#sneaky and fast and very quiet are not the same as subtle

[ikemenomegas]

One thing that I am learning as I dive back into Uchiha lore. The Uchiha think they're subtle.

They're really really not

[fanficsandthings]

Through the Years, Ch. 2

A George Weasley Fanfiction

A George Weasley x Slytherin reader story. Each chapter shares events in one year of George and reader’s life together, starting in their first year of Hogwarts.

Word Count: 3.6k

Content Warning: Snakes, mentions of bullying 

Chapter 1 here 

Year 2: Snakes and Lions

Sixth years were mean, especially sixth year Slytherins who thought they were above everyone else because they came from a rich family. Because of the knowledge about squibs you had learned from the twins, and seeing how everyone treated Filch, you decided it was best to keep your family history as vague as possible. That didn’t sit well with some of the upperclassmen. They would constantly pester you to learn more about your family. By the time you got to the end of first year, you had let it slip that your father worked in Muggle Studies at the Ministry. You were hoping this would stop some of the pestering, but it only made the pure-bloods laugh more.

The constant goading at your family was easy to deal with compared to the insults thrown at you just because of who you were friends with. Even with the Weasleys being pure-bloods, the Slytherins all seemed to hate them. They tended to stay away from insulting Charlie, as his prefect status seemed to deter them, but Percy made it so easy for them to mock him. Percy Weasley wasn’t a close friend, per se, and the twins had interesting things to say about him, but over the last year at Hogwarts you had grown to kind of like him. Sure, he was a little stuck up and had a tendency to make a fool of himself, but that gave you all the more reason to stand up for him. The twins were a whole different story. The insults thrown at them were about how loud and obnoxious and disrespectful to authority they were; insults about how their family was a disgrace to the pure-blood status. "And really, I don't get it." You were close enough friends with the twins that nearly every annoying thing your housemates said got relayed back to them. "You're not obnoxious, you're hilarious. You're not disrespectful, you're fun. Even if laughing at your pranks gets house points taken away from.. well, both of our houses." You had a free period today, so the courtyard was empty besides the three of you, and you felt free to speak openly. "I didn't know it bothered you so much," George's facial features were never as easy to read as Fred's. His tone was light, but his eyes were soft. "Doesn't bother us one bit," Fred piped up, shrugging. "It doesn't," you lied. "I just wish they'd shut up" “Well then let’s make them shut up,” Fred said, leaning closer to you, a familiar gleam in his eye. “Pull a prank on sixth year Slytherins?” you turned to look at him, a smile on your face. “I like where your head’s at, Freddie. What’s the plan?” “Filibuster fireworks in their food?” he suggested. “Didn’t that get you in trouble with a girl last year?” you asked, eyeing him. He turned his head away quickly, but you could still see the shy smile on his face; something you didn’t see often from Fred Weasley. “Besides, it’s really only one girl. If we shut her up, then her entire posse will shut up.” “Fanged frisbee right at the face,” George said with a laugh. “I like it, I like it a lot,” you agreed, “but, knowing Snape, he’ll put us all in detention for months for that one. If I miss one more quidditch practice because of detention, I’m gonna be kicked off the team.” “You got any good ideas then?” George asked. “Something a little more subtle,” you said, standing up so you could pace. The twins watched you walk back and forth, their heads following along with your body. An idea popped into your head, and you stopped suddenly in your tracks. A grin appeared on your face as you looked up at the twins. “Come on, we need to go to Hagrid’s” You took off towards Hagrid’s, hurrying out of the courtyard and down the hill. You could hear the twins behind you, shouting questions and trying to get you to slow down. You kept up your fast pace until you were at the base of the hill. Hagrid didn’t seem to be home, considering there was no smoke coming from his chimney, so you headed straight for his garden. “What’re we doing down here?” George asked as he stepped over a cabbage. “Is she allergic to vegetables or something?” Fred questioned. Ignoring them, you continued to search the dirt for what you were looking for. Moving pumpkins around, you looked for any sort of movement underneath them. “Worms in her shoes?” Fred inquired. You paused your search, looking up at him to give a small nod. “You’re getting close with that guess.” The twins looked between each other, confused. What on Earth could you be searching for in this garden? You continued your search while you talked to them. “I need something ordinary and non-magical. Something I can easily play off as an accident or coincident. Think Slytherin. Think phobias. What’s the stupidest thing a Slytherin could be deathly afraid of?” “Snakes?” they both asked at the same time. You looked at them with a smile. “Bingo, boys. Now help me look.” They both bent closer to the ground, looking for the small creature. It was only a second before George became curious about the plan again. “How do you know she doesn’t like snakes?” he asked. “She complains about it all the time,” you said, rolling your eyes. “Every day in the common room it’s ‘Why couldn’t we have a different animal? Snakes are just so gross and slimy.’ I don’t think she’s ever even seen a snake in real life. Most are harmless and absolutely not slimy. --Oh! Shut up, I found one.” “We weren’t talking,” George said, but you just stuck your tongue out at him and bent down to get a closer look at the animal. A small black creature wiggled in the dirt before you. It was a harmless garden snake, but you still slowly lowered your wand in front of it so it wouldn’t spook. It slithered over your wand, and you lifted it up slowly to show the boys. “Look at him!” you said excitedly. “He’ll be perfect.” You stuck him in the largest pocket on your robe and started back for the castle. The twins followed closely to you this time. “Are you sure you don’t want any magic involved?” George asked. “We could make him twice as big or give him a rattle to scare her more,” Fred suggested. “No,” you stated bluntly. “The more you add, the more likely I am to get detention. And don’t-” You smacked George’s hand away with your wand as he was reaching for the snake in your pocket. “-try to be sneaky about it and charm or transfigure it while I’m not looking.” “Sorry,” George mumbled as he rubbed his sore hand. As you got back to the courtyard, you turned to look at your friends. “Listen, I appreciate your pranks, but I’m doing this one by myself.” They started to protest before you cut them off. “You’re not allowed in the Slytherin common room or dorms,” you reminded them. “We let you in the Gryffindor common room just last week!” Fred protested. “Shut up,” you whispered, smacking him on the arm. You looked around quickly to confirm that the courtyard was still clear. “You know the teachers would never actually allow that. If they found out, especially McGonagall or Snape, I’d never be allowed near you again.” “So you like being near us,” George said with a grin. You noticed that he didn’t phrase it as a question, but you were too distracted by how cute his smile was to acknowledge that. “No,” you lied, hoping the walk up the hill would hide how distracted you felt. “But I like hanging out with Lee and Angelina. Plus, I like the chairs in your common room more than mine. But if Percy knew you told me your password, he would surely kill all three of us.” “Percy has no power over us,” Fred stated. “He will when he makes prefect next year,” you said. “And don’t even argue about that. We all know he’s gonna be a prefect.” “Pompous little Percy,” George mocked. “You should be nicer to your brother,” you said, smacking George this time. “Quit hitting us,” they said in unison as they both rubbed their arms. “Quit being annoying and I’ll think about it,” you said. You looked down at your pocket to see the snake looking up at you, its tongue flicking out. “Just make it through tonight, little buddy. I’ll bring you back to your garden first thing tomorrow.” “She’s nicer to a snake she just met than she is to us,” Fred whispered to his brother, but he wasn’t quite quiet enough. You shot him a quick glare before turning to head to your dorm. “I’ll let you know how it goes in the morning.” ------------------- It was really quite easy to sneak into the sixth years dorm room, as they were all still in class; your free period being your savior at this moment. You carefully tucked the snake under the girl’s blanket, promising that you’d be back to save it later that night. Hurrying off to your last class of the day, you were overjoyed thinking about the events that were to unfold in a few hours. You avoided the twins at dinner, wanting to make them even more eager about the situation. Sure, you were doing this mostly for them, but it still felt nice to be able to perform a fully fledged out prank by yourself. The twins may be known for their pranks, but they sure weren’t the only ones who could have fun. You focused most of your attention at dinner on Adrian Pucey, who was one of your only true Slytherin friends. He seemed to be the only other Slytherin quidditch player who believed in a fair match, and you liked him for that. Walking back to the common room with Adrian after dinner, you ran into the very girl who was annoying you to no end lately. “I see you’ve finally ditched those no good Weasleys,” she said as she pushed past you, her group of friends knocking you into Adrian as they followed. “Maybe you’ll actually grow to be a real Slytherin one day.” You apologized to Adrain as he helped you right yourself. “She’s a bit of a...” Adrian paused to think of the right words, but you were happy to fill it in. “Incessant little bi-” “Hey, no,” Adrian cut you off. “I was gonna say pain or annoyance. But I do kinda like where you were going.” “You should’ve let me finish my sentence then,” you said with a smirk. “That little ‘annoyance’ is about to get what’s coming to her, anyway. Come on, I don’t want to miss it.” You hurried off down the corridor, Adrian following next to you. “What do you mean by that?” he asked. “Oh you’ll see,” you said as you got to the Slytherin common room. “Pick a chair, settle in, and wait for it.” You picked a couch to sit on and busied yourself with pretending to do homework as you waited for the sixth year girl to go up to her dormitory. Adrian tried a few times to get you to explain what you were talking about, but you refused. After a few minutes he gave up and did his own school work. Less than 30 minutes later and there was a loud scream coming from the girls dorms. Adrien looked at you as you and the rest of the girls in the common room headed towards the scream. “What did you do?” he asked as you rushed past him. “Nothing,” you said, but the grin on your face told him a whole different story. The hallway was crowded and it took a bit of effort to push through the group to get to the front. When your vision cleared of the bodies of students, your eyes found the girl’s bed. The blankets were now a mess and you could see the small body of the snake tucked under the pillow. The girl herself was clinging to the four-poster two beds down. “Get that thing out of my bed this instant!” she screamed, her eyes searching over her group of friends. None of them moved. You separated from the crowd, walking closer to the bed. You pulled out your wand again, acting just like you had when you first found the snake that afternoon. It slithered over your wand. Picking it up, it hung gently from the wood, its head lifted towards you. “It’s just a small snake,” you said, looking over at the girl again. “We’re literally the house of the serpent. Plus, he’s harmless.” You let the snake crawl onto your hand to show the crowd that it was perfectly fine. The girl got down from the bed and started making her way over to you. “You foul little creature. You put that thing in my bed.” “I did no such thing,” you said, feigning the most innocent face you could muster. She took another step closer to you, but as you held the snake up she recoiled back. “What’s going on here?” A male voice could be heard from the hallway. A second later Snape appeared in the doorway. He looked between you and the sixth year as he stepped into the dorm room. “Nothing Professor,” you said, now petting the snake's head with your finger. “Nothing?” the sixth year asked, exasperated. “Professor, she put a live snake in my bed.” “For one: no I didn’t,” you started. You could see Snape was getting more annoyed with every passing second. “Two: it’s harmless. It couldn’t hurt you if it tried. Three: we live in an old castle. There’s bound to be little creatures everywhere.” The girl was about to protest again, but Snape seemed to have had enough. “Just get the snake out of here and go back to your own dorm room.” He looked at you with contempt. “Would you like to take him, Professor?” you asked, holding the snake up towards his face. He recoiled a bit at the proximity of the creature to his face. You had to try very hard to stifle a laugh. “No,” he said and walked out, back through the crowd of students. The students started to disperse now, sensing the fun to be over. You waited until most of them had left to turn back to your upperclassman. She started to speak before you could. “I know you did this, you evil-” “You’re right,” you cut her off. “I did do it. Maybe don’t talk so openly about your fears next time.” She went to speak again, but you stopped her by holding your wand up towards her. “Now, know this: if you ever talk badly about the Weasleys in my presence I won’t be afraid to hex you. That includes Percy and Charlie. And honestly, I don’t care if I get expelled for it either.” She tried to hide the step back she took by saying “ I will never be afraid of you.” “Sure,” you said, finally dropping the snake in your pocket and heading back to the common room. Adrian was waiting for you. “What did you do?” he whispered as you both walked back to sit on the couch. You ignored him for a bit, instead searching the room. You found a basket that was full of old books and emptied it. Sitting on the couch, you put the basket on the floor between your legs. “I didn’t do anything,” you said, taking the snake out of your pocket again. “He did.” You smiled at the small creature as you set him in the bottom of the basket. “You scared that girl with a snake?” Adrian whispered. You shrugged and whispered back. “All I did was put a harmless little creature in someone’s bed. Not my fault that she was afraid of him.” Adrian sat back into the couch with a short laugh. “What’re you gonna do with it now?” “I’ll bring it back to the garden I found it in in the morning.” “You really are quite smart with your pranks and sabotage,” he said, looking from you to the basket. You turned to look at him, the widest smile on your face. “Thank you.” ------------------ The next morning you were going to skip breakfast and head right down to Hagrid’s garden, but you spotted George and Fred in the Great Hall. A mischievous idea formed in your brain and there was no way you could ignore it. The twins were sitting opposite each other, so George was bound to notice your presence as you snuck down the rows of tables behind Fred. Right when his eyes landed on you, you made sure to put your finger up to your lips, telling him to be quiet. You were right behind Fred, George pretending to ignore that you were there. You slipped the snake quietly out of your pocket and gently set it’s head on Fred’s shoulder. It slowly crawled further on until you were able to let go. It was hard to stifle your laughter as Fred reached up to itch his shoulder. When his hand touched the body of the snake, his head whipped around and he let out a scream that caught the attention of the many students around him. You reached out quickly to grab the snake before he could hurt it. “That was finally payback for the shoelace incident in Diagon Alley,” you said as you sat down next to him. “That’s not fair!” Fred protested. “George told you about that, so it didn’t even work. Some brother he is. I know he saw you behind me.” “Yes, but he likes me more than he likes you,” you said, giving George a wink. “I’m his brother!” Fred continued to argue. You shrugged your shoulders as you grabbed a piece of toast from his plate. You looked across the table at his brother. “Georgie.” “Hhmm?” George said through a mouthful of food. “Would you care to accompany your favorite person down to Hagrid’s garden?” you asked him. “I’ll tell you all about how Fred’s scared face looked even funnier than the girl’s last night.” “I would love to,” he said with a laugh and stood up. Fred grumbled in disagreement as you walked away. You both made your way out of the Great Hall. You heard your name being called as you neared the front doors of the castle and turned to look for the speaker. You could see Adrian walking towards you. As he got closer to you he looked at the creature that you were carrying in your hand. “I see you haven’t brought him back home yet,” Adrian said, petting the snake’s head. “George and I were just about to,” you informed him. You looked between George and Adrian. George was staring at Adrian, while Adrian had most of his attention set to the snake. “Have you two met?” “No,” George said shortly. “Oh,” you said, looking at George, confused in his sudden change in attitude. “George Weasley, Adrian Pucey. Adrian, George.” Adrian turned from the snake and stuck his hand out towards George. “We were bound to meet eventually. You’re on the Gryffindor quidditch team right?” George shook Adrian’s hand, but it was a short and sharp shake. “Yes, me and my brother are beaters.” “Adrian’s one of the best chasers that Slytherin’s seen in a long time,” you informed George. “Maybe, but I’m sure Gryffindor’s are better,” George said with a sour laugh. “Okay,” you said, a little awkward now. “Well, we better get going, Adrian. I’ll see you in class.” You grabbed George’s arm and shoved him out the front door. You waited until you were down the front steps before you finally decided to speak to him again. “What the hell was that, George?” You stopped walking in front of him and turned to be face to face. “What was what?” he feigned ignorance, but refused to look you in the eye. “That little attitude you had back there,” you told him. “I would prefer it if you could get along with Adrian. He’s honestly my only housemate that I like.” George let out a sigh at that, and you could see his body relax. He knew how you felt about your housemates, about how they were one of the few things that made you unsure of yourself at times. “Okay, maybe I got a little mad that you told Adrian about your plan before you told me,” George admitted. You let out a laugh. “George!” “What?” He snapped his head to look at you. “He was in the common room when it happened. I really had no choice but to tell him. I wasn’t gonna lie to my friend.” You grabbed George’s hand and held up the snake as close to his face as you dared. “Now will you apologize to this poor creature before you hurt it’s feelings even more?” He looked at the snake for half a second before he said, “Fine.” He turned to look at you. “I’m sorry that I acted like a jerk. I will not be apologizing to an animal though.” You laughed again and held tighter onto his hand. You turned to start down the hill again. “Now I’ll tell you all about last night, Georgie.”

[darkhymns-fic]

You Can Watch Over Me

Velvet catches Eizen in the middle of a nightmare. It's familiar to her - and maybe that's the reason why she wants to stay?

Fandom: Tales of Berseria Characters/Pairing: Velvet Crowe/Eizen Rating: G Mirror Link: AO3 Notes: Written for thescarfinator from the @talesofsecretsanta2020​ event! I jumped on the chance to write about Velvet seeing Eizen having a nightmare and was excited to try writing them for the first time. Happy Holidays!

-

It was harder to sleep when on the ship. Not that sleep comes to Velvet all so easily.

It wasn’t surprising at all; the Lord of Calamity should not have pleasant dreams. So she dreamed of Seres, eyes shadowed by butterfly wings, with only the memory of her remaining.  Always upon waking, Velvet’s arm would twitch.

This time she woke up in the middle of the night, leaning against the bundles of ropes that littered the deck of the Van Eltia. It was rare for her to lay down and stay exposed. She always sat up, her arm poised just against her knee. Always on guard and ready to get to her feet. But no one was nearby. 

She felt trapped on this ship sometimes. 

Getting hungry again. She clenched her fist to satiate the feeling. She could probably nibble on a few rations to help, but the lack of taste sometimes only made it worse. 

Velvet stood up easily, having long gotten used to the swaying of the ship by now. The air was quiet, though she could hear the murmur of the few crew members still up and going about their night tasks. She had no idea on the maintenance of ships, and was disinterested in watching. The salt spray from the ocean was strong this evening, but it was better than being cooped up in-between walls. Might as well stay on deck.

Raising her head, the stars were bright and numerous. The moon overhead was full, the sight of it familiar, and she turned away quickly to pace across the wooden floorboards. Maybe she kept an eye out for any hint of a sneaky Magilou, or an ear out for some out-of-the-blue laughter from Rokurou, but none of them here. Just one or two crew members, who swiftly moved out of her way, mumbling something about finishing up tasks below deck.

With less distractions, that’s when she saw Eizen, standing at the very port of the ship.

From behind, Eizen appeared to be overlooking the horizon, arms crossed, the wind lifting up his coat like outstretched wings. She rolled her eyes. She was half-convinced he was standing like this for dramatic effect. Her blade rattling in its holster, she walked up to him. “Is it common for malakhim to pull an all-nighter?” she asked him.

Eizen didn’t answer her. He was motionless, arms still crossed, much more interested in that horizon then in acknowledging Velvet that she existed. 

That just pissed her off.

“Hey! I was talking to-” She marched up to him, just about to grab his shoulder when she finally went in front of him, catching the look on his face.

His eyes were closed. He breathed evenly, slowly.

He was asleep. And he was...standing up, while he was asleep. Velvet raised an eyebrow. So some people slept even more with their guard up than she did, it seemed. 

She would have just called it a night at this point, not admitting that she was disappointed in not getting to talk to him. He'd have just blabbed about those underground tunnels again, she reasoned with herself. Or maybe he’d once again invoke the Reaper’s Curse and have the floorboards beneath their feet rot, letting them both fall into the sea.

She would have done nothing, except she saw how his face was also in pain.

It was subtle, but she heard his fast-paced breathing, and saw the way his fingers gripped his arms. Whatever he was dreaming about, it wasn’t pleasant. A phenomenon that she was much too familiar with.

Best to steer clear, or maybe he’d do something stupid and strike at her while stuck in a nightmare. But Velvet found herself by his side, her arm reaching out to him. “Eizen,” she called out. Slowly, carefully.

Eizen’s head lowered. He grimaced. He was stuck. 

Velvet poised her hand just over his shoulder. It wasn’t coincidence that it was her daemon arm that was closer to him - just in case. “Eizen,” she called out again.

He only continued to struggle. “...Nn…” Eizen shook his head, then lowered it so much that his chin made contact with his chest. “…na…”

She felt the pressure of his malak artes, just enough. It alarmed her a bit. Would he cast a spell in his sleep? She could only imagine one outcome, and a sinking ship was not in her plans.

Velvet dared, finally gripping his shoulder, bandaged fingers holding onto him. “Eizen, wake up!”

Eizen snapped his eyes open, bright blue, the color emphasizing the sudden pallor of his skin. Like a fish out of water, Eizen looked around in confusion, mouth half-parted. It took him a few seconds to finally latch his gaze onto Velvet.

“What… Edna, she’s…” he started, still half-stuck in his dream. But him speaking that name seemed to make him finally find his focus. He uncrossed his arms, one hand reaching to press against his forehead. “Agh…Velvet, why are you here?”

“Well, you don’t sound particularly grateful,” she noted. Her hand lingered on his shoulder, finally letting it slip off. She had just been hungry, that was all.

Eizen looked confused at what she meant. Then the sea breeze picked up, making the white sails above them flutter, hitting the mast. He looked around, his hair shifting along with that breeze. “I just… didn’t expect you. Why are you still up? It’s late.”

“What I do in my spare time at night isn’t of any concern to you,” she retorted.

Eizen stared. “It does if you were just watching over me as I sleep.”

Velvet mentally stumbled at that, taking up a moment to devise her answer. “I was not watching you!” Of all the stupid things this man said! “You were just standing here, how would I have known that you sleep the same way a horse does?"

“Oh, I was…” Eizen looked around him again, realizing, and that was when he seemed to be the one embarrassed now. “It’s… a malak thing. Easy to regain energy this way.”

Velvet highly doubted. “I’ve never seen Laphicet do that.”

“Well, it’s an earth malak thing, to be specific.” Eizen coughed into his fist, still avoiding her eyes. “It’s good to feel steady, so standing is just a preferred option!"

“Really.” Velvet wasn’t going to keep questioning this, and honestly, on any regular occurrence, she would have just left him to do whatever he wanted. But the paleness of his skin hadn’t left, and his hands still shook, even if the motion was so minute. Probably no one else would have even noticed.

But Velvet’s eyes were sharp.

Eizen finally turned to her, seeing her gaze, then lowered his hand. “Thanks for shaking me awake.”

“That only took you ten minutes to finally say so, but you’re welcome.” There was a wooden bench just next to them, placed against the side of the ship, and Velvet took it, moving aside her long hair to lay against the surface. “So, what did you dream?”

She knew Eizen wouldn’t tell her right away, of course. “Nothing,” he said instead, his voice low. It didn’t hold any of the strength of the earth, the unyielding magnitude of it. It came out weak and exhausted. “It was nothing.”

Velvet stared at his back, at the metal plates affixed to his coat, catching the moonlight. She stared at the rips, running symmetrically just beneath his shoulders. “Are you just going to run from it?”

That had hit a nerve, somewhere deep in this man’s pride. Eizen continued looking up at the sky before he finally went to sit down with her, though it looked more like he tumbled backwards, his legs barely holding him up anymore.

Velvet blinked. Something about the way he acted was…familiar. Too much so. She wasn’t sure how much she liked that.

“I get these most nights,” he admitted, still avoiding her gaze. Eizen sighed, his chest moving inward as he did so. “It gets awkward if I sleep in the bunkers with everyone. So I usually just… stay out here.”

Guess that’s not surprising, she couldn’t help but think. Eizen had a pride she found foolish, one that would only worsen when he was around the likes of Rokurou. But there were other times when he was humbled, when he was suddenly much subdued then he first seemed. In a way, she found that aspect of him far more compelling.

She was thinking on that too much. She brought her knee up, laying her bandaged arm around it. Loose, white strips floated along with the breeze.

“Then what was it about? Did you dream yourself losing out on a winning bid for some old rusty vase?” It was barely an exaggeration. She had seen the malak actually tear up at the thought of missing out on some relic rumored to lie within a deserted island that the ship had passed by. The currents had been rough, making it impossible to land. Eizen had sulked for the rest of the trip. ("It was a priceless Kharlan painting from the Enlightenment era! You just wouldn't understand…")

Even as Velvet acted frustrated then, she still wouldn’t admit to herself that maybe the other’s weird sentiment with such things was a little endearing. Just a little.

She expected Eizen to either be annoyed at her words, or just plain confused. But what she got was exactly nothing. Eizen sat still, hands now gripping the other as he laid his arms on his knees. She wasn’t even sure if he heard her.

“I could handle that kind of dream,” Eizen finally spoke. “This was something else.”

“Part of the Reaper’s Curse?” she asked, only half-serious. The man could stub his toe and he’d blame it on the curse over his own foolishness.

“Maybe,” he simply said. Another pause, his jacket spread out on the wooden bench like an ocean full of pitch. “They only seemed to start ever since I left her.”

Her. The name he only half-said in sleep. “Edna,” Velvet said, but did so carefully.

But Eizen wasn’t like her, furious at hearing others spill out the name of his sibling. In fact, she saw him smile, even as it twisted along with his pale skin. “Edna should be safe and sound back home. That’s why I left her, so that she could be safe. No Reaper’s Curse to put her in danger. I stand by my decision.”

He pulled on his gloves, fidgeted more in those few minutes then she had ever seen him since he first joined their group. “But, most nights… I dream up something horrible happening to her. The sky swallowing her up, or a daemon fighting her.” He pressed his boot into the floor, as if trying to dig a hole right into it. If the wooden boards had been soil, he might as well have. “I dreamt her being shot, but instead of another malak, it was really her-“

Velvet reached out again, with that same bandaged arm. But she gripped his wrist gently. “Enough,” she warned. “You’ll get lost in it, if you keep going.”

Eizen shook, then stilled. He placed one fist into the palm of his hand, squeezing it tight. “Thought you said I was running from it.”

“You were, make no mistake,” Velvet quickly answered. “But if you face it the wrong way, you’ll only get trapped in it. You’ll be devoured.” She kept her hand where it was, feeling the tension pulling at him so tightly. “Funny, usually you’re the one giving out all the tired, cliched advice.”

The laughter that came from Eizen built something inside her chest that she dared not name. She was just sleep-deprived, like he was right now. Just two people in the middle of the night, unable to swallow their fears. “Maybe you’re right. You’re not usually this patient with people, except perhaps Laphicet.”

The night breeze blew her hair away from her neck. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation. She had said the name of his sibling, it’s only fair he could say the name of hers. (But he’s not Laphi). She put down those other intruding thoughts for now.

“You just can’t let it distract you from what is real and important.” She finally let his wrist go, seeing how his eyes followed along her motion. Did he expect her to do anything else? “But, if you’ve had these dreams for that long, you probably already know that.”

Eizen took another breath, but his voice was stronger, firmer. No longer stuck. “Guess that’s true. But, it’s nice hearing someone else say it.”

“Even if that someone is a daemon?” she asked, maybe too genuine in her question.

“There’s a reason why you are what you are, and it’s made you stronger for it.” Eizen finally looked at her, his cheeks now full of color. For a so-called Reaper, he seemed to have more life in him now. “Because you get it too.”

The acknowledgement might have hit too deep. She turned away, eyes rapt onto the stars. “I do, and you’ll keep quiet about that.”

“Heh, fair enough.”

The easy acceptance Eizen took of the situation also surprised her. Her chest tightened. Again, she was just hungry. They’ve been stuck on this ship for weeks, and while ocean deamons sometimes appeared, it wasn’t enough to completely sate her arm.

“Have you ever fallen overboard?” she asked suddenly.

The look of pure confusion on Eizen’s face amused her greatly. “What? Uh… perhaps a few times actually. I don’t remember how though. Usually it’s at night when…” He paused in realization.

“You know, it'd be good if you get someone to watch over you as you sleep, or you’ll keep breaking the Van Eltia more than sailing it.” How he’d been able to deal with it, she had no clue. But the man was as stubborn as the very earth he hailed from.

“Right…” Eizen coughed, his embarrassment once again so plain on his face. “Now Aifread’s complaints back then… make a lot more sense.”

“Men like you and him need more sense ,” she spit out.

“If that’s the case… are you saying you’ll offer to watch over me?”

The smile she saw on his face was stupid and ridiculous on him. Velvet turned away more, hugging her knee close to her chest, not caring whether any of the belts or leather was pricking into her skin. “I did plenty enough. It’s ruining what little sleep I can get tonight.”

“Fine, then I’ll do the same for you.” Eizen sat back with her, just near enough for their shoulders to touch. The man was surprisingly bold. “As my way of repaying you.”

“Huh.” Velvet scoffed, clenching her bandaged fist before looking over at Eizen, his face nearly impassive now. “You’re serious.”

“It only makes sense, doesn’t it?” He shrugged. “Besides, I’m not sure I can go back to sleep tonight.”

“So, the Reaper wants to watch over me at my most vulnerable?” She eyed him. “Will I even make it through the night?”

“I think, being the Lord of Calamity and all, your misfortunes offset my own.” He shrugged. “We can put it to the test.”

It just all sounded like an incredibly far-reaching excuse to her, but Velvet somehow couldn’t find it in her to say no.

“Just no sudden movements,” she told him as she laid back against the rim of the ship. The swaying of the ocean waves felt comforting, more so in evenings. The sky was open, gave her more to look at than in all the years she had been locked away. “This arm bites, you know.”

Eizen smirked, but he nodded. “Got it then.”

Velvet couldn’t believe she was allowing this, but she really did feel so fatigued. With no daemons to nourish her, she could only feel how heavy her body was. Velvet gazed up at the sky, tracing the constellations that she had missed, then shut her eyes. Eizen was still near, enough that she could feel his body heat.

I shouldn’t fall for this, she thought before sleep took hold. But maybe it was nice to let down her guard, at least for a while.

-

The dream is the same. Seres again, in the white void, eyes completely covered. And over her neck, the black marks of someone’s fingers that had strangled her.

Velvet felt her arm burn, clutched it to her chest. “I can’t forget,” she said.

“You won’t ever forget,” Seres said to her, in a voice that was so painful in its familiarity. It pierced her as sharply as when she would plunge her blade into the quivering body of a beast. “And you can’t regret.”

“I don’t… I shouldn’t!” Velvet gritted her teeth. Her arm became malformed, an array of black that ran with so much red, pulsing like magma beneath the earth. “You offered yourself to me! I needed to live! I don’t care who stands in my way-!”

She reached out with her arm, to grab Seres again, to devour her again. But in her grip, it was a young boy instead. She had already squeezed tight before he vanished, lost forever, again, again, again-

Velvet woke up, gasping for air. But a hand kept her steady, strong and firm.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Eizen was speaking, even though it sounded so far off. “A nightmare, that’s it.”

Velvet heard it, denied it with all her heart.

“No… it’s more than that.” She gritted her teeth, shook in his hold. “I watched him die! Again…” The guilt clawed its way into her throat, and all she could do was let it fester. “Always, again. You don’t understand.”

Eizen had no words, and for once, she regretted something just now. She didn’t mean for it to slip past. But she shook, and her arm still hurt. She curled in on herself, and felt those same arms hold her close.

“You’re right, I don’t,” Eizen was saying. His words were barely above a whisper, yet they felt rough against her hair. “And I hope I never will.”

I hope that too, she thought, shutting her eyes tight. Always on guard, but she wanted to let herself go, for one short moment. The steadiness of Eizen was comforting. Maybe, even after everything she’d done, she could be allowed to have this.

[the-awkward-outlaw]

Thank u for feeding us thus far 🙏 I have an offering (prompt) for you: Arthur trying to act all suave around oblivious reader but failing (think: trying to lean against a post but missing and just falling over instead) and she always rushes over to see if he's alright

Anon, your offering was delightful! Here’s my offering in return. 

Masterlist 

Read on AO3

You’re leaning against the tree at Clemens Point, watching as a troop of geese flies overhead. It’s nearly dusk and all the chores are done, meaning you have the rest of the night off. Little do you know that near the horses, Arthur’s leaning against another tree, smoking a cigarette. He’s been watching you for a little while. 

Arthur wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he’s had a crush on you for a while. Of course, everyone knows that he does. He isn’t exactly subtle, especially when he’s trying to be sneaky with his flirting. He’s done that with you too, but he doubts that you caught on, or that you wanted to reciprocate. 

Lenny walks up to him. “Hey, Arthur.” 

“Hey kid,” he says, throwing his cigarette down. Lenny looks to where Arthur’s eyes are. 

“Oh, so that’s what you’re doin’ over here. Thinkin’ of a new way to try and show her you’re sweet on her?” 

“I ain’t sweet on her.” 

“Right,” Lenny chuckles as he takes a horse treat out of his pocket. 

“I ain’t!” Arthur’s starting to feel irritated, which is unusual for him to do with Lenny. 

“Y’know,” Lenny says, feeding his horse. “I’m still real sad about Jenny. She was a cute gal. Wish I’d asked her out to dinner or somethin’ before that mess at Blackwater.” 

“What you talkin’ about, son?” Arthur looks at him, confused.

“I mean you should take your chances with her now. We don’t know what’s comin’, Arthur.” 

Arthur sighs and looks back at you, knowing Lenny’s right. He doesn’t want to stay in this place of wondering what could be. After giving a curt nod to Lenny, he walks over to where you are, trying to act like he’s not nervous. 

“Hey there,” he says just loudly enough for you to hear. You turn and give him a smile that makes his heart jump. 

“Hi Arthur. How are you?” 

“Oh doin’ just fine. Hey, listen,” he plants his back to the tree and crosses his arms. “I uh, was wonderin’. You… you ever…” He wants so badly to ask you out on a date, but he finds his courage wavering. It doesn’t help that your beautiful eyes are on him. “You ever try the catfish at the saloon in Rhodes?” 

He feels like a complete moron. He’s talking about fucking catfish, he might as well ask your thoughts on the weather! Luckily for him, you smile and shake your head. 

“No. Grimshaw’s been breathing down my neck so much, I’ve hardly had a chance to leave camp since we showed up.” 

“Well, why don’t we fix that? Listen, I know Pearson needs some supplies from town. Why don’t we go get a bite to eat and go to the store?” 

You grin and agree, feeling excited. Arthur Morgan, one of the best men you know, is asking you to accompany him. As he wanders over to Pearson’s wagon with you in tow, you have to remind yourself to stay calm, that this isn't a date. Why he approached you to go is a mystery, but you’re not about to ask questions. 

Arthur tells you to get Pearson’s list while he gets the horses ready on the wagon, so you head over to the cook and tell him where you’re going. Pearson doesn’t even have a list ready yet, which is weird. Arthur made it sound like Pearson was prepared for someone to do a run. Whatever. Sometimes Pearson can be quite scatterbrained. He pulls out a strip of paper and checks his wagon, looking at provision levels. After a few moments, he finally gives you a list. It isn’t very big. 

You shrug your shoulders and stuff it into your pocket, going over to the wagon where Arthur’s waiting. He decided, while you were with Pearson, he’d strike a pose that maybe you’d find sexy. Course he thinks he’s the furthest thing from sexy, but he’s bound to try. He’s got one hand on his hip, sticking it out to the side a bit and placing his other hand on the wagon. When he sees you walking over, he tries to put on a seductive smile. 

Unfortunately for him, right when your eyes land on him, the horses start to move for whatever reason. They only take a few steps, but it’s enough movement on the wagon and Arthur slips. He smacks his face on the wagon, but straightens up quickly, adjusting his hat. 

“Oh my God, Arthur, you okay?” You say. At least you’re not laughing. 

“Yeah, fine.” He clears his throat, feeling his face burn. “Uh, shall we go then?” 

He offers a hand and helps you up onto the wagon, climbing into the seat next to yours. After he’s flicked the reins to get the wagon moving, you feel tempted to grab his hand once again, but you don’t, once again reminding yourself this isn’t a date. 

Once in town, Arthur parks the wagon outside the store. He tells you to get the shopkeeper going on preparing your list and putting it into the wagon while he goes and secures a table and two dishes. 

You nod and head inside. After handing the shopkeeper your list, you go to the saloon and find Arthur just sitting down at a table, setting down two plates of catfish. You smile at him and take your seat. 

Over dinner, light talk is traded between the two of you. Arthur is different when he’s alone with you. Sure, he’s still the gruff outlaw you’ve come to admire, but he seems less blocked off than he does around the others. Arthur’s always been a private man, but he’s more willing to talk about more personal things with no one else around. 

Conversation comes so easily between you and Arthur that it’s over an hour since you sat down. It’s only when the waiter comes and gives Arthur his third beer that you suddenly remember the wagon with Pearson’s things in it. You tell Arthur that you should return to camp and he hurriedly agrees. 

Night has fallen properly at this point, but as you walk, Arthur’s hand bumps hard into yours. He clearly didn’t mean it as he quickly apologizes. 

“Just my dumb arms,” he says roughly, a slight pink to his cheeks again. 

You smile and respond by taking his hand in yours, forgetting the fact that this isn’t a date. “Here. Now you won’t have to worry about your dumb arms.” 

He chuckles and his hand relaxes in yours. When the two of you are settled back on the wagon, he takes your hand again. The entire ride home, he doesn’t let you go. 

Too soon the turn off to go into camp comes up and Arthur’s turning the wagon down the trail. You’re not ready to be in the company of others just yet. It seems Arthur feels the same as he stops the wagon suddenly. 

“Y/N, I… I wanted to ask ya somethin’. I know it’s kind of rushed and… hell, I don’t know if you even like me that way, but… I don’t know how many more tomorrows we have.” He squeezes your hand and looks down. His mouth opens and then closes before opening once again. He seems to be struggling to get words out. 

Taking pity, you slide your free hand over his cheek. Before you can stop yourself, you lean in and kiss him. His mouth is still slightly open and he doesn’t make a sound. After a second, you pull away. 

“Is that what you wanted to ask me, Arthur?” 

He smiles. “Somethin’ like that.” He leans in and kisses you yet again, but this time the kiss is deeper and more passionate. It’s perfect. 

*************************

A week has gone by and everyone knows about you and Arthur, despite you both trying to be quiet about it. Neither of you were denying being together, but you weren’t going around bragging about it either. However, word seemed to travel fast once it got out. 

It’s midday and it is miserably hot. The air is thick as soup, making things even worse. You haven’t felt properly dry in days. Arthur’s out fishing on the lake with Hosea, trying to catch tonight’s dinner. You’d tried to go with them but Grimshaw got all hot and bothered. For some reason, she felt it necessary for you to stay and work on the never-ending pile of laundry with the others. 

You and the others sit around, talking as you work. Karen and Tilly have been teasing you constantly about finally dating Arthur and that they won’t have to endure the sappy looks you throw his way when he’s not looking. 

“I think it’s cute,” Mary-Beth says. “He definitely seems happier since.” 

“How so?” you ask. 

“Well, I ain’t never seen our Arthur Morgan skip before,” Karen chuckles. 

“Seriously? He was skipping?” you say skeptically. 

“No, Karen’s joking. Though he definitely has more of a hop to his walk sometimes,” Tilly replies. “However, he’s been whistling a lot more. Now I know Arthur well enough to know that he only whistles when he’s real happy. He ain’t done that since you two got together.” 

You blush and smile, looking down at your hands. You had no idea you had that kind of effect on him. 

“Oh here he comes now!” Mary-Beth says, looking in the direction of the lake. “You should go say hi to him.” 

Grinning, you hop up and run over to the edge of the lake, waving to Arthur. As he’s busy rowing, he doesn’t return the gesture since he can’t see you. Hosea waves though and he bumps Arthur’s back. Perhaps he’s telling him you’re here waiting because Arthur twists his head around and grins broadly when he sees you. 

Little do you know how much you still get his heart pumping when you’re around. The novelty of being with you is still new enough that he still feels the need to show off how tough and strong he is sometimes. He feels the urge now, so when the water’s shallow enough to only go up to his mid-calf, he hops out to haul the boat up the shore. 

“Arthur, what the hell are you doing?” Hosea asks. 

“Nevermind, Hosea.” Arthur grins at you and continues pulling the boat. It works on impressing you, but he didn’t expect you to rush over to him and leap into his arms. His foot slips on a muddy rock and he falls backwards, the two of you plunging into the water. You let out a small shriek of fright as Arthur coughs a bit. 

You don’t see it, but Hosea rolls his eyes and gets out, hauling the boat all the way onto the shore and leaving you two alone to stagger back up onto your feet. You and Arthur take one look at each other, soaked to the skin, and break out in laughter. 

“Sorry, Arthur,” you say, gathering your hair up to wring it out.

“‘I’s nothin’, sweetheart.” He picks his hat out of the water and puts it back on before grabbing your hand and heading over to his wagon to change. 

“Guess I should go get changed,” you say, gesturing to your bedroll near Tilly’s. Arthur suddenly grabs your hand and pulls you right up against him. 

“Maybe later. You know, I have a different idea on what we could do while our clothes dry.” He kisses you hard, not caring that the others might be looking, and you suddenly know what he’s talking about. When he pulls away, you nod. Arthur grins and pulls you into his tent where he pulls the flaps shut. 

Your heart is pounding when he turns back to you, and it doesn’t stop anytime soon. Arthur makes love to you in a way that you’ve never experienced before. He brings you pleasure you’ve never experienced with a man before, and all you can think while he loves on you is that you will spend the rest of your life with him.

[darkmindsotome]

Risque Rouge pt15

Tagging: @umbralaperture​ @otome-smut-queen @silver-fox-of-azuchi @tsundere-mitsuhide @jennacat84

General warnings for the whole fic: Angst, some fluff, Mental health issues, emotional things, trauma, blood, death and possible triggers. Please read responsibly. 

Darkmindsotome Masterlist

---

Chapter 15

As plans went this had been perfect. It was an accident that could have happened at any time and in any part of the city. He was lucky to already know exactly where he could find a coach without its driver, all he needed was the perfect moment. Everything was arranged and it would have been considered simple bad luck that someone should be fatally crushed under the sheer force of the runaway horse dragging its carriage. It would have worked, should have worked.

Latour looked at the failure of what should have been a gloriously devastating demise. His eyes burned with hatred as he watched the female interact with the two men from his hiding place.

“Curses!” He hissed as his fist pounded the wall of the building before, he spun on his heel snarling as he walked away.

---

This had to be an out of the frying pan into the fire moment. Evie watched the two men in a silent standoff feeling completely useless. It was true she had run and she was scared. Yes, Comte had been part of the reason for that but he hadn’t hurt her. She did wonder about his approach when they were at the café but not once in all the times, they had been together, was he anything less than pleasant and kind.

Evie was more than aware he had every right to be upset with her right now. Acting the way she had must have truly hurt him. She saw the pained look in his eyes when she reflexively slapped his hand away. There was more there though, he had a melancholy look that was complete forgiveness. It was as if he would accept anything no matter how much it hurt him as long as it was what she wished. It hurt.

While her chest constricted in the grip of a coiling serpent intent on crushing her the man blocking her spoke.

“What sneaky games are you trying to play with this girl? Are you not entertained enough?” There was a tangible threat from the man shielding her from Comte. He was speaking without formality which could have meant he didn’t care to be polite to a potential menace but the fact Comte called him by name must mean they knew each other.

“I am not playing games, sneaky or otherwise. Genevieve is my charge and in my care.” Comte was smiling that same smile he had on his face when talking to Arthur.

“Then why was she so terrified of you just now?” Napoleon moved slightly and Evie had visions of this entire situation going bad fast. She didn’t know if Comte was aware of the look on his own face or if it was a miscalculation on his part because right now it was more taunting than intimidating. For all the mistakes made so far, she didn’t wish to have one result in a fight in front of her. She broke free of the human barrier, with pain lancing up her leg and placed herself between the two men.

“Please stop.”  She gave a quick glance to Comte over her shoulder before turning to Napoleon. “Thank you, Monsieur, you rescued me.”

To say Comte was stunned would have been a very accurate description right now. This woman really did seem to swing on a pendulum to the point where she was hard to predict. He thought he had scared her and she would not go anywhere near him so why was she standing as if to protect him now?

“I only did what anyone would do.” Napoleon seemed to be equally perplexed looking at the sudden change in the woman who was basically a trembling mess only minutes before. His green eyes looked behind her quizzically towards Comte who didn’t know what to say.

He had felt and still did feel terrible for how he handled everything back at the café. Hindsight has a way of making every situation seem like a bad move and he already was well aware even without the help of reflection that his approach was a terrible choice.

“No, you did more because you were the one to risk yourself on my foolishness.” Evie lowered her head the trembling in her body was still very likely to make a repeat appearance but right now she was determined to make sure nothing else happened. “What this man says is true. I am in his care, he is my sponsor. It was true I was careless and running but…”

“Evie.” Comte’s voice was quiet. His eyes fell on the back of her lowered head in awe.

She was hurt she had been scared and still suffering the aftermath of everything that had been said and done. He could feel it, he felt her swirling emotions as strongly as if they were his own, the pain in her taking grip on his own body. Still, she was trying to smooth over a situation that was nowhere near as drastic as she thought it was. A wry smile formed on his face and his expression softened as he watched her. She was stronger than she knew and so beautiful. Napoleon didn’t miss the subtle interaction and looked at the young woman in front of him as if he just remembered something.

“So, you are the Mademoiselle from the mansion?”

“You know me?” Evie looked up her emerald eyes finding his clear jade green ones.

There really was something about this man, it was different from Comte and also different when compared to the other soldier in the mansion. It was a quiet dominance that gave subliminal weight to anything he did, even standing still talking with him projected the idea you were talking to a born leader.

“Of you. Sebastian informed me of a new guest and said that they were a lady.” The air around Napoleon felt much friendlier as it seemed the misunderstanding from before had all but been forgotten. Evie looked back at Comte. He said he would tell the rest of the guests himself, not that she wanted to pry into why Sebastian had been the one to inform this man instead.

There was obviously a little tension between the two men, it wasn’t bad, but it was certainly one that came from a place of respect rather than blind trust. It was very hard to explain and she didn’t even understand how she could feel something so slight from people she had just met.

Uncle had always said she was very sensitive and observant but this was more, it was a feeling that she instinctively didn’t question. People talk about intuition but that had always seemed a little off to her. Even with a strong intuition it was easy to second guess and lose yourself. This was a profound sensation and it was strange because it felt a lot like being more than one person at once in her own body.

“Genevieve this is Napoleon, he is also a guest of mine.” Comte issued the late introduction after the conversation finally seemed to allow for it.

“Is there anyone in Paris who is not a guest of yours?” Evie’s question was out long before her good sense could talk her out of it. Her eyes went saucer round and she clamped her hand over her mouth. “Erm…”

By this point, Comte was used to her little outbursts. Whilst they still had a tendency to catch him off guard, he was inclined to look upon her fondly rather than feel the desire to chastise her. Besides judging by her reaction and the way she was currently looking she was giving herself a much harsher lecture than he could. While Comte and Evie were looking at each other a loud eruption of laughter burst forth from Napoleon.

“Pff -- Bwahaha!”

“I’m sorry.” Evie muttered her apology flinching when Comte placed a hand on her shoulder. Noticing her reaction, he retracted his hand. The brief touch of warmth he felt freezing over as he felt the penalty strike him as he feared it would if he hurt her. He tried to ignore the way that information sat like a steel weight in his chest. Convincing himself he should be content with simply watching her.

“No don’t be I – hahaha – I’m glad to see the shock didn’t do any damage to your body or conviction. Haha pardon. I like how honest you are.” Napoleon was struggling to stop himself from continuing his peel of laughter his shoulders were still shaking as he tried to stifle it and speak.

“If we are finished here, I think it would be best to return home.” Comte interjected which seemed to help Napoleon gather enough power to get his laughter under control.

“Home?” Evie asked curiously before taking an interest in the people around them. The gathering of onlookers was a little smaller but she was very aware that even if they had returned to their previous tasks they were still glancing in her direction.

Still, when Comte said home he meant the mansion and there was a feeling of chilling dread that filled her chest as she thought of that. Could she go back there and cheat what she feared most in her mind? Would she avoid being the source of someone else’s pain or would she fail and have another torment to add to her collection?

“Yes, we need to tend to that ankle of yours.” Comte drew a little closer, sensing of her rising anxiety.

He wanted to take her hand as he had always done but she recoiled at his touch and he did not wish to be an added source of her discomforts. He hoped that his words could be enough reassurance to her and she would choose to come back. He tried to ignore the selfish desire he had to be alone with her once more. He wanted to apologise properly and allow for dialogue to once more be open between them. He knew how detrimental the passage of time could be as it passed by removing the opportunity to speak freely. The only survivor of the situation being the air of extreme awkwardness that hung like a cloud.

“I don’t really…” Evie hesitated and winced again the pain in her ankle silencing her.

Napoleon hadn’t pushed for details and he was not stupid enough to get in the middle of a lover’s quarrel. He could see the concern in Comte’s eyes as he watched the young girl with black hair. He had seen similar looks in the eyes of men on the battlefield. It was a look of understanding your fate is in the hands of another and acceptance that their actions would define the world to come.

The woman was curious, it wasn’t that he was immune to her charms he felt them keenly drawing him in. It made him instinctively wish to help her. It was strange and he had felt something similar when he had experienced meeting Comte for the first time.  He took a certain level of pride in being a good judge of character and he found her to be interesting, honest and trustworthy.

“I’ll join you as well as I was on my way back anyway.” Napoleon spoke up in response to the idea of returning. He had been on his way back anyway so it was of little concern to him if he travelled alone or with companionship. If his presence meant that the young lady should feel more settled than if she were to travel with only le Comte for company then he considered it his duty to do at least that much.

“Did you not ride into town?” Comte enquired feeling a deflated sensation taking hold of him.

“Not today.” Napoleon didn’t seem to care or notice the shadows crossing the amber eyes of the pure blood Count. He did, however, slip his arm around the waist of the injured girl. He did it in such a way that it was completely natural, a silent declaration of the fact this is where it should be. Evie could not find the words to protest and found her weight naturally leaning on the strong arm around her as Napoleon guided her towards the carriages.

Comte knew it was to support her and help her. He knew it was a purely platonic motion and there was nothing meaningful about it. Logically he knew all this and still a dark whisper in his mind had him questioning every small glance and muscle twitch between the two now walking in front of him.

“Well isn’t that splendid?”

---

“So, it failed.” Amos sat mulling over the ill-fated news as he watched the foam dissolve on the head of beer in his glass.

“Yes. There was interference and the female found protection at the most inconvenient time.” Latour had appeared like a tempest and was working his anger out on a bowl of nuts crushing the shells in his bare hands, placing their contents to the side. He didn’t really like nuts, he didn’t really enjoy any human food anymore. It was all ash in his mouth.

Blood was all he craved to slate his thirst and fill his belly. Alcohol provided a change in pace, whilst providing natural cover from the passing observer. Cigarettes helped keep him busy, it was a throwback to his time as a human. Watching the curling smoke from the lit shredded tobacco, how it filled his lungs. It helped him focus, it helped him think and it blocked out some of the atrocious scents of the cattle around him.

“Not by the Reo’s doing?” Amos asked watching the bowl of mixed nuts grow empty. He was a little pleased that his disciple had learnt to vent his anger in a way that drew less attention to him. He remembered how troublesome it had been in previous years during training when he had been forced to keep a tight leash on him or risk exposure.

“No, it was another. One from the mansion although they are not part of the familia.” Latour reached a particularly stubborn walnut and after squeezing it towards its obliteration he finally seemed to relax.

“Did they suspect foul play?” Amos drank the dregs of his pint and scooped up a handful of the freshly shelled nuts on the table.

“No, My Lord” Latour confirmed what was possibly the only saving grace of the misadventure. Failure was not an option Latour knew it would spell the end of everything for him. His master had no use for tools that could not fulfil a task.

“Good, then there is still a chance we can approach the matter again.” Amos smiled the lamplight caught the very tip of his exposed fangs before he expertly moved his head playing it off as a trick of the light for anyone who might have seen it.

“What would you have me do?”

---

[anaisfinallywrites]

Day 1 - February 8th “Cupid”

"We should probably put them in a room together to sort their shit out," Scott said thoughtfully.

The whole room was so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Scott looked up to see everyone was looking at him.

"I can't believe you're mentioning this now after all this time. They haven't exactly been subtle since from the very start." Lydia looks decidedly unimpressed with Scott's observation.

"We didn't get along from the beginning, okay? There was a lot of bad blood with him and me, him being passive-aggressively helping while I'm stubborn as hell to not listen to his advice. I'm slow on the uptake, not dumb." Scott retorted defensively.

"Isn't that the reason why we're having this very secret meeting that neither the two of them are present for?" Allison spoke up, trying to defuse the tension. "You can try all you want, princess but Derek is an immovable wall when it comes to Stiles." Erica chirped with way more mischief in her eyes than was necessary.

Boyd sighed a long-suffering sigh. "You can't blame the guy, okay? We all know his track record with relationships."

"We know," everybody chimed in perfect unison.

"Um," a hand was raised tentatively from the tallest guy in the room. "Are we seriously trying to act as Cupid for Derek and Stiles?”

All eyes honed in on the golden-haired cherub looking, boy. "Yes, we are." The answer was unanimously bland.

"What are you going to do? Love potion?" Kira asked sceptically.

"Nope," Scott said with a grimace on his face. "Jennifer Blake. He'll just kill us when he gets his head screwed on straight."

Lydia knocked on the table with her knuckles. "We can't be subtle with the two of them. We need a steamroller to make them see it. Any romantic movie ideas?"

The silence was telling.

"Ugh."

↬

"What are you doing here, Braeden?" Derek greeted the woman carrying a duffel bag in front of his door.

"I thought you said I could save money and stay at your loft whenever," she replied with wide innocent eyes.

He sighed deeply and stepped aside to let her in. "I'm not playing whatever game you're playing."

"Good to know that you know there's a problem." She walked in like she owned the place, dropping her duffel bag at the side of the sofa and sat down gently. "Valentine's Day is like two weeks away."

"Will you be my Valentine's?" He asked sarcastically.

"I'm going to ask Laura," she said, entirely too gleeful.

Derek made a disgusted face as he closed the door.

"So, you still haven't resolved your problem," Braeden stated with exasperation.

"Do you remember that time I nearly sucked out his heart because I don't have one? Well, I do. Vividly so," Derek said darkly, still standing at the door.

"He doesn't blame you. You do know that, right?" She looked at him pointedly. His face darkened considerably. "I blame myself even if he doesn't."

"At least you acknowledge there's something between you two. What with your passive-aggressive baking and Peter's grouchy remarks about his idiot of a nephew." Braeden leaned back on the sofa and surveyed her surroundings like she didn't just make the most profound observation about Derek Hale, Grump Extraordinaire.

Well, it wasn't profound observation. Try as hard as he might, Derek can't completely mask his longing stares and outright staring when it comes to one Stiles Stilinski. And everybody knows except the said object of affection, which is ironic considering the boy was supposed to be as sharp as a bloodhound with a scent and he views information and secrets like the only thing that would sustain him.

"Any plans to ask him out?" Braeden riffled through her duffel.

Derek harrumphed as he made his way to the kitchen. Not that he could hide all that much, open floor plan and everything. 

"I'm thinking about something," he admitted hesitantly.

Braeden made a whooping sound right where she sat.

And Derek proceeds to regret every life decision he made so far.

↬

"You're not supposed to mope about my brother at the freaking kitchen he works in," Laura grouched as Stiles beat aggressively at the batter that's probably unusable by now.

"Who says I'm moping about your brother?" Stiles retorted half-heartedly and stopped beating the abused batter.

"Aliens from outer space would have been privy to your most private thoughts about my brother." She didn't look up from balancing the checkbook.

Stiles snorts. "Ugh, how do I get over this stupid crush? It's worse than before compared to Lydia..." he pouted morosely into the batter.

"You two are entirely hopeless when it comes to anything regarding feelings," Laura commented not unkindly.

"You're - How are you and Braeden?" Stiles changed tack mid-sentence.

"We're good. Better than good, even. I, for a fact, know that she's planning a grand gesture in the very distant future. You, on the other hand," she taps her pen on her bottom lip in thought. "Well, you'll grow old and die alone as long as you don't man up and make a move."

"Well, I'm kinda waiting for your thick-headed brother to make a move actually. The ball is in his court this time around, anyway." Stiles muttered unhappily. Laura made an over the top shocking gasping noise. "Why didn't I know about this? How could I not even have heard a peep of this?!"

"We are very private people," he said seriously. And really, he's not even joking.

↬

And so, the mad dash begins. The pack are conceiving plans to help their assumed oblivious friends while Derek and Stiles are respectively trying to work up the courage or work out a plan to... take the next step. So to speak. 

As one would expect, it leads to some... well, disastrous results.

↬

The bakery is in full rush hour at eleven o'clock in the morning, almost lunchtime for everyone but still early enough to buy brunch to curb the hunger. 

Derek is always working at the bakery, and so is Laura. The only person who doesn't help out is Peter, not that he couldn't cook or bake to save his life but more to the fact that no one wants to put up with the constant "chatter" that comes out of his mouth. The rest of the pack, which consists of Scott, Kira, Boyd, Isaac, Erica, Lydia, Danny, Jackson and Stiles, they work part-time or full-time at the bakery. Laura says it's good bonding time, but really, who was she trying to kid?

Lydia and Scott were trying their best to concoct a plan that would put the two (not so) stubborn idiots in a situation to make them talk to each other, whereas Derek has been trying to work up the courage to go up to Stiles and just be... blunt, he's never been anything but passive-aggressively straightforward, anyhow. Stiles, on the other hand, is trying to make himself available time-wise. So far, every single time Lydia and or Scott manages to corner them, aka giving them space or a controlled environment, Derek is very tempted to take the obvious help. But the rest of the pack is observing with shit-eating grins on their face and so he thought better of it. Laura was resolutely staying out of this gay chicken shit, as she so eloquently puts it, but secretly she's having popcorn with Braeden to see what happens next.

So much for a helpful big sister.

Stiles couldn't take it anymore. He sighed long and loud, stared determinedly at Derek's turned back and just strode towards him. 

The pack held their collective gasps as much as they could during the rush hour, simultaneously helping the customers and stealing glances at their quarry.

"Derek," Stiles said his name quietly. He didn't need to say it out loud because of two reasons. One, Derek had always focused on him whenever he's around, be it his heartbeat or his breathing, Derek is attuned to it. (Stiles would say the hyper fixation is super creepy if he wasn't so gone on the grumpy asshole of a wolf.) Two, he knows he's special to Derek. Stiles doesn't know what it is that makes him special yet, but he will soon enough.

Derek didn't turn around to look at him, still busy with packing the baked goods (?) but his body swayed in his direction for a split second with his head tilted. He's listening even if he pretends he doesn't care.

"Uh, so. Valentine's a few days away. Are we making headway or are we still dancing around it like it's a pit of vipers?" Stiles muttered, careful to make his words audible only to the intended recipient. Luck is, however, on his side because the rest of the wolves in the bakery are still newborn bitten wolves, even if it's been a few months since. Lack of desire for training does wonders for Stiles being sneaky.

Derek finally turned around to face him, eyebrows and lips scrunched in a way that Stiles has long since interpreted as the exasperated 'What the hell are you going on about?' look. He couldn't backpedal fast enough to save his tattered dignity. "I mean, okay then. We'll be friends forever then. There's nothing bad about it. Having you as a friend is better than not having you at all, so if we can just forget this ever happened-"

"Stiles." 

"Uh, yeah?" Stiles asked hesitantly.

"Can we meet in the preserve and continue this conversation? There are too many ears here." Derek pointedly did not look at any of the wolves that surround the bakery.

Stiles took a deep breath. "Uh yeah, sure. No problem."

"You better be there instead of letting your brain run wild with an idea that's most likely untrue," Derek pointed his patented glare at Stiles. "I will hunt you down." Stiles shivered at the threat. Nobody should make a threat sound sexy. Like, seriously. On the other hand, he can concede that he does have a tendency to let his insecurities and doubts get the better of him but, have you seen Lydia Martin and Derek Hale? Anybody's self-esteem would plunge down an abyss and Stiles has been here before, once burnt and twice shy and all that shit. Rejection hurts no matter the better outcome that you got out of it. Lydia Martin as the best friend and sister he never had but wished he did is awesome but Derek is different. Derek is so different that he's probably not on the same planet, in Stiles's honest opinion. 

Derek is still looking at him, the glare softened a little, eyebrows raised up saying 'Are we clear?'.

"Crystal." Stiles nodded like his head was a bobblehead. "I will be there and I assure you that you won't need to hunt me down to get to the bottom of this." His voice cracked embarrassingly at the word.

Derek smirked like a cat with cream.

"Shut up, asshole." Stiles gave his own glare as he turned around to make his way out of the bakery. He ignored the questioning looks from the pack.

Stiles hurried home. He has a possible date to get to. Or just plain ole revelation. Derek is taking a break at one in the afternoon. Stiles only has so much time to ponder how this will end because he's about to get his long-awaited resolution. A few months late, but better late than never.

[glitterybluemagic-blog]

Pranks

Inspired by 2x10 when Madzie flicked Alec away into an elevator. I know it’s a serious moment but like Alec was swooshed away like he weighed nothing, by Madzie, a lil girl who isn’t even half his height. It’s kinda hilarious. So then i started thinking about how she and Magnus would have so much fun playing tricks on him with their magic.

For @deatheater-hearmeroar, i’m sorry this took so long Mari, i’m not very good at coming up with pranks  😅

When Magnus and Alec adopted Madzie, they really didn’t expect her to be such handful. For someone so tiny and quiet, she was quite the prankster. Sure, all kids were but then again, Madzie was a pretty powerful warlock for her age. She was sneaky and smart too. It was all in good fun of course, she would never intentionally hurt anyone she cared about. However, having a papa who shared her mischievous trait, meant that Alec tends to be the victim of most of their pranks.

The first time they teamed up, it was unintentional. Magnus was coming home late that night so Alec picked up Madzie from Catarina’s. He was exhausted. He just spent the day training with new recruits and going on 3 missions with Jace, who seemed more determined than ever to put himself in harm’s way. Luckily for him, Madzie was due for some nap time anyway, so he fell asleep shirtless with the little warlock sprawled over his back. An hour later though, she woke up to the sound of creaking floorboards.

“Hey there sweet pea, did I wake you?” Magnus whispered.

Madzie shook her head while rubbing her eyes in response. After stretching out over Alec, she raised her arms to Magnus. Chuckling, he carried her out to the living room and magicked some markers and a colouring book. When she was settled and occupied, he left her to clean himself up. Now, every parent knows better than to leave a child alone with colouring materials. Next thing you know, there will be new artwork on the walls. Madzie had a better idea though. Her daddy was fast asleep and she had quite the array of markers. So she tip toed her way over to the bed and started doodling away on Alec’s pale back. She drew a bright yellow sun on his shoulders and a pond of fishes on his lower back. For some reason there was camel right in the middle of the picture and random doodles of popsicles and butterflies scattered everywhere else.

When Magnus got out of the shower, she immediately froze. Both their widened eyes met for a moment before Magnus put a finger over his lips. He quickly snapped away the markers and carried a giggling warlock out to the living room where they could laugh wholeheartedly. Alec woke up 10 minutes later completely unaware of the masterpiece on his back. Magnus and Madzie kept straight faces as he walked over to them and gave them each a kiss on the cheek. It wasn’t long until Alec started to notice their all too wide smiles.

“Why are you two so happy? What happened?” he asked.

“Nothing love, we’ve just had a colourful day, haven’t we little one?”

Madzie nodded enthusiastically before turning away to divert their attention to the television. Confused, Alec made his way over to them. In wasn’t until he got up to get some snacks did he catch a glimpse of his back in the mirror.

“Please tell me this isn’t permanent,” he said groaning.

The second time was intentional. The three of them were grocery shopping at a nearby market. Turns out Madzie loved the hustle and bustle of a busy market so every weekend, they would head to a different one to do some shopping. Magnus would carry her on his shoulders while Alec went around and picked up the items Madzie chose. It was fun for them, pretending to be mundane for a couple of hours. That didn’t stop Madzie and Magnus from having their own fun though.

The trick to doing magic in a mundane setting is to be discreet. The pair had been planning this one for a couple of days, deciding on when to begin, coming up with ideas and ruling out others. Exploding a pumpkin and conjuring faces and voices on tomatoes were ruled out of course. They didn’t want to draw attention from mundanes or create a mess. By Friday, they’ve come up with a couple of harmless yet amusing ideas.

The day started off normally. The three walked into the market hand in hand like they always did. Alec let Madzie choose a couple of her favourite fruits while Magnus sneaked in some veggies. By the time they got to the aisles, the two warlocks were ready to commence mission. Madzie was on Magnus’s shoulders, giving her a better view of the surroundings and Magnus could keep an eye on the mundanes nearby.

“Daddy, peanut butter! Behind you!” Madzie called out.

While he was turning, Madzie casted a spell on one of the jars. She watched as Alec tried to pick it up. It was stuck, the spell worked. Alec tried to pick it up again, with more strength. Still stuck. He turned to the other two only to see them picking out some biscuits further down the aisle. Then he tried picking up a different jar. It worked. What?

“Alexander, darling is everything alright?” Magnus questioned.

Still baffled, he turned away to place it in the basket beside him. Gone. He looked around only to find it by Magnus. Alec figured he probably took it with him but as he made his way back to them, he saw 5 other baskets around him. All with the same contents. No one else was in the same aisle. What?

The two masterminds tried stifling their laughter watching the shadowhunter looking so befuddled. Eventually Alec heard their snickering and put the pieces together. Alec narrowed his eyes at them.

“No ice-cream for either of you later,” he scowled.

The third time however, Madzie pranked both her parents. It was a quiet night in the loft. Madzie was playing with her dolls on the floor while her daddy and papa were playing chess. They were completely sucked in the game, neither one of them willing to lose, competitive as always. Madzie eyed them both for a minute and decided to climb up onto the sofa. They paid no attention to her. Smiling, she decided it was time to have a little fun.

She snapped her fingers once, causing thunder to roll. Another snap to give the illusion of the room darkening and the sound of rain pitter pattering against the windows. One last snap to blow a strong gust of wind into the loft. The sudden chill broke both Alec and Magnus concentration. Frantically, they got up and ran around the house to make sure all the windows were closed shut. This gave the little warlock just enough time to move a couple of pieces around. Just enough to let her papa win. She watched them play enough times to figure out how the game worked.

When the two returned, Madzie was already back on the floor playing with her dolls. She smiled sweetly at them as they made their way back to their seats. Then she started a silent count down. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3-

“You cheated!” Alec exclaimed.

“How Alexander? I got back the same time you did,” Magnus said, raising an eyebrow.

“You did the thing with your magic,” he said while trying to imitate Magnus’s movements.

“Please, love, I don’t need magic to win at chess,” Magnus scoffed

“Well, my knight wasn’t there when I left!”

At this point they both looked down at the board again. Alec was right, and some of Magnus’s pieces had been moved too. It was just subtle enough not to notice at first glance. They looked back up at each other, eyes meeting for a moment before it clicked.

“Madzie!”