#so people are surprised that Iron Man would get upset not because they don’t expect that he would get upset

[daydreamerdrew]

Iron Man (1968) #51

[lightlycareless]

https://x.com/momelaninmoprbz/status/1773161623181492493?s=46&t=UZRa0Ee4lbWClY0Sp5CX5Q

I saw this tweet and it made me wonder how Naoya would react to receiving one of those cryptic messages of love from his child especially as a first time father XD

HelloOooooo!!!!

Awww this was really cute to imagine, ngl; and I just had to go all crazy on it of course!! Though I don't think Naomi would come up with that on her own, she's too... sweet (for lack of a better word) when it comes to it. So I consider this to be the work of someone else.

Of all people that could be behind this unprecedented occurrence… Naoaki is the one that comes to mind.

I don’t know why, I guess it’s because he’s more prone to doing those blunt type of things. Speak without considering the consequences, or in fact, doing so with the intention of instigating Naoya through all means necessary.

Though Naohiko could be behind it too, but because it’s been so long since I’ve last written Naoaki, I’ll go with him 😊

warnings: none. domestic stuff. Naoaki is Naoya's brother, an oc that's been explored much more over here (PROCEED WITH CAUTION). You and Naoya have an adorable baby girl named Naomi. Naoya is a redeemed man do not fight me on this :) hahahah

Happy reading!!

All this would start on the rare occasion Naomi was left alone with them, whether because her parents were too busy working, or perhaps (though highly unlikely) you asked them to take care of her or something. Who knows, it simply happened.

And the thing is, it’s probably their first time genuinely interacting. Thus, he doesn’t know how to approach her. He doesn’t know what to expect, what to say, nothing. Naoaki’s just—there, standing awkwardly as Naomi distracts herself with whatever toys she brought along.

Naomi doesn’t do much to talk to him either, she’s only bubbly and talkative once she gets comfortable, gets to know them better; which is kind of ironic considering he’s her uncles but… well, you know, he’s not really around that much. And Naoya doesn’t want him to either.

However, it would be one of Naomi’s unprecedented comments that would finally break the ice between the two, much to the other’s amusement.

“I don’t have green! Flowers need green!” She says, pouting as she turns over her box of crayons, letting them all fall onto the wooden floor. Naomi stares at them intently, as if hoping a green colored one would magically appear, only to sulk even more when it doesn’t. “Hmmmmm…!”

“Why don’t you use another color?” Naoaki asks. “No one says you have to follow the rules.”

“…But it’s going to look weird…” she whines.

“And?” He raises an eyebrow.

Naomi remains quiet, never having gone beyond the first complaint for her parents were always ready to satiate whatever need she had—a spoiled trait, that much Naoaki could assess, as expect of a child of Naoya.

But this was plain ridiculous, could she really not live without a crayon?

“What are you going to do, then? Ask papa to get you the color?” He teases, a tone that Naomi understands as anything but playful, subsequently frowning and refusing to respond.

After a few seconds of silence, Naoaki dejectedly sighs.

“No need to be upset over a silly joke.”

“Papa said I should stay away from you.” Naomi reveals, returning to her coloring book.

“Huh? When did he say that??”

“A long time ago.” She adds. “Because papa thinks you’re weird and mean.”

“Weird? Me?” Naoaki echoes, slightly offended by the accusations. Maybe because they’re true. “Isn’t your papa the one that kidnapped your mama from her parents?”

“Kidna—kinna—” Naomi tries to repeat, frowning as the words seem to struggle on her tongue, eventually giving up. “I don’t know what that is.”

“Of course you don’t, your parents pamper you too much. I’m surprised you even know how to talk.”

“Don’t talk weird!” she cries. “I don’t understand!”

“Ever been called spoiled? A brat? Ungrateful?”

“I don’t like you.” Naomi frowns, and that is quite a shocking declaration to make for your lovely daughter liked everyone!

Well, Naoaki just had that effect on people. Her young niece was to be no different.

“I’m just being honest, Naomi. Your papa isn’t always going to be there to protect you—You gotta learn how to deal with problems, do it yourself.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s going to die one day, is what I mean. Mama too, and you’ll be all alone then, with no one to help you.”

“N—No…” Naomi frets, naturally horrified at the idea. “Mama promised I would never be alone! And papa said he would never allow it either…”

“I mean, it happens to everyone, even you are going to die when the time is right.”

“I don’t wanna die…” Naomi pouts. “How can I not die??”

Naoaki shrugs. “I dunno, tell me when you find out.”

Naomi pouts, looking down at her coloring book in such a discouraging way that for the briefest, smallest of moments, Naoaki grows guilty for having mocked her with something borderline cruel, more so at her young age.

This little girl hadn’t done anything to him, to make matters worse. She was just there, complaining that she didn’t have a certain color, and that was it.

But no, he just had to do what he always did because, well, it’s in his DNA. Kind of hard to explain that.

Yet…

He’s never going to admit he was doing this for Naoya because it was not. If Naoaki could maintain distance from his brother, great!

Instead, he’ll confess that the only reason why he backtracked his words was because she was your daughter, one of the few people he still tolerated…

And because Naomi was kind of entertaining to watch (and tease), thus…

“Be sure to make the most of your time when they’re still around.” Naoaki advises, hoping this would make up for the things he said. “Don’t take your parents for granted, I guess.”

“… I always do! Mama says she likes being with me and papa too! They always take me to places I wanna go and buy me the toys I want.” Naomi happily recounts. Naoaki is amused by how quickly she seemed to move on from her misery. “I love them very very much and they love me!”

“Don’t tell me that.” Naoaki grimaces. “Go along, bother them not me before they die or something.”

“Stop saying that! I don’t like it!” Naomi huffed.

“Why? It’s just the truth.” He snickers, guess he’s not completely over his ways. “Oh, and promise me you won’t tell your parents I said this; unless you want me to get in trouble, ok?”

Naomi intensely stares at him for a few seconds, as if considering his words, before curtly nodding, assurance that she’ll keep her word and subsequently heading onto her papa’s office, where she’d find him burdened with mountains and mountains of paperwork.

Upon hearing the door slide open, Naoya was more than prepared to lash out onto whoever dared distract him… only for his face to brighten, life returning to him at the sight of his little angle making her way over to his desk—his adorable savior of sorts there to pluck him out of his seemingly endless work.

“My angel!” He gushes while picking her up in his arms, pressing kisses all over her cheeks and making her giggle. “Ah, are you here to save me from work?”

“No.” she declares bluntly.

“Oh, ok.” Naoya laughs, surprised by her antics—swooning when she instead grabs her face and places a kiss on his cheek, followed by a soft hug and a sigh. “I just want to say I will always love you even when you die.”

“As I will—wait, what?!” Naoya shrieks, frightening poor Naomi into staring at him wide-eyed “Where did you get that from?!”

“Naoaki.” Naomi confesses. “But he said to not tell anyone or he’ll get in trouble.”

His eye twitches, because of course who else could be the author of this outrageous influence. Naoya is thankful that Naomi took your words at heart when stating there were no such things as secrets—and it ought to remain that way! —but at the same time, he also realized the underestimation he’d placed upon his siblings.

Indeed, there was nothing they could be trusted with. Not even taking care of their only niece!

Thus, matters needed to be taken into his own hands, and quickly. So, as soon as he was free, he brought up the subject to you, hoping to come up with a solution—

Which you did not entertain, opting to confront Naoaki directly.

“Hey, Y/N—it’s been a while, how have you—”

“Naoaki, we need to talk, now.” You demanded, and your tone is all he needed to hear to immediately know what this was about; inwardly cursing his naivety when believing Naomi wouldn’t go running to tell you or Naoya, as well as the personal hell he’s worsened by his own actions, acknowledging he not only had his brothers to deal with, but their children too.

He really needs to get out of here, if he survives you, that is.

TLDR: Naoya doesn't like it 🤣🤣🤣 he thinks she's too young to be even saying those things!! And I mean, I get it; she's nothing but cute, so to hear her say that... OOF. Though she understands what death is, probably had a horrible experience with one of her favorite cats u.u

Also, Naoaki messed with the wrong family :) He'll learn never to intervene now hahahahah I love the idea of him growing to fear Y/N after enough provocations, I even dare to say that he hates Naoya but fears you lol.

Anyways, I hope you liked this little drabble I wrote!! I will always enjoy writing domestic stuff between our favorite couple and daughter, so keep them coming!!!! 🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ (Also, is this Naomi's first interaction with Naoaki?? It seems so!!! poor baby, this will probably be the first and last time they talk lol)

Take care, and hope to see you soon ❤️❤️❤️

[crystal-cliffs]

Why Tartacchino is my OTP

A semi-long commentary on my favorite genshin impact ship because I want to talk about them so badly. Also this isn’t me pulling up evidence, this is 99% anecdote on why this ship is a huge comfort for me despite a lot of knee jerk reactions I’ve gotten when trying to explain it. So I’ve collected it all into a post that is 100% an excuse to ramble. Don’t expect coherency that ship sailed a long time ago and I’m only serious for about a minute or too.

If I had to give a song with their vibe it would be Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives so everyone should check it out if you’re already reading this.

This isn’t me trying to convince anyone to ship it either, though if I did I’d be surprised tbh. Just want something on the forefront that serves as a “this is what you’re getting into” vibe yk?

Why?

Because it’s fun… I like exploring ships that seem complicated and maybe wouldn’t even work out long term because it makes me think about the nature of human relationships. Whilst I have other arlecchino ships, thinking x Furina, x Xianyun, x Signora etc etc, I don’t… think about them the same way. Like they’re mostly fluffy to me and sweet and uncomplicated despite the fact that the reoccurring character that is Arlecchino would seemingly make it more interesting.

And yet it doesn’t for me, because I assume by default Arlecchino would treat these ladies like royalty and thus it’s settled.

With Tartaglia I don’t immediately assume that simply because the first question I ask myself is… why would Arlecchino even date a man? But when I stopped viewing these characters under such a strict guideline based on fandom interpretations of their sexual orientations, I came away with a different question. What would it take for these two to view each other in a light beyond mildly friendly?

And then I spiraled from there.

Sometimes I feel like shipping culture is so rigid that I fall victim to that, and don’t allow myself the ability to explore potential dynamics that usually wouldn’t be given a second glance. Tartacchino being one of them. The concept of them dating seems so impossible at times and to other people but I think that’s why it’s fun.

Alright Ramble Time but Serious-ish

I think sometimes we as humans forget the complexity of human relationships and we seperate them into these categories that simply don’t encompass the entirety of the human experience.

One common occurrence I’ve realized is how people look at relationships. You see two people who are dating and you personally believe that they aren’t good together and hey, they’ll probably break up in the next couple months. (This isn’t about toxic or abusive relationships, let’s not make it about those)

When the truth is, you only know half of the story. You don’t know what the two of these hypothetical people are like when they’re alone with each other and you probably never will because your presence directly affects these people’s behavior.

Tying this into Tartacchino, that’s the vibe the relationships always given me. Two people who seem incompatible to everyone around them, people who probably wouldn’t make it past a couple months before realizing the whole relationship was a mistake.

But they make it work.

I like exploring the complexity of human relationships and this ship allows me to do so somewhat. Imagining how they navigate an experience that even they themselves aren’t sure makes sense to them for whatever reasons I can conjure up. Sometimes it’s sexuality, sometimes it’s beliefs, personalities clashing, trauma and the inability to let yourself get too close, whatever.

Ramble time part 2: But not so serious

Actually, on the note of sexuality, the existence of a fandom consensus on a characters sexuality doesn’t make it canon. I’ve had multiple experiences where people have gotten upset at the prospect of me shipping a character that is headcanoned as a lesbian with a guy, some to the point of calling me lesbophobic which is ironic since I am a lesbian, that’s why I do this. As a lesbian I’m actually allowed to do whatever I want❗️/lh

…

So like… the post didn’t save when I wrote this part so now I gotta be even less coherent than I probably was.

Their relationship is very not heterosexual. They break the gender roles and stereotypes by being alive, their queerness happened the second they started living on the same plane of existence.

I just like to make all of the harbingers gender and sexuality fucked though, they experience gender fuckery and sexuality fuckery and who am I to interfere.

Like Tartaglia is a girl, a boy girl, a girlboy, I dunno it’s beyond our capabilities as humans without inter-dimensional parasites leaching off our life force.

Arlecchino is… let’s not get into that, he’s whatever you think he is frankly. She likes the speculation be so fr, she would.

Inherently queer, idk what else you want from me lol. Uhh they don’t kiss I feel like I should specify that, that’s to soft for them frankly. If they did kiss properly it would be bloody and painful and full of emotions neither of them would be willing to say out loud because they’re probably hateful lol I dunno. But they also do kiss each other, just not properly because for some reason that’s too intimate.

Their intimacy is sparring violently and then patching each other up because the passion is shown through how much blood is shed yk? Idk Tartaglia’s love language is violence so… why not❗️

Damn idk what I’m talking about tbh… I got less serious and realized I really don’t know how to explain my love and reasoning for this ship since there is no actual concrete reason, get bamboozled or something. I just like seeing girlboys and boygirl’s bloody, that’s all, it’s not a crime. That’s what the horror genre is for after all. Uhhh

They are not husband and wife nor girlfriend and boyfriend, they are that secret third thing. (Tho if they were we both know who the husband is and who the wife is)

We could get even more basic, golden retriever with rabies x wolf dog that knows basic human commands. They are not Goldie and black cat that’s wrong because arlecchino has wolf energy, dog energy, they both do, it’s just one is a little more intimidating than the other.

Just realized they’re hydro x pyro

Yeah there’s no argument, love Fire and Water, both equally dangerous in their own right, and they both live in a perpetual cycle of being capable of destroying each other and being used to destroy each other. There’s no point to this i just like Fire and Water.

Hoyoverse make them talk again they were so silly.

I think that’s it…

Yeah❗️

If you don’t like this ship idc, just don’t make it my business. Talk to me about one of the other 500 arlecchino or tartaglia ships instead or something, I still like a lot of those this is just my favorite.

And just to top it all off

We all saw wife right?

Right.

[grapecaseschoices]

unasked for otp answers

I’m bored so im just going to do this for my twc ships. I might do it for my other ships too, i don’t know. I don’t feel like writing but i want to talk about my blorbos.

Who would end a heated argument by defending their actions with ‘because I love you!’ ?

 Valdam: Neither of them. If it had to be one, it would probably be Val. It would be semi-intentional or not at all, and it would be entirely desperate. For all that Adam is like ‘tu omina’ and ‘do it for me’ I don’t think they would use an ILU in that moment …

Kate: Nate! AND Kendis would learn him good. He would NEVER PULL that shit again. 

Nai: Nat. Kai would tolerate it better than Kendis would

Feirre: Pierre. It would probably be more a whispered statement, like a confession and an apology. IF he ever did this. I won’t put him as a hard no, because while it’s not fully his vibe, he is his mother’s child.

Mandy: Andy. lmao. And he would deserve Mason punching him (only because he would say it in such an infuriating manner to deflect, lmao). 

Clown Romance: Ava is the only person who would tolerate this from Nathaniel. Because Alexis would’ve already left and Kendis would be too busy giving him the finger. But Ava would pull an uno reverse with a ‘do it for me’ or ‘I’m doing this for you’ and NATHANIEL WILL LEARN FINALLY HOW IT FEELS. 

Which one is more protective? Who needs to be ‘protected’?

This might be a bit of a cop out but all of them need to be protected, and all of them would protect the other, in different ways. Even Misters ‘this is just casual fucking’ Andy & Mason. 

Describe their cozy night in.

Mandy: Sex. Eventually it’ll just be them being quiet old men, lmao. The activity will matter less than the fact that they’re doing it together, silence. Adult parallel play. I can see Andy taking up reading to Mason

Tareq x Ava: Watching soap operas and board games. 

Clown Romance: I could see Kendis cooking, Nate cleaning up, Ava and Alexis setting up. Alexis picks the music or the entertainment. Dinner and a movie brought home. Maybe a trivia night? Three fourths of that polyam is heckin competitive. 

Would they build a pillow fort together just because?

Feirre: Yes. Felix wouldn’t even have to ask that hard because Pierre would be so soft over how excited Felix is at the prospect (and it wont cause destruction soooooo). But Felix might regret it, because Pierre would get pedantic about measurements. It’s cool though, because Felix will be able to distract him and tease him. And sunshine man would win again.

Clown Romance: Yes. Even Alexis and Ava. Why? Because Kendis said so. 

Do either try to hide their emotions if upset? Can the other still tell?

Kelendis: Yes. Yes. *hums ‘lucky i’m in love with my best friend* 

Who’s the bigger tease?

Tareq & Ava: Tareq.

Feirre: Felix, but Pierre gives a good run.

All my N ships (why do I of all people have three N ships???) it’s Nat/e except for Clown Romance where my money is on Alexis. 

Valdam: Adam, haha. LMAO. 

How do their personalities compliment each other? How do they clash?

Valdam: They’re both pessimistic, lol. They’re both pragmatic and logical (surprisingly I know, in Val’s case) individuals. It is hard to describe it – but it isn’t so much they expect the worse, though they can, as they’re not fully surprised about the darker or more selfish aspects of others or the world. It’s a sorta ‘okay …’ / almost take it as it comes attitude. I’ve always said Adam’s acceptance of Val’s more “mercenary” side is what really has them working. They’re both very prone to justice and that drives them. Val is more duty-bound than they give themselves credit. I think Adam would encourage them not to approach it ironically but I think Val would bring back a zest to it for Adam, that sort of focus on the little guy and less what the agency-wills. They’re also both lonely and broken creatures, lmao. Though they have their teams, thankfully. 

They are both stubborn. Val is impulsive, prone to childishness, and can lash out emotionally while Adam overthinks, is highly serious, and draws inward. They both strive to ‘annoy’, in a sense, when upset or … annoyed themselves. Adam being condescending, Val being a brat/raccoon. 

Kate: They’re both very determined and optimistic. They’re the supportive type, the shoulder, the one that encourages. They take their responsibilities seriously and are hard-workers. They’re both homemakers. That said, Nate is infinitely more driven by his heart than Kendis is by hers – she’s big-hearted but she’s more wary about things than he is. So, he’d definitely encourage her to open up but she’d pull him back from getting his bleeding heart chopped up. They both love fancy and spending, but Kendis can balance a checkbook and is thrifty. So Nate would learn. 

Kendis is infinitely more stubborn than Nate. He’s also more romantic, in general but specifically in terms of what they’re both looking for at the moment. Kendis has a temper and a mouth on them, and I feel that would cause trouble if the game was darker. 

Do they always say 'i love you' before leaving?

Tareq & Ava: Tareq, obviously. 

Feirre: Felix, but Pierre catches onto the habit too. Maybe not as much as Felix, but he expresses it in other ways. 

Can they stay up all night just talking?

Kelendis: I’ll say yes. But more Kendis with the chats.

Feirre: Yep. 

Who's more likely to pull the other in by the waist and kiss them passionately?

Nai: Nat. But Kai DOES have his moments.

Tareq & Ava: Tareq. 

How likely are they to have fur babies? How many and what kind?

Feirre: Yes. I think Felix convinces Pierre when he sees how the cats in the building love him, so they get one cat. Ends up loving Felix more, but Pierre doeesn’t mind. 

Clown Romance: So many. Any kind Kendis can get their hands on. Once in their original ‘verse they adopted an extinct lizard (brought back to life by magic) and brought home a creepypasta deer and everyone had to be like YOU CAN’T KEEP IT KENDIS, and they were like I KNOW. but …. Did they? Did they really know?

Choose one song that perfectly describes their relationship.

Nai:  The More I See You by Nat King Cole

Feirre: Maybe not 100% but 90% Someone To You by BANNERS

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Ok so I forgot to put a checkmark on this note so delete this if I’m repeating….

No fr the shaggy gold would’ve been fine….what in the bungo stray dogs haircut….

SHSHSH IF YOURE REFERRING TO RECENT CH W MEGUMI ETC THEN YES I SAW!!! Lowk kinda crazy only three more chapters who else will they bring back….i wasn’t expecting so many survivors atp though honestly

Im crying he would totally proclaim himself to be “big bro ollie” SHSHVSHS and then you have snuffy looking from afar with a mix of “wtf is going on” and “ah young love” LMFAOO

Trueee ok but I can’t get over this “midfielder oat” LMFAOO i first thought of a bowl of oatmeal but forgive me I cannot decipher what this means my only other guess was goat…but fr too many extremist fans only the ones on the two ends of the spectrum…

Honestly that’s such a hiori move….bro doesn’t understand how to express his feelings properly due to obvious reasons so he just builds a whole ass house

Manifesting Karasu beats the player allegations….please clear his name….

That emoji is so sae LMAOO I’m just thinking about all the chaotic possibilities I didn’t realize aiku had so much potential LOL

HSJSHS dw we make up for it as much as possible….just gotta stock up on some hair wax and be like “style your hair like this or we’re over also you should get a beauty mark under your eye”

OOPS LMAOOO I think your random thoughts are funny though so if they don’t enjoy they’re mixing out LOLL but OOOOH BIRD THEME wait that’d be so on brand….bird theme….but yes a thought for later LOL

- Karasu anon

LMAOO no worries i did get your ask earlier but last night was a little crazy for me…long story short i returned to the party scene for the first time in a WHILE and in the span of a few hours my best friend got cussed out by a guy on coke, a man downloaded linkedin for me because drunk mira wanted to build he professional network (??) and then slid into my linkedin dms trying to date, a DIFFERENT guy who we literally met on the street after the coke guy kicked us out of the party we were at flirted w me for like half an hour on the side of the road while my friends talked to his friends and then he asked me to dinner (i told him i was too drunk to answer properly but actually i just thought he was unattractive and didn’t want to be mean 💔), AND THEN to make things worse i woke up today with an awful hangover and migraine 😭 threw up so hard i burnt my throat and sounded like a chain smoker for a solid hour it was horrible 😰 truly a night where bfb karasu was needed but alas…here we are…i’m finally able to look at my phone without my migraine flaring up though so i will answer you now 🫡

PLSSS NOT BSD i’ve never watched it but one of my mutuals (ironically the one who got me to watch bllk) loves it!! lowkey from what i’ve seen of her posts though yeah kaiser would fit right in 😭

no literally like i’m surprised at how lenient gege was honestly!! i will reserve my opinions until the last three chapters are out ig though KFJDKS i wonder how he’s going to wrap everything up though…

snuffy is so lost but he’s like “if it makes the kids happy 😄” so he’s supportive…omg but imagine snuffy as the final wingman boss??? after aiku gets every single ubers member (except maybe niko) a girlfriend he’s all satisfied and smug but still single himself and then SNUFFY of all people finds him a girl who he actually settles down for (at first because he’s scared of making snuffy upset but then it’s just because he genuinely falls in love with her)

LMAOO oat is just of all time kinda like goat is greatest of all time 😭 but yeah i just meant that hiori obv isn’t competing w sae and charles yet but he’s def not a horrible player either the way some people make him out to be…NO FR like why confess when he can just build a house and wait?? you KNOWWW karasu and otoya are like what the fuck when they find out that’s his strategy 😓 meanwhile rin is like yo that’s fire let me steal that HAHAHA

FREE KARASU FROM THE PLAYER ALLEGATIONS at best he’s that one rlly hot guy in the nerdy classes that the three girls also in the subject are in love with because he’s smart plus handsome plus respectful?? but he def wouldn’t be aware of it

no because it feels like my third eye has been opened like wow wingman aiku i was unfamiliar with your game!! there’s def many directions that i could go with it so as long as i’m still interested by the time i finish my reqs i’m def writing the series

FBSKDNSJSB random thoughts + irl lore + occasional writing is basically my blog tbh i love oversharing on here because nobody knows me irl so i can say wtvr i want 😭 very freeing…and yes a bird or flower theme would be rlly cool considering those are very miraverse ™️ concepts but we will see when we get there!!

[cinnamonest]

Yandere Profile - Link (Legend of Zelda)

ABSOLUTELY YES. MY BOY. LOVE OF MY LIFE.

As some of you may know, today is the release date of Skyward Sword HD for Switch!! So I decided to release this one now in honor of that :3

NOTES:

I went towards the idea of a Princess!reader because that just opens the gate for sooooo much potential. I'm leaning heavily towards the ZeLink interactions in BoTW and Skyward Sword just because those games have the most interaction between the two.

Also! This is great bc it gives me the opportunity to explore an idea I've actually had a long time! I've always thought about how many opportunities there have been across the games for Link and Zelda to be kinda like "haha well seeya later" and just... bolt, run away from everything, abandon their roles and responsibilities and all that. Like, if OoT kid Link got her before Ganon did and ran, if SS Link just decided to get her on the bird and bolt before everything went down, if botw Link was just like haha what if we ran away from everything together... jk... unless...?

And final note, Link is a great pick for the very traditional yandere -- sweet and : ) but can snap into darker personas. I really liked writing this bc I tend to have more self centered yans and less of the "worships the ground you walk on" type of yans like I think Link would be, so it's a nice change.

As usual now the nsfw section is divided by a ---- line.

TWs: fem reader, heavily implied Zelda!reader, stalking, murder, very brief mentions of gore/dismemberment of rivals, manipulation, very brief suicide mention, themes of reincarnation (I’ve been told this can be triggering to some people so just in case)

TWs (nsfw section): noncon, somnophilia

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

Severity Scale

Intelligence/Perceptiveness: 4 Brutality: 8.5 Physical capability: 8 Mental/emotional instability: 7 Restrictiveness: 6 Sexual sadism: 5 Stubbornness: 8

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

The primary trait of Link that any darling -- any person, really -- would notice is that he is, well, quiet. He has always been a man of few words, and really, he often doesn't know exactly what to say. On his own, at a first glance, he really does seem like a gentle, humble spirit, someone who blends into the background pretty well, who isn't particularly prideful or reckless or aggressive.

Which is why, to be honest, he might sort of evade the gaze of most people -- he doesn't stand out. You remember him as the boy that smiled at you now and then, it's a soft, gentle sort of smile, one that you feel conveys nothing but the utmost innocence and contentment with the world. You know he's pretty good at fighting, but doesn't get into fights needlessly, he's accomplished and respected, but has never been the guy everyone is talking about -- he's in the background, against the wall. Never speaking, always looking out, sometimes at the sky, sometimes carefully watching people. Sometimes you see him, gaze blank and tranquil, and wonder what he's thinking about. Whether he's the village boy in the time of Twilight, the trained and honored warrior that slept for many years, the boy that came down from the sky -- you can't help but feel at ease around him, safe, you can't help but find him endearing and pleasant.

Yet, you always seem to notice him. Other people... forget he exists, sometimes, he's so quiet. You never do, for whatever reason.

When he needs to get something across, he prefers to express himself through actions, not words. If you lived in Skyloft, or Ordon village, you might find problems mysteriously solved, work suddenly done that you don't remember doing. That fencepost outside your home that broke has been replaced overnight. A village child went missing and he comes back a few hours later with them in tow. Always humble, never demanding or expecting thanks, he tells you in his quiet voice that he's happy to help you.

And should you ever ask him for anything, he'll drop whatever he's doing to help. Anything for you, he says with a smile, which makes you feel a bit guilty when, honestly, you're not even sure you're remembering his name right.

And yet, sometimes, you feel so at ease around him it seems unnatural. He seems so easy to trust. You feel like you've known him forever. And sometimes you feel... for just a split second, less at ease. You find yourself randomly stiffening at his calm, sweet voice. You find yourself looking around when you're alone, as if you feel someone is there, and for some reason, his face flashes through your mind. Sometimes when he looks at you, you feel sort of cold. It's almost like invoking a memory you don't have, like some kind of learned instinct you can't recall a reason for. But those moments are fleeting, they come and go before you can even process them, replaced by warmth and comfort.

If you do spend time with him, if you find yourself gazing out your window when he's training, the next thing you notice besides him being quiet and sweet is that he's strong. It's almost ironic, how all the other knights or village boys are so aggressive and rowdy all the time, many of them taller or bulkier, and yet, none of them could ever dream of defeating Link. Not one can match his agility, speed, prowess. Such a pleasant, calm person, with so much skill, strength, and power, but that power is so rarely seen exerted. People marvel at his talent, they say it's as if he has the experience of lifetimes and lifetimes of battle in his blood.

And it's why you feel at ease when he's assigned the task of guarding you. His capabilities are unmatched, and yet you'd never fear any harm to you from him. Both of those traits put together make him the best candidate to protect you.

Of course, you do find yourself doing most of the talking. Sometimes you find yourself rambling to fill the silence, and you fear you're annoying him, but when you stop he raises an eyebrow and asks why you got so quiet. Did he do something wrong? He seems to worry about that a lot -- has he done something bad? Has he made you upset? Are you mad? At first you think he's worried about his position security, but after a while you realize he genuinely worries about it.

And when you do continue your ramblings, you're surprised to find he remembers your words -- every little thing you say. Things you don't even remember telling him. He asks you about that relative you mentioned one time, his eyes light up and he walks a bit to the side because look, it's your favorite flower over there, he'll get it for you. It's impressive, really, how he manages to remember such things. He must take his job very seriously.

He does enjoy giving you such things -- he loves giving you gifts. It's usually things he finds, wholesome little things -- makes a crown out of the flowers you like so much, finds something interesting here or there, while he was off-duty he saw something in the markets he thought you'd like and got it for you. You almost feel guilty, it's so constant that he's giving you things.

Sometimes you ask him about himself, you realize he knows so much about you and you so little about him. He blushes, he rubs the back of his head, he insists there's nothing interesting about him, he wouldn't waste your time like that. It takes time to get him out of his shell, but eventually, he tells you this or that, little stories from his life.

Sometimes you take long walks, you like to get out of the stuffy walls and have fun outside, he accompanies you across Hyrule. Sometimes it feels familiar, you pass places you've never been that give you a feeling of nostalgia, deja vu, a sense that you've been here before.

He’s protectiveness incarnated. Insanely so. He can spring to his feet at a moment's notice and deals with anything that comes for you before they can even get close.

It makes you feel safe, but there's something else there. It's a ferocity that is so contrasting to his normal self, different even from the times you've seen him fight as he trains. It's a glint in the eyes, an aggression in his expression, that almost makes him seem like a different person. And it lingers for a moment, once the creature is dead and his sword hand falls to his side, he turns and glances at you to his side, a hand raised to wipe the blood off his face, and for that lingering second, it's still there, his blank expression and wide eyes -- a ferocity so intense it starts to look like bloodlust, chaos, destruction. And then, it's as if you imagined it. Smiling and telling you it's gone now, you're ok. You're glad he's so truly devoted.

In fact, he's so dedicated to his job that he starts... doing it... outside of his job hours...? Well, today he was given the day off, and you were told to stay inside because you didn't have to go out. He comes knocking on your door, says not to be startled if you hear someone outside your door move or shift or anything, but he just wanted to let you know in case. He'll be right here. Keeping watch. So don't worry. You're safe.

And likewise, he was supposed to have a day off when you were supposed to enter the town. You were assigned two other guards to watch you, since it's a special trip, so you're surprised to find just Link waiting for you. He took care of it, he says, he didn't feel right leaving your safety up to someone else, he doesn't trust them. So they agreed to let him take over for today.

All of this said, he doesn't have to grow alongside you, he doesn't have to be the childhood friend, the knight who guards you. He doesn't even have to have met you. Fate works in odd ways like that. There's a sort of inexplicable instant attachment he takes to you, almost as though it's some kind of destined, divinely inspired sort of thing. He would describe it as saying you feel familiar to him.

He's also, notably, prone to a more traditional trope of what you might call humility whiplash. For the most part, he's got that overly humble, worshipping, "I don't deserve to even stand in your presence" sort of mentality. However, although it's rare and requires a lot of wearing down his mental state, if pushed far enough, he can have brief moments where he snaps into more or less the complete opposite -- entitlement, arrogance, aggression, getting mad at you for the behavior he'd normally take with a smile on his face. Thankfully, unlike some yanderes that have a whole snapping episode towards their darling, his are very very brief, usually only a matter of seconds or a single snarled sentence before he snaps back to normal, wide-eyed and apologetic and telling you I don't know what came over me. It’s... a little frightening to say the least, but you blow it off, tell yourself that hey, everyone has moments like that... Right?

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

For the most part, he doesn't need it, he can pretty easily cling to your side well enough to be assured of your safety, and he manages to scare off the undesirables not with a glare, but a smile that's just a little too sweet and far too persistent -- it unnerves people. You hear a lot of people say that something about that guy rubs me the wrong way. Or that he gives me goosebumps for some reason. Even the people he scares away themselves can't pinpoint exactly what it is, all they know is that, despite being reputed as kind and quiet (and maybe a little dense), somehow a lot of people agree that something about him puts people at unease, and that's all he needs. Because they stay away from him, and if he’s by your side all the time, that means they stay away from you too. Why keep you trapped when you can just be isolated?

An aware Link is a a unique scenario. One scenario that's rather... interesting to imagine is a Link that defies fate itself, a Link that decides to be selfish in one of those rare snapping moments of his. Perhaps he makes a decision when everything starts going down, when the chaos is beginning, or perhaps he has somehow managed to gain knowledge of the bigger picture at work, the reality of the nature of your existence and his.

Perhaps he begins to think it's unfair. To suffer again and again. To prove himself again and again, and not always even to reap any benefits, to work so hard and yet still -- still -- you slip out of his grasp. He longs for a life with no tribulations, no struggle, no fights to be fought. He begins to feel like it's what he wants the most. He begins to feel like maybe it's what he deserves. So many lifetimes of struggles, if the higher powers won't give him a reward, he'll take it himself.

And perhaps, for all their higher power, not even the great goddesses themselves would have ever predicted it -- humans are ultimately creatures of will. To defy fate and to run away from destiny -- it wouldn't be the first time a human has tried such a thing. Sure, Hyrule may be destroyed. The people may all die. There may be nothing left. But you know what? He's stopped caring. If you're alive and he's alive, tucked away in your little corner of the world where you've found respite, well, that's all he needs. Even if you're on the run from forces that would want to find you, even if the threat of the final third of the triforce owner looms over your head. He'll ignore it, he'll look away.

You'll live a quiet little life together, a happy life without suffering, without quests and enemies, without strife, without worry. That's what he tells you when he steals you away, lifts you out of your bed one night. Says to be quiet, there's danger outside your door, he's rescuing you. You have no reason to not believe him. He waits until things go down, a castle under siege, but rather than taking you to where you're supposed to go, he climbs onto the horse and starts... riding away. It gets further and further into the distance, and you might ask why, what's going on? You have a job to do, he has a battle to be fought. But he says you're going far, far away, someplace you'll be safe.

But what about the divine beasts, the seals, the Twilight, whatever threat runs in this world in this time, what about the threat of Ganon, you ask? He says it doesn't matter anymore. You were doomed to fail, he thinks, it's either stay here and die, or run away. All that matters is you. And he'd like you to feel the same way for him. You will with enough time, don't worry.

He just wants this happy, quiet life with you that he’s been denied time and time again. It’s all he wants. If fate won’t give it to him, he’ll make it happen himself, and carve out the life he is determined to have, defying even the will of higher power.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

He gets it. Really, he does. "Stop following me!" You yell. Well, he understands why you might feel that way, but this is kinda his job. He thinks you're naive. Not that he would ever, ever have a thought that you're imperfect, of course! It's because you're so perfect and pure that you're... less aware of the dangers all around.

He'll let you think you're free, perhaps. He's more than capable of being quiet, quiet is kind of his thing. Watching you from a short distance is easy. Of course, his horse might make a noise, he can't really help that, or he might misstep on a branch or something. And then you turn around and get all mad again. Now you're even more angry. Well, he can also tell your guardians/father, who will encourage you to accept it. You can't help but feel a little bad -- he's just doing his job.

Now, our aware, runaway Link, well, does he really need to keep you restrained? What would you go back to? Certain death, a land destroyed? Sometimes you mention home, and he's quick to remind you that home doesn't exist anymore. His home is where you are. Can't you feel the same way? You found peace here in this little place -- a village far far away. Travelers, you call yourselves. What's the point in going elsewhere? How would you ever survive without him? He's not very good at being subtle or skillful about the psychological manipulation, it's obvious he's trying to scare you into not leaving, but... it still works, because really, he has a point.

He doesn't want to have to use physical restraint, in any case. And for the most part, it's not needed, because one important aspect of your relation is that his job kinda revolves around you (in some incarnations), or, perhaps you live in the same little village, but either way the thing is that his presence does the job well enough -- he's always there, perhaps more so than almost any other yandere. Even when you think you've managed to get away from him for a moment, somehow his face pops up out of nowhere. How he manages to pull it off is a mystery, you swear he manages to find you so well and predict your movements it's inhuman.

But if you really, really pose a problem, a smarter and sneakier darling that somehow manages to keep slipping out of his grasp and running off (you never get away for more than about 20 minutes or so, but nonetheless), you keep trying to run off when he's sleeping (he wakes up in approximately 25 seconds if your presence is absent from the bed, but that's still enough time to run out the front door), every time he turns his head (which isn't often) you're trying to disappear... well, in that case, he can reach a point of deciding more straightforward measures are necessary. He hates to do it, really, at least when he's not yet at a snapping point. But it's for your own good. And he says so, quite apologetically.

But it's not so bad, it's not like you're being chained to a wall or anything. For one, he got leather ties so you'd be more comfortable, but more importantly, as your guardian, he figured the best thing for you to be tied to would be... himself. Think of it like friendship bracelets! It's just... got a 5-foot chain connecting them. This way you can't sneak off at night, and you won't get too far when he's distracted. It's a safety measure.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

He's a learner. At first, it's easy. Honestly, he is a rather naive, gullible boy, sometimes he reminds you of a happy dog with his bright eyes. He likes to believe the best of people, give them the benefit of the doubt in all circumstances, and that goes double for you, who he believes can do no wrong.

And even when you do lie to him, it's still not wrong. You didn't do anything bad. Clearly there has simply been a misunderstanding, and you thought you had to lie. Or perhaps you simply forgot a detail or were confusing something with something else. It wasn't malicious on your end, he knows that.

He's actually significantly smarter than he lets on in practical knowledge, though. Those dungeon puzzles pay off, you know? He's got pattern recognition down. So over time he learns how to distinguish when you're lying to him or attempting to deceive him, and sees through it increasingly well.

And yet, he doesn't really... get mad over it, most of the time. Again, he's just capable of deluding himself into believing there's a reason. He believes so strongly in your goodness that he finds a way to interpret everything you do as out of benevolence. So you snuck out the window and didn't tell him you were going for a walk because you just wanted to get away from his suffocating presence for once? You were just thinking of him. You didn't want to burden him and wanted to give him a break. Well, that's thoughtful, but don't worry, he doesn't need a break. He thinks it's precious you're so considerate of him though!

You don't tell him you were talking to that person, and you lie and say no when he asks, because you don't want him to worry, and because you underestimate how dangerous others can be. He's told you a million times and you don't listen, but that's ok, it's because you're just so pure you see the best in everyone. Everything you do is good.

Because he perceives your lies, he will still work against and around it. He won't confront you on your lies, he'll just make sure to deal with the situation -- you lied about sneaking out, well, he'll just keep watch and be ready to meet you outside next time. You lied about talking to a person, well, he'll just have to make sure they stay away from you instead.

If you're trying to trick him, he just plays along until necessary. Smiles and nods. He gets the suspicion you're planning a break-out when he told you he was leaving to go get something from town... rather than saying so, he just decides, you know what? Why don't you come with him? Oh, you're feeling sick, you tell him it's ok, go without you? Well, he can't leave you alone then! Because you're clearly not and just trying to get him to leave... or, as he says, he can't just leave you alone. He'll go another day.

He's fairly manipulable when it comes to praise and affection. You can easily Pavlov him into certain behaviors or patterns with just the slightest words of praise and affection. He's not a very outwardly expressive person, tends to stay quiet, but you can tell how he feels inside when you give the slightest praise, a hug, a kiss on the cheek -- you can see that soft hint of a smile and tell that inside, he's basically melting, even if it's not obvious to most people. And, much like the lying, he’s honestly often aware of it, but he just can’t help it.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He tries to get you the things that he feels will make you happy. Your happiness is incredibly important to him, and he usually thinks about how any action he plans to take might affect you, spends a lot of time debating choices of things to do or say and try to determine how each one will affect you and choose accordingly.

As such, he goes out of his way to support the things you want to do. Have a hobby? He'll find the best materials available. Want a book or a food? He'll obtain it through some means. Even if procuring it involves a side-quest-y set of mundane tasks or scouring the world for 70 of this and 50 of that to exchange it for the item from an obscure specialist, it's all worth it.

The only thing he just doesn't give up on is the constant vigilance and insistence on being by your side more or less every waking second. And every sleeping second. And just every single moment you're alive. It's for your safety.

This is actually one of the things he can get a little nasty about when it comes to how he deals with it, because he quickly has the bright idea that if you don't get it, he'll make you understand. Of course, he can't actually risk you getting hurt, so he stages it. Allows you to sneak off, or at least think you have, and walk right into the path of those monsters he lured, or the people he hired to intimidate you. Of course, it's only natural that he shows up at the last possible second, right on time to save you. You should expect that, after all, it's his responsibility to protect you, of course fate works out perfectly like this. See, he was right, it's so dangerous, and without him you'd be dead. Hopefully you grasp that now.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

His is mostly related to vigilance. Where are you? Who have you been talking to? Who was that person you were talking with just now? What did they say? He's not nosy. He just cares about you. It’s in the job description. You ought to understand just how much certain bad people would love to find you and hurt you. That's why he has to know.

This isn't our modern world, so there's no phones or tracking devices to speak of, just himself, which, well, might as well be a tracking device since he never seems to have difficulty finding you. Sometimes you're not sure how he does it.

He tells you that you don't have to be with him 24/7, but you will be, even if you don't realize it. He's aware enough to know that you'll feel suffocated and get mad if you're aware of his presence all the time, so he gives you your "alone" time, aka, the "follow her quietly from a 20+ foot distance" time. It all feels the same to you. Well, sometimes you feel eyes on you, but you shake the feeling off as paranoia.

So it's not so much that he sets rules and reacts when they're broken, but rather, he works his way around anything you might do so well that he doesn't need you to follow his rules, or really, you take them more as suggestions. But honestly, that's kind of worse. It's enough to drive a darling to the brink of a mental breakdown very quickly. With Link you will inevitably become paranoid, nervous, you feel like you're going insane because he manages to pop up everywhere, he always knows what you did when you did it and you have no idea how it is even conceivably possible for him to know some of the things that he knows. He confronts you very plainly and quietly, often sweetly, asking why you did this or that or telling you it's ok, you don't have to hide anything, surely there’s a good reason, and if not, he forgives you anyway. In a way, it's worse than an angry confrontation. You begin to feel like he's omnipresent, like he can read your mind, and it truly takes a mental toll and affect you worse than any normal yandere's concept of punishment.

This ultimately works out well in his favor. The more you just do what he wants, the less it feels like a violation or intrusion that he knows these things, since he was there with you, it makes sense, and you continuously get bent to his will.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Ah, and thus we get to that brutality rating.

It would be unthinkable to think that any sort of scum would even dare. Even he isn't worthy of being with you, and someone else thinks they could be? So, he more or less views "rivals" as an offense. When they're threats, well, he's allowed to deal with them. When they're not, well... he has a wonderful reputation. If he says he overheard that person planning usurpation or assassination, that they realized he was listening in and wildly attacked him, everyone will believe him. Even if the death seems a little... non-immediate. And uh... frankly... overkill. How exactly... did those limbs get perfectly severed during equally armed combat? And was it... really necessary... to kinda spill entrails all over like that? He'll apologize, of course, he was just so outraged by the thought of someone hurting you or your family, you know? You notice his eye twitches a bit as he says it.

He has a lot of... bottled up frustrations, which we'll touch on in the nsfw section as well, but it tends to manifest in those two ways: sex and violence. Rather than exerting stress and anger and frustration as it comes, he lets it fester. He tries to maintain being the noble, humble, self-sacrificing person he feels he should be. That is... difficult to do for a long time. People expect a lot from him, even in timelines where he's not necessarily realized as the hero quite yet, he usually has a lot of responsibilities. But then you tack on the whole hero thing? The weight of the world is sometimes, quite literally, on his shoulders. Do you have any idea the kind of stress that comes with that knowledge? It's not pleasant. And it quickly bottles up, a very very fragile bottle set to eventually shatter in a matter of time.

On a longer sort of quest, he just kinda... leaves a trail of destruction in his wake. Enemies don't actually just poof out of existence the way they do on-screen, you know. Anyone coming across an area he's just been through is met with literal piles upon piles of corpses, sometimes monsters, but sometimes people. He takes a very scorched earth sort of policy when it comes to dealing with things.

He's able to easily get close to people, with that sweet face and puppy eyes and lithe body, people don't really feel on guard around him nor intimidated. That makes it significantly easier to infiltrate enemy hideouts, earn favors, and work his way in to be able to commit mass murder more easily. Granted, no one thinks too much of it because they *are* truly enemies, after all, they *did* need to be taken out and well, if the rulers can choose to either send a group of ten soldiers or just one guy and get the job done equally well either way, they'll go with the latter option. No one thinks anything of it, except the occasional person who laughs and says something to the effect of remind me to never get on your bad side, haha! He gives that sheepish, sweet little smile, and jokingly tells them that yeah, better not.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

For you, nearly impossible. For others, at a hair trigger.

For the most part, he conceals anger well until, as aforementioned, it bottles up and bursts. The truth is he gets irritated virtually all the time by other people. People who talk to you. Look at you. Smile at you. He’s actually rather easily annoyed even when you’re not involved, but again, he’s good at hiding it until it builds.

His rage has a commonality with his calm -- it's quiet. At least, at first. When it's directed at others, his eyes narrow. It's the telltale sign that someone has ignited his rage. It burns on the inside, it starts off as a spark that builds and builds and grows larger and larger until it's a blazing fire that consumes everything in his path. It's a loss of composure, a rare moment of complete loss of self-control. From his own perspective, it feels like he's not in control of his own body, it's all a blur happening in front of him and when it's over he's looking down at his own hands, unable to process his own actions, sometimes unable to remember them.

But it's violent, merciless, unforgiving. It does not yield to begging, it does not leave anything alive unless forced to. You remember the first time you realized how unnatural it was, how shocked you were at how he did something that certainly went against the code he was sworn to follow, the very first time you felt truly afraid of Link. It was a walk in town -- someone called out to you, spitting obscenities about you and your family, your lineage, threw something at you -- he caught it in his hand and crushed it, and quickly, without a word, advanced on the offender. And, to make a long story short, you had to prevent him from beating a man to death in public in broad daylight. He was forgiven by his superiors, but even they seemed shocked. You had to pull him off, and when he jerked his head around to look at whatever was stopping him -- before his face softened as he recognized your own face -- the split second you saw the burn of hatred and fury in eyes that were normally so soft and loving, was nothing short of unsettling, you still recall the chill that ran down your spine.

And honestly? It's terrifying. And the first time, it's shocking. Sure, you knew he could fight. You've seen him fight off monsters, bokoblins and lizalfos and the like. But something is different about seeing the blood of a human being run down his sword, dripping onto the ground, to see the bodies and the blank, numb gaze on his features he always has after it's over. The absolute lack of hesitancy he has to run human enemies through before they even have a chance to explain themselves, how unbothered he seems by the carnage left in his wake. The way he turns back to you, drenched in red and smiles, tells you it's ok, you're safe now. There's no need to look so scared.

And it changes how you view him, in the long run. Less of a guardian angel, more of a guardian dog, one that defends your name when you never asked him to. Pleads to tell him not to fall on deaf ears -- you just don't understand why it has to be this way, he says, you can't comprehend the threat they posed. From the sweet boy that leaves you flowers and repairs and instead leaves a wave of destruction in his path you would not have thought possible.

Directed towards you, though, it's entirely different. He tries his best to have patience with you, no matter what. He smiles, he tries to make excuses as to why you'd say this or do that, why you'd feel a certain way, and he's rather good at deluding himself to give you the benefit of the doubt.

But when it reaches an end, when he can no longer lie to himself, when you push it to a point that you truly make him mad, it's more of a snap. The times he'll lay hands on you in a truly violent way are rare, and as aforementioned, very brief. It's usually not so much of actually a blow, so much as a grab. He just can't get what he's trying to tell you through your thick head, so he stresses it, trying to make you understand as he grabs you by the upper arms, shaking you with each word, and he only stops when he sees the pain and fear in your eyes, drawing his hands back at lightning speed. He saves you from some danger very narrowly, one of the few times he lost track of you for a moment and had to frantically search before coming across you being attacked. What would I have done if something happened to you? Don't you understand that? He's so lost in the relief it takes him a moment to feel you beating on his arms in the embrace, choking and wheezing that you can't breathe, that his grip is so tight it feels like he'll snap you in half. He draws back again, and he apologizes, but it will certainly happen more than once.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

Above. Like, so, so, so far above. He feels like he doesn't even deserve to look at you. Of course, neither does anyone else, so he's just, you know, stepping up to bear the burden of wrongdoing to keep people even worse than him away from you.

So it's less that you're just above him so much as you're above everyone. He's actually, perhaps surprisingly, a little bit of a pessimist about the world. The world is full of so many terrible people and so many horrible things happen that he's borne witness to. It's a "world cold and hard, (y/n) soft and warm" sort of thing. You're the one good thing, the thing that makes him happy, the ultimate source of comfort he has, and he has to prevent you from being defiled by the evil of the world, keep you innocent and sweet (even if he's just deluding himself to think you are those things in the first place).

This ties into, again, how he interprets every action you take as good and benevolent -- he has the "you can do no wrong" mentality. Even very blatantly malicious things, he'll interpret in a way that makes you somehow still come out a perfect, innocent angel. If you do harm to others, well, they simply deserved it. You did something technically wrong, but you knew no better, or you were desperate. You can't be held responsible for any of it. And if you're mean to him, well, he probably did something to make you upset.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

Sort of a duality. Yes, he's very persistent. He thinks about it all the time. Every time you yell and try to run and hurl nasty insults at him, it hurts far more than you realize. He doesn't let it show on his face or in his voice, but it really does, and it gets to him sometimes. He's hyper observant of every little thing you do, your body language, your tone, the way you look at him, and the slightest of differences can change his mood internally, although it tends to look the same outwardly.

He makes little mental notes of it -- today she didn't flinch when I touched her shoulder. Today she didn't frown when she saw me coming. Little things like that will make his entire day. Likewise, the inverse kills him inside. He aims to make every day one of the former days, where the littlest signs of acceptance or even kindness and affection give him a sort of high that makes him feel like he's floating.

He tries his best to do things that he thinks will, well, earn love. Every opportunity to do something for you, he takes it. Everything he sees he'd think you'd like, he buys (or steals, or... loots from a dead body) for you. On and on that idea goes. And although he doesn't say too much, when he does speak to you, he usually has something nice to say. He views it in a formulaic way -- ironically, think about it like those collectibles in overworlds. You get enough of this or that thing, and once you have enough, you can go talk to this or that person and donate them all and get a reward, right? He's accustomed to viewing things that way. Love should be the same way. If he just completes enough tasks and gathers enough items, eventually he'll unlock your love.

That being said, even if it doesn't happen, much to your despair, he just... doesn't. Give. Up. He doesn't quit. No matter how many times you tell him, it doesn't make a difference. You can tell him you'll never love him, and it's like it goes in one ear and out the other. He keeps trying. And he never, ever, ever stops trying. What did you expect? The boy's been fighting the same enemy over and over across lifetimes, needless to say his spirit has build up some persistence.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

Bonus: Zelda/Triforce of Wisdom Darling

And don't worry. If it all goes wrong, when he fails, those divergences in time where the hero is vanquished and evil wins out -- it's not the end. Somehow, that's the feeling he gets, holding your little lifeless body up, running hands across your cold skin. Somehow, he feels oddly calm. Like it hurts, but it's ok. Like he'll see you again. Maybe not soon, but one day. This time didn't work out. But the next one will.

And that's the feeling you'll always have. Every time you meet him and you feel like you've met before, the lingering memories when you wake from your dreams -- flying through skies and sailing on oceans, a child, an adult, a boy you've never met, or one you've known all your life, but it's always the same face, the same voice, the one right beside you in the waking world. You sometimes wonder if he has the same feelings, the same dreams, the same sense of something greater than yourselves at work, the sense of being just smaller pieces in a much bigger picture.

The sense of permanency, that each other is all there will ever be -- regardless of how it makes you feel, regardless of how that scares you, sometimes you feel like you can never be free. Sometimes, when you think of running away, those dark moments when you think of even escaping from life itself, it feels futile. It's as if you know it would never hold him away forever. As if death is insignificant. Perhaps in this lifetime, you'll become aware of why that is, or perhaps not.

With other obsessive lovers, just the idea of til death do us part is a terrifying thought. But, for Link, not even death can keep him away from you. Your suffering is already determined by the will of higher power, for the sake of a greater good. 

In truth, it’s the goddesses who made him this way intentionally -- it’s designed to ensure your safety, even at the cost of your suffering. Again, for a greater good. Sure, you may live one lifetime to the next desperately locked in the same cycle in which your freedom and will is stripped from you, but in the end, it serves a purpose. 

Nor will he change -- perhaps this one this time is a bit more spirited, more calm, more pessimistic, more optimistic... but in the end, at their core, they're the same soul, with the same will deep, deep down. The same drive to find you and protect you. The same love for you, an all-consuming love that destroys everything in its path to you and leaves ruin in its wake.

And if fate should one day keep you apart, should things change, for whatever reason, it’s unable to change him. There's another force even more powerful than fate determined to keep you together. The only thing more unavoidable, inevitable, and unescapable than fate, is Link himself.

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

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

In moments of passion, he changes a bit, unlike other more submissive yans who stay consistent in their reverence and desire to please.

You see, after a while, being as lenient and tolerant and flexible and completely devoted as he is... constantly self-sacrificing in so many ways, to you, to Hyrule, to the world... some frustrations build up. It's a big, big bottle of emotion, all tucked away and festering, getting greater and greater and eventually it has to explode somehow.

His reservations and inhibitions fall away. Perhaps a darker, more selfish side comes out. Perhaps that's why he's so rough. He knows he'll regret it later, the bruises from how hard he grips, the marks from the bites, but the hormones and the heat takes over. He'll feel bad for defiling you. He'll apologize. And he'll do it again. And again. And again.

But once the resolve crumbles, it topples. That is, he can't partially maintain it -- if it's partially gone, it falls apart completely. He lets go, so to speak. And when he lets go, you find that underneath that carefully constructed resolve and willpower that holds him back, he can be a very, very rough and possessive lover. In his normal state, he wouldn't dare think of you as a possession, or as something he's even worthy of. He would like so, so much to think that, to feel like he's allowed to -- but he doesn't. He chastises himself for even having such a desire. But in those moments, when his resolve is gone and his brain isn't thinking quite too clearly, he might even have to audacity to say "mine." Even if it's not true, not now, maybe it will be. He would like that so much. His and his alone.

And in a moment of clarity, he might even throw away the inhibition on purpose. The more selfish side, the same Link that drags you away from your destiny -- he's already forsaken his responsibilities, hasn't he? Why care anymore about the structures that no longer exist, your status and his, if there's no kingdom left? He likes that it happened, even. This way, this time, you can throw off those titles, those roles. Without your status, your title, there's nothing stopping him from making you his. And you will be his, and nothing more. It's all you need to be. So he doesn't have to care anymore about any of that, he doesn't have to stop himself from going wild. Biting into every little spare patch of skin, covering your body with marks that make him feel comforted to see.

As far as drive it's a bit of a two-sided duality. Outwardly he's not a very sexual person at all, blushes and stutters and averts his gaze at the slightest mention of suggestive topics, tries his best to be Respectful(tm) by always looking away when you're in a compromising position, or your skirt flies up, etc etc. Given how constant his vigilance is, he has a tendency to accidentally walk in on your changing or bathing, except unlike with many yanderes, it's genuinely an accident. Not that the image doesn't stick in his mind, nor does he wish he hadn't gotten to see, but he does feel guilty, and it was genuinely unintentional. He kinda freezes up, so it takes a moment for him to actually snap out of it and run out.

That being said, he quickly develops something of a masturbation addiction when he's younger, it starts as more of a stress reliever than anything, He's so sweet and always feels bad about talking about his problems and feelings, so that and, well, violence are the only ways he can get it out. Thus he learns to channel stress and nerves into sexuality, and once he has a real living body and not just his hand, that dependency on cumming to relieve it doesn't change.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Particularly so, yes, cares quite a bit. And it takes a while for him to feel comfortable. Even consensually, the first few times he touches you for several months, he's got trembling hands and stays quieter than ever, constantly freezes up every time you move or make a noise because he thinks he's done something wrong. He has to be coaxed into feeling more comfortable before he gets used to it, but he will build confidence over time.

As addressed before, though, if he's pushed and pushed and pushed long enough, you can get a darker side to come out. This is most likely something that would only occur post-kidnapping in a distant time, once he's far away from any possibility of consequence and destruction has set in to the world around you. He starts to get a little bitter, if you've been mean to him. It all builds up. Don't you get that he's literally saved your life? That he devoted every waking second to you? Isn't he kinda entitled to some thanks? The cycle of time never rewards him. Even the figures he helps over time rarely give him more than a verbal praise and thanks, maybe an item here or there, and then disappear. His role feels thankless. He starts to feel like he deserves something, something tangible, in return.

Surprisingly, though, he actually does not take the route of guilt-tripping or emotional manipulation or gaslighting his way into it like a lot of the sweeter yanderes when he does have that snap. His snaps/breakdowns are rather extreme in terms of how much of a polar opposite they are to his normal state, rather than just a slight bend of his normal personality. Rather than taking the route of most yanderes like himself, he just gets directly physically forceful. Still somewhat sweet, though, reminds you he loves you, he'd die for you, you're his entire world. You'd argue that doesn't really change the actions, but considering how frightening he is in that state, you're not dumb enough to vocalize that.

The guilt consumes him alive afterwards. Like, immediately afterwards. He's still panting and twitching and buried inside when it sets in. That being said, he doesn't get to stuttering and profusely apologizing, like he does over smaller offenses. It's all done and he can't take it back, so he just kinda collapses and says nothing. He's not the best with words, you know. It's an odd mixture of guilt and, honestly, a bit of satisfaction and relief. It feels like letting go of some self-imposed burden, that feeling of finally surrendering to some deep want, even if it comes with a lot of remorse, the relief of finally letting go does have a good feeling as well... and because of that, it’s another one of those barriers that, once broken, can’t be built up again.

What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

In all honesty the boy is, for the most part, a fairly gentle and vanilla lover. He doesn't really need anything special to get off -- he's easily excited and cums very very easily too. Just the prospect of getting to stick his dick in you in any capacity is enough to make him nearly burst at the thought honestly.

In general, as aforementioned, he's very very cautious and gentle to a point, but has a tendency to get actually kinda rough once he gets into it. The thing is, the roughness aspect is actually unintentional. He's one of those boys that is a little bit unaware of his own strength, doesn't process exactly how hard and fast he's going. He just gets lost in the feeling, kinda enters a dazed lusty haze where he's less aware of his actions. Doesn't realize he's literally got an iron grip pressing your head down on his dick or into the bed until you start flailing your hands because you can't breathe. Doesn't realize how hard he was gripping until he sees the bruises on your arms and hips later. That sort of deal -- poor thing is just unaware and doesn't have enough blood in his brain to think straight.

Biting

Surprisingly a really big one for him. (Remnants of a past life cycle with some lupine experiences perhaps?) In all seriousness, he could not explain exactly why if asked, it's one of those "I just like it" sort of things. It feels like yet another way to conjoin the two bodies, pulls you close. The marking aspect is also nice. Granted, he feels guilty afterwards, tries to help it heal. He has that same duality where moments ago he was this intimidating beast of a human being, rough and growly and jerking you like you were weightless, and now he's back to this bright eyed softie stuttering while he apologizes.

The guilt is mixed with a bit of enjoyment, though. It's constantly conflicting -- sure, part of him understands it's embarrassing and will help you cover up, but part of him doesn't want to, he wants people to see. Part of him looks at the marks and tells himself internally to never do that again, and part of him sees them and just wants to give you even more. It's a constant internal conflict, poor thing.

As far as a place, he likes the neck and shoulders best, simply because it's the most visible and it's the most passionate ones to create, when your bodies are tightly locked together. That being said, though, he also has a thing for biting at the insides of your thighs. It's another one of those I just like it sort of things.

Sometimes, when you're asleep, or pretending to be, you can feel him trace the bite marks with his fingers, softly running them over the circular pattern, just enough to barely ghost over your flesh.

Somnophilia

It puts him at ease. This one is particularly prevalent towards the beginning of your relationship, before you really know... how he is. He has this image of you as so pure and he couldn't bear the thought of defiling you with his horrible horrible thoughts. The guilt eats away at him for a while, but eventually he just can't hold back, but how could he ever do anything to you and risk consequence? So... the solution he comes up with is waiting until you sleep.

He tests the waters to see how heavy of a sleeper you are. Calls your name at increasing volume, lightly runs his fingers over your hair, pokes your face, whispers in your ear, runs his hands over your arms. Just to see what makes you rustle, if anything, so he knows the limits. If it turns out you're an incredibly light sleeper, well, unfortunately that means he's limited to just jerking off to your sleeping form, but that's ok. Just seeing your soft face and the cute way you breathe, the slightest way your lips open, that's enough for him.

If it turns out you're a heavier sleeper though, well, he tries to fight the temptation, but ends up going further. Slowly climbs onto your bed, careful to make the weight shift as gently as possible. Slowly pulls the covers back. Runs his hands up and down. It's a lot better when he can actually see your body as he jerks off, honestly. If he's feeling particularly risky, he might press your thighs together, feel how soft your skin is to his cock, how nice the squeezing pressure between them is.

He gets easily lost in a haze, though, so he inevitably ends up accidentally cumming on you and has to frantically find a way to lightly dab it up without waking you. He panics quite a bit, but that doesn't stop him from doing it again the very next night.

Overstimulation/Forced Orgasm

It just means he's doing a good job, really. Sure, you squeal and kick your feet back and forth and tug at his hair, but that's just because it feels good. Orgasms equate to love and feel good, right? Sure there's a little bit of pain when you go overboard, but then it just leads to feeling even better, right?

It's kind of an irrational compulsion rather than a logical goal, though. He just has an impulsive need to feel you quiver and spasm and clench, it basically gives him a chemical high hit and a wave of reassurance, makes him feel good in both the physical sense and the emotional sense. The first one sends him into this compulsive need to feel it over and over and over again, as many times as he can. It's another one of his internal conflict things -- sure, he knows it's hurting, but he just has to get one more. Just one more. But of course, every time turns into "just one more" when he's been saying that for half an hour now.

And, to be honest, it kind of gives him a pride boost to think he can make you cum against your will. How many people struggle to achieve that even when both parties are trying? It makes him feel good in an adequacy sort of way, he feels needed.

Size Kink/Distension

You know, there's a well-known thing among the male-lovers in this world when it comes to size. It's never the arrogant, loud guys, it's never the social butterflies, it's never the tall guys, it's never the beefy muscly guys. No, they're not the ones that end up somehow bestowed with absolute monster cocks. It's always the soft, lean boys who don't talk much. And they're always painfully unaware of it, too.

He's no exception. Not to the size or the complete lack of awareness. He hasn't spent a lot of time around guys his age too much, he's always been the one sent for some special task and ends up out in the wilderness by himself on journeys, or, in some lifetimes, accompanying you most of the time. He doesn't know what the average dick looks like, so he has no idea he's far above average.

This might sound like a plus, and of course in some ways it is, but also he doesn't think about the fact that the average body isn't properly equipped to handle it. You're supposed to just kinda put it in, that's how the sex works, right? Poor thing, especially if it's entirely consensual sex, he's just kinda ???? because why are you in pain? What is he doing wrong? You have to eventually explain it's literally just his body, not something he's doing.

That being said, naturally, he's a humble person, but hearing you say that does kinda... make him feel good inside. A little bit proud. He's not a person who takes a lot of pride in many things, so he likes having this one thing, and quickly notices you can visibly see it through the bulge it makes in your stomach. Especially if it's in a position where your back is pressed to his front, every little movement creates the bulge, so expect to get a lot of that.

He doesn't really bring it up much or talk about it when he's actually fucking you, it's more like, as with many things, something he's quietly aware of and silently enjoys a lot internally, even if it's not voiced.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them?

Yes and no. It has to do with his overactive protection instinct. What if something happened or went wrong? He couldn't take that. He couldn't lose you.

At the same time, he likes kids, and he's very good with them, very patient. And over time, realizes that a kid would be the perfect tool of manipulation, and besides that, isn't it a beautiful thing, an ultimate manifestation of love?

So how to work around that... Ultimately, what he decides to do is have a kid... Just not by blood. There are plenty of orphans in Hyrule, wandering the streets and the wilderness, picking one up is easy. ...You wouldn't leave this poor child to suffer out there, to fend for themselves, would you? Nor would you leave him to take care of it by himself... Right?

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

Oh, it's not like he thinks of it that way. He would call it... a reminder. You put yourself in danger again? You tried to go back again? You were gone and for ten whole minutes he didn't know where you were? What could the solution to this issue be? The only thing his brain can really come up with is making sure you need him. Making sure you're content and satisfied here with him so you don't go running off.

Thus we return to the forced orgasm thing -- see, you do need him. It feels good, right? You say it hurts, and maybe it does a little, but ultimately you wouldn't be cumming if it wasn't good. No one else can ever do that. No one else knows you like this. No one else was made for you like this. You can't replace him. You need him. And he can keep going as many times as it takes until you see that, too. Even if he gets milked dry, he has a mouth and hands for a reason.

And by "until you see that," I mean until you say it. In his more... emotionally intense moments, he gets a bit insistent. He needs to hear you say it. Admit it to yourself. And to him. That you need him, that you depend on him, that you'll never leave again. And don't think your patience and tolerance can stand a chance of outlasting his -- it will keep going until you say it.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

He's one of those wholesome type of boys who goes with something sweet. He says maybe your hair, your face, your skin, your eyes. It's all so comforting. So familiar. Of course, not to say that he doesn't like your less wholesome mentionable parts, but he wants to be chivalric about such a question, and feels answering that way would be too disrespectful.

In his unspoken thoughts, though, he likes the hips. It's a part of you he can grab onto and hold you close with. He puts his hands there a lot and holds tight, like he feels like at any moment you could slip out of his grasp. And, I mean, it's nice to look at, can't forget that.

[randomshyperson]

The Scarlet Witch Prophecy - The First Year

Series Masterlist ||  Read on AO3

Summary: As the youngest daughter of Howard Stark, you have ordinary expectations for your years at Hogwarts. Little do you know what adventures await you when your destiny is intertwined with the legendary Scarlet Witch.

Warnings: +16. Adaptation of the Harry Potter Saga, Magical Thematic, Prophecies, Mentions of Violence, Torture and dark magic, Language (swearing and minor/major offenses), manipulation of will, Underage kissing, insinuation of smut with minors, Smut (overage), descriptions of death, aggression, obscurity, angst, fluffy, soulmates analogies.

Chapters will have additional warning when necessary.

Tag list ( let me know if you want to be tagged or removed idk haha) @mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @justagaypanicking / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @myperfectlovepoem // @helloalycia // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia

//////////////////////////////////

Part I - The First Year

Hogwarts will be fun was the first thought you had when you opened the letter in your hands.

Tony, your older brother, ruffled your hair slightly as he came down into the kitchen and watched you open the mail.

"Your letter finally arrived, huh, little witch?" He joked with a smile as he sat down at the table. 

"I can't wait to go!" You commented excitedly rereading the acceptance letter for the third time.

"Miss, after coffee, can we go to diagonal alley if you like?" Jarvis, your butler, asked you politely as he poured Tony's coffee making you hesitate slightly. Tony, who had his eye on you, forced a smile as he patted you on the arm.

"I'll go with you, don't worry." He assured and you nodded.

"I wish dad would come." You grumble as you sit down and Tony sighs.

" Yeah, me too." He says. "But you know he's busy, and we can't leave it to the last minute."

You mumble in agreement as you serve some sweetbreads on your plate.

Eating in silence for a few moments, you are startled slightly when Tony lets out an exclamation.

"Damn, I forgot to write back to Steve." He announces getting up and walking over to the next shelf where there were some stationery and pen.

"Your boyfriend will be upset." You tease lightly, and Tony mumbles softly without responding.

When he finishes writing the letter, he goes to the kitchen window and opens the metal, whistling loudly in a familiar rhythm. A few seconds later, Iron, his barn owl lands in front of him. Tony stroked the animal gently before dangling the letter in his paws.

" Please take this to Steve, Iron." He ordered and the animal made a noise before flying away again.

"Jarvis, I'll get ready to go." You tell the man as soon as you finish eating and head off toward the stairs.

//-//

Diagonal Alley is a noisy place.

Tony asked you to walk beside him, but you stopped walking at the first Quidditch shop you spotted, and he had to turn back halfway when he noticed you were no longer beside him.

"Don't do that." He warned, mildly annoyed, but you glazed over at the exposed broom in front of you, and he let out a chuckle when he noticed. "Come on, Y/N, you already have a broom."

"But that's no ordinary broom." You retorted with an impressed look. "It's a Nimbus 2000, it's the fastest broom there is."

"You have the 99, I don't understand the difference." He retorted with his hands in his pockets and you shrugged.

"Tony, can we buy it?" You asked pleadingly, making your brother laugh slightly.

"Let's buy your stuff first please" He retorted with a smile and you grumbled but accepted the arm he offered for you to hang on. Jarvis walked behind you with a keen eye on your surroundings.

After you had bought the vast majority of your supplies and replenished your stocks of potions items for Tony, Jarvis took you to Blossoms and Blurbs to buy this year's books.

"Good morning! Hogwarts, third and first year books, please." You heard Jarvis tell the clerk who approached you three. Tony nodded his head signaling you to feel free to walk around the bookstore in the meantime, and that is exactly what you did.

You found many interesting books in the place as you walked among the shelves. One in particular caught your attention, as there seemed to be little miniature magical creatures trying to jump out of the cover, and you grabbed it on a table, watching the item carefully.

You smiled when an ink dragon jumped into your hand, moving your head as if you were looking around. Distracted by the book, you let out a low exclamation when someone bumped into you.

"Sorry, kid." You heard a female voice speak in a humorous tone. It is a girl taller than you, short red hair. "I ended up tripping over some of those runner books."

"It's okay." You said with a smile. The girl looked at the one book in your hands for a moment.

"Do you enjoy creature tracts?" She asks casually as she reaches for a book on the bookshelf beside her.

"I don't know yet." You say and she looks at you slightly confused, "I never studied."

"Ah, first-year." She understands and you nod in agreement. "Hogwarts too or some other?"

"Hogwarts." 

"Cool, I guess I'll see you there then." She says. "I'm from Slytherin, third year."

You let out a surprised exclamation.

"Maybe you know my brother." You say and the girl takes her gaze from the books in her hand she was checking to look at you with her eyebrow raised in curiosity. "His name is Tony Stark, he's also from your house."

The girl lets out a short laugh.

"I can't believe you are Stark's sister." She says. "We're not exactly friends, but I've seen him around the dorm several times. And your brother is a pain in the ass, by the way."

You laugh lightly, agreeing.

"I am Natasha Romanoff." She introduces herself next, balancing her books in one hand to greet you. You introduce yourself with a gentle smile. "Good luck with your books." She says before turning away.

You think it's cool that you already know someone besides your brother before you start at Hogwarts.

//-//

Buying your wand is a rather strange experience.

Mr. Ollivander has a glint in his eye as if he knows everyone's secrets, and seems to disappear and reappear in his store very easily.

Tony sat on one of the stools while he waited for you, and Jarvis went to buy something for you two to eat.

After trying almost five wands, and exploding a glass vase when he tried the last one, Mr. Ollivander sighed.

"Sorry, I don't know why it's not working." You asked feeling nervous, but he smiled.

"Don't worry, dear." He said. "Difficult customers are so much fun." 

He walked back in between the shelves after that, and then reappeared with three new packages.

"I remember when Howard Stark bought his wand." He told smiling nostalgically as you opened one of the packages, a black wand in front of you. "Phoenix, Cedar, slightly flexible."

"Dad has changed wands thousands of times." Added Tony wryly, but Mr. Ollivander didn't seem to mind.

The wand you tested let out a faint spark when you tried to cast a simple conjuration spell, and the man in front of you was quick to take it from your hand the next second.

"I think I have a better idea." He announced turning around, and then climbed the ladder supported by the wall, picking up a package at the top.

"Try this one dear." He asked handing you a dark wand, the wood was shiny, a color you didn't know exactly what it was, but it was beautiful. 

When you grabbed the item, you felt a tingling sensation spread throughout your hand, and the wand vibrated slightly for a few seconds, causing Ollivander to let out a noise of excitement.

"You see, I knew I would find an owner for you dear." He spoke and you realized that he was speaking with the item in your hands. Soon he turned his gaze back to you. "Take good care of this one, will you, it was quite difficult to get dark elf blood for the core."

"R-right." You said with a slight frown, not quite sure what to make of that information.

Tony laughed lightly at the interaction, he should be used to Mr. Ollivander's eccentric manner by now, since he kept breaking his wands just like your father and often returned to the store to get a new one.

After paying, you and Tony met Jarvis outside, he was carrying some sweet rolls.

//-//

July ended too quickly for your happiness. You were very eager to go to school.

You spent most of August at home, playing quidditch with Tony in the backyard, curiously reading the magic books you bought, and trying to peek into the basement where your father worked, but he always caught you looking and smiled, asking you to go back to your room.

You would like your father to take you to the station, but he said he had a magic conference in September, and would be traveling for the next few weeks. Tony was upset, but he put his arm around your shoulders and asked you to hurry to get your bags.

When you finally got to the station, you were slightly nervous about going through a wall, but Tony laughed, and showed you how to go first.

You hugged Jarvis good-bye before following your brother along the way.

Tony dragged you across the train cars to the first empty cabin he could find. He commented that it would be nice if you made your own friends, but that he would like you to sit with him.

So here you were, sitting with Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, Tony's best friends since the first year. The boys smiled encouragingly at you. You already knew them, because Tony kept inviting them to spend holidays with him all the time.

"Hey, Y/N, how was your vacation?" Steve asked as soon as you sat down next to him. You shrugged, saying that it was nice, but that you were looking forward to attending Hogwarts.

Soon the boys started talking about what they were excited about next year, and you did your best to keep up, not knowing exactly who the people they mentioned were, or knowing the classes they talked about.

Many minutes after the train was moving, a girl opened the cabin door.

"Hey, strangers." She greeted with a smile. 

"Hi Peggy." Steve said with a smile, you frowned at the slight scowl on your brother's face.

"They're calling for us in the prefects compartment, Steve." She warned and Steve nodded, getting up. He and the girl then left, and Tony crossed his arms.

"What's wrong?" You asked noticing his posture and the way Bucky had a little smile on his face.

"It's nothing." Grumbled your brother, and as he turned his face to the window, Bucky who was standing in front of you, whispered to you.

"Tony thinks Peggy likes Steve." He recounted. "So he doesn't like Peggy very much."

"Oh." You said, pretending to understand the whole plot. It didn't make much sense to you because everyone couldn't be friends, but you figured that when you were your brother's age you would understand better.

//-//

The Hogwarts Express only stopped at night.

Properly uniformed, you smiled when your brother patted you on the shoulder, telling you that he would meet you at the castle, since the first-year students had to go by boat.

Your hands were sweating a little as you walked up to the extraordinarily tall man who introduced himself as Drax.

"First-year students, please, six in each boat." He shouted to the crowd, and the students moved closer together.

You sat in one of the first little boats, five other children you didn't know surrounding you.

"I'm so excited." A blonde girl commented cheerfully, waving her hands. She smiled at everyone as she introduced herself as "Harley Quinn". 

"I bet you''ll blow something up once we get there, Harley" Added a redheaded girl sitting next to you, you could tell by her tone that they were probably friends. The blonde, Harley, laughed.

"Shut up, Ivy." She said, and then Drax was back, climbing into one of the boats beside her. He checked the boats one last time, then waved his hand, and the transports began to move.

Everyone, including you, let out a chorus of excitement.

When you noticed the castle, you smiled. It was huge, and just as amazing as Tony used to tell you. 

"Wow, it must be amazing to fly over all that." You quietly observed, and the girl next to you turned her head in your direction, smiling.

"Do you like flying?" She asked, and you nodded. She looked at you for a moment and then held out her hand to greet you. "I am Diana. Diana Prince."

"Hi, Diana." You said introducing yourself next. "Do you also like to fly?"

"I love it." She says. "I hope i can make it onto the team."

"I don't know if the first-years have any chance, but I'll be rooting for you." You assure, and Diana smiles.

When the boats stop in the harbor, the students are all excited to get out and see the castle, but Drax's almost intimidating posture makes everyone properly behaved.

He leads the crowd to the staircase, and then there is a lobby. There is a woman waiting for everyone, her strict posture makes you think she is someone you wouldn't want to upset.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She announces. "I am Professor Okoye, head of Gryffindor house."

The students exchange burbles next, but the teacher's gaze shuts them up almost immediately.

"As long as you are here, your houses will be like your families." She continues. "Your triumphs will earn you points, and if you break any rules, those points will be taken away." 

She says, casting a disapproving glance at one of the students in the corner, who giggled. "In a few moments we will begin the sorting hat ceremony."

The teacher then turns around, heading toward a large bronze door, and talking to someone on the other side. You hear someone laughing near you, and you turn your head to the side in curiosity.

It was a blond boy, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as he balanced one of the gold cups he picked up from the surrounding shelves. You thought he would be in trouble if he knocked it over, and this seemed to be exactly the same opinion as the girl next to him, who was looking at him disapprovingly.

"Stop being an idiot, Peter, put that back." She complained and he laughed, shrugging.

"Gamora, you're a spoilsport you know." He retorted and when he put the cup back, it spun and fell to the floor, breaking into several pieces. The boy turned pale as Teacher Okoye turned her head in his direction.

You rolled your eyes, walking over to them.

"Reparo" You said drawing your wand as you pointed at the broken object. Some children let out impressed exclamations when they saw the bowl form again, but you just put your wand away in shame. It was no big deal. Okoye caught up with the three of you next, looking reproachfully at the boy.

"I expect better behavior during the ceremony, sir..."

"Quill"

"Mister Quill." She completed and took one last look at the boy that had with his head down before turning back to the front of the crowd again, waving for the students to follow her.

"Hey, that was pretty cool." Peter commented beside you as you walked. You shrugged, focusing on the path.

//-//

The sorting hat was something exceptional.

Tony never told you how the choice was made, and you knew it was only to annoy you. He had sometimes joked that the students faced each other in a duel, and even though you told him to shut up, you had a look at his spell book before you came.

The actual ceremony was much simpler, however.

When it was your turn to climb onto the small stool, you bit your lips, hoping that everything would go smoothly. Just as the old cloth of the hat fell over your eyes, blocking your view of the rest of the hall, you heard a voice in your head.

" Hello, dear, no need to be so nervous." Announced the hat gently. "You are a curious little thing, I see."

"Is that a good thing?" You thought, and the hat chuckled lightly.

"It might be." He said mysteriously. "Interesting what I see here. Very interesting."

"What are you seeing?"

"Your memories, dear."

"Oh." You thought, feeling slightly embarrassed. That seemed like an intrusion of your privacy. The hat laughed again, and you remembered that he was on your head.

"You're hard to sort out." He says, and you squeeze the stool. "Don't worry, I'm not going to send you home, that's not how it works."

"Oh, right."

Hat was silent a few moments. 

"I see courage in your heart." He says and you try to remember the characteristics of the houses. "But that courage is well forged with your loyalty."

You swallow dryly, feeling your anxiety rising. This was definitely taking much longer than the people who went before you.

"You are as smart as your father and brother, both members of the Slytherin house." He says.  "There's a willingness not to let them down."

"That's personal." You grumble feeling your cheeks flush, but the hat doesn't care to apologize for bringing up your insecurities.

"Ah, this is interesting here. A pure kindness, yet pruned in your origins of shallow paternal affection”.

You frown, not understanding what he is saying.

"You are quite adaptable child, it has always been one of your best virtues." The hat remarks, and you get the impression that the next part is only said for you. "Tell me, where would you like to stay?"

"Isn't that your job?" You retort in thought, and hear him laugh again. You rush to correct yourself, not wanting to be rude. "Sorry, hat. I don't really know. I'd like to stay where I fit in best."

"You would do well anywhere." He retorts, and you frown. "And that's pretty impressive, you know. I haven't met another hatstall since the last century."

You swallow dryly, not knowing if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'll work hard, sir." You tell him. "I don't want people to think I'm a special witch just because of my family. That's something I'm sure, I don't know if it helps you choose."

Hat lets out a sigh of relief.

"Actually, that's exactly what I needed."

It takes a moment for him to speak again, and when he does, you feel your whole body shake.

"Hufflepuff"

//-//

Steve Rogers is the head boy of Hufflepuff and he celebrates excitedly when you sit down at the table next to him.

"That's so cool" He comments. "I'll be able to tease Tony all year about it."

After that, director Agatha Harkness, made the announcement of the beginning of the year. If her goal was to scare the students, she succeeded when she talked about the deadly dangers surrounding the forbidden forest and the punishments for the disobedient. Professor Strange interrupted her speech as he cleared his throat, awkwardly waving for Agatha to stop saying such things, and the woman giggled. 

Dinner is delicious, and then you are following the crowd of students into the communal rooms. 

"Butterbeer" Steve said to the portrait on the wall, and you blinked in surprise when the painting moved to the side, a door behind.

You sighed when you realized how cozy the Hufflepuff's common room was.

"Everyone please come in." Asked Steve in the center of the room, waving to the students who stayed behind. When everyone was around him, he smiled. "The dorms are divided by gender, but you can sleep wherever you feel most comfortable. I will only suggest that none of you try to sleep with the seventh graders, because they are scary." Steve joked making the crowd laugh lightly. "We have a supply of food in those lockers, just in case you feel like having a snack in the early morning, outside of the permitted hours for walking around the castle." He continues and stands thoughtfully for a few moments. "Most of the things you need to know are on the bulletin board on that wall, and you can also ask me anything you want. Your belongings have already been taken to the free beds, but if you want any help, you can organize among yourselves or just come talk to me."

Steve smiled as the crowd moved. You headed in the direction where he said the rooms were.

//-//

You let out a surprised exclamation as something landed on your head.

"Damn, sorry!" Asked an asian girl approaching you, and pulling the small being out of your hair as you entered the room. "Groot, I told you to behave yourself."

"I am groot." Grumbled the little creature. You looked at it wide-eyed, impressed.

"Wow, is that a tree?"

The girl laughed, putting the small creature sitting on her shoulder, sitting on the bed next to the one you identified as having your things.

"Yes and no." She said. "I found Groot in my garden over the vacations, and well, I don't know what he is exactly. But I think he was trying to make my mother's plants grow."

"He's really cute." You commented approaching with your finger extended. Groot smiled, accepting your touch.

"I am Mantis." Says the girl next and you smile at her as you introduce yourself. "We're going to be roommates."

"Yes, and so is Groot." You add as you take off your cape to throw on the bed that would be yours.

After eating so well at dinner, it doesn't take long for you to fall asleep. 

You dream of glowing green eyes and a red light, but you don't recognize them or understand what it means, and when you wake up, you no longer remember.

//-//

Two weeks since you started at Hogwarts, you are used to how eccentric everything can be.

The classes weren't as difficult as you imagined, but that's probably because you've had contact with magic all your life and always had an easy time learning things. All the teachers were unique in their own way. 

Professor Rocket, for example, taught Transfiguration and spent almost the entire period transfigured into a raccoon, even outside of class hours. He was temperamental and got irritated very easily when students talked too much in his class, so it was not recommended to do so.

There was also Professor Fury, who had an eye patch as a mandatory piece in his daily costume, and all the students spent more time trying to guess how this happened, than listening to his explanations of defense spells against the dark art.

Your astronomy class on Wednesdays was taught by Professor Odin, who like to claim that he was a descendant of the Olympian gods, but no one believed him. He was also the father of two of your classmates, Thor and Loki Odinson, who were the exact opposite of each other. While Thor was warm and friendly, Loki was cold and reclusive, plus the former was from Gryffindor and the other from Slytherin. Surprisingly, you liked them both. 

You ended up meeting the head of your house only on the second day.  

Professor Heimdall taught Divination, so you wouldn't have any classes with him until the third year.You bumped into him when you were late for fifth period and had to run to the common room for your Potions books, and almost fell on the floor when you turned the corner without looking and the professor was there.  He prevented you from falling with a wave of his wand, smiling gently. 

" Forgive me." You said clumsily, feeling slightly intimidated by the yellow irises as the magic set you on your feet properly, as well as catching your books in the air and placing them in your hands again. 

"Be careful with the castle corridors, Miss Stark." Said the man, and for some reason, you thought he wasn't just talking about this little incident.

"Professor Heimdall, let's talk in a private place, please."  Asked Professor Okoye, who was standing at his side, she looked at you with a certain disapproval, and you couldn't tell whether it was because of your intrusion, or the fact that your tie was hanging loosely around your neck, in addition to the open buttons on your shirt.

After this little incident, you asked Steve who Professor Heimdall was, and he explained that he was the head of Hufflepuff, and might seem intimidating at first glance, but that he was very kind.

But so far, the professor who has intrigued you the most was Professor Erik Lehnsherr, who taught Potions. He didn't say anything that wasn't related to the subject, didn't make any comments about behavior or events at school. And he had such a stern and mysterious look in his eyes that no student had the courage to ask him anything. You heard Peter Quill make a bet with Thor Odinson that Professor Erik was unable to smile because of some particular sorcery, but you thought it best not to laugh, especially since Mr. Lehnsherr was looking at your direction.

When you had your first Potions period with Slytherin, after herbology professor T'Challa needed to reschedule classes for an appointment, you were surprised to discover that professor Lehnsherr had children.

Gamora ended up on the same bench as you, and she was talking to her sister, Nebula, about an incident that occurred in their dormitory.

"Clearly, the professors' children have an easy time getting away with punishment." Nebula bitterly remarked, and you frowned in confusion. 

"I don't think it was the girl's fault." Gamora retorted as she put the ingredients into her cauldron. She looked at you quickly, realizing that you were listening to the conversation, but she didn't scold you, she just kept stirring the mixture.

"What happened?" you asked next, and Nebula looked at you with mild irritation. She seemed about to tell you to mind your own business, but Gamora smiled, moving closer to whisper to you.

"A girl lost her temper in the Slytherin dorm bathrooms last night." She told. "She's a second year, her name is Wanda Maximoff. She and her brother are Professor Lehnsherr's kids, and everyone is saying that she didn't go to detention because of it."

Your jaw dropped, impressed. 

"I can't believe Magneto has children." You said making Gamora and Nebula laugh at the nickname. Last week you found out that the school had been calling Erik that since he stopped the hall chandelier from falling on the teachers' desk two years ago when he used non-verbal magic to attract the metal, and everyone started calling him that behind his back. Tony told you and you liked the story.

"I know right, he seems so self-contained." Gamora remarked looking back briefly. Professor Erik was focused on his own potions book.

"That noisy kid from Gryffindor said he's married." Nebula added next and Gamora laughed lightly.

"Peter Quill?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that's surprising." Says the girl. You both return to stirring your cauldrons in silence after that little conversation.

When you have finished your mixing, Professor Erik gives Hufflepuff five points for your good work, and you smile with red cheeks.

"You're nice." Nebula suddenly said beside you as you were leaving the room. Gamora stood next to her. "Do you want to walk around with us?"

"We're already walking." You joked and Gamora laughed unlike her sister who grimaced.

"Yep, definitely cool." She added. "Do you want to have lunch with us?"

"At your table or mine?"

Gamora and Nebula exchanged glances.

"I'm not sitting with Hufflepuff." Nebula declared and you sighed, rolling your eyes.

"You know I'm from Hufflepuff, right?"

"I'm reconsidering the invitation." She retorted and you frowned, but Gamora smiled at you.

"Will you sit with us, please?"

You sighed, nodding in agreement. You could talk to Tony after all.

//-//

Lunch at the Slytherin table became an everyday thing after that day. It took two weeks for Mantis to start joining you, and then you realized that you had a small group of friends now.

At Christmas, neither you nor Tony came home, because your father was working and you didn't want to be alone in the Stark mansion. You ended up turning down Tony's invitation to spend Christmas with Steve Rogers and his family, because you weren't really friends with Steve. Tony insisted, not wanting you to be alone, but you assured him that you would be fine in the company of your friends, and that he needn't worry.

On Christmas morning, Groot woke you up by jumping on your face. You laughed lightly because he was so small that he was like a tickle, and stood up as you returned the little creature to Mantis' bedside table.

A few hours later, as you were opening your presents at the Slytherin table along with Gamora, Nebula, Mantis, and Peter Quill, who had also stayed at Hogwarts for the end of the year, you let out an excited exclamation.

"I can' believe it." You spoke, opening the package in front of you. It was a large box, it was bewitched and only revealed the actual wrapping once you tore the paper off. It was actually a broom.

"Wow, that's cool." Peter remarked as he looked at your present. 

That's how you ended up in the middle of the snow, testing your new broom while your friends cheered and celebrated below you.

"Are you sure you can fly?" You asked Peter as soon as he asked you if he could ride. He shrugged, smiling.

You and the girls watched as he controlled the broom for a few feet above the ground, and then he overspeeded it and sped away.

You all ran into his direction, while the broom seemed almost annoyed at his lack of control, and knocked him into a tree. Peter fell between the branches, onto someone who was resting under it.

When you all reached him, you frowned when there was a boy pushing Quill.

"Watch it, dude!" Warned the boy, but before you could say anything, Gamora was already stepping forward, wand in hand.

"It was just an accident." She said and the boy looked at her surprised with her wand outstretched. He crossed his arms however, not looking scared.

"Oh, you're going to spell me now, are you?" He teased.

"Piss off, Maximoff." Warned Nebula next, taking a step beside her sister. So this was Pietro Maximoff. You figured that confidence should come from being the son of one of the professors.

"I suggest you leave my brother alone." Warned a voice behind you. You turned next, only to catch sight of a girl with brown hair, green eyes that glittered with anger. 

Gamora clenched her jaw, and Nebula drew her own wand toward the girl, who also had her wand in her hands.

You sighed, raising your hands as you stood in the line of fire.

"Would everyone please calm down?" You asked. "It was just a misunderstanding, and the broom is mine anyway, no need to fight about it."

It takes a moment, but Gamora puts down her wand, and everyone follows her after that. She has an insinuating smile on her face.

"You really are a Hufflepuff, aren't you Stark?" She teases, and you laugh sheepishly, putting your hands in your pockets.  "Come on Quill." 

Gamora warns and the boy shoots Pietro an ugly look as he leaves. You accept your broom that he hands to you, and turn around, your gaze meeting that of the girl who is supposed to be Wanda Maximoff for a moment. You feel your face heat up at the intensity of the angry look, and you look away, following your friends.

//-//

The months went by quickly as the rest of the school year passed. You managed to do very well on the exams, and didn't get involved in any near-fights again.

When the year ended and the Hufflepuff didn't win the House Cup, you thought you should have been more upset, but you didn't mind having Gamora and Nebula celebrating beside you, laughing and hugging you excitedly.

You also didn't understand why you felt your stomach turn when you caught Wanda Maximoff smiling amidst the Slytherin celebration when you looked around.

[phoenixyfriend]

Commander Buir: Cody & Shmi Talk About General Kenobi

Context: original post, Commander Buir

I prefaced this on discord with:

I have a full Awkward Conversation in my mind Between Cody and Shmi and Anakin, and then just Cody and Shmi, about General Kenobi, whom she hasn't met yet

At least one person encouraged me, soooooooooo here we go.

So it starts like this

They're on a ship from Tatooine to Coruscant. Probably there's multiple shorter legs to this journey, IDK. Probably Cody offers services as a hired guard in exchange for food and board for the three of them, since all he's got is armor and weapons, Shmi does some mechanical work, that sort of thing.

Point is, the journey isn't a short one. They have time to work together and bond. Cody and Shmi don't really know... anything about each other, really, and the versions of Anakin that they know are diametrically opposite to one another. But Shmi loves Anakin, and Cody is at least sort of fond of Anakin, in the sense that you are with coworkers you worked with for a bit, but now only see for a project once every few months because they got transferred to a different department.

But Anakin is very small and very needy right now, because he's a toddler. Shmi knows how to deal with some of that: she knows what foods he needs, when he needs sleep, what kind of fabrics and tastes he's going to hate, how to hug him when he's upset, all that mom stuff.

Cody... well, Cody knows how to deal with a soldier's night terrors, how to secure a room in an unsafe ship, how to run through theoretical exercises that are actually on Anakin's level of understanding, rather than the actual toddler stuff that people would expect out of this size, because it's not like anyone's going to let Anakin near the droids or engine, but nobody's going to pay too much attention if the Mandalorian is drilling a kid on Mando'a and battle tactics.

And Shmi notices that, obviously, because Anakin's her son and they've told her about the time-travel, and she understands that while she knows a slave's trauma, she doesn't know war trauma, and sometimes that's the kind of person Anakin needs right now. Cody is that person, until further notice, and Cody being the kind of person he is, likes to be helpful, and Anakin's the only Jedi in sight.

(There may be some of the indoctrination at play, but hey. There's also, you know, the only friend you have right now is the toddler. You gotta make it work.)

At one point, after yet another misunderstanding with a random bystander, Anakin jokingly calls Cody "Commander Buir" and gets an aggrieved eyeroll and a "here, you hold him" in response.

Shmi asks what the joke is, because she knows what a Commander is but she hasn't been picking up on Mando'a quite as quickly as Anakin.

"Well, buir is Mando'a for 'parent.' And I was Clone Marshal Commander, before, so basically, he's calling me 'commander dad.'"

"Given how you've been helping me care for him these past few weeks, I'd say it's not that far from the truth. You've been as much a father to Anakin as I can imagine a parent being."

Anakin makes an annoyed noise, and Cody makes a face, and Shmi obviously questions that.

Cody explains how most Master-Padawan relationships are functionally that of a parent and child, and that given what he's seen of the Skywalker-Kenobi team, that held true there, so it's mostly the fact that Anakin... already has, or at least had, a father.

Except Anakin's still kind of upset, and Shmi pokes him about it, and Anakin admits that one time, he did tell Obi-Wan "you're like a father to me," and Obi-Wan didn't exactly respond or anything, so Anakin's not sure if Obi-Wan would agree, really, that he's Anakin's dad.

Shmi's opinion of Obi-Wan abruptly dips, as one might imagine.

Cody is, uh, not particularly surprised by Anakin's little story there. He admits to Shmi that his General is what some might call 'emotionally constipated' and 'a little dense when it comes to relationship communication.'

And Shmi asks, maybe a little coldly, if this Master Kenobi ever told Anakin that he loved him, and Cody's just like "I don't know? I was still worried about getting decommissioned if I stepped out of line, ma'am, I was a little more focused on the war."

Which is, you know, fair.

And when she asks Anakin, he just whines and tries to crawl into her jacket so, uh, that's not exactly encouraging.

Basically, Shmi's got a plan to interrogate High General Obi-Wan Kenobi if she ever meets him, seeing as she's a free woman now, and Jedi presumably don't kill civilians just for getting a little snippy with them.

Ironically, the first thing she sees when they actually meet with General Kenobi is Anakin toddling as fast as his tiny legs can carry him to the man in question and getting picked up and hugged like both their lives depend on it, and also "Ben" might be crying a little.

(Anakin really loves his teacherbrotherdad! A lot! But also like man does the radio silence of that incident just Grate for him.)

Also "Commander Buir" ends up a stupid in-joke that Cody 100% doesn't process Anakin is actually serious about. This is partly because Anakin himself doesn't recognize that he's serious about it. Because Cody's just His Dad's Assistant, right?

(No, Anakin, you got feelings and he's also your dad now. You have a mom and two dads. Get used to it.)

[lubdubsworld]

Blackberry Winters.

PART 1 🌸 PART 2

Namjoon Werewolf Au!! 

Pack Head Alpha Namjoon and mate OC!

Arranged marriage sort of?

Pack dynamics / strangers to lovers. 

Part 3

“You did not think to tell him no? To demand that you had every right to stay there?” Her mother in law looked disappointed ,  eyes trained on her as Jiah carefully pulled the blouse of the tunic down over her tummy, frowning when she realized that it didn’t do a thing for her figure.

She felt self conscious, the grey cotton of the tunic making her feel drab and lifeless. Why did she always choose clothes in colors like this? Why did none of them fit her right? Why did she never make an effort to look at least a little good. Her hair was limp, a mousy brown and while it was thick, it had no luster… Why didn’t she use one of the hundred powdered mixtures the village healer liked to give the younger women?

“Jiah, are you listening to me?” Namjoon’s mother said sharply and Jiah jumped a bit, guilty.

“I didn’t want to be a bother..”  She said nervously, not sure how to handle her mother in law. On the one hand she seemed to be understanding of her many hang ups, but she also looked impatient and upset, anytime Jiah failed to stand up for herself.

Lady Kim drew herself up to her impressive height and Jiah cowered. She’d hung around enough pack bonfires to recognize that stance and that gaze. The woman was about to give her a piece of her mind.

Sure enough, her voice thundered when she addressed her.

“If you keep viewing yourself as a bother, I’m not sure how others will begin seeing you as anything else. You’re the head alpha’s mate. Your place is by his side, helping him with the crown on his head. It’s not a choice. Your duties are not mine and I am tired of doing them for you.” She snapped.

It stung. Guilt churned and Jiah could feel the beginnings of one of her episodes. The ones that always left her shaking and breathless. Much to her surprise, Lady Kim’s gaze softened at that and the next second she was being drawn into a warm embrace.

“Good lord child, why are you so terrified? Has my family not been kind enough to take away this stark terror out of your veins?” She sighed deeply. “You must not let your fears dictate your life. I want you to live your life, pleasing the person you’re bound to .”

Jiah felt her shoulders sag. Please the person she was bound to.  Of course. Namjoon. It all came down to the alpha wolf. And how was she supposed to please him, if he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as her?

“Yourself.” Lady Kim’s voice, laced with amusement made her jump.

Jiah frowned, pulling back to look at the older woman in confusion.

“You’re bound only to yourself , Jiah. You need to please yourself. To do and be the person you want to be. And then everything else will fall into place.”

Jiah watched as the woman went back to the door, calling for and directing a few more workers as they finished setting up the outer courtyard of her living quarters. Still a little chilled, she grabbed a thick coat from the small cupboard by the door, draping it over herself and tying it together with the sash. She moved quickly to the door, watching her mother in law talk to the workers, looking them straight in the eye , firm and clear in her instructions.

It was fascinating.

Lady Kim’s stance fairly vibrated with power and her voice brooked no disobedience. People looked at her and listened. They saw someone who knew what she was talking about and many a time, Jiah had felt it herself, the comfort of someone reliable. Someone who wished no ill on anyone.

Namjoon’s mother had lost her husband at a young age. Namjoon had scarcely been a babe of two when it had happened and the entire pack had expected the young wolf to lose his birthright as the heir. It was unheard of for a mate to take over the head alpha’s duties but Lady Kim had risen to the occasion with an elegance that had stunned everyone. The woman had met pack leaders and settled disputes, had negotiated boundary conflicts and made elaborate plans for new buildings , all while carrying around a babe that was still fed at her breast.

What was more, she had defended her position against the men who had wanted to usurp it. Mnhyuk and Jaejoon were two of her husband’s cousins, eager to sink their fangs into the woman to mate her, just to be able to get their hands on the pack. They were terrible men , even worse wolves. Their ideas on how the pack ought to be run dripping with archaic ideals and oppression of women.

But Lady Kim had humiliated them, told the whole pack in no uncertain terms that the next pack alpha would be Kim Namjoon. Her son would be raised to rule the pack with kindness and understanding and she would make sure of it.

The tales were told with hushed tones of disbelief and admiration and Jiah had listened to them with hunger and aching. Had felt such a huge surge of affection for the matron , had wanted to hug her and tell her she had done a great job.

And standing here as her daughter in law, she realized that she would be a fool not to listen to her. Not to learn from her. Especially when it was obvious that in the entire pack, the only one who didn’t seem to hold Kim Namjoon on a pedestal, was ironically his own mother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“ They’re going to challenge you again. I can feel it.” Taehyung said gruffly, dropping the bundle of scrolls on the table and Namjoon flinched, head throbbing.

“That bad?” He asked hesitantly and Taehyung nodded.

“They want you to re-negotiate that treaty about courtesans owning property. Think it would make them quit the profession… if you let them own stuff” Seokjin said quietly and Namjoon bristled.

“They are no different from any of us. They work for their pay too. Why shouldn’t they be allowed to do what they wish with money that they’ve earned?” He demanded angrily.

“You’re a good man Namjoon. A fair one. And you’re striving to build a pack that treats all it members as equals . Obviously people who thrive on abusing their power aren’t going to like that. Especially Minhyuk and Jaejoon’s pups. Those two are terrible.”

“You should accept their challenge and just rip their throats out someday.” Taehyung said firmly AND Namjoon gave him a glare.

“I’m not going to shed blood without cause, Taehyung. Don’t suggest that. Even in passing.” He said firmly and the younger beta bowed politely in apology.

“Where is Jiah?” Seokjin asked casually.

Namjoon glanced at him, brows raised.

“Since when are you so familiar with my mate, hyung?”

Seokjin rolled his eyes.

“She used to come sit with me, when I watched over the herds on the outer pastures. Sweet little thing really. Very funny too.”

That made Namjoon pause.

“Funny?” He asked, completely confused.

“Witty. She would make these clever little riddles and jokes that would always leave me in stitches. We made a game of it. I would give her one of my funny jokes and she would give me a riddle. Is she feeling better now?”

Namjoon who was still kind of struck dumb by the idea of his cowering, reticent mate doing something as…. Normal and friendly as laughing and being witty….. could only stare at Seokjin in confusion.

“I…. Yes. She’s well. We’re expecting a pup.” He said softly.

Both Taehyung and Seokjin went still.

“What?!!! Why didn’t you say that first?!!” Taehyung exclaimed, offended.

“It’s not that important…” Namjoon waved it off, reaching for the scrolls , “ what about the treaties, then? You did tell Jungkook we aren’t changing anything right?”  

Seokjin scoffed.

“ Only you would say that these treaties are more important than your own pup.” He snapped.

Namjoon sighed a bit at that.

“I don’t mean that. I’m just saying, what she needs now is to rest and take care of herself and the baby. I’m not what she needs . I’ve arranged for her to stay in some private quarters with the other women.”

Seokjin sighed deeply. After years of being one of Namjoon’s trusted friends, he could feel his heart ache for the younger and all that he hid from the people around him. He reached out and gently placed a palm on Namjoon’s shoulder.

“ Namjoon, you don’t have to do all of this by yourself. Tae and I , we can take over duties a couple of days a week… You can relax… Maybe spend some time with your new wife….”

“She hates me.” Namjoon said softly. “ I spent a whole month trying to talk to her, all she did was tremble and shake. Even when we…” Namjoon exhaled sharply, “ Even in bed , she made me feel like I was some kind of…. Predator.”

Taehyung bit his lips, looking worried.

“You’re not… You’re not going to break the bond are you?” He asked nervously.

Namjoon sighed.

“I’m not. I may have considered it, before . But now… She’s with pup. I can’t do that to her. I don’t want to either.”

“Why did you pick her?”

Namjoon stayed quiet.

“Because you wanted a wife who wouldn’t ask or demand or complain.” Taehyung said distastefully.

“That’s not… You make it sound so terrible. I’m supposed to be taking over pack duties, supposed to renegotiate every single treaty we’ve drawn in the past twenty years, not to mention get the entire pack ready for the winter…. Of course I wanted a wife who would adjust. Have you seen the omegas in our clan? The ones I could court ? They want to leave on trips… They want to visit the neighbouring packs…. They want me to arrange festivities and feasts for every damn thing…. You think I can marry someone like that??” Namjoon snapped angrily. “none of them understand a damn thing about helping me out. They’re shallow and vain. Jiah… I chose her because she didn’t seem like one of them. She seemed like she could understand what it means to be my wife. But I was wrong. I thought she understood my responsibilities and was giving me my space…. Turns out she just thinks I’m some kind of monster she needs to run and hide from.”

Seokjin reached out, patting his back soothingly.

“Namjoon I understand… It’s been hard on you, and you’ve been doing all of it by yourself. Its bound to take a toll. And that’s why I think you should take a few days off, a week. Give us all the instructions. We’ll carry it all out. You can relax.”

“That’s exactly what my uncles want. For me to slack off. They’ll summon the council and want to challenge me again. I can’t afford it. “ Namjoon shook his head.” Not until the babe is born and my position as pack alpha is solidified. I can’t let them use this against me.”

Seokjin and Taehyung exchanged looks.

“Joon-ah….”

Namjoon gave both of them a tired smile.

“I’ll be fine hyung. It’s going to be okay.”  He said reassuringly. “ The council’s meeting tomorrow right? I’ll try to go over these tonight.”

“Its already past sundown.” Taehyung said worriedly.

“Then I better ask the maids to keep enough oil for the lamp to last.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What are you doing here?” Namjoon blinked, staring at her like she was out of her mind and Jiah flinched. Maybe this whole thing was a mistake. But the sight of him made something curl in the pit of her stomach. He looked exhausted. Like he had been up all night. She wondered if perhaps she ought to retreat. Go back to the private quarters he’d arranged for her.

No. No , you will not chicken out of this.

“ You have a council meeting, this evening. Could I come with you?.” She said softly, watching his face carefully. She tried to read his emotions, tried to look for traces of irritation or anger but all she found was a sort of hopeless resignment. Like he had stopped trying to fight whatever was bringing him down.

“Come with me….?? ” Namjoon stared at her like he wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about.

She inhaled sharply.

“Your mother told me I could go. As your mate, I’m allowed to sit in on council meetings. She told me it’s a new provision. That you were the one who had it written in. So perhaps, you should… let me come with you.”

“My mother-“ He paused, sighing. “ You don’t have to do everything my mother asks you to.”

She blinked, the words throwing her off. The truth was, she had been the one, tailing the older woman all day, trying to see what she did and how she did it. Lady Kim had merely offered to help her do her duties. She had mentioned in passing, that for centuries , mates hadn’t been granted many rights of their own. Namjoon had spent the past couple of years making a lot of amendments to pack laws and the council hadn’t taken to kindly to all of them.

“ Of course. I just thought that, as I am your mate , perhaps I should accompany you. ” It was a miracle, the way her voice came out, steady . Not at all betraying the nervousness coursing through her veins.

“Jiah…. I’m not sure.” His voice dripped with hesitation and she flinched. Oh, well, no one could blame her for not trying.

“If you don’t want me there, that’s fine.” She said quickly.” I’ll go…”

She turned around, feeling her face burn red as she quickly descended the stairs to the courtyard.

“Jiah wait!!” His voice made her still.

She turned around swiftly.

“I didn’t mean to imply that I did not want you there. I just….Council meetings aren’t short. They tend to go on for hours. Will you be alright?” He asked gently, gaze dropping surreptitiously to her middle.  

It took her a minute to understand what he was even talking about.

“I… Oh.” She quickly pressed her palms to her stomach, confused. “ I mean… I may have to be excused a couple of times to relieve myself. I’ve been doing that way more often than usual.” She laughed.

Namjoon’s lips quirked in a hint of a smile and she flushed. Surely, her stern mate didn’t want to hear about her body functions? What was she even doing…

“But, yes. I wouldn’t mind sitting with you. Truly.” She said quickly.

Namjoon nodded.

“Well, then. You can come with me. It’s an hour before sundown… I’ll come fetch you myself.”

“Yes , alpha.” She said brightly, curtsying lightly and immediately feeling like a fool.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“They’re called red feathers …” The healer, a middle aged woman called Selma,  opened a small earthenware jar to show her the contents. Jiah peered into the jar, catching sight of a bundle of dried flowers and roots.

“These can help me…?” She asked dubiously and Selma gave a quiet chuckle.

“They help you sleep better and also help you relax. They’re good for you. You won’t feel this anxious if you take them regularly.” She said calmly.

“Oh… alright.” Jiah nodded, glancing carefully at her mother in law who was standing elsewhere, looking through an assortment of salves and tinctures. “ Can I…. is this safe for Namjoon?”

Lady Kim stilled, turning around to glance at her sharply and Jiah stiffened. God, her impulsive mouth. She wasn’t even sure why she said it. Just the whole , helps sleep better , had immediately reminded her of how tired Namjoon had looked.

“I’ve already tried to get him to drink some of it. He refuses.” Lady Kim said tiredly. “ He feels that it may affect his mental faculties”

“Auntie Selma?” A high, soft voice rang through the hut and Jiah glanced up. She went still, catching sight of Jisoo, dressed in red velvet and all of her ornate jewelry.

“Ah… Jisoo…you’re back.” Selma said cheerfully. “ How can I help you child?”

Jisoo stared at her, eyes steady and unreadable.

“I need some wild carrot seeds and ginger roots.” She said softly and Lady Kim scoffed.

“I hope the man you’re taking into your bed is not who I think it is , Jisoo.” She growled. The younger woman merely bowed.

“I’m but a courtesan, my lady. I go where I am asked to.” She said softly.

Lady Kim sighed.

“Then perhaps you should go back home. Now.” She said sharply and jisoo flushed and ugly red.

“Your son wants me to visit him for tea , this evening. I was hoping to meet my lovely lady there…but I hear you no longer stay in his hut.” Jisoo turned to her, tone dripping with acid and Jiah swallowed nervously.

“I… I’m…” She couldn’t quite talk, much less think of something to say.

“Because she is with child.” Lady Kim said sharply, a hint of triumph in her tone. “ Namjoon’s child.”

Jisoo had gone paper white, her face pale and bloodless.

“What?” She whispered.

“It’s true. She carries my son’s heir. You know what that means, Jisoo. It means they are bound, for life. I like you. I respect your courage and admire your talents. You are beautiful and you deserve a mate of your own. Do not pursue my son.” Lady Kim said firmly.

Jisoo didn’t respond for a few seconds.  

And then she bowed again .

“Like I said, my lady. I only go where I am called.” She said quietly.

She turned on her heels, stalking away and Jiah could only stare after her, heart pounding a bit at what had just happened. She wasn’t sure why she felt so much disquiet. She’d never had high hopes of fidelity from Namjoon. The entire village knew that Jisoo had been his paramour. But now that she had seen how dismissive the younger girl was of her, she felt the unaccountable urge to fight back. To stake her claim.

“You look pretty upset. Don’t let her bother you. Namjoon will not break his vows.” Lady Kim said quietly and Jiah gave her a soft smile, although her heart still raced. She remembered how pretty the girl had looked in all her brocades and velvets. She stared down at her own murky yellow dress. She couldn’t go to the council meeting, dressed worse than a courtesan. Couldn’t embarrass Namjoon like that.

“ My Lady….” She turned to her mother in law. The older woman hummed, returning to examining the shelves.

“What is it, child?”

“Can we stop at the seamstress’ hut on our way back?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whatever Namjoon had been expecting, as he knocked on his wife’s private quarters, it hadn’t been this.

He stared , or to be more accurate, gaped at his wife, completely thrown by her appearance.

She looked…. Cheerful.

That was the only word he could think of, taking in the warm yellow and green fabric of her gown, all with an abundance of ribbons and lace. She had also clearly made some effort to tame her hair.

Not a very successfully attempt, considering the dozen strands sticking out of her bun and curling over her bare neck and shoulders …..but an attempt nonetheless.

Which reminded him.

Why was her neck bare?

“I…. have you forgotten… part of your dress…?” He asked awkwardly, gaze trained on the pale, blemish less expanse of skin in front of him. Too much of it was on display he felt.

“Oh?” Jiah twirled about for a second, glancing at herself. “ Not at all, my alpha. This is how it is.”

Namjoon blinked.

“Right… the night is getting colder. Perhaps a shawl?” He suggested tactfully.

Jiah frowned, sticking a hand out of the door as though to the gauge the night air.

“Really? Feels quite warm to me.” She said thoughtfully.  

“It may be cold for the baby.” He said quickly and that made her pause. She glanced back down at her tummy and he wondered what she expected to see, every time she did that.

“Perhaps you’re right alpha….let me be back.” She floated back into the hut and he sighed in relief when she reappeared with a white fleece shawl over her shoulders.

“Shall we go ?” She asked quietly and he hesitated before slowly offering her his arm. She gripped it lightly, and they began the short walk to the main village square where the council usually convened.

“You… You’re better adjusted to this place now?” He asked carefully, trying to find the girl he had taken to his bed. The terrified, nervous , trembling young girl.

Jiah didn’t respond at once.

“I… I’ve been drinking some of Selma’s potions. They help.” She said quietly and he frowned.

“Potions? Potions for what?”

“They help with my nerves. I get scared easily…imagine things ….” She trailed off nervously.” I’m very anxious by nature and it gets worse in a new place. With new people.”

Namjoon considered that carefully. That made sense. Perhaps, that was why she had been so odd.

“The potions help?” He asked carefully and she nodded.

“Yes…that and your mother.”

“My mother?”

“She’s very kind to me.”

Namjoon laughed a bit at that. In all the years he has had people talking to him about his mother, the word ‘kind ‘ had never come up.

“ I’m being honest….she has helped me adapt to this place. To see how things are run. I… I don’t want to be a bother. I want to pull my weight. In the pack. To help in any way I can…”

Namjoon felt a sudden unaccountable fondness bloom in his chest at the innocent words.

“ That’s very virtuous of you.” He said seriously and she flushed.

They didn’t say anything else, continuing the rest of the path in companionable silence Namjoon spotted the seven council members gathered around a blazing fire and lightly stepped closer to her.

“You can stay close to me. You don’t have to answer them.  If they try to draw you into any controversial topic, just ignore them. I’ll handle it.” He said quickly.

Jiah gave him a wide eyed, nervous look but nodded quickly, fingers moving from his forearm to his palm , linking with his own and gripping tight.

“I’m here. You’re not alone.” She said quickly and it was ridiculous, how the words actually helped him relax just a little.

Taking a deep breath, he led her on to the meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s Note : i thinks its about time i accepted that this is a full blown fic and not just a drabble. fuck my life. 

Note : Red feathers are actually herbal medicines used as anti depressants. So this is just werewolf au equivalent of therapy. 

[hockey-fics]

Should Have Seen it Sooner ~ Vince Dunn 

Summary: You make the decision to go visit your brother, Sammy, after graduating university. But that visit quickly becomes much more than you ever would have anticipated. 

Warnings: verbal arguments, language, smut (nothing overly detailed)

Word Count: `13.5k

A/N: Let’s all pretend that Vince isn’t about to be traded ahahaha...I’m sad. 

Your brother had always been your best friend. Even when you were kids and you refused to do so much as admit you liked him. He was the one who you would run to in the middle of the night when you were six and going through a phase of horrible nightmares. He would walk you back to your room, check under the bed and in the closet and lay with you till you fell asleep again. And when you were a little older and started having bad anxiety at school you would sit in the guidance counsellor’s office and refuse to talk to anyone but Sammy, who they would reluctantly pull out of class to come calm you down. When he had a bad loss in a hockey game he would come home and watch terrible reality tv with you, never wanting to talk about the game. He was the first person to make fun of you when you got a bad haircut but was also the first person to come to your defence when someone else made a comment about it. He picked you up drunk from many highschool parties, promising not to tell mom and dad. You helped him with girl issues, carefully constructing text messages to girls he liked, planning his dates for him and giving him pep talks before those dates. 

So when he moved to St. Louis and seemed to be settling in there for awhile you had to admit you were quite upset. Of course growing up with him in hockey you were used to long periods without him, stretches of time when he was on the road. But him moving so far wasn’t easy for you. Then you moved away for university and while it wasn’t any easier, the distraction of new people, new places, and new experiences was enough to make it more bearable. 

But once you graduated you were back to square one, realizing you were lost without your brother. So you took your degree and ran straight to St. Louis to spend whatever free time you had between graduating university and starting your life and career with Sammy. 

It had been two weeks since you got there, making yourself comfortable in Sammy and Vince’s spare bedroom. You had only briefly met Vince prior to the trip but you were quickly becoming acquainted with him, despite the fact that he spent most of his free time playing video games which you were not about to distract him from. 

“Why are you even going on a date?” Sammy asks, sprawled across the guest room bed with his phone in his hands as you stand on the other side of the room in front of the mirror over the dresser, curling your hair. “You’re don’t even live here.” 

Glancing at him through the mirror you let a strand of still hot hair fall over your shoulder. “Do you only ever go on dates if you’re imagining spending the rest of your life with the person?” 

Sammy looks over at you, his nose crinkling. “Gross.”

“What?” Your eyebrows are furrowed as you set your curling iron down, turning around to look at Sammy. 

“You’re just going on a date with this guy to get fuck-.”

“Stop,” you exclaim, eyes widening. The last thing you wanted was your older brother thinking about your sex life. “No, I’m just meeting people, going out, having fun. I’m not just trying to get…fucked,” you tell him, turning around to look back into the mirror and continue on with your hair. “If that was the case I wouldn’t be putting this much effort into my appearance when it’ll just get wrecked in-.”

“No,” Sammy exclaims, pushing himself up off your bed. “I don’t want to hear it.” Laughing you watch him walk out of your room, shaking his head. 

An hour later you’re in Sammy’s car after he convinced you to let him drive you to your date instead of taking an Uber. “Call me when you want me to pick you up,” Sammy tells you as you climb out of your car. 

“Okay, dad,” you joke, rolling your eyes as you say your goodbye to Sammy, closing the door. 

And call Sammy you did, only it was much earlier than you had expected. The date had gone terribly. It was only twenty minutes into the date, the drinks you had ordered not even at your table yet, when he suggested just leaving and going back to his place. And the suggestive comments didn’t stop, till ten minutes later and you were wondering if he was even going to let you leave at the end of the night without putting up a fight. So you excused yourself to the bathroom, pulling your phone out and dialling Sammy’s number. But he didn’t answer. So you called again, and he didn’t answer. Four more times and you were about to hang up and get an Uber when the dial tone cuts out. 

“He didn’t answer the first ten times, why would he answer now?” It’s Vince’s voice, annoyed but also distant and you’re pretty sure that means he’s in the middle of gaming. 

“Where’s Sammy?” 

“The shower,” Vince tells you, too preoccupied with what he was doing to even so much as question the six, back-to-back phone calls. 

“Can you tell him to come pick me up as soon as he’s out of the shower?” You ask, sniffling as you feel an overwhelming wash of panic come over you. This meant you would have to go back and sit with that man for even longer. “Or, could you just go like knock on the door? Tell him to hurry…please?”

“What’s wrong?” Vince asks, his tone shifting slightly. 

“I…he-he’s weird,” you mutter, anxiously running your fingers through your hair. “Creepy,” you add, making him aware that it wasn’t a matter of simply not clicking on a first date. 

“Text me the restaurant you’re at.”

“What? Sammy knows,” you tell him. 

“I’m coming to get you.”

You wanted to tell him that he didn’t have to. You hated burdening people, hated asking for help. But that was far outweighed by your anxiety about the man at the table on the other side of the restaurant. “Thank you, I’ll text it to you now,” you tell him, saying a quick goodbye before hanging up and texting the address to Vince. 

’on my way’ Vince sends back immediately. 

You spend another few minutes in the bathroom before heading out to the restaurant, slowly making your way to the table. “Hey, I just got a text from my friend. I have to leave,” you tell him, leaving a ten dollar bill on the table, more than enough to cover the drink you ordered but never even got a sip of. 

Outside you stand near the entrance of the restaurant, not wanting to stray too far from the brightly lit entrance. You’re surprised when you see Vince’s car pull up in front of you. Not because you didn’t think he would show up, but because you weren’t expecting him to be there that quickly. Hurrying to the passenger’s side door you hop into his car, silent as you stare out the front window, pulling your seatbelt across your body. 

“That bad?” Vince asks, putting his car back in drive and pulling away from the restaurant. 

“Yes,” is all you’re able to mutter leaning back in your seat, elbow on the window sill as you rest you head in your hand. 

“Too bad,” Vince comments, glancing over at you, “You look good tonight, sucks it was wasted on an asshole.”

Your cheeks get warm, palms sweaty, and you’re not sure why. All you can manage to do is glance over at Vince and mutter a simple, “thanks, I guess.”

The next thing you know you’re in a Dairy Queen drive through and Vince is looking over at you. “What do you want?”

“I didn’t…wait, what?” But Vince is pulling up to the speaker before you have any longer to question it so you tell him what you want and wait in silence till he pulls ahead. “I didn’t realize we were getting ice cream.”

“And we’re going to watch that shitty tv show you’re always trying to get Sammy to watch,” Vince tells you, clearly having already constructed a plan for how he was going to turn the night around for you. 

“Thank you, Vince,” you whisper and he glances over, eyes meeting yours before shrugging casually, as if it was no big deal. But it was. It was a big deal. He had already gone out of his way to pick you up, something he didn’t need to do. Now he was committing to trying to cheer you up. 

Before you know it you’re back at Sammy and Vince’s apartment and Sammy is lost beyond hope regarding the situation. “It’s okay,” you assured Sammy when he asked you about the six phone calls the second you walked through the front door. “Vince came to get me.”

“Why?” Sammy asks, glancing back and forth between the two of you. 

“Because you have terrible timing to go have a shower.” Tugging your jacket off you hang it up on the hook by the door. “I should have listened to you, dating is just a bad idea.”

“Well I didn’t exactly say that,” Sammy mutters, following after you and Vince as you head towards the living room. “What happened?”

“My date was a creep, I called your phone…a few times, and Vince answered after he got annoyed with listening to it ring.”

“I wasn’t annoyed,” Vince chimes in, flopping down onto the end of the couch. 

Rolling your eyes you glance over at Vince, shaking your head. “Don’t lie, I heard how annoyed you were.”

“I wasn’t annoyed,” Vince repeats, eyes locked on yours. 

“Fine,” you comment, but you were still convinced it was a lie and he was just trying not to sound like an asshole after finding out about the situation. “We’re going to watch Selling Sunset, want to join?”

Sammy furrows his eyebrows, glancing over at Vince. “You’re going to watch Selling Sunset?” He asks, directing his question at Vince. 

Walking over you sit down on the opposite end of the couch from Vince, pulling your legs and crossing them as you reach for the remote. 

“Yeah,” Vince replies, looking over at Sammy while grabbing the remote for you and handing it to you. 

Sammy stands in a stunned silence for a minute, staring at Vince in disbelief. He could barely ever convince Vince to let him pick a series and now here he was, willing to watch a reality tv show about Los Angeles real estate. “Okay,” Sammy finally mutters, settling into the love seat on the other side of the room, exchanging silent glances with you. Silent glances that asked, ‘what’s going on?’ But you couldn’t answer, verbally or silently, because you weren’t really sure where this behaviour was coming from with Vince. 

A few episodes later and you decide to put Vince and Sammy, who were trying their best to seem like they actually cared about what was on the screen, out of their misery. “I’m going to head to bed,” you tell them, handing the remote to Vince as you push yourself off the couch, stretching your arms over your head. “Thanks again, for everything tonight,” you tell Vince. 

“Anytime,” he replies, watching as you walk out of the living room and into the guest room down the hall. 

It’s not long before there’s a knock on your door and you look up from where you were laying on the bed scrolling through your phone. Sammy pushes the door open, taking two bounding steps before throwing himself onto your bed. “What happened tonight?” He asks, his tone a serious shift from his actions of throwing himself around like a ragdoll. 

Shrugging you lock your phone, setting it down and adjusting higher on your pillow so you could see your brother without fully committing to actually sitting up. “My date was just creepy…he kept trying to get me to leave with him like 5 minutes into the date.”

Sammy visibly tenses up when he hears this, shifting to sit up as he looks down at you. “So you called Vince?”

“I called you,” you exclaim, laughing as you reach other, grabbing a pillow and swinging it towards him. “But you seemed to think the date was going to last longer than half an hour.”

“I’m sorry,” Sammy tells you, and you can tell that he really means it. Normally you were sure he wouldn’t care about not being able to pick you up at the exact moment you wanted him to. He was your brother after all, he cared, but he wasn’t sweet about it. This was just a different type of situation, you knew it, he knew it, and thankfully, Vince had figured that out too. 

“It’s fine, I just won’t rely on you…ever again,” you joke. 

“That’ll last like twenty minutes,” Sammy replies, laying back down along the foot of your bed. “Till you find a spider in your room and refuse to come back in till I kill it for you.”

“Don’t put that in the universe, that’s so mean to wish that upon me.” 

You and Sammy continue talking till you’re about to drift off to sleep and he sneaks out of your room, like he did when you were six and had a nightmare. 

A couple days later Sammy and Vince had to go on a five day road trip and you considered going home, brought up the idea to Sammy. He pointed out the fact that you had a key to the apartment, you had gotten comfortable there, and it was only five days. So you agreed to stay, relatively easily at that. Because if you were being honest, you missed being around Sammy, and you were happier there than you had been in awhile. 

The morning they were leaving you were saying your goodbyes, hugging Sammy quickly. “Good luck, I’ll miss you. I promise I won’t throw any parties,” you joked. You were used to sad goodbyes with Sammy, after he would come home during the summer and you would have to say goodbye for months. This one felt so different though, knowing it was only a few days apart. It was comforting. 

When you pulled away you looked over at Vince, hesitating a second before throwing your arms around him too. “Good luck,” you told him, his arms tight around your waist. It was different than your hug with Sammy, of course it would be, but you weren’t prepared for just how different. You weren’t prepared for the the scent of his cologne, the way he held you tight to his body, the warmth radiating from him, would make your stomach fill with butterflies. “I’ll miss you as well,” you added, playing it off as a joke, but you knew it wasn’t really a joke. 

Vince had chuckled in response, your body absorbing the way his laughter rumbled through his body. “I’ll miss you too,” he whispered, sending a shiver down your spine with the quiet tone of his voice. He had pulled away, looking at you once more before the two of them headed out. 

You went about your normal routine while they were gone but the quietness of the apartment was starting to get to you around day three, leaving you longing for not just your brother but Vince as well, to be back. So when Sammy told you the time they would be back you went all out, going grocery shopping and picking up all of Sammy’s favourite foods and the few you remember Vince mentioning liking. And you were halfway through cooking dinner for everyone when they got back from their trip. 

“Hey,” you called from the kitchen, sautéing a pan full of vegetables, music playing loudly from the speaker on the counter a few feet away. “I’m making dinner, if you guys already ate I’m going to be sad.”

“We didn’t.” Shockingly it’s Vince who’s greets you first, walking up behind you and leaning over your shoulder to look into the pan. 

“How was the flight home?” You ask, turning your head to glance up at Vince. He’s closer than you expected and you can’t stop the smile that spreads on your face. You’re convinced it’s because you’re just glad to have people around again, and not because you had really started to like Vince. 

“Pretty good,” Vince tells you, stepping to the side to lean against the counter beside the stove. “How was your week alone in my house?”

Rolling your eyes you set the spatula down beside the stove, looking up at him. “Fantastic, your bed is so much more comfortable than the one in the guest room.”

“Oh, really?” Vince chuckles. “I’m willing to share.”

You’re caught off guard by Vince’s comment, unable to come up with a witty response before Sammy is in the room as well. “What are you making?” Sammy asks, walking over and giving you a quick hug before immediately plugging his phone into the nearest outlet and unlocking his phone, typing quickly. 

“Stir fry…who are you talking to?” You ask Sammy, your tone teasing. 

Sammy shakes his head but his little smile tells you that it’s not nothing. “Ooh,” you laugh, stepping away from the stove to try to look at Sammy’s phone. But he pulls it away quickly and the next thing you know you’re wrestling for Sammy’s phone like you’re both teenagers again. “Just tell me,” you laugh, hand grasping for his phone as he pushes your arm back with his free hand. 

“Her name is Anna,” Vince says. 

Pulling back from Sammy you glance over at Vince, shocked at his willingness to let you in on Sammy’s business. “Oh,” you hum, picking up the spatula again to stir the vegetables in the pan. “So, who’s Anna?” 

“A girl I’ve been talking to for a few weeks,” Sammy tells you easily. There was never really any need to keep it a secret, he was just playing the part of an annoying older brother in trying to keep it a secret. “We went on a date a couple days before we left.”

“You didn’t tell me you were going on a date?” 

“I actually didn’t think it would lead to anything,” Sammy confesses. 

“Like Y/N’s dating life,” Vince quips. 

You whip your head in Vince’s direction, gasping at his comment. “You’re an asshole,” you exclaim, laughing. “I’ll let you know, I could have a boyfriend if I wanted…I’m just not trying right now.”

“Seemed like you were trying,” Vince chuckles. 

“I swear to god, Vince,” you mutter, wielding the spatula you were holding with a joking threat. 

“Can one of you shut up so we don’t burn the house down, please,” Sammy chimes in and draws your attention back to the vegetables that were starting to stick to the pan. As you go back to finishing up dinner the boys continue on with their own conversations, discussing things that happened over the trip and the upcoming schedule for the week. 

After you all finish dinner you’re back in the kitchen to tidy up and do some dishes, but Vince is at your side at the sink quickly after. Nudging you to the side Vince grabs the wash cloth from your hand. “I got it,” he tells you. 

“I don’t mind,” you retort, not moving much further away from the beside the sink. “I’m sure you guys are tired.”

“I slept on the flight,” Vince informs you, running the cloth over a mixing bowl in the sink. 

Huffing you step away from him, “fine.” Walking to the cupboard you grab the box of tea you bought a few days prior, taking a mug down as well as you turn the kettle on. “Want some tea?”

Vince chuckles, an obvious enough answer, but he follows it up with “no, thanks,” anyway. “So did you go on anymore dates while we were gone?”

Rolling your eyes you hop up onto the counter while you wait for your tea to steep, watching Vince do the dishes. “No, nobody here was to rescue me if it went poorly.”

“So what did you actually do the whole time we were gone?”

Shrugging you bring the tea to your lips, taking a sip of the hot liquid. “Hung out with some friends a few times, explored the city, watched all your games.”

“Friends?” 

“Yes, Vince, I’m capable of making friends,” you mutter, rolling your eyes. 

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Vince chuckles, glancing over at you. “I just mean, like, you’re just here visiting and you’re still making friends? Where did you meet them anyway?”

“The gym,” you inform him, your voice quiet and deflated. You didn’t really like to think about that fact, about the reality that you would have to make some kind of move soon. You couldn’t live in this vacation-like reality forever. No matter how much you wanted to. 

After the dishes are done Vince heads to his computer to play video games and you head to the living room to watch some TV till Sammy was done unpacking and you could convince him to hang out with you and give you all the details about Anna. 

And two days later Sammy was beyond glad that he had given you all the details about Anna when he sent you a panicky text. The boys had the day off and Sammy had gone out to run a few errands while you were hanging out at the house with Vince. ‘I told Anna I would cook her dinner at my place.’

‘that’s dumb, you can’t cook’ you replied quickly, sitting on the couch and watching Vince play video games. You were trying to be more involved with that after he had started watching the occasional episode of Selling Sunset with you. 

‘that’s not the issue’ ‘I’ll figure that out’ ‘You and Vince can’t be there, it’ll be awkward’ 

Sighing you glance up from your phone screen to Vince. “Vince,” you call, standing up from the couch and making your way across the room. “We gotta go.”

“Where?” Vince mutters, not peeling his eyes off the screen in front of him.

“I don’t know,” you confess while sending Sammy a text to tell him you were on it, to give you twenty minutes and you’d be out. “Sammy is kicking us out.”

“What?” Vince asks, spinning in his chair once his game had ended. 

“He needs the apartment for a date, now hurry up, we’re going out for awhile.”

Vince groans and sets his controller down, reluctantly pulling himself off the chair. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“I agreed on your behalf.” Walking into your room you grab a jacket, your wallet, and keys before hurrying back towards the door where Vince was already pulling on his shoes. “Have anything you needed to get done?” You ask him once you had your shoes on and you were on your way out the door behind Vince. 

“I would have already been doing it.”

Rolling your eyes you reach forward and shove him playfully. “If you don’t stop being an asshole I’ll drop you off at the library for four hours.”

“It’s my car…and I’m driving.”

“No, please, let me drive,” you ask, shuffling quickly in front of him and spinning around so you were facing him. Sammy had given you permission to drive his car while he was out of town and you had loved exploring the city, not really knowing where you were going, just driving. 

“No, I’ve seen you drive.” Vince keeps his hand folded firmly over his car keys, gazing down at you.

“That was one time,” you defend.

“One time we almost died.” 

Rolling your eyes you cross your arms over your chest. “You’re so dramatic, it wasn’t that bad.”

Suddenly Vince has his hands on your arms and he’s spinning you around, pushing you towards the car. “Get in the car,” his voice is filled with urgency and you notice Sammy pulling up towards the apartment parking lot. 

Giggling at the whole situation you hop into his car, watching Sammy pull into his parking stall. Neither you or Vince had to bring up the idea of staying in the car and doing a little light-hearted spying, you were silently on board with the idea. You watch Sammy get out, trying to make it to the passenger’s side of the car to open Anna’s door but she’s already getting out and you watch as the awkwardly fumble around the door for a second. Both you and Vince glance over at each other at the same, bursting into laughter. 

“No, but they are cute together,” you comment through your giggles, watching as they laugh off the exchange, Sammy closing the door behind her. 

“He wouldn’t shut up about her over the trip.”

“That’s cute.” You watch as they head into the apartment building together before turning your attention back to Vince. “What about you?”

“What about me?” Vince turns his car on, putting it into drive and pulling out of the parking lot, no real destination in mind. 

“You must have someone you can’t shut up about…I mean, look at you,” you comment absentmindedly, not really thinking about how it would come across. 

“Are you calling me hot, Y/N?”

“Well,” you hum, laughing as your cheeks redden slightly. “I think it’s like, objective, you know. Anyone would say you’re hot.”

“So you don’t personally find me hot?”

“Oh my god,” you exclaim, shaking your head as Vince simply chuckles. He was really trying his hardest to keep you from getting out of that one easily. “Where are we going?”

“The library, I’m leaving you there,” Vince jokes. 

“Great, books are more entertaining than you anyway,” you quip.

“I was going to take you to get a coffee but maybe not now.”

“No,” you whine, laughing. Vince had clearly noticed when all three of you would get in the car to go anywhere the first time thing out of your mouth was ‘can we get a coffee’? “I take it back then.”

So a few minutes later you’re in the drive through at Starbucks and you don’t even need to tell Vince your order because he has it memorized, which you’re surprised by. He pays for your coffee even though you insist that you can buy it. Then you’re driving again and you end up parked in front of a shoe store. 

“I actually did have something I needed to get done,” Vince tells you, chuckling. 

“Oh, so you were just being rude for no good reason then,” you comment, hoping out of the car after him and walking towards the store with Vince. “Does this mean I get to help you pick shoes?”

“Uh,” Vince mutters, glancing down to your shoes. “No.”

“Take me to the library, you’re so mean,” you whine, playfully pushing his arm. 

Vince laughs, reaching over and grabbing your hand as you push him. “Come on,” he huffs jokingly, pulling you along into the store. And you suddenly can’t focus on anything but his hand, the way it so easily wrapped around yours, warm and secure. But it makes you nervous, the way it causes butterflies to fill your stomach, so you pull it away quickly. 

You’re in the shoe store much longer than you though, Vince taking an excessively long amount of time to make a decision. But you don’t mind because in all honesty, you simply liked being around Vince. Your next stop is for dinner and Vince picks the restaurant, still acting as an unofficial tour guide for you. 

By the time dinner is over you had expected to receive a text from Sammy, letting you know that it was fine to come home. But you get nothing, so you and Vince go get ice cream and drive to a lookout, listening to music and eating your dessert. Your conversation flows easily and you would happily have sat there for hours with Vince, talking and joking. But you get a text message from Sammy shortly after telling you he was taking Anna home. 

“We’re safe to go back,” you tell Vince, pulling your seatbelt back on. 

“Too bad,” Vince mutters. 

“What?”

Vince glances across the interior of the car at you, silent for a second as he tugs his seatbelt on. “It’s just been more fun than I thought this would be.”

“I don’t know how to take that,” you laugh. It was nice to hear he had been having a good time, but you didn’t know if you should be upset that he was anticipating it not being a very good time. 

Vince chuckles, not saying anything else about it as the two of you drive back to the apartment. You’re back before Sammy and you head for the living room, Vince following after you and not putting saying anything as you pick the movie for the night. 

‘going to get an uber now’ 

You had gone out with your new group of friends for the night, one drink turning to two and two turning to a count you had lost long ago. You had been texting Vince all night, though it wasn’t anything new. The two of you had fallen into a routine of texting almost anytime you were apart. He had picked up on your dwindling sobriety throughout the night, as almost anyone reading your messages could have. So when you told him you were getting an Uber he was quick to reply. 

‘I’ll come get you, where are you?’

So you sent him your address, you and your friends paying your bills before heading outside for everyone to wait for their rides. Shockingly it’s Vince who shows up first and your friends are quick to make comments about how none of their real boyfriends were that quick to get there. You brushed it all off, making excuses that he was just a good friend, that he was probably speeding anyway, that you didn’t live that far. Anything to not admit the fact that you and Vince might have a connection that was becoming more than just friendly. 

“Hi,” you greet, cheerful as you climb into Vince’s car. It was so unlike the first time he picked you up and Vince was grateful for that, not just because you were in a better mood but also because it meant you hadn’t been out on a date. 

“How was your night?” Vince laughs.

“Good,” you giggle, looking over at him as he drives back to the apartment. And you can’t help but think about how attractive he truly was, how he made your heart beat just a little faster. He was your brother’s best friend and you knew the feelings you were having towards him were complicated. “Yours?”

“Probably not as good as yours,” he jokes, taking note of the way you couldn’t stop smiling, primarily a result of the alcohol in your system. But there was also a part of you that was just happy to be around him. 

“So anyway, Michael has been staying late at work all the time and Lily is starting to get suspicious about it,” you ramble as you walk through the apartment door with Vince. It’s quiet in the apartment and you realize you hadn’t texted Sammy in awhile, wondering if he was in bed. “Sammy?” You call, stumbling slightly over the edge of the doormat. 

Vince wraps an arm around your waist, steadying you as he laughs. “He’s in bed,” Vince tells you. “What do you need?”

“Nothing,” you admit, clutching onto the arm Vince had wrapped around your waist. “Just wanted to say hi to him.”

Vince chuckles and nods. “I think you should go to bed too.” He gently guides you further into the apartment, reaching over to turn the deadbolt on the door while keeping one arm around you, as if you couldn’t stand on your own. 

“Hey, Vince,” you whisper although you didn’t need to get his attention. 

“Yes, Y/N?” He steps closer now, looking down at you in the silent apartment, waiting to hear what your drunk mind was coming up with. 

“Thank you, for everything, for letting me stay here this long. I promise I’ll leave soon. I know you didn’t sign up to have two roommates.”

Vince smiles softly, shrugging. “Don’t worry about it. I like having you here. I don’t, you know, want you to leave if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Oh,” you whisper, processing the idea that you weren’t annoying Vince with your extended stay. “I mean it though, thank you.”

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Vince says, changing the subject as he guides you through the apartment to the guest bedroom. He hovers near the doorway, clearly wanting to make sure you were settled in bed before leaving you.

You knew he was there, you knew you should ask him to look away if he wanted to stay till you were in bed, but you don’t. Instead you simply pull your shirt up over your head, exposing a lacy black bra you had worn for no real reason except that it made you feel confident. Shimmying your jeans down your legs you toss them aside carelessly. You don’t even look over at Vince as you reach behind you to unhook that bra, missing the way he stood there, stunned and frozen with his eyes on you. You let your bra fall to the ground, your body angled away from Vince as you grab a t-shirt from the dresser. 

“Y/N?” Sammy’s voice calls through the apartment. 

“Fuck,” you mutter, clutching the shirt to your bare chest. Your wide eyes look over at Vince who comically steps back and forth between the wide-open bedroom door, clearly not knowing what the correct move was. “Just close it.” And Vince does exactly that, from the inside. “Vince,” you groan.

“You told me to,” he defends, his hand still resting on the doorknob. 

“From outside,” you tell him. “Now this just looks…weird.”

“Y/N? Are you okay?” Sammy calls through the closed bedroom door. 

“Yeah,” you call back, spinning around to leave your back facing Vince as you pull your t-shirt on, grateful for the size and length of it. “Just getting ready for bed.”

“Okay, just wanted to make sure you got home safe.”

Home. Your eyes flick over to Vince, trying to see if he caught onto the same, subtle insinuation. But he still just looked panicky as he stands beside the closed door. “Yeah, I’m just going to bed now.”

“Can I come in and say goodnight?”

Your heart begins to race as stare at Vince in silence for a second. “Yeah.”

You couldn’t say no, he would immediately know that something was wrong. Sammy pushes the door open a second later and Vince looks to you in panic. “How was-,” Sammy begins to ask when he spots Vince, looking back and forth between the two of you. “What’s going on?” 

You weren’t sure why you felt so guilty. You hadn’t done anything with Vince, it wasn’t a lie to say that nothing was happening, that he was just making sure you got to bed safely. Maybe the reason you felt so guilty was because that wasn’t all you wanted to happen. “Vince picked me up, was just making sure I got to bed safely.” 

Sammy nods slowly, not seeming convinced. “Well I got it from here,” he mutters to Vince, nodding towards the still open door. Vince glances back at you one more time before leaving, the silence in the room painful. “What’s going on?” Sammy repeats once it’s just you and him.

“Nothing,” you exclaim, flopping down onto your bed and climbing under the covers, hoping to make it obvious that you didn’t have anything else to say. 

“You two are getting really close,” Sammy points out. “Are you sure it’s nothing?”

“Yes,” you huff, dramatically yanking your blankets higher up around your shoulders. “Go back to bed.”

“Don’t have to be so moody,” Sammy grumbles, turning off your light and closing the door behind him as he leaves your room. Once he’s gone you lay awake for most of the night, your mind racing with thoughts of Vince. Thoughts you knew you shouldn’t be feeling towards him but the more you tried to think of anything other than him the more vivid the thoughts became till your mind eventually silenced itself completely and you drifted to sleep.

“I’m spending the night at Anna’s place,” Sammy told you a few days later as he was grabbing his keys off the counter and heading for the door. 

Giggling you glance up from the book you were reading, shooting him a knowing look. 

“Don’t be weird,” he comments, chuckling. 

“What do you mean? I didn’t say anything,” you joke, feigning innocence. 

“I don’t know where Vince is, he left while you were at the gym, don’t know when he’ll be back,” Sammy informs. 

“Have fun tonight,” you call as he walks out the front door. 

A few hours later you’ve migrated to the kitchen, finishing up baking some cookies while you were trying to figure out how you wanted to spend the rest of the evening. 

“Hey.”

Jumping you whirl around to face the direction of that the sudden voice comes from. Bringing your hand to your chest over your racing heart you laugh in relief when you see it’s just Vince. “You scared me, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Sorry,” Vince chuckles, reaching over and taking one of the cookies off the cooling rack on the counter. “Where’s Sammy?”

“He’s at Anna’s place for the night,” you explain, leaning against the counter. “Are they good? It’s a new recipe.”

“Yeah, really good. So we’re alone tonight?” Vince asks, elbows on the counter as he leans against it, eyes focused on you. 

“Can’t believe he left us without supervision,” you joke, pulling the last tray of cookies out of the oven before turning it off. 

“What do you want to do?” 

“Movie night?”

“Sure,” Vince agrees, shrugging as he pushes himself off the counter. “Let’s go pick up dinner first.”

After a quick trip to the grocery store and your favourite sushi restaurant you’re back at the apartment, pouring yourself a glass of wine while Vince was already opening up the boxes of sushi. “Want some?” You ask Vince, gesturing to the wine. 

“Uh,” he hums before shaking his head. “I’ll pass on that,” he chuckles, walking to the fridge and grabbing a beer for himself. 

“Should have figured,” you giggle, putting the white wine back into the fridge.

In the living room you two settle onto the couch to have dinner and pick the first movie of the night. Halfway through the second movie you’ve lost your focus on the plot, eyes on your phone as you curl into the corner of the couch, scrolling through your instagram feed.

“What is more interesting than this movie?” Vince questions, gesturing to the tv and the movie he had picked that was playing on it. 

Glancing up you roll your eyes playfully. “Almost anything.” Scooting down the couch you settle in beside Vince, letting him see your phone screen. 

And within seconds the movie is long forgotten as he chuckles at a meme you scroll by. The transition from Instagram to TikTok is quick and so is the movement from you sitting beside Vince to you being tucked under his arm and leaning into his side. You’re both giggling at the short videos and the time slips by quickly, the credits on the tv rolling and reminding you of the fact that you had planned a movie night. “Do I get to pick the next one?” 

Vince reluctantly hands you the remote, wrapping his arm around you as you rest your head against his shoulder. His body is warm and his embrace is comforting and you know you shouldn’t want to stay like this with him forever, but you do.

The next movie is more interesting but you find it just as hard to focus on with the way you were wrapped up in Vince’s arms. You’re not even sure what compels you to look up at Vince, he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t moved. But he notices and turns his attention to you a second later. “What?” He asks, voice low and rough in a way that makes your breath catch in your throat. 

“Nothing,” you whisper, barely able to make any sound come from your mouth as your cheeks get hot. And you want to say the flushing is from the wine but it only started when Vince’s eyes landed on your and you know he wouldn’t believe your lie. 

“Are you sure?”

You swallow hard, shifting slightly towards him. “I don’t know.”

Vince’s lips curl into a soft smile, eyes lingering on your lips as he reaches forward to brush a piece of your hair out of your face. “Then just show me what you’re thinking.”

It’s an invitation and you know he’s saying it because he already knows exactly what you’re thinking. But it’s risky and you both know that, too scared to make the move when the potential of it ending poorly is so high. But you can’t hold back any longer. So you lean forward, just enough for him to get the message and he takes over, hand around the back of your head as he leans over and kisses you. 

And he kisses you like he’s making every second worth it if things do end poorly. When you pull back your mind is racing a million miles an hour but your body is begging to do it again. You wait a second, hoping Vince would say something. But he doesn’t, and you don’t either, and you can’t think of anything better to do than lean back in and press your lips back against his. This time it’s heated in a way that you had never felt before and you’re climbing into his lap, hips grinding down on him. You weren’t aware of just how badly you needed him to touch you until that very minute when his lips brushed against yours. 

“Are you going to actually share your bed with me tonight?” You whisper against his lips when you finally pull back. 

“I would’ve shared my bed with you any night you wanted.” Vince grasps your hips, gently pushing you away from him and helping you onto your feet before standing up with you. “Are you sure?”

Smiling you lean up, kissing him quickly again. “Yes, of course.”

Vince wraps his large hand around yours, slowly walking you through the apartment. As if he didn’t want to seem too eager, careful and tentative around the whole situation. 

But once you’re in his room, on his bed, Vince is far less careful and tentative. And the night ends with you feeling barely able to move, body having ridden through more highs in one go than you had ever felt. 

As soon as you’re done Vince goes back to being careful, considerate as the two of you shower together and he lets you pick out a t-shirt before curling up under the covers of his bed. 

“Should we have done that?” You finally whisper after laying next to Vince with your head on his chest in silence for what felt like ages. 

“I’m not sure,” Vince admits with an obvious reluctance, running his hand along your bare arm. 

“Sammy was already suspicious of us.”

“I figured,” Vince tells you, sighing. “After the night I picked you up?”

“Yeah…I told him it was nothing…I mean, like, I know it was nothing, but-.”

“It wasn’t,” Vince interrupts, pulling you a little closer and pressing his lips to your forehead. “This isn’t nothing to me, Y/N. If I just wanted a quick fuck I definitely wouldn’t pick my best friend and roommate’s sister, no matter how hot you are.”

“Oh,” is all you can say, caught off guard. “Well then, what does it mean?”

Vince is quiet for too long after you ask, the only way you could tell he was still awake in the dark room was his hand still running up and down your arm. “I have feelings for you, but other than that…I don’t know,” Vince finally mutters. 

“I think we need to give it some time, not tell Sammy this happened yet.”

“Just go back to the way things were?”

“Yeah,” you whisper. 

Vince moves his hands to your waist, pulling you on top of him. 

“Vince,” you exclaim, hands clambering for support till they find his bare shoulders, holding you up as you look down at his silhouette below you. 

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Vince chuckles, his thumbs running along your upper thighs, large hands now wrapped around the backs of them. 

“I think you can,” you assure him, leaning down to press your lips to his. But the fact that you could feel him getting hard again makes you a little wary about whether he really could. “Maybe,” you whisper, moving your hips back as you reach down, wrapping around his length. 

“Fuck,” he groans, head tipping back on the pillow. And the last thing you had expected when you crawled into Vince’s bed after the first few rounds was to be doing it again. But you were making up for lost time. It’s slower this time, both of your tired bodies just searching for another release. And you find it, easier than normal, on top of Vince still in his t-shirt, panties simply pushed to the side. 

When you finish Vince is quick to help you get cleaned up again, letting you remain collapsed on his bed. You can’t stop your heart from fluttering with excitement with him, at how considerate and caring he was. And when he finally settles back down you curl back into his side. “We need to agree on something.”

“Alright,” Vince mutters apprehensively. 

“We can’t hook up when Sammy is here, it’s too risky.”

“Fine,” Vince finally agrees after a couple minutes of contemplation. The two of you drift to sleep very shortly after. 

Your eyes flutter open to a gentle shaking of your shoulder. “Hey, babe, you have to wake up,” Vince says, voice quiet. “Sammy and I have practice in a couple hours, he’s going to be home soon.”

Groaning you roll away from him, head buried in his pillow. “It’s too early.”

“I know,” Vince chuckles sitting on the edge of the bed and running his hand along your arm. “You’re the one who doesn’t want your brother to find out.”

“Don’t act like you want him to know you railed his sister the first time he left us alone,” you mumble, still half asleep. 

“When you put it that way,” Vince chuckles, head whipping towards the bedroom door when he hears the sound of the front door closing. 

“Shit,” you whisper, suddenly fully awake as you sit up completely straight. 

“Just stay here, I’ll tell him you haven’t come out of you room yet this morning,” Vince suggests. 

Nodding you run your hands through your messy hair, anxiety creeping up on you. If you were going to tell Sammy anything at this point you would rather just admit that you and Vince had feelings for each other, not that you spent the night in his bed. 

“Don’t worry, it’s believable. It’s not like you don’t normally sleep in till one in the afternoon.”

Scoffing you roll your eyes, flopping back onto Vince’s bad. “Whatever,” you grumble. “Text me when you two are gone,” you mutter, glad your phone had been in your pocket when you made your way to Vince’s room the night before. 

And when you finally get a text from Vince saying they were gone you pull yourself out of bed, making it behind you before wandering out of the bedroom. The apartment is so quiet and you make yourself some coffee, still just in Vince’s t-shirt. Something about it feels so right, so comfortable. After making a coffee you settle down on one of the barstools at the counter in the kitchen, opening your laptop and navigating to Indeed and before you’re even fully processing what you’re doing you’ve sent out a handful of resumes to jobs in St. Louis. 

After you finish applying to jobs you move on to getting ready for the day. When Sammy and Vince finally get home you feel the weight of so many secrets on your chest. Of not telling Sammy about you and Vince, of not telling Sammy and Vince about applying for jobs in St. Louis. 

“How was your night?” You ask Sammy as he walks into the kitchen, looking up over the top of your laptop. 

“Good,” Sammy replies, grabbing himself a snack from the fridge. “How was yours?”

“Good,” you reply simply, looking back down at your computer.

“Up late?” Looking back up you stare at Sammy for a second, feeling like he was trying to catch you in a lie. “I mean, you were still in bed when I left this morning.”

Nodding you pick up your mug, shrugging. “TikTok is pretty addicting,” you comment, brushing it off as you take a sip of your coffee. “I’m going grocery shopping, do you have anything in particular that you need?”

“Just the regular stuff we keep in the house,” Sammy shrugs, not wanting to have to actually think about it. 

Rolling your eyes you close your laptop and slide off the stool you were sitting on. “Really helpful, can I borrow your car?”

Sammy groans loudly. “What if I wanted to go out?”

“Well do you?”

“I’ll just take you,” Vince chimes in, walking into the room. 

Glancing over your eyes linger on Vince’s for a second, wanting so badly to be able to say something or hug him, something…anything. “Thanks,” you finally mutter, realizing you needed to say something and not just stand there and stare at him. 

“Want to go now?”

“Yeah, sure,” you agree, gathering your things and pulling on a hoodie on your way out the door. Once you’re outside you glance behind you and up at Vince. “So, since when are you so interested in grocery shopping?”

“Since it means being with you…away from your brother,” Vince chuckles, hands on your waist, tugging you to stop and pulling you into him. Leaning down he presses his lips to yours, your head tipped back and to the side, fingers clutching at his arm. 

“You’re not being very secretive,” you giggle, pulling back and looking around the front parking lot of the apartment building. 

“Fine, I’ll wait till we’re in the car.”

Rolling your eyes you get into the passenger’s side of Vince’s car. “We’re going to get groceries…that’s it.”

You drive to the closest grocery story and head inside with Vince, pushing the cart down almost every aisle, the two of you talking and making jokes the whole time. It’s such a mundane task, grocery shopping, but somehow doing it with Vince makes it enjoyable and fun. 

Back at the apartment you lug an armload of groceries inside, seeing Sammy sitting on the couch, xbox controller in this hands. “Thanks for the help,” you call to him sarcastically. 

Sammy chuckles, barely glancing in your direction. “You’ve got Vince.”

Your heart beats a little faster at that comment, dropping the bags onto the counter and looking over at Vince. You know that he didn’t miss the comment either by the smirk on his face, the way he walks over and wraps his arms around your waist. “See, he’s already accepted it,” Vince whispers jokingly. 

“Shut up,” you giggle, rolling your eyes as you playfully push him away and turn around to begin putting groceries away. Vince continues to make subtle moves, sliding his hand along your lower back as he walks by to put a box of crackers into the cupboard, stepping up behind you to take the can of chickpeas that you were struggling to put onto the top shelf out of your hand and doing it for you. It takes you two forever to finally put everything away and once you do it’s time to start making dinner. “Are you going to help me or just be in my way?” You tease. 

“I know you like having me around.”

Shaking your head you look down at the recipe on your phone, unable to argue against that. You really didn’t want Vince to leave, even if he was really just getting in your way. Because you liked Vince, a lot more than you should.

A few days later you received a call from one of the businesses you applied to asking you to come in for an interview, to which you easily agreed. It was during another four day span of Vince and Sammy being gone so you were able to get ready and go for your interview without any questions. There was something about admitting to the fact that you were trying to find a job in St. Louis that scared you. Perhaps it was simply because it was a little crazy. You would need to find a job willing to arrange a visa for you, you would need to find your own apartment, and quite frankly, you probably just hadn’t thought it through enough. But you didn’t want to leave either, you were having a good time here with your brother and Vince, although you were trying to convince yourself that Vince had nothing to do with the decision. 

The interview went well and the next morning you got a call with a job offer. You accepted it quickly, not just because it meant you could stay in St. Louis but because it was also a job you were more than interested in.

Sammy and Vince get home later that afternoon and you pull Sammy into the living room. “I have some news.”

“Okay?” Sammy mutters, eyebrows furrowed, hands folded nervously over his knees as he sits on the edge of the couch. 

“I got a job.”

“Oh, congratulations,” Sammy says, the news processing in his head as you watch his body language sink a little. “Does this mean you’re going back home?”

Shaking your head you fidget with a piece of thread on your hoodie sleeve. You weren’t sure why you were nervous to tell him that you had found a job there. “It’s here.”

Sammy has his arms around you quickly, pulling you to your feet and into a tight hug. “You’re staying here?”

Laughing you pull back from him, staring up at him in shock. You hadn’t expected him to be that excited about it. “Yes…I mean, I’ll obviously get my own place and car and everything but I’m going to be in the city.”

“What’s going on?” Vince asks, walking into the living room. 

“I got a job here,” you tell him, voice quiet and apprehensive. You were a little worried that Vince wouldn’t be happy, that maybe he had only been into you because he figured you would be leaving, that it was a short term thing.

“Here? Like, you’re staying in St. Louis…for good?”

Nodding slowly you glance down at the ground, taking a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“Congratulations,” he tells you, walking over and pulling you into a hug.

“Thanks,” you mumble, pulling back to look up at Vince, trying to read his expression. Unfortunately you come up with nothing, sighing as you step away from him. 

It’s not till much later that night when you even get the chance to talk to him more, Sammy barely leaving your side as he excitedly looked through apartment listings with you, even though he assured you that there was no rush for you to move out. 

Once everyone had gone to bed you sneak out of your room and down the hallway to Vince’s bedroom, pushing it open slightly. “Vince?” You whisper, trying your hardest not to wake Sammy up in the process. 

“Hey, babe,” Vince says softly, making your heart flutter so easily. “Are you going to come in?”

Slipping through the door you shut it softly behind you, fumbling through the dark bedroom to Vince’s bed. “Hey,” you mumble, climbing onto the empty side of the bed and sitting with you legs crossed, watching Vince sit up and lean against the headboard. 

“What’s wrong?”

How he knew so quickly that you were worried about something was beyond your comprehension. Normally you weren’t easy to read but Vince saw right through it. “I just…if you thought this was something different because I was going to be leaving, I totally get that. We can go back to just being friends…or not, if you don’t want. We don’t have to tell Sammy, I can move into my own apartment and we can pretend this didn’t happen, it’s fine,” you ramble. 

“Y/N,” Vince says quietly, reaching over and placing his hands around your waist, guiding you closer as you slide onto your knees. “I like you…I have feelings for you. I don’t want to pretend this didn’t happen.”

“I just thought, I don’t know. Your reaction earlier wasn’t what I expected.”

Vince pulls you over his lap, hands running along your thighs. “Because you don’t want Sammy to know about us and I didn’t want him to be suspicious if I seemed too happy about it.”

“Oh,” you whisper, sliding your hands along his bare chest, resting them on his shoulders. 

Vince chuckles, pulling you closer and leaning up. “I didn’t want to be the one to suggest it, but I was hoping you would look for a job here,” Vince admits before pressing his lips to yours. And you kiss him back eagerly, arms around Vince’s shoulders. 

Grinding your hips down into Vince you feel him already getting hard. And you needed him, more than you had ever felt you needed someone in your life. 

“Our agreement,” Vince mutters against your lips. 

You can feel his breath on your lips, can feel how hard he was below you, can feel every little shift of his fingers along your skin. “Vince, please,” you whimper. 

“Fuck, you can’t say it like that and expect me not to cave,” Vince groans, hands on the hem of your t-shirt, yanking it up over your head swiftly. And it comes off easily, your lack of a bra leaving it easy for Vince to immediately bring his lips to your chest. 

Tipping your head back you close your eyes, every single kiss, flick of his tongue over your nipples sends waves of anticipation through your body. “Vince,” you moan, rocking your hips back and forth against him, desperate for some kind of contact. 

Reaching down Vince slides your pyjama shorts down your legs as you move from one leg to the other, helping him take them off. His hand slips between your bodies, fingers up along your folds towards your clit. He eases his way towards it, circling around your clit till your nails are digging into his back and your body is writhing in desperation. When he finally gets to your clit the wash of pleasure is enough to bring a quiet cry of relief from your lips. 

“Fuck, I love hearing you, but I need you to be quiet,” Vince mutters in your ear as he brushes gentle circles over your clit. “Can you do that for me, baby girl?”

All you can manage to do is nod and hum out a muffled “mhm.” 

“Good girl,” Vince mutters, replacing his fingers on your clit with his thumb, fingers travelling down towards your entrance, one finger sliding inside of you. You’re trying your hardest to stay quiet, head dropping down to Vince’s shoulder as you bite down on your bottom lip. “Fuck,” you whisper a few minutes later, a few muffled moans slipping from your lips as you reach your high. 

Coming down from it you stay on Vince’s lap, pulling your head away from his shoulder to look into Vince’s eyes. Remaining where you were you reach down, hand guiding Vince towards your entrance, a heavy breath leaving your lips as you sink down onto him. Vince groans, hands on your hips as he shifts further down the bed. It’s unbelievably quiet in the room as the two of you find a rhythm, both of you fighting with every ounce of your self-control to remain quiet. You stay on top of Vince the entire time, both of you too scared to be too loud to switch positions. But it doesn’t take you long to reach your second wave of pleasure, your body already sensitive from the first. And it’s only a couple seconds after that Vince reaches his, groaning quietly as his grip on your hips tightens. When you climb off of him and collapse on the bed beside him Vince hops up, grabbing a towel for you and returning quickly to start the cleanup process. 

After using the washroom you return to Vince’s bed, curling up at his side, head on his chest. “I shouldn’t sleep in here.”

Vince sighs, running his hand along your back. “We’re going to have to tell him.”

“Do we really, Romeo?” You joke, tugging the blankets up higher on your body despite the fact that you had just told Vince you weren’t spending the night. 

There’s a few minutes of silence, Vince’s hand pausing on your back as if all his energy was being funnelled to his brain. “What?”

“Romeo and Juliet,” you tell him. 

“You think I’m going to get your Shakespeare references?” 

“At least you knew it was Shakespeare.”

Vince chuckles and shakes his head, “I’m not that stupid.”

“Well…,” you giggle, tipping your head back to look at Vince. 

“Oh, really?” He laughs, grabbing your wrist and flipping you around onto your back. He hovers over top of you, pinning your wrists down. “That was kinda rude.”

“Too bad I’m actually into this,” you whisper, looking up at him through your eyelashes as you bite gently on your bottom lip. 

Vince groans quietly, rolling off of you and flopping back onto his back. “Why is everything you do so hot?”

“Kinda glad you think that way, seems like it gives me an upper hand.”

“Looking like that you definitely have the upper hand, for sure,” Vince chuckles, wrapping his arm around your waist as he pulls you into him. And the two of you continue talking, the whole time you were fully intending to make your way back to your own bed. 

But you don’t ever make it out of Vince’s room that night. 

“Get your lazy ass up.” You’re startled away by a voice yelling through Vince’s door, fist knocking a minute later. “We’re going to be late for practice again, enculé.”

“Oh, shit,” you mutter under your breath, grasping at the blankets on Vince’s bed yanking them up over your bare torso as you sit up. “Vince,” you whisper, shaking his somehow still sleeping form. 

“Hmm?” He hums, rolling over to face you. “What’s wrong?” 

But before you have the chance to say anything Vince’s door flies open and your eyes meet with Sammy’s. You watch him visibly try to process what was going on in front of him, eyes wide and fists clenched. 

“Sammy,” you begin, watching him step back, shaking his head in disbelief. “Sammy, wait, I…it’s not what it looks like.”

“Really?” Sammy counters, obviously knowing that it was exactly what it looked like. But he’s already on his way back out of the bedroom and you make a move to stand up but Vince grabs your arm before you have the chance. 

“Give him a second to process,” Vince suggests, glancing down at the way you were clutching his blankets to your naked body. “And maybe put some real clothes on.”

Nodding you crawl out of Vince’s bed, pulling on the pyjama’s you were wearing when you showed up in his room the night before. Vince gets up a minute later, pulling on a pair of jeans a hoodie, glancing at his phone. “We are going to be late,” he mutters, his back to you as he gathers his keys and wallet, jamming them into his pockets. 

“Vince, I’m scared.”

Vince turns around quickly, eyes on you. You had your arms wrapped tight around your body, eyes teary. “Hey,” Vince says gently, walking over and pulling you into a gentle hug, resting his chin on top of your head. “It’s okay, everything is going to be fine.”

“Did you see him? He looked so upset…he’s going to be mad, Vince. I can’t, I can’t handle him being mad at me.” 

You didn’t even realize you were crying till Vince pulls back, reaching up and wiping away the tears from your cheeks. “He won’t be mad at you, he’ll be mad at me. I’m the one who started this.”

You’re caught off guard by this, laughing softly. “That’s a lie.”

“It’s not.”

“I kissed you on the couch,” you remind him, your hands wrapped around his forearms as you stare up into his eyes. 

“I came home early and skipped going for drinks with the guys that night because Sammy told me he was going out for the night. I was hoping for what happened that night.”

You’re caught off guard by his confession, speechless and frozen in place. 

Glancing over you see Sammy step into the doorway, slowly pulling away from Vince “We have to go.” 

“Yeah,” Vince mutters, reaching over and grabbing your hand, squeezing it as he steps out of the bedroom with Sammy. 

You watch them walk away in silence, not leaving Vince’ bedroom till you hear the front door close. Slowly making your way out of the bedroom you try to busy yourself with tidying the apartment to keep yourself thinking too much about the situation. 

“Y/N,” Sammy’s voice calls later in the day, walking into the living room where you were sitting on your laptop, scrolling through apartment listings. 

“Hey,” you say quietly, looking up at him. Reaching forward you slowly close your laptop, setting it down on the coffee table in front of you. “How was practice?” 

“Fine,” he says, sitting down on the love seat beside the couch you were on. Sammy watches you glance in direction of the hallway. “He went to Jordan’s place.”

“Oh,” you whisper, feeling your heart sink a little. 

“It wasn’t his idea,” Sammy tells you, noticing how disappointed you seemed. “I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Oh,” you repeat, not knowing what to say. Your brother had always known the details of your relationships, telling him all about your crushes, dates, when boyfriends would upset you. This had been the first time you kept something like that a secret from him, and now you were regretting it. Perhaps if you had told him earlier, when you first started to develop feelings for Vince things would have been different. But now it seemed like you two knew there was something wrong with what you were doing, needing to keep it a secret. 

The silence in the room is heavy, and it feels painful as you fidget in your seat. Sammy staring at you for a few minutes before finally saying anything. “Why?”

Staring down at the ground you try to come up with an answer to his question. “I like him,” you whisper, shrugging.

“Why him? Did you not even think about what’ll happen when things end between you two?”

“That’s really optimistic,” you mumble, eyes focused on your fingers as you pick a few pieces of lint off of your jeans. 

“Well what?” Sammy asks, voice raising in frustration. “You going to marry him?”

Finally looking up at Sammy you roll your eyes, sighing loudly. 

“God, now I see why mom got so mad every time you rolled your eyes,” Sammy mutters. “Why the hell are you even rolling your eyes?”

“Because I’m not even thinking about marriage…with Vince or anyone else. That’s crazy,” you reply, your voice getting louder and louder with each word. 

“So you’re going to break up with him, or he’s going to break up with you and then my friendship with him is going to be fucked,” Sammy snaps. “You really didn’t consider that? That you’re ruining my friendship with Vince…and for what?”

“Stop yelling at me,” you yell back, hoping up from the couch and staring down at him, tears welling up in your eyes. “I’m sorry, Sammy. I don’t know what to say, I like him.” Sniffling you reach up, wiping away tears from underneath your eyes. 

“I’m not okay with it.”

Wrapping your arms tight around your body you try to compose yourself, try to stop the tears from continuously flooding your eyes. You hated that you cried during conflict, hated that when it was conflict with Sammy that reaction was always heightened. “What do you want me to do then?”

Sammy glares up at you, shaking his head. “You already fucked it up, it’s too late for you to do anything.”

It feels like someone just punched you in the stomach, physical pain radiating through your body in response to his words. But you can’t think of a single defence for yourself. “Fuck you,” is all you manage to croak out before turning around and hurrying in the direction of the front door. 

“Where are you going?” Sammy calls, following after you. 

“I don’t know,” you tell him honestly, yanking on a jacket you had hanging up on a hook beside the door. “Does it really matter? I mean, I’m such a fuck up anyway.”

“I didn’t say that,” Sammy exclaims, watching you pull on a pair of shoes. “Can you just stop? We’re not kids anymore, you can’t just fucking run away.”

“No, we’re not,” you snap, standing up straight again. “So why are you treating me like one?”

“Because it’s my goddamn life you’re messing with.”

“You don’t have to be such an asshole,” you whisper, tears now streaming down your face with no chance of you being able to contain them. “I’m sorry I developed feelings for your friend, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about, I’m sorry I acted on it…I’m sorry I came here, I don’t know what you want me to say.” You’re reaching for the doorknob a moment later, yanking the door open. 

“Don’t say that, stop, Y/N, where the fuck are you even going to go?” Sammy asks, reaching for your arm which you pull away from him before he has the chance to grab you. “You can’t just wander around alone crying."

“Well it’s not like this apartment is feeling overly hospitable right now,” you tell him, wiping the tears off  your cheeks. “I never would have thought you would be such an asshole over me falling for a guy. I’m sorry he’s your friend, I wasn’t trying to make that happen. In fact, I was trying not to. But you don’t really care, do you? Because the situation isn’t perfect for you so why should you even try to accept it?”

With that you leave the apartment. You take an Uber to one of your new friend’s houses, thankful that she had replied before your Uber even got there that she was free and wanted to hang out. After a brief explanation of what was going on you settle down on her couch, her puppy curled up in your lap as you two talk, able to get your mind off of the situation with Sammy and Vince, even if only for a short period of time. 

You two order take out and lay on the couch, sending each other dumb tiktoks for the majority of the night. 

‘Are you okay?’ It’s a text from Vince and you switch from the tiktok app to your messages. 

‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’m at my friend’s place. You’re home now?’

“Vince texted, I think he just got home,” you tell your friend, sitting up on her couch with a sigh. 

“Did he say anything about the situation?” She asks, turning her head to look over at you. 

Shaking your head you look down at your screen, watching the three dots inside a text bubble, waiting to get the text he was typing. ‘Yes, when are you coming back?’

‘I don’t know. I guess soon, I just don’t know what to do.’ 

‘About what?’

‘Sammy’ ‘Us’ 

‘Can I come pick you up?’

And twenty minutes later you’re leaving your friend’s house, promising to keep her updated on the situation. 

“Hey,” you greet as you get into Vince’s car, glancing over at him while pulling on your seatbelt. 

“Hey.” Vince reaches over, placing his hand on your thigh, squeezing gently. “How did it go with Sammy?” 

“Not great,” you admit, placing your hand on top of Vince’s, sliding your fingers between his and folding your hand over his. “Did you guys talk?” 

“A bit.” Vince says, pulling out of the parking lot of the apartment. “What did he say to you?”

“That I’m messing up his life,” you mumble, your eyes filling with tears. “Basically I fucked up and whatever the fallout from this is it’s all my fault.” 

Vince’s hand clenches around the steering wheel as he drives with no particular destination in mind. Of course Sammy was one of his best friends and that wasn’t about to change over one fight. But friends didn’t always agree on everything, didn’t always get along. And by the way Vince’s jaw was clenched, eyes glaring through the windshield in front of him, it was clear that was the case. “That’s such bullshit. You know that’s not true...right?” 

“What if it’s not?” you croak. “Are we being selfish? Your friendship with Sammy, jeopardizing that when this ends?”

“It doesn’t have to end poorly and ruin anything,” Vince points out. “It doesn’t have to end,” he adds. 

“Vince,” you whisper, glancing down at your hands folded together. How perfect they fit, how comfortable you were with him. “That’s crazy to say right now.”

“I know,” he admits, squeezing your hand. “So it might not last forever, but no matter what happens we’ve already started...whatever this is, so why does it matter when it ends?”

You can’t really argue with that point. Your options are end it now or give it time, see how things play out. “But…Sammy,” you whisper. 

“Give him time.” 

The two of you drive around aimlessly for a little while longer till he pulls into the parking lot of the apartment building, glancing over at you. “You okay? 

Nodding you pull your hand from his, resting it on the console as you lean across it and Vince is quick to react, bringing his hand to the side of you face to cup your cheek. His lips are gentle but eager, moving with intent but not pushing too far. And for a moment it feels like everything else has faded away, worries and stress blurring till they’re no longer visible anymore. “How do we do this?” You whisper, pulling back from Vince. 

“Do what?” He asks, sitting back in his seat, body angled towards you. 

“Deal with being in there, together, with Sammy.”

Vince is quiet for a moment, tapping at his steering wheel. “We’ll just figure it out when we’re in there, see what he’s like.”

Nodding slowly you open the car door, slipping out and walking towards the apartment with Vince. With every step closer you feel a growing anxiety, each and every possibility running through your mind. Would Sammy still be mad? Would he try to pick up the argument right where it ended? Would it be worse if he just decided to ignore it? Would you all need to sit down and have a conversation like an awkward family meeting nobody wants to be a part of? 

When you step into the apartment after Vince you hear the sound of the TV from the living room. Slowly making your way into the living room you notice Sammy with an Xbox controller in his hand, eyes trained on the TV. “Hey,” you greet, sitting down on the couch and alternating between watching the game he was playing and glancing at Sammy. 

“Hey,” Sammy mutters, finishing up his game before tossing the controller down onto the coffee table and sitting up to turn and face you. “Did running away solve everything?”

Shaking your head you pull your legs up to your chest on the couch. “Should I have stayed here and let you yell at me about fucking up your life instead?”

“I didn’t say you were fucking up my life.”

“Maybe not in those exact words,” you retort. “But you may as well have.”

Sammy sighs and leans forward, his elbows on his knees, running his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry,” he grumbles, looking over at you. “I just…fuck, I hate it so much. Like why him?” His tone is different now, lighter, easier than the last conversation. 

“I mean…look at him,” you say, trying your best to to lighten the mood even more. 

Sammy chuckles under his breath, shaking his head. “I guess I really should have seen it sooner,” he comments, staring down at the ground. 

“What do you mean?” 

Sammy looks up from the ground, eyes meeting yours. “You’re exactly his type and he’s been spending way more time just hanging around here since you got here. I’m such an idiot for not thinking this would happen. I pretty much set it up.”

You wait a few seconds in silence, processing that information. You had really just assumed Vince spent that much time at his apartment normally. You figured they were on the road a lot, when they were back in St. Louis he would just want to relax at home playing video games and watching TV. You never would have thought that you played a role In keeping him there. And you definitely wouldn’t have assumed you were exactly his type either. “So you can’t really be mad then…you said it, you set it up.”

Sammy laughs, sitting up straighter and shaking his head. “I didn’t say that either…But I’m not mad, I don’t like it…maybe that’ll change, I don’t know. But I’m not mad at you. You know I can’t stay mad at you.”

You smile softly, standing up and walking over to the couch he was on, dropping down beside him and throwing your arms around him dramatically. “Good, because I can’t handle you being mad at me,” you tell him. Pulling back you let your arms drop from around him. “So, will you come look at apartments with me tomorrow so that Vince and I can-.”

“Stop,” Sammy interrupts, pushing you away playfully. “I don’t want to hear it, you’re so gross,” he says, both of you laughing as you lean back in response to Sammy pushing you. 

Out of the corner of your eye you see Vince walk into the room hesitantly and you give him a reassuring smile. “Sammy admitted he actually set us up.”

“I did not,” Sammy exclaims, laughing. “I said I pretty much did…not on purpose though.”

“Close enough…I’m going to make dinner. I don’t know how you two are going to survive when I get my own apartment,” you laugh, standing up and walking over towards Vince, grabbing his hand and pulling him with you towards the kitchen. 

“You can come over and cook us dinner,” Sammy calls as you leave the living room. 

Shaking your head you make it to the kitchen, only there for a second before Vince is pulling you into him, leaning down and kissing you gently. “I knew it would be okay,” Vince mumbles against your lips. 

Bringing one hand to the back of his neck you press your body closer to his, confident that Sammy would be avoiding the kitchen now that you and Vince were in there alone. “No you didn’t,” you giggle. “You just said that because I was panicking.”

“Kind of,” Vince admits. 

“Well I’m glad it worked out,” you whisper, sliding your hands to his shoulders. “Because if we never got around to you pinning me down like you did last night I’d be really disappointed,” you joke, looking up at Vince through your eyelashes with a mischievous smile. 

Vince groans, shaking his head. “So that’s all I am to you?” Vince asks, playing along. 

“Of course,” you joke. Pulling out of his grasp you begin to prepare dinner, but the absence of touch doesn’t last long, Vince stepping behind you and placing his hands on your hips. “Someone is a little needy.”

“I’m hurt after your last comment,” he laughs, wrapping his arms around your waist, watching you chop up some vegetables.

Pausing you turn your head to the side, looking up at Vince. “Fine, I like you for more than just sex,” you tell him.

“So when are you letting me take you on another date…a real one.”

“Anytime,” you tell him, glancing over at him as he stands beside you, leaning against the counter. You can’t help but get caught up in staring at him for a little too long. A few months ago you never would have imagined your trip to St. Louis would even last this long, let alone end with you moving there and falling for a boy. And of course you weren’t sure how it would end, but for the time being you were happy with the new adventure you were embarking on. 

[crimsonophelia]

holidays and festivals with genshin characters ||

many thanks to my bestie hani for giving me inspiration for many of these~

featuring: zhongli, venti, childe, razor 

warnings: none

published: april 14 2021

form: headcanons

zhongli - lantern rite festival

okay but i’m genuinely upset at how they barely featured zhongli in the lantern rite quest unless you actually played as him :c

but anyways! the liyue lantern rite festival is heavily inspired by the traditional chinese holiday called the lantern festival (元宵节), so i think a lot of the things that you would typically do to celebrate lantern festival would apply to lantern rite as well

i think zhongli would take lantern rite quite seriously, as most chinese do, and he would make sure to plan weeks in advance his days off from work and what he will need to do to prepare to celebrate lantern rite with his friends

when the morning of the festival arrives, he makes sure to come visit you bright and early, much to your dismay

he bids you a good morning, helps you get dressed, and takes you into town to run errands. and, as expected, zhongli has once again forgotten that mora is a key element in financial transactions and requires your monetary assistance unsurprisingly

liyue is donned in bright shades of red and jewel, and families are out and about viewing the beautiful decorations, reminded of their beautiful and prosperous land and of those who protect it

zhongli would take you around, asking you to buy buying little trinkets for you and for you to gift to others as a sign of well-wishing for the holiday season. you and zhongli also purchase heaps of street food, exclusively available around lantern rite week, and zhongli probably eats more than you’ve ever seen him eat.

once the sun sets later in the day, you two watch the lanterns and lightshow, in awe of its beauty. you turn to see zhongli’s reaction, and as the stars and lights cast a magical glow upon his face, he seems more content than you’ve ever seen him before. perhaps spending lantern rite with a beloved companion has done something for the old man’s weary heart.

venti - windblume festival

all i have to say is that venti is a drunk mess the entire time the festival is in mondstadt

he’s on a drinking spree trying to taste test all the different new cocktails and wines that the angel’s share is selling exclusively during the festival season, and is not apologetic whatsoever that you have to deal with his obnoxious drinking habits

in addition to his little side hustle going on, scamming innocent people of their money by teaching them how to write “love poems”, i also feel like he would make some extra cash for booze by reselling random flowers, claiming that they are actually real windblumes or something like that

but i do think he would have the decency to save some of the mora he makes to spend on you during the festival season. venti isn’t stupid and it’s a little bit concerning how smooth and tactful he actually is when he chooses to be so, hence i do think that he would actually treat you to some nice things ;)

however, he isn’t as big on buying gifts as zhongli is (ironically, considering zhongli is probably more broke than the traveling drunkard) so i think he would make a lot more homemade gifts for you, like a hand-picked flower bouquet and a self-brewed dandelion wine drink

if venti hasn’t officially confessed his love before windblume, i think he would take this opportunity to make it official and take things a bit more seriously.

venti walked over to you after his poem masterclass with a sheet of paper in his hand, a little sheepishly, which was unusual for the cheeky little bastard

he says the class went well, and he hands you the paper he was holding. 

“i showed them this example i wrote. give it a read. pretty good, isn’t it?”

neither the lampgrass, nor the dandelion, or the delicate cecilia, nor the vibrant aster, could ever compare to the way my heart beats faster, when you spare an ounce of your beauty, spending your love on a poor, old, drunkard like me.

impressed, you lift your gaze, and to your surprise, the little bard looks more genuine than you’ve probably ever seen before.

“keep it. i wrote it for you.”

childe - maslenitsa

okay so my good friend, who is russian, gave me the idea to write about childe celebrating maslenitsa (an eastern orthodox holiday that is related to easter), and i am by no means orthodox nor eastern european (so please forgive any cultural misdescriptions), but i do think this is a super cute idea

i think childe would get some time off from being a harbinger to celebrate with his family, which is a rare treat for the fine-tuned warrior whittled down to little more than a hedonistic machine by the tsaritsa 

like truly, i feel so sad when thinking about childe sometimes because he’s so kind to his family, especially his brothers, and the fact that he’s away on missions for so long must make him miss his family a lot

that’s why during the holidays, he really treasures every second he gets to be back home, and now that he gets the chance to take you to meet his family, he’s even more overjoyed

there is still a thin layer of snow on the ground, but there is a slight scent of spring making its way back into the household as ajax and his brothers help their mother prepare ingredients to bake bliny, the buttery smell wafting through the kitchen

the boys are a mess as ajax is particularly clumsy with tasks that require dexterity of the fingers, and he ends up getting flour all over his clothes as well as his shorter brothers, and thus receiving a scolding from their mother

being the teasing little brat he is, he smears some of the flour onto your nose when you aren’t paying attention, which calls for even more chastising coming from his mother while she mixes all the ingredients together. 

the total domesticity of the scene melts your heart, and seeing ajax laugh with such tenderness and without any barriers obstructing his heart might be one of the most bittersweet things you’ve ever witnessed, knowing he inevitably will have to return to a life of danger and uncertainty

bonus: razor - windblume

i literally don’t have any fleshed out ideas for this but my friend and i were talking about how he would try and pick wolfhook berries for you during windblume, because he thinks that’s what the windblume flower is and he wants to express his care for you by giving you the most special flower he can find :’)

like he would ask to take you to wolvendom on a walk, and you acquiesce because who could ever refuse razor

whenever you two are alone together, razor tries his best to talk and form the most proper and eloquent sentences that he is able to, and he does try very hard, really, but often to no avail

but you reassure him, “razor, baby, it’s okay, i can understand you without words just fine” and he blushes because nobody has ever called him “baby” before T_T

when you’re in wolvendom with him, he holds your hand in order to not lose you, and his grip is a little nervous at first but gradually gets more confident and his fingers fit more comfortably between yours. he will walk ahead of you, creating an easy pathway through the dense flora, and will pull you up by your waist in case the terrain becomes difficult

once he finds the biggest and plumpest wolfhook berry, he gives it to you with both hands outstretched, gaze averted out of timidness

you accept his lovely gift and ruffle his hair a little bit and the boy melts T_T and from then onwards he gives you a ton of gifts in the form of random little flowers or berries he finds because that’s how he shows his care for you 

can you tell i started listening to mitski halfway through writing this

[krabstick32]

Snow Melts Quicker in Water

Pairing: Giyuu x Reader

Synopsis: You and Giyuu fight, but things have a way of sorting themselves out. 

Tags/warnings: very light angst, mostly fluff, super light make out session uwu

a/n: thank you for requesting @aliaisreal​!! you’re super sweet, so thank you very much for your patience and understanding!! I hope the wait was worth it!! 🥺

Link to the ask: Request by @aliaisreal​

The best (and kindest) way possible people could describe Tomioka Giyuu was that he was like water itself.

Like water, he adapted easily and quickly, His movements were fluid and continuous, unstoppable in its actions like a waterfall spilling over a cliff. His voice was baritone, smooth, but held power underneath the surface. He flowed through any obstacle in his life as best as he could, and that rang true even to your relationship. 

While he thought that he mostly went with the flow, It’s been an entire week since your fight, and it’s been an entire week since he’s talked to you.

Admittedly, you two have fought before—minor little squabbles where he always took it upon himself to be the first to apologize. He didn’t like the idea of you upset, but now was different. This was probably the biggest fight he’s ever had with you, and as much as he loves you, he didn’t want to be the one to make the first move this time.

One moment, he came home to you, tired and ready to go straight to your shared room and drop dead for the next few hours, but in the next, the two of you were saying things that neither of you meant, arguing over something that should have been a simple thing. 

That night, the fight was so big that he ended up taking refuge in the butterfly estate. 

Well, given the injuries he got in his last mission, he was already going to go the next morning, but he was hoping to see you and rest first before anything else. 

Breathing out a sigh, he sits up from the cold hospital bed he’s been sleeping on for the past week, and reflexively brings a hand to the bandages around his stomach. He never did like fighting with you. It always left a heavy weight on his chest, and it always occupies his mind, resulting in him fighting slightly sloppier than he’d like.  

Maybe he should apologize? There was a pillar meeting later on in the day, so if he wanted to, he could. He usually did, within the day, but this was the longest the two of you were actively mad at each other. The two of you fought, but last night was the first time the two of you fought for that long.

But for once, he didn’t want to. For once, he wanted you to make the first move, and maybe, just this once he should. 

Giyuu breathes out a heavy sigh. He’ll just think about that later.

When Giyuu arrived at the Ubuyashiki Garden, he was thrown off by the fact that you weren’t there. He was further surprised when the Oyakata-sama came in, and there was still no sign of you.

Between the both of you, you were the early bird, and would usually be one of the first who arrived, if you didn’t come dragging him by his haori.

Your absence was rubbing him off the wrong way. He’s missed you a lot so he was really hoping to see you today, even if the two of you got into a fight.

While his facade was as perfectly emotionless and stoic as ever, his mind was spiralling deeper into worry. Why weren’t you here? Were you that mad? Were you so pissed that you chose to forgo the meeting because of him?

(Unbeknownst to him, his fellow pillars were looking at him. His face didn’t change, but everyone could see his worry clear as day.)

Oyakata-sama dismisses the meeting after a while, and everyone bows, leaving right after they were assigned with new missions and patrols. Giyuu only had to patrol his region in the evening...maybe he should go look for you?

On his way back to his estate to search for you, he passes by the butterfly estate and sees Tanjirou and his friends helping the girls hang the sheets. Well, it was more like Tanjirou was helping, while Zenitsu and Inosuke quarreled.

Tanjirou immediately notices Giyuu, raising a hand in greeting. He quickly hangs the bedsheet in his hand to rush over to the raven haired man. “Tomioka-san! How are you?”

“Hello Tanjirou.” Giyuu responds as the young demon slayer stands in front of him, adding, “I’m fine.”

“I’m glad! You seem distressed though, is everything alright? Are you worried about (F/N)-san?”

Giyuu doesn’t even try to hide it, simply nodding and feeling a little shy from how Tanjirou could easily read him. “She wasn’t at the meeting earlier. She’s usually there first.”

He places a hand over his chin and nods. “Oh, of course she’s not.”

That was news to him. “What? Do you...know where she is?”

“No…” Tanjirou responds, but his face immediately crumples in on itself, his eyeballs rolling back into his head. Both of them knew he was lying, but Giyuu still feels a little bad that he’s using the boy’s honest and earnest personality to his advantage.

Regardless, He gives the younger boy a look that has Tanjirou looking away abashedly. “I don’t think I’m supposed to say anything…”

“Tanjirou…”

It doesn’t take much for him to cave, and he sighs before telling Giyuu what he knows. “She went out for a mission. I thought you knew, but—” He cuts himself off when his nose detects panic and worry, the smell nearly taking over his senses. “—Ah! But don’t worry, Giyuu-san! This is (F/N)-san, I’m sure she’ll be fine!”

Oh, Giyuu knew you were strong and capable, but with a job as dangerous and unpredictable as theirs, so many things could happen. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to curse his pride. He should have approached you right after, he shouldn’t have let this go on longer than it should have.

The best thing he could do right now was wait for you, and apologize as soon as he sees you.

He hopes he gets the chance.

“You’re right. She’ll be fine.”

Tanjirou wasn’t sure who Giyuu was trying to convince.

As the Snow Hashira, people expected you to be cold, stern, harsh, and while it’s not completely wrong, you were one of the kindest out of all the pillars. You had a heart of gold that shone through and had a smile that could warm even the coldest of hearts. It made it easier for people to approach you despite the initial impression, but everyone found it ironic that the Snow Pillar was one of the warmest, kindest, most genuine slayer from the bunch.

You were proud of your work as a demon slayer—saving lives, and killing the very thing that brought you and so many others so much pain—but the fact that you and your friends walked hand in hand with death was… well, it was a lot to take in.

Death is, and never will be something you think you’ll get used to. It was always painful—knowing that you could have done something to help, or knowing that their death was beyond your power. Whether you liked it or not, it was one of those things that just happened. No matter how much you wanted cheat death, there was no stopping it—

Which was one of the main reasons why you got so mad at Giyuu when he came home to you all bruised and bloody.

Instead of going to the butterfly estate, it was normal that he’d come home straight to you after a particularly challenging mission, in which cases you’d do basic first aid before rushing him to Shinobu. There wasn’t any problem really. There were moments where you would come home to him in a similar state, where he’d be the one giving you first aid, and you were happy he trusted you enough to show you his vulnerable side.

But you were just so painfully reminded of how you became a demon slayer, of how your family sacrificed themselves for your escape. You could see that Giyuu was barely thinking of himself, often throwing himself in harm’s way just to get a mission done.

Seeing someone you love give such little importance to himself made you both sad and angry. It rubbed you the wrong way, and you couldn’t help but burst and get mad at him. The fight escalated quickly, and both of you said things you didn’t mean.

Looking back, it was a little stupid. You reacted irrationally and immaturely when you could have talked it out with him like an adult. You acknowledged that it was mostly your fault, and that you should have been the one to apologize, but you just couldn’t admit your mistake, seeing as you still agreed with how reckless he was being.

So you avoided him, devoting nearly all of your time to your missions.

A few days after you started avoiding him, Oyakata-sama sent for you and assigned a mission that needed an entire day of travel. There was a group of Tsuchinoto’s that weren’t doing too well, and it required you to dispose of the demon and help them in any way you can. While you took the job with no qualms, you were a little apprehensive. You and Giyuu still hadn’t made up, and this mission required at least three days, and that’s taking into account if everything went smoothly, which things rarely did.

It didn’t sit right for you to leave without seeing him, so the morning you planned to leave, you dropped by the Butterfly Estate to see him. You haven’t talked to him for five full days now, and while he didn’t talk a lot, you really missed his company.

You find him sleeping in one of the rooms. A small part of you was hoping that he’d be awake so you could talk a bit, maybe even apologize before you left, but he didn’t even move at all when you opened the door. Considering how much of a light sleeper he was, it was a little surprising that he didn’t stir at all when you sat by the edge of his bed beside him, but he was still recovering from the injuries of his previous battle, so it can hardly be helped. In fact, it worked in your favor, because he didn’t wake up when you pressed a small kiss to his temple.

Softly, you put your forehead against his and press a hand against his cheek, whispering as lightly as you could. “I’ll be going now, but I’ll come back. I love you.”

He was clearly unconscious, but the way he leans closer to your touch made your heart melt and butterflies flood your stomach. Even when you were supposed to be fighting, he could still make you feel this way.

It figures. Snow always did melt quicker in water.

You smile and push the stray hairs away from his face. You let your hand caress his cheek as you memorize his features as best as you could, leaving the room once you've realized that you need to go soon. Turning, you take one last look at Giyuu before closing the door as softly as you could—and coming face to face with dark red eyes.

You let out a small yelp, too late to realize that it was only Tanjirou smiling up at you in confusion.

“Tanjirou-kun! You surprised me!”

“Sorry about that (F/N)-san. I was on my way to check on Nezuko.” He laughs a little bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck. He looks back up at you though when he realizes whose room you were coming out of. “What are you doing coming out of Giyuu-san’s room? Is there something wrong?”

Was there something wrong? Well technically there was, as you two were avoiding each other, but you brush off his concern, finding it a little awkward to explain. “Oh, no! Not at all, I just wanted to see him before leaving for a mission.”

“A mission?”

You nod. “Yes, I’m not sure of all the details yet, but it might take a while.”

“Oh, I see! Please take care (F/N)-san!”

“Thank you Tanjirou-kun, I will. Stay out of trouble alright?”

“Will do!” Tanjirou was quick to deliver a salute, making you giggle despite your heavy heart. Seeing one of the Kamado siblings always made you smile - they were too adorable for their own good.

As you were about to step out the hall, you suddenly remember something.“Ah, by the way Tanjirou-kun, Giyuu was asleep so I didn’t want to bother him, but can you not tell him that I dropped by?”

The young boy seems to be thrown off by your weird request, and tries to question you as politely as he could. You were still his superior after all, and a person he deeply respected. “Eh? Not tell Giyuu-san?”

“Yes.”

Tanjirou was apprehensive—he couldn’t lie for his life after all—but you must have your reasons, so instead, he resolved to just do his best. He was the eldest son! He could do this! “Oh, okay then, I’ll do my best (F/N)-san!”

“Wonderful! Thank you, Tanjirou-kun.”

When Tanjirou finally cracked and told Giyuu where you were, the Water Pillar waited as patiently as he could. He was known for his patience, and for his go with the flow attitude, but when it came to you, he wanted nothing more than to just rush by your side. When he discovered your mission, he was practically itching to run all the way over to you. You leaving for your mission before he nor you could apologize sat terribly in his gut. The only thing tying him down to his post was his sense of duty. He still had missions to attend to here, and unless someone could cover for him, or unless it was a terrible emergency, he couldn’t leave.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust you as a fellow pillar, but as your boyfriend, he was worried for you. Your fight left a horrible taste in his mouth, and he could never forgive himself if that was the last moment he had with you.

So instead, he sat patiently, going through routine and accomplishing his patrols and missions dutifully.

It wasn’t until a few days later when he learned of what happened to your party.

It was a lower moon, and while that would have been an easy job for you, you had five other slayers to protect and worry about. His crow reported that everyone was quickly brought to the Butterfly Estate, and that was the last thing he needed to hear before bolting from his estate and out to Shinobu’s.

“Where is she?”

Shinobu turns as Giyuu bursts through the doors, her smile as saccharine as ever. “Ah, hello to you too Tomioka-san!”

“Kochou, where is (F/N)?” Giyuu looked about ready to tear down the whole place to look for you, and Shinobu knew that. Regardless, Shinobu’s smile never wavers as she continues to tease him.

“Ara, are you worried about (F/N)-chan?” She continues, but for the first time, it eases him. Shinobu loved pushing his buttons, but she knew when to stop. If she was being like this, you should be alive, at the very least. She doesn’t motion or signal Giyuu to follow her, but he was quick to walk after the Insect Pillar, moving as quick and as fluid as flowing water.

Shinobu stops at a door, and slides it open to reveal you awake, sitting up on the bed. You seemed to be a little bruised and worse for wear with all the bandages and discolored patches of skin, but you were alive and you were breathing, and that’s all what matters to Giyuu right now.

From her periphery, Shinobu could see the relief on Giyuu, and as much as she liked pissing Giyuu off, she knows the feeling and backs off. There was always another time for teasing, she can do that later.

“I’ll leave you two be. Tomioka-san be careful of her injuries, alright?” As promised, the door slides back closed as Shinobu leaves you two be.

After a while, you pat the empty space by the edge of your bed, croaking out a short “Sit with me.”, before Giyuu moves to sit over carefully. When he was settled, his eyes roamed over your skin, quick to assess the number of injuries and thinking how critical and painful each one of them might be.

“Before you say anything,” You start, “I’m sorry.”

Giyuu’s thrown off and his eyes dart from the bloody bandage on your arm to your eyes. “What—”

“I was way out of line, and I overreacted. I was being petty in waiting for you to apologize first, but it should have been me. I’m sorry for overreacting…and for taking this long to apologize.”

“But it doesn’t mean that I'm sorry about everything else!” Because while you were aware you overreacted, it didn’t mean that your feelings came from nowhere. “I can see that I was wrong in the way I approached things but I meant every word when I said that you’re too careless! I hate seeing you in pain and you just reminded me too much of my family and I—”

He interrupts you by taking your hands. Lightly, he traces vague shapes onto the skin of your palm, the rough calluses on his fingertips a nice reminder that he was here, that he was alive, and that you were too. 

“I couldn’t handle the thought of you leaving me. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.”

The two of you stay quiet, the weight being lifted off of both of your shoulders, until a thought occurs to you that causes you to pull away.

“But you’re not saying anything about your recklessness.” You point out, giving him a light glare, only stopping when a small smile curls around his lips.

He chuckles and the sound goes straight to your heart. “Okay, I promise to stop being too reckless.”

“You better keep that promise, or else I’ll hunt you down myself.” Smiling softly, you place a hand against his cheek and pull him closer. “I missed you.”

Giyuu hums against your touch and a week's worth of not seeing him drives you to press your lips against his mouth. He responds easily, shifting his weight onto himself and holding your body to lighten the strain on you. You hold onto the lapels of his haori as he deepens the kiss, and it was a good thing he was holding you because under normal circumstances, your knees would have buckled.

“(F/N)-chan! It’s time to change your bandages—” Hearing a foreign voice, causes the two of you to turn to the entrance— “Oh dear. I’m so sorry to interrupt!”—only to see Shinobu smiling at  the two of you like a cat that ate the canary.

“Sh-Shinobu-chan! It’s um...”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s exactly what I think hm?” Her smile seems to grow wider, and you feel your face burst into flames. She knew exactly what was going on. “But Tomioka-san, I never would have guessed! How bold of you to do such lewd things to an injured patient! Anyway, I’ll leave you two alone, I’ll drop by again later to change your bandages, (F/N)-chan!”

The sound of the door slamming shut signals Shonbu’s leave and both you and Giyuu were left staring at the space where Shinobu once stood.

Just when things were getting good.

“She did that on purpose.” You announce, and Giyuu nods sympathetically.

“She probably did.”

You sigh but then immediately flinch and clutch your side as it burns from the injury. Giyuu was quick to notice and moves right by your bedside, assisting you in lying back down

“Be careful. You’re mad at me for pushing myself, when you’re just as bad.”

“Hush, you should have seen how you were practically bleeding all over the place.”

“Hashira Tomioka-sama, can we plea—“

“No.”

It’s been two weeks since you left the Butterfly Estate, and as the Snow Pillar, you were well back on the grind patrolling and killing demons once you’ve fully recovered. The young demon slayers you saved though wish they could say the same. While you had some pretty critical injuries yourself, theirs were much worse, with all seven sporting broken bones, and other heavy injuries, but thanks to Shinobu’s medicine, they were on the road to recovery and physical therapy.

When the Oyakata-sama heard of the incident, he was quick to instruct someone to train the weaker demon-slayers.

Giyuu was more than happy to beat these slayers into shape.

Which led them here, Giyuu with a wooden sword in hand and a pile of sore bodies by his feet.

One such body groaned at the dirt floor as he clutched at the side Giyuu hit a little too hard. “We’ve already ran down the mountain, tried to dodge all of the deadly traps, and sparred with you. Surely we could have a short break, sir?”

Giyuu wanted to laugh at the naivety of these young slayers. When Urokodaki trained him and Sabito, they had it much worse, even being thrown down cliffs and waterfalls. And while Giyuu could say that Urokodaki was like a father figure to him, his training regimen was worse than any hell he could have experienced. But now was hardly the time to reminisce, he still had business to do.

He wasn’t one to intentionally intimidate others much, but he’s overheard plenty of rumors about himself. He’s heard that he’s one of the most…intimidating of the pillars, to say the least, and now, he’s not going to shy away from what could be an advantage to his situation.

Slowly, Giyuu walked over to the slayer and crossed his arms, looking straight through his eyes as he quietly spoke. “Your last mission was well-matched for someone of your rank.” He notes. “You hardly needed a Pillar for back-up, and because of your carelessness, she had to protect all five of you which landed the Snow Pillar in the butterfly estate. Now tell me, do you need a break?”

Despite Giyuu speaking in a voice no louder than a river’s burble, he could see the young man cower from slight fear before speaking in a shaky tone, “N-No, Sir!”

“I thought so.” Giyuu lightly clucked his tongue to himself before unfolding his arms. “Reset the traps and run through the mountain again. I'll let all five of you go for the day after.”

“Yes, Sir!” All five of them scrambled from their spot on the ground and scurried back up the mountain, letting himself feel a small morsel of sick satisfaction when he could hear the loud clacks from the traps and the pained grunts upon collision.

“I would say that it’s really nice that you took them in, but now that i’ve seen your face, i’m starting to think that this is on purpose.”

Giyuu was barely surprised to see the Snow Pillar herself right beside him like she was there the entire time. As pillars, both of you were faster and moved more efficiently than the average slayer, so you sneaking up on him was a common occurrence. You never seemed to get used to the opposite though, always claiming that he moved like a ghost.

“Maybe.” He shrugs, a little helplessly, tapping the wooden sword against the ground in a distracted fashion.

You laugh a nice tinkling sound he’s loves hearing, and he’s glad that you’re fine, and that the stupid little fight was resolved. He’s missed you a lot.

The two of you stood there together in silence, wincing when the sound of pained yelps travelled over from the small mountain Giyuu chose for training. A random conversation you had with your boyfriend suddenly entered your thoughts though, and made you wonder out loud. “Are you using the method Urokodaki-san used when he trained you?”

Nodding in affirmation, Giyuu hums in thought. “It was effective for me. And seeing how poorly trained they are from your previous mission, I thought that...” His train of thought short-circuited and was quickly derailed when you lean up on your tiptoes to place a soft kiss on his cheek. Giyuu’s ears immediately flush a deep red.

“You’re too cute, sweetheart.” You say, wrapping your arms around his neck. Seeing the ineffable Water Pillar flustered because of you was always a sight to behold. “Though, you didn’t have do thisfor me either.”

He turns his head away in hopes that you wouldn't see his face, but you simply laugh, and Giyuu feels his heart melt again. “They need to train more if they want to continue as slayers.”

You hum, letting your fingers sift through black strands of hair. “I know, I know, but lighten up, okay? Don’t be too hard on them.”

Giyuu nods as a reply and you place another kiss before pulling away. He wants to pull you back, but the trainees were already stumbling down the treeline, looking worse than they did a few minutes ago. Everyone was sporting new bruises and a few a lot of scratches, but seemed overall fine as they dropped down to the ground, panting for much needed air.

“All of you seem to be working hard.” You say in a kind voice, smiling kindly when their heads whip around to face you.

“Hashira (L/N)-sama!” They greet, scrambling to get up and drop to a bow in front of you. “We’re so glad to see you okay! Thank you for saving us!”

You wave your hand in front of your face, saying, “Oh, it was no problem! I’m glad all of you are okay.”

“All thanks to you. We hope you recovered well.”

“I did, thank you. Now stand up properly. Bowing for too long can’t be good for you all.”

One of them was about to open their mouth to continue the conversation, but Giyuu was quick to interject. “Alright, back to training.”

“Eh?!” All the trainees exclaim. It was clear that they respected the Water Pillar, but it was almost comical in how obvious the feeling of betrayal was in their voices.

“But we just finished!” A young girl among them who looked about ready to melt from exhaustion, points out. Another nods along, stating what Giyuu said earlier, in a hopeless fight for their much deserved break. “Tomioka-sama said we could go after!”

Oh, Giyuu is well aware of what he said. Instead of saying anything though, he feigns innocence, pretending he forgot despite having full intention of letting them go for the day.

He looks at the young slayers emptily, and responds in a deadpan tone. “Did I?”

Giyuu hears you sputter in laughter before punching his shoulder in a pitiful attempt to defend the poor kids. In both of your defenses, their faces were too funny not to laugh.

“Giyuu!”

[voidcat]

– it's you (it's always been you)

characters: tachihara michizou, you

genre & wc: (implied) childhood friends to strangers, angst:) – 1.5k

Tachihara Michizou is an organized man.

For different days and events required, he has his clothing divided.

His life is divided.

There is an order to everything he does, plans and acts on; a harmony and set of rules within themselves that only make sense to him. It saves him the trouble of having his cover blown and efforts wasted.

A phone for work and another for personal affairs is what he would normally do. But there is nothing normal to the situation he is in.

And it helps that he doesn’t have such a personal life – saves him the trouble of acquiring a third phone. One for the mafia, another for the hunting dogs.

Tachihara Michizou is at a bar on a Tuesday night, the clock nearing two in the morning.

At a table not too far in the back but his back to the wall, the doors in his line of sight, nothing in this crooked up space can be of interest to him. Despite his eyes lazily wandering around, he is not here to socialize, not one bit. And the last thing he expects to see is your form slouched over your drink, and an empty bottle by your hand.

It takes a second to recognize you, you have changed.

But it’s the eyes that give you away.

Despite the emotion he cannot quite name that is in your eyes, it is still you.

And before long your eyes meet his, recognition passes your face.

How are you, how have you been? It’s been so long since…

One conversation rolls to another, one drink becomes two, becomes several.

Tachihara wasn’t expecting to see an old face when he decided to pay a visit to the bar, but then again he had no expectations at all.

That is the thing with life, as he has come to learn too many times, it’s always the unexpected, the unseen that comes and grabs you by the shoulders.

If someone told him when he was just a child that he would end up in a situation, a delicate mission, such as the one he is in right now, he would have just ignored them and walked away.

It is confusing enough as it is already, and the last thing he needs on his plate is a huge pile of worries – as if he doesn’t have his fair share of them plenty, for appetizer, on the go and more to be cooked and served for later.

Even so, if there is another thing Tachihara Michizou knows for sure, it is that he must be the universe’s very own personal punching bag.

It has been a while since he has lost count of the drinks, and a little longer since he last checked time.

As unexpected as life keeps on proving and universe never stops throwing one thing after another, maybe it is tonight that he could never see coming.

His view blackens after a while, all the voices around have blurred out.

It is only fitting for a night like this to end in the same fashion.

When he stepped inside the bar tonight, there were many things he couldn’t have guessed to see or live, yet none of them would catch them off guard like this.

The sun rises, the new day has already started, the sounds of the people and vehicles outside make their way through the window, waking him up, feeling warmer than usual.

When Tachihara Michizou was just a child, he could never expect the tragedy that is war occurring upon his family and himself. Descending down like a rain of flames, that’s how it feels in time.

He grows and grows, improves and proves himself; and no matter how strong he has become, he wouldn’t expect that side of the past to haunt him afterwards, the pain becoming only worse in time, growing with him, surrounding him.

He grows and works hard, harder, push himself as much as he can; he never thought he would be tasked with such a mission, asked to infiltrate that organization, out of everything else.

Just as he hadn’t seen that, he doesn’t expect to rise the ranks like that, gain respect and trust, fit in – but not quite.

Until tonight, the bar wasn’t even on his mind.

The warmth only increases and takes over until it becomes unbearable and that is when he opens his eyes.

Out of everything life has thrown at him so far, Tachihara Michizou sure as hell didn’t expect to wake up to your face buried into his chest this morning, or any other morning, if he might be honest.

Life has never been gentle or predictable, he waits for this to end right then and there.

Yet comes another surprise and your presence lingers. You stay in the bed, in his arms for as long as the two of you can ignore awakening life outside.

Once it’s time to get up and leave, you don’t leave permanently.

In the next few days Tachirara finds himself staring at his phone, waiting for it to be lightened up with your name on the screen. Couple days later, he regrets not investing in that third phone sooner.

What you decide on at first, has him worried.

You weren’t supposed to find him, weren’t supposed to enter his life and bring the sunlight in, you weren’t supposed to give him hope, hold his hands, gaze into his eyes and lean your head against his chest.

Getting you tangled with this… side of his life, the risks of you getting harmed just because of your ties have him worried, it’s heavy on his chest.

But then you muse, he thinks to himself, if it is not a relationship exactly, where does the risk lie? It’s just a deal, you’re just two people who happen to be at the same place at the same time, going to one’s place or the other’s.

Nothing is official, there are no risks – yet this happens to be the very same fact that grabs at his heart and squeezes it.

Soon he finds himself wishing you hadn’t needed to meet over drinks, that you wouldn’t come all those nights with that same look and same slouch.

Oh how he wishes things were different; how would it feel to hold you, stroke your hair, cup your cheeks; no ‘It’ll be alright.’s in the air.

He spends his idle times imagining how you’d look at him as you share the same breath, he wants more than anything to wipe that emotion off your eyes, to have your gaze on him and him only, fingers roaming his body, nails digging into his flesh; he would welcome anything if it comes from your hands.

Daydreams turn into dust one by one. Tachihara knows by now that dreams have never helped me achieve anything.

And isn’t it ironic actually? That the very same reasons that get you upset in the first place are the sole reasons you dial him at odd hours of the day.

It’s all a ruse, an excuse – you must be pent up, you must be upset.

It’s nothing more than just a way to relieve that stress.

Comes another night later a long time later.

The bed is cold, left untouched.

Your question falls on deaf ears, there is a ringing in his ears.

Has he be yelling all this time?

Tachihara never intended to make you cry.

To be the sole reason you’re feeling like this, looking like this; no this isn’t him, that cannot be him – he is supposed to make you happy, make you forget.

And yet, in the end, that’s what has gotten the two of you to this exact place.

He can hear his words echoing in his skull still, ‘I am sick of being the rebound guy, being a number to call whenever you have another failure coming up.’

He wants to hold it in, not make the pain worse than it already is. Yet the words leave his mouth before he can think.

He should’ve been suspecting from the start, with how quick you start dating and have another failure blown up into your face again.

After all, what does he know? He never had the honor to date you, only to exist as a secret, a pocket bad boy to run back to whenever a heartbreak was present.

It’s only the ragged breathes he can hear now, but the tune is off.

Everything feels wrong, perhaps everything is wrong. You should’ve never asked for his number that night, you shouldn’t have raised your chin against the universe and be an element of surprise he desired.

You shouldn’t have entered back into his life, handling over the same drops of hope he came to see a little too late when he was a kid. You should’ve never kissed him, never slept in his arms, spent the night and listened to his heartbeat.

“Maybe all those relationships failed because even they noticed it was you I sought in them.” Your voice comes barely in a whisper, (is the ringing of his ears still happening?), you sniff once and turn around.

Before Tachihara can raise a hand to reach out, to hold, to touch, to have any sort of contact; you’re gone.

[gothicryder1]

FOR ROLEPLAY OR WHAT ONE YOUD LIKE TO SEE WRITTEN!

[C] Please note I am Lit to low novella writing. Generally I write about five paragraphs, three if I'm brain dead and struggling. Please note in all these stories while we write the main characters, I enjoy writing other characters as well as background ones. I would like someone to join me in that so its not just me ^^

[C] Warning tags. Must be 18 plus! I write Gore, horror ,torture, adult themes, depression. I have no triggers expect I’m not a fan of rape, incest and stuff like that.

[C] Themes will include Supernatural, myths, fantasy, marvel, ghost or monsters. I’m not one to follow the movies to the letter and often find the plots not always the best. Therefore I often change movies such as Tony and his lost sibling idea.

[C]Here are the main voices I’m willing to play, people that I muse the highest. However, I’m also willing to try. Wanda, Natasha, Peter Parker (Tom and Andrews) Hela, Bucky (NO romance! I can’t play him romantically! Friends only!)

[C]Characters I will not play! Deadpool, Starlord, Steve, Vision, Rocket, Groot, Drax, Vemon

[C] As always feel free to add your own plot ideas! I’m very open to those! And you are free to add to the ones I have listed. A Lot of these are just base ideas and can change as we go.

[C] Again please note I work a full time job Thursday - Monday 1:00 pm to 10:00 pm and Sundays are the days I do note write! If I happen to respond it's because I had time, but otherwise don’t expect it.

[C] In the Stories you can pick to play either the main person, Tony, Thor, Loki and I can play the oc or cc, or reverse

[C] Double ups welcome depending!

[IC]PLOT IDEAS

[IC]TONY STARK x CC OR OC (Male or female love interest welcome. Will play Tony or his counterpart)

[IC]LONG LOST BROTHER OR SISTER

[IC] The Stark’s had more than one kid, a younger brother/sister that was stolen from them by Hydra. They put all the time and energy they could into finding them, but could never track them down. Years later after training and being torn apart by Hydra Tony’s sibling is out for revenge. Tony lived a hard yet normal life, while they were treated like a dog. With an only desire for revenge they set out to build something that could topple Iron Man and the rest of the avengers. They built Ultron. A machine so savage that at the end of the day it even grows out of their control. With the world at risk of ending, Tony's sibling have to swallow their hate and work with the Avengers to take down this monster. Tony is desperate to have a friendly relationship, but the question is can he make that happen?

[IC] IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN TO ME

[IC] Tony thought he and Pepper were solid, that they would be married until the end of time. But he was wrong. Tony came home early to surprise Pepper and found her in bed with another man. Someone he knew, someone he called a friend. With this shocking find he and Pepper split and Tony becomes withdrawn. He still holds his duties to the avengers but it's half hearted. Until (Your oc or any CC marvel women) starts to help him. Spends time with him and helps him to heal. Pepper is upset with this, as she believes Tony should not move on so fast. Thus drama between the two women.

[IC] THE WORST IDEA

[IC]Tony Stark is known even in the outreaches of the underworld. Demons who wish to control the planet find a way to possess him. Taking over his body while still playing hero, as a way to further their own agenda. They use him to experiment on people, to make the perfect vessels for demons. Bodies that will last a lifetime, and aid them in taking over the world. Tony gets pretty far in his plan, thousands of people are possessed and primed to take over. Placed in key locations of power, one of them even being the president of the United states. After months like this a woman shows up, who is a talented and skilled Demon hunter. She cast the demon out of Tony, and her and the rest of the team must now take on the army he helped create.

[IC] I SEE THE DEAD

[IC] Taking place after endgame, Tony thought death was his permanent home. That was until his team brought him and the others back. Strange along with the help of Sullivan (My oc) brought back all those who died in the battle. It was all great, perfect until Tony realized one draw back. He could see the dead. Ghosts, demons and even angels all became something he could see. The worst part? They all realized he could see them. So let the hauntings begin. Tony will need someone to help him with this, whether it's Natasha who is probably also in the same boat or someone outside his circle of heroes.

[IC]LOKI x CC OR OC (very picky with my ocs with this one) (Male or female love interest welcome. Will play Loki or his counterpart)

[IC] PLAY THE HERO?

[IC]Loki is still alive and living on earth right now with his brother and what's left of his people. Though something is wrong, a young girl named America Chavez wanders into his place. She finds him and speaks to him asking him to keep her safe. Having known him in another reality, and explains that others are after her. Loki knows he can’t protect her on his own, so he takes her to the Wizards. This is where he meets Strange for the first time, and things are rocky. After a lot of talking they agree to help, and thus find out it was Wanda behind everything. Loki is there when Wanda attacks and gets flung through the multiverse with America and Strange. This will be a much more expanded Multiverse and it gives Strange and Loki time to bond and become friends and then more.

[IC] MORE CHAOS?

[IC] Loki is the god of mischief and chaos right? He holds that title with pride and joy. How will he react when a young human is able to control magic just like him? That acts like him and causes grief in the hearts and minds of earth's heros. Loki isn’t sure how to take this, and feels as if someone has stolen his identity. He comes around poking and what happens in a contest on who is better at what they do. Chaos and joy: what could go wrong? Tearing open a hole into another reality that’s what could go wrong. How will Loki and them handle it? Tails between their legs asking for the hero's help? Or even more chaos!

[IC] HERO AND VILLIANS

[IC] Loki has always been a pain for earth, and after the New York attack he’s held captive on earth. Thor fears Odin will kill him, and doesn’t want that for his brother. So Loki is locked up in the Avengers tower where you are his guard. You are responsible for everything with him, and while you hate him at first you soon talk. While Loki means you no harm, he is also planning to escape. How this plays out depends a lot on how it's written.

[IC] ON A HOPE AND PRAY

[IC] Loki isn’t a romantic type, in fact its his least favorite emotion. So it stands to reason he’d never fall for anyone. While visiting earth he comes across Doctor Strange, at the time just finishing medical school. He’s beaten and almost killed. Loki, seeing how unfair the fight was, steps in and chases off the attackers. Strange is near death, and against his better judgment he takes him to Asgard to save his life. They save him and Odin isn’t happy with Loki taking in a human. Asgards don’t interfere with earth, and Loki has broken a law. Thus in order to keep himself unpunished and Strange alive he has to marry him. Loki accepts and marries him, and then takes him back to earth. Being bound to a human is annoying, and Loki doesn’t even know him. Loki doesn’t make him stay loyal and allows Strange to do what he wants. But he does make a point to visit him and over time Loki does fall for him. (Note this will have lots of angst and possible open ended cheating and drama)

[IC]THOR X CC OR OC (Male or female love interest welcome. Will play Thor or his counterpart)

[IC] ARE YOU A GOD?

[IC] Thor had never been so confused in his lifetime. He had never heard of a mortal from earth becoming a god. But you died in a gang shooting, struck down at too young of an age, and woke up and walked out of the morgue. Needless to say this has caught everyone’s attention, good and bad. Thor comes to see what this is all about, and to possibly help you. He teaches you how to be a god, and figures out what powers you have. Though others now are coming who want to run tests on you, cage you up. It's up to you and Thor to avoid them.

[IC] HE WAS MY BROTHER

[IC] After endgame and Thor has left earth and Asgard he mentally crashes. Without Loki by his side he finds himself lost. He has lost everything in his life, everyone he cared about. The anger gets to him and he starts to lose touch with who he is. Thor finds a planet like earth, and enslaves it. Driven by his pain and hurt he feels he at least deserves to rule doesn’t he? He’s brutal and savage to anyone he meets there. Until a warlock vows to bring back his brother. Thor doesn’t trust there words, and they must find some way to trust the other. How this plays out is up to you.

[IC] POWER PLAY

[IC]Again after endgame, and everyone has returned, something changes. Jane Foster has been granted the powers of Thor. At first Thor is thrilled with this and is very friendly and welcoming of it. But Jane’s mental state wasn’t strong enough to handle becoming a god. Her mind twist and becomes dark and deadly. She vows to punish those around her, and make the world how she sees fit. Thor doesn’t have the heart to stop her, and thus earth pays the price. Someone must come to Thor and convince him to take on Jane and end her life to save Earth. Thor takes some time to warm up to this, but in the middle of all of this Jane kidnaps this person. Thus the struggle over this person begins with Thor realizing now that he’d fallen for them.

[IC] THE DOCTOR AND THE GOD

[IC]Thanos snapped and killed half of everyone. Thor survived and in this case so did Doctor Strange. Strange knows the loss Thor has been through and in those five year he does his best to care for the god. Welcome him into his home and helping him deal with everyone he’s lost. Thor teaches him asgard magic and speaks of Loki and what he was really like. They become close and as five years pass they are together. They fight in the final battle and win. Strange has a surprise for Thor though, he managed to bring back Loki for the god. (Please note, I would totally love for Strange and Thor to have kids at some point)

DOCTOR STRANGE X CC, OC, OR MY OC (Note mainly looking for someone to play strange for me here.)

[IC] FREE WILL MY ASS

[IC] Sullivan Morningstar is held captive by the ancient one because of her blood line. She is trapped and torn apart. Her magic is powerful and the Ancient one uses that to have a long life. Kaecilius finds this out and manages to free Sullivan and thus gets kicked out as well. Sully is very hateful to the Ancient one and wants revenge. Thus she hides who she really is and joins the school of the wizards along with Strange. She learns with him, and becomes his friend. But She’s also working with Kaecilius to take down the Ancient one. She helps the man who freed her, and the Ancient one is dead. To her dismay Strange walks in as she’s being killed, and Kaecilus announces he will take her place and rule the world. Now Sullivan and Strange have a new threat to stop. Though the sting of who she is and what she’s gone hangs in the air.

[IC] REALITY IS FICKLE

[IC] Sullivan is a monster hunter and a cop, as she’s worked for the Avengers in the past. Now after the endgame and the heroes weakened the monsters and witches are coming out to play. Sullivan has been caught by the Coven of the first blood, a band of witches loyal to Lucifer and want to break him free. A few of the objects they need to free their devil is in the Sanctum and thus out of their reach. With Sullivan being a side hero they send her in to fetch the items. However, they are locked up and note easy to get to. She needs a key for them and the right magic, and Strange is the only one who holds that. So she does the only thing she can, she tries to play him. Get him to trust her because if she doesn’t the coven will kill her. So how will this play out? (Lots of room for angst here man.)

[IC] REALITY IS BREAKING

[IC] Being the daughter of Nyx, Sullivan is more attuned with reality and the multiverse. After the events of no way home she becomes aware of this and seeks out the wizards to warn them. Gaining their trust and showing them she means no harm. After all witches and wizards don’t get along in fact there's a deep seeded hate on both sides. While she tries to convince them, America comes through and all hell breaks loose. Sullivan is pulled along on the ride with her and Strange.

[CI]OPEN ENDED PLOT IDEAS FOR ANYONE

[CI]OPEN FOR ANY IDEAS OR SUGGESTIONS! NOTE NOT ALL WILL BE ACCEPTED BUT IT DOESN’T HURT TO TRY.

[CI]Artist weflaps! Coral the cat!

[ibijau]

Writing prompt: A/B/O AU where, after a night of heated passion and romance, Nie Huaisang is expecting Lan Xichen's child. Nie Minjue, being the overprotective Alpha that he is, has vowed to (possibly literally) kill anyone who has touched his little brother, but due to Huaisang making Xichen promise not to claim the child as his own, no one comes forward, which only serves to make Minjue even more furious at such a dishonorable move.

Meng Yao (and let's make this before his true colors are revealed because why not) takes full advantage of this and is somehow able to convince Minjue to let him marry Huaisang.

I’m going for Untamed canon for this, just because it works better. This would be just after the gusu trio and lwj bring xue yang to the unclean realm, but before the Wen come around

“I’d rather not,” Nie Huaisang mumbled, twisting the hem of his sleeve in his hands.

His brother threw him a puzzled look. “Why not? You like Meng Yao. And unless the true father is going to show up…”

“He’s not,” Nie Huaisang said, pressing his hands to his barely showing stomach, still pulling and twisting the fabric of his sleeve nervously. I told him to keep our fling a secret, he thought, something he was starting to regret.

It was just that he hadn’t expected Nie Mingjue to react quite this way. After all, Nie Huaisang was hardly the only omega in the Unclean Realm, and he’d seen more than a few Nie disciples get pregnant and raise children all on their own. In fact, the Nie sect had a bit of a reputation in that regard, he’d learned while at Gusu, at which point it had occurred to him that they did frequently get new disciples who were omegas whose partner wouldn’t take responsibility for the child. And nobody said anything against that. The parent would get all the help they needed as well as support from people who’d gone through the same, the children were taught in the Nie manner…

So when Nie Huaisang announced that he was with child after returning from Gusu, he’d thought it would just be the same for him. He’d get a scolding for being careless (and for taking so long to come home, but it’d been fun to run around with friends. Well, mostly fun, except whenever they’d almost died, and for the mass murderer they’d had to bring to the Unclean Realm) and then his brother would move on to the next problem.

Instead, Nie Mingjue had interrogated him for hours and hours to try to get the name of the alpha who had, according to him, “deflowered” and “ruined” and “taken advantage” of his darling little brother, promising he’d force the person to marry Nie Huaisang, or to kill them if they refused… and that was only after Nie Huaisang swore that everything had been consensual, because before that Nie Mingjue just wanted to kill the person.

Nie Huaisang also had been forced to swear that it wasn’t any of the three friends who’d travelled with him who had done this to him. And then Nie Mingjue had interrogated them anyway, much to Nie Huaisang’s embarrassment.

And then…

“Is he already married?” Nie Mingjue asked. “Is that why he can’t marry you?”

Shaking his head, Nie Huaisang almost laughed. In fact, he was quite sure that given the chance, Lan Xichen would marry him, being an honourable man. And Nie Huaisang certainly liked him enough that such a marriage would please him immensely, except…

Except he wasn't stupid enough to think whatever had gone on between them was love. The first time they’d gotten together had certainly been an accident, due to Nie Huaisang not realising that his heat had started a day early, and Lan Xichen had been tutoring him, and one thing leading to another…

The first time would have been excusable. These things happened, and luckily Nie Huaisang hadn’t gotten pregnant that first time. But everything after that had been the result of a combination of boredom and opportunity and, at least in his case, maybe a tiny bit of emotion as well. If he hadn’t been a little in love, he wouldn’t have suggested they continued fooling around like that, nor so boldly offered for Lan Xichen to join him during the second heat he suffered while in Gusu.

It still surprised him that Lan Xichen had agreed to something so stupid. But then again, few alphas could have rejected such an offer, and in spite of his new responsibilities as a sect leader, Lan Xichen was a young alpha with all the needs and desires that came with it.

Lan Xichen who had looked so sad when Nie Huaisang had suddenly announced that their little affair had run its course, but… but it was for the best. Having realised he was with child, Nie Huaisang just had to put an end to this, before Lan Xichen got stupid and tried to marry him for honour. It would have ruined his reputation to become known as lustful when, as a young sect leader of a Great Sect, so many eyes were already on him in hope of seeing fail.

Maybe it would also have broken Nie Huaisang’s heart to be married only out of duty, but that was irrelevant.

“I don’t want to marry anyone,” Nie Huaisang announced, which was almost the truth anyway, so it wasn’t quite a lie. “And Meng Yao is… I like him a lot! But I don’t want to marry him. I don’t think he’d want to marry me either!”

“He offered himself, actually,” Nie Mingjue replied. “He said he would hate for your child to suffer the way he has and that if we cannot find someone better suited, he’d be happy to help. I think he might be a little soft on you.”

Had Meng Yao not been on the other side of the country when Nie Huaisang was getting himself knocked up, it was likely Nie Mingjue might have regarded his offer with a little less kindness. Or maybe he would have liked it better if he could have assumed that Meng Yao was the father, making it a good deal less likely that Meng Yao would ever leave them to try his chance in Lanling. Nie Mingjue was ever so fond of his deputy, seeing him almost as a brother, a better one perhaps than the real one.

Well, Nie Huaisang too saw Meng Yao as a brother, so the idea of marrying him made him wrinkle his nose in disgust.

“You are impossible,” Nie Mingjue huffed, sounding so upset that his brother felt a little guilty. “I’m just trying to look out for you, and so is Meng Yao.”

“Well, don’t. I’m fine. I’m gonna have my baby alone. Well, I’ll want a midwife, and a nurse, and cousins to help me with it, but other than that, I’m having it alone!”

“Okay, that’s it!” Nie Mingjue exploded. “I’m writing to Lan Xichen. Let’s see if he can knock some sense into you and…”

Nie Huaisang threw himself at his brother, as if merely speaking of his friend might have made him appear in the room, thus ruining all his efforts to keep his pregnancy secret.

“Don’t!” he cried out, tearful from fright. Seeing him so distraught made Nie Mingjue suspicious, so Nie Huaisang clung to him tightly and scrambled for an excuse. “Xichen-ge is already so busy! He’s got all his attention taken by that Yin Iron business, should we really bother him with my problems? And anyway… anyway it’s private, I don’t want others to know!”

“I half blame him for this,” Nie Mingjue retorted. “He’d promised me he’d keep an eye on you. And you always listen to him more than me, heavens know why.”

Mostly that was because Lan Xichen gave fun orders, such as ‘sit down while I do your homework’ or ‘open your mouth, I have a treat’ or even better ‘open your legs a little more, just like that, you’re such a good boy Huaisang’.

Not that Nie Mingjue needed to know that.

May he never, ever know that.

“Don’t bother Xichen-ge,” Nie Huaisang pleaded again. “I’ll… fine. I’ll marry Meng Yao.”

“You will?”

Nie Huaisang shrugged. He didn’t like the idea, but it was better than to risk dragging Lan Xichen into a bad marriage he’d grow to resent once the novelty of it wore off.

[imxeracus]

From Now On

Ok y’all, this is super long hahahahha I’m so sorry. Happy Gruvia Week 2021!! Here’s my contribution and I’m sorry but I don’t think I have the time to do more but I hope you guys like it anyway. I hope its not too OOC and if FT had more romance elements I believe this would be possible. Enjoy!

--------------------------- Gray tousled his hair and fidgeted around the entrance, feeling nervous about the day when it was only about 10 o’clock in the morning. Today, he told himself that he had to make sure things went well and most of all, to not take off any of his clothes subconsciously. For an ice mage, ironically he could not seem to get himself to calm down and stay cool about this. Regarding his first official date with Juvia, that is.

The 100 Years Quest was over and as promised, he spoke to Juvia about their relationship and how he was finally good enough for her. Despite the water mage’s disagreement to his initial beliefs and reasoning, she was elated that Gray formally addressed their feelings for each other. Furthermore, he initiated that they ought to have a proper first date that weekend itself.

He clicked his tongue briefly and frowned upon himself as he began to manifest in some thoughts to keep himself together. Why are you getting all nervous for! He ponders, his hands getting a little clammy in his pockets. Aren’t you the Gray Fullbuster, who bravely puts himself out for others and save the world countless times?

”Gray-sama?”

Before he could go on any further, a cute slivery voice interrupted his train of thought. Miserably trying to keep his cool, he spun around eagerly and was met with sapphire eyes that gave off a different vibe from her usual self. The said bluenette had her locks half tied and wore an off-shoulder dress that was not too revealing, similar to her nature. Accompanied with her outfit was a pair of kitten heels, some accessories and a subtle blush adorning her cheeks.

”Juvia is sorry for making you wait.”

For the majority, her outfit is considered simple and chic but for today, Gray thought she looked really, really good. Dammit, he gulped loudly as he felt his cheeks started to blush already at the sight of her. He knew that the water user was attractive, but it was beginning to sink in that he is now calling this beautiful person his. “Ah—um—” Gray fumbled and looked away, trying his best to hide the redness. “Shall we get going?” She simply smiled, gave a small chuckle and placed her left hand gently on his right arm (as if he could take more), indicating him to proceed to their destination. On their first date, Fullbuster had planned to go and visit the aquarium—because the water reminds him of Juvia, but he is never going to admit it—which was not too far off from where they were. It was a good walking distance, and they had a nice peaceful time on the way there. Despite saying that, he was worried as it did not seem natural for the bluenette to stay silent. Especially today, he expected her to be more excited and be all over him. As they arrive at the aquarium, Gray went over to the counter and bought a pair of tickets and made his way back to the front, where Juvia was waiting for him. As he carefully observed the water mage from a distance, he could see that she was looking down with an expression he could not seem to grasp. ”Juvia.” Surprised, she looked up hastily to see Gray back by her side. ”Is everything alright?” ”Juvia’s fine!” She exclaimed, quick to lighten up the mood. “She’s just... a little excited—as in, we’ve never done this before—but Juvia’s really happy!” She glanced at him timidly. “Also, Gray-sama looks dashing today.” For once with the determination of not stripping everything off, the ice mage did make the effort to dress well in a brown coat paired with a t-shirt and jeans. Albeit reddening slightly at her remark, he was more concerned on the fact she seemed to not be telling the truth. Here he was, blessed to have her despite all those years of constantly avoiding her advances—and now, when she is distressed, she was still keeping herself together to not worry him. His gaze soften as the guilt was slowly crept up inside him. Despite that, the said man tried to push the matter aside for the time being and wanted to make sure the day goes well. As of now, he knew that he needed to push himself more and step up his game. Once again, her eyes met with his onyx ones as he spoke quickly. “You.. you look good, too.” Juvia’s pupils dilated while Gray blushed furiously, frowning at how embarrassed he was over such a simple statement. It was a start, at least. He also noted on how she seemed to be elated from it. Before she could ask anything else, he took her hand in his and brought them into the aquarium. He could tell people were staring as the both of them were rather known after all they have done in Fiore, but screw it. Gray decided that it was not going to get in the way of his pride today if it could. Thankfully, the ice mage started to loosen up as Juvia gleefully looked at all the sea creatures that were present. When her beloved mentioned about this place, she gladly agreed because this place was known for breeding imported fishes outside of Fiore. The water woman, being part of the sea and occasionally swimming in it, found joy learning the names and characteristics of the animals she meets in the ocean.  “So these are angelfishes!” she exclaimed to Gray, as she lightly tapped on his shoulder while pointing at the said creature. “Juvia always sees them if she takes a dive into the ocean.” “Hmm,” Gray mused, acting disinterested. “What else do you normally see?” "Juvia’s seen all of these underwater because in this tank, all of them are common sea fishes.” “Isn’t that a bore?” The ice mage rolled his eyes. “We should go see something you don’t normally see—that’s what this place is for.” He smoothly took her hand in his and brought her along. Meanwhile, Juvia lightly blushes as she realised that this incident—Gray initiating the hand holding—has been happening a few times already. Every time she releases his grasp to point or walk towards a destination, the brunet would eventually put them back together again. She glanced at Gray who seemed to pay no mind to the matter as they visited the different tanks and places of the aquarium. Indeed, the bluenette was not complaining but a little taken aback. Is this suppose to be normal? She thought, as her imagination continued to spiral on. The smooth and sly Gray-sama was taking a little too much for her to handle—even from before! Eventually, her legs gave way and she started to lose her balance. Quickly, she placed her hand on the wall for balance which caused her footsteps to come to a halt and the ice mage to notice her situation. “Juvia!” He held her arms by the sides and shook her slightly in worry. “I’m right earlier, aren’t I? You really weren’t feeling good?” “Gray-sama...” He raised a brow in question. “Yes?” Juvia took a quick glance back at him before she burst into tears. “Gray-sama is too gentlemanly and sly today!” She wailed, half in distress and in joy. “First, he chooses to dress up and pick Juvia up at her place. Secondly, he complimented her outfit she took hours to decide and still felt it wasn’t good enough!” “Lastly, Juvia didn’t want to bother him and occasionally walks on her own, but Gray-sama keeps coming back, holding her hands gently and she’s too happy that she can’t walk straight anymore!” Full of emotions, she tried to control her tears as she quickly wiped some of it away. “Juvia’s not used to it Gray-sama. You’re being too nice and cool!” At this he flushed hard, did he really hold her hand so often? “Oi!” He panicked, his cheeks continue to redden in embarrassment at her bold statements of him. “D-don’t make sure a big deal out of it. I mean—like—just calm down!” With her loud voice, the people nearby saw and heard the context of the incident and lightly chuckled in amusement which caused Gray to be conscious with their surroundings and it made him uncomfortable. He quickly took her to an area with minimal crowd and dimmed lights to spare them from all the attention. He sat Juvia down on the nearby bench in hopes to calm her down as she sniffed softly. The ice mage took a moment to stare at the bluenette who was being all worked up earlier on. Gray’s eyebrows furrowed as he run his hand through his hair in exasperation before he sat down next to her. “Here,” A cold can drink grazed upon Juvia’s cheek gently. “Drink this.” She took it with gratitude and managed a few sips, a troubled look appearing on her features as she noticed her beloved looking away—clearly upset. The water mage frowned and looked down, tightening her hold on the can drink as she quickly apologises. “Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama. She should’ve known better than to embarrass Gray-sama in public,” Surprised at herself, she started to fumble. “Gray-sama doesn’t like attention and Juvia failed to see it. Juvia shouldn’t have been so swamped at her own giddiness, Juvia was too–” “Stop it,” Gray clicked his tongue in annoyance, his bangs covering his eyes. “You make me sound like a terrible boyfriend.” “Juvia didn’t mean—eh?” It took a moment before she realised what Gray has declared and took a small peak at him. “Did Gray-sama just say ‘boyfriend’?” “Aren’t I?” “Juvia didn’t expect you to say that out...” He scratched his neck nervously, his eyes looking away. “I mean.. I promised you didn’t I? I’m going to become a man good enough for you. If I can’t even say that out, I’m worse than flamebrain.” As much as she was feeling touched, she couldn’t help but worry. “Juvia doesn’t want to force you to change, Gray-sama.” “I’m not forcing myself.” “But Gray-sama kept forcing himself to make sure that we held hands—” “Because I wanted to!” Pupils dilated once again as she was struck with confusion. Fullbuster, flushed and embarrassed at what he just blurted out, grew annoyed at her denseness and tousled his hair once more before speaking up. “Dammit woman, why are you making me say all these sappy shit...” “Look,” He sighed before looking back at her once again, determined. “Every time we hold hands, I always try to play it cool but damn—it’s stupid to say this as a grown man but I get so nervous and happy about it. I kept wanting you close to me....” Gray felt annoyed at his frenzied heart as he continued to speak his feelings aloud. “I really want to be better for you, Juvia. I don’t want you to always make it easy for me. I want to return the favour back as much as I can.”  Before he went on, the ice mage narrowed his eyes in dismay and looked away as he gripped his knuckles tightly. “But this whole time, I kept making you cry and get upset. Even now, I don’t even know how to make you feel better when you’re always here for me previously. Instead, I chose to take us somewhere else and frown about it because I was a coward.... I’m sorry.” The ice mage mumbled at the end of his sentence, but Juvia could make out his words anytime. It was funny, really. All her life, the water mage was contented on loving him without expecting anything much back. Now, when it was becoming a reality, Juvia’s heart swelled. For once, her mind went blank on how to express these thoughts aloud. Loving Gray has been wonderful, but being loved back by him now was even better than she could ever imagined. She placed a hand on his cheek in efforts to cheer him up and as he turned back—in his opinion, Gray was greeted with the most alluring smile he has ever seen. “Thank you for trying so hard, Gray-sama.” She spoke in the most loving voice she could muster. “Juvia loves you very much.” In that moment, his gaze softened as he swiftly took away her hand that was on his face into his own, lacing them together. Tightening his hold on her said hand, Gray took her cheek in with his other free palm. The ice mage took a good look at her before he slowly leaned in. He heard Juvia uttered something out of confusion, but he paid no mind to it. Because in that moment, all he could think of was how much he adored her kindness, love and patience.  In the dim lighting and quiet section of the aquarium, his lips met hers in a chaste kiss as response to her statement earlier on. Frankly, the ice mage did not know what to say either as he nervously pulled away to check on her reaction. When his eyes slowly opened and met with hers, Gray could not help but smile back at his girl whose cheeks were now flushed in surprise. He let out a slight chuckle and squeezed her hand lovingly as he could tell that the water mage was clearly still processing the kiss. It was embarrassing, he admitted, but he did not regret doing so. He had nothing to hide anyways. “Shall we continue on with our date?”

After all, Juvia was his to keep from now on.