#sorry i am too lazy to arrange these answers nicely

[blondiest]

i'm leaving to do my job and want to give the caveat that this will probably have zero impact on what i do because my brain doesn't obey me BUT since i'm struggling to decide which WIP to work on next. poll time.

[wildernessuntothemselves]

lazy cat hybrid reader + too much energy dog hybrid gyu in heat 😔 maybe switch/switch ^^’

"Are you seriously sitting there and jerking off while starting at me?" You scoff at the dog hybrid on the other side of the room from you and he quickly takes his hands out of his pants grabs onto the pillow next to him.

"I wasn't jerking off." He croaks and you laugh derisively.

"Yeah and I'm not pretty." You say mockingly but the puppy is too dumb to understand the sarcasm and answers dreamily. "You are pretty." He breathes, hand unconsciously doing back to grab at his cock. "So pretty."

"And you're gross." You turn your nose up at him and he whines, getting off the couch and crawling towards you quickly. You curl up in a ball and unfurl your claws, scratching at him when he gets close.

He whimpers as if he doesn't get why you did that, and sits down on his ass a small distance from you, nursing his scratched up cheek.

"Kitty, it hurts." He whines.

"I wouldn't have scratched you if you didn't jump on me like that." You explain without remorse, but he shakes his head. "Not that. This."

He leans back on his heels, emphasizing his bulge to you that is contained in sweatpants that leave nothing to the imagination. You'd be lying if you said that didn't make your mouth water a bit, but you're not a dog like him and you're certainly not going to let yourself fall for your base needs just because a stupid pup is waving his cock at you.

"Then you should've told our owners that you're going into heat." You tell him snottily.

"But then they would've taken me away to a breeding center." He mumbles sadly.

"So?" You ask as if you didn't care, and Beomgyu looks down dejectedly. "Did you think I'd care about that?"

"You cared when our owners brought Danbi over for a playdate." He mumbles under his breath.

Your temper flares at the mention of the dog hybrid's name. "I was saving you from getting involved with a bitch like her."

"She was nice to me." He argues back.

"She was just being pretend nice. She was awful to me which you would've noticed if you didn't have your nose firmly lodged inside her asshole. But I guess friendships mean nothing to you and you'd rather get your dick wet than stand up for your friends."

"No, you're right I'm sorry." He moves towards you, his lands smoothing up and down your legs in a soothing manner, getting the tension to leave your body. "You mean much more to me than anyone else."

Your heart flutters at his words but you choose to decidedly ignore it, focusing instead on how his big hands inch up and up with every passing second.

"Puppy, what are you doing?" You raise an eyebrow at him, and the glazed over look in his eyes clears up as he realizes he's been caught yet again.

"I just--" He tries to think, hands squeezing your thighs in distress. "I really need you."

"You know I can't take your cock. Kittens aren't meant to take such a big cock." You're telling the truth--cats and dogs aren't supposed to fuck--but you were being intentionally goading with your wording, knowing it will drive him crazy.

He sucks in a sharp breath through his teeth. "We can try. I'll stop if it hurts too much."

"No. You'll rip my pussy apart." You shut him down. "You should've told our owners."

He looks at you, betrayed at you bring it up again. "Fine, maybe I will. Maybe I'll ask them to arrange another playdate with Danbi."

You raise your arm to scratch his face again but he sees it coming, grabbing your arm and pinning it to your side as he takes your lips in a kiss. You bite his lip punishingly but he doesn't care, moaning against your mouth and kissing you harder.

"Don't want her. Don't want any other bitch. Just want my pretty pussy."

"I am not yours."

"I would like to see anyone else try claim you." He growls menacingly and your pussy quivers at his dominating aura. It just makes you want to make him melt again for you.

"You can have my thighs." You tell him. He opens his mouth to protest but you beat him to it. "Either my thighs or nothing."

He grumbles but pulls back, pulling his pants down and spitting on his hand before bring it to his cock to lubricate it. He places his cock between your thighs and bucks his hips experimentally, moaning out and seemingly content with the feeling.

"Yeah, that's it. You know how to be good. You just need some training."

"Yes, pretty." He moans, lost as soon as his dick gets some stimulation.

"Am I prettier than her?"

"So much prettier. No one is prettier than you." He babbles, dick thrusting between your thighs. "Do you went me to tell our owners about my heat?"

"No, I can take care of my puppy. Won't need anyone else." You tell him and he melts, cumming all over your pretty dress that the owners put you in and that Beomgyu loves so much.

But the orgasm does nothing to calm his cock, and it still stand erect between your thighs.

"You're still hard?" You ask incredulously and he shrugs. "I'm in heat."

"Well, what now?" You ask awkwardly, staring at his dick. "Do you wanna do it again?"

He nods. "Let me rut against your pussy this time. Maybe that will help. I won't put it in. I promise."

"Beomgyu..." You hesitate.

"You just said you'll take care of me." He reminds you and you huff. "Fine."

"Thank you." Beomgyu yips happily, unceremoniously taking off your underwear. He lets his cock rest against your pussy and holds it down with his thumb so that when he ruts forward, his whole length rubs against your slit.

"Oh." You breathe out and his ears perk at the sound. He cocks his head to the side and ruts against you again, ears twitching at the restrained sounds you try to keep in as his movements grow more vigorous with excitement.

"You like it, kitty?" He asks, a grin on his face, and you stick you tongue out stubbornly. He laughs and angles his hips in such a way so as that his cock would brush against your clit each time.

He seems to be more focused on trying to illicit pleasure out of you than working towards his own orgasm. But the dumb pup is so excited and turned on by your sounds and the way your tits jiggle with each thrust that he's falling over the edge before he even realizes it.

"No, no," He whines at his premature orgasm, but his hips continue to thrust forward as he covers you in another load.

This time, when his cock doesn't go down, you don't mind it so much. Maybe you'll get to cum this time. But Beomgyu is a greedy little mutt.

"Let me put it in. Just the tip." He pleads.

"It won't fit!"

"Just the tip." He coaxes, thumb moving down to your whole and dipping ever so slightly in. You know he can feel you clench around it because he says, "I know you need it too."

"Fuck you." You let out defeatedly, and he knows he has you.

You cringe as he lines the large head of his cock with your pussy and pushes in, anticipating the pain, but true to his word he stops as soon as he feels resistance.

With just the tip in, he pulls back and thrusts back in, and as you soon realize, this is pure torture--for you more than him. At least he seems to be getting off on it despite the massive restraint the excitable pup is having to endure. As for you, it just feels like being teased with no hope of cumming. You want him to fill you up. You want to cum on his cock, but you're too scared to ask for it.

Somehow, the stupid brute notices how needy you are, and moves his hand up to flick his thumb over your clit, giving you the much needed stimulation you've been craving.

"Oh fuck, Beommie. Keep doing that." You keen, not caring about how you're only exciting him further, just hoping he'll make you cum this time.

And he does. He's unrefined and sloppy, but he's earnest and you're so, so turned on.

"Yes, yes!" You mewl, clenching around him as you cum, but he surprisingly takes his cock out, choosing to spurt his cum on your dress once again.

"You didn't cum inside." You state, confused, and he mumbles sheepishly. "You didn't say I could."

How is he so adorable about something so lewd? You want to reach out and pet him for being so cute but you hold back, looking away from his puppy eyes so you wouldn't be tempted to.

As you look down to your dress, you realize it's basically ruined now, wet and sticky from multiple loads, and yet as you stare in disgust at the sodden material, you see that Beomgyu is still hard.

"Is it seriously not down?"

"I didn't knot you yet."

You gasp at the audacity. "And you're not going to."

"Come on, kitty. You know it's the only way to make this go away. My body needs to feel like I've bred you." He exclaims and you look away, cheeks burning.

"Well, I'm exhausted." You excuse lamely and he snorts. "You're not even doing anything. Just lay on your tummy and let me use you." He growls and you raise an eyebrow at him so he adds. "Please."

"Such a perv."

"I'm not a perv. Just need you to present yourself for mating." He mumbles the last part quietly.

"Perv." You repeat but obey, still refusing to admit to yourself that you're enjoying this.

Once you flop on your tummy, he grabs your hips and pulls your ass up in the air. "Just like that." He purrs, fingers running along your slit. "Good kitty ready to be mounted."

"Just shut up and do it."

"Yes, kitty." He climbs over you, pressing his big cock into you.

"Ooof." You whimper as he fills you up, going deeper this time.

"Good pussy." He slurs, already lost in the feeling of your pussy but trying to comfort you with kisses to your shoulder. "Just relax. You can take it."

Surprisingly, you do. You manage to take his whole length and Beomgyu is full of praises for you.

"You're doing so good for me. Being such a good mate." He coos, holding you close as his hips thrust back and forth, fucking you from behind. "You're so pretty. And so nice. I love you."

You breath hitches at his words but you dismiss them. He's just pussy-drunk. He'll say he loves anything he can fuck right now.

But it's hard to ignore it when he keeps repeating it over and over, getting more and more loud as he gets lost in the pleasure.

"Fuck, puppy, don't say that." You gasp as your body rocks with every thrust. "You know we can't."

"I don't care. I love you. I love you so much." He moans in your ear, one arm wrapped around your waist, holding you up against his onslaught, while the other snakes between your legs to rub at your pussy. "Please love me too."

Fuck, he's being so unfair right now. He can't do this to you when he's fucking you so good. So you bite lip to stay quiet, tasting the blood on your tongue.

"Please!" Beomgyu cries out, his hips losing rhythm as he nears his end but tries to hold off. You clench around him, coaxing him to let go. "Come on, pup, cum for me. I know you're dying to knot me good."

"Please, please..." He continues to beg even as his hips stutter and you feel the base of his cock swell up.

"That's it. There you go." You wince as he pushes his knot into you. But Beomgyu is still keen to pleasure you too.

"Cum for me. Need you to feel good too. Please." He whimpers brokenly. Oh, if he knows just how good he's making you feel. He's too rough and fast, too sloppy and eager, but his moans in your ear and need for you radiating off him in waves more than makes up for it.

"Ah Beomgyu, I'm cumming, puppy. I'm cumming--oh" You shudder, feeling his seed fill you up as your pussy tries to clench around him but his knot is just too big.

You double over in pain and pleasure, lying still for a while before registering that Beomgyu is licking the side of your neck soothingly and whispering reassurances in your ear.

"You did so good. You're so perfect." He says, and you can hear the pain in his voice but you don't dare address it, just letting him comfort you as you wait for his knot to go down.

[loving-all-for-loki]

Your writing is so wonderful! Could I maybe request something comforting? I’m currently recovering from a surgery to repair my foot with bone anchors and I’ll be bed ridden for 6 weeks. Maybe something with Loki being very supportive and caring for the reader 24/7, moving into her room etc. and the team are just surprised at how helpful he’s being to her. 🤗.

A/N: I’m sorry if I posted this at a weird time, but I have the next chapter to my series Voiceless Love coming out and I wanted to give this fic some time to be seen before that got posted. It’s also a little short, but I felt like this was perfect as a short and sweet fic, instead of a 2k+ story, haha. Also, I know it isn’t 100% exactly what you wanted, but I get stuck with one idea and run with it, oops. I hope you are getting better with your foot. That stinks so much and I’ve been there with my own ankle injuries. If you have any requests for some fics while you recover, send them my way! I always need some inspo and if I can give you some entertainment during your recovery, that would be great. Now, read this, get some sleep, and drink some water. I hope you heal nicely <3

Lucky

Loki x reader

Word count: 1533

Warnings: Pure fluff, just fluff, fluffiness, maybe a bit of sexualizing Loki (I couldn’t help myself)

Seeing your friends carrying big heavy boxes for you swells your heart. It’s also hilarious to see Thor actually struggling to carry something. Tony finds it amusing too given that he’s not doing any of the work but it’s sipping mimosas next to you. Thor grumbles about getting all the heavy boxes, but you also know Sam and Bucky purposely avoid the big ones.

If someone were to tell you ten years ago that you’d be saved from getting tortured by Hydra and become an Avenger, you’d tell them they’re delusional, but this is your life. Even after years of torture and pain, you considered yourself lucky. You could have been the new Soldat, ruined over and over again to be a war machine, but now you’re a trained assassin like Bucky and Nat with a broken leg.

You lean yourself against a wall in your room with your crutches beside you (along with Tony, of course, that lazy bum). Steve, Bucky, and Thor are carrying in boxes while Sam, Nat, and Peter help unpack some things. Today is the day you officially move into the tower with the rest of your teammates and due to your current disability, the other avengers offered to help you. Another reason why you consider yourself lucky.

Peter is by far the most adorable on the team. He’s fully unpacking for you, even arranging the frames on your shelves and the organizers on your desk. He at point made your bed when Steve brought in your blankets and sheets. Bucky has been super sweet, too, giving you funny looks every time he passes by and asking where the best spot for the box he is carrying to go.

But the one “avenger” you didn’t expect to be as helpful as he is, is Loki. The others told him to move out of the way, not wanting his condescending attitude to ruin the fun day, but Loki started to carry boxes in as well. The first time, the avengers were stunned by him, but then they were gracious because he used his magic to transport them, making the job go by quicker. Loki just stands at the bottom of the truck outside and wipes his hand over each cardboard box, sending it to your room.

You really are lucky.

-

Two days pass by and you decide to ignore your laziness and finally unpack the rest of your boxes. You attempt to push some photo boxes on the top of your shelves, but you find yourself stretching so hard to reach the top. Your foot injury really is stupid and you just want to be able to normal walk, or jump, or even go on your tip toes.

Then you hear a sly chuckle coming from behind you. You let out a frustrated sign knowing exactly who it is.

“Loki, if you’re going to stand there and laugh at me, could you least help me and laugh at me?”

“Of course, darling.” He jokes.

He comes up behind you and takes the box from your struggling fingertips and carefully paces it on top of the shelf.

“Is there anything else you helpless being needs help with?”

“I could use help with hanging my window curtains.”

You point to the box in the corner with your large sheer curtains folded in them. He chuckles and goes over the box, carefully picking them up and hanging them on the frame. You can’t help but notice his figure as he hangs them. He is a marvelous being and who are you to deny your eyes of such a sight?

The sight in front of you proved that you are lucky

-

Tony gathers the group for a game night and it results in everyone becoming drunk and children. At some point, it becomes a truth or drink game night and everyone has their poison. You have your legs laid over Loki’s lap, who was really hard to convince to join the game, and a bottle of Smirnoff Ice in your hand, only because Tony didn’t have anything else. Loki’s slowly running his fingers over your legs, but higher than your cast.

“Okay, Steve,” Natasha coos, “your turn. Have you ever done drugs?”

“I did marijuana in high school once.”

The whole team gasps and whistles at his answer.

“Captain ain’t so wholesome, now, is he?” Sam cackles.

“I remember that night,” Bucky laughs, “You were so high.”

Steve chuckles and nods his head before looking to see you cuddled up next to Loki and gets a wicked idea.

“Loki, you’ve been quiet. Your turn.”

“Please no, I’m beyond your little games.”

“Aw come on, brother! One question won’t hurt you,” Thor laughs.

“Who in this room would ever kiss?”

Tony whistles and takes a sip of his drink as everyone else laughs. You can feel the ice giant get slightly warm out of embarrassment. His face is flushed with a rose pink color as you get nervous, lightly chuckling to himself.

“I uh…”

“Answer it. Answer it. Answer it.” Sam chants.

Everyone chuckles at the clear uncomfortableness of the god, not seeing him like this often.

“Y/N.” He whispers, almost too quiet for you to even hear.

“Louder, brother. I couldn’t hear you,” Thor says innocently.

“Y/N.”

You smile up at Loki in shock. He won’t look down to meet your eyes but stares straight out the window past Tony. The entire team cheers and chuckles.

“Oh, we’re never letting that one down.”

“How lucky am I?” You laugh.

-

You attempt to cook yourself some lunch but your stupid cast is getting in the way of moving around. It’s getting tiring to pick up your crutches every time you need a tool two feet away from you. Letting out a frustrated sigh, you hit the edge of the counter with the spatula in your hand.

“What is wrong, dearest?”

You turn your head to see Loki standing behind you with a concerned look on his face, this time not here to make fun of you.

“I’m tired of my stupid foot getting in the way of doing normal activities.”

“Darling, sit down. I’ll make lunch for you.”

“Loki, you really-”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.”

Loki picks you up and sets you down on the couch while also handing you the remote. He goes to the kitchen and attempts to resume your lunch.

“Sweetest, what are you cooking?”

You laugh really hard at his confusion.

“Fajitas.”

“What are those?”

“See Loki, it’s fine! You really don’t have to.”

“And I’m not going to. I’ll make Stark do it.”

Loki orders JARVIS to get Tony and finish making lunch for you. You laugh and shake your head at Loki as he sits down beside you on the couch. He starts to run his fingers through your hair but keeps getting caught in the tangles.

“Why is your hair like this?”

“It’s hard to do anything while standing up. I can barely brush my teeth without falling over.”

“Well, it looks like I’ll do that for you, too.”

“Loki, I swear if you-”

“No point in arguing. I’m going to assist you.”

You rolls your eyes at the cocky god as he smiles at you. Nuzzling your head into his neck, Loki holds you tightly in an embrace. Tony comes in to see you two cuddling and shakes his head.

“You are so lucky we love you.”

-

You wake up the next day to see Loki sleeping beside you on your bed. You try to remember anything that happened last night, but you were so tired, nothing comes to mind. If you didn’t have a broken foot, you would be concerned about waking up next to a god, but you also know he wouldn’t have done anything with your injury. He’s too kind (much to some disbelief).

“Good morning, darling.”

Loki leans over to you and kisses you on the forehead. He wasn’t as asleep as you thought he was, but you’re not complaining. Waking up beside this adonis isn’t the worst way to spend a morning.

“Good morning.”

“I don’t care what you say,” Loki smiles, brushing a piece of your hair behind your ear, “you’re staying in bed and I’m waiting on you.”

“That’s very sweet. Thank you.”

“I’m glad someone learned something last night.”

“Actually, I don’t remember a lot from last night. I was tired.”

“We bickered about me waiting on you, hand and foot.”

“Hmm, that sounds about right.”

“So, today I’m treating you like a proper princess.”

“Does that mean we’re together?”

Loki looks at you confused, but his face lights up when he realizes what you’re implying.

“I suppose so. In that case, my princess, I will wait on you.”

You watched as the god all day served you lunch and dinner. He brushed your hair and teeth. Helped you change clothes. Played your music to cheer you up. Even carried you to the bathroom when you had to go.

Thinking about all the things your friends have done for you and all of the things that Loki, your prince, has done, all you can say is how lucky you are.

[maliby]

Taste of Little | pjm (M)

↬ Pairing: Jimin x Fem Reader ↬ Story Genre: fluff with a spread of smut ↬ Warnings: explicit language, explicit sex scene, mentions of cheating, body insecurities ↬ Word count: 4.2K ↬ Summary: It was yours and your boyfriend Jimin’s first anniversary, aka the night you were finally going to have sex. Every thing was going fine until he simply leaves you high and dry; turns out Jimin is hiding a little secret that he’s too scared to tell you. Will your love for him be bigger than that?

                               For: The Intimacy Anthology Project

“Excuse me, are you Y/N?” A handsome stranger asked as he approached your table that was conveniently close to the exit so you could bolt if anything went wrong.

“Yes, I am, and you must be Jimin right?” You stated as you looked at the black hoody Jimin said he’d be wearing.

“Yes,” he smiled. His smile was so sweet and warm that you swore he could make a rockfall in love with him just with that smile alone.

“Nice to meet you, Jimin.”

“Nice to meet you too, Y/N.”

It’s been exactly one year today since you first met Jimin at the same cafe you were in right now - the ‘Aroma Mocha’. 

At first, when your friend and roommate Jenna had set you up to go on a blind date with him you didn’t really want to go. The reason was that you had sworn off guys ever since your last relationship ended with your ex choking on another man’s dick on your couch wearing your lingerie. So, when your friend came up with the suggestion of getting back out there you had shut her down immediately. It wasn’t until you lost some stupid bet over Jenna banging an idol that you were “obliged” to go on a date with her coworker Jimin (something that now made you thank your lucky stars every day).

“You’re late mister,” you pointed to your watch as your handsome boyfriend walked in in a rush.

“I’m so sorry baby,” he said before tenderly kissing your lips. “Happy anniversary,” the smile on his lips reminded you of the very first time he smiled at you, in this very cafe, and, the very first time he ever made your heart race.

“Happy anniversary.”

“Namjoon was attempting to cook dinner for Jin and he almost sliced his finger off so I had to take him to the hospital,” he took off his denim jacket as he sat opposite you. He then picked up the menu and looked through it, searching for something to order.

“I swear Namjoon needs a babysitter, doesn’t he know he’s not allowed near sharp objects without supervision?”

“He wanted to surprise his boyfriend but, if you want my opinion, Jin’s lucky he wasn’t able to finish that monstrosity of a meal.”

You chuckled. “Well, Namjoon isn’t the only person who prepared a surprise for their boyfriend,” you smirked, amused with his curious expression.

“Oh yeah? What did my beautiful girlfriend prepare for me?”

“Well, if I told you now it wouldn’t really be a surprise now would it?” You reached over the table and pressed a small kiss on his lips.

Jimin and you hadn’t had sex yet. At first, it didn’t really bother you much because you were not one to rush things and, since Jimin was a little bit shy, you wanted to respect him but now you were starting to second guess yourself. Your inner voice kept whispering you thoughts like: “he doesn’t find you physically attractive” or “he’s cheating on you with other people”, something you admit may come from the trauma of your past relationship. So, with your 1st anniversary coming up you thought that it was now or never. You decided to shoot for the stars and bought an expensive lingerie set in your favourite colour, that you were wearing at that moment.

After your cafe date, you had arranged a little picnic-style dinner at the beach, where you watched the summer sunset together. After that, you went back to your place - since Jenna was out of town and Jimin lived with Namjoon - excused yourself to the bathroom (where you were currently at) and got ready to put your ultimate plane of seduction in action.

You took off your dress so you were just in lingerie, brushed your teeth twice, put some deodorant (just in case) and exited the bathroom, ready to put on a show.

“Hey baby, I poured you a glass of-” the pair of glasses he was holding shattered on your wooden floor, its content spilling all over to the nearest carpet, “-wine.”

You smiled. This was exactly the reaction you wanted, a reaction so good that immediately made you forget about all your doubts and fears - he wanted you.

“You like it? It’s just for you,” you teased as you gave a little twirl so he could fully observe you.

“You look...fuck.”

His jaw was locked, and his eyes scanned you up and down as you slowly started to shorten the distance between the two of you. As soon as you reached him though, he did something completely unexpected.

“Jimin, what are you doing?” You followed him to the kitchen where he had run to pick up napkins.

“We need to clean this up before it ruins your floor, or you hurt yourself,” he rambled on as he went back to the place of the accident. It was almost like he was trying to avoid you.

“Jimin,” you slouched down and grabbed the hand that was picking up the broken pieces of glass, making him stand up again, “I don’t give a fuck about the glass. I just want to have you.”

You placed your hands on his chubby cheeks and softly kissed him. 

At first, it took him a while to relax and give in, but as soon as he started to kiss you back the intensity of the kiss immediately changed.

You guided him to your bedroom without ever breaking the kiss. While your hands were busy tugging at his brown locks his own were hoisting up your skirt so they could grab your ass.

“Take your shirt off,” you said after he threw you on the bed.

Your loins were on fire, they were burning for him, aching even. You had seen him shirtless before but this time you felt like you almost couldn’t control yourself. Your eyes examined his delicious chocolate abs and wondered what it would be like to kiss and lick them and to keep on going until you reached his cock.

You wanted to please him so badly, you wanted to hear him moan your name, you wanted to watch him come undone, you wanted to watch his facial features contort in pleasure because of you, you wanted it all. 

He got on top of you and you both started making out once again. 

“I want you so badly Jimin,” you said as you flipped your positions and got on top of him. He didn’t answer, but you could tell by the tiny moan that escaped his mouth and the way that he squeezed your thigh that he was excited.

First, you started to kiss his neck and then you made your way to his abs, running your tongue through the defined muscles. Your hands started working on the button of his jeans and you could feel him tense up. You thought it was probably just from the excitement or something, but as soon as your mouth started to descend towards his nether region he suddenly pushed you off and got up.

“Is everything alright?” You asked out of worry, being scared that you had crossed some sort of line for him.

“I’m sorry Y/N, I- I need to go,” he buttoned up his pants and put his shirt back on. 

“Jimin, did I do something wrong?” Suddenly, your whole world dropped and all your insecurities came flushing back in at once, tears starting to build up in your eyes.

“No, it’s just...fuck, I need to leave,” he turned away from you, put his shoes back on and left, leaving you a heartbroken mess on your bed.

“Honey I’m hoooome!” Your roommate Jenna yelled as she returned home from her week-long vacation in her hometown. 

Her loud voice woke you up, but it wasn’t like you were having a nice sound sleep; nightmares, as well as crippling thoughts of the man you loved cheating on you, had plagued you for the past week. 

“What are you still doing sleeping at noon and why aren’t you coming out to great your roomy?” You heard her enter your room but remained immobile under the cocoon your sheet provided.

“Get out of bed you lazy ass!” Jenna dragged the sheet that was hiding you all the way back and exposed you to the sunlight coming from your previously shut blinds.

“Jennaaaaaa,” you whined while trying to reach for the sheet, but she had pulled it way too far.

“Y/N, it stinks and you look like shit! What the fuck happened while I was away?”

“Nothing,” you lied.

“What did Jimin do?”

“How did you know?”

Sometimes you were amazed at how well Jenna knew you but that’s what 3 years of living together can do for you.

“Because I left you alone in the house on your anniversary with Jimin and instead of smelling like sex it smells like death,” she pointed out, matter-of-factly with her arms crossed over her chest.

You sighed, burying your face back on your pillow.

“Y/N, what happened?” Jenna sat on the bed right next to you and pet your unwashed hair in a comforting gesture.

“I think Jimin is cheating on me.”

“Jimin?” You hummed. “The Park Jimin?” You hummed once more. “Y/N, I don’t believe Jimin would ever do that to you. First, because he’s not the cheating type, and second, because he loves you, like a lot. Like, I get diabetes just by the sweet way in which he looks at you-”

“We’ve never had sex,” you interrupted her train of thought as you finally lifted up your head from your pillow to look at her.

“What? Never?”

“Nope,” you popped your last syllable to give emphasis.

“Okay but, that doesn’t really mean anything. You know Jimin can be a little shy at times. Maybe-”

“I thought that too,” you interrupted her once more, “and because of that, I decided that, on the night of our anniversary, I would be the one to initiate it. So, after a lovely time on our date I brought him back here, excused myself to the bathroom and came back out wearing a lingerie set so hot he dropped the fucking wine glass on the floor. You should have seen the way he was looking at me, he totally wanted it. Then, after a heated make-out session, he suddenly stops everything and leaves.”

“What? Oh no...and you guys haven’t spoken since?”

“No. He tried calling, but I ignored him.”

“Y/N…”

“I know what you’re going to say, that I need to be a grown-up and talk it through, but what if he’s going to tell me that he doesn’t want to be with me anymore? What if he tells me that he’s gonna leave me for another one? Or that maybe he’s into dudes now.”

“Jimin is not your stinking ex,” Jenna pointed out. She had never really liked your ex-boyfriend.

“I know, but still…”

“Okay, I’ve heard enough! You are gonna get up, take a shower, because you fucking stink, and then, after we have lunch, we’re going to Jimin’s soccer game with the guys and you’re gonna talk to him there, am I clear?!”

“Yes, mom…”

“Aish these kids…” you heard her say as you made your way to the bathroom.

When both you and Jenna arrived at the game, the second half had already started. There weren’t many people there - since it was purely an amateur game between friends - and since you didn’t want him to see you just yet, you and Jenna just stood behind a tree, enjoying the shade it provided.

Usually, your boyfriend was the best player, scoring numerous goals that led his team to victory, but today it looked like he wasn’t even there; he’d missed almost all of his passes, accidentally scored an own goal and almost got himself kicked out of the game. 

“I’ll be in the car waiting,” your friend told you as soon as the referee whistled to end the game, “take your time.”

“Thanks, Jenna.”

You gave her a small hug of gratitude and waited till everyone was in the locker room so you could wait outside for Jimin. What you weren’t expecting though, was to be able to listen to every little thing the boys were saying inside.

“What’s up with you today Jimin? If it wasn’t for Jungkook we could’ve had a way more embarrassing result than losing 3-2!” You recognized the voice of his roommate Namjoon - he clearly wasn’t happy.

“It’s nothing,” Jimin’s voice was so low that if he wasn’t right next to the window that was also next to you, you wouldn’t be able to hear his response.

“Did you finally have sex with Y/N?” A voice you recognized as his friend Hoseok asked, putting you in a state of hyperawareness. You could hear your heart beating in your ears, you could feel your blood pumping at a rapid pace and you could feel your hands shaking from the nerves. Whatever happened next, you would know the whole truth about you and Jimin. His answer would reveal everything. For sure if he was banging another girl his friends would know. Aren’t guys known for spilling out everything in the locker room?

His answer never came though.

“So that’s why you’re such a mess today. Did she react badly to the size of your dick and ran away?” Hoseok’s voice sounded again.

You were beyond shocked. Wherever you thought their conversation was going, you were clearly wrong. Never in a million years would you imagine that the reason Jimin acted the way he did was because of his insecurities.

“No...fuck. I-I was the one who ran away.”

“Shit man,” Hoseok answered, his voice getting closer to where you were standing, probably coming closer to comfort Jimin.

“Now she’s not answering my texts or calls, I’m scared I screwed it up forever,” he sighed.

“Jimin, just talk to her. Y/N loves you, I’m sure she’ll understand,” Namjoon reasoned.

“And what if she doesn’t want to be with me because I can’t please her like a normal guy?”

You turned around and left for the car, not being able to hear more.

Of all the times you had imagined the reasons why you hadn’t had sex yet, never once had crossed your mind that that reason was the size of his penis. Of all the times you felt insecure about yourself, never once had crossed your mind that the man you loved was the one feeling insecure. For all of that, you felt like a piece of shit; for pressuring him, for doubting him, for everything.

You wanted to tell him then and there that you loved him more than anything and that you didn’t care about the size of his penis, but most of all, you wanted to tell him that you were sorry for pressuring him.

That same night you wanted to surprise Jimin and apologize to him. So, after texting his roommate explaining everything that had happened that afternoon and asking if you could come by, he promptly told you that he’d gladly go on a date with his boyfriend to leave you two alone. Thus, when dinner time came and Namjoon left, you picked up a couple of pizzas, a bottle of wine, and went to Jimin’s place. 

You knocked on his door and at first, he didn’t answer, but after insisting once more he finally opened the door.

“Namjoon I swear I’m gonna nail the keys to your hands- Y/N.” The way in which Jimin was looking at you right now reminded you so much of a lost puppy that you just wanted to drop everything and hug him tight.

“I thought we should talk. I brought pizza and wine.” Jimin stood in front of you with his mouth agape, not saying anything. “Can I come in?”

“Of course.” He stepped aside to let you through and you walked to the kitchen to place the pizzas and the wine on the table.

“Namjoon just left-”

“I know, he offered to once I told him I was coming,” you put the food on the table and turned to him.

“Y/N... I’m so sorry I left the other day. It’s nothing to do with you, I love you. It’s just…”

“Jimin, I know.” You grabbed his hand to comfort him.

“Y-you know?”

He looked so adorable when he was confused. You looked at the way he wide opened his eyes and you just melted inside.

“I went to see you play today and, at the end of the game, I waited for you outside the locker room so we could talk and I heard everything you guys said.”

“You heard? So, you know? Fuck, I’m so sorry Y/N, I didn’t mean to hurt you it was just-” You kissed him.

“Jimin, I don’t care that you have a small penis. You could have a wind chime for a penis and I wouldn’t mind, you know why? Because I love you with all my heart.” You placed your hands on his chubby cheeks in a tender gesture and ran your thumbs over his skin.

“I’m so sorry I put that kind of pressure on you. I should’ve known that you weren’t feeling it and-”

“Wasn’t feeling it? Fuck Y/N, do you know how much I wanted you at that moment? Do you know that you almost ended me when you came out of the bathroom looking like that? Trust me when I say that leaving you that night was hard as fuck and also, something I’ve regretted ever since.”

After soulfully looking into each other's eyes you embraced one another. You nuzzled your head in his neck and just stood there smelling his Hugo Boss perfume. The hug was a healing one, like all that you’ve been through for the past week had just been erased by his strong arms.

Jimin pulled back from the hug so his lips could meet yours, passion flowing right through you. The kiss quickly got more heated as his hands started wandering all over your body, making the temperature rise.

“Baby,” you pulled away and looked right at his glazed eyes, “we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to-”

“I want to.” He placed a soft kiss on your lips and led you to his bedroom where he started to remove his t-shirt, showing you his glorious abs.

Not wanting him to feel left out, and to give him some type of security, you also started to remove your shirt, following it up with the rest of your outfit until you were completely naked on his bed.

“I am so lucky,” he stated as he observed your naked body on his bed.

His half-naked body soon was on top of yours, his mouth worshipping your skin with sweet and tender kisses. He started at the neck, moved through your chest (teasing your nipple a little bit with his tongue), down your stomach and straight to your dripping centre.

“You’re so beautiful,” his eyes were fixated on yours as he licked your pussy, paying special attention to your small nub.

This was the first time Jimin was eating you out, the two of you only having gone to second base. From all the times you envisioned his head between your legs you had to admit you only imagined the best; Jimin was by far the best kisser you’ve had, not only because of those luscious lips of his but also because he had a very skilful tongue that he knew how to use in just the right amount. So, to say that he exceeded your expectations was putting it lightly. He was fucking knocking your metaphorical socks off.

“Fuck Jimin, just like that.” The way his wet tongue was circling your clit made you grab a handful of his dark brown locks so he could get even closer to you.

You were getting in such a euphoric state that you almost felt like something was taking over you; especially when he inserted a finger inside you. One minute you were biting your lip as hard as you could, the other you were almost pulling out his bedspread and in the next you were massaging your breasts to enhance your pleasure; an act that, in tandem, made you cum on your boyfriend’s mouth as you screamed his name.

“You were so good at that baby,” he climbed back up on top of you and you pulled him in for a quick kiss, the taste of your juices being all over his lips, “that was the best oral sex I’ve ever had.”

“Well, you know. I needed to get good at that since, you know…”

Your heart completely dropped, not thinking about the possible implications of your words. You felt so bad for him, you wish you could make all of this go away for him.

“Baby, don’t say that,” you placed your hand on his cheek, “size doesn’t really matter. What matters is the love we feel for each other and I love you so much.” You two kissed once more demonstrating your love for one another.

“Do you trust me?” You gently asked him.

“I do, with all my heart.”

You switched places with him, this time you being the one on top, and gently pulled his sweatpants down. Then, you looked at him once more, waiting for his approval, and once he gave you a nod you pulled down his black underwear revealing his hard dick.

It wasn’t that bad. You honestly were picturing something way smaller than what was in front of you - something more like a finger - but as you looked at it and saw that it still had a good girth you were kind of relieved.

You looked at him, saw his concerned look, gave him a smile, grabbed his penis and gave it a gentle kiss. Jimin whimpered at the contact and you teased him further by giving it a series of licks.

“Please baby, don’t tease me, it’s...been a while.”

“I’m sorry,” you weren’t also in the mood for games, but you just couldn’t resist teasing him a bit. “Do you have a condom?”

“Here,” he moved to reach the top drawer of his bedside table and removed a pack of condoms. He opened the box, ripped out one of the foils and handed it to you.

You put his cock in your mouth, giving it a couple of sucks, for a last bit of teasing and rolled the condom on his dick. You then moved so your core would be right on top of his length and rubbed his tip back and forth through your folds before sliding it right inside of you.

“Hmm,” you both moaned in unison.

His dick felt different than the others you had experienced. It didn’t fill you to the brim, but it still felt good. Maybe to other girls, it wouldn’t be ideal, but to you, it was more than enough.

The way you two were making love to each other, the sweet kisses, the intense stares, the moaning of each other’s names, everything was more than perfect and you could honestly say you never felt more connected to a person in your entire life. It didn’t even matter to you the number of times he slipped off of you during sex, it just mattered that you were with him.

Jimin was near his climax and you could tell he was trying to hold it in as much as possible because you were still a bit far from it. But, out of nowhere, Jimin started rubbing your clit, giving you the edge you needed to finally come undone and make him release inside of you.

You remained in each other’s arms for a while, just panting and enjoying each other’s embrace, until Jimin pulled himself out of you and went to the bathroom to discard his condom. When he returned and lay right next to you, you couldn’t help but notice the nervous look on his face.

“Baby, it was fine,” you assured him.

“Yeah, but it kept falling out and I had to help you get there.”

“So?” You popped yourself on your elbow to get a better look of his face. “It matters way more to me that you did everything in your power to make me cum than if I could cum by your dick alone. Trust me, most women can’t even cum with sex alone.”

“So...it was good?” His puppy dog eyes were seriously killing you inside.

“Yes,” you kissed his lips as he started smiling, relief washing over his face, “it was good.”

“I love you so much,” he professed his love to you and you could say that it was making your heart explode.

“I love you too,” now he was the one kissing you and you wished for nothing more than to get lost in his lips for the whole day but the sound of your stomach growling made you come back to reality.

“Somebody’s hungry,” he booped your nose in an adorable gesture, “how about we leave this bed and go devour those pizzas?”

“Way ahead of you.”

a/n: I was inspired to do this fic due to the amounts of “huge dick” fics out there. Don’t get me wrong, I love huge dicks lmao, but I feel like it’s healthy to, once in a while, bring a small peen to the equation (or maybe even a freaking normal size). Girls and boys, don’t expect everyone to have huge dicks, it’s ok if they don’t <3

© maliby, 2020. Do not copy or repost without permission.

[mehphoobia]

You are beautiful

pairing - Tom Holland (actor) x Reader (college girl)

summary - Y/n is visiting her parents for the first time to Rio, whom she doesn’t know properly because they left her with her aunt when she was young. She is insecure about meeting her parents but she finds comfort in a stranger.

MASTERLIST

word count- 2.9k or around 3k

warnings - mentions of insecurity and self doubt, no swearing(cause its like my first post so gotta stay ‘pure’)

“Get up Y/N and Claudia…its 8 am already. We are going to be late.” a faint alarm could be heard from the kitchen, two rooms away from your room.

_______________________________________________________________

Your parents had been looking forward this vacation for months. With your father working in Rio for the past 7 years and your mother being a full time nurse at a nearby hospital in Rio where your parents lived, you never got a chance to feel how it felt to be with your parents. So naturally with no one to your care, you grew up with your Aunt Cass and your cousin Claudia, around whom your entire world revolved for the past 20 years.

________________________________________________________________

Grumpy, filled with laziness up to the brim Claudia dragged herself to your bed and tortured you to get up. “Just two more minutes. I swear”, you begged as if she was listening. Then came the final blow with a splash of water on your face and then well….its self-explanatory. You both got up, finished through the verbal fight which left Aunt Cass chuckling in the kitchen.

“Aren’t you a tad bit excited to go to Rio, it’s been years since your parents last spent time with you.” Asked Claudia looking at you expression-less face in the mirror while brushing your teeth. “I don’t know Cloud, it’s just that I don’t know how I should feel about it. I am nervous and scared and tired just thinking about how awkward it can get.”

________________________________________________________________

Your parents had last seen you on your 16th birthday, when they showed up at your house. The 16th year where you are neither an adult nor a child, of all those years they could have shown up, it was that year. Your mother had gifted you a manicure set and your father had bought you a hair kit and you absolutely had no idea what to do with it. Little did they know that you were more interested in trekking and photography rather than painting your nails and dyeing your hair? Where other girls chose tight fitting dresses and expensive heels you chose the comfort of sweatshirts: pajamas or jeans and sneakers.

_______________________________________________________________

“You will be fine, it’s YOU after all. If I can tolerate you enough to share my room with you then trust me, anyone can put up with you” said Claudia boasting her patience and handing a comb from her dresser. “Why don’t you curse or compliment me one at a time” you snapped annoyingly. But you were grateful for supportive arms around you which calmed you down.

After getting ready, you greeted Aunt Cass with a smile on your face and a stretched good morning as you helped yourself with some toast and orange juice. “Eat well, it’s a long flight after all” said Aunt Cass followed by a “Yes ma’am.”

“Keep your phone charged at all times. Keep calling me after every two hours and did you pack enough clothes to last you a month. I don’t want to hear your mother complaining later about it. Should I pack some extra snacks for you, you will surely not take care for meals and if you skip any your meals throughout the day, I swear you have had it then.” It never ceased to amaze you how multitasking Aunt Cass could be. She is strict, tough and a woman of her words. There was not a single day when you and Claudia had not done your college assignments or homework with Aunt Cass being at home. But at the same time she would sit with you past midnight when both of you cousins stayed awake for you midterms. Maybe that’s why you never missed your parents because you never had a void in your life, Claudia and Aunt Cass had filled it lovingly.

That being said, before you knew it all three of you were in the car and already off for the airport. The entire ride was filled with constant chattering as to how famous and beautiful Rio is and as how will not be able to walk down a street without bumping into a celebrity. However you were lost in your thoughts about living with your parents for a month, about whom you knew nothing and neither did they about you.

After reaching the Leipzig Airport, you waved them goodbye, leaving the loving and proud embrace of Aunt Cass and a cute envious look on Claudia’s face you were all set for Rio.

During the flight:

It was a 15hr flight, with the overthinking and hyperactive person you were there was no possible way you could have had a simple excited flight journey, but there is no harm in wishing one for right? Or so you thought.

When you were boarding the plane you noticed an unusual number of bodyguards outside, literally engulfing the poor person standing in middle. What annoyed you the most was the people who were cheering, because at some point of time it wasn’t cheering anymore, it was a mob attack. After boarding, what greeted you were the over excited air-hostesses which was obviously because ‘the person’ as you painfully learnt through the mob attack. But all you could care at that moment was your seat being a window seat or not, and luckily it was. After putting your hand luggage in the upper compartment (you had three suitcases and one hand luggage) you finally asked a fellow passenger dressed in black hoodie with a mask on his face and skinny jeans as to what exactly was the commotion about and to brief you about the situation. The answer surprised you- it was none other than Tom Holland.

Your mouth was literally in the O shape and eyes wide open. It was the Tom Holland. It was your favorite actor travelling in the same flight with you. That explained the mob attack. The only person that came to you upper floor was your Claudia.

Y/N: TOM HOLLAND is in the flight right now!!!!!! Tom freaking Holland.

Claudia: wwwwhhhhaaatttt!!!???????, damn I knew I should have gone with you. How could you do this to me? Why?

Y/N: I am sorry ok I didn’t know or wait maybe I did. His visit to Leipzig was mentioned in his itinary on his twitter account how could we miss that? We just got lucky man and also I was squashed in the mob attack at the airport.

Claudia: Oh! You mean you got lucky dipshit!? Please tell me you got a picture!

Y/N: no I couldn’t, I hardly knew about him being on the plane I asked someone and I have been freaking out since.

*announcement for switching off electrical devices.*

Y/N: I have to switch off my phone for a while, the flight’s gonna take off.

Claudia: okay, I knew I should have come with you. Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!text me soon..love you

Y/N: yeah you should have, I miss you. Love you too.

“Are you a fan too?” asked your neighbor. You look at him with suspicious eyes was he eying your texts? Because if he was, that’s not healthy and it creeped you out.  Even though, “well yes, me and my sister.” You said and hoped the conversation will die out there. He took the answer and you could imagine a small smirk curling upon his face by the wrinkling of his eyes which was adorable. By his physique and posture he looked no older than early twenties. “What about you, are you fan?” you asked, unknowingly and regretted it immediately. “He doesn’t bugger me, so you could say so. How long have you been a fan?” ,“My aunt happened to be watching ‘The Impossible’, when we were younger and we have been crazy about him since. My sister liked him like crazy as to how cute he was but I liked his acting in the movie but ended up liking him too.”

“Very interesting..” something about him was attracting you, maybe his aura, the charming vibes, you didn’t know, but you were just attracted. But something pinned you, his accent, he had a British accent. Unknowingly, when your eyes met, your heart skipped a beat. It’s him. He was sitting right here. He realized your surprised expression and said, ”You can take a picture now” he chuckled and looking directly at you. Your brain on the other hand was still processing the vital information and the very awesome physique with veiny and beautiful hands and captivating eyes. How could you miss his eyes, those beautiful passion filled dark brown eyes.

“uh..um..h hi, I mean hello nice to meet you, I am Y/N”, ”Tom Holland” he said extending a hand not taking his eyes off of you. It amazed you really, how could he despite being an actor maintain such a down to earth personality. The way he talks, listens to you, waits for your reply and him being in the economy class instead of comfortably sitting in the first class seating arrangements. Wait!?Why was he here?. As if he read your mind and a sudden change in your expression from being flustered to confused. “Too many people, I needed to get out of there and breathe by myself for once. No cameras, no media, no stylists….jus… just plain old me. By the way, my manager is my imposter”, he said with a smirk on his face.

“Oh sure, I can understand that, it can get tiring sometimes. The attention being forced on you that you were never used to it. My parents too, in that way, been out of my life since the very year I turned 1 and suddenly they want meet me and want me to stay with them for a month in Rio. I didn’t want to but my aunt convinced me and I couldn’t say no to her. ”, ”You stayed with your aunt your entire life? Didn’t you miss your parents?” his passionate eyes suddenly changed into concern and pity, “yeah, but she means a lot to me, she was there for all my dance ceremonies, each and every one of my birthday’s , my graduation, she means the world to me so does my sister, she is like my pillar, my support , an annoying one at that.” You said smiling on you lap, and you could feel his gaze softening upon yours. ”my parents, uhh…you can never miss something you never had.” You looked at him again, but this time you could feel and see his gaze on you, watching you and never leaving your eyes.

Both you were so lost in each other that you didn’t realize when the flight had taken off and the snacks table breaking your moment. “Oh it’s been so long already since the plane took off, I didn’t realize we even missed the safety instructions”, you both chuckled at that. “Oh man!, you are really beautiful, really” he said running his hand down his locks and realizing that his tone was a bit too loud, and he meant to keep the compliment to himself. “Sorry?” you asked, despite you pretty much heard it when he said it, you wanted to hear it again.

“uhh..i m..mean your teeth are beautiful.” He realized what he said and his expression was like ‘did I really just say that?’. “I mean your smile is beautiful, Not your teeth..oh wait..I mean your teeth are beautiful too but your smi…” you couldn’t hold you laugh anymore looking at him and his cute ‘war’ with himself. “Thank you, I guess, a lot of people say that about me after I got my braces removed.”

“Oh you had braces? Since when?” “around when I was 15, like every girl wanted to look pretty and wanted boys around her ,so me and my sister had braces for the sake of it, not that I cared about me getting a boyfriend, just for fun”. He seemed to have got stuck on one word, “so you got one?”…”got what?” , “a boyfriend I mean?”. His expression changed and yet again you could feel blood rushing to your cheeks, “I always wanted a crazy guy, who could have something similar to my interests, ‘cause I am not like every other girl in the town, I am into trekking and photography and outdoor activities, not just a girl who likes shopping and who always has to be around people so, my specifications are a bit particular, so I have never had a boyfriend.”

“So, no boyfriend, right?” he asked as if that being the only part he was interested in, or who knows may be he actually was.

After a few hours, you realized you had a lot of things in common and the internet was all wrong about his interests and all. It was like meeting a complete different person, a person whom you have known for the longest time as if you have always been together. You were attracted to him and so was he to you, and you could tell that.

“So what are you doing in Germany? Did you have a shoot here?” you didn’t mind asking because he already had mentioned a lot of stuff that he was not supposed to and also his eyes lit up when he was excited to tell you about some stuff anything at all. “uh..yeah we had to film a segment in Berlin and then we decided to take a break, so I around different places and now we are heading towards the Carnival.” “oh Carnival huh? My aunt says its pretty lively. That was like the main reason why I agreed to go Rio. ”

“so don’t mind me asking, but are you going to be awkward around your parents? Like I know you are not very close to them..” he asked you sincerely concerned with his hands slightly brushing off of yours on the handle of the seat. It’s like he wanted to hold your hand because he knew the weight of his question but he felt like you would disintegerate if he did so. You could feel the same pit around your stomach filled with nervousness that you had forgotten about a for couple hours. “I don’t know, it’s complicated, I don’t know anything about them and also they might have certain expectations about me and what do I do if I do not live up to it. I know we haven’t had a very comfortable story build around us but somehow I don’t wanna disappoint them from my side because they don’t know anything about me like the birthday incident I mentioned about. But I simply don’t want to disappoint because I don’t want my mother, who was never there for me, to question my aunt, who has always been there for me” It’s like you pour the entire timeline of your life in front of  Tom and you were scared if he would drift away. “I understand Y/N, but your parents were the ones who planned this trip right?” “yeah they were the ones.” “so that’s it, you know when I have too much on my plate, my manager asks me to take a break and let everything go for sometime. All my meetings and appointments are cancelled because I will ruin them anyway, so there is no point of it. Your situation is kind of similar too, you have had a lot in your life with you parents not being there and now you simply just have to take a break and forget everything for a while because that’s what your aunt wants to you to do.” His hand finally rested upon yours and none of you flinched. It’s as if it’s meant to be.

That being said, you have already arrived in Rio and a beautiful ocean greeted you with open arms and you accepted it with a fresh mind. Tom’s hand still resting over yours and his fingers brushing the upper part of your hand and you look at each other embracing each other’s warmth with your eyes. That’s when you realized that you have fallen for him, not Tom Holland but just him, just Tom.

After the plane landed he was still holding on to you, scared to let go. He was scared to let you go because he cared about you and some fact had gotten him attracted towards you and he was scared to show you his vulnerable side. On the other hand you were scared to let go because you might never see him again. As if he sensed it again, what you were thinking, “I will see you again for sure. Don’t worry.” With a tight squeeze on his hand you let go and say “thank you, I will wait for you.”

“me too.”

You didn’t see him again after departing the flight, he would steal glances out of every opportunity to see you ,lost between the flashes of cameras and cheering, till the last second. The last time you saw him was to murmur something to his manager pointing towards you and that was it, the escalator distanced him from you. But you would still wait..

Outside the gate you could see your parents waiting for you, with Tom’s words in your mind you greeted them with a smile and everything seemed normal, as if they were always with you.

Two weeks later, still no message from Tom.

Claudia bombarded you with messages, when you told her about the entire duration of the flight. You were kind of annoyed with messages cause they were literally somewhere is hundreds. So you decided to ignore her for sometime.

*Ting* some part of you wanted to check that message but the other part of you wanted to go eat pizza because you were really tired from messaging and explaining everything to Claudia over texts. But then you were like *screw it* and you checked the message and…

*unknown number*: I said you were really beautiful Y/N….

A/n- uh..first of all thank you for reading this, cause it like my first post and my first fanfiction so i was a bit skeptical about posting this but fuck it, here it is guys it took me around four hours to complete this and its worth it. 

also if you wanna be tagged in this just let me know!!! *uwu face*

lemme know if you want a part 2 of this, because I will gladly include it with improvement of course, love you ppl...

[xiaomoxu]

LUCIEN - Taste Date

SPOILER ALERT!!

A date from CN server which hasn’t been released on EN server yet. Might contains some spoiler.

The projector in the living room flickered, and the music at the end of the movie was intertwined with the warm sunshine. In this space that belongs to me and Xu Mo, there is a warmth day after day.

I looked at the scrolling subtitles on the screen and yawned.

Xu Mo: Do you think the movie is boring?

Xu Mo turned his head and looked at me with a faint voice as always, but the smile in his eyes was a little bit more than usual.

MC: Nope. The movie is very interesting. I especially like narration, music and mirroring.

MC: It's the movie you picked.

As I said, I leaned against Xu Mo again, leaning my head on his shoulder.

MC: I just relax suddenly and feel like I'm lazy

MC: Obviously I did all kinds of imagination before the holiday, but when I could really rest, my brain went on strike, and I didn't even bother to think about the plan.

Xu Mo: However, if you don't plan well, this rest day will also slip away unknowingly.

MC: There is nothing wrong with this principle

MC: Then we will discuss how to spend a full and rich rest day tomorrow.

MC: But right now... just rest with nothing to do for one day, okay?

When I looked up at him, I was amused and blinked earnestly. Xu Mo seemed to squeeze my face helplessly.

Xu Mo: You...

Xu Mo: Do you want to watch another movie?

Before I had time to agree, Xu Mo's phone on the table rang untimely.

The caller is Aming.

Xu Mo pressed the hands-free button after answering the phone, got up and walked to the cabinet where the discs were stored.

Aming: Professor Xu, sorry to disturb you.

Xu Mo: what's happening?

Aming: Do you have any arrangements for today? The previous experiment has made some progress, I would like to trouble you to follow up.

Xu Mo paused when he picked the DVD.

Xu Mo: is it urgent?

Aming: It's not actually too late after the holidays.

Aming: However, there will be a few academic conferences and postgraduate papers that you need to check. Time will be a little tight.

Xu Mo: I know. Leave it until after the holidays.

Aming: Alright professor, take a good rest.

As the phone hung up, Xu Mo also chose the DVD. And I, who was listening silently beside him, suddenly had a thought.

MC: Xu Mo, I have a plan!

Xu Mo: Yes?

MC: Since it's a holiday now, there shouldn't be many people in the research right?

Xu Mo: Well, that's right.

MC: Then I will go to work with you!

As if shocked by my sudden suggestion, Xu Mo raised his eyebrows and said again to confirm.

Xu Mo: Go to work with me?

MC: Yes! This way you can spend the rest day with you without delaying your work.

MC: And it satisfies the condition of "fullness and richness" very well. Isn't it a great idea?

Xu Mo: I do not deny that this is a feasible method....

Xu Mo: But my work is probably not as interesting as you think

I shook my head vigorously.

MC: It is not an opportunity every day to see Professor Xu's work side up close.

MC: This holiday plan will definitely be the one I wanted to start a long time ago.

MC: "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation" project adds an important record!

Although I have “sneaked in” here many times because I gave Xu Mo a lunch box or helped him take care of the plants in the office...

But walking into the office with him in this way and watching him sitting behind his desk up close is still a new experience.

MC: Xu Mo, you just treat me as if I'm not here, just do your usual work normally!

Seeing that I had quite taken out a notebook to record his daily momentum of work, Xu Mo gently tapped on my head.

Xu Mo: Well, now that producer MC is fully prepared, then I will cooperate well.

Xu Mo: But say it in advance, even if you feel boring, you can't run away.

MC: Pftー don't worry, I won't!

I hope our "cooperation" today will be turned well.

I held back a smile, sat pretentiously on the sofa in the corner of his office, and waved to him.

The so-called "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation" project, only "observing Xu Mo" is my real purpose.

The person in front of me always seemed to be able to cooperate with my careful thoughts, and would not pierce easily.

For me, seeing Xu Mo's work in a rare way is already the most interesting thing for me.

Xu Mo sat behind his desk, his narrow eyes could not see emotions, only the light spots on his face swayed playfully with his breathing rate.

We didn't speak for a while, and typing sounds regularly echoed in the office where only the two of us were alone.

Xu Mo: Is it connected to the intranet?

Xu Mo didn't stop his hand movements and spoke naturally

MC: Yep, it's already connected.

MC: However, the network speed of the highest biotechnology institute is really fast

??: After all, we have a lot of data to process, and it will be troublesome if the network cannot keep up.

With a soft knock on the door, a familiar voice heard outside the door.

Researcher: Amin told me that the professor was not coming today, and he was probably going to accompany MC. I saw that the office light was on, and it was strange.

Researcher: Unexpectedly, you came together.

The other party was one of the researchers who followed Xu Mo as a researcher, and I had met Xu Mo several times before.

Xu Mo nodded lightly in response, and I also smiled politely at him.

MC: Do you have a job to talk about? Then I first

Researcher: No, no, I will go back to the lab now. Professor, you are busy, I won't bother you.

The researcher winked at us jokingly and waved away.

Xu Mo raised his eyes and looked at the direction the person was leaving, then smiled and said to me.

Xu Mo: It seems that when I didn't know, the researchers around me had a better relationship with you.

MC: Because everyone is very kind.

Xu Mo: A lot of things have been added to the office unknowingly.

Xu Mo smiled and pointed to the blanket on the sofa.

MC: Of course. My goal is to make it comfortable and easy to work with!

Xu Mo: Then I will wait and see.

In the next few hours, Xu Mo's typing sound never stopped.

Occasionally, a few researchers came in to submit materials, and because they were all familiar people, they directly handed me the documents that needed to be sorted out.

In this way, I also feel a little happy to be around Xu Mo and do something for him.

But....

Xu Mo: Ugh...

Hearing Xu Mo's sigh for many times today, I walked behind him and massaged his shoulders and neck.

You keep sighing, is your work today not going well?

Xu Mo: Is not. It's just that the efficiency is not as high as usual.

MC: Is it too tired?

MC: Xu Mo smiled and took my hand, leaned a little later, half leaning on me.

He took off his glasses and put them on the table. The eyes that looked at me were full of clarity, and there was no fatigue.

Xu Mo: If you are here, I will be distracted.

Xu Mo: Are you hungry, do you want to eat first?

The noon daylight gradually slanted, and the crisp keyboard tapping in my ears stopped.

Xu Mo stood up and moved his shoulder and neck slightly.

The work is more cumbersome than I thought, and it may take more time.

Xu Mo: Why not we have lunch together?

MC: It would be nice if Professor Xu Mo could eat as well as he did today in his usual work.

Xu Mo: With your strict supervision, I am getting healthier day by day.

Xu Mo got up and put on his coat, and naturally brought me a coat and hat.

Xu Mo: For the restaurants nearby.

Seeing Xu Mo's thinking, I interrupted him first.

MC: Today I am here to do "Professor Xu Mo's Ecological Observation", so just go to the place where you usually eat.

Xu Mo: But I usually.....

I can probably guess what he said subconsciously. I squinted at Xu Mo.

MC: Did you really eat well under my supervision?

Xu Mo: ....

Xu Mo: Compared to before, my life is indeed much healthier. Especially the love bento you sent, I ate them on time.

MC: Huh?

MC: What about when I didn't send it? Is it not on time?

I did not let Xu Mo go, but further "questioned" him.

Xu Mo: Overall.... it is on time.

Xu Mo turned his gaze away with a rare guilty conscience, and gave an ambiguous answer.

MC: Then take me to the place where you usually eat now.

MC: I have to supervise the cunning big fox Professor Xu!

Although I am always amused by him accidentally, I will never compromise in this kind of place.

Xu Mo: Alright, I get it.

Xu Mo: In the future, I will follow MC's requirements more strictly and try to ensure that I work and rest regularly.

Seeing that I couldn't help but Xu Mo could only sigh and surrender.

Xu Mo took me to a small restaurant near the research center.

Most of the diners who come and go in the store wear badges from the research center.

MC: It seems that this is still a popular meal of the research center.

Xu Mo and I stood at the end of the ordering queue, looking up at the short menu. The dishes were almost occupied by sandwiches, burgers and pizza.

MC: But the food does not seem to be too rich...

Xu Mo: Yes. After all, people usually think more about how to make eating time the most efficient than enjoying food.

Xu Mo: If you have not forgotten to eat, you will choose food that is portable and can be eaten as quickly as possible.

Xu Mo: So you can finish a meal while walking or working.

Xu Mo didn't look at the menu and ordered a sandwich when it was our turn.

It seems that he does come here often.

The clerk clearly placed the order and settled the bill. The smooth and streamlined movements are in line with efficiency aesthetics.

MC : I'm going the other way with you, and I will never give up any chance to enjoy food

MC: Occasionally, I ran for a cup of coffee during my lunch break.

MC: After all, eating is a very happy thing.

Xu Mo: Yes. Indeed it is.

MC: Xu Mo looked at me as if he missed and said with joy.

Xu Mo: I didn't think three meals a day were important or pleasant.

Xu Mo: But I found it now.

Xu Mo: This feeling is especially strong when you eat the rice cooked by this "Snail Girl".

Almost as soon as I was seated, the clerk had already delivered some nice sandwiches.

MC: Huh? Is this restaurant serving food so fast?

The sandwiches on the tray are very rich in content, some vegetables and meat, and it seems that there is an egg in it.

MC: Is this your usual lunch?

Xu Mo nodded and unpacked.

Xu Mo: The sandwiches in this shop are very popular in the research center.

MC: Is it because the nutrition is balanced and delicious?

Xu Mo: Would you like to taste it?

Xu Mo smiled and split off a corner of the sandwich and handed it to me.

While talking, other meals were also delivered over.

In such a comparison, I always feel that the sandwich in front of me looks very simple.

But as the saying goes, the food is not good.

MC: Well.... the nutrition seems to be very balanced.

I returned Xu Mo with a bright smile.

Xu Mo: Doesn't it taste good? It's better to say that it was just enough to swallow it just now.

MC: ....

MC: It must be that the ingredients used in the store are more particular, right? It can add rich nutrition.

Xu Mo: It's just ordinary ingredients.

Xu Mo: From a nutritional point of view, meat is somewhat insufficient, and the intake of carbohydrates and protein is definitely not enough.

I tried to maintain the smile on my face, somewhat worried whether the store would hear this straightforward conversation and swept us out.

Xu Mo: However, it has a unique advantage that it can become the favorite food in the hearts of researchers at the research center.

I opened my eyes slightly and listened carefully.

Xu Mo: High speed.

MC: What?

Xu Mo: The serving speed is very fast, if it is taken away, the speed is even faster.

MC: So that's all...

Xu Mo: Someone once did statistics...

Xu Mo: If you order this sandwich in this restaurant, you can save at least 13 minutes and 22 seconds even during peak dining periods.

As I listened to this so precise and unnecessary data, my brain gradually emptied.

Does the research scope of the research center cover this kind of place?!

Xu Mo: This statistical report covers all shops within a walking distance of 20 minutes, and the credibility is very high.

MC: That's it, everyone at the research center are so strictㅡ

Xu Mo was amused by my lack of emotional ups and downs, and he pushed my burger toward me.

Xu Mo: But the taste of other dishes should be normal and worth eating.

Sure enough, the beef Hamburg, which looked very tender and juicy, basically reached the standard of "delicious".

Compared with the tasteless sandwich just eaten, it can be called "delicious."

MC: So, do you usually eat this kind of food for lunch?

Xu Mo: Yes. This is considered to be one of the most optimal in all aspects

Xu Mo bit the sandwich in his hand and explained the facts calmly.

MC: Although time is important and this sentence is also very long-winded, I still think three meals a day are very important

MC: After serious work, it is worth rewarding yourself with delicious, nutritious and balanced food.

MC: Eating enough and sleeping well is not only a guarantee of life, but also a statement to myself: Today I am also living seriously.

Facing my serious "preaching" Xu Mo stretched out his fingers to smooth my frowning brows, and smiled a little happier than before.

Xu Mo: It is as expected.

Seeing me looking at him a little puzzled, Xu Mo smiled and fed me a piece of French fries, and continued to speak.

Xu Mo: Several times, when I ate sandwiches from this restaurant, I wondered how you would react if you came here and ate the same food as me.

Xu Mo: When you taste the taste, you will definitely hesitate to say it bluntly.

Xu Mo: You will definitely tell me after listening to my reasons for choosing it, to eat well and take care of yourself.

Xu Mo: My guess was not wrong.

MC: Hm....

MC: Why do you think of me at this time?

Xu Mo: When you encounter all kinds of things, you will always share with me

Xu Mo: Every time I receive a message from you and learn about every bit of your life, I am very happy.

Xu Mo: Of course I would want to do the same thing.

Xu Mo: Rather, it is the most normal thing to unconsciously think of the people you care about in every bit of your life.

Xu Mo's tone was light.

This is indeed an ordinary thing.

But this kind of thing, being said so bluntly and seriously by him, still makes my cheeks hot.

MC: You, why don't you hurry up and try other foods?

MC: This pizza looks delicious. Would you like to try it?

As if to conceal my feeling of making a fuss about "normal things", my body has already taken a step before my reaction.

(karma CG included)

I picked up the pizza just baked and handed it to Xu Mo.

MC: Is it a sweet pizza that you haven't tried before, try it?

Xu Mo didn't take the pizza I handed over, but just bent down and bit the tip of the pizza.

His snort rubbed my fingers, it was warm and a touch of humidity.

The reduced distance is like a switch that flashes a similar scene in my mind.

Xu Mo: is good?

Xu Mo who bit the pizza opened his eyes slightly.

MC: Is the pizza with cheese, blueberry and honey taste too weird?

I looked at Xu Mo's face and tried to find the answer in his expression.

Xu Mo moved closer to my side and bit off the cheese.

Probably the pizza that was just out of the oven was still a little hot, Xu Mo didn't speak immediately, but motioned for me to try it too.

MC: It is good!

On the first bite of the pizza, I also opened my eyes wide and nodded to Xu Mo frequently.

MC: it's nice!

MC: Unexpectedly, there is such a delicious thing hidden in a place so close to the research center!

The little beauty and surprise that I suddenly found, the joy that I shared with my favorite person the first time...

The scent of blueberries and the sweet taste of honey are intertwined, and the heart is full of satisfaction.

Xu Mo: It seems that I am too underestimated and I am too used to this restaurant.

MC: Coming with you today is really rewarding!

Xu Mo: Indeed it is.

As Xu Mo said, he picked up another slice of pizza and handed it to me, his eyes were softer than the lemon-colored sunlight outside the window.

Xu Mo: Even if I'm very familiar with the things I am used to, when I'm with you, it will always be different.

Xu Mo: It seems that as long as I look at you, I won't miss all the beautiful things.

Xu Mo's voice is still so faint, with some warmth and softness in the heart.

MC: In the future, I will continue to work hard to discover the little beauty in life.

MC: So Professor Xu will continue to rest assured with me.

He did not speak any more, just smile and stretch out his finger and wiped the corners of my mouth.

There have been many times when he used the same tone and tone to explain a certain theory and a certain truth for me.

Just now, he told me more facts about himself.

Small, ordinary facts have not been verified by large sections of papers, nor are they new discoveries that shock the world.

But it is absolutely correct and constant like any other law that constructs this world.

It was enough to make my heart beat faster than usual.

--- END ---

I’m sorry if there’s some mistranslation. Kindly tell me if you found some :) thank you for read it~ ^^

[sassyhobbits]

Could we have an oln extra from elorcan pretty please *doggy eyes*

it would be my pleasure ;)

this takes place about a year before the ons epilogue!!!!!

elorcan ons oneshot pt1

~~~

Lorcan Salvaterre considered himself to be a level-headed man. He had immense patience and rarely let his emotions, positive or negative, get the better of him.

That’s why it was so surprising that anxiety had been roiling in his gut for the past week.

In the two years he had been living in Terrasen, so many things had changed.

Aelin had given him a job in security at the palace and he had recently been promoted to the head. His relationship with Elide had been growing stronger and stronger with each passing day. They had recently moved in together, Elide moving away from her native Perranth to work more closely with her family in the capital.

Lorcan never would have expected that the chore of traveling to Terrasen with Remelle would lead to so many wonderful things in his life.

He knew that he was in love with Elide. It was like nothing else he had ever felt in his life. He had never cared for anyone the same way he cared for her. It only meant one thing.

Which was why he was anxious.

Lorcan held no doubts about the fact that Elide loved him just as he loved her.

Yet the idea of proposing to her was utterly terrifying.

It hadn’t been a dramatic moment when he realized he wanted to marry her.

It had been a lazy morning in the apartment, and Elide had started on some eggs. Lorcan remembered leaning back on the kitchen island, admiring how she looked in his shirt, her dark hair glistening in the golden morning sun. And… he had just known. That he wanted to marry her. It hadn’t felt like a new idea, instead something he had discovered deep inside of him, as if it had always been there. Elide was it for him, that he knew.

But to propose to her, he would first need to get a fucking ring.

It was much more daunting a task than he would have expected.

Lorcan didn’t truly have an eye for finery, he never had, but he knew Elide deserved the very best.

Which was why he was calling for backup.

He made the call as he was driving towards the palace for work, dialing the number of someone he knew would be there. The other line rang for a few moments, and Lorcan wondered if he wouldn’t answer. But, there was finally a click and an irritable voice barking through the speaker.

“What the fuck do you want, Lorcan?”

Lorcan couldn’t stop himself from grinning at Rowan’s anger. There were only a few times when his friend would give in to his frustrations.

“I’m sorry, was I interrupting something?” Lorcan asked coyly. Rowan had confided in him earlier that month that he and Aelin had finally decided to try for a baby. Which meant they were having a ridiculous amount of sex.

“You know you did, you ass,” Rowan grumbled. Lorcan heard a soft, feminine laugh from the background followed by the shifting of sheets. It seemed whatever had been happening was now over. “What do you want?”

Lorcan simply blurted it out. “I need to buy a ring for Elide so I can propose but I don’t know where to start.”

There were a few heartbeats of all-encompassing silence on the other end of the call. “Oh. Wow. That’s big news, Lor.”

“Yeah… but, are you busy today? Can you help?”

Rowan released a long sigh. Lorcan could practically envision him running a hand through his short, silver hair. “I would, but to be honest, I wouldn’t know what to do either. I didn’t even pick out Aelin’s engagement ring myself.”

Damn. Lorcan had forgotten about that. They were so damned in love with each other that it was easy to forget about the rocky start to their originally arranged marriage.

“But,” Rowan continued. “I know someone who could help, if you want to call in the big guns.”

“Yeah. Anything. I need to get this right. Elide deserves it.”

“Damn right. I’ll let her know.”

…

The big gun’s Chanel heels clicked noisily on the marble floor of the jewelry shop she had picked out. As princess, Aelin Galathynius held a lot of sway and managed to get them a private shopping appointment at the shop she insisted would have what he needed.

She had spent the morning and the entirety of the ride to the shop giving him a basic understanding of jewelry and what women wanted. He hadn’t even thought about how the band color should compliment skin tone or that there were better ways of cutting diamonds. Some women didn’t even want diamonds as the main stones. Aelin’s own was an emerald. It was far more complicated than he had hoped.

Lorcan had never really spent much time one-on-one with the princess, but he liked her well enough. Her attitude had grated him the wrong when they had first met, but it soon found out that she was actually a good person. Tough as nails, too. She would make a fearsome queen one day.

“I’m not going to pick the ring out for you,” Aelin said shortly, smoothing out her silk skirt. “Elide deserves better than that. But, I can point you in the right direction.”

“Whatever you say.”

The princess gave a curt nod and motioned towards a glimmering display, filled with stunning, beautiful rings. He watched as Aelin ran an expert eye over them.

“These are the best designers,” she explained. “The rings are beautiful and crafted perfectly. Quality. If you want to get Elide something nice, this is where you’d get it.”

Lorcan nodded slowly, looking back towards the countless rings. He felt his nerves build up again as he looked towards them, wondering how the hell he was supposed to know which one was the right one. He felt Aelin’s eyes skipping back and forth from the jewelry to him, and he had no doubt she had already decided which one Elide would like best. He didn’t know if he wanted to thank her or strangle her for not telling him which one it was.

Lorcan took a deep breath, trying to tame his pounding heart. He studied the rows slowly, attempting to find one that he knew would encapture the woman he loved. He was just beginning to think that it was hopeless, that he’d fuck it up no matter what, when his gaze finally caught on one.

It was made of a bright, gleaming silver that twisted gracefully, supporting an oval-shaped diamond. A few smaller diamonds embraced the middle one each side. It was simple, but elegant. Lorcan knew Elide wouldn’t want the ring with the largest diamond on it, wouldn’t want it to be too loud or ostentatious. But this… this was perfect. He could already practically see it perched on her finger.

“That one,” Lorcan said confidently, pointing towards the ring. “That one is perfect.”

He looked towards Aelin, finding her lips spreading in a slow smile. She gave a pleased nod. “That’s an excellent choice. Elide’ll love that one.”

It was in that moment that it fully settled on Lorcan that this was real, that this was happening. He was going to propose to the women he loved. And hopefully she would say yes.

“I’m happy for you, Lorcan,” Aelin said earnestly. “For some reason, your miserable ass makes Elide very happy, and I can see she does the same for you. I’m glad you found each other.” With that, her eyes narrowed slightly and she leaned closer, lowering her voice. “That being said if you hurt her, what I’d do to you would make what I did to Hamel and his men seem merciful. Understand?”

It was easy to forget that under that golden hair and pretty clothes, Aelin Galathynius was a certified bad-ass. One that even Lorcan didn’t want to get on the bad side of. Not that he would ever admit that to her aloud. It would make her already enormous ego that much bigger.

“Believe me when I say,” Lorcan began. “That I am going to do everything in my power to make Elide happy until the darkness claims us.”

Aelin seemed satisfied with that answer. “I do believe you. Now, let’s get that ring.”

…

Buying the ring was only half of the struggle. Now Lorcan had to figure out the best way to propose to Elide.

It was constantly on the back of his mind, no matter what he was doing. At work, in the shower, lounging around the apartment with Elide… it wouldn’t leave him alone.

Neither would Aelin fucking Galathynius. Every time she saw him in the halls, she would bother him with questions about it. Whether or not he had picked a time, or if he was ever going to pull his head out of his ass and ask her at all. It was annoying as hell. He wasn’t going around asking her every thirty minutes if Rowan had finally knocked her up. But… although she was mildly infuriating, it was somehow a pretty good motivator.

After a week and a half of the idea of the ring burning a hole through his mind, Lorcan finally decided it was time.

It was Lysandra’s birthday, and they had all gathered at the palace to celebrate with friends and family. It was a small, private affair, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable. In fact, Lorcan preferred it over large parties any day.

They enjoyed a nice dinner, everyone wishing Lysandra a happy birthday. She was beaming the entire night with Aedion by her side. Their own wedding was only two weeks away.

Lorcan had struggled to pay attention to the others around him all evening. His attention had been pinned on Elide the entire time. She looked lovely tonight in a silky, violet top and high-waisted white trousers, dark hair falling down her back in a gleaming sheet.

If anyone noted his distraction during dinner, they didn’t say anything. By the time desert had been consumed and they had moved to the parlor for cocktailing, he was nearly jittery. Or as close to jittery as he would allow himself to become.

He had finished one drink before he decided it was time. He was done with playing around.

“Elide, love?” he murmured into her ear from where he was sitting next to her on the couch.

“Yes, Lor?” she asked, turning towards him. Her fair cheeks were flushed from either the wine or laughing with her friends, dark eyes practically sparkling with happiness. The sight made his heart swell.

“Will you come with me for a bit?”

Elide raised a dark brow in question but nodded, placing her glass on the low table before her. Most of the room was too lost in conversation to notice them slipping quietly away, but Aelin’s sharp eyes landed on him. She was tucked under Rowan’s arm, lips spreading in a slow, knowing smile. As soon as Elide’s back was turned, the princess mouthed, Good luck.

Lorcan refrained from scowling at her, slipping his hand into Elide’s and guiding her gently out of the parlor.

The halls were dark and quiet, the light of the full moon bathing the marble floors in a pale glow. It almost felt as if they were the only two people in the world. Lorcan wouldn’t have minded that one bit.

The ring box felt like a massive weight in his pocket as he held Elide’s hand tighter.

“What are you up to, Salvaterre?” Elide asked playfully, leaning into his side.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

“A surprise?”

“You’ll see.”

Elide narrowed her eyes suspiciously. He could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. She was too smart for her own good. It was one of the things he loved about her. Lorcan wouldn’t put it past her to figure out what he was about to do before he did it. He could only hope that the gods were on his side tonight.

Lorcan led Elide outside towards the gardens. They were a beautiful space, taken meticulous care of throughout the year, filled with trimmed bushes and aromatic flowers. The summer air was comfortably warm, filled with the scent of night-blooming jasmine. With the light of the stars above them and the privacy, it was a perfectly romantic spot.

Lorcan led Elide over to a low, white stone bench situated before a tinkling fountain. He urged her to sit, taking the spot beside her, refusing to release her hand. He rubbed his thumb in slow circles over the smooth skin of her knuckles.

Lorcan tried to will words to his mouth, but it seemed the nerves had finally taken hold, making it far more difficult than he was used to.

“Elide,” he finally managed to rasp out, lifting his gaze to meet hers. “You mean the world to me. I love you more than I have ever loved anything in my lifetime. You know that, right?”

Elide smiled softly and nodded, placing her palm on the side of her face and looking deeply into his eyes. “I know. And I love you just the same.”

He didn’t think ELide would ever understand just how much those words meant to him. He was undeserving of a woman like Elide, but he would try every day of his life to become worthy of her.

“Elide…” Lorcan breathed. “You’re the love of my life. I treasure every day, every moment, I get to spend with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you… if you’ll have me.” With that, Lorcan slid from the bench to the ground, getting down on one knee on the soft grass. He pulled the velvet box from his pocket, prying it open and holding it out towards Elide, feeling as though he was holding his very heart out in his hands.

Elide gasped and slapped a hand over her chest, eyes wide.

“Elide Lochan…” Lorcan said lowly, watching her face as her lips pressed together tightly and her eyes began to glisten in the silvery moonlight. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

The single second of silence that followed his question was excruciating. But, eventually Elide relieved his suffering by choking out a sob and nodding.

“Yes, Lorcan,” she gasped. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.”

Lorcan released a breathy laugh, almost unable to believe that she had actually said yes. He recovered from his shock quickly, taking Elide’s hand within his own and slipping the ring on to her finger. He had been right, it did look perfect on her.

“It’s beautiful, Lorcan,” Elide whispered, looking at the diamond for one more moment before launching herself at him. Her arms wrapped around the back of her neck as her lips came crashing down upon his. Lorcan didn’t hesitate before sweeping her up in his arms and rising, kissing the woman he loved, his fiancé, deeply.

“I love you so much,” Elide murmured against his mouth, laughing and crying and kissing him.

“I love you too, Elide. So much.”

Lorcan’s heart had never been fuller.

…

They stayed in the quiet gardens for a bit longer, lounging in the peace and privacy they provided. Lorcan held Elide the entire time, whispering in her ear about how beautiful she was and how excited he was to marry her.

But, eventually they decided to head back inside to their friends and break the news.

Elide wore a smile on her face the entire walk back. Lorcan had a matching one of his own.

As they reached the threshold, the low murmuring of voices faded away, all eyes on them. Neither he nor Elide said anything at first, only wearing those grins.

Eventually, Aelin sat up straighter, and demanded, “Well?!”

Lorcan looked down at Elide as she slowly raised her left hand higher, showing off her new ring. “We’re getting married!”

The room erupted into shouts of surprise and congratulations. Not all of them had known what Lorcan had planned to do. He figured the less people who had known the better, especially since Fenrys had a big, fat mouth.

Lorcan dealt with the attention the best he could, accepting a hug from Lysandra, clasping forearms with Aedion and Rowan, and shoving Fenrys away when he placed a smacking kiss upon his cheek.

Once the initial surprise had gone away, they all moved to sitting down once more. Aedion grabbed a bottle of champagne and popped it open to celebrate.

“Being engaged is all fun and games until it comes to the wedding planning,” Lysandra sighed dramatically. From across the room, Rowan gave a tiny grunt of agreement as Aedion nodded solemnly. “It’s so much work. You just want everything to go perfect. I’m still stressing about ours.”

“I’m sure everything will be great,” Elide assured her. “For both of us.”

“Yeah, and just think about it,” Aelin added, running her fingers through Rowan’s short hair. “No matter what happens at either of your weddings… it won’t be nearly as bad as our first one.”

A beat of silence.

Lorcan watched as Rowan looked up towards his wife disapprovingly. “That’s still not funny, Aelin.”

“It’s a little funny. It’s okay to laugh.”

Although Rowan didn’t take her up on that offer, the rest of them released tiny chuckles. It wasn’t much longer that they were back to rapid-fire conversation and rambunctious laughter. Rowan and Aelin as well as Aedion and Lysandra shared stories about the woes of wedding planning. Although it did seem daunting, Lorcan held no doubt in his heart that they would persevere.

He glanced back down at Elide, the woman that he loved, before brushing a kiss over the top of her hair. She leaned deeper into his side, snuggling close.

Every minute of work would be worth it to call Elide his wife.

[puckinghell]

The Plus One Pact | Part 1 | William Nylander

Summary: Your ex is getting married, and you don’t have a date, which means the unavoidable “why don’t you have a boyfriend” question is about to haunt you for the rest of eternity. But then there’s Will, who could be the answer to all your problems. A simple business pact, no feelings involved: that won’t be hard for you, because you really don’t like him anyways. Except pacts were made to be broken… or something. Right?

Note: This is part 1, let me know what you think about the idea of this series!

--

“I have a plan to fix this,” your best friend says, and there’s absolutely nothing worse than when Zach says that.

To be fair, when you called him in complete, blind panic, you weren’t really thinking straight. If you were, you would’ve started your tirade with a I don’t need you to fix this, but…

As it is, you forgot to say that, and so Zach is trying to fix it. That’s how your best friend works.

“I have a plan, too,” you say. You’re sitting on the floor in the kitchen, legs pulled up to your chest, and your phone is on speaker on the floor next to you. It’s quite a dramatic scene, with it being dark outside, the Toronto city lights twinkling below you; if you weren’t having a mental breakdown, you’d laugh about the high romantic comedy feeling this has.

“I’m going to throw myself off the roof and fake death.”

“If you throw yourself off the roof, it won’t be faking anymore.” Zach sounds undeterred by your possible impending death, which. Rude. Maybe you need a new best friend.

Outside, you can see the rain falling. Spring has arrived, but spring is really hit and miss in Toronto, and this week the weather has been dreadful. It kinda feels serendipitous, now.

“Zach,” you whine into the phone, “I can’t go to my ex’s wedding alone. You have to come with me.”

Zach sighs, but doesn’t say anything. To be fair, he’s already explained to you why he can’t do that – he has plans, and a wife, so - but…

“It’s so unfair.” You let your head fall back against the kitchen cabinet with a thump, and wonder idly whether you still have a bottle of wine stashed in one of those cabinets. If there was ever a time to pull it out, it’s probably now.

“I told you, I have a plan. We can fix this.” Zach sounds smug, which doesn’t do anything to help your worry.

He always means well, and he’s a smart guy, yet somehow his plans never work out too well for you.

“The plan that I have,” your best friend says slowly, cutting himself off to interject: “And don’t say no right away!”

That probably means you’re gonna say no right away.

“My plan is that you’re gonna take Willy.”

You laugh.

“Fuck no.”

--

So, it’s not like you hate William.

It’s just. You also don’t like him.

He’s always so chipper and happy, and there’s no way anyone can be that chipper and happy all the time. And he’s always confident, sometimes borderline cocky, and you never know whether he’s being nice to you or taking the piss, whether to take what he says at face value or with a grain of salt. You don’t know what to make of him, which makes you feel uncomfortable in his presence.

And then there’s the fact that he’s William Nylander.

Obviously, being friends with Zach, who loves William, there’s gonna be times when you’re around him. And whenever you are, it seems like the entire city is around him, too.

Clubs, restaurants, cinemas, even stores: you can’t go anywhere without people whispering, without a crowd forming. Sometimes people even follow you.

And you know it’s William, because it never happens when it’s just you and Zach. Even though Zach is, in your opinion anyway, just as big a deal in Toronto as Willy. So. It must be something about William as a person.

However.

The idea of having to go to this wedding alone makes you wanna vomit, or cry, or maybe both. You feel your skin crawl and your heartbeat speed up, and you haven’t had a proper panic attack in years but it feels like it’s just below the surface, when you think about having to see Noah getting married, while everyone around you is just feeling sorry for you because you’re still lonely and pathetic.

It was such a bad idea to get your entire family so involved in Noah’s life, because now they’re all gonna be at his wedding, and even your own family will look at you with quiet disappointment.

It’s too much, literally, for you to even process, and you blame that lack of mental capacity for the fact that you end up telling Zach he can arrange a meeting with William for you.

--

Toronto is still hiding underneath an everlasting raincloud, and everything about you is soaked by the time you hurry through the coffee shop door.

So far for your jacket being waterproof, then.

The coffee shop, luckily, is warm and cozy, and you wonder why Zach has never taken you there before. There’s something hipster about it, sure, with mismatched furniture and indie music playing, but it has the kinda relaxed vibe you’re always looking for.

That’s when you spot him.

He’s wearing a hoodie and a snapback, and his glasses, which somehow make him fit right in with the aesthetic of the place, as if they hired him to sit there and be pretty – shut up, you don’t like him, but you’re not blind - and drink coffee, to fit the decor.

He looks up when he sees you coming, a lazy smile appearing on his face.

“Y/N,” he says, almost amused, “this was unexpected.”

“Hey, William,” you mutter, shrugging off your wet jacket and hanging it on the back of the chair opposite him. “I’ll just go get a coffee and then I’ll explain.”

“No need.” William motions towards one of the two mugs that are on the table. “Ordered you a hazelnut latte with oat milk.” He sounds proud, and you assume Zach told him your favorite coffee order but you’re a little impressed anyway.

From anyone else, maybe you’d seen it as common courtesy, but for William, to think about that? You’ve noticed he has a habit of thinking about himself, first, so, that’s a thing for him.

“Thanks,” you say, and you must look as baffled as you feel because William rolls his eyes a little.

“It’s just a coffee. And call me Will or Willy, please. William is what my grandmother says.” His eyes twinkle when he adds: “Oh, and angry old white dudes on hockey Twitter.”

If you didn’t kinda need him, you would’ve probably kept calling him William just to annoy him a little: you’ve never really seen William – Will – annoyed, not if not jokingly. You’ve seen him happy, dejected, upset, but never annoyed.

It’s a mood he regularly instills in you, so you wonder if you could return the favor.

However.

“Okay, Will, so here’s the thing.”

You do need something from him.

“One year ago, I had a boyfriend.”

Will raises an eyebrow, takes a sip of his coffee in the most pretentious way. “Congratulations.”

“Do you want to hear the story?” you snap, forgetting for a second that you’re supposed to be nice to him. Old habits die hard.

Will holds up his hands and stills.

“So, my ex, his name is Noah. We got together when we were 16 and I thought he was the one for me. He was over at my house so much, my parents used to joke that we’d already gotten married and just hadn’t told them. He was as much part of my family as I was, and I thought we’d be together forever.”

Will takes another drink. His leg is bouncing up and down slightly; another habit of his that you really wish you could kick out of him.

“Long story short,” you decide to settle, “next month he’s getting married to the woman he cheated on me with.”

Now Will’s eyes widen, and you can tell he wasn’t expecting that. You bet he’s really not expecting your next sentence.

“So I need you to go to the wedding with me.”

It’s quiet. You take the chance to take a sip of your drink; it’s delicious, maybe the best you’ve ever had, and now you wonder whether Will spends a lot of time here cause if not, you’d like to make this your regular coffee place.

“You wanna go to this douchebag’s wedding?” Will asks, sounding incredulous. And, okay, maybe you can’t blame him for sounding like that. 

“Want is a big word,” you hum. You link your fingers together, think of your mom when she spoke to you last.

“You have to come, Y/N. I promised him he’d always be a part of our family, and if you don’t go he won’t feel welcome. Surely you’re over him, by now?”

“My whole family is going and I think my mom will disown me if I don’t go. I told you, he’s as much part of the family as I am. If I didn’t go, it’d be like… Me not going to my brother’s wedding.”

“But he’s not your brother.” Will still looks like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “He’s a cheating ex!”

You sigh. “They don’t know about the cheating part, actually.”

When you and Noah broke up, you hadn’t been in a good place. You felt embarrassed, but most of all, worthless. Like it had been your fault he cheated: if only you had been prettier, skinnier, smarter, funnier, better, he wouldn’t have had to. He wouldn’t have fallen for Betty – his soon to be wife – if you’d been enough.

So, ashamed as you were, and knowing how much your family loved Noah, you didn’t tell them the truth. You simply told them you’d broken up because you’d grown apart, become different people.

In a way, you still think you made the right choice. You don’t think they would’ve chosen Noah’s side if you’d told them the truth, but it would’ve hurt them to cut him out of their lives, and still to this day he comes over all the time to fix stuff at their house or make them dinner.

You’re thankful for the way he cares about your parents, even if he never cared about you.

You try to explain this all to Will, but no matter what you say, the deep edged frown in his forehead doesn’t leave.

“I still think it’s bullshit,” he declares, a little too loudly, when you’re done. “But at least I get why Zach wants me to go with you, now. As a barrier.” 

He’s puffing his chest a little and it would be cute if it wasn’t so typically William-Nylander-out-there, and now you’re wondering if he’s making fun of you or if he’s being genuine.

“You don’t need to be a barrier,” you say, deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt. “I just didn’t want to show up alone and have everyone think I’m still all kinds of messed up about this. I want people to know I’m doing great in life.”

When you see Will’s questioning gaze, you frown at him. “Don’t be sexist. I am doing great in life, even if I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t need a boyfriend for that. It’s just that my family seems to disagree with that.”

“That’s not just a female thing,” Will says, and he seems to genuinely get it. “My mom asks me about twenty times every week if I’ve found a girlfriend yet. She wants grandbabies and she wants them now.”

“Even with your hockey career?” you ask him. It seems silly to you, for Will’s family to focus on grandkids when Willy is still so young, living his dream in the NHL.

Will laughs. “She doesn’t care about that. She says she’s had enough of that with dad. She’s proud of me for my career, but she wants me to have the family life, too, and she worries it’s gonna be too late really soon.”

“You’re 24, not 55,” you huff. Will shrugs, but he’s smiling.

“Either way,” he says. “I can go with you to that guy’s wedding, and I can be your handsome, succesful, charming pretend-boyfriend.”

“And so humble,” you scoff, but there’s a weight lifting from your shoulders at his words.

“However,” Will continues, and the weight is back instantly. Damn it, you shouldn’t celebrate so soon. “My cousin, who lives in Calgary, has this baby shower, gender reveal party situation going on next week, and I don’t wanna listen to my entire family ask me when I’m gonna get a girlfriend for my babies every six minutes. So you have to come with me to that.”

You quickly do the thinking; one gender reveal party can’t last very long, you’ll just have to eat colored cakes and smile at people’s baby stories and chug some champagne, and then your wedding fears will be over.

However…

“Okay,��� you say, “but my boss is getting married this weekend and I told him I had a plus one because I did, but Zach canceled because he’s a loser.”

Or, because his knee is bothering him and he’s doing some extra physical therapy to rehab it more. Whatever.

“So you’ll come with me to that, too, and we can practice for the real thing.”

“The real thing?” Will’s eyes twinkle and there’s an amused tilt to the corners of his mouth, and you realize you made it sounds as if you and him are gonna get married.

You glare at him and kick his feet under the table, and Will laughs a loud, obnoxious laugh that has always irked you but now that his full attention is on you, suddenly something like warm pride glows in your chest.

Maybe, this won’t be so bad after all.

Famous last words. 

[nour386]

A Picnic In the Woods

Stanford And Fiddleford have a nice day out with one another and enjoy a picnic in the Gravity falls woods. 

(also on ao3!)

This is my secret Santa Gift for @pirably who wanted some Fiddauthor fluff. nothing explicitly romantic, just the boys being happy. I hope I met your expectations!

~~~

The sun shone through the tree branches above as Stanford led the way through the woods. There was a cheerful spring in his step when he looked back and saw Fiddleford not far behind, with a picnic basket in hand. A whole day free to themselves, no anomalies to study or machines to work on. His mind ran wild with possabilities.

     ‘Perhaps we’ll find a new cryptid. Or Perhaps we’ll find a secret city of fairies and become crowned kings or maybe-’  

 Stanford was pulled out of his thoughts by a gentle pull on his shoulder.

 “You’re getting ahead of yourself.” Fiddleford smirked.

 “You don’t know that.” Stanford crossed his arms.

 “You had that look on your face. The one you have when you’re thinking of finding a magical creature.” Fiddleford pointed at his own face, making a wide-eyed look of wonder with his jaw hanging open. “Kinda like this.”

 “That’s an absurd and frankly poor imitation of-” Stanford’s statement was interrupted as a fairy flew past, leaving sparkling dust in her path; and he found himself making the exact expression.

 “You’re adorable.” Fiddleford ruffled Stanford's hair. “Come along, times a wastin’ and our lunch ain’t gonna stay warm forever.”

 “Are you saying that a brilliant inventor such as yourself hasn’t already designed a device that could not only keep meals warm for hours, but also feed the user?” Stanford asked, spreading his arms in the air.

 “Sounds to me like someone is dropping not-so-subtle hints that he’s too lazy to eat at appropriate times.” Fiddleford lowered Stanford’s left arm out of his face. He slid his hand down the researcher’s arm so that they were holding hands.

 Stanford paused, looking down to make sure he wasn’t misunderstanding what his hands were feeling. His cheeks flushed red when he saw that they were indeed holding hands. He felt Fiddleford interlace their fingers; and his cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson.

 “You-uh-I-” Stanford rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

 “You’re like a little kitten.” Fiddleford cooed. His smile grew further as he watched his boyfriend squirm under his affection.

 “How’s that? If it’s about my sneezing again-”

 “I was going to say that you’re both adorable, and easily held. Just like a little kitten.” Fiddleford pulled Stanford closer to leave a soft kiss on his forehead.

 “How could you take advantage of my distracted state in such a way, Fiddleford?” Stanford said in mock shock. “I trusted you in my vulnerability, and you treat me like this.”

 “I just realised something else that makes ya just like a kitten,” Fiddleford rolled his eyes. “You’re overly dramatic when it comes to the tiniest things.”

 “This talk of cute things reminded me of something,” Stanford said.

 “Oh do tell,” said Fiddleford.

 “I’ve been hearing rumors about creatures who are so cute that any who feast their eyes upon them are compelled to obey their every command.” Stanford spoke excitedly, there was a shine in his eye.

 “Well we can rule you out from being one of them.” Fiddleford said smugly.

 Stanford shook his head. “You were just singing my praises on my cuteness, what made you change your mind so suddenly?”

 “Oh I didn’t say that.” Fiddleford corrected. “All I’m saying is that after this morning, I don’t think you have the power of manipulating people with your cuteness.”

 “Listen, getting Stanley to leave his bed before noon is like trying to break down a wall using a sewing needle.” Stanford shrugged.

 “Anyway, you were saying something about a creature that, despite all logic, is somehow cuter than you?” Fiddleford said.

 “Hmm,” Stanford tapped his chin before snapping his fingers. “Yes! Now my informant was a gnome, so this information might not be too reliable. However I am planning a small expedition next week to find out more.”

 The pair continued to walk through the woods. Stanford happily rattled off information about the many wondrous creatures he intended to study and the potential discoveries that were waiting for them in the coming months.

 All the while Fiddleford listened intently. While he did not hold the same enthusiasm that Stanford had for the unknown, he did enjoy listening to the way Stanford’s voice sounded when he got excited,he way he’d talk faster as though all his thoughts wanted to get out at once.

 Even now, watching Stanford go on about the feuds amongst the many fairy kingdoms and how he hoped to bridge peace to (or at least document the fall out). Fiddleford felt the sheer glee that dripped from Stanford’s voice as he spoke. It was infectious, and Fiddleford found himself matching the spring in his boyfriend’s step as they walked together.

 “Oh! We’ve almost arrived.” Stanford pointed at a gap amongst the trees ahead of them.

 “Thank the Lord.” Fiddleford sighed.

 “You aren’t tired already are you?” Stanford teased.

 “I’m sorry, were you the one carrying our picnic basket the entire trek?” Fiddleford shot back.

 “I offered to carry it but you said you wanted to,” said Stanford . “You’ve no one to blame for your tiredness but yourself.”

 Fiddleford huffed. “You’ll understand when we get there.”

 The pair walked through a gap between two tall redwoods. Before them was a small clearing. A small pond sat near the centre, the rest of the ground was covered in short grass. With the sky above and the trees on the far side of the clearing provided a good amount of shade to hide away from the heat.

 “Now      this     is very picturesque.“ Fiddleford rested his hand on his hip.

 “All it needs is a hill and it’d look like every picnic in those old stories.” Stanford led the way to the shadow of the trees.

 “Knowing this place I doubt we’d be able to climb up a hill without having to answer some arbitrary number of riddles.” Fiddleford said as he followed Stanford’s lead.

 Stanford laughed. “With a mind as sharp as yours? I doubt you’d need to worry about riddles.”

 “Speaking of my sharp mind.” Fiddleford pulled on Stanford's hand, bringing his boyfriend to a stop. “I might have built something to help us with setting up our picnic.”

 “Oho?” Stanford raised his brow. “The floor is yours.”

 “Just a moment.” Fiddleford stepped forward, letting go of Stanford’s hand. This made the researcher give a small whine. Fiddleford rolled his eyes as he placed the picnic basket down on the grassy floor. He picked up a long stick from the ground beside him and walked back to Stanford's side. “Now, prepare to be amazed.”

 Stanford watched with bated breath as Fiddleford took the stick and tapped the side of the picnic basket three times. Four thin metallic arms emerged from beneath the blanket covering the basket and began to unfold it. With the blanket out of the way, Stanford could see a small robot, rectangular in shape with the aforementioned limbs connected to it. It dusted the blanket before gently laying it on the grass beside the basket. Pressing its hands against the ground, the robot lifted itself out of the basket. It rested its metallic body on the blanket and reached for the food hidden in the basket. In no time at all the robot had placed the impressive spread of food across the blanket.            

 A roast chicken was placed in the centre of the blanket, surrounded by many sandwiches. They had a variety of fillings, ranging from the simple ham and cheese to more strange, like pickles and mayonnaise.  An assortment of fruit, that had been freshly bought from the market the previous day, was placed in a small bowl in the centre of the blanket. Next to that bowl was a bag of jelly beans, as well as a pair of fizzy drinks that Fiddleford knew Stanley wouldn’t miss.

 “Pretty impressive eh?” said Fiddleford.

 Stanford was unable to answer as he stared in awe at the robot that, having finished its job, neatly folded itself back into the picnic basket.

 “Hello? Stanford? You in there?” Fiddleford waved his hand in front of the researcher’s face.

 “Fiddleford, that was amazing!” Stanford jumped up and hugged his boyfriend tightly.

 “Stanford- you’re- crushin’ me-” Fiddleford coughed.

 “Oh, my apologies.” Stanford let him down with an embarrassed smile on his face. “But yes, you did an impressive job with that machine.”

 Fiddleford took a deep breath. “I’d have said you were only saying that because I was your boyfriend, if it weren’t for you almost breaking me in two.”

 “I was caught up in the moment,” Stanford said. “I was handed the opportunity to watch one of your machines in person. What was I meant to do? Give one of those painfully boring claps like they do at those golf games that Stanley skips past on TV?”

 “You might have a point. That did feel a lot more personal than just a clap.” Fiddleford tapped his chin in thought. “But a warnin’ beforehand would be preferred.”

 “That can be arranged.” Stanford grinned. “But, before we continue that discussion, how about we enjoy this spread before the ants get to them?”

 “Not magical ants I hope.” Fiddleford shuddered.

 “You’ve heard of fire ants? Well these are ice ants!” Stanford wriggled his fingers sinisterly. A cheeky smile spread across his face as he continued. “It’s said that their bite can result in frostbite and perhaps even soggy sandwiches if left out in the sun for too long.”

 “Then we better get to eating.” Fiddleford rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the blanket.

 Stanford stayed standing for a moment. Choosing to savour the sight of Fidddleford sitting in the shade of the trees with a small smile on his face. His golden brown hair shone in the flakes of sun that made it through the branches of the trees that towered above. The engineer was reaching for a sandwich before he realised that he was alone on the blanket. He looked up at Stanford and sighed.

 “You shoulda brought your camera.” Fiddleford said. “A picture would last much longer.”

 “Now where would the fun be in that?” Stanford sat opposite his boyfriend.

 “The fun would be in eatin’ before those ‘ice ants’ get to your food.” Fiddleford threw a sandwich at Stanford.

 “Fine fine.” Stanford chuckled. He unwrapped the sandwich before checking the filling. “Ugh, did you grab any random combination of ingredients from the kitchen and put them together?”

 “Only for a couple of them.” Fiddleford smiled. Leaning forward, Stanford caught a peak at FIddleford’s sandwich and recognised pickle slices and mayonnaise poking out of the bread. “Makes this into a fun little game of sandwich roulette.”

 “Either that, or I have to seriously consider buying you a cookbook.” Stanford sighed. He took another bite of his sandwich. It had a thick slice of cheese between two different flavoured spreads of jam. It was a curious mix of sweet and savoury, but not as bad as he was expecting.

 The pair sat together, enjoying the warm afternoon, chatting idly as they ate. They tossed the sandwiches back and forth, daring one another to try out the strange combinations that Fiddleford had concocted. The pair laughed at the way their faces twisted with disgust after a biting into the sandwiches. From sardines and jelly to cucumbers and cheese, the pair passed around the strange flavours before moving on to the main course of their picnic.

 While Fiddleford had been proud of the terrible sandwich flavours had concocted, he also knew the value of providing a real meal. He handed Stanford a knife to cut up the chicken, while he prepared the proper sandwiches for them. A quick spread of mayonnaise on a clean slice of bread along with a generous cut of chicken made a simple but tasty chicken sandwich. With Stanford’s nod of approval, Fiddleford made a couple more before digging in himself.

 Having finished their lunch, the pair lied back on the now empty blanket and enjoyed the stiff breeze that was blowing through the clearing. They watched the clouds, or Stanford did at least; he had one hand in the bag of jelly brands and the other gently holding Fiddleford’s hand. The engineer rested his head on his free arm and listened to Stanford talk about the different clouds types, and how the many different anomalies viewed them. How some clan of trolls saw storm clouds as warning from ancient giants and would hide themselves underground. Despite his best efforts to stay attentive, the comfort that came from Stanford's voice, the warm sun and his full belly, made him succumb to his drowsiness. Fiddleford gave a small yawn before falling to sleep.                  Stanford's eyelids felt heavy. He rolled over to find Fiddleford snoring softly. With a small smile, Stanford wriggled closer to his boyfriend so that their foreheads were resting against one another. Feeling a little bit cheeky, he gave a small peck on Fiddleford’s nose.

 ‘A short nap won’t hurt,’ he thought, before letting himself fall asleep.

 ~~

I’d like to thank my beta reader @introvert-no-chameleon for their awesome work with helping me fix my grammar.

[icy-hxt]

can you tell me what you think about the kids at 1a?

hi anon, I'm sorry that I took so long to answer this, when I saw your ask I felt really lazy, because there's too many people in the class lol

this is going to be a long post, since we have 20 characters to cover, so I'm putting it under the cut

okay, first of all I want to say that I don't hate any of the kids at 1a besides mineta, BUT, I do have a feeling of indifference towards at least half of them and do dislike some, I always thought that the story would been benefited if there were less people in the classes, since hori would've been able to develop them better, so don't expect me to talk a lot about everyone. also, don't take everything that I say too seriously, this is not a character analysis, I'm just doing it for fun.

anyway, the order that I'm using to list them is their seating arrangement in the class, so let's start

yuga aoyama: I already said this here before but I really like aoyama, he's ridiculous in the best way possible, he feels like a character that horikoshi took away from ouran high school club or something. since the chapter where he and deku became friends were released I felt like he deserved more screentime, because his backstory about him thinking of himself as different than the other kids in the class because of his quirk being "defective" is really interesting, I always wanted to see more of his friendship with deku and he overcoming his fears (since he was shown to be easily frightened)

mina ashido: I LOVE mina, I think that her design is so cool and her personality is really likable, when we had the kirishima flashback and we saw her protecting her friends from machia even though she was scared too was the moment that I decided that we deserved to see more of her in the story, I really liked to see she having a bigger role for a female character in a shonen, I wasn't too bad in the war but I still want more

tsuyu asui: okay, this is going to be controversial because I feel like everyone likes her, but I feel really indifferent towards her, maybe I was influenced by one of my friends that really doesn't like her but since that scene where she says that going to rescue bakugo is the same as acting like villains I started to not care about her all that much, and yes, I know that she admitted that she was wrong and everything but yeah, I don't really click with her personality (but I don't hate her, please don't be mad at me kdbdgsusj)

tenya iida: ah, what a respectable little man iida is, I really like him, I think that the way that he take everything so seriously is hilarious, like him acting super dramatically in their exams to be as similar as possible to his vision of what a villain is. I really like how he grew since the stain arc and how he decided to be a hero that prioritizes the safety of others in detriment to fighting the villains. I'm really happy that he became the focus of the story lately and that he was the one who could hold deku's hand, I want him to have a bigger role in the story for now, maybe even encountering with stain again and showing to him that he's now a great hero

ochaco uraraka: I love her personality, she's really cute, and her fight with bakugo at the beginning of the story was a highlight to me back then, but, I feel like her character became too much attached to deku after aoyama made her realize that she likes him, almost felt like her personality was gone and her only defining feature was having a crush on him, anyway, thank god that apparently she's going to have importance right now in the story because she's too much of a cool character to become just the romance interest for the male lead

mashirao ojiro: denki playing with his tail is cute, I think that is funny how horikoshi always describes him as the plain one, it was cool when he refused to participate in the sports festival because he didn't felt like he deserved

denki kaminari: oh this sweet dumbass, I love him, he's so funny and cute, I think that is that funniest thing how he just decided to call bakugo "kacchan" and is super overly friendly with him and bakugo just lets him, I actually don't think that he's "stupid" as part of the fandom seems to think, I strongly believe that people can be smart in their own ways, maybe he's not the brightest in math for example but he already showed to be able to come up with strategies, I feel like denki has a lot of anxiety inside of him because of his quirk, but i also feel like he's really genuine in trying to be a hero, overall I really like him, he's really sweet

eijiro kirishima: this swee- I mean, super manly man is amazing, I feel like kirishima is for bnha what rock lee was for naruto, I really really really like him, I love his personality and I love even more his backstory, he's really a great person and he deserves all the love that he get from the fandom, I hope that we're going to see even more of him in the future

koji koda: he's adorable, his voice is really adorable the japanese dub, his quirk is like a disney princess

rikido sato: he bakes, I like cakes and pies, we would've been best friends

mezo shoji: since I saw that hori said that he uses his mask because people are afraid of him I'm impatiently waiting for his face to be shown, and if he doesn't look like a junji ito monster or something I'm going to be pretty disappointed, anyway, I like his personality, he was really cool at the forest arc (I clearly don't remember the arcs names, I'm sorry lol), and I feel like he could have a bigger role in the story if hori finally decides to address the prejudice against people with mutant quirks

kyoka jiro: she kind of reminds me of a girl that used to bully me in middle school because of the way that she treats denki but I still like her lol I liked how she learned that is okay liking to sing and music in general and being a hero at the same time, because after all a lot of people were saved by music and/or their favorite artists, but since I find her quirk so cool I wanted to she her fighting more

hanta sero: he's funny, even funnier than denki, he has a really relatable sense of humor and I love him for that, his quirk is really cool, but I feel kind of bad for him because deku now has practically the same one and he's not the only spiderman in the story anymore (his quirk being similar to spiderman was actually what made me like him in the first place because peter is my favorite hero ever)

fumikage tokoyami: my 12yo emo self shakes inside of me every time that I see him, anyway, I really like him, how would I not? he has a bird head, he's nice without being overly friendly and dark shadow is really cute, I don't really remember everything that happened in the war but I remember him saying to hawks that he believes in him, so I really wanted to see him frustrated at his mentor because of what he did to twice please horikoshi address the consequences of twice's death, I'm tired of waiting

shoto todoroki: ah my angel, shoto was the reason why I started reading the manga back in 2015, I knew that he was going to be my favorite just by seeing his character design. I love shoto, I want him to become the happiest person in the world because he really deserves it, I know that everyone thinks that deku is what an ideal hero looks like but o me it is shoto, he's kind, sweet, forgiving, has a heart made of gold and is just genuinely a good person, I could talk about him for a whole week without pause and still find more things to compliment about him so let's move on before I write over 10000 words about how much I love him

tooru hagakure: she... exists...

katsuki bakugo: while shoto is my favorite, I have to admit that bakugo has the best character development in the hero side of the story, I used to hate him at the beginning of the series but now I love him, a lot, he shows that horikoshi knows how to write a compelling redemption arc if he planned it since the beginning, I love that he started only having "fight" points at the entrance exam for ua to now having his first priority at saving people, bakugo is other that I could talk about for hours so let's move on

izuku midoriya: I like deku when he's not putting his nose at the todofam business, he's a good kid who needs some self esteem urgently, the way that he never seemed to care about his own well being always made me nervous, even though I never felt like he was in real danger, he's the mc for a reason, to summarize: I like him personality wise but some of the narrative choices that hori made for him are not my favorites

minoru mineta: I don't care, I hope for him to vanish from existence

momo yaoyorozu: she's the stereotypical anime girl with glasses (but without glasses in this case), I like her personality, she's really cute, her quirk is neat and she's super smart but, everytime that she puts her hero costume on... I feel super uncomfortable... this is not her fault of course but I think that I would like her even more if she was less sexualized

I could write more if I take more time to think, but I'm not going to do that today, if you want to know my opinion about other characters or something more specific about the kids feel free to send me other ask

also, I'm sorry if there's any atrocious grammar mistakes on this, I didn't reviewed the text and wrote just what I had in my head in the moment at four am

[inadaydream99]

They Don’t Know We Know

A/N - Part Five in my Stray Kids oneshot series inspired by Friends: “They don’t know we know they know we know.”. This took me far longer to write than I expected and it’s also really long, but I hope you enjoy! 😁

“Well, I’m gonna go do some laundry.” You suddenly excuse yourself, making a stand from the sofa before walking out of the room. All eyes are one you as you exit, some following in confusion and others snickering at your random announcement. But what none of them notice is the brief glance you send to Seungmin in indication for him to follow you shortly after.

“I need a drink.” Seungmin mumbles the first thing he can think of, awkwardly picking up his empty glass from the coffee table before heading in the direction of the kitchen.

“Oh, will you get me one?” Changbin calls after him eagerly.

“Don’t have enough hands, sorry.” Seungmin shouts back, his lazy excuse making changbin roll his eyes in annoyance. I mean, what kind of excuse even is that?

“(Y/N)?” Seungmin calls out, poking his head around the corner of the bathroom door. He smiles, letting out a small sigh in relief when he finds you, leant back against the sink, waiting for him.

“Did anyone seem suspicious?” You ask a little worriedly, searching for some reassurance that your secret is safe.

“I don’t think so.” Seungmin whispers in response, a cheesy grin on his face as he approaches you, his hands holding your waist delicately as he leans in, closing the space between you slowly.

What neither of you hear, however, is the gasp that sounds from the opposite side of the door, Hyunjin’s hands flying up to cover his mouth as he listens in to your conversation and realises that this is why you’ve both been acting so strange recently.

~

“Ok, I know I promised I wouldn’t gossip anymore but I just found out something that I need to tell!” Hyunjin comes rushing into the room taking Jeongin by surprise.

“I don’t want to hear it, you’re not allowed.” Jeongin stops Hyunjin from continuing, covering his ears with his hands.

Amongst the group, everyone had all set themselves an individual challenge, with whoever breaking first having to face a forfeit arranged by everyone else. Hyunjin’s is to not gossip for a whole month, a task that is already very challenging for him, and it’s only the second day in.

“But it’s-”

“Lalalalalalal.” Jeongin shouts to drown out Hyunjin, making him give up on talking.

“Would you stop that.” Hyunjin reprimands, forcing Jeongin to remove his hands from covering his ears. The pout that forms on Jeongin’s face making Hyunjin roll his eyes. He’s not falling for that pouty look again.

“What if you guess what I found out... then technically I won’t be gossiping.” Hyunjin slyly proposes after a moments thought.

“I guess that’s fine.” Jeongin shrugs. “Is it about someone I know?” He begins, taking his time to think up answerable questions.

“Yeah!” Hyunjin eagerly nods.

“Ok... male or female?” Jeongin quizzes.

“One of each.” Hyunjin smirks knowingly, his expression speaking a thousand words.

“So it’s about a relationship that I’m guessing isn’t known about by many people, judging by your face.” Jeongin speaks his thoughts, chuckling in amusement when Hyunjin becomes impatient with him.

“Wait- it’s not.” Jeongin suddenly has an epiphany, stunned gaze meeting Hyunjin’s. “Is it?” He questions.

“I don’t know, do you think it is who I know it is?” Hyunjin throws back. It’s almost like they’re talking in code now.

“Seungmin and (Y/N)?” Jeongin leans in close so he can whisper your names to Hyunjin. “You know!” He excitedly exclaims when Hyunjin nods. “You won’t believe how good it feels to finally have someone to talk to about this!” Jeongin confesses elatedly.

“Wait, you already know?” Hyunjin gasps.

“Yeah, I found them kissing ages ago but they made me swear not to tell anyone! They’re really paranoid about keeping this a secret.” Jeongin explains through the wide grin on his face. He feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. “How’d you find out?” He asks.

“I heard talking coming from one of the rooms and when I peeked round I saw them acting all mushy.” Hyunjin cringes, shivering at recalling the memory.

~

“All I can say is, they were doing things that just friends wouldn’t do.” Felix grimaces, confiding in Hyunjin.

“Join the club, I found out about them yesterday and Innie has known for months!” Hyunjin confesses. “Wait- is that gossiping?” Hyunjin gasps, beginning to freak out about already loosing.

“So what should we do? I mean, I’m a bit hurt neither of them told us, we are their best friends after all.” Felix states, a cheeky grin on his face which Hyunjin reciprocates when he catches on.

“I think it’s time to have some fun with this.” Hyunjin darkly snickers.

~

“Hey (Y/N)...” Hyunjin slyly approaches you, catching you off guard as he slides into the seat beside you and instantly rests his arm across the back of the sofa.

“You ok?” You raise your brow at him in suspicion, leaning away just enough to get a better reading of his face.

“I am now that I’m with you.” His responce is so cringey you have to stop yourself from wanting to vomit. Instead settling for an uneasy laugh.

“That’s great.”

You honestly have no idea what’s gotten into your friend, but you do know that you don’t like it one bit. Hyunjin has not once acted this way towards you before, it just feels so unnatural.

“Oh hey Seungmin.” Hyunjin smiles innocently as he notices the way Seungmin eyes how you two are sat together. That should be his spot and he wants nothing more in the moment than to put Hyunjin in his place by telling him to back off his girlfriend. Except he can’t.

“You two look cosy.” His tone is dry. You can sense the bitterness that Seungmin is trying to hold back.

“You know, this is actually really nice. We should cuddle like this more often.” Hyunjin turns his attention back onto you. The way he looks at you makes you feel even more awkward. He’s filled with so much hope you can’t bare to ruin his mood.

“Huh yeah.” You agree through a forced smile.

“I’ll look forward to it.” Hyunjin grins, making a stand and sending you a wink before leaving the room.

“What the hell was all that about?” Seungmin fills the now empty space beside you. He’s not angry like you thought he’d be, if anything he’s confused. Much like you are.

“I wish I knew.” You shrug, settling into Seungmin’s chest as you are finally able to cuddle up together.

~

“He knows!” Seungmin barges into his room where you’d been patiently waiting for him.

“Who knows what?” You tilt your head in confusion, placing your phone down beside you to give all your attention to Seungmin.

“Hyunjin knows about us! I mean, it’s so obvious now. That’s why he was acting all strange yesterday.” Seungmin explains. And that’s when it dawns on you.

“Do you think he’s told anyone else?” You inquire.

“It doesn’t seem so, but I denfitly think he’s been playing us to see how we react...” Seungmin trails off deep in thought. “And I think it’s time we beat him at his own game.”

~

So your plan was set up and ready to go.

You and Seungmin agreed to play Hyunjin’s little game. You’d flirted back the next time you saw him and you’d even done it with Seungmin in the room, just so it would be more believable. Plus he didn’t want to miss the confusion on Hyunjin’s face. The only thing left to do is to make him confess to knowing your secret.

Except, unbeknownst to you, Jeongin had alerted both Hyunjin and Felix that you knew what they were up to. He’s become a way for both sides to uncover information to strategically use against the other and its beginning to take its toll on him.

“What are we gonna do now?” Felix exasperatedly sighs, throwing his hands up in agitation.

“Well...” Hyunjin trails off with a devilish smirk on his face. “They don’t know we know they know we know.”

Jeongin swallows his nerves, uneased by the knowing glance that Hyunjin and Felix share.

“Don’t you think that has gone on for too long?” He helplessly questions, trying to reason with them. He’s tired of all this back and forth, he just wants the secret to be out and for everyone to move on already.

“No way, we need to finish what we’ve started now.” Felix states, placing his hand on jeongin’s shoulder and giving it a light shake in encouragement.

~

The moment has finally arrived. After a lot of persuasion from Seungmin, you’d caved in and invited Hyunjin over to yours for the evening.

“He’s here!” You nervously announce, meeting Seungmin’s calm and controlled gaze.

“Everything’s gonna be fine, ok.” He softly reassures you, pulling you in for a final hug and a quick peck on the lips before giving you a nudge towards the front door.

You cast one final, unsure, gaze behind you, checking that your boyfriend has hidden out of sight before you plaster a wide smile on your face and swing the door open.

Hyunjin’s head snaps up, instantly putting a halt to the nervous chewing on his bottom lip as he makes eye contact with you.

“I’m so glad you’re here.” You warmly greet him, making way for him to enter your place.

“Thank you for inviting me, it was a pleasant surprise.” Hyunjin let’s out a breathy chuckle.

“Oh, well, I happened to have noticed your flirting recently and I thought I better show my interest before you think I’m not.” You slowly approach him, eyes locked on his. You’re set on making him crack.

“Really.” He swallows, taking a cautious step back. He doesn’t look as confident as he has done previously, almost like he’s intimidated by you. But that only powers you to keep going, letting out a little “hmmm.” in responce to his statement.

Then it dawns on Hyunjin that he’d fallen into your trap. How could he have not realised sooner? The sudden flirtatiousness, your invite tonight... even the menacing air surrounding you now.

“I think I need some air.” He gasps, rushing past you towards the front door.

“What are you doing?” Felix whisper shouts. He and Jeongin had been waiting outside, trying their best to get a glimpse through the window, to no luck.

“It’s a set up! They must have found out about our plan and organised this to beat us.” Hyunjin explains, still freaking out over the situation.

“Ok! I told them, but it was only because they cornered me.” Jeongin confesses. “I’m just tired of being push back and forth between you all and wanted this to end.”

“Ugh.” Felix sighs. “Just go back in and make your move. Kiss her already.” He instructs, forcing Hyunjin to return to you.

“Are you ok?” You approach your distressed friend, genuinely concerned for him. He looks in a right state, still a little breathless. Until he looks up and his eyes land on you.

“I’m fine...” Hyunjin warmly smiles, shyly taking your hand in his. “But, you know, maybe a kiss would make me feel better?” He raises his brow in question, softly gazing down at you.

You freeze upon hearing his words. How are you meant to answer that? Especially knowing Seungmin can hear everything.

Then again, if you say no to Hyunjin he’ll definitely know something is up and your plan will be ruined.

“Sure...” you mumble, trying to sound like you actually want to kiss him.

It’s only one kiss. No big deal. It’ll last a few seconds at most. Or at least that’s what you tell yourself as you feel Hyunjin slowly inch your faces closer together.

“Here I go.” He states, taking a deep, shaky breath.

“No!” Seungmin interrupts, making both you and Hyunjin jump apart.

“You win, I love her ok! I. Love. Her.” Seungmin confesses at the top of his lungs. So loud in fact, that Felix and Jeongin hear him from outside.

“Yes!” They cheer, rushing into the room.

“You love me?” Your throat feels tight, overwhelmed with emotions. It’s the first time he’s said that to you before.

“I love you (Y/N).” Seungmin reiterates, this time a lot quieter as he pulls you in and holds you close.

“I love you too.” You gush, sniffling a little in order to keep your tears from spilling down your cheeks.

“Awe that’s so sweet.” Felix coo’s, making you both chuckle, elated grins on your faces.

“Hey, good game Hyunjin.” Seungmin stretches out his hand, smiling triumphantly when Hyunjin accepts his offer.

“What can I say, I had a tough opponent.” He snickers, nodding his head towards you in compliment.

“I’m just glad it all out in the open now and I don’t have to hide any more secrets.” Jeongin giddily giggled, the most adorable smile on his face.

“Well, actually...” you trail off, reluctant to break the news to him. “The others still don’t know.”

“And we’d like to keep it that way.” Seungmin adds, shooting a pleading gaze over to Jeongin.

You all laugh when Jeongin let out a cry in distress. After all the events of the last few days you’re glad it over. At least now you don’t have to hide your relationship from everyone anymore. And, who knows, maybe it won’t be much longer before the rest of the guys find out.

[karasuno-chaos]

Jigsaw Puzzles (Nekoma Third Years & Reader)

I wasn’t kidding when I said I want in on the Nekoma third years’ gossip sessions.  Also, Lev, I’m sorry I make fun of you so much in this.  I swear I really do love you. -Giz

Word Count:  1,438

Fluffvember masterlist

“Coasters, people!” you command as you carefully enter Kai’s family room with two mugs of tea.  Yaku stops pestering Kuroo long enough to distribute coasters around the coffee table.  You pass him one of the mugs as Kai hands one off to Kuroo, and the four of you settle in for an afternoon of each other’s company.

“What are the options today?” Kai asks.

“I brought three,” Kuroo says, placing jigsaw puzzle boxes on the table.  “First, there’s the periodic table, a classic.”

“No,” Yaku groans.

“You nerd,” you accuse, promptly pulling that option off of the table.

“This is why none of you will ever be considered geniuses,” Kuroo grumbles.

“Well neither will you, so we’re obviously not missing out on anything.”

“Whatever.  Then what about this Utagawa cat print?”

“Very traditional,” Kai observes.

“Not very fun, though,” Yaku muses.  “Don’t you have anything more contemporary?”

“The world is full of critics,” Kuroo sighs.  “The only other one I brought is this photo of a Tokyo street in the rain.”

“It’s interesting,” you hum.

“Definitely the most colorful,” Kai agrees.  “All in favor?”

After resounding agreement, the puzzle pieces are scattered across the table and you get to work picking out the border.  This will be your twenty-third puzzle together.  The pastime started when you were all first years.  You’d met Kuroo and Yaku through your cousin Kai, and after becoming friends, started hanging out regularly to swap stories and gossip.  At one point you’d suggested building a puzzle, and it was just mindless enough to perfectly facilitate conversation while keeping everyone entertained.  You still sometimes do other activities together like watch a movie or bake cookies, but puzzles have somehow become your thing.  You hope you’ll be able to complete twenty-five of them together before you graduate.

“So what’s the tea?” Yaku asks as he slides a corner piece into place.

“Jasmine,” you reply with a smirk and a sip from your mug.  The others roll their eyes.

“I meant the gossip.  Who’s got something to start us off?”

“Daishou and Mika are back together apparently,” Kuroo shares.

“Really?  What does she see in that snake?” you grumble.  “He always seems so smug for no reason.”

“It’s definitely not his volleyball skills,” Yaku smirks.  “Didn’t she dump him because he was practicing so much?”

“Something like that,” Kuroo confirms.

“But Nohebi lost in the qualifiers, so now that he’s done with the team, that shouldn’t be a problem anymore,” you observe, completing one side of the border.

“But is he done with volleyball?  This could become a recurring problem in their relationship,” Kai says.

“What does it matter?  We probably won’t see either of them again.”  Kuroo connects a line of pieces to the ones you’ve been arranging, completing the border.  When there are four of you working on a puzzle, it goes pretty fast.

“I don’t know.  Daishou strikes me as one of those annoying people you can’t seem to get rid of,” Yaku sighs.

“Like Lev?” you tease.

“Exactly.”

“You’ll miss him once you graduate,” Kai promises.  The libero grimaces.

“I highly doubt that.”

“You know, just yesterday Lev told me he’d grown another half centimeter,” Kuroo shares.

“Like hell!  I’ll believe it when he gets measured officially.  I don’t trust him to be honest when he measures himself at home.”

“He seems pretty honest to me,” you say.  “Maybe too honest.”

“Sounds like you, Yakkun,” Kuroo teases.

“Don’t you dare compare us,” the libero growls, flicking a puzzle piece at the captain.

“Hey!  No losing pieces,” you scold.

“Yes, yes, we’ll behave,” Kuroo promises, though you know he’s only saying it to pacify you.  There have been several instances of puzzle pieces flying around the room, and at least two pieces were never recovered.  You’ll never let them forget it.

“Anyways,” Yaku continues, piecing together one of the umbrellas in the image, “Lev’s more deceptive than he looks, Y/N.  You’d know that if you’d become our manager like we told you to.”

“I already hear plenty about the club from you three.  I don’t need to sit through practice every day.”

“And you’re lazy and didn’t want to have to do the work,” Kai teases.  You smack him lightly with the back of your hand.

“Speaking of volleyball,” Kuroo says, as though it’s not the subject of conversation seventy-five percent of the time, “supposedly the school paper’s going to run a story on the club before Nationals next month.”

“Really?” you ask.  “Is it going to be on the front page or just a little paragraph hidden in the middle?”

“Don’t know yet.  Tora’s sister is going to join us at practice sometime this week to ask questions and then write up the article.”

“Good for her.  I like Akane,” you say while collecting pieces of one of the buildings.  “You guys better be nice to her when she interviews you.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep Lev in line,” Yaku promises.

“What is with you and Lev?” you demand.  “It’s like you’re obsessed with him.”

“I am not!  He just pisses me off.”

“Are you sure you’re not just a tsundere in love?”

“So help me, I will throw all of these pieces around the room if you don’t quit it,” he growls.  You just laugh.

“Alright, alright, I’m done.  It’s just too easy to push your buttons sometimes.”

“That’s pretty dangerous when I know who your crush is.”

“Wait, Y/N has a crush?”  Kuroo abandons the street sign he was working on to look at you intently.

“It’s none of your business,” you mumble, suddenly very interested in the puzzle piece in your hand.

“So Yaku can know who it is but I can’t?  Kai, do you know?”

“This is the first I’ve heard of it.”  Your cousin is lying, but he’s usually so pleasantly honest that Kuroo doesn’t suspect anything.

“Come on, Y/N, spill the beans.  You know I hate being left out.”

“Mm, I don’t think I will.”

“Why not?  Are you embarrassed?  Is it Lev?”

“Ew, no.”  Your grimace is so immediate that the others laugh.

“Okay, then who?” Kuroo persists.

“Figure it out yourself.  Yaku did.”

“You didn’t tell him?”

“No,” Yaku confirms, finding the one piece that was missing in the bottom half of the puzzle.  “I’m just smarter than you are and saw the signs.”

“Oh really.”  Kuroo stares at you intently.

“Hey,” you say, “if you’re not going to help with the puzzle, pass over your pieces.”

“Give me a hint,” he requests while pushing the pieces towards you.

“You look for similar colors and shapes and just try to connect them.”

He rolls his eyes.

“We’ve done over twenty of these.  I know how to put a puzzle together.  Obviously I’m talking about your crush!”

“Why does it matter?” Yaku demands, coming to your rescue.  “It’s not like you’ve shared your crush with us.”

“Who says I have a crush?”

“It’s Kenma,” you answer confidently.

“What? No!”

“You do talk about Kenma all the time,” Kai hums.

“Because he’s my best friend.”

“Friends to lovers really is the best trope,” you declare.

“You’re impossible.”

“Then stop pestering Y/N and work on this puzzle,” Kai says.  “We’re almost done.”

“Fine,” Kuroo sighs, “but I’ll get you to tell me someday.”

“Maybe,” you say in something like a promise.  “But first you have to pull your weight and finish this street sign you were working on.”

The conversation stalls while you focus on the last patches of the puzzle.  Part of you wants to slow down and draw out the experience.  You’ll have so few chances to just hang out like this with the volleyball team preparing for Nationals and graduation shortly thereafter.  But the anticipation of finishing draws you forward, and soon Kai snaps the last piece in place.

“Beautiful,” Kuroo declares, and the four of you exchange high fives.

“Picture time!”  You take out your phone, and your friends pose around the finished puzzle while you memorialize the moment with a photo.  Then you perch next to the coffee table at the ready, and Yaku counts down.

“3...2...1!”

It’s a race to deconstruct your hard work, and in moments the puzzle has been reduced to a pile of pieces again.  It’s almost sad how quickly it comes apart, but there is joy in the undoing and promise in the anticipation of the next puzzle.  You almost always end up slapping hands and trying to elbow each other out of the way.  It’s messy and fun, and when you’re with your best friends, you wouldn’t have it any other way.

[dontcare77ghj]

Ordinary

Wanda x reader x Steve x Bucky

Simplicity. Ordinary. Normalcy. Three words that many people found dull. Found boring and undesirable, but not the Avengers. Many of them longed for nothing more. For some, they found it. Found partners willing to stay with them as they fought for the world.

Steve, Wanda and Bucky had found this happiness with each other. Of course, it helped they all fought together, but that was only one aspect that connected the three together. For a while, everything had been good. Everything had been perfect until the snap.

Steve had watched that day as both his partners dusted away and he could do nothing to stop it. He’d been unable to save the two or fix anything for five long years.

Until, Scott Lang reappeared. It was because of him they had a chance. There had been a few close calls during the final battle with Thanos. For a minute, Steve had truly believed it was all over and that the snap had not worked. He was proven wrong as behind him portals opened and the friends, he’s lost reappeared.

When Wanda and Bucky came back.

Natasha had almost been lost. Tony had almost been lost. It was only with the return of the soul stone Natasha was saved. It was only with Strange’s help that Tony had survived.

After his brush with death, Tony had invited all the living Avengers and friends to his home the next week, in typical Tony fashion to celebrate.

It was that night the three had met, Y/N L/N. Tony’s friend of years and his daughter’s godmother. She immediately came off as an inviting and warm person. She was very kind an open with people and that as what drew the recently reunited throuple to her.

They found themselves being around her a lot in the next few months. It was after a long conversation between the three, four months later, that they all spoke of their growing feelings for Y/N. And it was the month after that, that three of them finally asked her out for coffee.

Here they were a year later, all together, all happy. The three were still avenging but they always came back to Y/N who was always waiting for them at home. Arms open, smile etched upon her face. Y/N was their normalcy and they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We’ll be back soon. It’s only supposed to be a check in on everyone and their status’s.” Steve assured you.

“Steve, Tony and Pepper are going away for a week. Morgan will still be here when you get back.” You said, handing him his jacket.

“Is he still worrying he’ll miss Morgan?” Bucky asked as he walked in hand-in-hand with Wanda.

“It’s Stevie. Of course, he’s still worrying.” You smiled as Steve pouted. “But we love you for it, hon.” You added, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“We’ll make sure he doesn’t run out of the meeting early.” Wanda promised you, stepping towards you. “And we’ll pick up something for lunch.” She said, kissing your cheek and grabbing a jacket off the hook.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” You smiled, giving her a kiss. “Now go. You’re going to be late for your meeting.”

“Alright, we’ll be back.” Bucky said, pushing the other two out the door. “Love you, doll.” Stepping out onto the porch you waved at the three

“Love you too Buck. Love you Steve. Love you Wanda.” You waved. “Wait, Wanda is that my jacket?” You called. Wanda smiled at you before quickly getting into the car, shaking your head you went back inside and prepared for your goddaughter’s arrival.

Non-reader POV

“That meeting took far too long.” Steve complained as he walked out of the building with Wanda and Bucky.

“Steve, Y/N knows how to take care of the kid.” Bucky said. “We’ve all looked after her before, you cannot be this panicked about watching her for a week.”

“I’m not worried about watching Morgan.” Steve said as they got into the car, Steve behind the wheel. “I love the kid, but we’ve never watched her for a week. We barely watch her longer than a night.”

“That’s not what this is really about.” Wanda sing songed from the back seat.

“Wanda.” Steve whined, eyes meeting hers in the mirror. “You can’t just read my mind like that.”

“I can when you’re hiding something from us.” She shrugged. “And you don’t need to worry about it. We all see it as a future. Trust me, it’s crossed all our minds before and we’ll be great at it.”

“Do I get to know the secret?” Bucky questioned, looking between the two. Wanda stared Steve down intently never breaking her gaze until he sighed and nodded.

“Stevie wants to have a family with the three of us but scared if he can’t look after Morgan for a week, he’s going to be a bad father.” Wanda told the man. “He’s scared he’s going to be his father.” She added, shaking his head.

“Steven Grant Rogers, I am going to say this once, you are not your father. Your father was a piece of shit, is a piece of shit, and there is no universe where you are in any way that man. You are the kindest, most loyal, loving, gentle man that’s ever walked this Earth.” Bucky told him, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Joseph Rogers. “Me, Wanda, Y/N, we all love you. There has never been, and never will be, a point where any of us are scared of you. Do you understand me?” He added, resting his hand on Steve’s knee.

“I understand.” Steve nodded slowly.

“When the day comes, you are going to be a great father Steve.” Wanda smiled, leaning forward and resting her hands on the blonde’s shoulders. “I promise.”

“Thank you.” Steve whispered, briefly taking his eyes of the road. “I love you two.”

“We love you too.” Wanda said, kissing the side of Steve’s head before leaning back.

“Now, rewinding the conversation. Do you already want kids, punk?” Bucky teased him, poking him in the side.

“Yeah. Yeah I do.” Steve murmured over Wanda’s giggles and Bucky’s chuckles. 

The three pulled up home an hour later, boxes of pizza in hand. Wanda picked up Poe as they entered the house, Bucky heading to the kitchen and Steve towards the living room. Steve was about to call out a greeting when he stopped in the doorframe. He smiled at the sight before him.

The T.V. was running the credits to a Disney movie and before the T.V., resting on the couch was Y/N and Morgan fast asleep. Morgan was curled into Y/N’s side, who had an arm wrapped protectively around the girl.

“I’ll take Y/N to bed if you take Morgan to the guest room.” Buck whispered, causing Steve to jump in surprise. Steve nodded at his boyfriend before moving forward and gently picking up the girl bridal style.

Steve carefully set Morgan down onto the bed, tucked her in and then turned to leave. He was about to close the door when he heard,

“Love you Uncle Steve.”

“Love you too kiddo.” Steve responded after a minute.

“Y/N is still fast asleep.” Wanda said as he entered the bathroom. “So we’ll set some lunch aside for her and Morgan.” She told him as he sat and Raven jumped into his lap.

“You okay, punk?” Bucky questioned him.

“Never better.” Steve answered honestly, smile still gracing his face.

Non-reader POV

“Why did these assholes have to come back?” Bucky grumbled, leaning against the wall of the jet. “They couldn’t just stay piles of ash?”

“The world doesn’t work fairly, Buck.” Wanda said, sitting next to him.

“You’re telling me.” Bucky snorted, wrapping his arm around Wanda’s shoulders. “I was happily asleep next to my favourite people before this.”

“You’re not complaining about anything we don’t know, Buck.” Steve chuckled, sitting on Wanda’s other side. “You’ve been saying it all day.”

“That’s because I’m annoyed.” The brunette sighed, running a hand down his face. “We had to leave Y/N in bed.”

“I know you just wanted a lazy day at home, Buck, but sometimes we’re needed.” Steve reminded him, reaching over and taking his hand in his.

“We’re needed because these assholes couldn’t just stay dead.” Bucky grumbled.

“Alright you two, knock it off.” Wanda sighed, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. “We’re all a bit tense. None of us slept well, we’re all tired, and we all want to be home. There’s no reason to start a fight.”

“Sorry, Wanda.” The boys murmured, having the decency to look somewhat guilty.

“It’s alright.” She said, resting her head on Bucky’s shoulder. “I’m tired too. Should we call Y/N to tell her we’re coming back?”

“No, it’s about three back home. We shouldn’t wake her.” Steve shook his head, resting his head on the wall.

“We should get some sleep.” Bucky mentioned. “We’ve got plenty of time before we get back home.” He added, pulling Wanda closer. With a bit of arrangement, the three finally managed to find a comfortable position and they all lay on the bench. Each attempting to sleep away the mission.

Reader POV

“Shh.” You hushed the alarm as it continued to blare. “Okay fine I’m awake, are you happy now?” You grumbled at the blinking alarm.

Sitting up in bed, a small part of you felt worried that none of your partners had come back yet. They’d left yesterday morning with the promise it was going to be a quick mission but something could easily go wrong.

With a sigh you got out of bed and padded your way into your brightly lit kitchen. Two black cats immediately curled around your ankles as they spotted your presence.

“Well good morning to you too.” You greeted the cats. “Are two hungry? I never would have guessed.” You snarked, opening a tin of food for the two small cats to share.

With the two cats fed you moved onto making yourself some breakfast. You were in the middle of making some pancake batter when you heard a loud crash from the front of the house. A sigh escaped your lips as you noticed the cats missing.

“Poe? Raven? What did you break?” You yelled as you moved towards the noise. “I knew I should have listened to Steve and brought a plastic vase.”

“It’s nice to hear you say I was right.” Steve said, making you gasp. There before you stood all the of your partners, each looking tired and beat but with a smile on their faces.

“Oh thank Chuck.” You breathed before rushing over and throwing your arms around the closest to you.

“It’s nice to see you too, kitten.” Wanda chuckled as she wrapped her arms around your waist. Wanda didn’t get to say another word as you smashed her lips to yours and kissed her deeply. Pulling away from the woman you quickly repeated your actions to the blonde and brunette respectively.

“What a way to be welcomed home.” Bucky grinned sleepily.

“I can make it even better.” You promised, brushing hair off his face. “Why don’t the three of you go get comfy in the bedroom and I’ll bring in some breakfast.”

“Chocolate chip?” Wanda questioned you.

“Of course.” You smiled, taking Wanda’s hand in your own. “Now go, clean up, get comfortable. I’ll be in in a minute with breakfast and a surprise.”

 You pushed the three towards the bedroom before returning to the kitchen. You quickly made a large stack of the chocolaty breakfast food and collected what you needed on a tray before bringing it into the bedroom.

You didn’t make it past the threshold as you stopped suddenly, a smile spread across your face. All three of your partners lay sprawled across your shared bed, none of them fully changed out of their uniforms and none of them laying correctly.

You set the tray down on one of the dressers before moving over to the three. Carefully you began to rearrange them all into somewhat comfortable positions. As you pulled the blanket over your exhausted loves you gently ghosted a kiss onto them all before grabbing a plate and taking your leave.

“I’ll tell them later.” You whispered to yourself as you sat down at the kitchen table. “We’ll tell them later.” You said, finger tips grazing over your still flat stomach.

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Coming soon;

Wanda x reader x Vision

Steve x reader x Wanda

Bucky x reader x Loki

Natasha x reader x Tony x Bucky

Natasha x reader x Wanda

Tony x reader x Steve

Steve x reader x Thor

[lu-undy]

Chapter 46 - SBT

Here it is!

"Bugger…" 

The lights had switched back on in the dining area for a while now but Mundy's breath was still held, not that he particularly wanted it. But he couldn't help it. 

"You seem to have enjoyed your dessert, Sir." 

"Huh? Sorry?" Mundy blinked repeatedly as if he was emerging from a dream. The waiter chuckled. "Y-yeah, dessert was very good, thanks. I'll uh, I'll go and pay in a minute." 

"You don't need to, Sir."

Mundy raised an eyebrow. 

"What d'you mean?" 

"Your meals here are taken care of, Sir." The waiter took his dessert plate and headed away. 

"Wait, what d'you - ugh…" Mundy half smiled. There was only one person who could have done that for him… 

The Aussie raised his eyes to the stage and smiled to himself as he shook his head. And that small gesture was enough to give him the boost his confidence needed. Mundy picked up his hat and a leaflet from the table before his feet guided him naturally backstage. He walked with a lazy smile on his lips, his eyes didn't see the restaurant, nah, they were just anticipating the sight of the man in the dark blue suit and tie, who had absolutely blown his mind with his vocal chords, about half an hour ago now. 

When he arrived in front of the door, Mundy stopped and looked left and right. No one. Good. There was a shining metal pane on the wall there, Mundy could see his reflection on it. 

"Oh… Uh…" He did his ponytail again, a bit better he hoped, and adjusted his tie. Ok, alright, hopefully he looked half decent now. 

Three knocks. He gave three knocks on the wooden door with the Frenchman's name written on it. 

"Go away!" 

Mundy's smile shattered like glass. He spun on his heels but then he frowned. No, he needed to at least say thanks for the food. He knocked again. 

"Argh! Pour l'amour du ciel, ne peut-on jamais profiter d'un moment de paix?! Frank, I swear, if it is you again about the songs, I will not change my mind!" 

[For the love of God, can't I enjoy a moment of peace?!]

"It's not Frank." Mundy answered. He didn't see Lucien freeze and his eyes darted to the mirror instantly. 

Merde, merde, merde…. He thought as he arranged his hair and face faster than the speed of light itself. 

"Mundy?" 

Lucien's voice was muffled but Mundy understood it very easily. Non, the Frenchman was right behind the door, there was no doubt about it. 

"Y-yeah, it's me." 

Lucien unlocked the door and opened it. 

"Please, do come in." 

Mundy slipped in and Lucien shut the door after checking that no one else had seen him.

"Am I botherin' you? I can come back later or something." Mundy asked, holding his hat in his hands nervously. 

"Non, non, please, take a seat and make yourself at home. You look…" Lucien started but what word should he use? He looked at Mundy and all he saw made his insides warm and fuzzy. The long hair tied back allowed to see Mundy's face better, and even if his eyes were still hidden behind the glasses, Lucien found them more than pleasant. There were a few locks of wavy, dark brown hair that fell on Mundy's face and Lucien resisted the urge to push them back behind his ear. Non, it was too personal, too intimate. The Frenchman's eyes went down and seeing Mundy in that beige, three-piece suit was such a delightful sight to behold… "You look handsome."

"Thanks, mate." Mundy sat on the sofa and Lucien joined him after pouring a second glass of water and handing it to him. 

"So, what brings you here?" Lucien asked as he sat down. 

"I wanted to say thanks."

"What for?"

"I was going to pay for my food and head back home but the waiter told me that it had already been cleared for me. I guess it's you, right?"

Lucien smiled. 

"It might well be."

"Pfff, why did you do that…? Duchemin might realise somethin'." Mundy chuckled. 

"In his mind, we are romantically involved with one another anyway so I don't think him or any of his friends here suspect a thing." Lucien drank some more water. 

"Yeah, well, still… Thanks." 

"My pleasure."

"Also, what's that about?" Mundy handed the leaflet that him and the rest of the customers found on their tables. 

"You call it a leaflet in English, I am told, Bushman…" Lucien played smug and Mundy rolled his eyes with a smile. 

"C'mon, y'know what I mean… That's new. You didn't have those things when you first started, eh?" Mundy said. "I read it. It's got the program of the pieces you guys play and there's an entire page on your song - someone's big headed, but anyway - it's got the lyrics in French, and the translation, it's brilliant!"

Lucien smiled. 

"Glad you appreciate it. I did it because one of my uhm, what did you call them again the other day? Ah, oui, one of my fans wrote to me."

Mundy smiled. 

"Yeah well, you got tons of those, we know, yada, yada, yada…"

"Non, non, non, tsk, tsk, tsk!" Lucien waved his index finger left and right as he shook his head. He still had an arrogant smile on his lips. "Non, this fan, I actually talked to him, Mundy."

The Aussie frowned for an instant.

"You see," Lucien went on. "He told me that he had liked some of my songs so much that he managed to find some cassettes and he listens to them in his leisure time. He also told me that he tried hard to translate them. So I thought to myself that I could perhaps help and offer a translation, so that he doesn't need to."

Mundy's face was red. Lucien was obviously talking about him.

"I hope the leaflet helped." 

"Y-yeah… Thanks… I mean… You didn't have to do that." Mundy said. 

"Non, I didn't have to, but I did it anyway."

"Hm…" Mundy looked into Lucien's eyes and felt his own cheeks burning. "Thanks."

"With pleasure."

"Also, uh, y-you really did a great job tonight." 

"Did you like the song?" Lucien asked. 

"Yeah. And it didn't feel like you were the one who sang it, it felt like it was Lulu."

Lucien smiled. 

"I guess it's the tears." Mundy added. "I can't imagine you crying and when you do it, well, I'm gonna sound like an idiot but to me, it's Lulu who's cryin', not you, as if you were two different people still…"

Lucien's grin hid the distress he had spent the past half an hour in and he thanked the Lord high up above that Mundy didn't seem to have noticed his still slightly red eyes from the intense sobs he had gone through.

"I… It does happen." Lucien said. 

"What?"

"I do cry. Occasionally."

"Yeah, I saw you on stage."

"Not on stage." 

"Oh… I guess it's when you think of… her?" Mundy tried to be tactful. 

"Oui and non. Indirectly, I suppose. It is the unfairness of it all and how powerless I am that sometimes makes me so furious that I burst."

"What d'you mean?"

"Why them?" Lucien asked. "Of all the people on Earth, I could name a lot who were more deserving to die. Yet, God called her and our young son back."

"Mate, you're lookin' at it the wrong way. There's no rhyme or reason to life and death. People die of stupid things. You and I could die of stupid things. There's no sense to be found there."

"I know that and yet I cannot help but think that God should have taken me instead of them. I am the oldest of the three, I am not a woman or a child, I committed crimes, murder, cold-blooded assassination, and other sins for which I am sure to spend my next life burning in hell." 

"No-!" Mundy burst out, speaking faster than he had thought. "Shush!" He screwed his eyes shut. "Don't talk about that!"

"Why not? That is all I deserve. I have killed many who were deserving and many who were not, because I was asked to. At any time I could have refused and resigned. But here I am."

"Spook." 

"But that is not all. You see? When I climb on stage and sing, I become someone else, as you have noticed. I become a normal, civil man, someone who doesn't know what killing is, someone who sings sentimentality and romance as if he still knew what they were. Non, the more I think about it, the more I remember your letter and I think you were right. Lulu is a lucky bastard for not knowing the weight and pain that Solitude can bring."

Lucien took a sip of his water and put his glass away. 

"A lucky bastard indeed." He added. 

"But mate, you are him." Mundy answered. "Y-you're the one singin' those songs, you're the one who cries when he sings. I saw you today again. You tried to hold it back but eh… Spook, Lulu is part of you too. Stop thinkin' that you're an emotionless killing robot. You're a normal bloke."

Lucien took a deep breath and sighed. 

"We already had that conversation, Mundy."

"Yeah, but apparently you didn't listen to me. Also, uh… About the song..?"

Lucien raised his eyes to Mundy. 

"You said to me that you didn't like any other sheila than your fiancée but…"

"But what?" 

"You really looked like you… Uh… You had someone in mind when you were singing."

Lucien sighed and looked away. He put a hand on his face and let it sink down from his brow to his chin. 

"Hey… It's good, it's nice if you've found someone, I-I'm happy for you." Mundy said and Lucien shook his head. 

"Think, Bushman!" He burst out at him. "Have I not learnt from my past? Have I not suffered enough from my own stupidity! I do not want to find anyone, I want people to stay as far away as they can from me. I am a curse to live with and deal with! I bring death, despair, frustration and powerlessness! Non! I do not want anyone to come close to me and I do not want to-"

"Have you finished with your dramatic nonsense?!" Mundy barked back. "Some of us here don't have any choice and have to live completely alone, you ungrateful snob!"

Lucien's eyes snapped wide out of surprise. He did not imagine the Aussie could become irritated, he always seemed so calm. 

"You bloody mongrel! The least you can do is appreciate it!"

"Appreciate what?"

"Appreciate the blessin' it is to have someone with you! Pff.. And to think that you told me you knew what solitude was about, you have no idea, do you?! Or maybe you're so deeply in love with that sheila that you actually have forgotten what it is like, eh?" Mundy frowned behind his aviator glasses. "Well let me tell you, you arrogant idiot! Have you forgotten the pain of your past ten years alone?! Besides, for the love of all that is holy, please enjoy it! It's a blessin' to like someone and I'm sure that sheila likes you back so be fuckin' happy because that simply hasn't happened in the last ten years!"

"Mundy, what part of 'there is a contract on my head' do you not understand?!" Lucien's anger escalated. "I am a dead man!"

"No, you're not! You're alive, well, and breathing! You're also talking a lot of nonsense for someone who's dead!"

"It is all AS IF I was dead already! And I had better consider myself so! They are coming for me Mundy, each day that I wake up is just a step taken to MY DEATH!" Lucien exclaimed. 

"Why won't you fuckin' enjoy what you have instead on focusing on the fact that you'll lose it?! Go sing all that to her in person!" Mundy pushed the leaflet against Lucien's chest.

"Because I am going to LOSE IT!" Lucien shoved the crumpled leaflet back to Myndy's chest.

"WELL THEN YOU'D BETTER GO AND ENJOY YOUR TIME WITH HER, YOU FUCKING UNGRATEFUL MONGREL!" 

Mundy stood off of the sofa and left the backstage room, slamming the door shut after him. He went straight to his van and drove away, fuming with rage. 

"Merde…" Lucien cursed and sighed. But there was no time to lose. Duchemin wanted to have dinner with him so he had to oblige. 

-- A week later -- 

Mundy was next to the lake as usual. Hunting had been tricky that day but he managed to return to his van with a pheasant. He sat down next to the fire he had made and started cleaning the beast before cooking it. 

He hummed to himself, tried to fill the silence around him with songs. But each time he did, his mind and his mouth would play something that Lucien had sung.

"No."

He stopped and tried something else. Damn it, that was still one of Lucien's songs. 

"No, c'mon…" 

Mundy was plucking the bird's feathers and he tried again. 

"Hm…? Hmmm, da da da, la Solitude… No, fucking hell!"

He sighed and looked up from the colourful feathers between his hands to the silver lake in front of him. 

Mundy sighed and decided to continue in silence. Birds were chirping, the lake's shy waves were rolling on the shore, not too far from him. All of that would occupy the silence, as it used to before Mundy met Lucien.

"Bloody hell!"

Did everything he thought about had to loop back to the fucking posh French snob?! 

Once he finished with the feathers, Mundy gutted the bird and cut it neatly into its different parts before washing it and throwing it on the pan, above the flames. He let it grill and sat back on his chair. While the meat cooked, he pulled his hat down on his face and closed his eyes. He could do with a nap.

"So you do love a sheila, eh?"

"Bushman, look at me. Did you seriously think that a man like me could stay alone and single for long?"

Mundy stared at Lucien. No, of course Lucien couldn't stay single. The man was receiving heaps of letters from sheilas who would no doubt leave everything for him if he did as much as ask… Fuck him, he was irresistible… Mundy sighed. 

"Whatever." He grumbled as an answer. 

"Well then, I shall go and enjoy my day and my night with her."

"Yeah, alright." Mundy lowered his head. What was he thinking anyway? Of course Lucien wouldn't look at him any other way than a colleague, at best!

"Mundy?" 

"What?"

Lucien raised his hand and splayed it on Mundy's chest. The Aussie's heart beat violently against it. 

"Oh…? What have we here…?" Lucien pushed his hand against Mundy's chest and the Aussie felt his heart want to rip out of his ribcage more and more. Each beat made him come closer to bursting out until… 

"ARGH?!" 

Mundy woke up in a frightened startle and put his hands on his chest. His heart was there, his heart was there, oof, no problem, everything's fine.

"Gosh…"

He took a few seconds to wake up completely and put a hand on his hat to adjust it when he realised that his hat had gone. 

"What the…?" 

He could swear he had it on his head before he took a nap. 

Pop.

The hat landed back on his head and Mundy looked up. 

"What the fuck are you doin' here again?!" 

Lucien was standing behind his chair. 

"I put a few of those feathers to good use with your hat." He answered. 

"What-?!" Mundy took off his headgear and took a look. On the side of it were two beautifully coloured feathers. 

"It brightens up your hat without changing it too much." Lucien added. 

"What d'you want?" Mundy cut to the chase. 

"To hold a promise. But maybe we can discuss this around a good pheasant leg?" Lucien added and took a seat on the other chair that he must have stolen from inside Mundy's van again. 

"Hm." 

Lucien removed his gloves and both started eating. 

"So, what's your promise about?" Mundy asked. 

"I promised I would keep the lies to a strict minimum, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and?"

"You were right. I had someone in mind when I sang Hymne À L'Amour last week."

Mundy's hunger made him focus more on his food than what Lucien was saying.

"But you were wrong." The Frenchman continued. "It is not a woman. It is a man."

Mundy stopped chewing and raised his eyes from the leg he was eating to Lucien's eyes. 

"Hm." He threw the bones away and took another part to eat. 

"I realised that you might have been under the impression that it was for a woman that I sang all that. But non. It is one special man that my heart has decided to claw onto, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately?" Mundy repeated. 

"Oui. You know why it is useless of me to try and achieve anything with him." Lucien continued. 

"Can he like blokes?" 

"As a matter of fact, oui, he can."

"Then go for it." Mundy said and Lucien chuckled. 

"Go for what exactly, hm?" 

"Go and tell him you fancy him. Invite him to dinner or something. I don't know. J-just do something."

"That leads me to my second point."

The Aussie froze thinking that Lucien would then invite him to dinner. His eyes snapped wide and his breath cut, while his teeth were still sinking in a bit of pheasant. 

"I need to make something clear to you." Lucien went on. "Because I can see it in the way that you look at me. Since we argued the other day, your eyes don't see me the same way they used to."

Mundy's shoulders sank. Oof, and he had thought that Lucien was going to invite him for dinner… Silly Mundy… But the spy was right. He looked at Lucien less warmly now that he knew that his heart was busy with someone else. There was bitterness, and Mundy tried his best to hide the heartbreak of it. No point in admiring the Frenchman anymore, it would just hurt. At least when Lucien's heart was free, Mundy could maintain the illusion that maybe, maybe, he could slip through the tight cracks of his stone cold heart. But now it was useless. Lucien liked someone else and that had made him forget one of the things that made Mundy connect to him deeply: the solitude.

"I have to break another lie to you and please do not beat me up for it this time."

"Go ahead. No promises."

"I intend to offer myself to Duchemin's goons after we kill him."

Mundy's bit of food slid between his hands and fell to the dusty desert ground. 

"What?" 

"I will ask you to keep Perle and take care of her while I distract them."

"What d'you mean, you distract them?"

"I will give them a long, even though easy, chase at the end of which I will die in any fashion that will satiate their thirst for revenge. That way, they will not come after you, and Perle still has someone who will take care of her. Admittedly, you are more knowledgeable about her kind than me, she might be the one for whom it would be the best deal."

"What the hell have you been drinking, you idiotic, absolutely retarded mongrel?"

"Bushman, I am sorry to have lied to you again but I will repeat myself. If anyone has to die at the end of all this, it is me."

"You made me promise to survive it…!"

"Oui, for yourself and for Perle. You have never done anything wrong in your life. You have never lied, never hurt and never killed. Let death make sense for once, let her take someone who has done so many things wrong that it is useless to try and make something right. Please."

Mundy stood up and went to the lake where he washed his hands with the little bar of soap that sat on one of the rocks next to him. 

"So, do we have a deal?" Lucien asked. 

Mundy came back to him and the Frenchman stood up, offering his hand to shake. The Aussie stared at it. 

"Bushman?" 

Violently, Mundy took Lucien by his collar and lifted him up. 

"Bushman?! What are you doing?! This shirt costs more than-!"

"SHUT UP you egotistical, selfish piece of garbage!" Mundy threw him on the ground. 

"Argh-?!" Lucien's back hit the hard and dry desert ground painfully. "Why do you say that?! Have you not heard me?! I am doing this for you and for Perle!" 

Mundy straddled Lucien's body and his punch flew to his jaw. 

"Shut up! You don't do it for me or for her, you compulsive liar! You do it for yourself!" 

"Non!" Lucien punched Mundy's jaw back and pushed the Aussie away from him. 

Both took a moment to stand back up. 

"Why do you not believe me?!" Lucien asked.

"Excuse me?! Are you asking me why I don't believe any word you say?! Well turns out that not many of them mean anything, you lyin' snake!" 

They leapt at each other and exchanged punches and kicks again. They grunted and winced, the pain pulsating from their faces, their chests, their arms, their knuckles, everywhere. Mundy's hat had been thrown away, same for his glasses and their clothes had streaks of their bloods, mixed together. Mundy's nose was bleeding impressively and Lucien's stomach ache soon started to incapacitate him. 

"Tell me one thing, one only thing that was true in anything you've told me so far." Mundy raised his index finger.

Lucien had wrapped an arm around himself, holding his painful stomach. His hair was dishevelled now and one of his eyes was particularly stinging. He closed it. 

"I love a man… He doesn't know it… But… Argh-!" Lucien bent down. His stomach and ribs burnt with pain. "He is the reason I can fall asleep at night… If I don't think about him, I cannot…. I cannot sleep…" 

Mundy sighed and stopped fighting. He walked to the lake and entered it fully clothed. 

"What the…?" Lucien opened his one functioning eye wide. "What are you doing, imbécile?"

"Like you, idiot! I try to drown my problems in my bathtub!" Mundy shouted from a distance. 

Lucien grumbled and took a few steps towards the lake. He removed his shoes and wanted to remove his socks but bending down further was incredibly painful. 

"Merde, Bushman…" He looked at his own self and deemed the clothes good to be thrown away. No washing machine would fix the tears and the blood stains. "Merde…"

[Shit…]

Lucien walked to the shore and winced in disgust when the water hit his socks. He looked down and grimaced. Ew, now nothing and no one will ever fix anything. There was no turning around. He looked up and saw Mundy floating on his back. 

"Putain de merde, Bushman. Tu me le paieras cher."

[Fucking hell, Bushman. You will have to pay for all this.]

Lucien walked further. The level of the water rose from his ankles to his legs, now his knees and thighs. The lake wasn't cold at all. It would have been very pleasant in other circumstances. Lucien kept on walking until the water level was to his neck. Then, he started swimming. 

"Argh, umph, gnh-!"

"What the hell are you gruntin' about?" Mundy was as relaxed as he could be, floating like a plank on the surface of the water, his wet polo shirt and trousers sticking to his skin. 

"I am trying to make sure you don't stray too far away - argh - Bushman… But you have hit me pretty badly and now everything hurts terribly…" 

"Oops." Mundy answered, not apologising one bit. 

Lucien grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer to the shore, where he could actually stand up. 

"Why're you doing that?" Mundy asked. 

"I don't want to fish you out the same way you did me." Lucien answered. He stood up and the water level was to his arms. 

"Don't worry, my bathtub's large enough for us both to swim in it… C'mon, lay on yer back and relax."

"Quoi?"

[What?]

Lucien was completely baffled. 

"Don't make me do it for you, idiot. Lay on yer back."

"Ugh…" Lucien sighed and bent backwards slowly. He then raised his legs and now the lake carried him like it did Mundy.

"There, now, gimme your arm."

"What?"

Mundy didn't wait and grabbed Lucien's arm firmly and laced his own around it. 

"What are you doing?!" Lucien asked. 

"Like the otters do it."

"Bushman, nothing you are saying makes any shred of sense."

"Nothin' you do makes any bloody sense! Now, shut up and listen to me. When otters sleep, they lay on their backs on rivers like that and to make sure they don't drift far apart during their sleep, they hold their arms together."

"Ah, I see." 

Lucien and Mundy both stared at the immense blue sky punctuated by a few cotton streaks of clouds. They both remained mute for a long while. A bird would sometimes fly above them, or a fish would disturb the otherwise calm surface of the water. Apart from that, nothing but their own breaths and their own thoughts as both drifted away on the lake, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right…

Mundy closed his eyes and as he started drifting away in a nap, he felt Lucien's arm move from his. He snapped his eyes wide but before he could do or say anything, he felt the Frenchman's hand slide along his forearm and finally settle when he slipped his fingers between Mundy's. The Aussie frowned. Why would he do that if he liked another bloke…? 

"I cannot stand who I am." Lucien broke the silence.

"That makes us two. Can't stand you either." 

"If I were to meet me and get to know me, I would hate me. There isn't the shadow of a doubt about this."

"Can see why." 

"Everytime I look into what I am and what I have done, I don't see much to be proud of, and even less to share with someone else." Lucien said. 

Mundy's eyes moved to the right, where Lucien was floating, next to him. 

"Why are you doin' this?" He asked and squeezed Lucien's fingers once, gently. He wanted to ask why he was holding his hand, when clearly he had someone else in mind and in his heart. 

"Because despite everything I say, despite my brain thinking that it is useless to chase my feelings, it is still my heart who wins." 

"I'm surprised you got one of those, eh, a heart, you say? I thought you only used your rock stubborn, big head." Mundy teased. 

"That is what I have done for a long time. But you broke that, and many other things." Lucien answered. 

"Sorry… I guess…? Did I break your nose?"

"Non."

"What are you talking about then? I have no idea."

"And it is better that way." 

"Why?" Mundy asked.

"Because… Because!" Lucien removed his hand off Mundy's and started swimming back to the shore. They had drifted quite far from where they had entered the lake first. 

Mundy swam after him and when they could both stand up and reach the bottom of the lake, they did. 

"Hold on." Mundy grabbed Lucien's arm again. 

"What? Do otters come out of the water together too?" Lucien asked sarcastically. 

"No, you muppet." Mundy went to grab the bar of soap and came back. "Here. Scrub yourself, you're covered in half dried, half still runnin' blood." Mundy tossed the soap over to Lucien who caught it effortlessly. 

"Ha! Thanks to whom?, Might I ask, hm?" 

"Shut up and do it, or give me back the soap and I'll start." 

Mundy yanked his wet polo shirt up and away and threw it on to the nearby rocks. He then removed his trousers and did the same. When he raised his eyes to Lucien, the Frenchman's eyes were glued to him and he looked ridiculous with his shirt sticking to him and his tie completely drenched. 

"What? You've seen me before, you pervert."

"Mundy! I am no pervert! I couldn't see a thing, it was the middle of the night! All I could see was the outline of your silhouette!" Lucien's cheeks had got some colour and Mundy chuckled because of it. The Frenchman looked and sounded offended. 

"C'mon, clothes, out! And start cleaning yourself. You're so dirty you might as well get clean by tomorrow if you start now…" 

Lucien crossed his arms on his chest. His salt and pepper hair was all wet and stuck to his face not in a way that put him in his advantage… But God was he funny, pouting like that with his face flushed red.

"C'mon, Spook! Or are you so posh that you snobs don't wash your skin directly but wash with your clothes on?"

"Hm…" Lucien grumbled and threw the soap over to Mundy who started washing himself. "Let me tell you that you will have to pay for this damaged suit. It cost me a fortune!" Lucien undid his tie and threw it away, before he opened the buttons of his shirt. "This is no ordinary suit that you can find in any odd shop! I hope you do realise that, Bushman!" The white - and red because of the blood - shirt flew away and Lucien removed his trousers. 

"What the hell are those?!" Mundy pointed at Lucien's legs. 

"Those are the garters you have now ruined because you decided that you were an otter today!" Lucien answered and Mundy burst out laughing. The Aussie had covered himself with the white foam of the soap and Lucien threw away socks and garters. Now both were in their underwear. 

"Spook?"

"What now?" 

"Do I have blood still on my face?" Mundy asked and Lucien walked closer to him. He squinted at his face that he rinsed slowly. The Aussie hissed. 

"Spook, that hurt!" Mundy closed his eyes.

"Don't move so much! I am trying to see!" Lucien rinsed his hands and let his fingers run softly on Mundy's face, looking up to him until the Aussie opened his eyes. The soft fingers on Mundy's face made him melt and his guts went to mush. How could a bloke have hands as delicate as a sheila? 

Their faces were a few inches apart and both now blushed beyond their ears. "There is blood still below your nose." Lucien said and took a step away. He took the soap off of Mundy's hand and turned his back to him to start cleaning himself. 

"And now?" Mundy asked. 

"One minute." Lucien answered as he washed his face. He carded his hair back and turned to Mundy. "Oui, that is better. Oh, let me see here… Oui, you have some blood on your cheek here, let me help…" 

Lucien cupped some water in his hand and washed it away. 

"There, that is better. Your face is clean now. What about mine?" 

Mundy had looked away from the Frenchman until then but as his eyes moved to his face, he blushed more and more. 

"Uh, I mean, it looks ok, you face, uh, ah, actually, you've got some blood above your mouth still." Mundy squinted and Lucien's heart jolted in his ribcage as the man was staring right at his lips. "Looks dried out a bit but you should be able to wash it away."

"Fine… Many thanks…" Lucien washed his mouth repeatedly and turned to Mundy again. "What about now?" 

"Yeah, yup, no blood, no, your face's fine, yeah, very fine, ok… I'll uh… I'll grab some towels…" 

Mundy went off of the water and into his van. He came out again and found Lucien shivering, his arms wrapped around himself. He was sitting on a rock at the edge of the lake and was watching the calm ripples at the surface of the water.

"Here…" Mundy wrapped the towel around Lucien and wiped behind his neck and shoulders. 

"Oh… Merci… I was starting to get cold." 

"No worries." Mundy sat next to him. 

"You don't wipe yourself?" Lucien asked. 

"Nah. I uh… I like to dry like that y'know… uh…"

"Mundy…?"

"What?" 

Lucien took his towel and covered both of them. 

"You are right, I am a compulsive liar. But that makes me good at telling when people lie. Do not offer me this poor show again, please." 

"I tried my best, eh, sorry…" 

"It is fine." Lucien leaned his head on Mundy's shoulder. 

"Uh… Mate… Y-you shouldn't…" The Aussie moved away from Lucien and the Frenchman's heart sunk to his feet. "You told me you had someone. D-don't do that to them." 

[fandomsfeelsandfanfics]

The Arrangement, Part XIV/// Draco Malfoy x Reader

SUMMARY: The end.

WORD COUNT: 1,898

WARNING(S): nothing 

A/N: welp we’ve come a long way and here it finally is.

SERIES MASTERLIST | PLAYLIST

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

You hadn’t slept at all, not that it mattered. Tonight was supposed to be your engagement party. Supposed to be.

You hadn’t talked to your fiancé since Monday and you weren’t expecting him to start calling you today. You knew the party was off but you thought the engagement might still have some hope. But even that was wishful thinking.

You sat on one of the armchairs in your living room when you got tired of rolling around in your bed. The sun was coming up. You felt like you’d been awake much longer than you actually had. The seconds turned to minute. Minutes to hours. Hours to eternities. But still you didn’t feel tired.

You wondered if Draco was sleeping easily or if he were staring at the same sunrise. You tore your eyes away from the window and looked down at the coffee table. There was an invitation to the party. You almost laughed as you picked it up.

Narcissa has specially designed them. A white card with a nice black font detailing the time, place, and occasion. Maybe she had been more excited than either of you about the news. You couldn’t imagine how disappointed she was now.

-

Draco hadn’t slept. He didn’t like sleeping alone anymore, which was apart of the trouble of falling in love. It made loneliness harder.

He’d laid in bed until the first hints of sunlight came through his window. Then he drifted out of his room, out of his wing, and through the halls. When he reached the ballroom, he was surprised to see house elf’s already busy at work. It was barely 7 am and they were already running around sweeping and dusting.

He walked through the ballroom, getting assorted greeting and congratulations that he absentmindedly replied to. When he reached the other side of the room, he threw the doors to the balcony open, basking the room in the gold light of sunrise.

He stepped onto the balcony, breathing in the fresh air. But it didn’t do anything to clear his mind. This entire week all he could think about was you. And now he was standing on the balcony where you had once kissed him on the cheek. Giving him only enough satisfaction to make him miss you when you were gone.

That must’ve all been planned. He gripped the edge of the balcony until his knuckles turned white. He didn’t even hear his mother coming up behind him until she squealed into his ear.

“Good morning!” He turned around to look at her, flashing a lazy smile. “It’s engagement party day! Oh, I’m so excited.”

When Draco didn’t reply, her smile faded. “What’s wrong dear?” She reaches up to cup his cheek and he leaned into the touch. “You look like you haven’t slept.”

“Yeah, I uh...didn’t get much sleep last night.” He couldn’t pretend to smile anymore, so he turned around. Leaning against the railing he could see the entire expanse of neatly trimmed lawn.

“I’m sure it’s just excitement, right?” Her hand ran up and down his back comfortingly.

“Sure.”

“When can I expect (Y/N)?”

“ ‘M not sure.”

Narcissa studies his face for a moment, there was something lurking behind his eyes but he shifted them in the other direction before she could recognize it. For once, she decided against prying.

“Well, let me know when she gets here.” He nodded. He didn’t turn around until he heard the click of her heels coming from the ballroom.

He was glad to finally be alone again.

-

You laid around the house for a few more hours, trying to take your mind off what was supposed to take place that afternoon. You never thought you’d be so disappointed to miss a party at Malfoy manor. Finally, at a quarter past one, you dragged yourself into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Halfway through brewing the coffee, your phone rang. You lazily picked it up without checking to see who it was because you didn’t think it mattered.

“Hello—”

“Where are you? My mum’s running around here like she’s mad. It’s giving me a headache, someone needs to come talk some sense into her.”

“Draco, I...” You stopped mid-sentence, not really knowing what else to say. “I...” You tried again to compose a sentence but nothing came.

You took a deep breath and tried to focus on composing your thoughts. “Draco, I didn’t know...today was still happening.”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Can you just get here.” He sounded angry or at the very least annoyed. You heard him take a deep breath. “Please,” he added calmly.

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” And before you could reply, he had already hung up. You sat your phone down and took a deep breath. You only allowed yourself a moment to process before you abandoned your still-brewing coffee and gotta ready as quickly as you could.

-

You could hear Narcissa screaming, probably at some poor house-elf, as she made her way down the hallway to unlock the door. You couldn’t quite make out the words she was saying, but you could tell it wasn’t good. You only caught the end of her sentence as she threw the door open.

“—and I want that done now!” When she was finally finished shouting, she turned to look at you. For a moment she looked exhausted and annoyed, then she noticed it was you and her face lit up with a smile. “(Y/N)! Thank Merlin you’re finally here, I was beginning to think you’d got cold feet.” She took a step back so you could walk through the doorway and beckoned you forward.

She closed the door behind you and put her hand on your shoulder, which made you stiffen slightly. “I’m so glad you’re here. Sorry about the yelling, today’s been really hectic, you know. Just trying to pull everything together last minute.” She let out a bit of shrill laughter. “And Draco’s been stuck in his room all day. I hope you’ll make sure he’s dressed and out of his room in time.”

“Of course.” She gave your shoulder a squeeze then she was off, heels clicking down the hallway as she started calling the names of whatever house-elf she needed.

Finding the way to Draco’s wing would’ve once been a struggle, but now you got there with no difficulty. You stood outside his door, trying to slow your breathing. Finally, you raised your hand and knocked. The sound seemed much louder in your head than it probably was.

“Come in.” His voice was faint from inside the room. You opened the door and slowly walked in. Draco has his back to you as he stood in the mirror buttoning his shirt. Your eyes met in the mirror but other than that he didn’t acknowledge you.

Finally, he said, “I talked to my mother and I know you were telling the truth. About the money and how you felt about me. I believe you.”

“But I shouldn’t have lied.” His fingers paused on his buttons and he turned to look at you.

“But you did.” He started walking towards you.

“I know but that doesn’t change the fact that it was wrong. And I was stupid, I was so stupid and—”

“That’s what they say about love isn’t it,” he mumbled. His eyes trailed over you as you continued to ramble. You stopped talking.

“What?”

“ ‘Love makes people do stupid things’ or whatever the saying is.” He smiled at you. “And I’d say we’ve both been complete idiots.” You laughed. “Seriously, we’ve both almost ruined our relationship.”

“I’m so sorry.” You put your head on his chest and his hand came up to the small of your back.

“I know.”

“If I could take it all back—”

“We can’t change the past, all we can do is be better in the future and I’m determined to make this work. ‘Cause this didn’t start with you and my mother’s little scheme.” His other hand moved to cup your cheek and he moved you head up to look at him. “I have been in love with you ever since Hogwarts and no matter what happened we were always gonna end up here.”

You wrapped your arms around him, pulling yourself further into him. “We’re going to have to build trust but that’s fine because I know we’re both willing to do it. I’m going to have to work on myself. And of course, you’ll have to make it up to me but it’ll be a longgggg honeymoon, so I’m sure you’ll figure something out.” He smirked when you hit his back and hid your laughter by pressing against his chest.

He kissed the top of your head. “Someday, we’ll be telling our kids this story and laughing.”

You looked up at him and smiled. “Someday.” You reaches for his buttons and continued to button his shirt. It was a soft black shirt that went nicely with his black slacks and the suit jacket that was draped across the arm chair in the corner of the room. It went even better with your plain black dress. It had thin straps and a slit that went up far enough to make Draco state.

When you finally buttoned the last button, you looked up at him. Your hand was still lingering around his neck and you reached up farther to touch the back of his neck. Your fingers reached up to touched his soft, bleach blonder hair. Just a touch.

Without you even having to pull him towards you, Draco’s lips were already on yours.

-

You were too distracted to hear the knock on the door but you did hear Narcissa’s voice. “Draco? (Y/N)?” You sat up quickly. You looked down at Draco’s wide eyes, looking like child who had just been caught doing something bad. You’d only been kissing—well, making out— but it was probably a good thing Narcissa hadn’t came in.

“Guests are arriving, you should probably join us.”

There was a pause as you looked at each other, wondering who was going to answer. Quickly, Draco shouted, “We’ll be down in just a minute.”

Another pause and then she said, “Okay.” You didn’t quite breath again until you couldn’t hear the click of her heels anymore. You sighed and laid your head on Draco’s shoulders. Your thighs were on either side of his hips and he had his hands placed firmly on top of them.

“I know, but we’ve got all the time in the world.”

“I know.” You places a gentle kiss on his neck and after he squeezed your thighs once more, you rolled off of him.

You got up and stood in front of the mirror, hoping your hair wasn’t too messed up. You straightened your dress and began to reapply your lipstick. Draco came up behind you, tucking his shirt back into his pants where it came up slightly. Once you were finished you turned around and flattened his hair which was now ruffled.

With a smile, you reached up to wipe some of your lipstick from edges of his mouth. Then you turned around, taking in the image of you both together. He stood behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. You put your hands over his.

In the end, everything had worked out perfectly.

[diddlesanddoodles]

Dumpling ch 25

Three parts muddled meadowsweet, two parts crushed licorice root, one part muddled ginger, and seven parts vinegar. Steeped for a week and dilute with honey water before consuming to sooth the discomfort caused by heartburn.

“Probably the most widely used tincture here,” Farris told her. “We have plenty still in storage, so there’s time enough fer ya to learn it proper like.”

He gave her the already measured out ingredients and had her simply practice muddling them in the mortar, which was a hard enough task in and of itself. The stone pestle was heavy and she needed both hands to proper grasp it. She had only just been working at it a few minutes with Farris watching over her when his laugh broke her concentration. He was shaking his head and she furrowed her brows at him.

“This is hard!” she proclaimed defensively.

“Ah, thought it looked easy, did ye?”

“It’s really heavy...” she whined. “And you’re a lot stronger than I am...”

“Oi, yer not quitin’ on me are ye, gal?”

She frowned at him stubbornly. “No!”

He seemed pleased with her answer. “Good. Now keep at it,” he told her with a jerk of his head in an encouraging gesture. He left her then to her own work and with a stubborn determination, she pressed on. Once the flowers and ginger had been mashed to the consistency that Farris wanted, she scooped it out into bucket. After rinsing the bowl with some vinegar, she used the pestle to smash up the licorice root. It only needed to be broken open to proper steep later so it was not quite as arduousness. The jar of vinegar was as tall as she was and filled almost to the top. She had to climb onto an overturned ramekin to to be able to reach high enough to dump the ingredients. She watched the debris of the flowers and crushed ginger slowly float down while the licorice root dropped fairly fast and settled at the bottom. For something meant to make a person feel better, it sure smelled bad. The smell of ginger was not too awful, only that it was pungent and clung to her fingers, but she did not care at all for the smell of the licorice. When Farris returned to check on her, her held the jar up to the light and hummed approvingly. “Not terrible fer ya first go at it.”

He sealed the jar and put it away inside a chest with other similar jars. For the rest of the day, Farris had her working on more of the meadowseet tinctures until she was able to make it from start to finish on her own and only needed Farris to fill a jar with vinegar for her and seal it once it was done. Nenani found it oddly pleasant change of pace for Farris to actually be pleased by something she did rather than exasperated.

…………………………….

In the end, Farris declined to attend Gregis’s funeral, but sent his condolences and several gifts of foodstuffs with the attending Vhasshalan party as well as a message to the presumptive successor, Warrick.

“It’ll be a day or so before he sends any message back,” Farris was telling Bart. “I’m not sure how much Gregis shared with ‘im about the arrangements, so the sooner he’s up to speed the better.”

“When do you expect t’ be making another trip?”

“Next week at the earliest,” Farris answered. “Unless Keral hears anythin’ different, but he’s got a tick up ‘is arse about somethin’ else and hasn’t answered my last note.”

“Seems like they’ve been much quieter this year. Not as many. Might be a sign that they’re finally stoppin’.”

“Aye. Had ourselves a dozen or so this time last year. We’re only sittin’ on four or so now. Five if ya include the Dumplin’.”

Bart let out a breathy snort through his nose. “Wouldn’t count her in the lot. She came to us by basket, not the markets.”

“Not much difference,” Farris replied. “If they’d ‘a found her at any point during the journey, she wouldn’t be here right now. Could have very well ended up in that market.”

“Well, best be thankin’ whatever stars she was born under that it didn’t happen that way.”  

Farris nodded. “Believe me, Bart. I do.”

…………………….

By the morning Jae arrived to drag her on a tunnel exploration, Nenani had all but forgotten about the entire conversation they had regarding that very thing. She had just finished her ninth successful tincture when he suddenly popped up on the table next to her. He wasn’t wearing his fine clothing and instead had opted for his preferred outfit of trousers and a tunic. She jumped when his head suddenly popped up from the table’s edge and he loudly greeter her. “MORNING!”

“Ah!” the empty bucket she had been holding went flying and bounced several times before rolling off the side of the table. From the next prep table over, Avery was loudly laughing.

“You scared me!” she whirled on Jae as he climbed up, breathlessly laughing.

“Oh boy,” he said, brushing off the front of his shirt. “I really got you good.”

She threw a piece of licorice root at him and he turned away just as it hit his upper shoulder. He was still giggling like an idiot as she walked over to the edge of the table and looked down to see her bucket in the grass far below.  

“Forget it,” Jae told her. “Besides, we got tunnels to explore today, remember?”

She bristled, having done just that. Forget, that is.

“Can’t,” she replied simply. “I’m making tinctures.”

Jae looked over at her set up and tiled his head at her curiously. “Uh...why?”

“Farris gave me a job,” she replied proudly, sitting down next to her mortar and pestle and began to break meadowsweet into manageable pieces and dropping them into the bowl. He watched her for a moment as she ground the blossoms.

“He’s having you make heartburn tonic?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm.” Jae didn’t say anything else and just quietly sat down. Propping his head up in his hands, he watched her work and was quiet for several long moments. She glanced at him periodically, viewing him with deep suspicion. But he simply sat there, placid and still. Behind him, Nenani noticed Kol walking over with a bucket of water to fill up one of the cauldrons. His eyes briefly glanced their way, but he continued on with his work.

“So, how long will it take?” Jae asked finally. “Until you’re done, I mean.”

She shrugged noncommittally. “Until he tells me to stop.”

Her eyes caught sudden movement and she turned to see Kol standing behind Jae, a wicked smirk playing on his lips while Jae remained ever unaware. Jae opened his mouth to say something just as Kol slammed both of his hands down on either side of the boy and shouted, “MORNIN’!”

“SON-OF-A-!” Jae jumped and scrambling to his feet, but slipped and just ended up face flat on the table. Above him, Kol doubled over as he belly laughed himself to the point of not being able to breathe.

“Fuck you, Kol,” Jae said, making a rude gesture in the cook’s direction. “Just...fuck you.”

“Sorry, lad,” Kol said once he was able to breathe. “I couldn’t not...”

Jae pushed himself up onto his elbows and sighed. “Get all our jollies out?”

Kol smirked and put his finger to his lips in mock consideration. “Hm...not sure yet. Might be - AH!”

Farris smacked a hand across the back of Kol’s head as he walked up behind him. “Get back to it, Kol. Ye can pester the humans after ye done yer fuckin’ job.”

Jae did nothing to mute the very satisfied grin as Kol walked away, nursing his sore head. And then winced when Farris tapped him on the head, just hard enough to smart.  

“As fer you, lad,” Farris continued. “Won’t Donal be missin’ ya? Or ya shirkin’ yer new job already?”

“I’m not shirking anything,” Jae replied. “It’s my day off.”

Farris grunted. “Must be nice.”

“Oh, don’t give me that. Not my fault you never actually take yours. And don’t say you don’t have them, because I’ve seen your contract,” Jae said, pushing himself to his feet. “In any case, I’m hear to steal your ward for the day.”

Farris raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh? And where might ya be stealin’ her off to?”

Jae grinned. “We’re gonna go look for dead people in the tunnels.”

The particular face that Farris made was one Nenani was not familiar with. He looked equal parts horrified, angry, and incredulous. “Yer fuckin’ what?”

Nenani buried her face in her hands, groaning. “Jae, it sounds bad when you say it like that.”

“And just what other fuckin’ ways are there fer ya to say that it don’t sound bad?” the giant demanded. “And what do ya mean by dead people in the tunnels?”

“That day she lost her marker?” Jae explained, sounding far too excited. “Yeah, she found some other tunnel and there was this room full of dead people. Like...graves. Old ones. Human. We’re gonna go find it.”

Farris pinned Nenani with a look. “And just when were ya gonna say anythin’ about this, hm?”

She squirmed under his gaze and when she didn’t answer him, he shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gods piss on it...”

“So, can I borrow her for a bit?” Jae asked, his face pleading.

“So long as ya bring her back before sundown,” Farris replied gruffly and then pulled a slip of paper from his apron. He carefully rolled it up and then held it out to Jae. “And ya can be givin’ this to Maevis fer me while yer at it. Yer day off be damned.”

Jae eagerly reached out and grabbed the roll of parchment and tucked it under his arm, giving the spice master a lazy salute. “Can do, Farris.”

…………………………………………

Nenani regretted not speaking out to say that she was in fact very uninterested in trying to find the catacombs again. She was sure Farris would have told Jae to bugger off or something if she had said so. She really needed to learn to speak up more.

“After I drop this with Maevis,” Jae was saying. “I figured we could start near the tapestry you described and try to find the door you left from.”

“Okay,” she said. “But, just...if is it alright with you if we do find it that...that I don’t go in?”

Jae looked at her. “Uh, yeah. I guess. Why?”

She frowned and stared at the floor pensively. “They...kind of...sort of...spoke to me.”

Jae did not say anything and she could feel his eyes on her and she was beginning to feel real unease until at last he spoke. “Huh. That’s kind of neat. What did they say?”

“Huh? Oh,” she said, taken aback by his lack of surprise. “The gold prophecy. The one about the King.”

“So...you think you might have a bit of foresight then?” he asked her and then laughed. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t be foresight since it’s already happened. What makes you able to talk to dead people? Necromancy?”

“Why is it funny?”

“It’s because the gold prophecy is a joke,” he told her. “You either believe it wholeheartedly or think it’s complete bunk. Most folks I know tend think it’s bunk.”  

“I don’t even understand what it’s even saying.”

“It stars with ‘The river runs uphill to the dying songs of the fall of fools and Kings that tear flesh from bone and the crown from the mountain.’ That’s suppose to be about the murder of Prince Thadeus and the Blood King declaring war on Silvaara. The next bit is ‘Water runs red with fire and shall rise when the old blood runs new.’ The interpretation I’ve heard most about is that it’s about the battle of Riftside where the Fire Mages set the Daehil river on fire to stop the Vhasshal advancement. One of Warren’s brothers died there. The last part is ‘The flesh taken will be paid in blood and the dead walls will rise with gold.’ This one everyone seems to agree is about the Blood King being usurped and Warren taking the throne. And that’s why everyone calls him the Gold King. But never call him that to his face. He really doesn’t like it.”

“Why does he hate it so much?” she asked.

“Lots of reasons,” Jae replieed. “But I think he hates it because it reminds him of what his father and brothers did. They committed genocide and reinstated the act of eating humans. He hates it because even though they did all that terrible stuff, they were still his family and he still loved them. Probably still misses them too.”

A heavy silence fell between them as Nenani mulled over Jae’s words. She supposed it would really hard on someone to still love a person who did terrible things. It was probably really hard to mourn them. But her thoughts were interrupted by their arrival at the library. Upon entering, Nenani was greeted by the distinct smell of parchment and ink.

“Hey Barnaby!” Jae called as they began to climb the human stairs carved into the table’s center support that led up onto Barnaby’s workspace. “I’ve got a message for Maevis from Farris. Can I leave it with you?”

“Absolutely, my boy. Come on up!” came the somewhat muffled response from the archivist. They stepped onto the table top and made their way to where Barnaby was sitting at a human sized table and drinking a cup of tea. Belatedly, they realized he wasn’t alone. Another human was sitting with their backs to them, also enjoying a cup of tea. Suddenly Jae stopped and Nenani bumped into him.

“Oof, ah. Sorry,” she said and looking at Jae’s face, she frowned. “Uh...Jae?”

He was staring wide eyed at the stranger and Nenani glanced their way just as they turned around in their chair.

“M...Maevis?!” Jae asked incredulously. Nenani starred uncomprehending. The man who sat in the chair did look like Maevis. He wore the same maroon robes and his hands were gloved and he had the same round amiable face and brown hair. But...he was tiny! Well, tiny for a Vhasshalan. He was as tall as a human and had they never met before, Nenani would have never known he was actually a giant. Still with the rolled up note tucked under his arm, Jae ran over to the table to stop by Maevis’s side. The magician was grinning at Jae’s slack jaws expression. “You...you’re...”

“...smaller?” Maevis finished with a knowing smile. “Amazing isn’t it? I’ve been working on my shrinking spells for years now, but I’ve finally found the proper methods to shrink myself. What do you think?”

Jae’s eye lit up with enthusiasm and excitement. “You look ridiculous!” Jae told him with a laugh. “I mean...wow. This is actually amazing. Not that you don’t do amazing spells already, but...this is so much more...wow.”

“Thank you, Jae,” Maevis replied with a bright smile and patting the boy on his arm. “I’m happy to know I have your approval.”

Jae suddenly recalled the note and held it out for Maevis with a smile of amused smugness. “This is for you. Sorry it’s a little more cumbersome than you’re use to.”

Maevis’s made a face as he took the rolled up note, it’s size awkward at his new height, and for several moments he floundered on what to do with it. Finally, he set it to lean against the table. “Oh. Thank you, Jae. I...I will read it later. I have a feeling I know what it is.”

Jae immediately slipped into one of the other spare seats and started in on Maevis with his questions. “So? How weird is it to be small?”

Maevis shook his head indulgently and spared his young companion a warm smile. “The first time I succeeded in shrinking myself it was horribly disorienting. That and the fact that the potion did the trick in shrinking my body, but...well, it does not work on clothing.”

Jae snorted into his hands.

“So I had to use the shrinking spell in line with the shrinking potion and get the ratios just right. Endlessly challenging, but such a triumph to have succeeded! And I must say how wonderful a feeling it is to be able to talk with you all on equal footing. I imagine craning your neck up at us all day long becomes quite tiresome.”

“Neck pain is just an inevitability,” Jae shrugged. “Why do you think I hang out on shelves so much? Oh, hey, Nenani, come over here. It’s just Maevis. He won’t bite. Plus he’s smaller so it wouldn’t be as bad even if he did.”

Nenani hadn’t realized that she had not moved at all and when Maevis turned to look at her over his shoulder, his face enigmatic, she had a brief moment where all she saw was not the sweet man before her, but the hard lined face of an angry Vhasshalan magician as he burned an attacking wyvern to cinders. A pain throbbed between her eyes and she winced, holding her head as an incomprehensible chant echoed in her head. She heard a chair squeal as it was pushed out from the table and rushed footsteps. Gentle hands gripped her shoulders and Maevis knelt down in front of her.

“Does it still pain you, little one?” he asked softly, his honey colored eyes soft and concerned. He gently ran his gloved hand across her forehead. “I have some tonic for the pain...”

“I’m okay,” she said, blinking rapidly as though to wave the lingering ache between her eyes away. “It’s gone now.”

He stared into her face as though trying to determine if she was lying, but then he closed his eyes with a resigned sigh. “Good.” he said. “I would hate to think you’re wandering around the castle if you should still be in your recovery bed.”

“I’m alright,” she said and when he raised an eyebrow at her she protested. “I am! Ask Sawyer!”

“No need,” Maevis chuckled. The sleeve of his maroon robe fell back and Nenani could see the bandages still wrapped around his arm. “I’m sure she took excellent care of you.”

  “Maevis?” She asked timidly, the evidence of his injury making her insides squirm. “I actually wanted to thank you. For saving me from the Wyvern.”

The magician looked startled for a moment and then smiled at her, but it seemed forced. Sad even. “Oh. Oh, my dear. You do not have to thank me.”

“Yes I do!” she insisted. “You were really brave and I’m sorry you got hurt because of me.”

Maevis cupped his hands around her face and laughed. “You’re terribly sweet, Nenani,” he told her and bristled when she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “Ah-!”

“Thank you,” she said softer, her voice muffled by his robes. She felt his hands wrap around her to return the hug and his laugh shake her just a little.

“I believe this is the first time I’ve ever hugged a human. Properly at least.”

“OH MY GOD!” Jae suddenly yelled, startling them all badly. Poor Barnaby who had been silently drinking from his tea cup jumped and sent the cup flying through the air before gravity pulled it back down and it shattered on the floor.  

“What’s wrong?” Maevis asked standing up and pulling Nenani to his side protectively, his face full of worry. “Jae?”

“I just had the best idea!” Jae said with excitement and then looked over to see Barnaby kneeling on the floor and picking up the shattered cup. “Ah! Sorry Barnaby. Let me help.”

“My goodness young master Jae,” Barnaby said as the young man started cleaning up the spilled tea with a rag. “What was that hullabaloo all about?”

“Oh! Yeah, so my idea!” Jae turned to Maevis, his eyes bright with unbridled energy. “You should come explore the tunnels with us today. You never could because...well, you were too big. But now you’re small!”

“Explore the tunnels?” Maevis asked, confused but intrigued. “I would have thought you were the expert on the tunnels.”

“I am,” Jae replied with a prideful smirk and then pointed to Nenani. “But she found a corridor I didn’t know about...”

“Jae,” she whined, already knowing where he was going. “Please don’t...”

“...and there was a room full of dead people!”

Barnaby slowly stood with the broken tea cup in his hands, regarding Jae as though he were concerned that he had lost his mind. Maevis had an equally bewildered expression.

“Please find a better way of explaining it,” Nenani begged him. “It sounds so bad when you just say it like that.”

“Nah,” Jae replied with an impish grin. “The reactions are the best part.”

“Alrigtht,” Maevis said, his tone oddly serious. He placed his hand gently on Nenani’s shoulder and steered her to stand next to Jae so he could look at them both. “What exactly do you mean by ‘room full of dead people’?”

“There’s a catacomb,” Jae said. “A bunch of old graves and bones.”

“Vhassalan graves?”

“No,” Jae replied. “That’s the weird thing. She said they’re human graves.”

Maevis looked into Nenani’s face, his eyes seeking. “Is this true? You found a human catacomb in the tunnels?” Nenani squirmed under the scrutiny and wished she had never said anything at all.

“Nenani, dear?” he pressed.

“She’s just scared because they spoke to her,” Jae said. Maevis closed his eyes and sighed in restrained irritation.

“Jae, my boy. I appreciate that you are only trying to help,” he said sternly, but tried to keep his voice measured. “But I need to hear her speak. Please.”

The young man blushed and nodded, slipping into a chair. “Sorry.”

“Now,” Maevis said gently. “Nenani?”

She bit her lip nervously. “When Creag chased us that day and I got lost. I found an entrance to the tunnels, but when I went inside there weren’t any orbs or light at all.” Maevis did not say anything, but lightly inclined his head in clear encouragement to continue. “And I kind of walked around in the dark for a little bit and then this torch just...kind of lit up.”

The magician’s eyes narrowed as he considered her words. “A torch?”

She nodded. “But the fire was weird. It didn’t burn and wasn’t hot and didn’t...really look like fire.”

“How do you mean?”

“It was...kind of wavy, but...like this,” she moved her hand back and forth, trying to imitate the way she remembered the flames slowly danced. Maevis’s expression made her nervous. “And there were more of them and the when I got to the end, there was a big room with holes in the walls and...there were bones inside. People.”

Maevis rubbed his chin pensively as he contemplated what she had said. “And you say they...spoke to you?”

She bit her lip and nodded. “Yes.”

“What did they tell you?”

“...they just kept repeating the Gold Prophecy.”

Maevis’s serious and thoughtful composure slipped and he looked at her with an expression of incredulity. “What? That old thing again?”

She only shrugged, her brows furrowed. She looked down at her feet, her hands wringing. “It’s everywhere...”

“Nenani,” he said patiently, cupping her cheek and bending down to look her in the eye. “I know such things sound terribly frightening. And that is not to say they cannot be dangerous. But it is important to remember this about prophecies: they are often lies wrapped in a thin veil of truth.”

“But why did they speak to me?” she asked, feeling the prickle of tears forming at the corner of her eyes.

The magician’s eyes softened and he looked at her sadly. “Do you remember when you asked me to evaluate whether you had been cursed?”

“Yes,” she said. “I do.”

“Well, my dear child, I am afraid I was not completely honest with you at the time. It is true what I said; there isn’t a speck of malignant magic about you,” he was quick to explain, but then paused as though mulling something over in his head. He sighed deeply and told her, “...but you are touched by magic.”

“...touched?” she asked quietly, not understanding him.

“Yes. Those who are touched by magic often draw arcane forces to them under no fault of their own. Magic is attracted to magic by its very nature the same way two water droplets will pull towards one another as they fall down a pane of glass. And wild magic can be very damaging if proper protections are not put into place. I believe that may be why your village thought you were cursed.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but it died on her lips.

“Now, you have not done anything wrong, little one. I need to you understand and believe it. I do not know why these graves are there or who they use to be,” Maevis brushed his finger under her eye to wipe away a tear. “But you do not need to fear them. If these spirits had any ill will or intentions, I would know about it.” He paused and then said, “They may even be trying to help you.”

“It won’t go away,” she whispered, her throat feeling tight and it was hard to speak. “I hear it everywhere. In my dreams. All the time. And then the attack happened and….he came. In my dreams, they said he would come and he did. I don’t know what they want. Keral doesn’t think he’s after me, but I can’t help but think it. I’m scared, Maevis. The smoke mage...he scares me so much.”

Maevis pulled her into his arms and tucked her head into his shoulder as she shook with emotion and fear. “The Smoke Mage will never get close enough to harm anyone. And by the Gods, I most certainly won’t let him ever harm you.”

She could hear the distant clang of metal upon metal and her uncle screaming at the smoke mage as they battled on the boat. Her heart ached as she recalled the image of her dear uncle’s face as he bled out and his bright eyes fall dull and dark. His kindness and strength had felt immeasurable to her back then. But he died. Like so many others. Like her father... and mother...

“...I think he killed my uncle.” Her voice was so low that she wasn’t even certain she had said the words. But she felt Maevis’s arms around her stiffen. She started to weep into the maroon robes. “I don’t think Keral is right anymore. But I really wanted him to be right because I know he would do his best to find the Smoke Mage and stop him and I know you are too, but...”

“Nenani...”

“...he’s looking for me,” she sobbed. “He’s trying to find me. But I don’t know why!”

The arms round her shifted and she was unexpectedly swept up into the magician’s arms. He held her tightly and swayed back and forth, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and for a moment, she could almost pretend he was her uncle and not a temporarily shrunk Vhasshalan magician. “Shh. No tears, little one. Shh...oh, you poor child.”

“This Smoke Mage is a mad man,” Barnaby said, his face hard and pensive. He had been mostly silents, content to watch and observe, but there was pain in his eyes. “He has power yes. But he is still human and only one at that. He can be stopped.”

“The might of Vhasshal is behind us,” Maevis said to them all, still rocking Nenani. “He will not succeed in whatever his intentions are.” He spoke to Nenani then, voice quiet and reassuring. “My dear, think of all the people who love you; Farris, Yale, everyone in the Kitchens. Lolly, Barnaby and I. Jae here. We will not let him harm you.”

Maevis lowered her into one of the chairs and pulled a handkerchief from his breast pocket, wiping her face and petting her hair as she composed herself.

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” she told him, tears pouring out of her.  

“Nor will they.”

“How can you know?”

“It is my intention to uncover his machinations,” Maevis told her firmly, a flash of the hard faced man returning. “What purpose he has for you, I do not know. But Keral and I intend to find out. And perhaps we will start with these catacombs of yours. They may offer us some clues. Perhaps they may even lead us in the right direction, if the bones feel exceptionally chatty today.”