before Pedro's body slams into yours, causing you to fall into the dirty, cold pond.

The feeling of thick, muddy water overtakes your body as you lose all sight of air. Quickly moving your arms up and down, you rise back to the surface to find Pedro with his hands over his mouth and his jaw dropped.

He knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it.

"Fuck," he nervously muttered to himself before reaching out for you. "I am so so so sorry, the leaf made me slip AH!-"

He couldn't finish his sentence as you yanked his arm down with you, pulling with almighty to get him to land in the pond. The weight of the water going down with his body diving harshly against it, you knew he was completely soaked.

And probably pissed, but its okay. It's what he deserves.

Waiting for him to come up, he finally did so in seconds looking very unhappy. It made you delighted.

"You did that on purpose!"

Scoffing, you splash him and watch as he gasps harder. "You do a lot of things on purpose."

Using both hands to release bigger waves, he splashes you back. "Don't splash me!"

Growling, you slap his chest as he clutches your wrist afterwards. "You're so lucky I forgot my phone at home."

Gasping, you feel one of his hands fly underwater. "I didn't!" You hold in your giggles as he shuffles frantically before moving his gaze back up. "Wait, I never removed it from my glove department. Be fortunate I forgot it because if you destroyed it I would've made you walk home."

Furrowing your brows, you push his shoulders and make him move back by the force of it. "You're the one who started it. We're gonna get duck chlamydia now!"

Rolling his eyes, he pushed you back, causing you to fall under the water. Once you caught your breath again you notice the way he glares at you. "That's not even a thing."

"Just another STD to add to your list," you jokingly mumble to yourself, sure he didn't catch it.

You were wrong, again.

Launching himself onto you, the two of you fall underwater as he shoves you body around in revenge. Swimming back up, you gasp for air while slapping his arms off you as he tried blocking all your attempts.

Wrapping his arms around your waist, he clings his face on your shoulder as he proceeds to try and bring you down under but somehow you manage to wrap your leg around his thigh, causing him to lose his strength and fall backwards with you on top of him.

He sure has one strong grip.

Now, not saying you were going to kill him. But this was your chance to kill him with no witnesses.

Well- besides the ducks, but they wouldn't quack a soul.

Regaining his energy, he lifts himself back up and holds you up, about to drag you under again before you crazily oppose while shaking your head, "Don't! We're gonna get sick!"

"That's not a very sincere apology," he tilts his head, his wet hair scattered across his face as he awaits your alibi.

Huffing, you fight back a rude remark. "Do you understand how much poop were swimming in right now? These ducks are probably laughing at us by how much they are quacking."

Swiftly looking around, the two of you check the surrounding ducks around who blankly stare back. The older looking ones hollering nonsense, probably making plans to kill you and Pedro.

"I bet their releasing their chlamydia right now," you cry, hiding your face in his shoulder as he bursts out laughing.

"I don't think that's how it works."

Glancing down on him, you're surprised by his strength. He's been holding you up by your waist for so long you're shocked he hasn't dropped you accidentally yet. "Let's not find out, let's get out."

"You're forgetting something," he smiles, staring innocently at you, knowing damn well you can't leave without his release. "And I wouldn't wait this one out because I am pretty sure I feel toads swimming near my feet."

Instantaneously, you clung onto him tighter in fear as you could imagine the feeling of something swarming around your body. It was like hundred of spiders crawling all over you, you needed to get out of here.

Pulling yourself back up, you place your hands on his shoulders as he impassively stares back at you, waiting. "Fine," you huff. "I'm sorry for claiming you had STD's before."

Pedro just stays there, not moving an inch as if he wants more. Groaning, you knew he wasn't going to give in so easy. "And I am sorry for stimulating the idea that you would get duck chlamydia," you apologize. "But you can get E. coli."

That didn't help as he just helplessly eyed you, not impressed with your poor excuses of your so-called apologies. What more did he want? You can't necessarily beg on your knees, you're in the water!

Whining, you knew you had to pull out your sincere face. You just knew your Oscar-worthy acting was about to award you freedom.

Softly, you move strands of hair stuck near his eyes away from his face and brush his hair back before quivering your lips and looking down upon him in sorrow.

He has really pretty eyes.

"I'm really sorry," you start as you push your face inside his neck and lock him inside your arms. "I know you don't have any infections, you don't even have visible rashes or sores to prove it."

Pedro finds your plead for forgiveness charming as you squeeze him tighter. He begins to release you until he hears the mutter of your "-that are visible."

"You couldn't hold it in for a few more seconds?!" he whined at how fast you went back to insulting him.

Sighing heavily, you slap a hand to your face. "It's hard!"

Suppressing a laugh, he unwrapped his arms around you and let you get back to the sidewalk. But once you were back on your feet, you looked down to find your body filled with random pieces of dirt, sticks, and grass. "Ew!"

"You're not sitting in my car," Pedro states, waving his head side to side to release some water from his ears.

"You're worse than me!"

"My car, my rules."

Frowning, you weren't sure if he was kidding or not. "Well, you almost committed first-degree-murder so if you don't want people to know you must be my personal servant."

His instant glare turned into confusion as he abruptly moved his attention back towards the pond. "Where did the duck go?"

Widening your eyes, you forgot that you had a helpless duck in your hands minutes ago before your splash attack with Pedro. Scanning your eyes from the sidewalks to the ramps to the pond, you noticed a duck floating nearby. "I think that's them."

Pointing at a duck with the closest familiar colors than the rest, you felt Pedro let out of sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I would have felt extremely guilty if she would have died."

"It could be a he," you snap back.

He was about to protest but honestly, you were done for the day. You just wanted to take a long and hot shower and knock back out. Not only that, but you ruined your cute running shoes you gifted yourself months ago for your work out journey.

You never really wore them, but it's the thought that counts.

"We can get breakfast another day," you plead to which he didn't argue over because he really wanted to remove the unknown substances off his body asap.

He wouldn't admit it, but he was genuinely scared he may have gotten duck chlamydia .

"Okay, but no sleeping in the car," Pedro states as you exhale loudly. All this and you still weren't allowed to doze off, how cruel is life at the moment.

Walking back to the car would've went down smoothly if the two of you weren't given disturbed looks from strangers and your clothes weren't clinging uncomfortably to your bodies, especially your shoes.

Luckily, Pedro had towels in his trunk and set them down on the seats. "God, I am definitely going to need a deep cleaning after this."

Slipping inside, your hands find the heater and turn it on full blast. Not only was it freezing outside, but your drenched state made you feel like an icicle.

Setting off back to the road, your mind begins to wander back to the question that has been flooding your mind lately. Craning you neck towards his presence, you make out his comfort state. Cool, he's calm.

Here goes nothing.

"So," you start, awkwardly playing with your hands as you try to make direct eye-contact with him as he turns his head to you. "Why did you visit the other morning?"

Lifting a brow, he pulls a face. "Other morning?"

Biting the inside of the cheek, you try to sound composed. "Yeah, remember? You dropped by around 6am-"

"-and you thought I was Lady Gaga, slammed the door on my face, and went back to bed?" he finished, grinning while finding your eyes again. "You mean that day?"

"Well if you knew what I was talking about why make me recall those mortifying details?" you grumble, leaning back against your seat. "And I thought you were a cat."

"I figured, I always questioned why Jules would ramble on about buying Lady Gaga a new electric litter box until I connected the dots," he confessed making you let out a small chuckle.

Yeah, you clearly remember how upset Jules became when Lady Gaga neglected the expensive box.

"But if you're curious, it wasn't because I wanted to go hiking," he smiled, referring to the current day.

"Then why?"

He paused for a minute, checking his mirrors before switching lanes. "I'm not really sure."

Tilting your head a bit, you express curiosity as you glance back. "I don't understand?"

Laughing lowly, he slightly shook his head. "I did wake up real fucking early that day," he started. "Maybe around 4am? Which sucked because I must've gotten like 3-4 hours of sleep."

"So you decided to wake me up so I could feel your pain?"

"No," he stifled another chuckle. "To plant trees."

Squinting your eyes, you become very confused. What is he talking about? He noticed your puzzlement immediately. "You know, go early in the morning to different areas in the city and help dig and replace old trees to plant new ones."

This whole time you were flipping out, wondering why he randomly came early in the morning just to find out it was because he's a nature boy who wants to help out the community?

It was very sweet of him to be as helpful as he was, but you were a little disappointment it wasn't something more.

"That's why?" you ask and he nods. "And why no warning?"

"Well, I was going to call but I figured all that studying you had done the evening before may have knocked you out early," he confessed.

Yet he still made you wake up early today knowing damn well you were exhausted last night. Strange.

"Why me?" you giggle. "I'm not your typical nature girl, Joon would've been perfect for the job."

Shrugging, he leaned his elbow on his middle console. "I thought about asking him, but to be honest I didn't want to pay for any damages he may have caused."

That was a very accurate insight of what Joon really was, clumsy. The amount of times he accidentally dropped his coffee cups, tripped over wires backstage, and face-planted against glass doors would be too much to count on both your palms.

You're surprised he hasn't broken his back again- but still glad he hasn't. That would really suck.

"But have you thought things over yet?" Pedro glanced your way before looking back forward. "About Canada?"

Stiffing up a bit, you move your eyes to the dashboard. You weren't dreading this conversation, but you didn't want to talk about it.

This was a situation where it was a win but also a loss.

Win as in gaining incredible experience, loss that your parent's wouldn't be pleased, it was in a different country, and you'd be missing out on your social life for almost a year.

"Not really," you admit and sense from the corner of your eyes his shoulders fall. "Still indecisive, as always," you try joking to lighten the mood.

Sending over a tiny grin, he mirrors your same expression, doubtful. His face turns concentrated again, leaning closer to you before he shuts down again, ultimately rejecting whatever idea he had going on.

The rest of the drive back to your place went by fast. The two of you made little talk about each other's life and how school was going for you, but he already knew so much already from past encounters.

Pulling up to the red curb you loathe, you crack a scowl as he only returns a smirk at his doing. "I will personally send my property manager to you so she can threaten you."

"I do love threats," he beamed, watching as you reach for the handle before stopping you by his voice. "-but I had fun this morning, despite our little uh...catastrophe," he chuckled, looking down at his clothes.

"I totally agree," you grin. "Dirt just looks so good on me."

He sniggers lightly before slightly sobering up. "But seriously, think about the offer," he begins, nipping at his lip a bit, not trying to put too much pressure on you. "It'll be good for you, you know- your future."

Sighing, you nod. You knew where he was coming from since he's been doing this for so long, but you were still young and had a lot on your mind.

"I'll think about it," you smile, reaching for the door handle and swiftly getting out, missing the way his smile slowly vanishes.

Taking your usual step back, you send him a farewell wave but he does his habitual goodbyes as he gets out of his car and grins to you. "See you around." Laughing, you walk inside the doors and make your way to the elevators, his followed soft "beautiful" being muffled by the traffic on the streets.

It seemed like both of you were screwed.

taglist: @thesapphirequeen @floralsightings @wrathofcats @avengersheart @fafik7 @chimchimjiminie16 @adriennemichelle98

#pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal imagine #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x y/n #pedro pascal x you #joel miller #tlou #tlou joel #pascalispunk #joel miller x reader #the last of us #pedro pascal angst #pedro pascal fluff #pedropascaledit #fanfiction

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clandestone · 13 days ago

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⸻ darshan brar , a thirty-five year old , has survived another day in red creek where they have lived for their whole life . the sacrificial lamb is known for being resilient and cynical and is often associated with the blue tint that washes over the world in the earliest hours of the morning, the emptiness in your hands- how long has it been since they’ve held something other than a weapon or a glass of whiskey?, abandoning your faith but still seeing god everywhere. in a small town where they work as a deputy at red creek police department, word travels fast .

the basics

Name: darshan brar Nicknames: darshy (only acceptable from close friends, otherwise its like enemy speed run), darsh, brar Faceclaim: Rahul Kohli Gender: cis-male, he/him Sexual Orientation: bisexual Age: 35 Birthday: may 9, 1989 Occupation: deputy at the red creek police department Marital Status: single Pets: one beta fish named “fish”, roughly 8 houseplants. all immaculately cared for. Residence: his childhood home on Norwood Street Positive Traits: brave, ambitious, principled, persistent, resilient, kind-hearted Negative Traits: cynical, skeptical, stubborn, a lil moody, workaholic, savior complex lowkey

aesthetics

Inspiration: dana scully (the x-files), charlie swan (twilight), theo decker (the goldfinch), shane (stardew valley), more tbd Animal: moose Tarot Card: judgement Zodiac: taurus Mineral: bloodstone Song: these days - nico

Backstory (TW: grief, parent death, implied neglect)

Was there ever a sweeter little boy? All he ever wanted to do was help. A child cursed with a soft heart and open arms, born into a life that seemed determined to tear him to pieces. He got his gentleness from his mother, Chandra Brar. At only twenty-years old, she was innocent, naïve, entirely unaware that a person could say they love you, only to leave you in the same breath. Darshan was supposed to be the beginning of a long, happy life together- but how could she know a father would deny his own son? Heavily pregnant, Chandra moved to Red Creek to escape the pitying looks and judgmental stares. It was not an easy life, and they had very little, but they were happy enough- and that happiness only grew when Chandra met the man she would marry. He was a stoic man, deeply religious and cold, but he was good, and it was clear that he adored Chandra and Darshan. After a few years of marriage, they welcomed Darshan’s sibling to the world [see WC], and at last- Chandra had her happy family. It would not last long. Before his sibling’s first birthday, Darshan's step-father would pass in a freak accident, leaving Chandra alone once again. Something broke in Darshan’s mother that day, and she threw herself into religion, sure there was something she had to atone for. Why else would she be subjected to this twice? But God stayed quiet, and Chandra spent the rest of her life waiting to hear his voice. It was up to Darshan to pick up the pieces. At 18,Darshan fled. He felt terrible about leaving his sibling behind with an absent mother, but he desperately wanted to go to college, to do something for himself for the first time. His first semester was great- life was lighter, easier to shoulder. But it would not last- he was called home. His mother had died after falling suddenly and gravely ill, and he had to drop out of school to take custody of his sibling. Police work wasn’t his first choice, but he was young and able-bodied, the work paid well, and the department only required a high school diploma. It was only supposed to be temporary- eventually, he was going to leave, go back to school, start his own life. But seventeen years have passed, and still he sits, still he waits, dust gathering on his vision of the future. Darshan lives in his family home on Norwood Street, and is a frequent patron of Dolly’s Diner and the Redstone. He is prone to drinking a little too much, but he’s a fun drunk and it doesn't happen that often, so it’s kind of whatever. He takes his job seriously, doesn’t let a ton slide while he’s in uniform, but when he’s off-duty, he doesn’t really care that much. As long as you don’t offer him coke or do something incredibly illegal in front of him, he will probably be chill about it.

Wanted Connections

friends of all kinds!! drinking buddies, childhood friends, co-workers, people he just runs into a lot. close or casual, i will take them all. frequent fliers at the station!! people who get into trouble often, and know darshan well because of it. it could be fun if they got along, but it could also be fun to do an arch-enemy, jake peralta/doug judy type of thing. enemies!! someone he gave a ticket to once, and they are still mad about it. someone who just doesn't like cops (valid). someone who just hates his vibe for some reason. an ex, or an old friendship that ended poorly. someone who wants to hold this man!! totally open to all possibilities here. he's probably oblivious to it because he can't imagine someone wanting to care for him. it could be a casual thing where someone caught feelings, or a friendship they don’t want to ruin, or a constant right person, wrong time thing. give me yearning or give me DEATH his sibling!! this is a WC on the main, but he was essentially their parent for a large part of their life- even before their mom died. they can be close or they could even dislike each other!! maybe they have stayed religious, while darshan has turned away from it. maybe they feel like he abandoned them when he went to college. maybe they still live together, and hang out and are chill. these are all options that work.

#darshan intro #darshan #redcreek.intro

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cyandreamsinwords · 3 months ago

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Cut and Run — Pt 8 (BoaWT AU) - Final

Again, none of this is cannon to the main fic, I just like to self-indulge. (9.6 k)

Now also on Ao3

Link to the main fic here

If you're looking for a cozy, super satisfying ending...I fear this may not be it. I will warn you, there is a great deal of crying in this.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4 Pt 5 Pt 6 Pt 7

7 years later

Summers were Harry’s favorite. He liked the warm nights and even warmer days, and just how easy it was to find wild blueberries and gorge himself on them. The world opened up to him this time of year, growing wider and more inviting. During the summer, they spent more time at the nearby lake than they did stuffed inside, and every year him and Lyra would build themselves a new fort they could escape to. This year’s was especially good, and Sirius thought it just might be stable enough to survive the next change of seasons.

That’s what Harry hated most about winter, how they could at times go days without being able to escape the cabin. It drove them all crazy, no one more than Sirius, who was always the first to brave the cold for fresh air and a long walk. In the summer, Lyra and Harry were allowed to roam free, alone even, and they could find a change of scenery. They would explore and map out new things they found in their woods like caves, creeks and rock outcroppings, giving each names and symbols, pushing the boundary of what they already knew. Sirius and Remus let their leashes go longer, and Harry’s small world would become just a bit bigger.

“Have you decided on what flavor cake you want yet?” Lyra asked, twirling herself around thin trees as they wandered the aspen grove, in search of something to do. She gave him a sweet, innocent smile, spinning to face him, one she usually pulled when trying to persuade him of something. “I’d go chocolate, if I were you. With chocolate frosting, of course.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “That’s your favorite flavor.”

She gave an extra turn around the tree before pushing off. “Just a suggestion, in case you can’t decide. You’re taking forever to do so.”

“My birthday, my cake.” He’d be turning eleven tomorrow. He’d be excited, if it didn’t feel like he’d just turned ten. Time didn’t really move out here, as nothing ever seemed to change. Every day felt like a repeat of the last: wake up, maybe learn a bit of something when Remus was home to teach, slip off halfway through the day with Lyra before coming home to share a meal with everyone, spend time in the den, then turn into bed to do it all over the following day. Star gazing on the clear nights and games inside on cloudy ones. Exciting deviations from this schedule included any holiday festivities they could think up, and that really big day when Harry finally got to move out of his and Lyra’s shared room and take Remus’ loft, since he’d been sharing Sirius’ room for an age at that point and it made no sense for the space to go unused. That was years ago now though, and recently Lyra had jokingly brought up switching, just to get to experience the thrill again.

Nothing and no one around here ever seemed to change. Nothing but the seasons.

Harry liked his little family and their life. Honest. There were days though that he felt he was the only one unsatisfied with the way of things. No one ever complained or seemed in any rush at all to change anything. He understood why Remus was content, he got to escape to the outside world whenever they needed more supplies or when his change was coming on. Sirius—well, he made a big show of rallying them to go on hikes and play games they’d all made up, loudly claiming boredom, but Harry didn’t suspect he really was as much as he said. Lyra had her books with worlds big enough it didn’t really matter how small theirs was here. She would talk their ears off about whatever book she was in the middle of, and turned through them as fast as Remus could restock them.

Objectively, he knew he could bring this all up to any one of them, but wasn’t sure he was prepared to feel any more like an outsider than he already did if he ended up being outnumbered.

That…that sounded bad. Harry knew he shouldn’t feel that, or even think it, but it felt more and more true each day. They were his family, and they loved him. It’s just that at times, he didn’t feel like he was part of their circle. It was like he was always just a bit outside of it.

It wasn’t their fault, it’s not like his guardians neglected him or ever loved him any less, and they made it a point to spend one on one time with him so he never felt forgotten. He’d even gone so far once as to count how many times in a day they said I love you both to Lyra and him individually, and it ended up coming out too close to say they loved one more than the other. But, Lyra was Sirius’ daughter, Remus’ twin moon, and he was Sirius’ partner, and Harry was just the son of their dead friends. There was a difference there that could not be bridged.

They told him plenty about his parents, so much and in such detail it was like they were never gone. He was always going to be James and Lily’s boy, and that meant he’d never be Sirius and Remus’, not fully. And he was glad for it, to have those parts of them, and regardless of whatever else he felt, he’d never give that up for anything. He loved his parents, loved being their son, even if he’d never known them. He just wished his were alive like Lyra’s. No one in this little world of his was capable of understanding the loneliness of that.

He didn’t like having these thoughts, and did his best not to have them at all. He felt broken and wrong for letting them take root and repeat the way they had been as of late. It wasn’t fair to any of these people who loved him to think such traitorous thoughts. Harry should do better by them and bury this all away until it was forgotten, and become just as content and happy as they were. He should do that for them, after everything they’d done for him.

Lyra had stopped again, still smiling at him, and he just now noticed she was holding something behind her back. “Would you like your pre-birthday gift now?”

Pushing his darker musings away, he forced himself to take on a lighter attitude. “Pre-birthday gift? Why not just wait for my actual birthday?”

“Well, because it’s not good enough to be your real present, just a little something extra. And you looked all weird and off, so this is to cheer you up. Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

He did as he was told, and felt her distribute his gift in his outreached hands. It was light and papery, and opening his eyes, he saw that it was a brochure with bright colors and exciting images.

“What’s this?” He asked, eyeing its front and unfolding it.

“It’s an attraction map!” She began to bounce up and down on her tiptoes, pleased with herself. “I found it when Remus took me into town to get your actual present. Look, it’s for a nearby city a ways away, a bigger one, with a list of all the stores and what they sell.” She pointed to a place on the map. “It even has a place with rides! Right there. Oh, and over here, a zoo!”

Harry’s face was split wide with a genuine smile as he looked at the map. Now and then, they’d make short day trips to the nearby town. It was a little place full of a small handful of muggles, where no other witches or wizards live, and Sirius and Remus made it very clear from a young age that while there they must not ever mention anything about magic. They’d talk briefly to people while there and play on the playground with the other kids while they were younger, but they never stayed for long. Sirius would come too, when he was able to talk Remus around to it, disguised in his dog form. They had a whole story they told the locals about how they were passing through, and this little town was their favorite place to stop and stretch their legs. They were always traveling, always had a long ways left to go and couldn’t stay too long, and could never really stick around and get to know the place. Not that there was much to know, as small a town as it was. They’d never gone too far outside of it, and ever to a city quite as big as the one on this map.

Lyra studied his face, measuring his reaction to see if he truly liked his gift. “I figured we could circle all the places we wanted to visit and start ticking them off.”

“I can already hear Remus telling us no,” Harry chuckled.

Lyra shrugged. “Well, one day we’ll be old enough they can’t tell us where we can and can’t go. We can go wherever we want for as long as we want and they can’t tell us otherwise.”

His smile widened even further. “We’re starting at the rides. Absolutely.”

Her statement comforted him some after his earlier thoughts. If he were ever to broach addressing them with any of his family, it would be Lyra. She was a good listener, and never made him feel stupid for the things he said, even when he sometimes was. And it made him wonder if maybe he should say something to her, if maybe she could understand.

They continued to point out and study the map, the wind gusting heavily through the trees, some creaking and groaning as they swayed. Lyra opened her mouth to say something else, but froze very suddenly, her eyes going wide and her finger hovering.

“Ly? What is it?”

She remained in that position for a few heartbeats more before she turned to look over her shoulder. “Did you not…” She turned back, blinking rapidly.

“What?”

“The crack. Did you hear the crack?”

Harry felt himself freeze, and she grew even more worried seeing it. “Moony said nothing about leaving today, did he?”

Shoving the brochure in his back pocket, Harry reached out a hand, taking Lyra’s in his, and began leading the way back to the house. “Look, it could be nothing, just something in the forest. Or, maybe it was Moony and he forgot to say something before we left. It is my birthday tomorrow, maybe he’s just run into town to get my cake.” She remained unconvinced. “Just…stay close to me, okay?”

“But you haven’t even decided which cake you want, why would he go get one? If it wasn’t him, and we go back, whoever it might be could follow—”

“Your dad will know what to do then. It’s going to be fine.” Harry’s own heart was racing, but he could see just how frightened Lyra was and knew he needed to be the one to keep it together. “We just need to get home first.”

He reached into his pocket, cursing when he didn’t feel his stone in there, the one Sirius had carved a tracking rune into, one that would light up and shake its sibling stones when brushed with a finger, one each of them had. He must have left it on his bedside table when he changed pants. It was the one thing Remus was constantly on his case about, something he never seemed to learn.

Lyra struggled to keep up with him, checking her little side bag for hers and growing more panicky with each second she didn’t locate it. “I know I have it, I know it’s with me—”

“Just focus on not falling right now. It’s fine, it was probably nothing—”

She skittered to a dead stop then, like a frightened deer spotting something else nearby. This time he trusted her enough not to ask questions, just followed her wide gaze to where it was staring in horror.

There was a man standing some distance from them, looking in their direction. He wore a robe and had a long white beard reaching lengths they’d seen no muggle man archive (try as some of them might). It was very clear, even with no wand in hand, this man was a wizard.

“Pardon me!” He called to them cheerfully, his smile friendly and warm. “Would it be alright if we were to speak for a moment?”

Lyra looked to him unsurely, but he did not take his eyes off the man. He may seem friendly enough, but that didn’t make him any less dangerous. They’d talked over this very scenario plenty of times before, almost every time Lyra and him left the house alone to wonder. Already their carefully laid plans were falling apart, neither of them having yet set off their stones, nor making it back to the house. They were swiftly entering the third, last case scenario plan no one liked.

Lyra, despite her shaking, began to pull and try to maneuver Harry. Sensing what she was trying to do, Harry remained drilled to his spot. It’d been explained to them, only on a few occasions, that whoever was to purposefully seek them out would most likely be there for him. The world cared less about Lyra’s whereabouts then they did Harry’s, and this man, whoever he might be, may be here for him and him alone. She was trying to give him an opportunity to flee first, one he absolutely refused to take.

“I apologize,” the man said kindly, bringing his hands together. “I have startled you both. It was not my intention. You do not get many visitors up here, do you?”

“We’re always weary of strange men approaching us in the woods,” Harry shouted to him bravely, still fighting Lyra’s insistent hands. “It’s concerning.”

“You are absolutely correct. It is incredibly unwise to talk to people you don’t know all alone. You’ve been taught well. It is sometimes unavoidable, though, and sometimes completely necessary.”

Behind him, he felt Lyra give up her fight, knowing just how stubborn he could be, and continued to discreetly search her bag. “If you’re lost and in need of directions to town, you just need to go on straight that way,” he told the man, pointing to the opposite direction where the woods grew thicker and harder to traverse. “Go that way and you can’t miss it.”

The man studied them both for a moment, and took an advancing step forward. “Would the two of you happen to be Harry and Lyra by chance?”

“Nope,” he answered immediately, a dreadful certainty taking over him that this was a very bad situation. “I think we’ve met them once before. Their neighbors, but not near ones. They live a few miles that way—”

“I apologize for interrupting, but to save both of us the time, I know that you are indeed Harry Potter. Your scar gives you away, I’m afraid.” Harry’s heart dropped fully into his gut now, going sour as the man continued towards them.

He began to reach inside his pocket, and now Lyra did succeed in throwing him behind her as she assumed he reached for his wand. “Do not be so frightened, I simply have something for you. The both of you actually. I do not usually do this, but I thought it best I deliver these myself this time. To be sure they were received.”

“Harry, run—”

She must have been able to locate her stone, as there was something else now lumbering towards them on quick precise paws. Hearing his approach, the man stopped, pulling his hand from his robe pocket just as Sirius slid protectively in front of them, a look so dangerous and wild in his canine eyes, Harry wasn’t sure at first if it was him and not some feral dog. He was growling fiercely, both children taking several steps back, now pushed up against a large boulder. The thing about Sirius’ form is he could sometimes be mistaken for a bear on first glance, he was that big, and sounded just as dangerous as one when he began to bark.

This did not seem to worry the man, though. In fact, he looked to be expecting his appearance. “Enough of that. Change back so we may talk like human beings, not critters in the forest.”

With a snap, Sirius was standing there as a man, his wand drawn and pointed at the stranger.

The man’s chin tipped up, examining him through half moon spectacles. “Hello again, Sirius. You’re looking well. The years on the run have done you good, it seems.”

“What are you doing here, Dumbledore?” Sirius cut straight to business. His tone was frigid and low, unlike any Harry had ever heard him use before.

“Not to make light of the situation, but of those of us here, I am perhaps the only one who isn’t somewhere they are not meant to be.”

“I don’t want to have to fight you, Dumbledore, but you know that I will.”

“Yes,” this Dumbledore said gravely, no longer attempting at being unbothered. “I know that you will. And I think we both know that would be a most unwise decision.” He turned his head to watch as Remus arrived, having fallen further behind running on human feet. “Regardless of what back up you may have.”

Unlike Sirius, Remus approached cautiously, his expression betraying just how dangerous a situation they were in. Harry had felt relief when his godfather first arrived, feeling that the situation would be handled swiftly, knowing just how capable he was. But if both him and Remus were here now, and the latter felt so unsure of their chances already, perhaps he’d relaxed too soon.

“This doesn’t have to end in a fight,” he said. It sounded like a plea to both parties. “We can talk—we should talk about this.”

“I’m not letting him take my kids from me, Remus.”

“Taking is a severe word for my purposes here. Invite is perhaps more appropriate.” He reached back into his pocket and pulled out two neatly folded and stamped envelopes. “For them. Their letters to Hogwarts.”

Each one of them held their breath at that. No one reached out to take the letters, and Dumbledore did not waver or appear at all awkward at having to continue to stand there with them.

“It is at this age that children most typically start their training in magic,” Dumbledore explained to the two young children directly. “You will find no better place to do so than Hogwarts. I may be biased, though, as I am the current Headmaster there.”

There was an unspoken conversation happening between Sirius and Remus then. Neither seemed very content with where it was going.

“I must look to the two of you young people to be a frightening and dangerous man. You no doubt trust your guardians more than you do me, and are unwilling to hear me out. But it is important you know just exactly who you are, and what this man here has been accused of, if you do not know already.”

“I didn’t do it,” Sirius barked. “I didn’t receive a fair trial. You’re not a blind man, Dumbledore, you have to have known just how rushed and shotty a job they were doing at the time. I am innocent.”

“And yet the first thing you did when you freed yourself was not to come to me for help, but to go and kidnap two perfectly safe children from their homes and drag them out into the middle of nowhere to grow up as hermits, isolated from the world. What exactly was your plan here, Sirius?”

“I couldn’t risk coming to you for help and you not believing me,” Sirius retorted, face going stormy at the suggestion of having pulled them from safe homes.

“You have risked plenty,” Dumbledore said darkly.

“Please, Dumbledore,” Remus implored. “Just give us the chance to explain. Sirius is innocent, he never would have hurt James and Lily. This has all been one great misunderstanding from the very start. I know you believe that Sirius was their secret keeper, but he was not. It was Peter, they switched. Sirius was too obvious a choice, and it would have been clever, had Peter not betrayed the Potters. He blew up that street when Sirius went to confront him, all as a way to fake his death and escape. And he’s gotten away with it because…” he stopped, suddenly looking ashamed and hesitant, turning his eyes towards Sirius.

“Because Pete is an unregistered animagus,” Sirius finished definitively, not feeling at all the same. “Same as me. Same as James.”

Dumbledore studied the two of them. “…a dangerous fact to never share with me.”

“There are a lot of things I would have done differently if I could. That’s the past now.” Sirius’ stance had not relaxed in the slightest, still waiting on the old wizard’s reaction. “What matters now is how we’re going to proceed.”

“By putting our wands away and discussing things, of course.” He motioned for him to do so. “Would you prefer to remain out here, or may we retire to your home to do so in comfort?”

Remus was watching Sirius carefully for his final decision, releasing a breath as he lowered his wand with a flick, stashing it away. “Follow me, Sir,” he said, strained, guiding him off towards the house.

Sirius motioned them to come to him, and Lyra raced across the distance to throw herself into her father’s arms. Harry walked more cautiously, not wanting to take his eyes off this Dumbledore fellow for longer than he had to. “Sirius,” he asked lowly, trying not to sound as unnerved as he felt. “Are we sure this is safe?”

“No, but Dumbledore is a good man,” he said stiffly, taking over for him in staring him down. “If he says he is going to hear us out, he will, and he would never dare hurt either of you.” One of his hands reached out, gripping Harry’s shoulder in a comforting squeeze. “We’ll figure this out.”

But Harry could not help but feel that this could only end poorly.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

As they entered the house, Remus ushered the kids off to Lyra’s room, neither protesting very hard before doing as they were told and locking the door behind them. Dumbledore took an appraising look around the place, noting the map on the wall beside the dining table of the surrounding area, four little markers moving across it, now all centered at the house. Sirius felt his hackles rising, not just for his examination and judgment, but for having another person outside his family inside his space for the very first time.

“For as long as I suspect this is going to take us, I think we should start off straight away,” Dumbledore announced, taking a seat in one of the armchairs in the living room. “But, perhaps refreshments while we do? A tea, or maybe even something stronger, if you have anything.”

“Not really,” Remus said, setting to ready the kettle. “Nothing that you’ll prefer to tea, by any means.”

“A shame. I suspect this conversation may make us wish you did.”

It did not take so long as one might expect to convince Dumbledore of the truth. He was a very clever and insightful man after all, and knew them well enough to know that with their combined talents and smarts, becoming animagus at their young ages would have been entirely possible. Now, with all the pieces of the puzzle, he understood what actually happened that night and everything that followed after. He was still not satisfied with Sirius and Remus’ choices up to this point, however.

“You cannot stay out here hidden away with them forever, Sirius,” Dumbledore said. “As much as you may want to, this is no solution.”

“And you would know what’s best?” Sirius glared. “Especially for Harry? Those muggles you left him with were abusing him! James and Lily entrusted me with their son for a reason, and you should have trusted that! He had no business there, Dumbledore, and had you thought about it at all, you would have seen that!”

“I have never been thoughtless, Sirius Black, and I wasn’t the night I delivered Harry to his aunt either.” His voice was even and calm, but it sparked with an undercurrent of displeasure and frustration. “You have no idea the damage you did the night you took that boy from that home, the damage you must now undo. I placed him there for a reason, one I will share with you the moment you calm down and give me the grace I afforded you of listening. Once I do, I am sure you will agree with me that he must return.”

“Agree that he must—ARE YOU INSANE!? Did you not hear a word of what I said—”

“Sirius!” Remus scolded, both tired and overstimulated by his partner constantly lashing out against Dumbledore’s unwavering steadiness.

Sirius didn’t want to listen. Whatever Dumbledore had to say, it was going to end with him telling Sirius he’d have to give up Harry and send him away, and that wasn’t acceptable. He’d raised Harry, he’d made sure he was safe and cared for, and that he never grew up not knowing his parents and just how brave and wonderful of people they were. He’d given him a home he’d seen for himself those muggle relatives of his wouldn’t be capable of giving him. And here this man was, sure he’d be able to convince him otherwise. He never before realized just how arrogant Dumbledore was.

His eyes turned to Remus, wanting to start an argument with him now, but his expression turned weaker, more pleading. They’d gotten good at reading one another in their years. They didn’t always require words to say their piece, and right now Remus was asking for him to breathe, to not let his anxiety and fear direct this conversation. Listening is not agreeing, he’d once argued with him. You haven’t lost if you decide to listen.

“Fine,” Sirius said through a clenched jaw. “You’re right, you heard me out first, so I’ll return the favor. But that doesn’t mean I’ll agree to it.”

This took significantly longer than Sirius and Remus’ explanation of events, and in the end, out of sheer stubbornness if nothing else, did not result in a definitive decision. It was late in the day by the time both sides had reached their limit.

“I will take my leave,” Dumbledore said, standing. “For now. I will give you the necessary time to come to your senses.”

He made ise way towards the door, and Sirius felt the need to call over his shoulder at him, “Nothing is even close to decided, Dumbledore. We’re going to do whatever is best for Harry, and that is our decision, not yours.”

“You love that boy,” Dumbledore said. “Just as much as you loved his father. That’s how I know you’ll do what I ask. Because you do trust me, Sirius, and I am telling you it is the only way to ensure his safety in what’s to come.” His hand paused on the door handle, and he turned back, his voice low but sincere. “I will do whatever is within my power to help you clear your name so you can get your life back. I give you my word, Sirius. We are better when we are working together on the same side. I hope you know that.”

The door shut, and both remaining men sat in wait for the crack of him disapparating to release their breath. But this did not soothe either in the least. Their location was known now, and an impossible decision laid in their laps.

He hated to admit this, even to himself, but Dumbledore had made a very strong argument. If possible dark forces were rising once more, and he saw no reason for the man to lie about that, it would do none of them any good to continue hiding here. Especially not Harry, who would become even more of a target than he was in the first war. He was too young and knew no magic, and he’d need to be better than good if he was going to attract any special attention. He needed a formal education, and there’d be no safer school than Hogwarts under Dumbledore’s watchful eye.

But Dumbledore insisted that he return to his aunt and uncle’s to take advantage of the protective spell put in place by Lily’s sacrifice. How terrible what was done to protect him would then force him into a home that would neglect him. How awful it was blood that was the bind, and not the intangible connection of a chosen family. Was it even worth it, for what little protection he may gain, to be sent back there? And what if Voldemort was good and truly dead and they had nothing to fear? He’d be breaking his promise to James for nothing, and hurting Harry in the process.

Remus seemed to be struggling just as much as him. “I’m going to go let the kids out,” he grumbled, running both hands down his face tiredly.

Harry was the first one out, eyes downcast, asking in a small voice Sirius hadn’t heard since he was far smaller, “I need some air, if that okay?”

Sirius’ eyes burned, realizing they had to have been able to hear them, or at least enough to know what was on the table.

“Stay on the porch please,” Remus told him gently, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “It should be safe, just—”

He ducked out from under his hold, and let himself out. Through the shades, he could be seen taking a seat in one of the chairs and dropping his head into his hands.

“I’m not sure he should be alone right now, Moons,” Sirius grumbled, standing with every intention of stepping out.

“Give him some space to calm down first,” Remus instructed him. “So much has just happened, let him decide when he’s ready.”

“You only agreed to get him to leave, right?”

Sirius turned to look at his daughter, who still stood in the doorway to her bedroom, gripping the arch. Always his sweet little girl, patient and understanding of everything she encountered. There she stood, looking at him like he was someone she did not recognize or trust.

“Dad. Tell me you only agreed to get him to leave.”

“Lyra, I don’t know what all you two could hear in there, but like I said, nothing is even remotely close to being decided. Moony and I still need to talk about everything we’ve just learned, and that doesn’t mean anyone is going anywhere.”

“That’s not you saying what I need you to say!” She screamed. “Tell me he’s not going anywhere!”

“Lyra, the only reason I would ever allow Harry to go back there is if it was the very best thing for him, you know that.”

Lyra glared at her father, tears in her eyes. “You’re sending away my only friend! The only other person I have out here! He’s our family, dad!”

“Mini Moon, please—”

“Without him I’m alone!” She picked up her nearby book and threw it across the room at him, a move completely out of character for her, one that made him flinch even though it didn’t come anywhere near him. “You think these dumb stories make up for the fact that we’re out in the middle of nowhere with just each other and no one else, but it doesn’t! Besides them, I have him! And without him they aren’t enough!”

Sirius took a step toward her, over the book. “Lyra, love, if I knew you felt this way, we could have talked about it. I had no clue this was becoming difficult for you.”

“Of course it’s difficult, dad! I want to be able to meet people and see something different than the same trees and rocks every day! I hate having to hide from the world and lie to the few people you allow me to meet about who I am. I manage it, but I can’t if you take away one of the only people I have.” Lyra’s lip and chin began to wobble, and the fierceness seeped away. “Please, dad, don’t send him away. Please don’t do this.”

“Nothing is decided yet, this is just a new development. We’re going to work it out what is going to be the best plan for all of us—”

Unable to listen to another word, Lyra turned, running and following Harry out the door. She stopped, just long enough to grab Harry’s hand and drag him off the porch and off into the woods. Remus stood over the map on the wall, watching her little token run towards the fort.

Feeling exhausted and defeated, Sirius collapsed into the couch and stared off at the wall. Remus soon joined him, and they sat side by side long after the door had slammed in complete silence. Just as his head began to reach a dangerously dark place, Remus reached out, taking his hand and squeezing.

“Don’t,” Sirius said, unable to look at him, instead just clinging to his hand. “Don’t you tell me everything’s going to be okay, not after that.”

Remus said nothing, and eventually, Sirius had to peek. He was, of course, wearing that look on his face, the patient one, the one that lowered his heart rate and evened his breath.

“We couldn’t stay out in the woods forever,” Remus said quietly. “I think we both always knew that.”

“I know I did,” Sirius scoffed. “I was still looking for my tropical beach house.”

Remus chuckled. “I think it became too easy, hiding out here. It was far less frightening than returning to the real world. I think we both have to admit…we sort of stopped looking into clearing your name.”

Sirius wanted to argue, but the evidence was against him. Yes, it started with him pushing Remus out the door to go looking for signs of Peter, for any information that could help his case. He’d even convinced him to let Sirius out to look himself on a number of occasions. But nothing ever arose, and every lead was a bust. Every day he got to spend hours of uninterrupted time with his daughter and James’ son, watching them learn and grow, a voice inside his head telling him to enjoy this, protect this. Every venture away felt like a risk to this wonderful life with his kids. And then that night, when Remus finally stayed in Sirius’ room, and he’d convinced him to stay instead of following up on their latest hit the morning after…he never pushed him or himself to look much after that.

He used to claw and run up the walls of that little shack he’d first ran to, his tiny daughter in arms. The four walls behaved as a second prison cell, one he’d put himself into with the few things he had left to love. But once they’d come here, and he was able to wander the woods freely, felt safe enough to let his kids do the same…a new sort of fear took hold of him. Even though he still yearned to be of some purpose somewhere, to go about his business wherever that took him, he did not feel he could leave these woods. There was no threat here, they were safe, they were together, no risk of anything being taken away again. Everything that stayed in the woods stayed in his life.

“It’s nice out here,” Sirius argued half heartedly, feeling that fear becoming thick in him. “All the people I need are in this house. I have all the world I can handle in these woods.”

“It’s done us a lot of good,” Remus agreed, looking up toward the ceiling. “And it worked really well for the kids growing up. But that was when they were toddlers and they didn’t need much besides us and each other. They need more now.”

“How is sending Harry back to that place giving him more?” Sirius barked. His nerves were raw and still firing. “I’ve told you the sort of people they are, the way they were treating him. They didn’t even want him. Shoved him under the stairs like some ugly vase they were gifted and needed to hide. I bet they would have just handed him over if I’d bothered to ask. If I send him back there now, they’ll just abuse him again. I don’t care what magical protection would rub off on him there, he’d lose more than he’d gain.”

“Dumbledore thinks he needs that protection.” Remus turned more fully towards him. “But that’s not really what I’m talking about, we’ll figure that out. I’m talking about sending those kids out to see the rest of the world, regardless of how we go about it. This is all they’ve known since they were three years old, they need to know about other people and society, their own culture. They’ll need to learn how to use their magic, and all the rules around it.”

And Sirius couldn’t give that to them. Not in the way they deserved. He couldn’t take them into Diagon Alley to shop for their books or find their wands. There’d be no stopping in at the pub for lunch between shopping, no running into the candy shop or bakery for sweets to make a good day just that little bit better. He wouldn’t be able to take them to King’s Cross and see them off or pick them up at winter break to bring them home for Christmas.

He could teach them magic here, both him and Remus were incredibly talented wizards, but even he doubted that they could give them fully rounded educations. But…maybe? Maybe they could make it work. They could teach them the important stuff, like how to defend themselves and how to play neat tricks. There were books out there about the things they were less good at, they could make it work, if they needed to.

His eyes stared at the discarded book on the floor. It wouldn’t be enough. He couldn’t give them friends or adventures, none of the things he’d had in his own youth. He’d maybe had enough of life, but they’d never really had one at all.

“She resents me for it, doesn’t she? Taking her and running.” He started to question whether he’d done the right thing all those years ago. “I didn’t give either of them a life, I just took theirs for my own.”

“She only said all that because she’s afraid of losing all of this. It’s not enough anymore but it was important enough to be scared of no longer having it. I don’t think she resents you, I think she’s just growing too big for her space. Both of them are.” Remus gripped his shoulder, giving him a solid shake to make him look at him. “Things were never going to be easy for either of them regardless. This was a better start than they were originally promised. Let’s take some comfort in that.”

Sirius nodded, head feeling heavy as it fell down onto his partner’s shoulder to rest there. “Okay, keep talking, you’re doing a great job Moony. Starting to feel less like the world's most massive piece of shit.”

Remus chuckled, scruffing the back of his head. “Such a prick.”

“You always take my sincerity for teasing. It’s one of your biggest flaws.” Sirius gave him an encouraging kiss to his jaw before ducking back into place. “Now for real. Keep making me feel better. You can say it now.”

Moony’s hand rested on the back of his neck, thumb rubbing little circles. “Whatever comes next, we’ll be okay. We’re going to figure it out. You and me together.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Harry and Lyra spent the remainder of the day lit hours hidden away in their fort, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. Harry could not stop his entire body from shaking in shock from all that had happened, and Lyra just continued to blubber into his shoulder, vowing she wouldn’t let him go anywhere without her. That morning, agonizing over his situation and his dissatisfaction with it felt lifetimes away now. It felt as though he and those thoughts of his were to blame for this happening. He’d wished his life away.

They eventually trudged back when their stones lit up and vibrated in their pockets, summoning them home. Dinner was quickly and silently served and finished, and there was no staying up to discuss or spend time with one another. He spent the night in Lyra’s room, unashamed of the crying he did beside her.

Sirius and Remus took their time coming to a decision, sitting them down the following night to discuss. Harry couldn’t stomach celebrating his birthday, and he’d told them as much when they tried to do something special for it the morning of. All he wanted was to know what came next, and they granted him his wish.

They told them everything the wizard Dumbledore had said, and promised it had been news to them. Both Lyra and him interrupted plenty to ask questions, not all of them fair, but their guardians answered none the less.

“You’ve always told us you took Harry away from his aunt and uncle for a reason,” Lyra said, eyes cold and angry from where she sat, arms crossed, in her seat. “They’re awful people, that’s what you’ve always said, and now you want to send him back?”

“As we’ve said, Harry’s circumstances are unique—” Remus started.

“How unique do they have to be to send him back to people who might hurt him!?” she interrupted.

“Harry, you may be in danger if you don’t return to them, at least for a time,” Sirius said, unable to face his daughter’s venomous eyes. “When your mother died protecting you, she did something truly incredible. She put a ward of protection on you, and Dumbledore, unknowing to either of us, helped to solidify that protection by delivering you to your aunt, using the shared blood between the three of you to prolong the charm. It protects you from Voldemort, and as long as you had a home with a blood relative you share with your mom, it would remain.”

“But…he’s dead. Why should I need protection from him?”

“There have been some troubling signs, and Dumbledore worries that might not be true for much longer. It is not a risk we are wanting to take, putting you back in the line of fire. If he returns, you are going to need any and all protection we can provide you.”

“How is that possible?” Lyra asked him directly. “Dead is dead, it shouldn’t be possible for someone to come back from that. And why exactly are we trusting a man you were willing to attack when you first saw him?”

“Dumbledore is a good man,” Remus said. “That has never been in question. Now that we have all explained our own sides, we have come to an understanding. He is going to help clear your father’s name, and help transition the two of you into a position where you can rejoin wizarding society without too much fuss. You’ll be able to attend school, go into wizarding communities and live relatively normal lives.”

“Relatively normal lives? We’re going to be forced apart!” She looked back at her father, tears growing in her eyes. “Tell me it isn’t true? You tell me that by doing this we’re not going to be apart for possibly forever.”

Remus tried to regain her attention as her anxiety began to grow, increasing the tension and trying to tame them. “We know this is not our most popular decision—” Lyra snorted, shaking her head and sitting back in her chair. “But, we do think in the long term, this is our best next step. We’ve thought it all through very thoroughly.”

“It’s been a day!”

“We’ve hidden from the world long enough,” Sirius explained, still looking at Harry. “I know this is happening quickly, but it’s time to get you both into school so you can learn how to use your magic. If this threat is real, we’ll all need to prepare for it.”

“If? You’re breaking our family up for an if? Dad, this is crazy! It’s been one day and you’re sending us away because someone you haven’t spoken to in years shows up and tells you to?”

“It is not that simple, Lyra, and as angry as you may be you know that,” Remus told her, voice still gentle. “We both love you two, so much, and we wouldn’t be doing any of this if we weren’t sure it was the right decision to make.”

“This isn’t fair,” Lyra glared at Sirius. “I can’t believe you are doing this.”

Sirius sat forward suddenly, for the first time addressing his daughter directly. “You just told me yesterday that you couldn’t be content out here with just your books, has something changed since then? Or do you not actually want to go out and see the world and meet more people? Tell me, Lyra, were you telling the truth or was that just a tantrum?”

“Sirius,” Remus groaned as her face crumbled with held back tears and she pushed away from the table to run to her room. “This isn’t easy for any of us, she’s allowed to be upset.”

“Of course it isn’t easy, but she’s acting like this is something we’re doing to purposefully hurt her, like we haven’t thought things through. She should know I’m not doing this lightly! I’m not just giving up everything I worked for for no reason.”

“She’s young, and confused, and knows she’s about to be apart from her father for the first time in a very long time. She’s just scared.”

“I’m scared too,” Sirius growled. “Sometimes we have to be a bit scared to the things we want.”

“She’s a child, one you’ve sheltered and quite frankly coddled, she’s going to respond to scary things like one, and you do not need to respond in kind.”

“Could you stop pretending you’re above all this? She’s not looking at you like you’re some kind of heartless monster tearing her life apart. That blame is entirely on me apparently.”

Remus’ eyes flickered to where Harry sat, silent and downcast. “Now isn’t the time, Sirius,” he sighed. “Harry, if you have any more questions, we’ll answer them. Anything you want to know.”

There was plenty Harry wanted to ask. He wanted to know more about the man who’d killed his parents and how it was possible he could be back. He wanted to know more about the aunt and uncle he was stolen from, and what to expect when they reunited. But far more pressing than all of that was one immediate concern. “Will we ever be all together again?” Harry asked.

“You and Lyra will be at Hogwarts together,” Remus said. “From September to June, you will get to see one another.”

“But, what about the two of you? Will we get to see you?”

“We’re still working out a plan for that. You won’t be alone with your aunt and uncle though, Harry. Whatever the plan ends up being, one of us will be nearby while you are with them to make sure you are safe. Anything else is unacceptable, Dumbledore knows where we stand on that.”

“I understand why I have to go, but why can’t Lyra stay? She shouldn’t have to leave just because I do.”

“She needs an education just as much as you do, and the both of you need further socialization. Hogwarts is going to offer both of those things, along with protection.”

“I’ll bet you’re wishing you hadn’t gotten me now,” Harry said miserably. “My being here’s ruined everything.”

“This family isn’t falling apart,” Sirius vowed. “I made a promise to your father that I would never leave you without one, and the only thing that’s going to keep me from that promise is death. My going and getting you that night was not a mistake, and I don’t regret it in the slightest. We wouldn’t be complete without you, Harry. Now, it may be a while till we are all back together again in the same place, but it is going to happen.”

He reached out, clasping Harry’s hand. “It’s going to take all of us doing our part. Yours is simple. Go to school, learn how to use your magic—get good at it. You’re smart, Harry, I know you’ve got the makings of a great wizard in you, and that’s what you need to work to become. Trouble and danger may come your way, but I know you’ve got it in you to survive them all. Just know you’ll have to work for it, it won’t be handed to you. You’re a strong kid, though, I know you can handle it. Remus and I will handle the rest, and we’ll only ever be one call away. Whenever you feel lost or scared, we’re still here.”

“I was thinking about how sad I was that nothing changed yesterday,” Harry confessed sadly, kicking himself for how childish he sounded saying it. “That was stupid of me, I should never have wanted that.”

Sirius and Remus both smiled at him, not at all upset. “That just means you’re ready for this, Harry.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Sirius went to talk to Lyra once they’d finished talking things through with Harry. She lay curled up in her sheets, so tightly she looked more like a rolled up comforter than a little girl.

“I lost it a bit back there,” he admitted hesitantly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him, feeling ashamed of it. Him and Lyra didn’t fight, that was an entirely new thing for the two of them. He hardly felt the need to discipline her for most of her life, let alone lose his temper. This was entirely untraversed ground for both of them. “That wasn’t very fair of me. I was delivering some very difficult news, I shouldn’t have taken your reaction so personally.”

He tried to lighten the mood by lightly saying, “You have permission to curse me out now. Go on then, free reign to hurl your most creative insults. I’m ready for them.”

She didn’t respond, didn’t even twitch. Feeling even more awkward and lost now, Sirius took a deep breath, trying to find the words to fix this and coming up incredibly short. He took a seat beside her, leaned up against her headboard, and tried to pull it together.

“I know you’re angry with me,” he whispered to her cocoon. “And if I were you right now, I would be too. I don’t expect you to accept this right away. But…I can’t be the father I wish I could be to you if I don’t fix this situation we’re in. And I should have worked harder on it all this time, I regret that I haven’t. I’m going to fix it now though, I promise.”

His eyes began to sting, and he forced himself to keep it together for her. He needed to find the comforting words he’d found for Harry. He had to figure out how to make this right before they separated.

“You’re going to go to school, and while you’re there, you’ll make friends. And probably a few enemies. You’ll find your own adventures, and maybe even a few troubles. There is so much out there for you to experience, Mini Moon, and you don’t need your old dad there for it. Some of it you definitely won’t.”

She curled up tighter at this, trying to inch away, and failure washed over him now. He cussed, tears spilling at the rejection. He didn’t know what he was saying wrong.

His voice cracked awfully as kept talking. “I love you so much, Mini Moon. I escaped the world’s most secure prison for you, I tucked us away from everything so we could be together. Everything I’ve done, and ever will do, is because I love you. You are the one thing I did that I know I did completely and entirely right. And I hate that I’m the one making you sad, because the very last thing I want to do is send you away.”

He swiped an arm across his eyes, feeling no less clear sighted. “If I thought you would be happy, I’d keep you here with me for the rest of both of our lives. But there is so much I can imagine you doing out there if given the chance. There is so much more than just forests to explore, there are cities, massive ones, with buildings so old you have to see them for yourself before they crumble away into nothing. And those cities have libraries, which I know you’d enjoy, where you could pick out books for yourself for once. And if I set you loose in Diagon Alley, I’m not sure when I’d get you or my money back. I’m sending you out there so you can experience all of that and so I can see you get all the things you deserve to have.”

Something bumped against his hip, and he looked down to see Lyra had turned back towards him, and her arms were sticking out of her blankets, awkwardly reaching out for a hug. Swiftly taking the opportunity before she could take it back, he pulled her from them and into his chest, where she began to cry.

“Shuuush,” he cooed like she was still little, holding her in his arms. “I know this isn’t going to be easy. And I’m so sorry, Lyra, but it’s going to be harder for you than everybody else, and that’s partially my fault. But I know you’re going to get through it, I believe that with all my heart. I’ll pack plenty of tissues for you, because I know you’re my hyper-emotional girl. That doesn’t make you any less strong or capable.”

“I don’t want us to be apart,” she sobbed, gripping onto him tightly. “You’re my dad, I need you!”

“I know you do, Moon,” he said wetly. “That’s why I have to get my name cleared. Then we could have it all. No more hiding, we could be all together again without having to be afraid.”

“What if you can’t—”

“You’re getting too hung up on the what ifs, dear.” He pulled her back. “Remember: I’ve done the impossible once for us to be together. What’s one more round?” He smiled at her, thumb rubbing away tears.

She nodded, tears still leaking heavily. “I love you, dad. And I’m sorry about yelling at you—”

“Eh, you’re my daughter,” he brushed off, remembering a time she was still too scared to upset him by doing anything so outlandish like crying. “I expect nothing less than the most positively dramatic display.”

“I’m just really scared about what’s going to happen next,” she told him desperately.

He swallowed hard. “Yeah, kiddo. You and me both.”

*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

There was still a lot to figure out, but a plan was now in motion. Tomorrow, they’d begin to pack up their things and prepare their place to sit empty for some time. Tonight, Sirius and Remus worked on the specifics.

“If we send them off, we won’t be able to guarantee we’d get them back,” Sirius said as they lay together in bed, positioned for sleep but nowhere near it. “So, I need you to make sure Lyra actually gets to Andy this time. And Harry—it’s two weeks and he’s out of there. You stay in the area, you meet with him every day, move in if you have to! It’s two weeks and he’s done.”

“And where are you planning to go during this?” Remus asked, frowning. “Because it sounds like you’re running off without me.”

“You’ll need to be as disconnected from me as possible if you have any chance of getting anywhere near him again. The ministry can’t know you had any part in any of this, and you know there are going to be questions. I need you to have your eyes on him so I can start tracking Peter down.”

“By yourself?”

“Just until the kids are both in school. Then you can join me in the search. Like I said, we need to be sure you can’t be tied back to me. One of us needs to be free at all times, and I am currently out of the question.”

With a deep breath, Remus agreed.

“I want a goal in mind,” Sirius said, turning over onto his side. “Something to strive for. One year. I want us to have my name cleared and everything sorted in one year. They’d be gone from us for school anyway, so that is what I want to aim for. And I don’t want to hear about it being impossible. It has to be possible, because that is the goal we’re agreeing on. Agreed?”

Remus nodded. “We’ll have a year—a school year, that is. Ten months to clear your name and bring us all back home.”

They shared grim but determined looks.

“One year.”

#burning of a withered tree #fanfic #boawt au #fanfic aus #cut and run au

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