#sorry just thought this and i found it mildly amusing and i have very little inclusive control on this app

[ashironie]

that is usually how the word best works

the best part about having a job is being able to go through doors other people aren’t allowed to use the worst part is everything else

[hollowwrites]

Blindsided

Part 14

Ominis x MC

Summary - Slytherins host the best parties. When they’re not moping about after causing copius bodily harm. Ominis returns to Evelyn after the dreaded picnic to apologise…with a gift

I’ve moved on from constantly making them pine for each other to constantly being interrupted. I’m sorry I just love it

As always swap Evelyn for your own MC or Y/N

Warnings - Kissing, references to biting, fluffy then mildly spicy like salsa

Word Count - 3508

~

Slytherins threw the best parties.

It wasn’t even close.

While the other houses had perfectly wonderful dorms, Slytherin had the largest floor space of all the Common Rooms and perfect ambiance created by the large stained glass windows. What little light that poured through created intricate patterns and subtle green hues across the floor. The whole room exuded class and elegance.

Yes, the stone floors were cold and uncomfortable but that just made it all the more cosy when they adorned the walls with beautiful tapestries and delicate sheer curtains. The space radiated warmth for once. The weak orange glow of the fireplaces contributed to this, accompanied by the clusters of floating candles that busied themselves around the hall.

After the picnic had come to a rather abrupt end, everyone skulked back to the Dungeons to help prep the space for the Practise Ball.

Garreth lazily transfigured the ceiling to appear as a twinkly night sky, an ethereal display of the northern light drifting across the room as the night went on. His eyes glazed over as Amit rabbited on in his ear about how Ursa Major should not be visible on the sky in this particular instance.

As the room filled with people of all houses, a soft hum of chatter echoed around the stone halls. A soft tinkly track played over the phonographs dotted across the room.

Though Evelyn remained standing off to the side, a glass of watered down fire whiskey in her hand and a look of disgust across her face.

It was difficult to miss how unhappy she looked. Her features were pinched tight, not even the slightest hint of a positive emotion could be found.

“Come on mardy bum” Garreth slung his arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze causing the frown settled on her face to deepen ��Let’s have a dance, that is the reason we organised this after all”

“I don’t feel like dancing” Evelyn deadpanned. Ominis’ had been missing since the scuffle with the Durmstrang Student. Her friends explained to her what Mudblood meant and how they were all so thankful she had yet to hear the word. However, the whole day had left a bad taste in her mouth.

She thought the wizarding world better than that…

Perhaps she shouldn’t. Her first year was littered with racial attacks and Sebastians’ prejudice toward Goblins.

It had her completely rethinking the last three years of her life.

And the fact Ominis wasn’t here to comfort her was also exceedingly irritating

No, she was perfectly content leaving all human interaction for the day.

“All the more reason too” Garreth insisted, his face clad with a goofy grin as he tugged on her arm reluctantly bringing her to the make shift dance floor “Besides I need the practise if I’m to sweep Anne off her feet”

“How perfectly manipulative of you, Garreth” She smirked, the slightest bit of amusement showing on her face since the incident.

“How dare you…” Garreth dramatically clutched his chest “I think it’s chivalrous.”

“I think you’ve been hanging out with Sebastian too much”

They took up their proper positions, unlike the last time, and moved across the floor with a surprising level of grace and co-ordination.

“Garreth! You can actually dance” Evelyn said with an air of both awe and joy

“My Aunt has been forcing me to dance for all the years demonstrations.” He rolled his eyes so hard Evelyn feared for his sight. “I’m so thankful she didn’t do it for our year. Sallow would never have let me live it down”

“Very true” she stated before jovial laughter erupted from the spiral staircase leading down to the Slytherin Common Room.

She turned towards the commotion.

Ominis.

And…a gaggle of Durmstrang students?

He looked like Angel amongst them.

Each of them sported dark curls of varying lengths and stocky physiques. And Ominis stood with them, a smile as bright as his hair. Each of the Durmstrangs lightly smacked Ominis on the back as they walked off to mingled into the party…save one.

The shorter Durmstrang student held his hand out to Ominis, who took it and shook it confidently before being pulled into what can only be described as a bear hug.

“Looks like Ominis has made some new friends” Garreth said looking over at the scene and watching Ominis approach them.

“Hmmm…” Eve hums, a knot forming above her brow.

“Apologies Garreth, but may I cut in?” Ominis said, his voice light and airy unlike the last time she heard him.

“Of course you may” Garreth grinned his tone matching Ominis’, accent and all. The red head held her shoulders softly and spoke down to her “If you get the chance, please speak to Anne. I’d like to ask her to the ball”

“I will don’t worry” she smirked up at him as he gave her a tiny squeeze.

“She’s all yours Mr…” Garreth stopped “…I don’t know what to call you now actually…”

“Technically I’m still Gaunt. I haven’t changed my name…yet” Ominis smiled for probably the first time at the mention of his name.

“Well then…She’s all yours Mr Ominis” Garreth bowed deeply before turning to find his next victim to dance with.

An awkward silence fell over the pair. Whilst Evelyn looked up at Ominis his gaze shifted around her form, listening to the uncomfortable pick of her nails and the anxious bounce of her leg

“You’re angry at me?” Ominis guessed after what felt like an eternity of silence. “I don’t blame you…I acted like a brute”

“I’m not mad I just…” she sighed “I don’t know. I’ve had my world turned upside down. I didn’t think that sort of…hate was that prevalent in the Wizarding World. Maybe I was being naive…but…I wanted to talk to you about it. You’ve never sugar coated anything about this world for me. You’ve always been honest…And you weren’t there.”

“I’m sorry the whole situation got out of hand” Ominis delicately took her hand in his, his thumb gently and soothingly running over her knuckles “I needed to take a step back. My immediate thought was I could use my family to get out of this predicament, and when I realised that isn’t an option for me anymore…I panicked. It reminded me, I’m on my own now. I can’t lean on my family anymore and that…it…scared me”

“You’re not on your own. You have me. And Sebastian and Garreth and Imelda and everyone. We won’t let anything bad happen. Same as we know you won’t let anything bad happen to us…”

He exhaled a humourless laugh through his nose.

“I know that now.” Ominis murmured “and I’m not without my own connections” he smirked knowingly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pointing her in the direction of the Durmstrangs he came in with. “That’s Ivan. We share Transfiguration together. Turns out he is in a similar position to myself, family are all Purebloods and such. And quite influential…he’s already spread a rather nasty rumour about your…pursuer. We don’t need to worry about him” he pressed his lips to her temple.

“That’s good” Evelyn said rather flatly

“You’re still upset” Ominis stated

“No…” she shrugged “…just a long day”

“Well as much as I enjoy dwelling on the past and being a general spoilsport, we are at a party, my love” Ominis held Evelyn close until he felt her hands creep up his back. He smiled into her hair.

“Don’t remind me” She mumbled

“Misery shared is misery halved” Ominis claimed and held his hand out with a slight bow. “May I have this dance?”

“I suppose so…” Her tone was playful and teasing and she smiled, genuinely for the first time in what felt like hours, taking his hand softly. Her fingertips lay delicately in his palm as he took up the proper position and frowned.

“Did Garreth teach you how to dance?” He asked his eyebrow cocked with confusion

“Yes…he’s basically taught the whole school. His Aunt has used him as an example for each year.”

“Well…he’s wrong” Ominis chuckled and placed his finger under her chin, gently coaxing her to stand up straight and look at him. He took her hand firmly in his and brought his other around to the small of her back.

“The question is though…will we be dancing at the ball properly…or will we be dancing in this bastardised form?”

“We?” She asked teasingly “Who said I’m even going?”

Ominis chuckled and began swaying her gently in his arms.

“My apologies. I take it ‘Mystery Man’ hasn’t asked you yet?”

”I’m afraid not” she sighed theatrically

”Is he here? Perhaps I could put some pressure on him to ask you…” and with that he carefully pushed her away into a graceful spin and pulled her back to him “Maybe he’ll see how elegant you look tonight”

”I doubt it. He’s only ever ‘seen’ me, properly, once and we were interrupted even then by Sebastian”

“Ah…well believe me. He would like to ‘see’ you again.” His arm tightened around her waist and he tucked his face slightly into her neck

“…and he would like to see more…if you would oblige him…”

She gasped softly, his breathe swaying the hairs at her neck.

Merlin’s beard, he can’t mean-

“Calm your heart, Little Hummingbird. I don’t mean now.” He smiled softly at her, brushing away some of the hairs he had disturbed and tickled his nose.

“Oh…no I didn’t think…”

“Don’t lie” he chuckled, a noise deep from his chest as he pulled her in closer “…what do you take me for? I’m a gentleman” he smirked

“Right” she said swallowing thickly.

“Though I would like to speak with you…privately” He pulled away then, ‘looking’ the best he could into her eyes.

“Of course, shall we…” she peeked around the large room. Not one corner was free of people. “Erm…we could go to your dorm?”

“Now who’s being suggestive?” Ominis smirked again, the flash of his teeth as he grinned melted Evelyns heart. She tutted playfully and tugged at his hand, peeling him from around her and towards the back of the ornate hall.

~

The soft click of the door closing behind Ominis was like a switch for anxiety within Evelyn. She had been there before, most notably the first time she ever apparated was into this very room. They had even, on the occasional cold winter evenings, elected to spend their free time in the boys dorms instead of the cold and drafty Undercroft, meaning Imelda could join them without Sebastian being scolding for inviting yet another girl to The Undercroft.

But now the energy of the room seemed charged.

He was joking about seeing more of her right?

Right.

He was a gentlemen. And they had only been together officially for one day.

It was much too fast.

Right?!

So why did she want this?

And why was the knot in her stomach working and winding itself tighter and tighter?

She closed her eyes and was greeted with the images of him kissing her behind the quidditch field, the way his tongue ran along her lip as she gasped. To her sitting in his lap in the Room of Requirement, his nails digging through her clothes across her thigh. To the soft divots left from his teeth in her shoulder that remained there still.

Ominis could sense it too.

His hand softly took hers and lead her over to his bed. He sat, staring out into the room

“I meant it… not now” his voice barely above a whisper, either because he didn’t want people to hear or he was trying to be comforting “I want to…believe me I do” he chuckled “But I want to do it right with you”

“I know…I’m not worried” she lied

“You’re an awful liar, Evelyn Hollow” he smirked.

His expression became soft and loving. A rare sight only afforded to Evelyn when they were truly alone. And then it was…unreadable for a second before his arm disappeared under his bed and retrieved a jet black velvet box.

“This is for you…” he said simply and softly, a gentle smile barely falling over his features. He could hear the way her fingers traced over the velvet before the creak of the boxes hinges. A soft sound of appreciation followed and he exhaled a laugh through his nose

“I’m told it’s quite beautiful…”

And it was.

The ring that sat in the centre of the black velveteen pillow was unlike any ring she had seen before. The stone was large and pointed at the top and bottom, encased in silver filigree vines that crept up its longer sides. The closest approximate colour she could compare it to was a deep moss, the black veins running through it only adding to its organic and natural look.

“I’m just going to guess that it’s green based on where I got it from…” he smirked and filled the silence as Evelyn sat stunned and shaking “…it was my Aunt Noctuas’. I managed to do a little organising of her belongings before my brothers…interruption. I very vaguely remember holding her hand through London as a child and feeling the sharp edges against my fingers” he chuckled softly. It was the only time Evelyn had heard him speak fondly of his family.

“I hated it. But now…I kind of miss it.” His voice was soft and dreamy as though he was living those memories again.

“…I can’t accept this, Ominis…”

“Of course you can” he insisted “She would have loved you, you’re everything she wanted for our family. Strong, Proud and independent, but unafraid to be gentle and accommodating. And not obsessed with blood status.” He chuckled lowly before his eyes flicked slightly towards her, lingering more around her shoulder and neck “Besides…my family hoard precious baubles and artefacts like a dragon might. I get a sick little kick out of a muggleborn now having something Salazar Slytherin probably wore”

Evelyn looked down at the stone and thought about the possibility of a founder of Hogwarts owning it. It sort of made her…resent the item based on what she’d learned. But then she thought about Aunt Noctua wearing it daily during her monotonous day to day activities and suddenly the ring didn’t seem so threatening. In any case, It seemed unlikely any member of the Slytherin family had worn this for dark and macabre purposes based on how dainty and delicate the band was. And the Gaunts seemed anything other than delicate.

Except the former Gaunt before her.

“If you truly don’t want it I’ll give it to Sebastian. He’ll harp on about how owning something from a founder was ‘truly an honour’” his tone took on a mocking edge as he recalled Sebastian’s reaction in the Scriptorium.

“No no I’ll…I’ll take it.” She looked up at him then and he exhaled in relief.

“Excellent” he breathed, taking her hand in his, feeling along her fingers.

“Thank you Ominis. It is. Beautiful I mean” Evelyn says wistfully, staring at the ring in front of her, trying desperately to not think to hard about Ominis gifting her jewellery. Her cheeks already burned so brightly she could feel the tingles in her cheeks and across her chest.

“Have you tried it on? Does it fit okay?” Ominis whispered, with an undercurrent of excitement he’d never really expressed before.

“No I haven’t I-“

“May I?” He asked lifting turning her hand over in his, his hand hovering over the black box that sat in her lap.

“…Of course…” her voice retreated inside herself as he slid the ring over her finger.

It fit, beautifully.

Of course it did.

Everything he did was flawless and he didn’t even have to try.

He smiled gently and his fingers began travelling up her forearm, tickling along the sensitive skin of her wrist and inner forearm. Evelyn shivered against his touch but leant forward anyway.

This was just further evidence that she wanted him. Whilst his fingers remained along her arm, slowly, torturously making their way along her shoulder, she could feel him…

…everywhere.

A cold jolt up her spine forced her to sit up and press closer to him. The tingle left by his fingers crept its way up her neck. He softly cupped the side of her neck, his other hand reaching up to join it, but she could feel a phantom pressure of his thumb across her throat. His clawing fingers over her thigh.

In actuality, he lovingly embraced her jaw, his thumb caressing her cheeks as he once again mapped her face.

She suddenly felt a wave of guilt hit her. He was as sweet and touching as always and yet she bit into her lip harshly at the possibility of something more.

She practically spat her lip out when his thumb came to brush across it.

“Maybe…” he breathed, a dark husky quality to his voice “…we won’t be interrupted by Sebastian this time”

A breathy laugh left her as his fingers explored her features again.

They weren’t as thorough as the last time, almost as though this was a refresher and the sudden thought that Ominis kept knowledge of what she looked like made her skin bloom brightly once more.

How else did you expect it to work?

Of course he knew now. Like how she could conjure an image of him in her mind, now so could he. He just couldn’t call upon the reality as easy as she could. Like how she stared into his eyes when he spoke sometimes and didn’t listen to a word that fell from his stern flat lips.

This time however, it felt less like discovering what she looked like and more like exploring.

He found the slight bumps of her triangle of moles on her cheek. He touched across his own cheek at the similar constellation of marks on his and he chuckled.

“We almost match…”

When his hand returned to her it bypassed her skin and immediately felt through her hair. But again, it didn’t feel like he wanted to know what it looked like. He just wanted to feel it.

Feel her.

That was truly evident when his hand curled into her locks, and lightly tugged at the fistful of hair he held.

Evelyn gasped as her breath caught.

He simply smirked and she could practically see the notes he made in his mind.

“You make…the prettiest noises” he murmured leaning into her neck, his lips brushing over the shell of her ear as his hand dropped to her thigh.

“Ominis…” she breathed.

He never thought hearing his name would illicit such a feeling inside him. His jaw clenched and he laughed into her ear softly and yet…darkly.

Her voice filled him. Every laugh, every gasp, every whisper of his name. Even before she was his.

In class when she called his attention with a slight lean into him and a whisper in his ear. He recalled the way her breath fanned across his ear and it made him hot. Made his insides burn.

The incinerator in his chest escalated from a burning ember to a roaring fire. He was tightly wound and felt as though he would combust at any moment. The flames lapped into his throat making his mouth both dry and yet he was salivating.

His lips brushed against her neck and the low whimper that left her throat quickly became his favourite noise. The accompanying shiver that ripped through her sent him over the edge.

His hand glided along her thigh to the back of her knee and he pulled it, harshly, across his body and around his hip. She fell backwards onto his pillows with a startled chirp. Her breath hitches, her body arching slightly as his hand traced back up her thigh and across the subtle curve of her waist.

She shamelessly nudged the side of his face with hers, nuzzling into him with desperate mewls, seeking out his lips, searching, begging.

He laughed again, husky and dark, his body looming over hers, long and lean.

And as he lowered to finally make contact with her flesh…

A huge crash outside the boys dorm shattered the perfect bliss they had created followed by a chorus of boys laughing and girls giggling.

The combination of Ominis’ sigh and groan sounded more akin to a growl, which did not help Evelyns current situation. Though the threat of being caught did rattle her.

“Why do you insist on doing this at the most inopportune of times?” Evelyn panted, lulling her head back against the pillows and laughing breathlessly. Ominis joined her.

“I don’t know what you mean” he said playfully crawling back off her with a heavy sigh.

“The First Trial? You left afterwards. The Room of Requirement? You were cursed. Now? Middle of a party” Evelyn too sat up, resting her hands on his leg and kissed his cheek.

“It’s not my fault I used all of my willpower in the first few years of knowing you. Can’t exactly tackle the new girl in the corridors now can I”

~

Masterlist

This is Aunt Noctuas ring that I’m imagining. Did I self insert because I want it so badly? Yes!

[aha-chuu]

Kaveh's Odd Desert Connections

Kaveh... Is weird. I hadn't thought that much about it until I very recently caught up with the Dirge of Bilqis quest (the new desert one with Jeht) and watched Ashikai's latest theory video. This post is just meant to gather my thoughts and share what I've learned.

So first what sent me down this rabbit hole was finding this during the desert quest:

In case you missed it in that wall of text, this record is addressed to "Mehrak". We know due to leaks that Kaveh's very cute briefcase is called Mehrak also.

Unfortunately,,, desert lore is like that and is pretty hard to untangle. These records recount the fall of Gurabad and the story of Liloupar - basically, they tell a story of a ruined civilisation from thousands of years in the past. Knowing the actual contents of them isn't really necessary to follow this post, because Mehrak (and by extension Kaveh) is only namedropped this one time out of all the records.

But we can theorise a lot just from this single mention. To me, there are two possible explanations for why "Mehrak" comes up in these records whilst also being Kaveh's present day briefcase. The first is mildly boring but kind of funny: there is no true connection between Kaveh's Mehrak and the Mehrak mentioned, Kaveh simply named his cute techno briefcase after a historical figure because he thought it would be cool. Kaveh is smart and does work on projects in the desert, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that he might learn of Mehrak and use the name. It makes him look a whole lot more nerdy, which I find amusing.

The second possible explanation (and pls do provide your thoughts if you have any other ideas) was provided to me by a redditer (PinkPrimrose05). Their theory is that Mehrak is in a similar situation to Ferigees, who I will remind you is the Jinni near the end of the Dirge of Bilqis questline. They were a person at a certain point in history, but has since been trapped in a mechanical construct. They cannot die until we release them.

(I apologise for the poor quality, Ferigees is inside that yellow mechanism.)

This has many more implications, since (if this is the case) Mehrak's current form does not really match the other ancient desert technology. Well, perhaps it has some similar patterning, but it definitely looks significantly more modern than other technology from that time -

(I could not for the life of me find a good model image for this, so sorry Kaveh's arm is in the way.)

Perhaps I should have mentioned this earlier - we know from leaks that Mehrak has some level of sentience, in that it has expressions (little pixelated anime eye reactions) and responds to Kaveh's instructions without necessitating verbal or physical inputs. This makes the Jinni idea seem more likely, since they also have sentience.

Okay, so maybe the briefcase has a rich history from the time of King Deshret. So what? Kaveh probably found it in the desert and repurposed it for his own needs - perhaps due to errosion Mehrak has no memory of its past life. Since the technology does not quite match, or at least not totally, perhaps Kaveh created the briefcase around Mehrak (as well as an architect he is also a student from the technology darshan, after all). Or maybe he just made additions. What does it even matter aside from being an interesting tidbit?

Well, then I watched Ashikai's latest video: https://youtu.be/h5rNMYwWjfA. It's not necessary watching to understand what I'm about to say, so I'll summarise some of her thoughts very broadly: she brings up the idea that rather than Alhaitham being the Deshret parallel as we all thought, it's instead Kaveh. If you would like to hear all her thoughts as to why that could be, I recommend watching the video.

This does not mean that Kaveh IS Deshret, or even that it's a reincarnation situation. Just that he could be a parallel, or have more connections/knowledge than we might realise. Kaveh is an interesting case from a meta perspective also, since he has had a strange amount of unnecessary story presence for an unreleased four star. He is in the archon quest and Alhaitham's story quest and in neither is his presence at all justified by narrative - Alhaitham's quest could easily end fifteen minutes earlier, and Kaveh adds literally nothing to the archon quest aside from some nice levity. Some lore relevant significance might explain this presence past just "oh, well Hoyo wanted fanservice".

Through the lens that their is some sort of Deshret -> Kaveh connection happening (and I say this so so loosely), his connection with Mehrak might have a more sinister implication. Deshret allowed, through his own ignorance, the Jinni he intended to protect on behalf of the Goddess of Flowers to be enslaved. He also lied about the Goddess' death to the Jinni, and it is largely due to their contract with him that their entire civilisation fell apart. An important note about Ferigees and Liloupar is that both crave an existence outside of their prisons - Ferigees purposefully trapped themself inside the mechanism but found the experience torturous, and Liloupar returns to Gurabad. If Mehrak is another trapped Jinni, Kaveh might be accidentally mistreating it.

However, I like the idea that Mehrak and Kaveh are friends much better. Its expressions are often positive ones, so even if it's forced to listen to Kaveh because he has its name, it doesn't seem too upset about it. Also, another part of Ashikai's video posits that Liloupar so quickly accepts the traveller because they have resemblance to Deshret (a whole other rabbit hole, watch the video if you want to know). In this same thread, Ashikai brings up that Kaveh looks very similar to the traveller, so I think that perhaps Mehrak (either knowingly or not) connects Kaveh to its previous master, which could explain why it listens to him so well.

Overall, I find this connection very intriguing and I'm excited to learn more. There is definitely something there, but whether or not it will be imprtant I do not know.

[sysmedsaresexist]

like i do follow you and stuff and enjoy your content most of the time, this isnt meant to be an attack or smth, but i thought id point smth out. in that recent post you made abt blocking that guy, you said in the tags not to feed the trolls.

which is why im sending this ask, bc you do feed the trolls. pretty often and to this day you feed the trolls. you were reblogging stuff from thefakersystems 2 days ago, and are now saying not to feed the trolls?

this isnt really like a call out or me telling you to do anything or smth, just. something ive noticed. it actually really surprised me to see you say that, since you seem to not really care about feeding the trolls, so idk. just thought id say smth

I have a couple asks about trolls (A. Clown, ilu, yes, report), and there's one, very annoying, troll-like creature that annoys me personally, so I'm going to answer this

I like to rate trolls on two scales

Harmless to harmful

Boring to amusing

The one I recommended people block is harmful and boring

They made a blog and immediately started reblogging-- not MY posts, but my reblogs of OTHER people's positivity

That's not a danger or annoyance to myself, in this case, it's a danger to my followers and those I interact with

That means an immediate block from my blog, and a late night of checking for new blogs that might indicate round 2 (to reiterate, I was the only one they had reblogged from)

Unfortunately, I didn't catch that troll until their fifth reblog

I told those I know personally to block the blog before checking their notifications

To others, I'm sorry I didn't catch them on the first post, I'm sorry that you had to see depressing nonsense on amazing positivity posts

That's why I ALSO said in the tags, just block, there's nothing interesting to see, no amusement is going to come out of it, don't send them anons, just block and move on

Thefakersystem, on the other hand, is harmless and amusing, commenting lol on random posts and actually making me laugh at times-- they've really only reblogged my original posts, so they're not using my blog like it's a buffet of victims to pick from

They are not using my blog to attack others, they're not a direct threat to my followers or those I interact with

They're an annoying little background buzz that sometimes gets a chuckle. Everyone already knows they exist, so I don't need to tell anyone to be careful, and people either already have them blocked or know what to look for

Now, I did see that they may be involved in the anons going around, potentially the triggering ones

That's a bit different, now we have a problem, they've gone up to "mildly harmful question mark?"

I'm keeping an eye on the situation and will act appropriately, as needed

I don't know how long you've been around, but does anyone remember the shadow the hedgehog blog?

I actually spoke directly with that blog at the time and found out it was joke-- I was scared for them and my followers, so I do my due diligence where needed

But my followers can be rabid, and the shadow blog started getting death threats and suibait, and then I put a stop to it, on behalf of the TROLL, calling out those users specifically and making it very clear that this blog does not support that-- the users that sent those anons essentially ruined any fun that people were having-- and trust me, it was hilarious for most people, or I would have stopped it earlier

I have also been accused numerous times of coordinating mass reports against real users, so I need to be careful what callouts I make about who, and what I "ask" my followers to do, because there's no winning either way

And if you ARE the annoying, troll-like creature that I mentioned, you're a massive hypocrite and I hope you know everyone is laughing at you

Because if people weren't laughing, you'd be hard blocked

(If you're not that user, I hope this answers your question and helped ❤️)

[kagedbird]

TESSDE AU (+ Lucia :]) (Lucien part 1)

Lucien: *not father material, not Super great with kids, left in charge of Lucia for the day, mildly panicking when he can't find her in the house* Lucia? Luuucia? Oh, please, where are you?

Lucia: *thought they were playing Hide and Seek, snickering underneath the table with her hands muffling her mouth*

Lucien: *perks up, having heard that, looking around hopefully* Hm... ooh! I wonder where she could be! Hopefully inside the house, like a good girl! If she were... um... she'd get a Sweetroll for sure!

Lucia: *gasps* A Sweetroll?

Lucien: *startled, crouches and sighs in relief* There you are! Please don't do that again.

Lucia: *pouts, realizing she lost* Papa cheated!

Lucien: Huh??

Lucia: *grumbles and crawls out from under the table* It's your turn to hide, papa...

Lucien: *finally realizes she was wanting to play, nervously laughs* Ah, I'm afraid there aren't many spaces for someone as big as I to hide compared to you... why don't you hide again? I won't cheat this time! Sorry...

Lucia: *stares heavily at Lucien's ever sweaty face before smiling* Okay! You have to close your eyes though!

Lucien: B- but of course! Haha... just, don't leave the house please!

Lucia: *rolls her eyes in a very Allora fashion* Yes, papa.

~Few hours later of playing, Lucien run ragged with his new little gremlin and laying face first into the couch, Lucia sitting on his back with a Sweetroll~

Allora: *stepping into the house* I'm home!

Lucia: *swallows her bite* Mama! Welcome home!

Lucien: *mumbles something into the couch*

Allora: *heavily amused* Thank you. Did you have fun Lucia?

Lucia: *huffs* Papa is really bad at Hide and Seek.

Allora: *chuckles* I see. Why don't you go on and get washed up? We can go see Hulda for some actual food.

Lucia: Yay!! Thanks Mama! *stuffs the rest of her Sweetroll in her mouth and scurries off to the bathroom*

Allora: *walks over to Lucien and runs her fingers through his hair* You okay, sweetie?

Lucien: *sighs heavily into the couch before lifting his head* I do not know how to act around her... it's so easy for the rest of you! I don't think I'm a good choice for this... I'm sorry.

Allora: *smiles sadly and crouches, kissing his forehead* You're perfectly fine. Parenting is not a walk in the park, Lu-Lu. Children are a lot to take care of, even for a big group like us. But we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we can pick up where the others can't. You'd be a great teacher for her, so long as you make things a little simpler for her to understand. Maybe try that next time?

Lucien: *sighs, nodding* Oh... all right. I'll try- for the both of you. I just don't think she likes me very much compared to the others...

Allora: *sees Lucia peering out from the hallway and smiles* Maybe you two just haven't found common ground yet. Something you both enjoy. Keep at it love.

Lucien: *gets up and sighs again* All right. Should I get changed?

Allora: *notes the amount of crumbs of Sweetroll over him, snorting and dusting him off* I think so.

[milkshakesandtransformations]

The greasiness of lardy-packed doughnuts temptingly wafted off heaped plates that adorned red-vinyl booths within gas-spot diner-a Midgardian hovel that catered to gluttonous swine; everywhere mundane vintage posters of classic hot-rods were plastered walls as frizzled-haired waitresses exhaustedly ferried trays of greasier hamburgers and frothy milkshakes. Scowlingly, the puckish Asgardian trickster-Loki-braced his lankier back against the cushioned seat of a booth, garbed in a khaki-green t-shirt that was printed with a metallic-stylized Van Halen sigil-a rock band insignia. Maliciously, he rapted his fingers against the sticky placement, trickily driving the fiendish intensity of his silvery-virescent irises at tactless partons-truckers sitting at the lunch counter while slobbishly gulping down mouthfuls of cheese-sheathed beef. He was bored of the wretched-indigent Midgardians, he needed a challenge of interest to slake his fracturing amusement. "Is there any presence in this greasy hovel of shoddy burgers that I can have my fun with..." he murmured out, irately, flitting his gaze at the menu. "Hmmm...Maybe I will bring my dear brother Thor one of these beef-cakes..."

A commotion began to stir in one of the lines as a fattened and bald trucker began arguing with the cashier over an absent special that he had been looking to indulge himself with.

"What the hell do you mean the Double-Beef ham and chili-fries were limited time only? Your menu is sorry as s*** without it-" The rude trucker berated the tired cashier who looked at the clock with despair, wishing the hour for her to clock out was 2hrs sooner. "Look at me when I'm talking to you. Who makes these stupid decisions?" The trucker snapped.

Loki found this spectacle to be of little interest. Watching chaos unfold was only amusing if there were two sides to a conflict. The cashier appeared about as bored as Thor at a magical lesson. Much to his relief, the broad-shouldered man standing behind the trucker appeared to have taken exception to his rude-behavior. Extreme exception as his left hand grabbed the trucker's shoulder causing him to gasp with pain.

"Maybe you should give the lady a break, pal." The mysterious man spoke with a cool yet edging voice that contained a veiled threat. His eyes were a cool blue that were hardening to piercing ice. His long dark tresses framed his stubbled-face like a wolf; alluring in a sense but also as rigid as a machine that bore no signs of emotion. Even as he glared into the dumbstruck trucker's face, he revealed very little on his ruggedly handsome features. "She's just doing your job. Maybe you should do yours-either order something or hit the road." He warned.

The trucker looked between the mystery man and the cashier who appeared suddenly mildly interested in her job as she looked at the man who just stood up for her. "Forget this place," the trucker huffed as he left his place in line, leaving the mystery man now at the front.

The man in question had no name to call for himself, only what his handlers called him when giving him a directive. "Winter Soldier" the called him. Not a name he could use in civilian encounters. His deep-cover name rose to the forefront of his programmed thoughts as he schooled the cashier with a sympathetic smile. "Sorry for the intrusion, ma'am."

Gnawing onto her pierced underlip, flirtily, the 21-year-old statuesque cashier resigtered the strumming jittery pulse of heart-smacking attraction as her teal-hazel ireses unblinkingly gazed at the gorgeously roguish hunk readily poised at the counter with unmoveable impassiveness as the athletic-corded rigidity that bulkily delineated underneath a white red-sleeved top flexed with tenser reaction. Kittenishly, grazing a blondish strand off her flushed brow, she fixed her desirous glare onto his kissable shapely-bow lips that poutily quirked into a toothier smirk as he responsively swiped a menu booklet off the counter with a mechanized grip of his bionic hand. "A-Anything you want to order, sir..." she piped in a squeakier undertone, stammeringly, watching him quickly scan the beverage pictures. "Since you made my day less stressful, how about I make you a chocolate milkshake...It's on the house."

With a glint of flirtatious charm in his frosty gaze, the man known as the Winter Soldier accepted her offer with a nod and a small smirk. "I appreciate the offer, miss. I'll also have a bacon cheeseburger with fries," he responded smoothly. In truth he had no desire to indulge himself with a fattening dairy product that could disrupt his training regimen. But after the long night of chaos that had unfolded since his last mission with little to sustain him, he considered the added calories were essential if anything. He was of little use to his superiors if he returned in a diminished state. He watched as the young woman counted up his order and he paid with the cash he had on hand. He took the receipt and made his way towards an empty booth.

Despite the quiet desolation of this establishment, he didn't feel very at ease. His instincts were ever on alert and they were telling him to mind those in his surroundings. He scanned the few guests, an old couple engaged in conversation, a young pair of high-school boys sipping drinks while cradling their skate-boards. A tall dark haired man appeared at the opposite end, drinking from a cup of coffee while shooting occasional glances towards everyone in sight. Winter Soldier frowned, focusing on him just a bit longer.

Gripping onto a ceramic mug of steamier brewed coffee, snakily, Loki glared at the handsome Siberian operative who broodingly twirled a straw with deadlier-knife-point swiftness between his vibrainium fingers as he edgily waited for his succulent combo order with feigned temperate nonchalance. Aware of the murderous-rabid aura that infectiously fouled his tenacious- soldiery valour; he was damningly leashed to yield against the puppet masters of mortal supremacy that reigned over him. A weaponized beast-machine of combative effectiveness-proficiency that would obey every command voiced to him. Sneerily, Loki resigtered a heartbeat of a damaged spirit-a traumatized amnesic warring against the white-noise volumes of his mind-plaguing apparitions-he needed release. Shifting the viperous intensity of his gaze onto a frothy chocolate milkshake decadently that filled a crystalline glass, Loki brandished an eel-like smirk leerily over his thinned lips, detecting a Volstagg-honed appetite that was implosively strumming within the Soldier's veins to become unleashed into a piggish mania. "Oh this will be fun..." he snickered, grinningly, and watched the peppy waitress bouncily sauntering with the milkshake as he conjured a sorcerous mantra of a possessive incantation. "Få ham til å bli strålende oppblåst i den søte overbærenheten til han speiler refleksjonen av det asgardiske svinet Volstagg(Make him gloriously bloat in the sweet indulgence until he mirrors that reflection of the Asgardian swine Volstagg)..."

[kyglow]

he snorted immediately in reaction to her cliched line as he attempted to withhold in his laughter quickly turning his face to the side and biting on his bottom lip curling up his nose as it was a sudden change in his serious yet tense demeanour which he couldn't help but feel it was necessary to cut through the tension since she seemed to be harmless....for now. " sorry. " he quickly apologised only to then look back at her innocently. " i am sure you're very different and individual who doesn't conform to society's norms. " poking fun at her unable to help but tease. his head would tilt while smiling at her cheekily but it didn't last long only to fade. eyebrows rose up as his eyes appeared to be intrigued with curiosity when assured she wouldn't have told her ex what she had witnessed. " you're right. people prefer to not know someone like me exists. history with you humans never seem to change but you do seem kind of trustworthy. sorry i misjudged you, no hard feelings threatening to bite into your neck. " quirking his eyebrows he moved his hands out and shrugged his shoulders a little appearing to be innocent. dropping his hands down by his hips his eyes would then lower down to her neck eyeing it before steering back up to lock eyes with her own. " nothing to be worried about now but yes i was keeping my eyes on you. you're very unique. " having grown soft when she had been under his surveillance prior to meeting her this evening in his opinion he thought she was sad and alone however it was an assumption. a dry chuckle erupted amused by her joke only to then roll his eyes. " the vampire craze has indeed died out and anyway they're fictional. it's different when it's real and i am not exactly handsome to lure in and seduce any human i come across. " tilting his head a little off to the side while holding his eyes with her own with lips mildly pursed together as if he were hiding a smirk.

wavering his hand when she apologised only to warmly respond. " it's okay she didn't taste good anyway. you know if you feel that bad about it you can offer your neck up for me to feed on. " playfully he would briefly pout only for a devilishly amused grin to crack on his lips as he was only teasing her. fascinated and encapsulated by her he couldn't help but find her to be attractive. squinting his eyes as they slowly looked off to the side bobbling his head briefly in agreement when she assumed what he thought she had expected of his origin story. when she finished he looked back at her directly with a soft tightened faint smile. " i won't glamourize it i promise. i prefer to be honest with you. " holding his direct eye contact with her own. his pleasant expression faded when she invited him in he stepped inside moving past her. ezra would then remove his jacket and drape it on the back of the sofa. " i fought in two wars but before the second during the depression era i got desperate trying to survive taking care of my mother. my friend artie got this idea to rob a mob bank so we did just that with our own crew. " his eyes then wandered around the living room appearing to be impressed. " there was a girl of course there was you're thinking. anyway, we robbed the place things got out of hand when guns started going off. i didn't fire mine. i ran and hid. when i came home to see mom i found the place up in flames and then someone who was watching me came along with the promise to give me the power to take revenge on my enemies. " his eyes lowered to the rug his tone sombre. he then took a seat on her couch and hunched with his head down. " we all make mistakes but this mistake is my life."

"i'm not like most people," god, it sounded cliche and she knew that but it was true, her life had been a hard one and she had learnt what it felt like to have her own life destroyed because of both of the reasons he gave. she never wanted to inflict that type of trauma on anyone else. "well, pretty sure i wouldn't have told him no matter the circumstances. seeing each other or not. not only would he think i was insane but i doubt anyone really wants to be dragged into learning there's a supernatural side to the world against their will," jax spoke simply, she had told no one even if she had close friends it'd remain a secret. "you thought that? should i be worried you were watching me enough to think such a thing?" she posed with a teasing quirk to her brow. "i see, i guess the whole twilight and true blood fans have either died out or are smart enough to not offer themselves up as meals anymore, huh?" she spoke out with her own smirk, showing no real signs of worry despite talking about meals for vampires, something she easily could be. "guess i should apologise for interrupting your meal then..." not that she really regretted it, she hadn't intended on running into him so it's not like she actually had something to apologise for. "let me guess, you think i'm expecting like a war story or something absolutely insane that my jaw ends up on the floor by the end? honestly, i don't have any expectations, sure i could assume how i think the story goes but i'm curious as to the true story, not glamourisation involved." she admitted with a shrug. "you can come in," the femme invited, knowing this could be dooming her to a tragic fate but something in her gut telling her she shouldn't worry.

[anonymityisfunwriter]

Two Sides of The Same Coin - Chapter 12: "Delicate"

"Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that you're in my head? 'Cause I know that's it delicate..."

Pairing: Sunshine!Reader x Grumpy!Bucky Barnes

When Bucky opens the door to your apartment the next morning the absolute last thing he expects to hear is music loudly echoing through the kitchen. And he most certainly doesn’t expect to see you flouncing around the kitchen, looking completely unaffected from the night before.

“-Oh damn, never seen that color blue. Just think of the fun things we could do 'cause I like you,” you sing along, dancing all around the kitchen completely oblivious to Bucky watching you with a smirk on his face.

“And here I thought you were going to be too hungover to get out of bed,” Bucky wryly remarks, lifting the needle off of your record. 

“Ah,” you yelp, ducking behind the kitchen island, though unbeknownst to you, and much to Bucky's amusement, your head still slightly pokes out.

“I can still see you,” Bucky quips, more than mildly amused by the situation.

“No, you can’t,” you call, curling yourself further into a ball.

“Yes, I can,” he says, rounding the island so he’s standing in front of your huddled up figure.

You look up when you see Bucky’s shoes standing in front of you and the first thing you see is the mischievous grin on Bucky’s face. “Oh, James!” you exclaim, standing up and dusting yourself off. “Didn’t see you there!”

“Why are you hiding from me?”

You were hiding for one reason and one reason alone. It was something very important you'd learned this morning- the one thing worse than getting drunk and embarrassing yourself was remembering getting drunk and embarrassing yourself. 

“What?” you scoff, dragging out the word. “I’m not hiding from you.”

“So you usually curl up behind the counter?”

“Absolutely! All the time," you lie so poorly that you don't even believe yourself.

“Hmm,” he nods in amusement. “It couldn’t have anything to do with you getting drunk last night?”

“Pfft…no," you wave dismissively. "I’m totally fine. No big deal.”

“Alright,” he shrugs, and for a moment you think that the embarrassment is going to be short lived, but in the next you're proven very wrong. “As long as you’re okay with spending the day with me and my pretty face today.”

Your two hands clutch at your blushing face, cringing at the memory of your lack of a verbal filter from last night. “I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“So you don’t think I’m pretty?” he asks with a smirk. And in that moment, he found himself back as the unbelievably charming ladies man from the 40's. Apparently riling you up was just as much fun as spending time with you. 

“No!” you quickly object. “I mean yes, but-”

“Relax,” Bucky laughs heartily. “I’m just messing with you, Doll.”

“You are?”

“I am. Promise.”

You sigh in relief. “So why are you here? And where’d Sam go?”

“What, you don’t want to spend the day with me and my pretty face?” Bucky quips, laughing when he sees the furious blush on your face. “Okay, okay that was my last one. For real this time.”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” you huff, dramatically crossing your arms and looking away from Bucky.

Bucky playfully rolls his eyes and chuckles. “Anyway, Sam’s at the compound. I imagine lecturing everyone about what happened last night. He called me so you weren't alone.”

You frown, feeling guilty about the team getting lectured about what happened. “Is the team going to get in trouble because of me?”

“Doll, they should get in trouble. Steve’s my best friend, but he should’ve known better. They all should’ve. They’re lucky you and Wanda didn’t get seriously hurt.”

“I didn’t mean to hurt her,” you murmur.

“I know, but you could’ve gotten hurt too. And you did get hurt. Speaking of, how’s your arm?”

“It’s fine.”

“It doesn’t hurt? That was a pretty nasty gash.”

“It stings a little, nothing I can’t handle.”

“Okay,” Bucky nods, unsure of what else he's supposed to say, so he decides to go with the question that's been at the very forefront of his mind for a while now. But especially since last night. There was a lot about you that didn't make sense, your enthusiasm and eagerness on missions, the way you handled criminals- always looking to take the pacifist's way even though he and Sam know you could probably take them out without breaking a sweat, your status as SHIELD's most valuable asset, none of it made sense to him. “Can I ask you something?”

You smile at Bucky. “Go ahead, I’m an open book. Or as my therapist would say I have severe issues with setting boundaries.”

He chuckles, offering in return, “Well mine would say that I have the opposite problem.”

You huff in amusement. “Your question?”

“Right. Last night, I kind of got the impression that maybe this isn’t what you want. Being on the team. Missions. Fighting.”

“Okay?” you shrug, unsure of how exactly your wants factor into what is.

“So if this isn’t what you want, why are you going along with it?”

"Well, it's not like they asked me what kind of job I was looking for after they rescued me," you joke.

"I'm being serious."

"You're always serious."

"And you're deflecting."

"I don't know," you answer honestly, slightly taken aback by Bucky calling out your avoidance tactics. "But it'll all work out somehow."

“How can you think that? How can you possibly think that?” Bucky demands, wanting to know how you could possible maintain your seemingly endless optimism and positive outlook. He’s partly asking because he wants to figure you out, but also- in a much more depressing sense, he wants to know how he can think that way too.

“How can I think everything will work out in the end?”’

“Yes,” he grunts. “How, after everything the world has put you through, how can you believe that things will just work out?”

“Because it did,” you reply simply. “I’m not an idiot, James-”

“I never said you were,” he immediately interjects, vehemently refuting the idea that he thinks you're in any way lacking intelligence. 

You smile, “What I mean is: I know- I know it’s not perfect, I know I have a lot to learn, and that maybe this isn't the life I would've chosen for myself- but it did work out for me. I’m free, out in the world, and a year ago that's more than I ever thought I would get. And yes- some days it’s hard, really hard some days, but most days I look around and…” you sigh wistfully, “It can’t possibly be that bad, can it?”

"I don't know how you do it," he mumbles. Part of him wants to tell you to run- to get as far away from SHIELD and The Avengers as quickly as humanly possible because he knows how this ends for most people. But the selfish part never wants to let you go.

“Besides, the world- I mean, the world is amazing," you continue. "Everyday I get to wake up and find something new, to see something for the first time. I have you and Sam- I have people now! It doesn’t matter how I spend my life because it’s all so…incredible.”

"Okay," he nods, not wanting to press the issue any further. And also trying not to place any implication on the fact that you just called him and Sam your people. "Another question- a much easier question this time."

"Shoot."

“I thought Sam didn’t leave you alone?”

“That's not a question," you point out. He playfully rolls his eyes as he waits for you to answer the question. "He doesn’t. At least he's not really supposed to.”

“But you seemed very surprised that I showed up, but Sam wasn’t here.”

You shrug. “I thought he went on a run.”

“You don’t go with him?”

You laugh a little bit louder. “No.”

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, I just don’t run. I would even go as far as to say I hate running.”

“So there is something you hate," he teases. 

Your face drops and you suddenly have a very serious expression on your face, “If I’m running it means something is chasing me and you should be running too.”

“Didn’t realize this was such a hot button issue,” Bucky snickers.

“Have you ever been dragged out of bed at 5 AM to go on a run? It’s not a good time.” 

"I actually have- and I know it's not a good time."

You definitively nod once. "Then we're finally in agreement about something."

After that, you two settled into a quiet morning. After finishing your breakfast interrupted by Bucky, you two just sit together catching up on various sitcoms as the thankfully uneventful day passes you by.

“I didn’t take you for a vinyl hipster," Bucky jokes, thumbing through your shelf of records as you search the fridge for what to make for lunch. After your heavy conversation this morning, Bucky had steered clear of any more heavy topics. Instead resorting to light, playful conversation between friends. Just friends. 

You huff out a laugh. “I’ve learned that I like collecting things. Besides, I don’t have a phone, and no radio in the house so there's really nowhere else to play music.”

“Right," he nods, turning back to the bookshelf.

“I’ve worked my way through the decades. 50's, 60's, 70,'s up until today really."

"Not the 40's?" Bucky playfully questions, plucking a record from your collection and setting on the player. 

"Nah, nothing good came from the 40's," you state plainly.

Bucky head snaps over his shoulder to glare at you only to find you standing there with a cheeky grin. "You're messing with me," he exhales in relief, slightly shaking his head.

"I'm messing with you," you laugh. "Mostly payback for earlier."

He shakes his head, fighting the smile that tugs at his lips. "Not funny."

"I think I'm pretty funny," you quip, carefully listen to the soft music that fills the room. "I like this one- good choice."

"Contrary to what Sam thinks, I do have pretty good taste. If I wasn't in cryo, I could see this as something I would have danced to."

"I would have loved to see that."

"I don't do much dancing these days," he wryly admits.

"Why not? If I knew how to dance I'd dance all the time."

"I'm pretty sure I saw you dancing around the kitchen this morning," he playfully points out.

You push his shoulder, rolling your eyes, "You know what I mean."

Bucky sighs loudly and deeply, trying to internally convince himself that this isn't a terrible idea. But what kind of friend would he be if he didn't impart wisdom where he could. Even though he'd gone up against aliens, all kinds of criminals, the big three as Sam once put it, for some reason this took all the courage he had. With one hand, he grabs yours pulling you up off the kitchen chair, the other coming to rest on the small of your back. 

Thought you don't offer any resistance, your eyes widen the slightest bit as Bucky guides you away from the kitchen table. "What are you doing? I told you I don't know how to dance."

He groans playfully as he gently twirls you around. "Just - don't question it, alright?"

"Okay," you quietly agree, smiling as a unfamiliar fluttering sensation settles in your stomach.

You wonder if Bucky feels that way too.

Next Chapter

"Two Sides Of The Same Coin" Chapter List AnonymityIsFun Masterlist

[justaduckarts]

Found this Star Holder blurb in my drafts and thought y’all might enjoy it. Some fluff, a tiny little bite of lore. All the good stuff.

Spoilers but not really.

CW: Mildly Suggestive (Eclipse is shirtless-)

“Good morn- ing,” you nearly choked. Eclipse was sitting beside you, tender smile across his face as he admired you in the dim light. He chuckled when he took in your flustered expression. 

“Did you forget you fell asleep here?” He cocked a brow, evidently amused. 

“No, darling.” You shook your head. You did your very best to keep your eyes on his grinning face, but his bare chest was right there... You cleared your throat nervously.

“I’ve just... never seen this much of you,” you looked to the gently crackling fireplace. It never seemed to dim or die. Something you assumed was Eclipse’s influence at work. Eclipse glanced down, confused, until he caught sight of his own exposed chest. Indeed, his nightshirt was crumpled on the floor some feet away. 

“Stars- Forgive me, my love,” Eclipse buried his face in his hands, “I must have gotten too warm in the night...” His rays flared with bright light.

“It’s alright,” you dared a peek at him. There was a pattern where orange and charcoal met. A gentle swirl. You looked at his face, “I’m sure that having someone else here is an adjustment for you as much as it is me.” 

“You’re right,” he nodded, “but it won’t happen again. The very last thing I want is to make you feel uncomfortable.” 

“How can you be so sweet to me?” You smiled. Again, your eyes wandered. Your face flushed and you looked away. 

“My love,” Eclipse reached out and took your hand, “you don’t have to be embarrassed if you’re curious.” You peeked up at him. 

“I’ve never...” You trailed off, horribly flustered. 

“I’ll get dressed,” he pressed a kiss to your hand, “just give me a moment.” He slipped from the bed and strolled over to the dresser. You felt incredibly ashamed for it, but you dared to look at him yet again. 

There, upon his back, was the emblem of the sun god. It covered the span between his shoulders, with the bottom-most ray touching the small of his back. 

“What should we have for breakfast?” Eclipse unfurled a shirt and tugged it on, “I think something light.”

“There’s a symbol on your back,” you foolishly spat out the very first thing on your mind. Eclipse froze, shirt half-way onto his head. 

“You’re correct,” he nodded, “were you wondering about it?” He made no move to finish pulling the shirt on. 

“...A little,” you nodded, slipping from the bed, “I’ve seen tattoos before, in some customs. But the temple maids said they were barbaric...” You crept over. 

“Those temple maids of yours ought to loosen up,” Eclipse pulled the shirt away from his head, “but I’m afraid you’ve incorrectly assumed, dear. This isn’t a tattoo. It’s... well, it’s almost like a brand. All the gods who have been banished from the celestial palace have one.” 

“You were banished?” 

“By Sun,” Eclipse nodded softly, “when I began to rebel against him, he wanted nothing more to do with me.” 

“I’m so sorry,” you reached forward and set a hand on his back. A shiver ran through him, and his rays flared with bright light. 

“Forgive me.” Nervously, you drew your hand back, “I didn’t think- 

“You think too much, actually,” Eclipse sank down onto the floor, “please, touch me as much as you like. I rather enjoy the attention.” He propped his chin in his hand. Grinning, he listened as you shyly shuffled in place. What a sweet little thing you were. Concerned about making him uncomfortable. The notion was as amusing as it was heartwarming. It was one of the things he adored about you, though; you didn’t treat him like he was some untouchable being. 

Timidly, you set a hand upon his back. He remained still. You brushed your fingers over the emblem on his back. 

“...You’re warm,” you said quietly. 

“I’m always warm,” he nodded, “one of the side effects of being born under the sun, I suppose.” A second hand placed upon his back. And then both of them slipped around, under his arms. They came to rest on his chest as you leaned into him. He stiffened just slightly before letting go of a dream-like sigh. 

“How can you be so concerned about comforting me when you are the one who needs the comfort most?” He placed his hands on yours, “it’s almost maddening. I’m the god here, yet you continue to hold me like this.” 

“Gods are not perfect,” you kissed the back of his neck softly. A shudder ran through him. “I know you need the comfort, too,” you said gently, “let me give it to you.” 

“You are making me such a mess,” Eclipse groaned, pressing a hand to his face, “I never needed to be comforted before you came along.” 

“Then I must be doing something right,” you squeezed him gently. “Everyone needs comfort. But you and I, we have tricked ourselves into thinking we can carry on without it. And it has broken down our ability to open up to others.” 

Eclipse knew everything you were saying was true. Still, he didn’t enjoy it. He wanted to let you lean on him, without ever having to worry about him in return. Yet, here you were, holding him. Kissing him softly and assuring him that you loved him even if no one else did. 

“How can you be so good,” Eclipse took up one of your hands, “and in love with someone so terrible?” He kissed your palm. He traced the lines along it.

“What makes a person good or terrible anyway?” You pressed further into him, “maybe I’m not good. Maybe I’m truthfully terribly selfish. If I were good, wouldn’t I have remained with Sun? Remained bound to duty?” Eclipse shook a little in your grasp. He took a breath. 

“Please, my love, it’s early,” he said quietly, “I’m not prepared for a philosophical discussion.” 

“Are you prepared for a kiss?” You practically purred into him. He grinned, twisting around to face you. 

“Are you trying to spoil me now?” 

“Perhaps a little,” you wrapped your arms around his neck, “is it working?” 

“It might be,” he pulled you closer, “I hope you won’t eat me. I rather like the way I am now.” 

“I think I could spare you,” you laughed, “since I quite like you this way, too.” 

“Oh, how sweet of you,” Eclipse chuckled, “I’m glad to know you do.” 

“How could I not?” You delighted in the way his rays glowed brighter whenever you complimented him. He was always so steadfast and confident at work. You were so grateful to know this gentle side of him. 

The two of you met eagerly, lips pressing together gently. Then more firmly, as Eclipse grew greedy for more and more of your affections. You laughed into him, feeling all four of his arms wrap around you. 

When he finally pulled back, he sighed. 

“Alright, darling. Let me get dressed,” he pecked your forehead, “and then we’ll have breakfast.” 

[dwaeki]

beomgyu as ur bf ! (random headcanons)

pairing: beomgyu x gn!reader

genre: fluff, comedy

warnings: none other than poorly written fluff, intended lower case and maybe some spelling errors :D

a/n: YET AGAIN I WENT WITH THE FLOW SO SORRY IF IT'S KINDA BAD- keep in mind that english isnt my first language thank you <3

another one of my ults nfakjnglkejngr

you're dating a clown-

honestly, how do u even survive because he's actually so annoying

but he loves you though, i promise <3

an actual brat.

teases you a LOT !!! but never in a mean way.

if you trip over your own feet and fall, he's probably going to laugh at you, offering his hand to help you up but then quickly pulling it back to mess with you!

or if you accidentally drop your phone, spill some water on yourself, etc. he's going to tease you,

"y/n, what are you? a 3 year old?? you can't even walk without tripping, HAH, DUMMY!!!!"

loves to push your buttons to get different reactions out of you :D

he's quite empathetic though, so it's never his intention to hurt your feelings by poking fun at you.

if he notices that his teasing is making you uncomfortable or insecure he will not hesitate to stop,

making you feel loved and appreciated is his number one priority <3

he's determined to make you laugh, because when he hears you giggle... phew he's on cloud 9,

knowing the fact that he's the reason you're grinning from ear to ear is just such an ego boost :(

he will do anything to make you smile and i mean anything...

even if it results in him looking like a fool 😞

you two go grocery shopping together <3

honestly, he sometimes embarrasses you to the point where you regret bringing him with you in the first place 😐

like you've literally just entered the store and he's already whining, asking if you're done yet so you can finally go home and cuddle at once !! :/

it's usually just you doing all the shopping while he follows you around,

he's just there to assist you when you can't reach the high shelves‼️

the store you go to is pretty small and very close to your neighborhood, so you're basically familiar with everyone who visits it.

there's this one sweet lady with a kid around the age of 10, and beomgyu swears that "the child is a devil!!"

he has already made enemies... with a 10 year old-

you had to apologize to his mom multiple times because your 20 year old boyfriend couldn't stop bickering with her son.

he also helps you do your chores !!

he's very playful, hence anything can be fun if beomgyu's around :D even boring things like washing the dishes or cleaning your room (no offense to whoever likes it)

he turns everything into a game, a competition to be more precise...

"whoever finishes washing the dishes last has to buy the winner their favorite snack 😋😋"

even if he wins, he still ends up buying you the food of your choice, not letting you spend a single penny on him!!

he competes with you just to rile you up, making bets such as the one mentioned above to keep you determined, not because he actually wants you to do anything for him.

except giving him your undying love and affection of course :D

he's literally so clingy

you usually visit him at the dorms when he's not busy

the second he hears you knock on the door he's quite literally sprinting towards you

you can hear the members complain that he almost pushed them over

once your boyfriend opens the door, he engulfs you in a tight, bear hug™, picking you up and spinning you around, making sure he crushed every single bone in your body <3

the others just watch you get the air knocked out of your lungs in amusement.

speaking of the members, beomgyu always dreamed of you getting along with his best friends,

but once his dream came true he kinda wished it never did </3

you get along a little too well for his liking :/

how come you just laughed at one of yeonjun's jokes right in front of your toddler boyfriend?!?!??!

unacceptable!!

the entire night he either tries to crack as many jokes as possible to "redeem himself", glaring at an oblivious (and also mildly concerned) yeonjun from time to time

or he starts being poutier and clingier than usual, asking for a kiss every 5 minutes or straight up just dragging you to his bedroom and not letting you go until you cuddle for at least an hour

but in all honesty, he's so relieved that you and the boys are bonding !!

you having a good relationship with his friends is very important to him <3

he's not jealous at all because he knows that you love him and him only :)

he babies you to no end !! (even if you're older than him)

you do something as simple as drink water and he just coos at you

"AWW !!! you look so cute when you drink water like that :("

your number one fan!!!!!

hypes you up and brags about you to everyone <3

if you're wearing a new outfit he will notice right away and just stare at you in awe the second he sees you, won't forget to comment on how gorgeous/handsome you look ;)

also likes it when u compliment him back, it really means a lot <3

please keep feeding his ego he loves it when you notice small details, it makes his heart flutter

you two nap together a lot

if you're not the one for naps you just lay there, next to him, his arms wrapped around your frame tightly as he nuzzled his face in the crook of your neck, sleeping peacefully.

he looks so peaceful and cute when he's not annoying the hell out of you <333

you sometimes snap pictures of his sleeping state and then set it as your wallpaper/lockscreen :D

once gyu found out about your little antics he got extremely cocky

if you ever changed your lock screen to anything but him, he'd get all whiney, begging for you to change it back

also snaps a few pics of you sleeping/just existing peacefully and puts it as his so you two can have "matching wallpapers" <33

he also lends you his jacket if you're ever feeling cold

lives for how cute you look basically buried in his jacket, sighing in content as you're finally warming up a little

if you get tired from walking he's going to give you a piggyback ride <333

laughs and giggles as he lifts you up from the ground, your chest flushed against his back as he carries you to your destination :)

if you did something that upset him and he's scolding you he's just gonna:

"y/n, you're such a dummy!" *holds your hand* "that was very careless of you," *kisses your forehead* "i want you to know that i am very angry at you." *cuddles you aggressively*

while most of your dates are at home,

amusement park dates are very common as well :D

you go on various roller coasters, circular rides, take a few breaks in between and get ice cream or cotton candy

but your favorite ride by far are the bumper cars!

you just race, crash into each other at full speed or get into the same car and absolutely destroy your competition !! (the competition in question are just a bunch of 7 year old kids trying to have fun)

he seranades you :(

learns a bunch of love songs that remind him of you on guitar and sings them to you whenever you're able to hang out <3

he has a playlist full of love songs dedicated to you

offers to give you some free guitar lessons, if you ever want to learn how to play yourself :)

you both also have a collaborative playlist on spotify, along with playlists for each other you update regularly <33

when he's sleepy he's so soft with you :(

he's looking at you with hooded eyes full of love and adoration, you can tell that he's trying his best to stay awake for a little longer, but his eyelids are getting heavier by the second, his voice lower than before

"hey, y/n... you know i love you right? i love you so much that my heart aches whenever i look at you..."

pulls you in closer, if that's even possible, and holds you gently as if you were going to break if he wasn't careful enough,

probably leaves feather kisses all over your collarbone before whispering a one last "i love you" for the night and falls asleep.

yeah... thoughts are being thunk right now y'all-

he really loves you to the moon and back :(

overall your relationship is very chaotic and just.. weird in general.

good luck dealing w/his bs <3

[muppeteyes1001]

"Another way out?! .. You mean like blowing a hole out the side of mountain? .. That's pretty fucking rich, isn't it? ... Besides, I stripped every scrap of metal that she had on her .. Or anything that could even remotely be used as a weapon ... And believe me, I checked quite thoroughly" Jareth shot back at the drabbit's comment. A ghost of a sinister smirk played on his thin lips.

"I only thought it would be quite poetic! .... Imagine her just .. wasting away in her own lover's prison .. Never to be seen or heard from again .. And right under your master's scaly nose to boot! .... Haha .. I bet he'd just think that she up and left his sorry, purple hide ... And then it'd just be the two of you .. once more" Jareth coolly retorted. His focus seemed to lock onto the butler for a moment or two .. Like he was trying to discreetly read something off him.

"You know ... I have a gift of 'tasting' the emotions of those I take interest in ... And she certainly had a very .. very luscious flavor, indeed .. Like a fine and exotic wine ... And as much of a pain in the ass as she was, once I had gotten her egg to crack and get into her mind ... All that despair and insecurities within her were just far too delectable to pass up" he informs, narrowing his eyes towards the drabbit before chuckling a little to himself.

The trickster then raised a brow slightly at Cromwell's sudden insistence on taking over the job himself. He found this a little puzzling to say the least .. Especially after that whole scene above the lava flow .... And now the butler suddenly doesn't mind getting his hands dirty? ... Jareth pondered this decision for a bit before speaking again. A mildly amused expression on his narrow features.

"Boy, I've gotta say .. Even through that response note you sent me back then, it carried such a bitter sweet flavor to it ... The same as you've been giving off now .. Like a bite of dark chocolate ... It's how I was able to figure out who you were without ever seeing your face ... or even knowing your name" the trickster remarked, practically tossing the pillow into Cromwell and shrugging with an indifferent huff.

"Pfft .. Well, fine! If that's what you wish, you can have her! ... But before I go .... Let me give you a little something since you've already paid for my 'humble' services" Jareth replies before using his powers to summon a bubble out of thin air. Floating within the delicate orb was a small, corked vile that contained a deep indigo-tinted liquid. The bubble would float over to the butler only inches from his nose, waiting for the drabbit to simply take it into his paws.

Jarenth simply grins from high up on his perch as he watched Cromwell finally notice his presence. Opening up a small portal behind himself, the trickster nonchalantly falls back into it only to appear through another open portal right behind the drabbit.

"A pleasure to finally meet you as well, Mr. Anonymous!" he greets Cromwell with a low chuckle as he steps out of the portal, which quickly disappears behind him.

"... And despite what you think, that ridiculous circus was never my intention" he added smartly before his vivid, violet eyes darted from the butler to the occupied bed next to him.

"If there's anyone you really want to thank for getting your king's panties all in a knot .. It's that one" Jareth replied with a slight sneer towards the unconscious felinoid.

"I don't recall either you nor any of the information I dug up on her mention a damn thing about her having any type of powers! ... If the wench just stayed chained up inside that lovely, decrepit dungeon of yours ... She would've just starved and rotted away with no one being the wiser ... Well ... No one but you, of course" Jareth smirked at the last bit before glancing over at an empty bed nearby. He then grabs a pillow off it and briefly fluffs it up before continuing.

"Oh well! Spilt milk, right?.. And since she's being so very compliant now .. This'll be an even easier and quicker job ... Then, she'll be outta your 'hare', permanently .. As will I" the trickster cruelly remarked with his tasteless pun as he walked over to the other side of Kitt's bed to place the pillow over her face.

[spilledkauffie]

Bingo

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader Word Count: 2.0k T/W: pure, stupid, fluff  A/N: you meet Bucky at a Bingo night ft. Yori ❤︎

it’s a little dorky, but I thought it was cute!

Setting the tables with the rectangle cards, you smiled, straightening them out. Despite what your friends thought, you actually enjoyed volunteering with the local senior Bingo games on the weekends when you could. Feeling like they were often better company and far more entertaining than going to a club. It wasn’t a very big meeting hall, but that’s what made it feel so cozy to you. Hugging yourself when you finished the tables, you stroked the outside of your arms, feeling the softness of the cardigan you wore over your tank top. Sighing happily, you made your way to the announcing host, passing a few comments, as you waited for people to find their way in.

“Hey! Hey, look!” You heard a familiar voice; turning you found Yori and his usual group making their way to their table, with one exception. Smiling you made your way to him, arms still crossed, “no, I want you to meet her,” you heard him say to his friend, making you smile.

“Hey, Yori,” you said, coming to hug him, “brought more friends?”

“I- I’m Bucky,” he reached his hand to shake yours, to which you responded, taking his hand in yours.

“Barnes,” Yori added, reaching to slap a name tag on Bucky's chest.

Bucky took a deep breath, keeping his patience, as he looked down to the tag where Yori had written ‘single’ in parentheses, “yep. . .that’s me.” 

“This- this is the one I told you about,” Yori nudged you on the elbow pointing to Bucky, only making him more nervous as he immediately looked down to Yori with a questioning look.

“Ohh,” you nodded slowly, squinting your eyes at Bucky who met your gaze again, “you mean the anti-social grumpy one who’s scared to come because he’ll lose? That one?”

“Yes! That one,” Yori bobbed on his heels happily with a smile.

“What -I’m not-”

“Well,” you tilted your head, “I hope you have a good time and perhaps win something,” Bucky smiled, “but I think you’re going to need your hand back for that.”

Jaw dropping, he looked down to find your hand still in his, “right,” he laughed nervously, letting go, “sorry, of course.” 

You laughed quietly, biting in your lip watching him look anywhere but to you, mainly keeping his head down.

“Yori, you need anything you know where I am,” you softly placed a hand to his shoulder, “Bucky,” he looked up with a half forced smile, but you waited a moment, “it was nice to meet you, I’m glad you came.”

As you turned to walk away you could hear Yori whisper, “I think she liked you.” 

Followed by a quick change of subject from his friend, “I think you should find our table.” 

And lastly, “I know where our table is, and if you can keep your eyes off her, you’d see it too.”

With a giggle to yourself, you walked up to the foldable table that had been set up for you to sit at as usual. You were alone, but you were in charge of any assistance and you kept the first, second, and third prizes hidden. It was harder than one thought to keep curious seniors from nosing around for them. 

While the night was long and you stayed quiet, you were very grateful to have a little more entertainment tonight. It seemed Yori and his friends got their own entertainment out of teasing and poking fun at Bucky, who was a true sport through it all.

“Absolutely not,” you heard Bucky say. Looking up you saw him holding his card to his chest, with Yori trying to convince him to let him take a peek at his numbers, “are those the rules of Bingo?” Bucky shook his head, but another one of Yori’s friends tried to peek from his opposite side, “Oh,” Bucky dropped his jaw, leaning even farther back in his chair to keep the card hidden against him, “a double front attack? Really guys?”

Unable to hide your smile, you kept an eye on the table, specifically Bucky. Who after giving the group a few amusements, looked over to you. Blinking softly, happy that he noticed you, you lifted your hand to wave subtly. With another half smile, that was genuine this time, he raised his hand to wave, but forgot just how far back he was leaning in his chair. Soon, you watched him vanish from sight and he found himself flat against the floor, with a wince. 

“That’s whatcha get, you punk,” Yori told him through a laugh and an assertive nod.

It wasn’t long before there was a soft murmur of quiet laughs spreading throughout the hall, as Bucky reset his chair and sat properly in it this time. He pressed his lips together tightly and avoided everyone’s eye line, but yours. Hand over your mouth, you looked mildly worried, raising your half furrowed eyebrows at him, he could tell you were asking if he was okay. To that he carefully nodded, before turning to someone else who was addressing him at the table. 

The half way break came up shortly after, and you had to help a few people. When you looked back up from your table you saw Bucky, hands in his pockets and bouncing on his heels about three people away down the small line. Leaning your head to the side to see him, it took him a moment, but when he saw you, he gave a quick smile, before being spoken to by the elderly lady in front of him.

“You’re a very handsome young man, so nice of you to come play,” she said, to which he gave a shy thank you, as she asked you for a new marker, “he’s a very handsome young man, you know,” she whispered loudly, before glancing back at him, “and she’s single you know.” 

Ducking your head, you gave a monotone, “thank you, Mrs. Kasey,” putting your hands over your face, hiding the embarrassment, you composed yourself and straightened up, “hey, what can I help with?”

“Word is you got the prizes?” Bucky perked an eyebrow and gave the most obvious wink.

Half smiling, half jaw dropping, you looked around his hip to see Yori, who was keeping a curiously careful eye on his friend, shaking your head you looked up to Bucky, “so. . .they sent you? I don’t break that easily.” You crossed your arms over your chest, playfully, keeping eye contact. 

“Well,” he shrugged, “to be honest I’d like to know what we’re playing for too, I mean what’s our motivation here? I don’t know,” you covered your mouth, hiding the smile accompanying your soft giggles, “Why are you laughing? This is serious. What is the purpose of playing Bingo if you don’t know the prizes?”

With a real laugh at how hard he was trying to convince you, “okay, alright,” you reached under the table bringing up the prize in your hand, elbow against the table as you held it up, he looked down.

“A jar of jelly beans,” Bucky nodded, bobbing his head back and forth before a confident, “okay, seems fair, what about second place?”

You held up a jar in the other hand. 

Bucky looked between you and it, “that’s- that’s just a smaller jar of jelly beans,” he lifted his shoulders as if asking ‘why?’

“These people really like their jelly beans,” you admitted, “I figure you can guess what third place is.” 

“Seriously?” he dropped his shoulders, disappointed.

“Was there something you were hoping to get instead, Mr. Barnes?” You set the jars down, resting your chin on top of your laced hands as you looked up through your eyelashes at him.

He swallowed, deciding if he wanted to say anything, he winced as if he was going to regret what he was going to say- luckily for him the announcer called everyone back to the tables. He sighed, and you leaned back in your seat as you parted ways again. The evening remained entertaining with Yori occasionally reminding everyone at the table that if Bucky wins he’d share the prize.

Towards the end of the event, Bucky was the only one at the table still in the final rounds, meaning the entire table squeezed around him, glancing at his card and intensely listening. When the last number was being called, they all had a hand on Bucky, clinging to him like it was the olympics and he was their champion. 

“Seventeen” was announced and you noticed a sudden shift in Bucky’s demeanor, even though everyone around him was ecstatic, he looked like his mind was suddenly somewhere else, until he shook his head like shaking off a bad memory and he lifted his card. He didn’t have to say it, his group was already exclaiming Bingo enough for him. He came up casually with the other two, and you handed each of them a jar of jelly beans.

Bucky gave a ‘thank you,’ and took his back, but it was gone before he could even offer it to anyone.

“What’s the joke?” Yori held out the jar back to Bucky swiftly, “I can’t open it.” 

Smiling, Bucky popped open the jar in no time and immediately it was out of his hands again. 

“Congratulations,” you said behind him, making him turn around, he saw you had your jacket in your arms and purse over your shoulder, “I hope I’ll see you next month?” “Next month?” He tilted his head, “I thought it was weekly?”

“Volunteer rotations shift,” you explained, gesturing your hand in a circle, “I won’t be back until next month since we’ve got new volunteers.”

“Oh,” he nodded and there was silence.

“Anyway, I hope I’ll see you around,” you waved to him and to Yori as you left, pushing in the door’s brace open.

As it shut, Bucky furrowed his eyebrows, with a sigh, still watching the door.

“Go,” Yori said next to him and waved him away, “you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Bucky took a moment to consider it, “take the bus okay? I don’t want you guys-”

“Yes, yes, we will,” Yori said, already turning back to his friends.

Smiling towards them, he started a jog for the door, exiting, he looked to find you. Already on the sidewalk, he met up with you. Obviously causing you to stop in your tracks and wait when you heard him.

“Hey, um-” he looked around, “can I walk you home?”

“Sure,” you nodded, smiling.

There wasn’t a terrible amount of conversation, but you liked his company and didn’t want him to feel like he had to talk.

“I think it’s really sweet what you’re doing, what you did tonight” you said, looking straight ahead, even though you knew he was looking at you, “there hasn’t been that much laughter in a very long time,” you exhaled sadly, “most of them spent five years alone, or missing out on seeing their grandkids grow up. I was so happy to see their smiles.”

“And what about you?”

You finally turned to him, “I was here, alone” looking down, you laughed, “then again I was alone before, so. . .” you bit in your lower lip, wincing “that sounded so pathetic.” 

This time he laughed with you, “no,” he shook his head, “I know how alone feels.”

Stopping on the sidewalk, you exchanged glances, “well, this is me,” you pointed up to your apartment building.

“Right, okay,” he breathed nervously.

“Thanks for walking me home,” you said, walking towards the steps.

“Yeah,” he ran a hand through his hair, “hey, do you- would you want to get dinner?”

“Finally,” you giggled, before turning back to him, “it took you four blocks to ask!” He gave a shocked expression, only making you smile bigger, “I’m free Sunday, meet you right here at six?”

“Okay,” he said happily, “it’s a date then.”

“Perfect,” you squeezed your arms, hugging yourself.

He swallowed harshly, before taking a step closer and leaning in to kiss you on the cheek, sweetly. When he pulled back, he looked slightly nervous, as if that was the wrong thing to do.

“You missed,” you batted your eyelashes, with a soft smile.

Bucky took a second, unsure if you were serious, either way he took his chances and met your lips with his. Somehow this one took you by more surprise, causing you to move your hands against his chest, holding on to his jacket, until he pulled back.

“Bingo,” you whispered.

[obeymeoasis]

Demon Bros React: MC Is Insecure

Warnings: mentions of insecurity surrounding body image, physical appearance, self-worth.

Lucifer

It was the day after a party Diavolo had thrown at his castle. You had had fun for the most part, dancing with the brothers and eating delicious foods prepared by Barbatos. 

But you also remembered how it had felt to look around the room and realize you were surrounded by gorgeous demons, not a single flaw on anyone’s face. Doubt and insecurity had begun to creep into your mind, and that feeling had carried over into the next day.

You had only talked briefly with Lucifer at the party because he was too busy interacting with Diavolo’s guests. Every time you tried to catch his eye, you noticed how beautiful whoever he was talking to was and found yourself swallowing down your greeting.

Currently Lucifer was at his desk like always, scribbling down notes and shuffling through papers. You brought him afternoon tea and sat reading in one of his armchairs to keep him company.

You had been telling yourself that you were going to ask him the question that was burning in your mind, but an hour had already passed since you first came in. You tried to distract yourself with your book but the words were fuzzy on the page. Finally, you spoke. “Luci?”

He didn’t look up from his desk when he answered, “Yes, love?”

“Do you... do you ever wish I was more beautiful?”

The scratching of his pen stopped immediately and Lucifer lowered the papers he was holding to show his face, a carefully blank expression revealing nothing. “What exactly do you mean by that question?”

“I mean exactly what I asked. Do you ever wish I was more beautiful? More attractive? As the Avatar of Pride have you ever been... embarrassed to be seen with me?”

At this Lucifer’s expression grew cold and furious. “Has someone... made you feel this way? Has someone made you feel as if you are inadequate?” You shook your head sadly and whispered, “No, just my own brain.”

“Ah, I see. Well pet, I don’t ever wish you were more beautiful because you are the most beautiful being I’ve ever seen. So it would be physically impossible for you to be more beautiful than you are now.”

You snorted. “Luci, that was so cheesy. Your brothers would throw up if they heard what you just said.” Lucifer’s lips quirked up in amusement. “Well, I’m glad I was able to make you laugh. And I do mean what I said. I’ve never once felt embarrassed to be with you; you are my pride, the source of my happiness. If anyone were to suggest otherwise, I would gladly kill them.”

“Luci, we’ve been over this. You can’t just kill everyone who is mildly rude to me.”

Lucifer went back to working on his papers but there was a gentle smile on his face. “Darling, you’ll find that I definitely can. I have a permit.”

Mammon

You were regretting tagging along to one of Mammon’s photo shoots. At first, it seemed like a fun idea getting to look at all the clothes, makeup, and jewelry. Plus, you really wanted to see what Mammon was like when he was working professionally. 

It was fun at first, you cooing over how handsome Mammon looked in his outfit and watching him get all flustered and blushy. But then the actual photoshoot started and you watched as Mammon posed with a stunning model.

You tried to not let your insecurities get the best of you. You were here to support Mammon! But as the shoot progressed you couldn’t help but start to compare yourself, keeping track of how they were more beautiful and you more flawed. 

The photographer stopped to take a break and Mammon immediately bounced over to you. “MC, did you see me? How does it feel to watch the Great Mammon in his natural element? I look good, don’t I?”

You caressed Mammon’s cheek and feigned a bright smile. “You were amazing Mammon! You look so handsome. And this is such a cool outfit!” But Mammon was somehow always able to tell when you were faking a good mood and he frowned. “MC, is something wrong? You look sad. Did something happen?”

You opened your mouth, an excuse ready on your lips, but found you couldn’t lie right to Mammon’s face. You gestured toward the model who was talking to their manager in the corner. “Do you ever wish I looked like that?”

Mammon cocked his head, confused. “Do I ever wish you had blue hair? Not particularly? Although now that I think about it, blue hair would look cool on you too.”

You sighed. “No, I mean do you ever wish I looked like a model? Sexier? Or prettier?” Mammon thought for a moment, processing your question, and then frowned. “Oh no no no. Treasure, what’s this all about? What happened?”

“Sorry Mams, I didn’t want to distract you while you’re working. I just got really low and insecure all of a sudden. Started thinking about how you should be with someone really beautiful, you know? And sometimes I feel like that’s not me.”

Clearly upset, Mammon rushed to give you a crushing hug, tucking your head underneath his chin. “MC I- I wish I could beam my thoughts into your head. That way you’d really believe me when I say that you’re so precious to me. Every day I wake up and think about how lucky I am to be with you.”

You chuckled a little. “I do put up a lot with you, don’t I.” Mammon gently smacked you on your back. “Hey! I’ve been good lately! But seriously MC, you are stunning. You are gorgeous. And it’s okay if you don’t believe me right now because- because I’ll tell you as many times as you need me to! I’ll tell you a thousand times a day! A million times!”

You tried to blink away the tears in your eyes and held onto Mammon even tighter. “Thanks Mams, I love you so much.”

“Love you too treasure. Your first man’s gonna take care of you, don’t you worry about a thing.”

Leviathan

Usually you liked watching anime with Levi; it was one of your favorite things to do together. Levi was always more happy and lively when watching with you because he was able to express his opinions freely without judgment. And you thought it was adorable how excited Levi got over his favorite characters and storylines.

Today, you were snuggled together on some cushions re-watching an episode of “The Magical Ruri Hanai: Demon Girl”. At first you were enjoying the episode, laughing as Ruri got used to the oddities of the human world. But Levi’s repeated comments about how cute Ruri-chan was, which you usually never minded, started to bother you a bit.

You took a quick glance around the room, noting Levi’s enormous collection of Ruri-chan posters, figurines, and other merch. Levi tapped you on the knee, interrupting your thoughts. “MC, you’re missing the best part! What are you looking at?”

You sighed a little, struggling to act nonchalant. “Sorry Levi, it’s nothing. I’m still watching.” Frowning, Levi paused the episode and turned to look at you. “Hey, what’s up?”

Taking a deep breath, you said “Levi, I’m not Ruri-chan.” He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “Yes... I know?”

You continued, “I don’t look like Ruri-chan. Does that bother you?”

“Does it bother me... that you don’t look like an anime character?” He repeated the question slowly, as if you had asked him the strangest question in the world.

Frustrated, you blurted out “I don’t look like Ruri-chan! I’m never going to be as cute as her!”

Levi looked completely bewildered, his eyes wide and staring at you in confusion. “B-But you are cute! MC, w-what are you even talking about?” 

Embarrassed at your outburst you looked down at the floor silently. Levi scooted over toward you so that your knees were touching and he waited until you broke the silence. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m good enough. I think maybe you’d like it if I looked cuter or acted cuter, like the characters in anime.”

Levi hesitated for a moment before quickly grabbing onto your hand, blushing furiously as he did so. "MC, I-I already think you're c-cute. Really really cute. So don't say things like that. And also, I like you because you're you! Not because you're like someone else."

"And you make me really happy. I'm just a gross otaku. I never thought I'd be able to... to find someone like you. Someone who accepts me."

He tried to lock eyes with you but blushed even harder and stared at your joined hands. "Plus, I couldn't to-touch an anime character. But I can touch you. I can hold your hand or give you hugs whenever you need it, o-okay?"

You leaned your head onto Levi's shoulder and closed your eyes, letting the peaceful silence wash over you.

Satan

You were accompanying Satan on a trip to one of his favorite stores: an antique shop that sold all manner of rare books and artifacts. The owner, Ms. Sparrow, was a friend of Satan’s and she welcomed the two of you wholeheartedly.

Today, she looked as gorgeous as she always did. Her chic pearl dress and matching silk gloves shone against her dark skin. Not a curl in her hair was out of place and even the click-clack of her heels on the floor seemed melodious somehow.

You left Satan to look at the books and went wandering off into the various aisles of the store, marveling at all the bits and bobs. In one of the over-stuffed corners you happened to find a glittering silver key on a red velvet ribbon. Taking it in your hand, you went back through to show it off to Satan, wanting to ask him what he thought it opened.

But Satan was busy chatting and laughing with Ms. Sparrow. You watched the two of them for a moment and noticed how well they complimented each other. Both had a certain poise, a kind of confidence and certainty in their movements.

On your walk back to the dorms, you were unusually quiet and Satan noticed. “Pet, is something the matter?”

You hesitated, wondering if Satan was going to find your insecurity childish. “Satan, I’m not very....elegant.”

“Yes, I know. You choked on a piece of bread yesterday. The day before that you tripped over absolutely nothing and fell down.” He smiled, expecting for you to get riled up, but it fell when he saw that you looked dejected. “Love, what is the matter? Have I upset you?”

You avoided his gaze. “Sometimes... sometimes I wonder if I bring you down by being with you. I feel like you deserve someone elegant and sophisticated. Someone who matches you. But I’m not. I’m clumsy and messy and not perfect, like Ms. Sparrow.”

Satan’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Ms. Sparrow? What does she have anything to with this?” He turned you around so that you were facing him. “Pet, please look at me. I love you. And I’m not with you in spite of you being clumsy or messy. I love you because you’re clumsy and messy, because those are parts of you and I love all of you.”

He leaned down to press his forehead against yours. “And why would I need someone perfect? Am I perfect? Yesterday you saw me screaming at my cup because I accidentally spilled some tea and burned my finger.”

You shrugged while giggling, “I thought it was a perfectly reasonable response.” You wrapped your arms around his and buried your face into his shoulder. “Thanks, Satan. You always know how to make me feel better.”

He reached down to give you a gentle kiss. “Anytime, love. I’m always here for you.”

Asmodeus

Asmo has a lot of fans across all his social media accounts. That was made perfectly clear the first time you went on a date with him outside. Sitting in the trendy coffeeshop, several people had come up to ask him for a picture or an autograph. He was never shy about you and always introduced you as his sweetheart, cooing about how beautiful you were. 

Some days it was okay. You loved seeing the bubbly social-butterfly side of Asmo. He was always so sweet to everyone who came up to him and genuinely enjoyed meeting new people. But other days, your insecurity rose up like a huge wave and dampened everything.

This particular day you were shopping with Asmo in a new boutique that had opened up. You were aimlessly flicking through the racks of clothes when you heard a large squealing.

Two demons ran up to Asmo, talking and gesturing excitedly. You could make out that they followed him on Devilgram and were asking if he was willing to take a picture with them. These demons were some of the most attractive beings you had ever seen. Their clothes were incredibly stylish and their hair and makeup were done flawlessly.

Looking around the shop, in all of the full length mirrors you could see the reflection of Asmo and his beautiful fans. And you looked out of place, like a puzzle piece that didn’t fit in at all. 

Tearing up, you grabbed a random pair of jeans off the rack and ran into a changing room. You turned away from the mirror, not wanting to look at yourself, and took deep breaths to try and keep from bursting into sobs. After a few moments Asmo began looking for you, having finished taking pictures. “Sweetheart, are you changing? Let me see what you’re wearing when you’re done!”

At the sound of his voice you burst into tears and your attempts to muffle the noise were futile. Outside the door, Asmo’s voice sounded panicked. “Darling, are you okay? What’s the matter? Please come outside, whatever it is please let me help you!” You hesitated, not wanting to face him, but this made him even more frantic. He started jiggling the doorknob and knocking on the door.

You opened it, afraid that he would accidentally break the doorknob leaving you trapped inside. As soon as he saw you he gathered you in his arms and began making shushing noises while smoothing your hair. “Sweetheart, why are you crying? Please talk to me, please tell me what’s wrong.”

You tried to get the words out in between sobs and hiccups. “A-Asmo, don’t you want someone m-more beautiful? Someone who-who looks g-good with you?” Asmo paused for a moment, processing your words, and then his eyes burned with anger. “Sweetheart, did one of my fans say something mean to you? Did someone make you feel like this?”

You shook your head vigorously. “No, just me.” Asmo breathed a sigh of relief at hearing no one had harrassed you and resumed smoothing your hair. “Oh, darling. You ARE beautiful. You’re stunning, sweetheart. I wish you could see the way I saw you, how adorable and gorgeous you are. And I understand that there are going to be days when you don’t believe me, when you feel like you’re not. But at least don’t go through those days alone, okay?”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to speak without tearing up again.

"Now, let's go get some ice cream. We can eat it while taking a bubble bath."

Beelzebub

You weren’t really sure why Beel liked you coming with him to the gym all the time, even if you didn’t exercise. He said your presence was calming and that it made him focus better, which was odd because a lot of the time you just sat on an unoccupied machine and scrolled through your D.D.D.

Today was much the same, with Beel running on the treadmill and you watching some videos. The gym was pretty empty, just a few students exercising here and there.

Your eyes drifted to Beel who was running without even breaking a sweat. His body was all solid muscle: his arms, legs, and abs looked perfectly chiseled and toned. Last week you accidentally ran into Beel in the hallway and it felt like you had smashed into a brick wall. Beel, on the other hand, was completely fine.

You began to wonder what Beel thought about your body. He could be pretty handsy at times and he wasn’t shy in his affections. But what if there was something he didn’t like? Something that he thought needed changing?

He’s never mentioned anything about exercising to you before. But you thought back to the students you had seen in this gym: all of them were extremely fit with incredible bodies. You couldn’t help but start to compare yourself to them and think that maybe you were lacking.

Just then, Beel finished his run and walked over to you. You weren’t sure what kind of facial expression you were making but it seemed enough to concern him because he asked, “MC, is everything okay?”

“Hey Beel... do you ever wish I had a nicer body?”

He squinted in confusion. “What do you mean by ‘a nicer body’?”

“I don’t know... just better. Whatever nicer looks like for you.”

Beel was quiet for a moment, thinking. “No, I've never wished for that before. I still don't know what you mean by 'nicer'. I love you. And I love your body because its yours. The only thing that matters to me is whether you’re happy. And as long as I'm still allowed to touch you, then I'm happy.”

He looked at you nervously then, biting his lip. "Am I... still allowed to touch you?"

You laughed and reached to give him a hug, loving how safe it felt in his arms. "Of course, big guy. Thanks for making me feel better. You always know what to say."

Beel flushed with pride and closed his eyes in happiness, leaning into your hand as you patted him on the head.

Belphegor

You knew you were dreaming because you were sitting in a R.A.D classroom surrounded by fellow students, but you couldn’t focus on any of their faces. They were blurry, as if someone had smudged them like an artist had smudged some charcoal.

You were at your desk, looking around the classroom, when as if on cue all of the students began to slowly gather around you. They stood there silently for a moment, unmoving, and you felt a shiver go up your spine. 

And then one by one the students began to hurl insults at you.

“You’re not good enough. Not good enough for Belphegor.” “You’re ugly, you’re hideous. “You’re unwanted, go back to where you came from.” “You don’t deserve what you have, don’t deserve good.” “You’re weak.” “You ruin others, you ruin everything.”

As they insulted you the students began to draw themselves closer, pushing and shoving to reach you. They almost made a cover over your desk as if to block out all the light. You hunched over your desk, shaking and panicking, trying to curl up to protect yourself.

One of the demons began shaking your shoulder roughly, you yelping in pain. He began yelling in your ear, “Wake up! Wake up!”

“MC! Wake up!”

You startled awake and looked around the room in fear. You were in Belphie’s bed, your pajamas sticking to you with sweat. Belphie was looking at you with concern, one hand still on your shoulder.

“MC, you’re okay. It’s just me. It was just a nightmare.” You let out a sob and buried yourself in his arms while he patted you on the back until your breaths evened out.

“D-Did you see my dream?” you asked. You were nervous about showing Belphie that weak side of you, the insecurities that had been brewing since the two of you had begun a relationship. He looked apologetic. “I did. You were whimpering and shaking in your sleep. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

He reached over, one hand smoothing your hair, the fingers of his other hand interlaced with yours. “None of what they said was true, you know.” You looked down, embarrassed. “I mean it, MC. You are good enough. You’re beautiful, you’re wanted, you deserve all the nice and beautiful things in the world, you’re strong. And most importantly, you lift others up. You lift me up everyday.”

He lifted up your hand and pressed a kiss against it. “You lifted me out of darkness. I love you so much. And I’ll gladly stay by your side, for as long as you’ll have me.”

You grabbed the front of his sweater to draw him into a rough kiss, lips bruising. “Forever, Belphie. Forever.” 

[gintrinsic-writing]

Time, Legend, and dealing with chronic pains. Written in two sprints, unedited and rough lol. 

CW: drug use 

--

“I’m going to take a walk,” Legend said, and Time wondered if he was the only one to hear more. Because their Veteran’s eyes had been tight all day, his lips near-pinched, and although he’d never complained about the pace, he’d also carried himself stiffly. It wasn’t difficult to guess why. 

Thirteen minutes and forty-two seconds passed before Time’s concern drove him to speak. “I’m going to check on him.”

Surprisingly, it was Warriors who turned at that. “He hasn’t been gone that long; give him a moment.”

“I’d rather be sure,” Time answered, blinking when Warriors frowned; seconds later, the Captain’s well-practiced smile took over. 

“He’ll only resent the coddling.”

Time very carefully kept his features smooth. He wondered what Warriors was hiding, what secret he was trying to preserve for Legend’s sake. “Oh well,” he said, curtly motioning for Warriors to stay put. “See to the others.” That said, he  left in the direction Legend had gone, scanning the ground for tracks. There weren’t many, a testament to Legend’s skill, but Time had grown up in the woods, and he knew how to recognize the slight disturbances in the rich blanket of moss. 

It didn’t take long to find him. It did take Time several seconds to process what he was seeing, though. And smelling. “Oh.”

Legend visibly startled. “Hylia’s tits,” he swore, voice mildly strained. He waved a hand through a small plume of smoke, his other hand quickly moving out of sight. “What are you doing here?”

Time watched the smoke fade away. He fought the urge to wrinkle his nose. “I was worried about you. Are you… hurt?”

“No.”

“Hm,” Time answered noncommittally. His gaze darted to where Legend’s hand was hidden by his hip, then away. “Are you sure?”

Legend shrugged, then fidgeted. “I’m fine.”

“But are you hurt?”

“Fuck, Time, don’t make me say it.”

Time nearly hummed again. He realized he was struggling with what to say. The strange lack of confidence was its own brand of discomfort. “Does smoking that… help?”

Legend’s grimace was followed by a loud sigh. “Fuck. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, okay?” He finally revealed his hand, revealed the smoldering end of a short blunt. He couldn’t quite meet Time’s eyes. 

“Does it help, though?” Time asked again, quieter this time. 

“It…” Legend sighed again, then ran his free hand through his hair. The bags under his eyes were dark and heavy. “Yeah, it does. Sometimes, it’s the only thing that helps. Potions take away the worst of the pain, sometimes, but they don’t do much for the chronic stuff, and…” He chewed on his upper lip, cheeks pinkening in what Time could only assume was embarrassment. “Sometimes, it’s just too much. I can’t—I can’t deal with the pain every second of every day. I have to sleep.”

Time nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Legend asked, squinting disbelievingly. 

“What else should I say?”

Legend pursed his lips in thought. “I figured you’d be mad,” he muttered. “It’s not very ‘hero’-like.” 

Time snorted before he could help himself. “What isn’t? Doing what you can to get by after years of accumulated physical and emotional injury? Finding relief from the pain and insomnia you obtained from ‘destiny’?”

Shock made Legend appear younger than he was. He snapped his mouth shut with an audible click, then hesitantly held up his blunt. “Do you… need a hit? Because you sound like you might need a hit.” 

Amusement curled through Time, short-lived and not a little wry. “No, but thanks.”

“Oh, alright,” Legend said. He raised the blunt to his lips, hesitated, then re-lit the end with a single snap of his fingers; one of his rings glowed, and a spark ignited from the bulbous end of a large ruby.

“Warriors knows, doesn’t he?” Time asked.

Legend nodded, holding his breath before blowing to the side. “Yeah. He and Twilight; can’t hide anything from those busybodies. Wars found me out right away, and Twilight told me he could smell it on me.”

“We’re good at keeping secrets, aren’t we?” Time murmured. 

Legend snorted. “Hardly. Seems like we’re discovering new things about each other nearly every damn week. No fuckin’ privacy around here.” He rolled the blunt between his fingers, watching it pensively. “And yet, maybe it’s for the best. Maybe we need to admit to a few things.”

A chill settled across Time’s skin, its weight only sharpened by the enormity of a lifetime of regrets. “Maybe.” Taking a slow, deep breath, he forced away the emotions that weren’t relevant just then. “Do you want to be alone? Until you’re done, I mean?”

“It’s not personal,” Legend assured him. “I just… it’s nice to have a moment.”

“I understand,” Time told him, and he  did. Sometimes, life felt easier when no one else was around to judge. It just worked out that way. “See you in a bit.” 

[mjolnir-steve]

Foolish

Frank Adler x fem!Reader

Word count: 5027 (oop)

Warnings: light drinking, very brief mention of suicide, some cursing, smut (18+ ONLY!!!), unprotected sex (m/f) ... Please let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Hi, y’all! Here’s my entry for @stargazingfangirl18 and @navybrat817’s Shameless Hoes for Chris Challenge!!!! I haven’t written smut in a LONG time, so please be gentle with me LOL. Here’s what I got:

Frank Adler

“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

Breeding / mutual pining 🥴

I’d like to dedicate this to @rodrikstark for always sharing the Frank Adler feels and @sparkledfirecracker for bullying me (with love) into finishing this. ❤️

If you like this fic, please comment and reblog!!! I hope you enjoy. :)

Fridays never seemed to come soon enough. You looked forward to the beginning of the weekend as much as the next person, but over the last few months, Friday nights took on new meaning for you. You moved to the trailer park a little less than a year ago, wanting to buy a small place of your own and start making a home for yourself. It wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t expensive, and it was only a ten-minute drive from your office where you’d just secured a promotion. Roberta, the manager, helped you make it feel like home right away, insisting on going with you to pick out paint samples and providing copies of menus for the best take-out in the area.

Before long, Roberta introduced you to the trailer park’s resident certified genius, Mary Adler. Mary and Roberta spent Saturday mornings with you when you were free, which unfortunately, was pretty much all the time. You played games, sang karaoke, and even let Mary’s one-eyed cat Fred come over. He took a liking to your swinging chair in the living room, and if Mary couldn’t find him at home, odds were he somehow squeezed through your window and ended up in that chair. 

Another two months had passed, though, before you met Mary’s uncle and guardian, Frank. You came to learn that Mary stayed with Roberta every Friday night because “Frank needs time to be an adult” and she was not allowed to come back to the house until noon on Saturdays. This information made you feel like Frank must be some kind of sad, perpetual fuckboy. You were right about the sad part, not so much about the latter. One morning while Mary played with your watercolors, Roberta let slip - ironically over a cup of tea - that Frank did have the occasional hookup, but usually, he drank himself sleepy on Friday nights and just needed the time to himself. He worked himself to the bone as a boat mechanic, often late into the night because it was too hot to do some jobs during the day. Frank took Mary in when she was just a baby after his sister, her mother, tragically committed suicide. He spent the majority of his scarce free time with Mary, so when Mary was still a toddler, Roberta offered the Friday night deal. Frank countered that he would do any repairs in the trailer park for free, but she refused to let him do that work without pay, saying he deserved to have a life, too. 

She also informed you that Frank was a former philosophy professor, single, and very attractive, especially if you were into the rugged thing. You rolled your eyes with an amused exhale and took another sip of your tea. You’d be lying if you said your interest wasn’t piqued. Mary then shouted over her shoulder, confirming that she’d been listening to your entire conversation, “Frank is great, but he’s a grump. Good luck cracking that egg.” You snorted, nearly spitting out your tea, and she went back to reading your color theory book to Fred.

With that, you heard a sharp rap at the door. You set your tea down on the kitchen table, curious who your visitor might be. You didn’t know anyone else in the trailer park, or in town, really. You opened the door, taking in the sight of possibly - no, definitely - the most handsome man you’d ever seen. You quickly guessed it was Frank, judging by the grease smeared on his quite large hands. His eyes, though tired, had the same bright look as Mary’s, and he had the most perfectly imperfect fluffy hair and overgrown stubble.

“Good morning,” he said with a sweet, closed-mouthed smile. “Is Mary here?”

You had to remind yourself to breathe. Stammering, you opened the door wider, gesturing inside. “Hi, y-yes. She is!” Why am I like this? “She’s just painting with Fred. Please, come in.” You moved aside so he could fit his broad shoulders through the doorframe and then held out your hand. “You must be Frank. I’m Y/N. Mary is just wonderful.” You smiled at him, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks.

He took your hand in both of his, gentler than you’d expected. “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m Frank. It’s great to meet you, finally.” He smiled wide for the first time and you were certain you’d pass out. Who LOOKS like this? “And thank you, she really is wonderful. I couldn’t do it without Roberta. She’s family.” He smiled and waved at Roberta, who was looking at you over the lip of her mug.

Mary didn’t even bother to turn around and face Frank. “What are you doing here, Frank? It’s only 11. I have a whole ‘nother hour with my friends.” You tried to keep your laugh quiet, covering your mouth with your hand and shaking your head.

“Well, excuse me for thinking you might like to go out on the boat with me this morning. I guess I’ll go by myself.”

Mary jumped up from the floor, scrambling to clean up your paints and books. “Can Y/N and Roberta come?”

Frank crouched down to meet Mary’s eyes. “Of course they can, if they’d like.” He looked back at you over his shoulder, trying to gauge your interest, then turning back to his niece. “But do you remember what I told you?”

You could see that Mary was making a conscious effort not to roll her eyes. “You told me that my adult friends have adult lives that include adult responsibilities, and they might not always be available to spend time with me.”

“And?” he looked at her expectantly.

“And I need to invite them to do things without assuming they will do them.” She couldn’t hold back her eye roll any longer, but she made sure not to let Frank see. “Roberta, Y/N, would you both like to join us on the boat today?”

You were amazed by the exchange taking place in front of you, able to see where some of Mary’s brains and tenacity came from. The conversation between the two flowed so easily, playful yet intelligent. It was clear that Frank treated Mary not as a child, but as a person, and you chided yourself internally for thinking that was kinda hot. 

Shaking yourself out of your mildly inappropriate thoughts, you responded. “I’d love to come, Mary.” You smiled at her, bending over to help her pick up the last of the paints from the floor. “Roberta?”

Roberta gave you a look and you just knew she planned this somehow. “I actually do have some of those adult responsibilities to handle today, but thank you for inviting me.” You sent a glare in her direction, quick but no less scathing. “Maybe next time.” She winked at you before washing out her mug and saying her goodbyes.

You spent the whole rest of the day and night with Frank and Mary, doing everything from building sandcastles to cooking dinner together. Mary eventually fell asleep in your lap as you were watching Oliver & Company, Frank’s favorite Disney film that had become Mary’s, too. “An underrated classic,” they told you in unison.

You helped Frank put Mary to bed, a task made easier after such a tiring day. “I guess I should get going.” You stood awkwardly in the small kitchen, unsure of yourself and painfully aware of how close your hand was to Frank’s resting on the counter.

“Yeah, I have a job early in the morning.” He looked down at his shoes, unable to look you in the eye, and you wondered if he hadn’t found your company as enjoyable as you’d found his.

“Listen, I don’t know if you’ve been to Ferg’s? The little bar down the road? I go every Friday night just to relax and have a few beers. Maybe you’d like to come with me next weekend?”

Is he asking me on a date? You could feel your heartbeat racing. The look on your face must not have matched the excitement you felt at the prospect of spending time alone with the dreamy, kind, sarcastic man in front of you. 

He felt like an idiot when you hesitated to answer. He clearly read everything wrong. He had to fix this. “It’s a good place to meet people, you know? I know you’re fairly new to the area, so if you’re looking for more local friends, it’s a good place to start.” He winced, hoping you couldn’t sense his embarrassment at thinking that you would want to go on a date with him.

You swallowed, trying not to let your disappointment show outwardly. Of course he’s not interested in me. Stupid. “Oh, yeah! That would be great, Frank. What time?”

Frank let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, relieved that you didn’t seem offended by his offer. “How’s 7? I’ll pick you up? We can walk over together.”

And that’s how Fridays came to mean so much to you. Almost every Friday for the last six months, Frank met you at your door and you walked to Ferg’s together. Frank told you it would be a good place to make new friends, but you paid no mind to the other patrons. You only had eyes for each other, yet neither of you could see it, even though Roberta pointed out (repeatedly) that neither of you had taken anyone else home in all that time.

The more time you spent with Frank, the more certain you were that God was real and your life was His favorite trainwreck reality TV series. Even if you could have customized a dream man Build-A-Bear style, Frank still would blow your creation out of the water. He was smart and funny, not to mention an adoring parent to Mary, to whom you grew more attached each day. He was kind and thoughtful, talented and hard-working. Although he was a grouch, as Mary would say, he always was sweet to you. He took a genuine interest in anything you had to say, whether you were venting about work or filling him on the latest episode of whatever show you were binging. He was ridiculously sexy without even trying. All those hours he spent doing manual labor in the sun did wonders for his physique. You’d only seen him completely shirtless on one occasion, and the image of him with sweat dripping down his chest was burned into your memory, fueling your late-night thots and causing you to break out your vibrator on what was now a regular basis.

Six months had come and gone in the blink of an eye, and you’d begun to accept that Frank didn’t want to be anything more than friends with you. You decided tonight was as good a night as any to talk to someone new, to start letting go of your unrequited feelings. 

You swapped out your usual jeans for a sundress, t-shirt bra for a push-up, and lip balm for lipstick. Putting your phone and some cash in a wristlet, you considered wearing your new strappy sandals. The walk to Ferg’s was about five minutes each way down a sandy road, though, and memories of the sticky floor inside aided your preferred pair of Converse in their victory for the night. 

Just as you finished tying your shoes, you heard a knock at the door. You adjusted your cleavage and fluffed your hair a final time with one last look in the mirror. Here goes.

Frank felt like he had the wind knocked out of him in the best possible way. He suddenly felt entirely underdressed in his aloha shirt, even though it was his go-to for nights out of the house. He’d never seen you dressed so nicely when you weren’t going to work. 

You were the kind of beautiful that didn’t require makeup. Your natural hair always framed your face perfectly, even if you didn’t think so. He thought you were adorable when you were concentrating on something, blowing your hair out of your face with a huff. Visions of your soft curves made their way into Frank’s dreams on more than one occasion. He had seen you in your swimsuit several times, sunbathing with Roberta and swimming with Mary at the beach. It wasn’t even all that revealing, but it accentuated your figure in ways that forced Frank into needing a cold shower or two. Above all, though, he admired your heart. You’d allowed Mary into your life without hesitation, spending time with her because you wanted to and allowing her to ask all those questions that Frank just wouldn’t be able to answer. It killed him that you didn’t see him the way he saw you, a perfect partner for him and a worthy maternal figure for Mary.

“Frank? You okay?” Your concerned voice shook him out of his thoughts, prompting him to close his mouth which apparently had opened wide in astonishment when you stood in the doorway.

“Yeah, um... You look…” He looked a little confused, his brow furrowed and lips pursed. “Why are you all dolled up? It’s only Ferg’s.” He wished he could’ve kicked himself in the teeth when your face fell at his question. He rubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. Let me try that again,” he nearly begged, running up to you to stop you from going back inside. “You look really nice, honey.” He ran his calloused hand up your forearm, but quickly returned it to his side when he realized what he’d done. “Is it a special occasion, though? Should I change?”

You gave him a watery smile, given that you were three seconds from slamming the door in his face and crying. “That’s better. Thank you.” You lightly pushed at his shoulder, trying and failing to ignore the electricity you felt at the contact. “No occasion, though. Just thought maybe it was about time I actually introduced myself to someone new.” 

You couldn’t quite read his reaction. Little did you know he was certain he just felt his heart physically crack in his chest. “What do you mean?”

The two of you started walking, the tension between you thickening the very air you breathed. “Well, when you first invited me to Ferg’s, you said maybe I’d get to know some other people in the area, right? But we’re always with each other. I’m sure you’re itching to talk to someone other than me. I don’t want to hold you back.”

“Ah. Gotcha.” Frank abruptly reverted to the quiet, distant state he usually occupied before he met you. He sped up a bit, walking ahead of you and desperately attempting to school his features before you caught up with him.

Frank practically ran to the restroom, not slowing down even to hold the door open for you. You took a deep breath and rolled your shoulders, relaxing before entering the bar. Normally, whoever made it first would order drinks for you both, but Frank made it painfully clear that he had no desire to be in your company tonight. You ordered your usual, an Angry Orchard with a shot of Fireball in a tall glass. The combination tasted like apple cider, but the burn in your throat was caused by liquor rather than heat. It was strong enough to get you buzzed, but not so strong that you’d be stumbling home. You swallowed half the glass in one gulp, wanting to feel the warmth in your veins boosting your confidence as quickly as possible.

“Y/N? How are you?” You turned around, eyes meeting those of Jamie, your coworker. He leaned in for a hug and you accepted somewhat reluctantly, having interacted with him only in passing.

“Hey! I’m all right. What’s up?” You smiled at him, taking another sip of your drink. Jamie was not very subtly staring at your chest. You weren’t crazy about him, but the attention felt nice, so you allowed it.

“Not much. Just happy it’s Friday, ya know?” He looked around for a moment before returning his attention to you. “You’re usually here with that mechanic dude, right?”

You stifled a laugh thinking about how Frank would react if he heard himself referred to as “dude” by this prick. “Yeah, he’s around somewhere. We’re just-“

“-Just friends?” he finished for you with a hopeful look.

You nodded in response, looking him up and down. He was no Frank, but you couldn’t deny he was handsome. It had been so long since you’d even been kissed, and though you hated to admit it, you were touch-starved. One night couldn’t hurt, could it?

Meanwhile, Frank was splashing his face with cool water. He couldn’t believe he’d fucked up so royally. He was sure you didn’t want him how he wanted you, and now he was sure it was too late to tell you how he really felt.

He knew from the moment he saw you that he’d never get you out of his head. Roberta had been talking you up to Frank for weeks, but he wanted no part of it, mumbling something about there being “a reason why no one used matchmakers anymore.” He had no choice but to make your acquaintance when he was looking for Mary, and he’d never been so happy that Roberta could say she told him so.

Later that day at the beach, Mary approached him while you were dozing on a towel in the sand. She sat on his lap and reached for his face, using her pointer fingers to turn the straight line of his mouth up into a smile. “Roberta says you have a ‘charming’ smile, Frank. We think you should use it more.” He chuckled quietly, careful not to disturb you, and pulled Mary in close, planting a wet kiss on her cheek. She grimaced at the feeling, dramatically wiping at her face until he let her go back to reading with Fred.

The sound of the jukebox starting up cut short his reverie. He had to get out there and explain himself. Frank dried his face and hands with a paper towel before smacking his cheeks and stretching his neck back and forth to each shoulder. 

Frank exited the restroom only to find some douchebag staring at your ass as you leaned over toward the bar. He saw red when the piece of shit held out his hand behind his back while his friend slipped a twenty-dollar bill into it, seemingly winning some sort of bet.

Jamie didn’t stand a chance when Frank stormed in between the two of you. “That’s IT,” he yelled, so intense he borderline bellowed. He threw whatever cash he had in his pocket on the bar to pay for your drinks before he pulled you outside, almost getting to your door while you fought against his grip. He only stopped when you spun your body around like something out of Dancing with the Stars and jumped in front of him, forcing him to catch you.

“Jesus Christ, Y/N, what are y-”

“-What are YOU doing, Frank? What the fuck was that?” You put your feet back down on the ground but remained facing him, arms crossed over your chest.

He groaned in frustration, suddenly realizing he actually had no clue how to respond. “Fuck.”

You looked at him, tapping your foot in anticipation.

“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.” He rubbed at his temples in the way he did when he felt a headache coming on.

“And how was he looking at me, Frank? What does it matter to you?”

“He was looking at you like you were a piece of meat and I… FUCK!”

You both turned when your neighbor opened his window. “Can you kids keep it down out here?”

You waved bashfully at the old man. “Sorry, Mr. Parker,” you said in unison.

“Come inside, Frankie.” The nickname that typically made him roll his eyes at you never had sounded sweeter, now that its use confirmed you didn’t hate him for the scene he made. You both toed off your shoes at the door before you made your way into the living room, motioning for him to sit next to you on the couch when he tried to sit in the armchair across the room.

You leaned forward, pinching his chin between your thumb and forefinger. “Now what’s going on in that sun-damaged brain of yours?”

He let out a laugh so soft you almost missed it, but you were glad you didn’t. Sitting back against the arm of the couch, you pulled a pillow into your lap and hugged it, giving Frank your full attention.

Frank cleared his throat, doing his best to accept that it was now or never. “That guy was leering at you, and it pissed me off. You deserve better, Y/N.” He pried your fingers from where they were locked around the pillow to hold your hands in his.

“If you want to meet new people, that’s great. If you don’t want to be with me, that’s a little less great, but I’d understand. He didn’t even pay for your drinks. And I th-”

You covered his mouth with one of your hands, and he knitted his brows in confusion. “You’re making it sound like it’s an option to be with you.” You were in disbelief, side-eyeing him, waiting for Ashton Kutcher to announce that you were, in fact, being Punk’d. 

The corners of his mouth lifted into the soft smile he reserved for you. It was the same one he gave you whether you were on a tangent about how “Obsessed” by Mariah Carey is “the single greatest diss track of all time” or you were helping Mary put a harness and leash on Fred “just to see how he’d do” on a walk.

“For a distinguished professor, you’re kind of a dummy, Frank.” You took his face in your hands, thrilled to be feeling his stubble against your palms. Before he could talk back to you, you kissed him, unsure how you denied yourselves such a simple yet extraordinary pleasure for so long. It only took a moment for him to relax into it, his hands removing the pillow between you before finding your waist and pulling you almost into his lap.

You deepened the kiss, threading your fingers through his hair. He pulled away first, pressing his forehead to yours. “Seems like we’re both dummies, huh?” 

You were going to ask why pulled away until you looked down to see a considerable tent forming in the front of his jeans. You laughed as he pulled you into a tight hug, one arm wrapped around you while the other hand held your face against his neck.

You kissed the side of his neck softly before leaning back to look at him. “All this time? I thought you didn’t see me this way.” You held his face, stroking his cheeks with your thumbs. “You asked me to go to Ferg’s and then said I could meet other people, so I thought that was it, you know?”

He covered your hands with his and pecked your lips softly. “Honey, I thought it was the other way around. I was trying to ask you out and you looked like you’d seen a ghost.” You giggled, spluttering a bit because tears had started falling at some point. He wiped your tears away before swiping his thumb over your bottom lip, pulling it down a bit. “We’re fools, aren’t we?”

You nodded slowly and Frank saw something wicked flash in your eyes before you took his thumb in your mouth, sucking lightly. “Jesus, honey.” His length hardened underneath you and you could feel the wetness beginning to pool in your panties, prompting you to grind down into his lap.

You released his thumb from your mouth, pressing your chest into his before kissing him again. “I think we’re only fools if we don’t take advantage of the rest of your adult time.” You removed your dress easily, returning your hands to Frank’s shoulders to push off his shirt.

He surged forward to kiss you again, working magic with his tongue against yours. You wrapped your legs around his waist and he picked you up, walking you into the bedroom. Placing you on the bed carefully, he removed your bra and panties before pulling off his boxers and jeans in one go. You thought you wanted him before, but now that you could see everything he’d been hiding under his baggy clothes, you didn’t see how you could ever let him leave your bedroom.

The next few minutes were spent exploring each other’s mouths while Frank stretched you with his fingers. You didn’t think you’d ever been so wet in your life and thought you might pass out if you didn’t feel him inside you immediately. You gave his cock a few strokes before sliding his head through your folds, coating him in your slick.

“Waitwaitwait, honey. Do you have a condom?”

“You don’t need one if you don’t want one. It’s okay.”

He looked like you just gave him tomorrow’s winning lotto numbers, taking a deep breath to steady himself before he looked at you again. “Oh, God. Are you sure?”

“Mhm. I wanna feel you. Make me yours?”

“Anything you want, honey, but if you change your mind, just tell me, okay?” He lined himself up, seconds shy of entering you for the first time.

“I figured if you were gonna be possessive of me tonight, you might as well take it the whole nine, Frankie.” You laughed as he let out an exasperated sigh. “Seriously, though, I’m clean, I’m on the pill, and I’ve wanted you for a long time.” You reached up to scratch lightly through his chest hair.

“The only thing I wanna hear right now is you moaning for me.” He drove into you harshly, but waited a moment for you to adjust once he was seated to the hilt. “So damn wet and tight for me, honey. You’re so perfect, so beautiful.” He kissed you again before he began to move, slowly but surely making you lose your mind.

He dipped his head down to take one nipple in his mouth, then the other, effectively shutting you up and emptying all thoughts from your head. He nipped at the swell of your breast, soothing the bite with his tongue. “Fuck, Frank, please!”

“Please what, honey?” He picked up his pace, fucking into you so vigorously you moved up the bed. “Tell me what you need.”

“Make me cum, Frank. Please, baby, I need it. Need you,” you cried, leaning up to bite into his shoulder, stifling your moans.

“I wanna hear you, Y/N. I wanna hear those pretty moans while I’m making this perfect pussy cum for me.” The combination of his filthy words and the sight of him sucking on his own fingers before rubbing at your clit sent you over the edge, making you scream his name over and over again for what felt like forever and not long enough.

You could tell he was close, his hips stuttering and losing their rhythm. He began to pull out, unsure if you were willing to let him finish inside you, but knowing he was too close to wait for an answer.

You hooked your legs around his waist and pulled him close, pushing him back into you. “Fill me up, Frank. I wanna feel all of you. Please give it to me,” you whimpered. His release triggered another for you, chanting each other’s names surely loud enough for the neighbors to hear. 

He stayed inside you as you both came down from your shared high, gingerly flipping you over so he laid on his back with you on his chest. He kissed the top of your head, fingers fluttering up and down your sides. 

“What’s on your mind now, Frankie?” You looked up at him through your lashes, mildly terrified of the answer.

He looked down at you with the most adoration you’d ever seen, lifting your chin so your eyes met his in the moonlight. “That wasn’t too soon, was it? You mean so much to me and to Mary. I don’t wanna mess this up. I don’t ever wanna hurt you. You’re the best thing in my life besides Mary, you know that?”

You kissed his chest before looking back up at him, smiling. “First of all, I would argue that wasn’t soon enough.” He hissed as you clenched around his still softening cock inside you.

“You’re evil.”

Winking at him, you continued tracing patterns on his chest with your fingers. “Second, that all kinda sounds like you might be in love with me, Frank Adler.”

His hands stopped moving for a second before he responded. “Would you run away if I said I am?”

“Well, I wouldn’t run away. This is my house.” You thought your heart might explode in your chest.

“I didn’t even say it, but I take it back,” he huffed, throwing his arm over his eyes.

“What if I told you I felt the same way?”

He grinned, sitting up to kiss you feverishly on your cheeks, the tip of your nose, and finally your lips. You could feel him starting to harden again inside you, leading to round two of… well, you lost count.

You ate breakfast and showered together in time for Frank to return home before Mary did, agreeing to talk more later and to hold out on Roberta for a while.

Frank stood on your doorstep, leaning in to kiss you once more. All of a sudden, you heard a familiar meow and thanked God you were dressed and not in your robe.

“Frank, what are you doing here? I thought I’d come see Y/N since I’m not supposed to come home until noon.”

You bit your tongue to keep from cackling. Frank ran a hand over his face, his blissful bubble burst. He was getting you a hotel room next weekend.

[iliveiloveiwrite]

A Truth Universally Acknowledged // Anthony Bridgerton

Request: Hi angel! I love all of your stories, especially your Bridgerton and work! Is there any way you could write something soft and fluffy for Anthony and a female reader! PLEASE AND THANK YOU - Anon.

A/N: I haven’t written for Anthony in what seems like forever! As much as I love Benedict, I do love writing Anthony fics. This isn't overly long, I just wanted to write something soft and fluffy that’s entirely domestic as well. I hope you all like! Title is a quote from the first line of Pride and Prejudice (further quotes from the book are in italics).

Pairing: Anthony Bridgerton x Fem!Reader.

Warnings: none - fluff, books, marriage, happy relationships, cute.

Word Count: 1.6k

The house is silent as Anthony strides through the waiting, open door. He nods his greeting to the Butler, Wilkins, before letting the weariness that had haunted him all day settle over his bones.

“Wilkins?” Anthony asks; no need to voice the question. Wilkins knows.

“Lady Bridgerton is in the Green-and-Gold, sir.”

Anthony smiles at the Butler. “You really do know everything.”

Wilkins smiles; nods his head. “It is my job, sir. Lady Bridgerton has already told me that you will take your final meal of the day in there, too.”

Anthony takes the stairs two at a time; refusing to accept his laboured breathing by the time he reaches the top. He was not an old man yet; he was still a very active man.

Turning left, he wanders blindly to the Green-and-Gold room named for the colour scheme of the walls and the furniture. His late grandmother had decorated the room; so fondly remembered by her ancestors that each refused to change a thing in the room save for any upholstering that needed to be done occasionally.

He finds you sitting on the left hand side of the room; the comfier side as argued by everyone who visits the room. Your legs are curled underneath you as your eyes pour over the page of an open book in your lap. From here, Anthony cannot possibly hazard a guess as to what you might be reading, but he feels a twinge of jealousy at the attention being paid to the book and not to him.

Well, love makes fools of us all, Anthony thinks to himself. “Darling,” Anthony greets in one single breath, as if the sight of you makes it all the easier for him to breathe.

“Darling,” You smile, standing from your seat, coming to greet the man you love with every fibre of your being. “How was your day?”

Anthony groans as he removes his jacket before tugging at the knot of his cravat. “Long,” He complains, struggling with the neckpiece. You smile at your husband, batting his hands away from his neck so you can take over. You feel the heat of his gaze as your hands work to do undo the knot he had tightened with a single tug; as the fabric unravels under your nimble fingers your husband reaches out to squeeze your waist.

“Thank you,” He whispers, voice full with an emotion you can’t quite decipher. Love? Weariness? A combination of both? Anthony looked ragged as you run your eyes over his face.

“I’m sorry that your day has been taxing, my love.”

“It’s all the better now that I’m here with you.”

“Flatterer,” You tease with no real heat behind your words. Anthony beams at you; eyes crinkling in the corners from the force of it as his hands tighten on your waist and his head dips to capture your lips in the kiss he has been thinking about for the better part of his day.

Breaking away, Anthony plants one, two, three kisses to your lips in quick, chaste succession leaving you breathless and highly amused. “How was your day?” He asks, curious as ever to find out what his wife does when he isn’t at home to distract you.

“Dull,” You answer plainly, enjoying the feel of Anthony’s strong arms around you.

“Dull?”

You purse your lips, thinking over your plans for the day so far. “I suppose dull doesn’t work. It hasn’t been dull at all.”

“Oh?”

“I’m only saying it because I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” He murmurs, kissing you once more. “What are you reading?” Anthony asks when he pulls away, spying the book laid delicately on the couch.

“Eloise let me borrow it. She gave me it when I called to see her this morning,” You answer, leaving the comfort of Anthony’s arms to take your seat on the couch.

“Darling, you know we have an entire library full of books, don’t you?”

Fixing him with an unimpressed look, you counter, “Your sister read this and thought of me. The least I could do is read it.”

“Alright,” Anthony sighs, knowing a losing battle when he sees one. “Budge up.”

“Pardon?”

Anthony gestures to the couch. “Make some room for me.”

A puzzled look settles across your face, but you follow the request, nonetheless, shifting on the couch so Anthony has room to sit down.

Anthony settles with his head on your lap; offering you a self-satisfied smile when you raise an eyebrow at him. “Comfy?” You ask, voice laced with humour.

“Very,” He responds. “Will you start from the beginning? I don’t want to miss anything.”

Chuntering about high maintenance husbands, you mark the page you got to before returning to the beginning. “Anything else before I begin?”

“Nothing… Oh, one thing.”

“That is?”

“I love you.”

Any previous ire you felt towards your husband disappears at those three magical words. The frustrated slant to your brow evens out as you reach out to stroke a hand through his hair and down the side of his face.

“I love you too,” You answer earnestly, feeling the power of the emotion running through you.

A peaceful look crosses Anthony’s face as your words sink into his skin like a balm on an open wound. He had felt neglectful lately; not spending as much time at home as he would have liked. He felt bad for leaving you so alone. Without children, you were your own companion throughout the day, and whilst you had both discussed having children, Anthony was to be left mildly vexed at the thought of you spending your days alone until a child was born.

The opening of parliament combined with Anthony’s seat in the House meant that he was spending more and more time in Westminster and less time with you.

A ratio Anthony was not fond of.

“I’m ready when you are,” He whispers; eyes focused on your face so he can watch every reaction and see every syllable leave your mouth.

Flashing an annoyed look at your husband, you take a deep breath and begin:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

“What?” Anthony asks, eyebrows furrowed.

“Hush,” You admonish half-heartedly before continuing.

“However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.”

“This author is a genius,” Anthony exclaims, his voice awed as he tries to catch a glimpse of the cover to see the author’s name. “Who wrote this?”

“Are you going to comment the whole way through? I’ve barely read two paragraphs.”

“Sorry, darling, but I have to know. Who wrote this?”

“Her name is Jane Austen.”

“Well Jane Austen is a genius. In two paragraphs she’s captured what it is like to be a single man with a fortune in and amongst the sharks with unattached daughters.”

“Sharks?” You ask, highly amused at your husband’s words.

“Mothers,” Anthony shudders, remembering what it was like to go through so many seasons still unmarried. A Viscount with two seats of power combined with a hefty ancestral fortune – many mothers didn’t care whether Anthony would love their daughters; they simply wanted a fortuitus marriage that would leave them set for life.

Anthony thanks any and all gods and deities out there that he found his love match in you. You had taken him by surprise; Anthony had already resigned himself to a season with countless mothers forcing their daughters onto his arm. Until one evening early into the season, he had been listening to Gregory whine about the workload at Eton when his eyes met yours from across the room. In a total state of cliché, Anthony met your gaze, and he knew. He knew that he was going to spend the rest of his life loving you, worshipping you. He knew that whatever his future held, you would be right there weathering it alongside him. In a single glance from across the room, he knew.

You were married before the season finished; a special licence dispensed after a favour from the Archbishop called in. Anthony couldn’t wait; didn’t want to wait – he wanted to start the rest of his life with you as soon as possible.

Your light laughter breaks Anthony out of his reverie. “They aren’t all that bad,” You argue. “I suspect you’ll be worse than me when it comes to our children.”

Anthony snorts; doubting your words but loving the way you speak so openly about your hopeful future family. Clearing your throat, you continue to read on.

Anthony settles further into your lap; letting the calmness of your voice wash over him. After a moment of watching the concentration on your face, Anthony lets his eyes slip closed. He has no intention of falling asleep; he simply wants to enjoy this moment to its fullest.

“Mr Bingley was good looking and gentlemanlike; he had a pleasant countenance, and easy, unaffected manners. His sisters were fine women, with an air of decided fashion. His brother-in-law, Mr Hurst, merely looked the gentleman; but his friend Mr Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features…”

A snore interrupts your rendition of Pride and Prejudice. Pausing mid-sentence, you look down to your lap where Anthony has fallen asleep so peacefully. Smiling softly at the man, you close the book, placing it to one side before running a hand through Anthony’s ever-unruly hair. He hums contentedly, pushing his head further into your hand as you begin to scratch at his scalp.

As you watch Anthony doze dreamily, you feel your eyes lose the fight against the growing tiredness. Your hand stills in Anthony’s hair as you fall asleep alongside your husband, utterly content at the path your life has taken considering it led you to him.

*****

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