#still having that feeling of me i might come out as stalker but i assure thats what im doing me just likes ur stuff at a amount

[lautheduckie]

*Whimpers

Sooooo cuuuute!

i will post a finished and polished piece someday. not today tho

[goldustwomun]

bite the hand (e.m.)

pairing: rockstar!eddie munson x girlfriend!reader

summary: things come crashing down around you when you watch eddie from the sidelines of the stage. you know you shouldn't leave but you beg eddie for forgiveness anyway.

warnings: (unedited) more angst folks i think i'm going through something, established relationship, swearing, tears crying sobbing (for eddie but you too babes x), i use face and features too many times but we move

wc: 2.0k+

note: short and (not so?) sweet :) :( i'm really struggling to sustain my writing for very long but oh well xoxo

Here’s the best part distilled for you But you want what I can’t give to you Your hands are gravity while my hands are tied

He should’ve known it’d get to you eventually. The screams and cries of thousands for him and only him, because as much as he stood, awestruck, by the talent of the others, it was always his name the crowd went hysterical for: Eddie. Eddie. Eddie. They’d chant and sway and go all but rabid when his black mop of hair would peak from around the stage, teasing in that very ‘Eddie’ way that you were all too familiar with when he’d feel a little more playful in bed. His mischievous eyes and quirked lips, tattooed skin and leather-clad thighs. He was the embodiment of a devilish smile, dripping, oozing, even, with sex appeal and charisma.

But it wasn’t just you, now, who noticed those things about him. The two of you weren’t perched on a bench outside of Wayne’s trailer anymore, smirking into the other’s mouth after a particularly strong joint he had rolled from his stash, legs resting on top of him as you were all but sat in his lap. Neither were you the sole body in the crowd of the Hideout, the only one out of the tens of patrons to be hanging onto every rasp of Eddie’s voice, every strum of his long fingers against the guitar.

It wasn’t just you, now, who noticed those things about him, and you knew because of the hundreds of letters he got, every other week on mail day, from adoring fans and sycophants and a few stalkers. You knew because of the way the crowd stretched so far into the distance that you couldn’t see where it ended, the countless bodies moving like a singular mass of pure, unaltered adoration for the man who assured you it’s you, it’s only ever going to be you.

“Penny for your thoughts?” And his voice broke you from the road you were beginning to travel down. You tried your best to force the smile on your lips, and really, you think he knew you were faking it but the giddy energy from the show he was soon going to be playing had already begun to fizzle through his bones and so he ignored it. He took it, instead, for something genuine despite the way it didn’t quite reach your eyes.

“Only a penny, Munson?” you scoffed at an attempt of playfulness. “I know for a fact you could offer me a lot more than a penny.” He laughed and your belly dipped, even all these years later, when he pressed his lips to your cheek. Eddie Munson might have been a kind of lust personified but he was also the sweetest human being you’d ever known.

“Ah, you’re right. My girl deserves much, much more,” and his lips began their slow descent from your face to the crook of your neck, fixated on that one spot that would have you shivering in mere seconds. He stopped for a moment; face still buried into your flushed skin— “Two pennies then?”

You groaned – “Eddie” -- at his pitiful attempts of humour (but really you loved it), shoving him away even if you didn’t really mean it.

“I’m only kidding, sweets, I’m only kidding!” he cooed at you, soothing your pout until it melted into that smile of yours that he loved to be the cause of as his fingers traced meaningless patterns into the exposed skin at your hip. “Forgive me?” he begged, his turn to pout now.

And it was comical, really, the way you gave into him, whatever doubts you had crumbling at the very feel of him against you, his words forcing whatever walls you were beginning to build-up only moments before to crumble into nothing at your interlaced feet.

“Always, Eddie,” you promised, voice leaving you at barely a whisper. And when you continued, heart thrumming as you waited for his answer, your words wavered: “Do you forgive me, too?”

He watched, confused, as the question left your lips, head tilted like a puppy unsure of his surroundings. “What would I ever need to forgive you for?” he asked, soft.

“Just—do you? Would you? Forgive me?”

He stared into your eyes, a penetrating gaze, begging you for an answer and explanation for your behaviour, but when you remained quiet he acquiesced. “Like you said, sweetheart: always.”

You nodded, that same, tight smile appearing on your features. The sound of a knock on his dressing room door pulled the both of you out of whatever daze hung, limp, in the air, and Eddie moved past you to answer.

“Five minutes to go, Eddie. Need to get you mic-ed up.” You couldn’t hear his answer (probably something along the lines of ‘Be right there’) over the roaring in your ears. The door clicked close again as a warm hand traveled to your waist, turning you in-place. Eddie’s hand moved to cradle your face in his palms, touch cautious like he always was when it was just the two of you. Like you were splintered glass, on the verge of breaking.

“Going to come watch outside, yeah?” And how could you say no to him and his big, brown eyes. So you nodded, followed him through the corridor leading towards stage left. People rushed around, gathering wires, plugging amps and checking cables with the kind of frenzy you’d never get used to despite having been there for almost all his shows.

Gareth, Jeff and Doug were already huddled in a corner, cheeks split into nervous grins. They waved Eddie over who gave your hand a reassuring squeeze before joining them, face dipping as someone came in to swipe some powder over his face.

You don’t remember what happened after that because the next thing you knew, the band was rushing onto the stage, the arena blacked-out, and the moments the light switched on, a deafening roar erupted from the crowd, bright lights carving out their bodies from the darkness. You edged closer to the stage, only just visible from behind a curtain, when the crowd came into view.

And you hated it, the way your gut twisted, mind reeled. You know if you had just said something, anything, to Eddie when it had begun, weeks ago on the first night of the tour. Someone had slipped a note into your back pocket as you and Eddie pushed through a crowd, security walling you in. But you had felt it, and you just knew what it was going to say.

It wasn’t the first and it wasn’t the last, but you had to applaud its author for the precision with which their words sliced at your very core, holding a mirror up to every insecurity you had ever had (and more you hadn’t even considered) until your hands were shaking, fierce.

When you stared out into the crowd, when your gaze connected with someone right in the front, and a look of disgust overtook them, you felt that lest tether inside of you snap free. The air knocked from your lungs, that same cold feeling of fear dripping down your back.

Eddie must have seen it, he was watching you the entire time, having tuned into your every move since the two of you had left his dressing room. He knew you were acting odd, skittish, like a petrified cat getting ready to flee. So when you retreated, he motioned to Jeff to keep the crowd busy before running off on in search of you.

He called after you, having bulked up enough since high school to catch up with you with ease. When you moved faster at the sound of his voice, he did too, finding you pacing in the haven of his dressing room. He shut the door, locking it, before approaching you, slow, cautious, like the floor was uneven and you on a precipice.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” he asked, unsure.

You weren’t facing him so when your shoulders began to shake, he wasn’t sure if you were crying or laughing. But when you turned, face splotchy and chest heaving, he rushed forward, gathering you in his arms.

“What is it, my sweet girl. What’s wrong?” he murmured into the top of your head, holding you tight so that the pressure of his embrace might calm you down enough to talk, to explain or clarify or at least quell the rapid thrum of his worried heartbeat.

“I can’t Eddie, I just—” you hiccupped, voice muffled by the sound of his t-shirt— “I can’t do it.”

“It’s alright, love, just try, yeah? Just—whatever comes to mind—”

“No—You don’t get it—” and you pulled away, the distance between the two of you growing with every moment in more ways than one. “I can’t do this. This thing—” you motioned between you, and he froze.

“You can’t do what?” his voice hardening, on the offensive, and his face contorted to prepare him for the worst.

“Eddie. It’s too much. It’s been too much for so long and I know I should’ve—” a sob ripped from your chest and all he wanted to do was reach for you, his body yearned for it, but he knew better. “—I should’ve said something ages ago. Not let it go so far but it’s too late and you can blame me for—”

“—for what! Us? This? Is that all we are? Some vague abstract of now? Just come out and say it.” he was exploding, erupting, Vesuvius and Pompeii. “Go on. Say it.”

And it was your turn to yell and shout and hurl until your lungs seized. “It’s killing me, Eddie! I feel like I’m fucking dying here. I can’t compete with them, not anymore. I’m exhausted and I feel—I feel fucking heavy.” You were panting from the force of your words, the weight they carried, and you had been carrying.

“There’s no competition, sweetheart. There will never be a competition,” he pleaded, stumbling a step closer but you pushed back.

“I know you feel that way, Eds. I know you do—” his heart squeezed at the nickname. “—I know this is irrational in so many ways. It shouldn’t matter that your fans fucking despise me,” and he flinched at the crudeness of your words. “But there’s one of me and millions—holy shit, there’s millions of them, Eddie. They’re suffocating me and I just—I want to breathe, again. I need to breathe.”

The walls were crashing and crumbling and nothing he said would help to rebuild them, not this time. And he must have sensed it because it was like the air was knocked out of his lungs, too, and he fell to his knees in front of you, clinging to you like maybe if he held on tight enough, he could stop you from leaving.

“Please. My love. My sweet girl. You’re it. You’re always it,” and it must have hit him, what you had meant earlier, because he couldn’t stop rambling, stop repeating: “I forgive you. I forgive you, always, my love. It doesn’t matter what you do, you’re mine and I forgive you.”

Your heart cracked open then, your hand cradling his tear-soaked face to where he was burrowing himself into the pillow of your stomach. You couldn’t bear it anymore, to hear him, see him, touch him, whilst you cut away the pieces of your love. You brushed the hair from his forehead, your own tears falling on him and he cursed himself for making you cry.

You still don’t know if what you did was from a place of strength or weakness, if the way you went about it, with thousands still waiting for him mere feet away, was cruel or kind. But you needed to do it, or at least, that’s what you kept repeating to yourself in your head.

That and Eddie, Eddie, Eddie -- your mind chanted.

You were the only audience he ever needed. If only you knew.

As always, reblog + comment if you enjoyed this or want more! Requests are opennnnn :D

[modern-day-bard]

Other Duties As Assigned: A Joel Miller AU Fanfiction

Content Warning: 18+ This story includes mature themes such as drinking, stalking, violence, and explicit smut. Minors, do not interact.

Chapter 18: One Step Forward…

word count: 3.3k

ao3 | wattpad

Joel

Temptation had come knocking on my door once again. Only this time, temptation was pounding through my defenses with a battering ram, and she was dressed in skintight red leather.

Whereas the past few days had been consumed with the guilt of withholding the second of the stalker’s gifts from her, last night had been an endless repetition of increasingly indecent thoughts. My guilty conscience was left black and blue, fighting harder and harder to keep them at bay. The fact that for a moment I had actually considered kissing her means that I had incinerated boundaries that should have been impenetrable. Gwen is supposed to be able to trust me implicitly. She had been shaking out of fear only minutes prior, and yet, when she looked up at me with those curious, playful eyes, asking me about relationships no less…

My behavior was unacceptable. I hadn’t touched her, my aching body knew that much. It took firing up every muscle in my body to pull me back from her on that balcony. But it was the want to do so and the thoughts that followed that had me cursing at the ceiling until the early hours of the morning. In the dark, there were moments where I was delusional enough to think Gwen might actually feel the same. The electric pull to be as close to her as possible. It had to stop. And that starts with telling her about the second note.

Except, Gwen had made brunch plans with her friends the following morning to recap the night. It didn’t seem right to tell her before we left, like I had planned. It seemed like a potential few hours of peace, and with the guilt I’m carrying from last night, I feel like I owe that to her. Watching her laugh, with the sun pouring into the enclosed porch of the restaurant, it feels like I’m doing it for myself, too. I want to give her this peace, and the knowledge that I also have to be the one to take it away is littering my gut with guilt. A small, more selfish part of me wonders if I have to tell her at all. But it’s been several days, and as much as she deserves peace, she also deserves honesty. If I can’t be honest about my feelings, I need to be honest about this.

As we’re leaving the restaurant, she gives her friends one last hug before smiling up at me.

“Could you do something for me?” She asks.

Anything.

“Yes, ma’am.” Her eyes flicker just as they had when I said that before, though she recovers quickly.

“Do you think we could walk home instead? I know it’s probably more stressful for you, vigilance wise, but it’s not that far.”

The sun was still on her face. Knowing that there won’t be many days in the winter that I get to see how that light changes the color of her hair, I nod instantly.

“Of course.”

Gwen leads the way, and again my chest hurts that some of her assurance has been restored. Maybe I should tell her now, and get it over with. The street isn’t too busy, but I still run the risk that her stalker is nearby, and he could gauge her reaction, or worse, get some sick satisfaction if it upsets her.

If. It’s not an if, I know it will upset her.

“You’re scowling even more than usual,” She says lightly, swinging around the purse in her hand.

“I thought I was the observant one.” I grumble.

“Not the only one,” she corrects me, gazing upwards at some of the taller buildings. “Speaking of, I’ve never seen you do the tourist stare. Have you been to New York before?”

“The tourist stare?” I scoff, “I had never been to New York before,” I look down at her, and she’s squinting to look up at me. “I pay attention to what’s important.”

“Ah,” Gwen looks at me for a moment longer before returning to her usual, glazed over expression that she uses to move through crowds. Though now, we’re only sharing the street with a few others. The Upper West is relatively quiet on a Sunday afternoon.

“Is there anywhere you’d want to visit while you’re in the city?” She asks.

I chuckle, and Gwen’s face turns incredulous. “I just—haven’t given it any thought.” We turn around the next corner, which seems to be part residential, part boutique-type stores.

“You were flown to one of the best cities in the world, and you didn’t even think of visiting The Met or something?”

“It was an assignment. I had a lot of information to learn, and I focused on that. In this line of work, you don’t have many days off. Or any room for distractions.”

“Oh,” Gwen looks as though she never considered that. After some silence, she asks, “Do you…want a day off?”

“No.” I answer it too quickly, too forcefully. “That’s not what I mean. I’m used to it is all. Looking up tourist spots just isn’t part of my job.”

She considers this, stopping on the sidewalk. “I get that. But if you ever do need a day off—”

“I don’t.” I say it quietly, but firm.

“Okay,” she mimics my tone, and I anticipate her to start walking again, but she hesitates. “Okay, I lied. I didn’t just want to walk home, I wanted to take you here,” She uses her thumb to point behind her at a small men’s clothing store.

“That’s fine. Are you picking something up?” Maybe she wanted help carrying something without missing out on the fresh air.

“No, that’s the thing. I was hoping we could take you in here and get you a few new shirts.”

“I…” I’m dumbfounded, my mouth open slightly, but not making a move to formulate a real sentence. “Is there something wrong with my clothes?”

“What? No!” Her eyes grow wide and apologetic, “Not at all. I think your style suits you, actually,” Gwen looks down at her heeled boots, kicking something on the pavement that I don’t see.

“I just noticed you only have like, five shirts. And since you can’t exactly go shopping without keeping an eye on me, I figured…” She gestures back at the store.

I narrow my eyes at the window mannequins facing the street. I would expect them to be dressed in full suits with some sort of fancy, pocket square bullshit, but they weren’t. There was a leather jacket that looked worn enough that it could easily be from a Texas thrift store, and the other mannequins had on basic jeans, a sweater, and a t-shirt. Nothing about it scared me away, though everything about this made my guilt ten times worse.

“We don’t need to do that,” I say, and her face falls. She picks it right back up, flicking a stray hair out of her face.

“I should have been more clear. I’m more so giving you the illusion of choice.” Gwen turns on her heel, and heads inside the shop without another word. I tilt my head back, sighing up at the sky before following her in. Where she goes, I go. And she knows it.

The store is intimate on the inside, which makes this even more uncomfortable. There are three large racks with clothing, two dressing rooms at the far end, and a checkout counter to the right. Gwen is already in her element, chatting with the older woman behind that counter. I feel like I’ve morphed into one of the mannequins the way I’m standing by the door.

“Just some basics, you know. Maybe another pair of jeans, dark wash if you have any, some button-downs. That sort of thing.” Gwen wags her hand in the air, and the woman’s attention is drawn to me.

“I see,” The lady’s eyes scan me like I’m the newest experiment to enter her laboratory. “Is this him?”

“Yes,” Gwen grins, “Don’t be shy, Mr. Miller.”

I’d find her even more irritating if she didn’t look so damn proud of herself.

Before I know it, the lady, who’s name I learn is Julie, is measuring me. Soon after, she and Gwen are swapping opinions as they hand me a navy sweater, a light blue button-down, and a dark green t-shirt. I can’t say I hate what they pull for me, especially when Gwen holds things up to my chest to inspect. Glancing from a shirt to my eyes and my hair makes me feel more vulnerable than I have in years, but I don't mind. She’s clearly enjoying herself, which makes it easy for me to do the same.

When Julie shoves me toward the dressing room though, some of that enjoyment fades.

“I don’t think that's necessary,” I huff, even as she starts to close the curtain behind me.

“Humor us,” Julie smiles, yanking the last part of the curtain closed. The whole room is one giant mirror, and I decide it best to just put on everything at once so this will be over as soon as possible. I yank down my jeans, swapping for the new pair. To Julie’s credit, they fit well. Same with the blue button-down, but I only do up a few of the buttons before ripping the curtain open.

I run a hand through my hair, not sure what I’m supposed to announce in a situation like this.

“Oooo,” Julie coos. “That is certainly your color.”

My color? It’s the color of your commission maybe.

“What do you think, Miss Russell?” Julie asks.

Gwen has taken one of the two seats available in the shop, directly facing my dressing room. Her eyes start at my knees, gracing their way up and landing on my exposed chest just long enough for me to feel like I wanted to close the space between us.

“Did you try on the sweater?” She asks me.

I smirk as I’ve only been behind the curtain for a minute or two. “No.”

“Can you?” Gwen picks at one of her cuticles.

I start to unbutton my shirt in front of her before I remember where I am, and I quickly close the curtain. After emerging in the sweater, Gwen surveys me for a few long moments, before smiling at Julie.

“We’ll take it all.”

As Julie brings everything to the counter, I walk back over to the shop window. I can’t help but reach out and touch the jacket sitting in the sun. It would help to have something heavier like this in the coming months. Without another thought, I try it on over my regular clothes, stretching out my arms to make sure it fits as good as it feels.

I catch Gwen’s eye, and my heart nearly stops when I see her smiling.

“That looks like you,” She says.

“It’s nice and…heavy.” I’m not sure what adjectives fashionable New Yorkers use while shopping. But it does feel like a good fit.

“We’ll take that as well,” Gwen points the jacket out to Julie. This finally alerts me to what she’s trying to do, and I stalk over to the counter.

“I’m taking it. I’m the one buying it,” I reach for my wallet in the back pocket of my jeans as Julie rings it up.

“No you are not. My idea, my card.” Gwen slaps her card on the counter, clearly already prepared for battle.

Julie is unfazed by this, ringing up the shirts, jeans, and the jacket I take off and hand to her.

“The total is $1,826 today. Will that be debit or credit?”

“Credit,” Gwen and I say at the same time, though I nearly choke on the price. I’ve fixed appliances for cheaper. There ain’t no way this amount of items is worth that much.

“Can you not just be so—you for a minute and let me pay for it?” Gwen arches a brow.

I can’t handle the look in her eyes, the guilt of what still remains unsaid, and the thought of her purchasing all of this nonsense.

“If you pay, I’ll owe you several more self-defense courses. And I don’t think you want that.”

Gwen bites back a smile. “You can buy the jacket.”

Her bracelets jingle as she shoves her card in Julie’s direction, and she runs it through before I can object any further. I pay my portion, a whopping $725—definitely not a Texas thrift store price—and we’re out the door. Rodney’s car is out front, and I roll my eyes at how orchestrated this whole thing was.

“If you wanted to do this, you could have just asked.” I say as I open the door for her.

“You would have said no.”“That’s not true—”

Gwen gives me a wry look.

“Fine.” I close her door, getting in myself without another word.

The entire way home, my hands are sweating. All of the things I’ve done in this job, all the things I’ve seen, and this is what worries me? I should have told her as soon as it was delivered. I know that. But she had a hard enough time enjoying herself at the party as is. I never thought I’d see the day when I was borderline disappointed she didn’t feel like dancing with another man. Though some of those feelings are muddled—and best left unexplored—knowing about the second note would have only made that night worse for her. And that’s what I keep repeating to myself as we walk into her apartment.

Gwen has just made her way into the kitchen to pour a glass of water. I wait for a moment longer before wiping my hands on my jeans one final time and I ask her, “Can I speak to you for a minute?”

She takes a long swig. “Am I in trouble?”

“No. Just—maybe we could talk in the living room.”

“Okay…” The humor has died down in her voice as she follows me to the sofas.

I crack my knuckles, unsure of how to begin.

“Look, if the clothes thing is seriously going to make you uncomfortable we can work something else out.”

“It’s not that. Uh, thank you. Miss Russell, there’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you. It’s something I should have told you sooner, I realize.”

I clear my throat, risking a glance at Gwen. She’s much more serious now, taking on the expression that is usually reserved for board meetings. The only difference is her eyes. They’re wider, with a strange dash of hopefulness that I’ve seen on occasion.

“Go on,” She encourages.

“You didn’t seem to be sleeping well lately. And when you mentioned the party, I felt like it would be good for you to get out and be around your people.” I pause, trying to calculate how she’s responding so far, but there’s nothing. She remains just as impassive. “Later that day, one of the receptionists said there was a package for you. I had hoped it was from someone else, but…it was from the stalker. I wanted to tell you right away, but I didn’t want to spoil the weekend for you. I just—feel like you should know.”

I try to hide how deep of a breath I take before looking up at her again. Her eyes have narrowed, and she’s sticking one fingernail into the pad of her thumb so sharply that I’d be surprised if it doesn’t break skin.

“How do you know it was him?” She asks quietly.

“The note. I thought we might have a lead now, since he used a gifting company this time…unfortunately he mailed in the cash with instructions on who to address the gift to.” At least I can give her more details than I had when it arrived, thanks to Angus.

Gwen shakes her head, looking at the coffee table between us. “What did it say?”

Even now, I don’t want to tell her. Just because she deserves to know doesn’t make it easier when I know it will scare her.

“It said…‘I’m glad to see you’ve returned. I look forward to the day when you’re on the top floor. Then I’ll always know where to find you.’”There’s a single flash of panic across her face. And then, only a moment longer, and she’s back to her usual composure.

“You should have told me.” She whispers, her tone several degrees cooler than before.

“I agree.” She looks as though she didn’t expect that response, but I can tell she’s far from done with me.

“What was the package?”

“Candy, mostly. And more white roses.”

She shakes her head again, her lips pressing together. “I have a right to know these things. To choose whether or not I put myself, or more importantly, my friends at risk by going out. Even you could’ve—” She stops herself, shaking her head once more. “I wouldn’t have gone.”

“You needed to go.”

Gwen’s laugh is riddled with irritation. “And you think you get to decide that? God, what is with you people?” She places both of her hands on either side of her face, dumbfounded.

“I don’t get to decide. I should have told you…but you also should have gone.” I say quietly, trying to determine who these other ‘people’ are.

“Withholding information so that I do what you think I should do is essentially deciding for me. That’s all everyone does. You withhold information in some weird act of self-preservation, assuming that I can’t handle it, meanwhile, someone could get hurt!” Gwen’s voice rises as she stands from the couch. Now I’m lost.

“I would never put your friends in harm’s way, Miss Russell. They were safe. We all were.”

She scoffs. “I don’t—I don’t believe you. You say you’re here for my protection, but how do I know? How do I know you’re not just reporting back to base? Keeping me out of…trouble?”

“Miss Russell…I’m not following.” I thought we were past this by now. Who would I be reporting to? I doubt her father would want to know what she’s up to all the time, and I doubt Gwen would believe it if he did. “How can I prove to you that all I care about is your safety?” Emotionally, and physically. Though I don’t think I’ve ever cared about the former this much before, and it’s taking everything in me right now not to express it.

Gwen takes a few sharp breaths, eyes searching mine. Her hurt is evident even if she doesn’t realize.

“You can’t,” She sounds defeated, turning on her heel toward the hallway. Halfway there, she stops in her tracks, facing me with a pinning stare.

“You… do not treat me like that. Not like them. You tell me when these things happen. Got it?” It was the voice of the heir to the global media conglomerate. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the one to hire me. That tone told me that if I didn’t adhere to what she asked…Well, she might not be able to make me lose my job, but she could certainly make me regret taking it.

Gwen raises a brow at me, clearly waiting for a response.

“I’ll tell you,” I say.

All she does is sigh before leaving me alone in the living room.

I knew she would be upset, and angry, most likely. I didn’t expect the hurt I saw on her face. Or that she would rope me in with whomever else she felt didn’t respect her. And she still doesn’t believe that I’m not tracking her whereabouts and reporting them to someone else? She must mean her father, or the other board members. But why would they? And if they did hire me to do that, why would it matter? Unless they wanted to be kept apprised of where she shops, eats, and sleeps. Other than that, what could they possibly want to know?

And more importantly, why did that possibility worry her so much?

Next Chapter

Previous chapter

Masterlist

[clydethesnake]

Icy Waters Vol. I

Chapter Seven

It’s six months before another note arrived. 

Things had been going well in hindsight; Kiko got another job, as well as the one at The Union, so she was earning a little extra money, Bumi had come to visit again, she was having regular healing lessons with Katara, who assured her that she didn’t need any more lessons in combat, and in general, the feeling of eyes on her became a less regular thing. 

She’d even had a rather successful birthday on Air Temple Island with the Beifongs and the Avatar’s family. 

Kiko walks up the large flight of stairs to reach the Air Temple, unbuttoning the top of her black shirt after coming back from work. It had been a busy night, but she was glad to not hear any happy birthdays from any patrons.  

Not that she’s told anyone her birthday here anyway. 

It's a difficult day for the waterbender; without any family to celebrate, she never made it a regular habit to do something. Especially after moving to Republic City. 

However, clearly, someone found out.  

She jumps back like a scared cat, bending some water into ice shards as a weapon as she hears jumbled shouting.  

“Dammit, Bumi! You ruined it.”  

Kiko’s eyebrows furrow, her alarmed expression morphing into one of confusion. Dark silhouettes emerge from the bushes, illuminated by the street lamps dotted along the path.  

She makes out a group of people, led by Kya who is scolding Bumi. Aang has a large smile on his face, Katara and Sokka by his side. Tenzin is also there, standing next to Lin with Toph and Su behind them. 

“What...?” She can hardly mutter out before Katara interrupts. 

“Happy birthday, Kiko!” 

She looks at her best friend with an unamused expression, “Really? How did you find out?”  

Kya turns to Lin, who is standing next to her mother. She has a slightly guilty expression, “I got the Chief to find your file. You know, you’re a hard person to find information about.” 

Kiko's jaw drops slightly in disbelief, “I can’t believe you. That is so creepy, not to mention an insane breach of privacy!” 

“I’m a police officer, and you’ve been arrested in Republic City before; technically, I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Besides, the majority of your file was locked.” 

Kiko’s eyes narrow and she opens her mouth to speak, “Don’t be mad at Lin, she was checking for me.” Katara interrupts, her smile not faltering. 

“Why?” 

“Everyone deserves to have a nice birthday. We thought it might take your mind off everything that is happening.” Kiko stays silent for a moment, her eyes roaming the hopeful faces all looking at her, but Katara carries on, “I made roast duck.” She says in a teasing sort of tone. 

Kiko’s head perks up at the mention of her favourite food, “I suppose I could stretch to having some nice food.” She walks past the group, “But no singing.” 

So, when Kiko woke up one morning, the sunlight muted from the clouds and her sheer curtains, spotting a new envelope on her bedside table, the waterbender was understandably uncomfortable.  

She almost doesn’t want to open it; the threat Toph has given her is still on her mind, if there’s any escalation further than some notes, then you are joining a programme immediately.  

Kiko sits up and throws her legs over the edge of her bed, her head pounding from the lack of sleep she had received the night before. Working two jobs and having healer training is really taking it out of her; she’s hardly ever on the Island now. Katara will probably have me on house arrest after this.  

They had all been hopeful that the waterbender’s stalker has stopped trying to contact her after six months with not a single new note. However, they have clearly decided now that they are done waiting. Kiko can’t help but feel a sinking feeling in her stomach, this is the start of something bad. 

She reaches for the note on her bedside table, hands shaking slightly out of nervousness. It's in the same format as the previous two; a neatly pressed envelope with a single sheet of paper. And the writing, gorgeous copperplate, clearly written with good quality ink.  

Her eyes scan over the crisp piece of paper, a shiver crawling up her spine.  

I’m getting impatient. Reveal yourself or who knows what might happen to your pretty girlfriend and her sister. 

Kiko’s heart is racing and she feels her hands start to become clammy, her breathing quickening at the words. Pretty girlfriend? Reveal yourself? She shakes her head and places the note face down back on her bedside table. Just what am I meant to reveal? Kiko scans her brain for answers to the question. 

They had been close to figuring out who was the one who sent the notes; Chief Beifong had sent the second note Kiko received to be brushed for fingerprints months prior. It had made it to the lab well, but as the evidence was being sent back to the police station, the car carrying it was raided.  

It was the Amber Wolfbat Triad, Toph told her, almost indifferently. There’s nothing we can do. They lost the evidence that day, and Kiko knows that it’s only going to get harder to figure out who is doing this. 

Kiko sits on the edge of her bed, face in her hands. She knew something like this was going to happen. She knew that she had put Lin and Su in danger, and yet, she couldn’t stay away. A little voice is nagging in the back of her brain, you need to cut ties. It has been her go-to method when she gets too close to people, when they start to ask questions about her childhood.  

And yet, cutting ties with Lin seems like an impossible task. 

They had just begun getting closer; her and Kiko were spending lunches together, taking turns in deciding which restaurants they go to when they have aligning lunch breaks. Though, Lin doesn’t need to know that I sometimes take my lunch later just to eat with her. 

It was only yesterday they had visited Narook’s for food that, as Kiko described, was the most authentic Water Tribe food in Republic City. 

Kiko turns the corner on Kyoshi Street, Narook’s coming into view. 

To this day, it’s the most authentic Water Tribe food she’s found in the city, specialising in Northern cuisine. 

Her stomach growls aggravatedly, despite her shift at The Union not being a particularly busy one. Kiko's lips quirk up into a small smile at the thought of being able to share one of her favourite restaurants with Lin. 

However, her smile drops as she notices the earthbender in question already standing outside the restaurant.  

“I see you’ve beaten me here.” Kiko acknowledges, in a slightly teasing tone. 

“The Chief let me off earlier.” Lin smiles. 

“You’re lucky. Boss has been giving me as many shifts as possible. If I even think about leaving early, I have him screeching in my ear.” Kiko shudders, her and Lin walking side by side into the cozy restaurant. 

Lin snorts, “You do know you’re entitled to time off?”  

“I know that.” The waterbender says, a little to defensively, “I just- I'm finally making a little more money and- and I like being able to see something and just say, you know what? I’m going to treat myself to that today.”  

Lin nods, “I get that,” She muses as they sit down at an empty table, “We could always get out of Republic City for a few weeks? Kya invited us to come along with her to Ember Island.” She perks up even more, clutching the menu, “And Izumi would be there! She would love to meet you.” 

Kya had left to travel over the past few months; sending letters from each of the cities she was visiting. The last letter Lin had received was from Ba Sing Se, where Kya admitted to wanting to visit somewhere familiar; Ember Island. She invited the whole group to come, with Bumi even being able to take some time off to come. 

Kiko recoils a little, “Really? It doesn’t seem like you to willingly take more than a few days off work. Let alone a few weeks.”  

“It would be relaxing.” Lin carefully avoids Kiko’s very true words about not taking time off work. 

Kiko shrugs, “We could always ask Kya about it.”  

And that’s how Kiko was roped into going to Ember Island. 

The waterbender sighs at the memory, the pleasant emotions she had been feeling seemingly so far away. Well, I’d better call Lin about this note. 

She stands, pockets the envelope, making sure not to crumple it, and heads to the phone in the living room of the temple.  

--- 

Kiko thought that it would take at least an hour for Lin to make it to the island, prompting the waterbender to head to the gazebo that overlooks the bay, where most Air Acolytes come to meditate.  

She had always hated meditating; staying still in one place for hours was never easy for her. And it wasn’t a common thing to be encouraged in her household, not after what happened to her mother. 

And yet, Kiko found some sense of mind in that moment, sitting in the lotus position and breathing deeply helped her to briefly forget about the chaos of what was happening. Of the stalker. Of her slightly complicated feelings for Lin. Of her unresolved childhood trauma. 

It was all too much.  

But in that moment, the waterbender allowed herself to relax. 

However, after about 10 minutes, she feels a presence behind her. Turning around immediately, she comes to face Tenzin. Kiko gets up, “Need something?” 

She doesn’t particularly have the best relationship with the airbender; knowing that he is practically head over heels for Lin doesn’t help. He's always huffy and grumpy around Kiko, preferring to ignore her existence and live in his own little world where he believes that the earthbender is in love with him. 

Tenzin rolls his eyes a little, clearly not happy to be talking to the waterbender, “Lin’s here. I offered to come and tell you.”  

Kiko raises and eyebrow, “Oh yeah? Willingly talking to me now?” She teases with no real amusement, “Or are you only here because Lin wanted to talk to me?” The waterbender moves close to Tenzin, who rolls his eyes again. 

“She’s in the living room.” He grumbles, ignoring her question. 

Kiko backs off, taking a few steps back before walking past the airbender, muttering a quick thanks. 

What in spirits’ name is his problem with me?! The waterbender thinks angrily, walking through the cobbled courtyard of Air Temple Island. She half-heartedly stomps up the rest of the steps, walking into the living room, where Lin is sitting patiently on the couch. 

She raises an eyebrow, “Another note, you say?” She gets straight to the point, arms crossed. 

Kiko nods almost solemnly, sitting next to her friend, “Unfortunately.” She takes out the slightly crumpled envelope and hands it to the earthbender. 

Kiko watches Lin’s facial expression closely, noticing her eyes widening slightly before she puts on a mask of no emotions, “Who is this referring to?” She points at the words, pretty girlfriend. 

The waterbender’s face reddens a little, muttering out her next words, “I’m guessing that they are referring to you.” 

“What? But we’re not dating.”  

“Yeah, I know that.” Kiko rolls her eyes a little, her tone a little sarcastic. 

Lin decides to ignore the comment for now, “We need to get this to the Chief.”  

“So she can do what? Send it to the lab and get it stolen again?” Kiko asks, her sarcastic tone persisting, “There’s no point, no one is doing anything to help me.”  

“Then join the programme the Chief recommended.” Kiko huffs a little, knowing that it would be the best idea, but before she can say anything, Lin continues, “Why are you so insistent that you don’t want to join anyway?”  

Oh boy... “I just- I guess... I've always had a bit of a problem accepting help from others.” Kiko keeps her eyes trained on the wooden floor. 

Lin is silent for a few seconds, before she hesitantly places her hand on the waterbender’s shoulder, her thumb drawing comforting circles into her dark skin, “I- uh... I’m not very good at this but- you can always come to me for help. For anything.” The earthbender takes her hand away, but is stopped when Kiko catches it, “I- I don’t know if that helped but-” 

“Thank you.” Kiko squeezes Lin’s hand before releasing it. She flops down on the couch and runs a hand through her loosening hair, “I guess we should go to the station then?” 

Lin nods, “I think that would be the best idea.” She replies, pocketing the note that Kiko had handed her earlier. 

It takes 10 minutes for Kiko to freshen up, before they are on the ferry to the mainland.  

Kiko feels a slight weight being lifted off her shoulders at the thought of joining the Zheng Hai protection programme, despite being so against it in the beginning. But, of course, Lin managed to break through her walls and convince her to join. She just seems to have that effect on me... the waterbender thinks, as she looks at Lin’s sharp side profile. 

“Were you at work today?” Kiko questions, taking note of Lin’s civilian clothes. 

Lin shakes her head, “No, I took the day off for myself.” 

“Oh, well, I guess this probably isn’t what you had in mind.” The waterbender looks out to Air Temple Island, watching it get smaller as they get closer to the mainland. She can’t help but feel a pang of guilt at ruining Lin’s plans of relaxing for the day. 

“Hey, what did I say earlier? Don't worry about coming to me for help; that’s what friends are for.” Kiko only hums, her eyes latching catching Lin’s. The earthbender continues, “But, if you’re really that worried... we could grab some dinner after going to the station? It might help to take our minds off things.” Her tone is hesitant, with a hint of hopefulness. 

Kiko smiles, nodding slightly, “That would be great.” 

She is also hesitant, though not in the same way as Lin. Her stalker already thinks that her and Lin are more than friends, and now that she knows that they are back to threatening her, the thought of going out with Lin brings Kiko a great sense of anxiety. What if they decide to attack? The thought makes the waterbender’s heartbeat quicken.  

Kiko hopes that Lin didn’t catch onto her nervousness, but it’s evident by the look on her face that she did, “Is everything alright? Your heart is racing.” She asks, concerned. 

The waterbender looks away from her piercing green eyes, “I- uh- I don’t want to put you in any more danger, is all... the stalker already thinks that we’re dating.” 

Lin’s face falls a little, but a determined look flashes across her features, “I can handle myself.” 

“We don’t know what we’re up against.” 

“I’m a Beifong. And you’re a strong waterbender, I know you’ve been training with Katara.” 

Kiko interrupts, “Healer training.” 

“That only proves my point more,” The earthbender looks a little smug, “Katara knows you’re amazing at hand-to-hand combat.” 

“Yeah, enough to beat you.” Kiko snickers, thinking back to the time they sparred with no bending. 

Kiko stands in the courtyard of Air Temple Island in only her cream-coloured bindings and a pair of navy blue shorts. Across from her, Lin is wearing a white tank top and similar shorts to Kiko in black. The taller of the pair can’t help but risk a few glances at Lin’s strong thighs. 

Lin finishes wrapping her arms and stands with her feet shoulder-width apart, “Ready?” 

Kiko nods, standing in the same position as Lin, “Remember, no bending.” She teases, giving the earthbender a small smug smirk. 

She rolls her eyes, but nods anyway, stalking closer to the taller woman. 

Lin immediately curls her fingers into a fist and throws a punch, going straight for the offence. Kiko catches her fist, twisting the earthbender’s arm and sending a jab to the gut to wind her. Lin doubles over briefly, before straightening up almost immediately and sends an uppercut straight for Kiko’s jaw. 

The waterbender swears under her breath as she feels her teeth collide, feet stumbling backwards as she feels Lin’s presence follow her. Wow, she is really not pulling her punches. Kiko thinks, tasting a hint of metallic blood in her mouth. 

The two agreed not to go easy on one another, excited to be able to properly spar without knowing that they are seriously going to injure one another. They are both on the same level when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, after all. 

However, just as Kiko recovers from the blow, Lin sweeps her legs out from under her, causing the taller of the two to go falling to the floor. She lands on her front, and Lin gets on top of her, wrapping an arm around her neck in a weak headlock, “Yield?” 

Kiko makes a weak attempt to shake her head, but then decides to use Lin’s weight on her back against her, and rolls both of them over. Kiko is now on top of Lin, though the Beifong’s arm still had her trapped in a headlock. 

The waterbender makes use of their position, jabbing Lin’s gut once again with her elbow until her grip weakened, and twists out of her hold. Kiko kneels on her abdomen with no real weight, grips the front of Lin’s now slightly dirty tank top and pulls her up slightly. Her arm comes up in a threatening position, “Do you yield?”  

Lin hesitates for a moment, their eyes catching, before she huffs, “Yes.”  

Kiko smiles, getting off the earthbender and offering a hand to her. Lin takes it, heaving herself off the cobble ground and stands. They shake hands almost jokingly, chuckling to themselves.  

“Want to go get some tea? Katara is making some.” Lin offers, a soft smile still on her face. 

Kiko nods, “Of course.” 

Lin rolls her eyes at the reminder from Kiko, “Yeah, yeah. I was distracted that day, you know that.”  

“Excuses, excuses.”  

Lin gives her an unimpressed look before they both feel a jostle as they dock, “We can take my Satomobile.” 

Kiko nods and follows Lin to her car with a slightly grim expression on her face, “Lead the way.” 

--- 

“So, you’re finally agreeing to join the programme, then?” Toph asks, legs crossed in a domineering way at her metal desk. 

Kiko sighs and glances at Lin before agreeing, “Yes, I think it would be for the best.” 

Toph nods but stays silent. She heaves out a sigh after what seems like an eternity to the two girls, before she motions to the man on her left, who Kiko assumes is a scribe, to get something from one of the filing cabinets.  

He seems to understand what she wants straight away, and immediately starts rummaging through the overfilled metal files. “Take a seat.” The Chief motions to the chair in front of her desk. 

Kiko does as she says, noticing that Lin moves to stand behind her seat. 

“Are you comfortable with having Officer Beifong here while you do this?” Toph asks, gesturing towards where she knows her daughter is standing. 

“Of course.” 

The man in the room seems to have found what he needs, and places it in front of Kiko with a pen. The waterbender mutters out a small thanks before looking over the print. 

Toph’s voice interrupts her again, “Normally, the Zheng Hai protection programme is reserved for important figures, particularly those who have already been targeted. However, considering your relation with the Avatar and my daughter, we will make an exception.” 

“How charming.” Kiko mutters under her breath, catching Lin’s slight snicker from behind her. 

It doesn’t take long to fill out all of the necessary fields of the paperwork. By 2 pm they are done. 

The man standing next to Toph takes the piece of paper from in front of Kiko and files it away again. 

“Thank you.” Kiko expresses her gratitude towards Toph, but also Lin. If it weren’t for her, Kiko probably wouldn’t have joined. 

The Chief only nods, but Kiko knows that she appreciated the thanks. 

The two women leave the office and walk through the bullpen back into the lobby of the station, before Lin is caught by another officer. 

“Thought you weren’t in today, Beifong?” An older man asks her, tone teasing and cocky.  

“Had something to do.” She doesn’t look him in the eye, instead focusing on the people working and milling about behind him. 

“Oh yeah? This girl of yours get in trouble again?” He smirks almost viciously and Lin tries to ignore him, but he just has to open his mouth again, “She seems to be ‘round here lots recently. You into the naughty ones?” He looks Kiko up and down with a wolfish expression.  

The waterbender feels her skin crawl, a slight sense of dread filling her, but doesn’t show her uneasiness.  

Lin’s face goes bright red, but not in the cute, flustered way Kiko loves to see, “Shut up, Lieutenant Keta, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” She doesn’t raise her voice, but her tone is warning. 

Kiko grips onto Lin’s arm as he opens his mouth again, “What are you gonna do about it, Beifong? Cry to mommy?” 

Lin's expression turns to one of anger and she scoffs, but as she’s about to yell at him, Kiko pulls on the arm she had grabbed onto, “Let’s get out of here.” The waterbender’s voice is steady as she walks away. 

“That’s it! Get your pretty girlfriend of yours to fight your battles!” He barks after the pair, and Kiko can see Lin’s jaw clench tightly in anger.  

They get back into the Satomobile, but neither open their mouths. 

That is, before Kiko does, “Does he always harass you like that?” 

Lin hesitates for a moment, “Ever since he got promoted a few months ago, he thinks that he can do whatever he wants.” She rolls her eyes. 

Kiko wants to ask another question, but she knows she probably already has the answer to it, “Why haven’t you told Toph? Or me?” 

Lin sighs, “Because then I’d be playing right into his game; he already thinks that I’m just a spoiled brat who used her position as the Chief’s daughter to get into the academy. If I go to mom, then I’d be exactly who he thinks I am.” 

“Lin- no.” Kiko places a hand on her friend’s shoulder and coaxes her to look at her, “This is bullying, and you need to tell your boss, even if she is your mother.” Lin shakes her head again, but Kiko continues, “I can see that his words are hurting you.” 

“It’s not that- It's- I just couldn’t stand hearing him talk about you in that way. And the way he looked at you... it- it made my skin crawl.” 

Kiko hesitates before wrapping her other arm around the earthbender’s shoulders into a hug. It's a little awkward and uncomfortable because of the fact that they are in a car, but Kiko revels in the feeling of Lin’s hesitant arms circling her back. 

“Please, speak to the Chief about this.” Kiko whispers against Lin’s neck. “You’re not weak, or turning into what Keta thinks you are if you do. You know that you’ve worked hard to get here. Why does some idiot’s opinions of you matter?” 

“Because... it’s what everyone thinks, oh, she’s just using her mom’s position to get here. I know that it’s not true, but it’s not going to change my colleague’s opinions.” 

Kiko shakes her head slightly, her nose bumping against Lin’s neck, “They’re only mad because you’re better at your job than they are.” She chuckles, attempting to lighten the air a little. Lin lets out a small huff of a laugh, “Seriously though... you’re not going to be able to completely change everyone’s views. It's tough knowing that people think these things about you, but you just have to remember that you’ll go further than any of them.” Kiko pulls away from the hug, placing her hands on Lin’s shoulders, “I mean, you’re a Beifong for spirits’ sake!” 

Lin smiles a little bashfully, “You’re right.” She shakes her head and looks to the side, “I- this is hard, but I promise I’ll think about it.”  

Kiko only nods, her mood rising at seeing the cute expression on her friend’s face, “Now, I want that dinner you were talking about. Take our minds off all of this drama.” She sits back properly in the passenger seat. 

“Let’s go.” Lin starts the engine and drives deeper into the city. 

--- 

Hours pass as the two enjoy each other’s companies. 

Lin managed to park her Satomobile on the side of the road somewhere, using her badge as an indicator that she was allowed to, even though she wasn’t on patrol. Kiko teased her for using her position to do that a little, if only to see her flustered expression. 

Between them, the pair agreed on a little Fire Nation diner. It was quaint and had a cozy, homely feel. There were a few paintings of famous Fire Nation jazz singers on the walls, the reds and blacks of their clothes popping out on the walls. Kiko and Lin even recognised a few.  

However, all good things must come to an end. 

They walk out of the restaurant, Kiko holding a small bag, in which she carried some left over noodle soup and roasted komodo chicken. They were both a little tipsy, having drank a few glasses of plum wine between them.  

Lin heaves a sigh as they stand on the pavement, “I think I’m going to walk home. Probably shouldn’t be driving like this.” She has her hands in the pockets of her jacket. The same jacket Kiko had borrowed all of those months ago. 

Kiko nods, “I’m walking to the docks, too.”  

“Just- be careful, alright?” Lin’s eyebrows furrow in concern, and Kiko appreciated that she is not telling her to stay at hers. She doesn’t think that she can risk another note being found in Lin’s apartment. They've already done it once, what’s stopping them from breaking in again? 

“You too.” Kiko responds, smiling before looking around, “I’d better get home; I don’t want to miss the 11 o’clock ferry.” 

Lin nods, “See you later.” 

“See you later.” 

They part ways, walking in opposite directions. 

Kiko feels more than slightly hesitant to be walking alone at night, the hair on the back of her neck excruciatingly aware that someone could be following her right now.  

But there is something that she just needs to do. 

[tdinyomomma]

TD Imagines- Courtney

The Fake

“Do you think them hating each other will ever end?” I turned to Cody who was tense with fear looking around to watch out for Sierra. “Huh? What?” He asks and I chuckle, “She’s helping Chris with something she’ll be gone for a while.” I assure him, soothing his anxiety about the stalker who doesn’t leave him alone. His body slumps in the chair. “I’m sorry, what were you saying, though?” He apologizes but I shrug it off, it was understandable, Sierra is a bit much when it comes to the boy next to me. 

“I said, do you think they will stop hating each other? Over a boy, ya know.” My eyes were locked on Courtney crying about Gwen kissing Duncan. Heather weirdly comforted her, it was strange to see that happening. “Oh, probably not. Courtney’s pretty persistent and stubborn.” He takes a bite of his food, I bite my lip, frowning. “Right.” I sigh.

“Why do you care?” He chews on his food, I make a disgusted expression. “What?” “Chew with your mouth closed.” I roll my eyes. “And I-” I stop and think for a moment before continuing. “I just don’t want to lose because our team can’t get along.” I partly lied. I mean, I don’t want to lose because we lose first class. I also don’t want to lose because that means we have to send someone home, I don’t know who to choose. Or who everyone else will choose. “True but if we do lose can you promise me to vote for Sierra, please.” He leans his head back, taking another bite of his food and I laugh. “Sure, Cody.” 

After going back to silence I go back to looking over at Courtney who’s scribbling things down now. Heather says something to her and her eyes light up. I wonder what was said? Courtney’s head then snaps in my direction and I quickly vert my eyes to my lap. 

Later on in the day, I felt a tap on my shoulder as I was about to go get some food for Cody and I. He’s been too scared to leave his spot not knowing where Sierra’s gonna pop out from. “Hm?” I turn around to see Courtney with a huge grin on her face. I melted a little by her touch and smiled back at her. “Hey, [Name], we’re pretty good friends. Right?” Her head tilts and I glance around to see if this is some joke. Yeah we’re friends. Being in the same show for three seasons. I’ve always admired her but never had the guts to be besties or anything. “Uh… yeah, I guess?” I shrug my shoulders, going back to making the plates of food.

“So, you wouldn’t mind doing an itsy bitsy favor for me, would you?” She gets in front of me to stop me from getting my food. I raise an eyebrow. “Depends.” I simply exclaim. 

“[Name] it might actually not be so, itsy.” She frowns, I wait for her to go on and she closes her eyes taking a deep breath. “Could you please pretend to date me to make Duncan jealous. Alejandro offered but it doesn’t feel right. Duncan was always jealous of you.” She explains her favor and my jaw drops, along with the food that I was just holding. Her smile falters a bit, and she goes to apologize. I put my hands up, covering her mouth to start laughing. “Duncan? Jealous of me?” I snort, “hilarious joke, Court. Seriously.” I pat her shoulder, bending down to pick up the mess I made. 

“I am serious, [Name]. Please. I’ll do anything.” She begs at this point and I look up at her from the angle I’m in. “Anything?” I smirk. “Yes, I swear.” I then see Duncan entering the room, I grab her by the waist and lean down to act like I’m about to kiss her. Her hands laid on my chest in shock. I look up at the mohawk having  teen, acting surprised. “Oh, Duncan, what are you doing here?” I laugh awkwardly, still holding onto Courtney, not noticing how red her face is currently. 

“What is going on here?” He furrows his brow and I clear my throat, now having the girl by my side, my hand still laid on her opposite hip. “What do you mean?” I quizz. “I mean, why are you kissing Courtney?” He asks more aggressively and I shrug my shoulders. 

“Because I can.” I smile, “If you don’t mind we’re gonna go back to first class… together.” I wink, grabbing Cody’s food, walking back to the first class area with Courtney still right up next to me. Once we’re out of his sight, I let her go and she jumps up laughing. “That was amazing, did you see his face?!” She was practically talking to herself as I started walking again to go over to Cody. “Hey, wait. Where are you going?” She grabs the sleeve of my shirt, halting me from going anywhere. 

“To give Cody his food and probably take a nap.” I look around confused, was I not supposed to go my separate ways after making Duncan jealous? “We have to make everyone think this is real, so Duncan doesn’t know it’s fake.” She crosses her arms, I laugh. She doesn’t but I couldn’t hold it in. “We never spoke before this, how are people going to believe it?” I point out, this is where she smirks.

“Back story, duh. If people ask, we will just tell them that we both pined for each other secretly and you finally mustered up the guts to tell me your feelings!” She explains so simply, my shoulders tense at the thought because a quarter of that is true on my end. Secretly pining after Courtney secretly since the beginning, I don’t even believe the situation I’m in right now. 

“Oh, and you can’t talk to Gwen anymore. You’re mine.” She kisses my cheek and walks away leaving me flustered. I give myself a minute, taking a deep breath then going over to Cody, handing him his food in silence. “You good, you look happy but incredibly not yourself.” He takes a bite of a chip, I slowly turn my head to look at him eyes wide open. “I’m dating Courtney… I guess?” I then turn back to face forward, Cody’s jaw drops, so does his chip. “What!?” He shouts, earning a few looks and I shush him.

“I don’t know it happened so fast!” I whisper, clearly distressed. 

“She was just crying over Duncan and now you’re dating!?” He was whispering now too, I rub my face aggressively, breathing in through my nose. “I guess! I have no idea man.” I hold my face in my hands.

“Wow, at least you got your girl.” He congratulates me but it doesn’t feel right since it’s not one-hundred percent the truth but he also doesn’t need to know that right now. 

“Hey, [Name], come sit with me.” Courtney’s leaning over my seat and I look up at her, nervously grinning. “Okay…” I glance back to Cody who does a little nod as in okaying me to go. “You sure? Sierra might take my spot.” I remind him but he shrugs. “There’s nothing I can do about her at this point.” He sighs. I chuckle, ruffling his hair. “You’re the best, Cody.” I shoot up, taking Courtney’s hand and we go sit with Heather. I sit down normally and Courtney cuddles into my side. My whole torso is tense, not knowing what to do. 

“You two are actually dating?” Heather questions us, I nod and Courtney smiles. “Yup, all mine.” She snuggles in closer, I didn’t even know we could get closer, but she manages to do it. 

The next day, Courtney and I were all over each other, whenever eyes laid on us she did something to try and prove we’re a real couple somehow. Sometimes it felt too much. But I followed along, Duncan glared daggers through and if looks could kill I’d be 24 feet in the ground if he had it his way. 

The next couple of days have been filled with Courtney using me to make Duncan jealous and as much as I know and understand this is to help her it’s really starting to bother me since it’s making my feelings grow stronger. It’s now hurting to know that this is not real and whenever she wants to we will end this and pretend nothing ever happened. 

Thinking to myself, a person comes up to me, scaring me out of my zone. 

“Hey, babe~” Courtney sings, plopping down next to me, I smile weakly at her. “Hey, Court.” I gave a short wave, her eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, just tired. Rough night.” I forced out a laugh but it was too obvious that it wasn’t real and I sigh, putting my head down. “You can talk to me. I might be your fake girlfriend but I still care.” She jokes with me and I nod but I don’t say anything, not knowing how to put how I feel into words. 

I bite my lip, biting the dead skin off as I just blurt out words. “I like you.” I blurted out, and I’m shocked by my own words that left my mouth. “What?” Her face drops, I go to explain but she stands up, her hands on her hips. “[Name] this between us isn’t real, you know that. ” She exclaims loudly, I look around to see a few of our friends staring at us and I try to shush her. 

“No, [Name], don’t shhh me!” She points a finger in my face. “I was only doing you a favor by being with you. This was to help me out and you really thought you’d get something out of this?” She gets louder and my heart rate quickens. “No- if you’d listen-” She cuts me off. “Don’t, I got what I wanted out of this. It’s done.” She storms off away from me. “I thought we were friends?” I questioned her, quiet enough for no one else to hear. 

“Yeah to you, this was only for me to get what I wanted.” She scoffs, turning back around to face me again. My face contorts with different emotions and expressions. Mainly one: confused.

“Courtney, I’m seriously not understanding what’s happening.” I nervously laugh, she looks around and sees Duncan leaning against the wall then straightens her posture. “Like I said, we’re done, [Name].” She walks off over to the man and I hold onto my chest still feeling the thump of my heart. 

I ran off to the bathroom, throwing up immediately. Not hearing the door open, someone rubs my back. “That was brutal.” A voice says but due to throwing up I can barely pay attention to anything except for the sound of my own gagging. Once it’s over I lean back onto the wall, flushing the toilet and looking up to see Cody, getting down to his knees to be leveled with me. “What was all that?” He asks and I shrug my shoulders.

“It was a fake relationship.” I laugh quietly, my throat is hoarse and I can still feel my heart. “What?” He questions me. “It was all fake, she asked me as a favor to make Duncan jealous. She was just a little harsh when I said I actually liked her.” I cough, scrunching my nose at the taste in my mouth. “I had some weird panic attack and the attention made me throw up though.” He stands up then helps me up afterwards.

His jaw clenches after he hears what I said. “She didn’t have to make a scene like that.” He comments but I just walk back to my seat. “It seemed like once she saw Duncan she didn’t finish what she had to say and left to join him.” I think back to how she looked at him and rushed over. 

That night I didn’t eat, I didn’t talk and just cuddled into the seat, closing my eyes but not truly sleeping.

“Psst. [Name].” somebody shakes me, I mumble for them to go away but they don’t stop. “What?” I say in an aggressive tone but whispering since most of the others were also sleeping. “Can we talk?” It’s Courtney. 

I stare at her, not responding back. My chest starts to hurt at the sight of her. 

“Please, I’m sorry for earlier.” She pleads but I still don’t respond, looking at the ground. “[Name], I got hurt and Duncan wants me back. I went too far. It’s a reflex and I’m sorry.” She apologizes but I laugh dryly. “It was only meant to make him jealous, it wasn't meant to go that far.”

“You didn’t just do that to make Duncan jealous, you did it because you knew you could. You knew I liked you and you did it on purpose.” I say in a low tone, a hurt tone. A tone I don’t think she was ready to hear yet. 

“I did you a favor and all it did was destroy me mentally. I thought I was helping someone I truly admired. Instead it was all a stupid game to you.” I stood up, meeting her eyes that were filled with tears.

“I didn’t think you actually liked me.” She whispers almost inaudibly. 

“Well I don’t anymore.” I harshly say, walking away. 

I voted myself out next time we lost, not wanting to be around her anymore. 

It didn’t end with anyone getting a true explanation or an apology. Well Courtney tried but I kept thinking back to her words when she yelled at me. It overpowered every apology she gave me or things she gifted me to help me win.

If you want to request an imagine comment or privately dm!

Links to Other Writings

kinda rush, don't think I like it but I still want to post it because I wrote it.

[sangijazz]

Love MegaBytes - a LoveBug AU Stanley x shadow!Narrator fanfic

Chapter 5

----

Notes:

- Content Warnings:

- Viral Corruption;

- Gaslighting and Emotional Manipulation (by both parties);

- Obsessive Behavior;

- Unhealthy Possessive Behavior;

I don’t think that the contents of this chapter are heavy and/or explicit enough to warrant the skip-summary treatment, I hope I’m right, I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.

And I also apologize in advance if my depiction of sign language is wrong, feel free to correct me.

—

General Notes:

They /them pronouns for the Timekeeper;

They/them pronouns for the Bucket;

I made a little playlist for you, my dears, with songs that I listen to when writing Love MegaBytes (and in general really)

Here

I like stalker songs, there are some odd ones there but they are my Stannarrator songs. I accept recommendations for new songs for the playlist!

Some typos in the dialog are intentional.

I hope the zalgo is readable ;p but if it isn’t there is a transcript at the end of the chapter.

Enjoy~

----

In recollection, resetting might have been a bad idea, but everyone knew it was the only chance. Pink, pulsating, vein-like ruptures assaulted his opening eyes, it was on, in, everything, and everywhere . The ominous throbbing rose light coming out of them was the only thing illuminating the place. Stanley could see from his trapped position, chunks of the wall were missing, much like that little hole that began this all, the headache-inducing green binary he remembered, now laid bare and broken now too with that pink color, they were also bare, his drawings, all gone, stolen? Eaten? Were more things missing?!

Desperately, he darted his gaze to his hand, checking for that same corruption in himself. There was nothing, his model looked untouched.

“O̴k̵a̸y̴,̷ ̵S̸t̴_n̴l̷e̷y̷ ̵d̶e̵a̵r̸.̴ ̶L̷e̷t̴’̶s̵ ̸s̶t̷a̷_t̶ ̸t̴h̷i̷s̶ ̶a̶g̴_i̸n̸”

The voice that rang through the parable was as familiar as ever, but together with it the maddening glitches worsened, now the words were coming out even more broken, repeating, pieces missing.

Now, again in this paralyzed state, his plan seemed flimsy and not that good, too much like last time, he felt the dread and uncertainty quickly creeping through his coded nerves.  

“T̷r̵y̷ ̴t̴o̶ ̶f̸o̶l̴_w̸ ̷t̴h̷e̶ ̴s̸c̴r̴i̷p̴t̷ ̸t̸h̷i̶s̵ ̵t̸i̴m̸e̸,̶ ̷a̴l̶r̶i̵g̶h̵t̸,̵ ̵d̷_r̵l̵i̴n̸g̵?̴~̶”

The pulse of the light created stark shadows that looked oh-so alive, and all-consuming. The contrasting forces battled for dominance and also worked together to swallow all. 

The Narrator cleared its nonexistent throat, the cue to begin.

“T̵h̵i̶s̴ ̴i̵s̴ ̴a̸ ̷s̴t̴o̶r̷y̸ ̸o̸f̵ ̸a̸n̸ ̸a̷m̴_z̶i̴n̶g̷ ̷m̶a̶n̶ ̴n̵a̴m̷_d̴ ̶S̷t̴a̷_l̶e̶y̵~̸”

Taking the situation into consideration, it would be better to play smart (how he didn’t think of this before is more evidence he wasn’t the smart one), starting to run now would probably be a bad strategy, waiting for a better opportunity closer to the Curator then give chase. Stanley almost felt proud of this one, he prayed it would work.

Surprisingly, the screen of his computer blinked to life, the disparity of its black-gray background and white font against the pink roots covering its surface.

"Hello?!1! 

Is anybody there?!?!1?

What the hell is going on?!!?1?"

[??]   [??]

Is that…

IS  THAT THE TIMEKEEPER?!

Oh, thank the gods, Stanley wasn’t alone! There was another being just as confused and terrified as him. If only he could move he would answer them, send a life signal and assure them they weren’t alone. This made Stanley’s core sprout a wee bit of hope. Were the Narrator and the Parable the only affected?  This could be proven to be beneficial, if everyone else was still sound of mind. The dark being was still talking, but its words weren’t registering correctly, they were almost too mangled to understand.

“ –d̵i̸d̷ ̵e̵v̵_r̸y̶ ̵d̶a̸y̸ ̴o̴f̷ ̸e̸v̴e̷r̷y̸ ̴m̵o̸n̷_h̵–”

 The second he was allowed to move, he would find a way to click a button as an answer, for the Timekeeper’s sake.

Stanley took a deep breath, ‘siking himself up to put up to the task of pretending he wasn’t scared shitless. His body shook with fear, as the Narrator got near the end of the introduction. Keep it steady, Stanley. He had a task to do.

“S̷o̷ ̶w̷i̴t̸h̶ ̶a̵ ̶s̴_i̴l̸e̶,̸ ̷h̵e̷ ̵g̶o̶t̸ ̸u̷p̵ ̸f̵r̵o̵m̵ ̷h̵i̶s̸ ̸d̶e̴_k̵ ̸a̶n̸d̴ ̷s̶t̵e̴p̸p̶e̶d̶ ̶o̷u̸t̶ ̴o̵f̶ ̶h̵i̵s̵ ̸o̸f̵f̷_c̴e̵.̴”

As soon the engine read and loaded the line that gave him movement, he let his hands fall, purposely letting them hit the keyboard’s key and he hoped it was enough of n answer for them.

Thankfully it was since the effect was instantaneous as more words in white font appeared like they were frantically typed, not caring for spelling.

"Stamley?!?!? Are you okay??! Do you now what th e fuck is going on!?!"

This was unfortunately, that was all he could do – without drawing too much attention or letting the Narrator get impatient – no matter how much he wanted to.  Now, he had to play along, he would ask for forgiveness later.

Before the watcher entity could voice its impatience with threats, the avatar stood up, did his best to crack a smile like it wanted, and made what the narration asked for.

All he could see was in the same state as the 427 office and here made Stanley realize how he missed the low humming of the fluorescent light that was much better than the eldritch and indescribable sound of code falling apart hammering bass inside his head, assaulting his ears. 

All the Office’s usual colors were muted, gray-scaled except for that bright pink, that the vessel swore that he would hate for his whole life, and now he feared his retinas were permanently stained with that shade. His smile threatened to falter.

“O̵h̶!̸ ̵S̶o̶_e̴o̵n̸e̸ ̸i̷s̶ ̵e̶a̴g̶e̶r̶!̷~̶” beamed the Narrator, thankfully not noticing the minor stumble. “N̶o̴w̵,̸ ̷g̵o̷ ̸o̶n̷,̶ ̶l̷o̴v̴e̷,̴ ̷t̸o̵ ̷o̸u̸r̸ ̸f̷a̵v̸o̵r̷i̸t̵e̸ ̸d̸o̴o̷r̷s̷!̴ ̵A̵n̴d̸,̴” the voice dropped to a lower tone “D̷o̷n̴’̷t̵ ̴f̸o̴_g̸e̵t̴ ̴t̸o̸ ̵ f̶o̷l̷l̶o̶w̸ ̷m̶y̸ ̵e̵_e̵r̶y̷ ̵w̸o̷r̴d̷,̶ ̴w̴e̴ ̸b_t̴h̸ ̸w̵a̴n̷t̷ ̶f̴o̵r̶ ̴y̸o̴u̵ ̶t̴o̶ ̵g̶e̵t̵ ̵t̴o̶ ̵t̵h̶e̸ ̷s̸u̷r̵_r̴i̶s̷e̷,̵ ̷r̶i̸g̷h̵t̸,̶ ̵S̵t̸a̷n̶l̷e̶y̶ ̷d̶e̸a̵r̸?̷~̴”

Nodding with fake excitement, Stanley began to carefully take steps forward since the floor also was being eaten, with holes leading to the eternal void where the parable was situated. The computers’ screens shone with errors and random ciphers. Everything was breaking.

In the next room of cubicles, on their usual spot, shone the Bucket in the darkness, untouched by the infection, a beacon of hope. The sight made the man hurry to embrace his old friend, the metallic creature eagerly embracing him too, and reassuring him they were fine. The action generated no comment from the Narrator, thankfully, it had gone unnoticed or seen as unimportant, maybe it was still in the mind set they were still a nonsentient object.

The Bucket asked if he had a plan and he hugged them tighter against his chest and nodded slightly, it was half-baked however it was all he had. They comforted him, assuring him it would work.

“S̵t̷_n̷l̷e̵y̵ ̶n̸e̷v̸e̸r̵ ̷h̴a̵d̷ ̴c̷o̴w̴o̷r̷k̸_r̴s̴ ̶t̴o̸ ̸b̴e̴g̵i̵n̷ ̸w̶i̵t̵h̴,̴ ̷t̶h̷e̴ ̶O̵f̵f̵i̵c̵e̶ ̸w̶_s̸ ̵o̶n̷l̸y̶ ̶f̶o̴r̵ ̴h̵i̸m̵ ̸a̸n̸d̴ ̷t̴h̷e̵ ̵N̵a̷r̸r̷a̸t̴_r̸.̸ ̴N̸o̶ ̴o̶n̵e̶ ̸t̴o̴ ̶t̷a̸k̶e̵ ̸f̸r̴_m̴ ̵e̷a̵c̷h̷ ̷o̷t̴h̴e̷r̴.̶"

The collision was still active, the Bucket told him as they saw Stanley hesitate next to a big hole in the hallway, he wouldn’t fall. 

“H̸_v̸e̵ ̴I̶ ̴e̶v̴e̸r̵ ̸t̶o̴l̵d̸ ̷y̶o̵u̵ ̴h̶o̵w̵ ̷m̴_c̵h̷ ̵I̸ ̷l̴o̶v̷e̵ ̵y̶o̵u̸?̴ ̴Y̷o̶u̷ ̵a̴r̷e̶ ̶s̸o̵ ̶p̵r̸_c̸i̶o̴u̷s̵ ̷t̷o̴ ̵m̵e̴,̶ ̴m̶y̶ ̸l̴i̴t̴t̵l̷e̷ ̴c̶r̷e̸a̴t̸i̴o̴n̵…̵” it seemed to be monologuing not really looking for an answer “W̷i̸t̶h̵o̷u̴t̸ ̸y̷o̵u̸,̶ ̷h̶o̶w̵ ̸c̸o̸u̴l̸d̷ ̵I̶ ̴e̴x̴i̷s̶t̶?̶ ̸W̸i̶t̶h̶o̸_t̷ ̶m̵e̶,̵ ̵w̶h̵o̸ ̶w̴o̷u̴l̴d̷ ̴y̶_u̸ ̵b̸e̷,̵ ̸u̶h̸,̶ ̷m̵y̸ ̸d̴a̶r̷l̸i̶_g̵?̵” it growled, sounding so possessive “M̵i̸n̸e̶,̸ ̴m̶_n̶e̶,̶ ̷m̷i̴_e̸~̴” it spat as the avatar turned the corner like an only-child throwing a fit because they hated to share their toys, but stopped as they got to the next relevant stop on their journey.

Like always, Stanley found himself in front of the two doors. Now, he just needed to go through the left door– 

“W̸h̷e̶n̴,̸ ̵m̷y̶ ̶d̵a̴r̴l̴i̷n̷g̴ ̵S̴t̴a̵n̷l̶e̸y̵,̵ ̸c̵a̸m̴e̴ ̶t̸o̸ ̶a̶ ̸s̵e̷t̴ ̶o̸f̷ ̵t̵w̸o̷ ̴o̵p̵e̸n̴ ̴d̵o̸o̴r̶s̴,̶ ̶h̷e̷ ̵e̵n̸t̴e̸r̸e̷d̵ ̴t̷h̸e̶ ̸d̷o̵o̵r̷ ̶o̵n̶ ̷h̵i̶s̸ ̶r̴i̷g̷h̵t̷ .̷” even with the distortion, the entity had an audible smug smirk.

The vessel’s eyes widen with horror and surprise. That was not good. Not at all. Shit. Stanley didn’t want to begin running right now. Shit. Breathe and think. Think!

 The Narrator laughed with self-satisfaction, it was expecting that surprised reaction from him.

“O̸h̸,̷ ̴I̴ ̶k̴n̶_w̷,̶ ̵d̵e̴a̵r̴!̸~̶ ̸I̶s̶n̶’̸t̵ ̶t̷h̴i̴s̴ ̸e̷x̷c̶i̷t̵_n̸g̶?̸!̸~̵” it beamed with delight “N̸_w̸,̷ ̷I̴ ̷k̵n̷o̵w̵ ̵t̵h̶a̶t̴ ̶y̶o̸u̷ ̶l̷o̴v̴e̸ ̵t̵o̵ ̷g̴o̷ ̴a̴g̶_i̶n̸s̸t̵ ̶m̴y̷ ̶n̷a̸r̶r̷_t̸i̶o̷n̵,̸ ̶a̴n̷d̵ ̷a̷s̷ ̷m̵u̶c̷h̵ ̶a̶s̵ ̸I̶ ̸l̵o̷v̸e̴ ̵i̸t̸ ̸w̵h̵_n̶ ̵y̶o̴u̷ ̴a̶r̵e̷ ̸a̶ ̶b̵r̷a̸t̵,̷ ̴I̷ ̸w̸o̶u̷l̵d̵ ̵a̶d̵v̷i̸s̷e̵ ̷y̶o̵u̵ ̸t̴o̴ ̷g̴o̴ ̴t̸h̷r_o̵u̵g̶h̸ ̶t̴h̵e̸ ̶r̵i̶g̸h̵t̵ ̵d̴o̷o̶r̴~̴ ”

A terrified mind raced to find a way out as he slowly stepped forward. He needed to get to the Museum. Shit. Think, think, THI– Ah ha! 

It was awkward to sign with the Bucket but he did it anyway. What if I want to do the Freedom Ending, Narrator? He signed making sure and clear he used its name-sign, the sign for N together with the sign of Story. The entity had never seen it before, he was sure. It was worth a try.

The being made an inquisitive glitched noise “W̵_a̷t̸ ̷w̷a̷s̶ ̸t̵h̷a̸t̴ ̵l̵a̸s̶t̵ ̵s̸i̵g̸n̵,̴ ̴d̵e̴a̴r̸?̴ ̶I̵ ̴h̵a̶_e̴n̵’̷t̶ ̶s̷e̵e̵n̴ ̴i̶t̶ ̷b̷e̷_o̴r̸e̷…̸” good, he got its attention “C̴o̸_l̷d̸ ̷y̷o̴u̶ ̸d̴o̴ ̵i̵t̴ ̴a̴g̷a̴_n̵?̵” so he did “N̸…̵?̴S̷t̴o̸r̷y̵.̴.̶?̷–̵” it gasped, finally getting it “I̶s̸–̶ ̷i̶s̵ ̶t̸h̴a̴t̵ ̵a̷ ̵n̴_m̵e̶-̸s̵i̴g̶n̵?̷!̶ ̸F̷o̵_ ̵m̴e̵?̴!̴ ̷M̷-̷m̴y̷ ̸n̸a̶m̶e̶-̷s̶i̴_n̶?̷” it asked unsure but extremely hopeful and squeaked when Stanely nodded and he couldn’t help but smile at little because, Gods, how cute was its reaction. If it only this was his Narrator.

“O̴h̸,̶ ̴S̷t̴a̸_l̷e̸y̸…̷” the was so much obvious emotion in its voice, the entity was feeling giddy, and he was sure if it had blood it would be blushing furiously, this made the man instantly him feel bad for using something so dear to him to manipulate the only one he loved. The Bucket tried to reassure him that it was necessary, they had to get away. The other will forgive him when it sees reason, they told him. The Narrator giggled dreamily to itself “O̸h̴,̴m̶y̶~̶ ̵H̸o̷w̸-̶h̷_w̵ ̷c̷o̸u̵l̸d̶ ̷I̸ ̵r̸e̶_u̸s̶e̸ ̵t̸h̵a̶t̸ ̷w̴_s̶h̴ ̸a̶f̷t̵e̷r̷ ̶t̸h̶a̶t̵?̵!̴” it exclaimed “I̷ ̵w̵o̴u̶_d̶ ̷b̶e̴ ̴v̶e̴r̸y̸ ̶h̴a̵_p̷y̵ ̷t̶o̸ ̸g̷o̸ ̵t̸h̴r̵_u̸g̵h̷ ̵t̸h̵e̶ ̶F̵r̴e̵_d̷o̵m̶ ̵E̸n̸d̴i̸n̸g̸ ̵w̵i̶t̴h̵ ̶y̴o̶u̸~̴”

Stanley smiled at the defective ceiling, at it. The cleaning-throat sound effect played.

“W̶_e̵n̸,̸ ̸m̶y̸ ̷d̷a̵r̵l̵i̶n̴g̴ ̵S̸t̷a̵_l̸e̵y̶,̴ ̷c̵a̴m̴e̸ ̶t̵o̸ ̸a̷ ̷s̷e̷t̵ ̷o̴f̶ ̶t̴w̸o̸ ̴o̵p̶e̷n̴ ̶d̴o̸o̴r̸s̴,̷ ̷h̴e̴ ̶e̶_t̴e̶r̸e̷d̵ ̴t̶h̴e̴ ̷d̸o̸o̶r̵ ̴o̶n̶ ̷h̷i̶s̶ ̷l̶_f̴t̴.̴”

Relief filled the duo as Stanley stepped through the left door.

----

Transcript:

“Okay, Stanley dear. Let’s start this again.”

"Try to follow the script this time, alright, darling?~"

“This is a story of an amazing man named Stanley~”

“ –did every day of every month–”

“So with a smile, he got up from his desk and stepped out of his office.”

“Oh! Someone is eager!~”

“Now, go on, love, to our favorie doors! And,” 

”Don’t forget to follow my every word , we both want for you to get to the surprise, right, Stanley dear?~” 

“Stanley never had coworkers to begin with, the Office was only for him and the Narrator. No one to take from each other.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you? You are so precious to me, my little creation…”

“Without you, how could I exist? Without me, who would you be, uh, my darling?” 

“Mine, mine, mine!”

“When, my darling Stanley, came to a set of two open doors, he entered the door on his right.” 

“Oh, I know, dear!~ Isn’t this exciting?!~”

“Now, I know that you love to go against my narration, and as much as I love it when you are a brat, I would advise you to go through the right door~ ”

“What was that last sign, dear? I haven’t seen it before…”

“Could you do it again?”

“N…?Story..?–”

“Is– is that a name-sign?! For me?! M-my name-sign?”

“Oh, Stanley…”

“Oh,my~ How-how could I refuse that wish after that?!”

“I would be very happy to go through the Freedom Ending with you~”

“When, my darling Stanley, came to a set of two open doors, he entered the door on his left.“

----

Notes:

Hey there, my darlings! (◍>ᴗ<)ﾉｼ

I missed you all too

My life went to shit for some time (and not the shit that makes you inspired, unfortunately) so I had a massive creative block since then

But here I am again, back to you, my dearest. ( ᐢ˙꒳˙ᐢ )

You can thank the DDos attack on ao3 (and consequently it being down) for getting me to return to writing this fic, due to boredom and fear of spiraling from fanfiction abstinence.

A surprise Timekeeper appearance! And the Bucket too! So happy to see them here! More characters to torture~ o(*>ω<*)o

I'm almost finished with Chapter 6's draft as I write these notes, so I hope it will be posted in three weeks or so but as always, no promises.

I never expected this fic to be more than 3 chapters long but now here we are…

Thankfully, I already know how this is going to go and then end! I won't say much to not spoil it for you all (´⊙ω⊙`) but let's say…

It will be for all tastes and hopes~

Thank you for your comments and kudos, you know how much I appreciate them.

You are all my dears and I love y'all! (*´∀`)~

[notallwonder]

not me going back to rewatch every essential JJ episode I can think of. 200, the stalker case, legacy, North Mammon, hit/run, the slender man one?

I'm obsessed with JJ this season (CME s17). Obsessed!!!!

The "it's not important" exchange with Emily is killing me. in a great way.

I'll put the rest of my nonsense under a read more.

"200" starts with Emily reading the james burke quote "why should we look to the past in order to prepare for the future? Because there is nowhere else to look" wonderful. Was a reason ever articulated for why JJ specifically was chosen for her DOD assignment? Did Strauss put her up for it? Maybe tptb reached out for profiler/behavioral expertise and Strauss recommended JJ bc of her "non-profiler" profiling background + ability to connect with victims/mothers. Maybe Strauss scored herself political points with this move. Anyway. (yes I'm forever annoyed CM made "mother" JJ's loudest character trait) (but it is an interesting part of her character!!)

[love "200" for the obvious reasons but also bc Faran Tahir!]

The whole reason I started here is to watch the flashback scene with JJ and Emily on the jet on their way to Paris. Emily clocks JJ's whole deal and calls her on it. And oh how the turntables, in s17. In which Emily does NOT clock JJ's deal...and/or, does not call her on it. I don't think there's a world where Emily truly doesn't notice JJ is dealing with something - if she's actually paying attention. Leaving aside any special connection between them, Emily's job, for years, has been partly to manage the well-being of her team. JJ already opened the door, and even though she waved Emily off and Emily is fully occupied with the investigation & her emotional state, etc etc, Emily's not going to just forget. Unless she is really that deep in her own shit, which...it seems that she is, these days! augh!

Wow I haven't seen this in a hot minute. JJ's doing some light profiling of Emily lol. "another tattoo" 👀. "A phoenix, or a blackbird"..."I love the song. But something tells me I shouldn't tread in your waters" (wtf does this mean?!) What exactly makes blackbird 'JJ's waters'? Perhaps JJ suggests a blackbird tattoo bc she has considered that for herself at some point. I'm not up on particular cultural meanings for blackbirds specifically, so the only thing I can think of is the song. In which case...what might that mean to JJ? "take these broken wings and learn to fly / all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise/ ... / take these sunken eyes and learn to see / all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free"

I mean, god, it's easy to imagine a young JJ clinging to this song in some way as she's growing up in her suffocating home after her sister died. And come to think of it, there's a poignant echo there of her realization in 3x18 In Heat, about the unsub "recognizing a freedom in his victims he wanted for himself". Does JJ yearn for freedom? What kind of freedom, freedom from what? Freedom from expectation...freedom from performing particular facsimile(s) of herself. ?? Freedom from the bureaucratic constraints (and like, laws of physics) that prevent her from aiding every case that crossed her desk.

And does s17 JJ still carry that within her, that need for freedom? She's grown SO far from s3 JJ, and so far from s7 JJ too. She is comparatively so self assured now. She also doesn't operate under the same pressures, her responsibilities are arguably less burdensome bc as a profiler she is one among many. She trusts her team and she has a team she can trust. Makes a difference maybe.

"why didn't you say your transfer was a backstop?" god the way AJ plays this. at first she is...ashamed? at Emily calling her out. She looks down, looks a little small, like she thinks she should have hid her secret better. "Ugh. I know that look. The 'I can't trust anybody but myself' look? I invented it." Then JJ lets the facade go, admits she feels like she's in way over her head. Trusts Emily. And the way her voice changes over the course of this conversation! At first she's putting on a bit of a show, trying so hard to keep the tone light. Then we see the cracks, the vulnerability - the uncertainty that has come with having her professional life totally turned upside down, and experiencing consequential failure. Emily helps her get on track by invoking Hotch, and now we get to see and hear the confident, intelligent investigator come to the fore. This is a great scene!!!!

which is capped by a line that is, in retrospect, kinda nonsensical. "sounds like it's time for you to be the blackbird and flip the script". Does this line make sense and I'm missing something? The implication is that JJ has to go on the offensive in order to gain control of the situation & flush out the unsub. But wtf does that have to do with "being the blackbird"? Anyway the more I think about blackbird as some sort of metaphor the less coherent it feels. So I'll just leave it be.

Y'know how it's nuts that JJ names her second kid Michael, given that's also Hastings' first name? Maybe it's some kind of family name, and she decides to 'reclaim' it. Take the sting out of her ordeal. What's the timing of her second pregnancy? Can't remember if it's before or after the one year anniversary of her abduction.

"no more lies. nothing but the truth from now on." Sure, JJ. Okay, JJ. 😬

Girl can't help but lie... "it's not important"... 🙃

Jennifer Jareau. When I first dipped my toe into CM, and then tripped and fell in, I didn't know quite what to make of you. I get it now. You're wonderful and beautiful and beautifully fucked up, and resilient and strong and so so used to going it alone on a fundamental level. It's such a struggle to let someone in. You're magnificent.

[danicac07]

18. Stalker

This was the day that Wonwoo, Vernon, and the one who took the picture and posted on Instagram meet, at the restaurant of Wonwoo's mother.

As they were waiting on this Wonwoo's stalker, his mother gave them iced tea to ease them up cause they're so intense when they get there at the restaurant.

"Who will you meet today? You seem very tense today." Wonwoo's mother said.

"Ma, it is someone we don't know and we have something to discuss with them. Something serious." Wonwoo said calmly but deep inside he's agitated.

"Okay, I'll leave you two it."

"Sorry auntie, and thank you for this lovely drink." Vernon said politely and Wonwoo's mother gave her a smile.

After 15 minutes, she arrived and spotted them immediately.

This stalker is cute, little, flat 5, but has an aura that you wouldn't like at all.

She sits where Wonwoo and Vernon are immediately, and she's quite a chatterbox.

"So, why did you two want to meet me up?"

She said cheerily even though she knows the answer.

'Why would you even care to ask if you know the answer already?' as Wonwoo thinks of what he's going to say but Vernon interrupted him as he knew what he was going to say to her stalker that she might not like.

"As upon agreement, we are here for this matter, right?" Vernon put his phone face on her and pointed out where her account and the posted picture on Instagram. "You see, we don't want any trouble, if you're not going to put this down, we'll take legal action as far as we are concerned."

"You think you can threaten me with those words of yours?" She said cockily. "Try and sue me, you don't have any evidence that it is me who posted it."

With her stupidity, Vernon cock a smile and tells her "If you're not the one who posted this, why did you come here and sit here as if you know who you will meet up?" The stalker immediately was dumbfounded with her small tiny acts.

"I-"

"Admit it. We just want you to shut this off pleadingly, if you want something, please do not drag other people. You can take a pictures all you want with him but do not drag an innocent girl in this." Vernon said beggingly and pointed Wonwoo.

"Okay, okay! But in one condition."

Vernon and Wonwoo look at each other and ask synchronically "What is it?"

"Please take a picture of me and Wonwoo." the stalker said with shy remarks and Vernon was so confused but he took her phone and did it immediately.

"After this, you have to promise to delete that post and put this in your post instead." Wonwoo said, he was still reluctant to take a picture with her stalker but did it anyway.

"Okay!" She said with a puppy look in her eyes.

They have finished taking a picture and the stalker showed the two of them that she deleted the picture.

Vernon added "If we see this picture one more time on social media, we're going to take action, legally."

"You have my word." She stood up and walked away satisfied with having a picture of Wonwoo and her.

The tense ease up and Wonwoo drinks his water.

"You recorded the audio, right? We needed evidence as much as possible so that we can take this matter legally." Vernon said

"Wow Vernon, I've never been impressed by you, not until right now." Wonwoo said with an amazement.

"Hyung, I can be reliable at times." Vernon said proudly "and look, she posted the two of you and the caption said... I had an amazing date with him today."

"She can do whatever she wants with me but don't drag y/n into her mess." He said as if he wants to throw a punch "this is so dragging." He said helplessly.

"Should I call y/n on this matter? She also feels helpless as if it was the end of the world." Vernon said.

Wonwoo just nod and look at his phone with the wallpaper home screen of y/n's picture in it.

Vernon called you and said "y/n, we patch it up. You can rest assured and go to his account again."

With your sigh of relief you just thank Vernon so many times already.

Little did you and Wonwoo know that he's been falling, but he is still getting there.

Wonwoo saw how Vernon smiled as if she saved his girl from the accusation and Wonwoo's mind seething in jealousy and think 'How can he sit there, laugh and happily smiling while talking with you.'

He held those thoughts so tightly and looked away.

Vernon saw through him and made his call to you in loud speaker. "Oh, he took a picture of her and Wonwoo? Is she a stalker?" You said.

"Yup, that is why instead of posting you and Wonwoo out of jealousy, she posted herself and Wonwoo and looked at the caption said." Vernon said while laughing.

"I had an amazing date with him today." You said loudly. "That's not a date though! That's negotiating. " You said protestingly.

Wonwoo smiles at the back not looking on Vernon, but Vernon really laughed out loud as if he's laughing at your joke but in reality he is laughing at his hyung.

With that, y/n end her call.

"Who's that lucky girl you're calling with?" Wonwoo's mother said.

"Oh, it's not my girl, it is hyung's girl." Vernon said pointing out Wonwoo.

"My son's girl? You mean, that young beautiful girl that I met last time? OmO"

"Ma!" Wonwoo said

"Auntie, you've met her?" Vernon said curiously.

"Yes, she's quite hospitable and good nature. She is pleasantly beautiful. No wonder, my son fell for her."

"Ma!"

"Shush." Wonwoo's mother said while teasingly his son.

"Auntie, can I play a music? It seems that Wonwoo had a good time."

"That's a better idea! Hit it Vernon!"

"Ma!" Wonwoo said pouting but you can see his smile.

Then Vernon hits the music ' I'd Lie by Taylor Swift '

I don't think that passenger seat

Has ever looked this good to me

He tells me about his night

And I count the colors in his eyes

He'll never fall in love

He swears, as he runs his fingers through his hair

I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong

And I don't think it ever crossed his mind

He tells a joke, I fake a smile

But I know all his favorite songs

And I could tell you

His favorite color's green

He loves to argue

Born on the seventeenth

His sister's beautiful

He has his father's eyes

And if you ask me if I love him

I'd lie

He looks around the room

Innocently overlooks the truth

Shouldn't a light go on?

Doesn't he know that I've had him memorized for so long?

He sees everything in black and white

Never let nobody see him cry

I don't let nobody see me wishin' he was mine

I could tell you

His favorite color's green

He loves to argue

Born on the seventeenth

His sister's beautiful

He has his father's eyes

And if you ask me if I love him

I'd lie

He stands there, then walks away

My God, if I could only say

I'm holding every breath for you

He'd never tell you, but he can play guitar

I think he can see through everything but my heart

First thought when I wake up is

My God, he's beautiful

So I put on my make-up and pray for a miracle

Yes, I could tell you

His favorite color's green

He loves to argue

Oh, and he kills me

His sister's beautiful

He has his father's eyes

And if you ask me if I love him

If you ask me if I love him

I'd lie

To be continued...

[luaspersona]

oh wow. this was... god, i don't even know 😩 i have a lot to say, and i'm literally obsessed with this (can i make it my whole new personality?), but i feel like i should warn you ⚠️🖐🏽 that this feedback ain't gonna be like the last ones. i just read this, so any reactions are straight out of the oven, and i wanted to share them asap instead of waiting some time to work up a proper lengthy review (that i might still do later too). so let's go 👏🏽

ok, so i wanna start by saying that it's been a privilege to follow your writing for these past months. i've been actively reading you for around a semester now, and every time i go through your other, older works, even if you've always been ridiculously talented, it always stuns me just how palpable you can see that you've grown more and more comfortable with your words. you explore, you experiment, you go all in and the result is an every time more and more refined expression of the character — who's no longer a character, really, but a full on person, with their own voice, actions and thoughts, independent from you in a way that's amazing too see. i just... it's beautiful to see because for the longest time, all you've posted is 3tan related, and you've been writing those characters for around a year now, you're used to them and to their thought process. so i bet going in for something other than that must've been kinda scary, intimidating at least like, will i be able to convey other voices? 

and shit, rest assure you are, and you're able to flash out real people like no fucking one. right off the bat the narrative style is completely different from 3tan. we can still spot a familiar pacing structure — with the whole scene unraveling like a movie in quick and interactive paragraphs —, but the flavor to it? the effect of each sentence, of the way this cool af reader things? it's completely different and it causes a completely different feel while reading it.

the mc is confident, is so fucking hot, and so captivating. this could be a pwp but the way you completely surrender the narration to her eyes make it impossible to not make this super tangible too, super real. her insecurities, her hesitancy, her annoyance... its all so well-written that there wasn't a single emotion i didn't feel with her. i really liked how she kept coming back to what that guy said to her, and your style of narration only heightens this effect, by how she would suddenly mention him and what he said, and bicker with herself about it. your narration is just so fucking good, it’s never plain nor merely descriptive: it adds another layer of meaning to the story and to the dialogues, and it’s safe to say that no one else could do it like you.

and ive told you this before (i think especially in the window review), but you have this amazing quality to your writing of never underestimating the reader: you hint at shit all throughout the story, you don't hold stuff for convenience, like how she keeps saying that getting attached wouldn't be good (and at first it seems like the usual fuckgirl talk, but we learned that’s exactly it lol) or even the way jungkook feels familiar and so on. but ok, i had to say, i was full on thinking he was a stalker for the longest time omg i was thinking this would turn dark real quick (and it did, but an angsty dark, not a creepy dark lol).

wanna point out two things before we proceed: being in a band with jimin and yoongi feels like my ultimate fever dream, so this had me screaming from the get-go. and aaaah the whole teasing saying jimin was gonna be jealous? 😭 god, i can 100% picture the man furious like how THE HELL you scored that one 🗣️

but anyway, moving on.

i talked about the reader and how palpable she is, but i need to discuss this jungkook too, ‘cus god if he ain’t adorable.

even the way he’s introduced as a passing character. someone serving her a drink and vanishing before coming to check on her and make sure she’s all right, it’s all so interesting and so real. i loved how shy he was, how unsure, stuttering and trying not to blurt he’s a fanboy and making an effort to make her feel comfortable. and aaaaaaaa the protective move when that creep showed up again? fucking hawt 🥵 if the men find out we like that shit, we’re screwed 😔

but jungkook isn’t only hot. he’s so attentive and soft spoken, and i think this is one of the best takes on his character that i’ve read: the way he’s very shy and wholesome until he turns on his teasing mode. it’s so fucking nice because you seem incapable of writing a flat character: everyone has layers and depth by your hands. i loved how focused he was on her pleasure, how he gave in to her, how he let her lead the way until he was in control, and then he went on to be the most reassuring and caring person, letting her know the impact she made on him. and the reason why he admires her? it was so fucking nice, so fucking pure. he likes her because she’s determined and she’s brave, and just so fucking cool.

the humor too, god, it was so fucking sexy. the teasing, the dick handling, the soft words and giggles. it was so nice, so heartwarming. i wanna say tho, that you were able to create an atmosphere of luring threat. at first i thought i was hinting at jungkook and what his familiarity meant, but at the end i understood that this “bad feeling” was coming from the reader herself and the fact that she’s moving. it was so fucking interesting to see it unfold, how she blurts it and shatters the buble they were basking on. but this impact and the heartbreaking feeling it brings it’s only effective because you were able to write about their interaction with such deep and unquestionable chemistry. like, the way they just like and feel at ease with each other, and how they don’t mind saying shit, it felt like a whole relationship in a single night. i really liked the ending, bring me all those bittersweet finales, gimme that angst cus imma eat it up 🤲🏽🤲🏽🤲🏽 but i have to say i’d love to see more from that pairing. this reader seems so intricate and jungkook still has so much to show, so much we don’t know! it’d be a privilege to follow what happens next, but i get that you’ve a lot on your plate as it is. i’ll be here regardless and i’ll always have this one-shot to get back to and create my own scenarios (at some point i’ll start to make fanfic of your fanfics, ‘cus they’re just so fucking good i can’t DEAL with them).

i also love whenever you use repetition, and here the whole “two and a half hours that felt like eight” thing was so well useddddddd ugh, i wanted to scream when you used it at the end. i don’t know ryen. i think my reviews of your works will get smaller and smaller as i run out of adjectives to praise you. at some point you’ll have to accept that i’ll just be able to scream and yell at you, because you’re one of the best writers i’ve ever come across and your words give me refuge. i just love and appreciate your generosity so much. and on that note, you mentioned that this is a love letter to your readers, and your silent readers at that. i wanna say that this also feels like a message you wrote for yourself. don’t doubt you or your talent, much less your impact. because if you stumble on stage and struggle after a show, we’re still here, silently or loudly supporting you, and what we admire is precisely that amazing ability to make everything unabashedly you. we love it, and we love you. but PLEASE OMG DON’T GO AWAY 😭

ugh, anyway. i’m on my way to work and i didn’t wanna go weeks without reviewing, because this just deserves the fucking world. there’s not a single universe in which something you write is anything but perfect, so — even if it’s simpler than my usual reviews — i wanted to write something quick to let you know that.

calling you cool (m) | jjk

title: calling you cool (m)   pairing: jungkook x rock star!reader(f)   rating/genre: m (18+); angst , fluff , smut ; rock band au , strangers to lovers   summary: after your band finishes a coveted club gig, you’re frustrated that your dope ass night ends with you hiding in a bathroom stall. at least, this is what you figured—until someone comes along to change that.   warnings:language, alcohol, one (1) creep at the club, explicit scenes, unprotected (wrap it babes), choking, head/hair pulling, hitting it from the b b back, you aren’t the only one in restraints lmao, but urs are his hands💕, wh*re mentions, angst??, mast*rbation, sub!jk until he’s not :)))), or*l teasing, rough s*x, wet humping.. just trust me lmao, angst lol, exhibiti*nism, c*m play, club grinding :)), cre*mpie, competitive jk, handcuffs<3, bre*st play, cowgirl yeehaw, body worship, p*ssy play, praise k ink pain k ink waow a combo, he’s not gonna be quiet a ha ha, it’s ck jk bc he broke me, manhandling, tatted up jk, also he’s a brat but who is shocked, kissing lol, multiple org*sms, ..feelings??, jk in denim is a warning in itself, aftercare bc ofc, the ending a ha ha :))) note: so… i have no explanation for this other than i went to a live show in february and got, umm. inspired lmao. tbh this is for the ones that wanna get revenge on this man for everything he’s been up to && it’s cuffing season so let’s get itttt<33   note 2: hope u enjoy what i’ve been working on for months now🥺💕 nothing else to add other than this is only semi-edited lol see y’all on the other side :))   drop date: april 10th, 2023, 7:20pm est word count:12.1k🤪

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Two and a half hours that felt like eight.

Keep reading

[bird-inacage]

Love in the Air: At the Mercy of Love (Sky x Prapai Confession Scene)

So the confession scene is easily one of the most important and pivotal scenes in Sky x Prapai’s storyline, and I have a lot to say about it. This scene left me quaking because it’s very, very layered. I’ve had to delve deep to truly try to understand the emotional perspectives of both characters in this moment.

From Prapai’s point of view, Sky has just attempted to ruthlessly hurt him, which was incredibly out of character. Prapai knows this isn’t his Sky. Knows Sky wouldn’t say and do things like that, but he doesn’t understand why Sky is saying this. And Sky is a person who comes with a lot of ‘whys’ that Prapai doesn’t yet have all the answers to. He decides not give up, because his love and concern for Sky far outweighs his own pain.

I’ve tried picturing how Prapai felt when he read those words in Sky’s notebook. The first few pages are sweet and endearing, Sky’s notes begin purely as a record of facts. Slowly those become more telling, more revealing in how much Sky values Prapai’s presence, but also how much good he sees in Prapai.

Up until this point, Prapai has been putting his everything into pursuing Sky, in the hopes that Sky may at some point reciprocate even a fraction. Even in the previous episode, when Prapai gets angry, he says, “I might be a psychotic stalker in your eyes, but please understand how worried I am of you”. Despite how assured he comes across, Prapai is actually very insecure about how Sky feels about him. He has no real grasp on Sky’s true feelings. Though he suspects Sky returns them, he doesn’t actually know for sure. Sky’s notes reveal that he’s taken note of every gesture, every act of devotion that Prapai has made thus far. Nothing Prapai has done has gone unnoticed.

Prapai must have felt overwhelmingly validated and touched, that the person he loves has equally treasured every single moment of his presence. All the effort, all the time he has poured into Sky, has been seen, and is absolutely worth it. But Sky wanted to keep all this hidden. He didn’t want Prapai to know. And that fact was likely going round and round in circles in Prapai’s mind, whilst he sat there in the dark - stewing, and getting increasingly angry and hurt by the entire revelation.

Which leads onto the part which devastated me. Sky insecurities, fears and anxieties laid raw and utterly unfiltered in excruciating, heart-breaking detail. Sky’s complete sense of worthlessness couldn’t be any clearer. Prapai knows there’s a shadow chasing Sky but he still doesn’t know what that shadow is. He loves Sky but Sky doesn’t love himself, and you can’t simply re-programme someone’s mindset like a switch. It doesn’t matter how much you love someone, that isn’t enough to convince them to love themselves as much as you do. Sky truly doesn’t feel worthy of Prapai’s affections, and so that entire final passage is Sky pleading, bargaining for Prapai’s attentions to stay with him. It’s the most agonised, distraught, desperate cry for someone to stay and not abandon him.

Sky is so determined to project a strong façade. To have his worst fears being read out to him by the man he loves, the man he thinks no longer wants him anymore - is like hearing the taunting voice of his demons being actualised through Prapai. An echo of what I assume his ex intentionally may have done to mentally torture him. This whole exchange proves to be downright unbearable for Sky, because his attempt to maintain any semblance of control or strength is utterly shattered. The only thing he could withhold from Prapai were his true feelings, in order to protect himself. Now Prapai knows everything. Utterly everything. He’s completely at Prapai’s mercy. And he promised himself he would never let that happen again. Sky, who is overcome by a vision of his worst hell, can only dread what comes next, that Prapai could use his fears as further fuel to hurt him.

Now my interpretation of Prapai’s response is that he is fundamentally still fuelled by anger (again out of concern and heartbreak for Sky). The tone he uses throughout is absolute admonishment, ‘You really thought that you could be the bad guy? You? Who were you trying to fool? Why were you trying to make yourself out to be the worst when I know you’re not? Why would you even try to get me to hate you, resent you, be angry at you?’ The fact that Sky even attempted to turn Prapai against him, to save himself from actually seeing Prapai do it of his own volition, is again a huge sign of self-sabotage.

We’ve seen Sky do this before. He’d rather try to hasten what he considers is the inevitable, taking the choice and control out of the other person’s hands. So yes, understandably Prapai is furious. He’s so helplessly angry because Sky tried to stop him from having any say, to stop him from having any choice in the matter. Sky jumped the gun and cut him off, and to top it off, tried to make Prapai completely hate him for it. To Prapai, what dealt the biggest blow, what was potentially the most hurtful, the one thing he could not accept - is even if Sky truly didn’t want him anymore, he has no right to take away Prapai’s love for him. ‘Don’t you dare try to make me hate you, when you have no idea just how much I love you. You are not allowed to take that away from me. You have no idea how utterly impossible that would be.’

Along with Prapai’s anger, is also fear. The thought that he may have never known, never heard these thoughts and feelings. The thought that he may have never found out, or been willingly told by Sky himself, had he not come across the notebook. Knowing what he could have lost, missed, passed by, had he not decided to persist. That Sky was going to take away his right to know. And the anger, pain and frustration at the thought that Sky would keep that from him. That one thing he values above all right now, which is Sky’s love.

Within Prapai’s tone, there’s also a degree of, ‘Why would you do this to yourself? How could you be so cruel to yourself? Do you even know how you sound? Why?’ Prapai hates the fact that Sky keeps bringing himself down. Sky’s self-esteem is already sitting at rock bottom and for some reason Sky (being his own worst enemy) only continues to reinforce this. I think Prapai reading out every word was a way of hitting it home to Sky, that there’s no way on this earth that he could ever convince Prapai or anyone else that he doesn’t care. Because someone so broken, so insecure, so desperate of love - someone who wrote those words, thought those words, could never.

I also believe Prapai’s hurt here stems from annoyance at himself. Annoyance that he ever, even if for one second entertained any doubt. That he ever thought badly of Sky, because this, THIS, is stone cold proof that Sky could never do anything capable of hurting him. Every word in that notebook is probably like a stab in the heart. And perhaps Prapai reading it out loud was to remind himself that he shoulders the blame. For not being able to get through to Sky, for not being able to be everything Sky needs.

Now, I think the almost interrogative way that Prapai reads the notebook whilst Sky breaks down is an attempt to tear down every wall and façade that Sky has remaining. We could see this as an act of ‘tough love’. Prapai has tried coaxing, and soothing, and being soft and gentle with Sky. But maybe the anger in this particular moment led him to try being blunt for once. Prapai so desperately wants Sky to be completely unshackled, unburdened, stripped down to his most basic fundamental. The Sky he was before all the pain was inflicted on him. The Sky underneath it all who wants him and loves him. The instant Sky confesses, Prapai’s face immediately smooths over like he’s finally gotten through. There’s an instant register of relief like ‘there it is, there you are.’

I feel like the purpose of this scene was to be a moment of catharsis for both characters. As much as I do feel Prapai went in pretty hard, I also recognise that he’s been dealing with a lot of pent up frustration, fear and worry, that he hasn’t been able to direct anywhere. And to the man’s credit, he has been incredibly patient and understanding with Sky thus far. He refuses to let any of it out on Sky, so all of that worry has been kept largely to himself. The revelation of Sky’s true feelings just unleashed all that coiled up tension. For both of them actually.

To date a person who is dealing with severe trauma is not for the faint-hearted. I’m really glad this was addressed, because trauma may manifest as instances of misunderstanding or miscommunication, that will inevitably cause issues, disagreements, and possibly fall outs in the relationship. Sky will always be prone to think and assume the worst. All those fears don’t just go away as soon as you’re in love. Their relationship is going to be a real challenge, there’s no skirting around that. I do think this was a great dose of reality for Prapai, because this was the first real instance where Sky’s demons have manifested into an actual obstacle. Before that, Prapai has always been pretty steadfast and unfaltering. This completely hit him out of left field, and he realised that yes, he can be shaken too. He’s not invincible. He can also be subject to doubt, hurt, and anger.

What I am really appreciative of is that this scene acted almost like a reset. It allowed them to be completely honest and laid bare. Now there’s no question to be had how they feel about one another. And that’s a good place to move forward from.

[eldritch-spouse]

Can you do Breg and facesitting please? (it can go both ways)

I'm sorry I'll go now

[No no no, you come back here buddy, we have to talk. Also, I hope you don't mind headcanons as opposed to something longer.]

(Minors dni)

Face-sitting with Breg, giving and receiving

You sit

You'd think, with a neck as long and mildly thin as Breg's, that it might be a hazard to take a seat. That and the fact that you can't really see his nostrils will make you a little apprehensive about the whole thing. Although suffocating Breg this way would probably be one of the easiest ways to get rid of your stalker, you know luck is not on your side. Because it never really is with Breg;

This guy is ready. Having you sit on his face is something Breg thought about before he even started talking to you, he's more than likely going to be the first one to bring it up, making lame jokes and insinuations that he desperately hopes you pick up. He's just… Breg just really likes how you smell, okay? It's not gross, shut up. His kind doesn't have that unique intimate scent and being exposed to it flips some switch in his brain that demands he stuff his entire face in there as hard as possible. How thick you are hardly matters, if Breg can pick you up, he most certainly can handle your luscious thighs bracketing his head while you sink on him;

Brace yourself, because messy doesn't begin to describe how ravenously this monster eats your pussy. In Breg's defense, he literally has no uhh… Education on the matter. Not even pornography. After all, he doesn’t exactly have a phone of his own (yet) or any other device to look such a thing up on (all for the best really), and like Hell Fasma is going to sit there and let Breg watch porn on his phone like a pervert just so he can learn pussy-eating etiquette. Not happening. So really, all Breg has going for him is endless enthusiasm to make you scream and a ridiculously fat tongue. Which mostly gets the job done. The breeder gets insanely into it, he'll encourage you to grind as hard as you want just to get his face soaked in your pussyjuice, all the while moaning and chuckling hungrily. You only get off his face when he tells you to and that's final;

His favorite thing to do has got to be pushing your limits by figuring out how much of his tongue he can stuff in you before it becomes painful. And believe me, Breg will touch every inch of sensitive flesh he can just to force you to clench around him. He likes the feeling.

He sits

Wait hold on, you want Breg to sit on your face? Oh. Oh wow. His brain will short-circuit the moment you bring that up. And he’s instantly going to agree. You can see the gears turn in his head as he ponders on the idea, I assure you his enthusiasm is not the only thing that’s rising. Now here’s the catch, Breg looks light. But he’s dense. It’s not a good idea to let him rest his entire weight on your face and Breg is well aware of this, which is why he shakes a lot during the act, scared of crushing your head amidst his pleasure. You’ll have to help ground him a little and probably get something he can hold onto for your own safety;

Breg never sat on anyone’s face before, so the sensation is entirely new, and even if your tongue is much smaller than his, it will not stop him from mewling and carefully grinding down. It’s insanely arousing to see you in such a position, Breg just leers down the entire time, furiously fisting his own cocks and probably making a mess within mere minutes because holy shit he never knew his mate could be this filthy;

When he’s not repeatedly asking you if you can still breathe, or if he’s too heavy,  the breeder is probably throwing his head back and begging incoherently. Really, there’s just no shutting him up;

If you ever wish to hear Breg literally chirp, I would recommend playing with the root of his tail while you do it. Be it by squeezing or rubbing the underside, it absolutely triggers a feral side of Breg that makes him forget words- He just groans.

[aminiatureworld]

Disappearance III

Character: Childe, gn!reader

Word Count: 2,581

Warnings: None

Premise: In which there is an argument and the reader disappears.

Author’s Note: Childe my favorite character, how I love to torture you.

But genuinely I really like how this one came out.

Childe

Childe craned his neck to stare at the clock on the wall behind him. Sighing at the lateness of the afternoon he turned back towards the papers in his lap, trying desperately to focus, to not let his thoughts drift off to the argument that had taken place in the morning.

It had started out simple enough. Childe had informed you that he might be gone for some time, as the Tsaritsa had requested a high-level reconnaissance mission, and Childe was to be the one to lead it. He thought that you react much the way that you always had, assurances of his success, light-hearted reminders to stay safe, and a goodbye kiss as you two settled back into a normal routine before the day of departure. Instead however, your lips had slanted into a frown, and you stopped making your breakfast to turn and face your partner.

“Childe, I wish you wouldn’t always take things on yourself.”

“What do you mean darling?” Childe felt a wave of surprise wash over him. After all, what else was he supposed to do?

“I mean that you’re being entirely too reckless Childe. You know that you have too high a profile to be doing stuff like this. I… I would like you to sit this one out. Just this one.”

Childe couldn’t help but laugh, whether out of irritation or genuine amusement he wasn’t sure of. “As much as I appreciate the concern, I can’t do that. No leader worth their salt would send their underlings off alone, even if they are some of the weakest underlings in the world. No one’s been able to pull the wool over me yet darling, it’ll be perfectly alright.”

“You’re not listening to me,” your voice picked up in intensity. “Childe I really try, I try to remind myself that you’re a Harbinger and able to take care of yourself; but sometimes it’s just too much. This is too much.”

“You’re being silly,” Childe said, trying to keep his tone light. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I can’t disobey the Tsaritsa. She wishes me to do this so I will. It’s as simple as that.”

“The Tsaritsa is far away, she has hundreds, thousands under her command. She won’t bat an eye at your safety.”

“Like you said, I can take care of myself.”

“But what if one day you can’t? What if, what if one day you don’t come back. Please, just this once; just this once don’t go.”

“I know that the length of time is upsetting, but you can’t react like this every time I have to go away for a while. I promise that you’ll have me all to yourself afterwards.”

“It’s not about that Childe! Please, please listen to me. I’m worried about your safety. I’m worried one of these days you’re going to end up in a fight too big even for you. What will you do then? What will your underlings do? What will I do? Please, tell the Tsaritsa you have to stay and make sure the Bank stays out of trouble, or that nothing happens in Liyue. Please, don’t go this time.”

“You’re being irrational.” By now Childe was definitely irritated.

“No, I’m being realistic. You don’t take care of yourself enough.”

“You’re just underestimating me. Besides, I’m a better fighter than you’ll ever be. It’s not like you can protect me even if I stayed here.”

“What?”

“It’s not like staying in Liyue would be any safer, better to face things head on. For the Tsaritsa, for Snezhnaya, that is the most important thing. If you can’t see that, you’re just being stupid.”

Although Childe regretted the words almost immediately after they left his mouth he could see that saying that would’ve had no effect. So instead he watched silently as your face clouded over and you stormed out the door, not bothering to grab your food as you slung your pack around you back and walked out. A part of him wanted to call after you, but he knew that even if he did you probably wouldn’t listen. Even if you did, what could he say? After all, he had simply spoken the truth; even if you couldn’t accept it as such.

Now Childe sat on the couch, eyes glazing voer as he stared at all the paperwork that needed to be done before his mission. He had already spent a hectic, uneasy day at the bank. Though he knew that none of his underlings would be foolish enough to try to pull something while he was gone, Andrei would make sure of that and Childe would make sure of Andrei, it was still tedious, boring work. This was in no way helped by the lingering ill will from his fight with you earlier. Though Childe ultimately forgot fights relatively quickly the time right after was always an uneasy one, filled with sudden flashes of irritation replaced suddenly by the wish for it all to have never happened.

He had hoped that you might be home by the time he arrived, but your absence wasn’t truly much of a surprise. Besides the fact that you were still probably angry with him, something Childe couldn’t really fault, you had recently been involved with some project near the Chasm, and it was hardly surprising that something that big caused you late hours. Still he couldn’t deny the fact that he was somewhat disappointed, or maybe disheartened was a better way to put it. He hated fighting with you, especially fights that lasted. Even if he was irritated with you, even if he thought that you had demanded something impossible, he still regretted snapping at you. He just wanted you to come home now, that way he could apologize and explain the situation better. That way he wouldn’t leave with any ill will behind him.

The clock was excruciatingly slow, but the insult of that wasn’t registered until Childe dozed off. Waking up in the middle of the night he was surprised at your continued absence. Though he had expected that sleeping on the couch might’ve happened, your total disappearance was certainly something that threw him for a loop. Making his way to the bedroom and flopping down on the bed Childe closed his eyes, pushing away the anxiety that clustered at the edge of his thoughts.

Perhaps you’d ended up staying with Hu Tao, or maybe you’d gone back home to your family. He had been awfully mean after all, and you were never the kind of person to take his insults sitting down. Still, if that were true why hadn’t you packed more, or come back to collect your things? It didn’t make any sense. Questions and half baked reasonings floated through Childe head as he tried to delay the inevitable pull of sleep. The last conscious thought he could remember was the knowledge that at least you would be back tomorrow.

You were not, in fact, home tomorrow. The Harbinger’s time spent at the Northland Bank was almost completely useless, the meeting with the people he’d be going on his mission with even more so. Though Childe wasn’t necessarily the most attentive listener, often letting his mind wander when his fellow Fatui members fell into arguing about the most insipid things, he knew that paying attention to a plan as a whole was critical to its success. Even so he couldn’t bring his mind to focus on the maps and profiles that sat in front of him. Where were you? It seemed like such a silly question, but the longer it floated in Childe’s head the colder he felt.

Finally the meetings and the menial tasks ended and Childe could go home. Sprinting down the winding streets of Liyue, not bothering to hide the fact he was in a hurry, Childe burst into the apartment. His heart sank as he was met with the same image he’d seen when he’d left that morning.

Afterwards Childe wandered around the docks of Liyue, trying to keep the quickly fragmenting pieces of his mind together. He knew that he was probably overreacting, knew that you were simply staying away because of what he said, knew that it wouldn’t be forever – you would have definitely told him if that were the case. Still he couldn’t help but feel dread crawling over him, saturating the cracks of his brain as he wondered how he’d managed to fuck everything up so much. He had underestimate how much his words must have affected you, and that only made him feel worse. Finally exhausting his walk along the pier Childe set off towards the edges of the city and into the vast wilderness of Liyue. He needed to find something to fight.

The nightmare continued on into the next day, then into the day after that. Childe could barely remember what he did during those days, walking around as if possessed, unable to concentrate on anything for more than a few moments before his thoughts inevitably found their way back to you. Mostly Childe ended up sleeping, dozing off at his desk or on the couch, papers fluttering from his hands onto the floor. Mostly Childe dreamed of you.

They weren’t dreams of any particular note, their contents incredibly mundane. Not that it matter to Childe; within those dreams he felt nothing but happy domesticity, a calm that washed over him as he walked with you to the market or lay next to you under the stars. Always you would appear in his dreams suddenly, and always he would throw his arms around you, clinging to you as if even an embrace wasn’t enough. Always he woke up with a sense of desolation so vast it threatened to consume him.

Finally on the fifth day Childe couldn’t take it anymore. Waking up at almost the crack of dawn the Harbinger rushed to the Bank. He wouldn’t stay long, only enough to inform Andrei that he’d be out for the day. Then he’d go to the Guild and check and make sure everything was okay. Then, well he’d figure out what to do then. It seemed pathetic to chase after you, not to mention gross. He wouldn’t become a stalker, wouldn’t let himself fall into such pathetic behavior. Still, he had to make sure you were at least okay. As long as he did that, well, the rest could come later.

Striding into the Bank Childe was met with a surprising sight. Normally Ekaterina stayed firmly tucked inside her receptionist cubby, even more antisocial than the likes of the Balladeer or the Fatui that guarded Dragonspine. Now however she stood at the front of the booth, wringing her hands this way and that as she stared at a piece of paper in front of her. Feeling a sudden sense of dread Childe walked up to her.

“Ekaterina?”

“Oh!” Ekaterina whirled around, look on her face one of utter anxiety. “My lord, I was horrified to hear of the news, tell me, do you know if they’re almost free?”

“What are you talking about?” Childe narrowed his eyes.

“Why, your partner. I only heard today from Nadia; no wonder you’ve been so distant recently, if it’s not too much for me to say so. I only hope that they’ll soon be rescued, I’m sure you know about the situation better than I do though.”

“Ekaterina, what in the Tsaritsa’s name are you talking about?”

A shadow passed over Ekaterina’s face, a look of utter dread. Swallowing slightly she stared at a spot in the wall right to the side of Childe. “You partner, my lord, I’ve been informed that they have become trapped in one of the caverns of the Chasm. I thought that you knew about it, it’s been five days after a–”

Childe didn’t hear the rest of what Ekaterina had to say. Whirling around the Harbinger slammed his way out of the bank, aiming towards the nearest waypoint. Cold dread washed over him and with it desperate determination. He’d rescue you. If he had to tear apart the entire Chasm and raze all the mountains in Liyue to the ground so be it.

  Approaching the Chasm Childe felt a rush of adrenaline wash over him. He was terrified. By the Seven, he was utterly terrified. Images of you flashed in his mind, images of you cowering in the dark, stuck at the bottom of an endless pit, lying on the ground with no air or food or life in you. How could he have let this happen? How could he have not known of this before? Anger burned within Childe, anger at himself. He should have never let you walk out of your apartment without apologizing first. He should have enquired after you after the first night you didn’t show up. He should’ve been the first person there for you, instead of the last person to know. He was so utterly stupid.

Approaching what must’ve been the site of the accident Childe felt his stomach drop to his feet at the sight of you. You were covered in dirt, cuts spread across your arms and legs as you slumped against a Guild member, dragging your feet in an awkward shuffle towards the stretcher that must’ve been meant to bring you to the apothecary. There were a variety of Guild members flocking around you, along with one of the doctors of Liyue, who was scribbling notes down furiously. Your expression was utterly dazed, as if you weren’t exactly sure of what was going on, something that tore Childe apart.

Stepping towards you Childe called out your name. At the sound your head jerked up, and you gave a hoarse sort of cry before turning to make your way towards him. Sprinting towards you Childe stepped backwards as you fell awkwardly into him. Steadying you for a moment before wrapping his arms around you Childe felt all his emotions crashing over him, so intense that he couldn’t control them anymore. Ignoring the tears that tracked their way down his cheeks the Harbinger let out a shudder.

“Thank the Seven, thank the Seven you’re safe. I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. You don’t have to forgive me, alright? You don’t have to forgive me, but by the gods I’m so sorry.”

“I wish you had been there,” you mumbled softly. “It was so dark, I couldn’t see anything. I thought, I thought that I might never see you again.”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I said all those things to you, I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. You should’ve fold so easily you know, you should be really, really angry at me.”

“I don’t want to be angry at you though, I just want you to stay.”

“Then I will,” Childe tightened his embrace around you. “I promise I will.”

“Okay.”

Having apparently said everything that had to be said you let Childe sling you onto his back, refusing to be carried to the hospital in the stretcher. As you appeared to doze off on his back Childe made a promise to himself. Even if he couldn’t disobey the Tsaritsa, even if he couldn’t change who he was, he would never leave you when you needed him to be there.

You would never find yourself needing him to be there without the chance of your need being met. That he promised you.

[thefanficmonster]

Unlucky

Part 2: ‘Lucky Me’

Corpse Husband x Reader

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Fluff

Summary: Corpse decides to email back a person who has sent him quite a few creepy stories. She never seems to run out of scary encounters of both sorts: paranormal and stranger-danger. He gets suspicious that the stories are all made up so she can grab his attention, but he’s in for a surprise.

U/N - username

Requested: No

Corpse’s POV

I’m looking through my most recent emails from fans. They are all of scary encounters they’ve allegedly experienced. By now, I’ve read so many, it’s easy to decipher which are real and which are just made up nonsense. Some, I must admit, give me chills. Big props to the people who write those, especially if they are made up. If you can make someone’s skin crawl with your twisted, frightening imagination, you have one, for lack of a better term and in the most positive way, fucked up mind.

My cursor lands on the familiar username I see almost every other week. U/N. They have been sending stories consistently for about three years now. They, and I’m saying they cause you can never be sure who’s hiding behind the username, are either the most unlucky person to walk the planet or the one with most twisted imagination and story telling skills. I’ll admit, sometimes I narrate a story just because it’s well written. Believability is not the only thing I go by, I also reward creativity. And this person, U/N, has had their spot in many of my videos in the last three years. I’m honestly hoping they are made up, or at least some of them, because not only are there too many of them, but none of them fail to give me that eerie paranoia after I read them or the chills while I read them.

Once again, they have submitted a downright terrifying story. It would be a shame if I didn’t narrate it.

It would be a shame if I....

If I never actually meet them.

This many run-ins with people with malicious intent, always getting away by some miracle, what if they one day don’t make it out alive to tell it.

My heart sinks a little at the thought. I feel like I know this person, like we’ve known each other for three years now. They know the things the whole internet knows about me, and I, along with my regular watchers, know their stories. That’s by no means enough, now that I think about it.

My next action is really out of character for me. I decide to reach out to them. My fingers fly over the buttons on my keyboard too fast for my rational side to try and stop them. Deep down, I know I’m doing the rightest wrong thing I’ve ever done. My previously sunk heart is now in its assigned spot again, beating quickly.

You don’t know what you’re doing

I maybe don’t, but knowing isn’t what’s important right now. I just wanna do it.

~ Hey, this is probably, what, your twentieth story so far. I’m just curious, how many of these are made up? By the way, your stories are amazing and I’ll probably keep narrating them even if they aren’t real. They’re just that good.

I send the email before I can talk myself out of it. I get up from my chair immediately afterwards, putting as much distance between me and the computer as possible, silently promising myself I won’t be checking my mail every five minutes.

Y/N’s POV

I anxiously refresh and refresh my email inbox, waiting for the dreaded email back from my professor. Being halfway through the college experience, I know how tough this professor’s class is and how much I suck at it. I sent him my completed assignment last night, barely making the deadline mind you, so now I’m sweating hardcore, staring my computer screen down.

After refreshing for the millionth time, I’m met with a new email which makes my heart stop for a second or two, my stomach dropping. Then I take the time to read the sender’s name, the subject and the first sentence of the email, and all the previous changes in me reverse. My heartbeat picks up speed, going faster than a galloping horse and my stomach turns, making me feel the sensation everyone calls ‘butterflies’.

Nah, man. This shit ain’t real. It can’t be.

But then again, what if it is. What if I’m about to full-on ignore my favorite youtuber because of my paranoia. Well, it’s not exactly unsupported. My life has been a shit show of unfortunate event and situations I’ve literally had to claw my way out of in order to stay alive. Now, when something of the sort happens, it’s just another weekday. However, I still wanna share these encounters. Not only because they are proof of the dangers girls have to deal with on a daily basis, but they also get narrated by one of my favorite people ever. What more can a girl ask for?

~ Listen, I’m really not looking forward to getting catfished. Please leave me alone

It’s short, not sweet, and to the point. It’s easy to understand, and it clearly states that I’m not falling for it if it’s a scam, but if it’s real....someone call 911 cause I think I’ll faint.

~ I get it, you have trust issues. But that’s understandable. From the creepy guy messaging you on all your social media. To the stalker you had from you high school, or even that teacher that turned out to not be a teacher at all and just a pedo, I see where the lack of trust is coming from. But I assure you, they only thing I wanna do is chat.

The shock and happiness overwhelm me when the reply arrives not even ten minutes later. 

Holy shit, this is him.

I start typing and then erase the typed half-sentence at least three times before receiving another email from him. From Corpse Husband. Corpse freaking Husband. How the fuck am I supposed to compose myself enough to reply to him, let alone sound cool and leave a good impression.

My hand shakes as I click the newly received email.

~ You probably don’t know what to say. Either that or you just don’t wanna talk to me. If you’re just baffled and surprised, reply with your name. If you want me to fuck off, ignore this email completely.

The smile I didn’t realize was there grows into a grin as small bursts of laughter escape me. Laughter caused by disbelief and shock. The type of laugh you let out when you score a good mark on the test you thought you completely fucked up.

~ Y/N. My name’s Y/N. 

PS: The stories are all 100% real. All happened. In the order I sent them too. And before you ask, I guess I’m just unlucky, but you are proving me wrong right now.

I don’t know where that confidence at the end came from, but I don’t care really. All that matters is that this might just actually be happening and it might be the best thing to ever happen to me.

~ Man, you’ve had it rough. Tell me, is there an easier way to access you than email. Like Insta DMs? I feel we have a lot to talk about and email is not the most convenient.

At this point, it feel so much like a fever dream that I decide to treat it as though it is. I just go with the flow.

~ Yeah, but first.....am I really not being catfished right now?

The email I receive as a reply to this message is empty of text but there’s a file attached. Not gonna lie, I am a bit hesitant to open it, but I decide that if this turns bad, I’ll just have to deal with it. In the meantime, I’ll believe it’s not a scam.

It’s an audio file: “No, Y/N, you are not being catfished.”

That voice. That god damn voice. It could convince me of anything. 

And now it’s convinced me into believing him. And finally letting out that squeal I was holding back before sending him my Instagram username.

[whisperlullaby]

Just Say It And I’m Yours-Ch.1

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Warnings: Language, stalking ish themes

Words: 1490

Summary: Steve is considering retiring from being Captain America. He doesn’t remember why he took the shield or what it means for him anymore. Then he met you. 

A/N: First and foremost I am SO SORRY FOR BEING SO SHIT AT SUMMARIES. I just don’t want to give anything away. Second, this is my first series! So like, comment, reblog, let me know you want to see more of this. This story is going to start in Steve’s perspective and switch to the readers. I’ll let you guys know when the POV is shifting so no worries. So, this first chapter is told through Steve. Third, if I missed any warnings please let me know. Last but most CERTAINTLY not least, a very VERY special thanks to @river-soul​ for reading through this and assuring me it was a good first chapter. I am so grateful for you. Let me know what you think! (Gif by @navybrat817 )

“Steve, she's getting married tomorrow,” Bucky solemnly states as he puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder. “If you’re going to do something you better do it soon.” 

“I know Buck, but what could I say to her? I haven’t been able to tell her how I feel about her for years.” Steve looked out over the lake, his eyes pricking with tears. “She made her decision.” 

“You’re an idiot. You’ve been in love with her since you first saw her. If you don’t tell her, she’s going to make the biggest mistake of her life. We both know that,” Bucky sighed, raking a hand over his face. “I know she loves you. You need to talk to her. She can’t marry him Steve, you know the second she does she’ll be gone forever. The person you knew reduced to, whatever this shell of a person is.”

Steve rubbed the back of his neck and looked down where the water was gently lapping against the shore. After a few moments, he heard Bucky make his way back to the lodge. As the small waves ebbed and flowed against the shallow shore Steve thought about you and how he was an absolute coward back when you were a big part of his life. 

One and a half years ago

Steve was sketching at Marine Park in Brooklyn during golden hour when everything seemed to glow. He needed a break from his Captain America responsibilities and every time he put his charcoal to the paper everything seemed to melt away. The world was vastly different since he came out of the ice and he felt his heart swell thinking about all the fights he had to endure in order to restore some semblance of peace in the universe. He was happy that he had his best friend back, cleared of the mind control Hydra put in him and he made so many new friends and a family in The Avengers. Yet, as he drew out the skyline on the thick white paper, he couldn’t help but feel like he was still missing something. He knew he needed a break from his duties to figure it out constantly being pulled into a fight was a great distraction, but he knew he needed to figure out what brought meaning to his life. The decision to take time off gnawed at Steve like a dog to a bone, who was he if he wasn’t Captain America?

Steve heard you before he saw you, picking up the fierce tone you were using made him glad he wasn’t on the receiving end of your reprimand. Steve looked up to see you wedged in between a woman and her dog and a man probably twice your size towering over you, trying to be intimidating. The fact you stepped forward refusing to back down made Steve smile, oddly fond of your bravery. The commotion you were making drew a small crowd and Steve felt a strange pull to join the group to be close to you. 

“Who the fuck do you think you are? Following this poor woman around like a stalker,” You yelled, poking your finger in his chest. “Did you think she was being coy when she told you to stop following her? Was that some deranged invitation to keep on top of her the rest of the world is unaware of?”

Steve could tell that you were not about to back down as you protected the other woman. The fire in your eyes was something Steve was familiar with in himself before he went into the ice. He noticed the man ball his hands into fists and before you could react he had pulled back to hit you. Steve jumped in and caught the punch, inches from your face.

“You’re gonna want to walk away pal before you make things worse for yourself.” 

Steve’s voice was low in warning. When he glanced over at you, you looked up at him almost offended that he had stepped in. Before Steve could say anything you returned your gaze to the other man and swiftly kneed him in the balls. 

“Stop following women you fucking asshole,” you admonished as the man crumpled to the ground in pain. “I know you probably have a hard time listening to women when they say no because there is just a bunch of empty space where your brain is supposed to be, but maybe take this as a warning.” 

Steve watched you slack jawed as you flagged down a police officer to give a statement to. He observed you as you spoke with the other woman, who was visibly shaken by the incident, with such genuine concern and kindness. He couldn’t stop looking at you as you soothed her with gentle touches and quiet whispers. Steve waited for his turn to speak with the officers regarding the incident, after which the man was taken into custody. When Steve turned around you were walking towards him. 

“Umm thanks for catching the punch,” you said with a shrug. “I could have taken him though.” 

Steve let out a soft chuckle. 

“Well I wouldn’t be much of a superhero if I stood around and let a civilian get clocked for defending someone.”

You cocked your eyebrow at him and crossed your arms. 

“Yeah but you’re not in the suit, which means you’re off duty. Either way I’m grateful, I have a job interview tomorrow and can’t really show up with a black eye. It wouldn’t really say ‘hire me I’m even tempered and have a keen ability to moderate conflict in a calm respectful manner.’ ”

Steve smiled, letting out a sigh as he cast his eyes to the ground.

 “Oh sweetheart I’m always on duty, comes with the territory.” 

He looked up to see you watching him with kindness and understanding.

“I’m sure that must be a very heavy burden to carry,” You sighed. “I hope you can take a vacation or something soon. It looks like you might need one.”

To say Steve was enamored by you would be the understatement of the century. In the brief time he had spent with you, he had noticed that you were fierce, kind, honest, compassionate, and absolutely stunning. He found himself physically having to shake his head to keep from staring at you.

“I’m Steve,” he blurted out. “I feel like you already know that though. It was really nice of you to say that. Sometimes I only see myself as Captain America, no vacation days in sight.” 

Steve chuckled as you rolled your eyes at him.

“Y/N, and I mean it. You shouldn’t feel like you’re always on duty.”  

You pointed your finger at his chest.

“Besides, I’m a tough girl, I can handle myself. You should trust people a bit more Rogers.” 

You gave Steve a cheeky grin and started walking away.

Steve scrambled to follow you, not ready to have your conversation end.

“So, job interview? What do you do?” 

Steve easily kept your stride. When you chuckled Steve swore his heart skipped a beat.

“Would you believe I’m a victim advocate? I have an interview with the state prosecutor. I make sure anyone who has experienced trauma of any sort is represented and protected during court cases and criminal trials,” you stated proudly. 

“After what I just witnessed, I would have been more surprised if you told me you were an accountant.” Steve joked. “Would it be okay if I walked you wherever you’re going? I know you can handle yourself but I’d like to make sure you don’t leave a trail of broken men in your wake.”

You snorted out laughter. 

“Yeah wouldn’t want to get put away for attacking more skeezy men. That sounds great Captain, thank you.”

Steve smiled and kept asking you questions on your walk. He had this need to know everything he could about you since you blew into his life like a sunshower. When Steve got you back to your apartment the sun was just setting.

“Well Rogers, it’s been an interesting day,” you say, nonchalantly fiddling with your keys.

“I’ll say, I didn’t think my day would consist of watching someone stand up for another woman who almost got punched, then kneeing the guy in the balls.” 

Steve smiled.

“I am pleasantly surprised with the way my day turned out,” he told you.

“Well there’s a lot more where that came from if you stick with me Cap.” 

You smirked at Steve grabbing his sketchbook. 

“Here’s my number, if you ever need a little extra adventure in your life, call me,” you said. 

With that you turned the key in the lock and pushed yourself inside the apartment. Steve was left to stand staring at your closed door. He didn’t know what force drove you into his life but knowing you for those few hours made him feel more alive than he had in years.

[ask-the-clergy-bc]

Papa’s reactions to their friend having a clergy stalker?

RIP the Stalker, is all I can say. They are in for a world of hurt.

Also went ahead and put it under a read more because it can be a scary and sensitive topic!

(TRIGGER WARNING: For Stalking, harassment, reader distress, implied death of your stalker, and general awful and scary situations. )

Papa's Reaction to their Good Friend having a Stalker Within the Clergy

It already goes without saying this is entirely unacceptable. The Church of Emeritus embraces sin and taboo, but there are still lines you NEVER cross. There is still morality and ethics, and stalking/harassment is unacceptable.

Also, while this is a serious topic I know everyone handles situations differently. I tried to give each reader situation a bit of variety and how the reader would feel, so I hope this is ok! In the end, the reader is going to be supported and safe, with justice served!

Papa Nihil: Believe it or not, Nihil went through something similar when he was a young man. Back when he was touring he had one fan that just took things a little too far. Even though he was a man of power and good ghoul body guards, it didn't mean it wasn't scary for him! So he understands exactly how you feel, and is so angered by it! What's worse? That the person hurting you is UNDER his roof! Lucifer's churches are for protection and family, not whatever is going through your stalker's head! The first thing he does is talk to you. He might be grandpapa, but you are his friend and he wants to handle this in a way that makes you feel safe.

If it was up to him, this person would be ripped apart by ghouls. But it's not about him, it's about you and your justice. Nihil believes in handing back power to those it has been taken from. Your choice for this person was to have them brought in front of the acting high ministry and Nihil. Your stalker was rightfully verbally ripped apart and dragged off to the dungeons (yes, they still use them) until the local authorities were called. The behavior will never be tolerated in Lucifer's halls. Nihil is honestly so pissed he can't do more, like take the experience from you... but he is happy knowing you are safer. He did insist you have a ghoul buddy for a little while, if you still felt a bit scared.

Papa I: If there was one thing you could say about the eldest Emeritus brother, it was that he protected his flock fiercely. Even if you WEREN'T one of his closest friends, he would have the same reaction. Papa is LIVID that not only someone has the audacity to make you feel unsafe but non of the clergy officials has done anything to help you. You almost wanted to protest, but he was right. Most acted like their wasn't anything they could do. With your permission he summoned your stalker to berate them in front of you.

You even got your chance to give the person a piece of your mind- and it felt GOOD. Good to finally have the support and to say how you felt. What was better? You got to see first hand this person being thrown out on their ass out of the abbey front doors. (Honestly, they are lucky they got to leave ALIVE and not just with the cops.) The cherry on top? Knowing Papa would retrain his entire staff and ministry to ensure this NEVER happened again. Papa's only regret is that it doesn't erase all the hurt the situation has caused you. But he will make sure the Church never fails another Sibling again.

Papa II: It only takes you mentioning this to him ONCE. And that was only when it started to become a problem for you. You thought you could handle it until it just escalated beyond your control. Papa was always someone you trusted beyond anyone, and you spoke to him first. It was a bit surprising how calm he was about the whole situation. Later you realized it was because Papa wanted to make sure YOU were ok, and getting angry could be done after. And angry he was! But Papa did everything he could to assure you that you did nothing wrong and this person was not going to be tolerated. Papa merely asked for all the evidence you said you brought.

He listened politely as you showed him all the proof and all your piecing together of the situation. Truthfully, it felt good that your friend believed you and didn't brush you off as just 'paranoid' or over thinking. Actually, it was nice that he offered to let you sleep in his guest room with a ghoul to make you feel safe! Though, it was unnerving with the whole stalking just... stopped. Out of the blue, everything stopped. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. Even though it never magically went away you slowly went back to feeling safe under Lucifer's roof. To your knowledge your stalker 'disappeared', and no one ever heard from them again. They just left all of their things and never came back! There was a rumor of someone seeing one of the ghouls eating human meat but... rumors were often silly, weren't they?

Papa III: There have only been a handful of times during your friendship that you have seen Papa genuinely angry. And let me tell you, they have never been pretty. You went to Papa for help when you realized this person harassing you was a bigger problem than you could handle. He wasn't upset with you in the slightest, but you could practically see his face turn pink under his make up from sheer anger. Papa calmly reached for your hand and patted it with a horribly forced smile. "Give me their name, now."

Honestly, you weren't about to ask questions, you just wanted this whole ordeal to end! The only thing you could gather by the end of the week was that Papa had a VERY important talk with the sibling that had been harassing you. Actually, you found out the stalker had been shamed and excommunicated altogether! Their quarters were cleaned out and you never heard from them again! You DID bring up how you were scared that they might go off into the world and do this to someone else, but Papa smiled reassuringly. "I promise you, that won't be the case!" You never did ask for him to elaborate, but you trusted him.

Papa IV/Cardinal Copia: Unfortunately, Copia is no stranger to people who get a little too close for comfort. The new Papa has had his share of dealing with unsavory individuals who have tried to invade his privacy or weasel their way into his life. But none have ever come close to being a full fledged stalker. Copia has had the luxury of body guards and a congregation that would never let their Papa be hurt. You however, didn't have that privilege and had found someone harassing you for close to a year now. You and the Papa were close, but you felt guilty bringing it up to him. You had no reason to be, but some sort of shame made you feel like it was selfish when he was working so hard and touring. Even feeling like you needed to take care of it yourself, like an adult (even though that wasn't true in the slightest.)

Copia definitely felt guilty when you finally told him, because he feels the need to protect all of his friends. Or at the very LEAST be a person they can always come to! He offers to take you away from your current home and go with him on a business trip. That way you can have a breather and time away while his ghouls 'investigate'. You happily accept knowing you were in good hands. Eventually you went back home with your friend, and Copia announced that your problems were over! The ghouls had found your harasser and they won't be giving you problems anymore. You never asked him to elaborate, knowing how Ember was... but, at least you knew you had seven ghouls and one Papa who would never let harm come to you.

[lottiebagley]

Snow covered courtyards- Oliver Wood

When he'd asked her to the ball he'd been certain she would say no. They'd been friends for a while but never particularly close, simply in the same year and house and therefore knew each other through mutual friends.

He'd always thought she was kind of unattainable, she seemed to always look perfect, she was smart and funny and kind and top of her classes. He never knew why but she always avoided Oliver a little, he spent nights laid in bed listening to Percy's snoring and racking his brains for any reason she might avoid him, an insult from years ago, a history between him and one of her friends but nothing quite came to mind.

It wasn't until a few weeks before the ball that he realised that maybe the reason she avoided him was because she wasn't quite as unattainable as he'd thought. He'd laughed at first when his best friend shrugged that she probably just had a crush on him, mouthful of cereal and a slightly bemused look on his face.

After that conversation he slowly allowed his brain to convince himself she just might like him back. After all why else would she blush when he catches her eye? why would she go to every quidditch game no matter how awful the weather? why would she giggle a little with her friends when he passes?

And so, Oliver Wood let a little spark of hope light in his heart and he began to plan how he would ask her to the ball.

He thought about asking her after they won a quidditch match when he was high on adrenaline but he didn't like the idea of being muddy and sweaty and with the fucking Weasley twins, their relentless teasing playing in his mind before it even happened.

Next he thought about making some production out of it in the great hall like he'd seen a few other people do, but he knew she'd hate being the centre of the entire school's attention.

He contemplated asking her at a party, figuring some liquid courage might make the prospect of asking his dream girl on a date a little easier, but didn't want her to think it was some drunk decision.

He settled on approaching her with a bouquet of flowers and just asking it, after all, he knew he was a good looking guy and most people found him charming if not a little intense. What he didn't think about though was that most people didn't make his heart beat too fast, his hands go clammy, and his words come out a stuttering mess.

Oliver announced to his friends one morning that today was the day he'd ask her out, they'd grinned widely, given him a pep talk, mocked him a little for his nerves and sent him on his way and Oliver had every intention to ask her out.

It was then that Oliver learnt the age old lesson.

Girls travel in packs.

No matter how hard he tried she was surrounded. Between classes, at meals, in the common room, christ even on her way to the bathroom. Whenever he saw her she'd have a gaggle of girls with her all of which would eye him with curiosity and smirks when he attempted to approach.

It took Oliver a further three days of attempting to catch her alone, his friends seeming to find the entire situation funnier by the hour, before it had happened. He'd caught a glimpse of her with Cedric.

Oliver Wood hated Cedric Diggory, hated that he was so often compared to him, hated that he had swoopy hair that made girls swoon, hated that he too was a good quidditch player. His newest reason though to despise the boy who showed him nothing but kindness was that he didn't clam up around her. He talked to her with ease and made her laugh.

If he'd done a little digging, Oliver would have easily found Cedric was a family friend and she viewed him like a brother. Through exasperated mutual friends sick of both their pining he'd have probably also learnt she had a massive crush on Oliver and had turned down multiple boys in the hopes Oliver would ask her to the ball.

He didn't dig though. Instead he scowled in the direction of Cedric and her, they were laughing by the quidditch pitch as the Hufflepuff practice ended and the Gryffindor's arrived for their own. She had been on her way to the greenhouses to grab a book she'd accidentally left there when Cedric had jogged over, unknown to Oliver actually asking if the Gryffindor had plucked up the nerve to ask her out. She had brushed her friend off, thinking it would be a miracle for Oliver Wood to fancy her back.

"Hurry up Wood, she's a good one, she'll get swept up all too soon," Fred smirks as he passes Oliver on his way into the changing rooms.

And with Fred's words in his mind Oliver grabs the bouquet of flowers from the office and marches towards her, Cedric spotting him coming and quickly taking his leave.

"Hi," He calls, cursing himself for not thinking to say her name when she doesn't even turn around, not used to him approaching her, "Hi-Y/N,"

She turns then, still clad in her uniform, hair blowing in the light wind and a small smile on her face.

"Oliver-uh-hey," She blushes a little as she falls over her words

"You're a really hard girl to get on her own," He comments. Fucking christ why does he sound like a stalker? The question spins in his mind but she seems to not think anything of the comment, instead blushing a little

"Oh- my friends and I are kinda inseperable," She shrugs lightly, not wanting an awkward silence so instead opting to ramble "They only aren't here now cause they are busy. Meg's at detention, Ali's with her boyfriend and Katie's tutoring some second year in potions. I'd have waited for one of them to be with me because honestly I kind of hate walking alone- not cause I'm weird or un-independent or any thing, I just, well I get a little anxious and feel like people are staring at me and-" She silences herself, suddenly coming to her senses and realising how crazy she's making herself sound. "Sorry,"

"Don't be. I think it's cute when you ramble," He admits, blushing as red as his quidditch robes when he realises what he's said.

"Did you need something or have I just embarrassed myself over a polite hello?" She questions, he chuckles a little making her feel mildly less uncomfortable.

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to go to the ball?" He questions. He feels a weight off his shoulder's once the question has been asked. Like suddenly even if she says no at least he could tell himself he tried.

"With you?" She questions, she realises she probably sounds more idiotic by the second but can't quite convince herself to believe her long term crush would actually ask her out.

"Uh-yeah," He's taken aback by the question and feels stupid for even thinking she'd consider it and suddenly the even if she says no bullshit is just that, because shit if the girl in front of him with wide eyes and a nervous smile doesn't say yes he thinks his heart might break in his chest.

"Like a date?"

"I was hoping,"

"I'd love that,"

Oliver feels like the luckiest person on earth. Watching as she blushes a little, but her smile is wide and god if he doesn't want to kiss her right there.

"Great,"

"Good,"

"Cool,"

"Yeah,"

Neither of them is quite sure what comes next and the interaction seems to run even more awkward. "You'll pick her up!" Oliver rolls his eyes at the sound of George Weasley, although thankful for the prompt, she blushes, peering behind him to see the entire Gryffindor quidditch team watching them.

"I'll pick you up," He confirms

"Right," She nods

"At 7? Outside your dorm?"

"Sounds good,"

"Okay," He grins brightly, still thinking this entire thing is his mind playing some cruel tricks on him.

"So you should go, your team awaits," She reminds, he nods, partly wanting the interaction over before he can make even more of a fool out of himself or ruin something before it even has a chance to start and partly wanting to live in this moment of pure joy for the rest of his life.

"Right, so I'll uh- see you at the ball- and- uhm- around before obviously," He stutters a little

"Great, I'll see you in both those places," She confirms, realising only after she's spoken how idiotic she sounds.

"The flowers Wood! Christ you're bad at this!" Fred shouts

"Always thought he had game," Harry comments

"We all did kid," George agrees.

"Sorry about them," Oliver apologises

"It's okay," She smiles gently, waiting patiently as he stands staring wondering why her eyes are flickering from him, to his team to his hands and-

"Oh right, these are for you," He confirms, passing the bouquet over and grinning when she blushes a little

"Thanks Oli,"

"Any time," He nods

**

When she pulls open her dorm door Oliver is certain time stops.

She looks like an angel, her makeup perfect, hair flowing in curls with a small section pinned back as to see her face clearly, Oliver is certain nothing else has ever looked as beautiful. She's dressed in a golden gown that shimmers in the light and makes her look like a princess.

"You- I mean- it- you look beautiful," He stammers over his words and his face goes redder by the second but she smiles at him

"Thank you Oli," She smiles up at him and when their eyes meet both of them feel their hearts hammering in their chests.

"You ready?" He questions, she nods, smiling when he grabs her arm in his and they walk together to the hall.

The hall looks like something out of a fairytale. Seeming to glow an ice white, lined with glittering trees and a glance at the ceiling showing a sky full of stars that gleamed in the air.

"You want to dance?" Oliver questions, eyes falling to the already slightly crowded dance floor, the students dancing to the waltz that plays.

"Think you might loose a foot if we try," She admits, glancing at the girls who swirl around the floor effortlessly and feeling a little self conscious she can't do the same.

"It'd be worth it," He grins, pulling her along with him.

"Hey Oli?"

"Yeah?" He questions as they come to the edge of the dance floor

"These heels are really high. Please don't let me fall,"

"I've got you," He assures, smiling when he notices her physically loosen the panic in her eyes dissipating.

It takes them a few stumbles and a couple of toe treads but eventually they pick up the dance. He watches with a grin as she stares at her feet in focus and with time, and a few glasses of the punch Fred and George spiked, she relaxes, feeling at ease in his arms and becoming more comfortable with the slightly confusing dancing.

Oliver whispers commentary about the ball that makes her laugh and he loves the way she talks with such excitement that he can't help but follow along with every word. He's pretty sure in that moment he could die happy and she's almost certain this is the best night of her life.

As the minutes tick into hours they become more and more comfortable with each other, sure there's still an awkward teenagers with crushes layer to the conversation, but they learn they have a lot in common and find it easy to make small talk that they both actually enjoy.

"Do you wanna go get some air?" She questions at around 11, the dancing has changed from formal waltzing to jumping around to the band who'd been hired for the event and they were both hot and a little sticky from the crowd.

He nods in confirmation and smiles to himself when she immediately takes his hand in hers to pull him along behind her, she seems to have no idea he'd follow her to the ends of the earth if she asked.

She takes him to a small moonlit, snow covered, empty courtyard.

"Anyone would think you wanted to get me alone," He teases lightly, she blushes a little but playfully shoves him

"Maybe I did," She shrugs, he grins cockily "Or maybe it was a little crowded in there and I'm a polite date who didn't want to just abandon you," She isn't quite sure where her newfound confidence around Oliver is coming from

"I'm going to go with the first option," He grins, she laughs a little before shivering at the cold December breeze that wraps around them. He's quick to shrug of his black formal jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders and blushing when she leans up to press a kiss to his cheek in thanks.

"You wanna dance?" She questions, he laughs a little at the idea of leaving a ball to go and dance but nods.

Her arms wrap around his neck as his circle her waist, he hums gently and she smiles a she glances up at him. Oliver Wood looks like a god in the moonlight and she thanks her lucky stars that it's her who got to be in that moment with him.

They dance slowly, eventually pulling each other closer. She laughs when he twirls her under his arm and he grins when her hands begin to brush through the ends of his hair.

"Tell me something," She speaks quietly, his arms pulling her even closer.

"What do you wanna know?"

"Anything about you," She decides, he takes a deep breath, figuring now's probably the best moment he'll ever get to tell her this.

"I've had a crush on you since first year,"

"You have?" She sounds shocked and he can't help but laugh at the idea of her not realising he's practically head over heels for her

"I have," He confirms with a grin

"Why'd you never say anything?" She questions. Her heart feels like it's beating a million miles a minute and she's almost certain he can feel it

"You kinda avoided me," he shrugs

"Yeah I did," She laughs

"Why'd you do that?"

"I was scared to make a fool out of myself," She admits

"Yeah I get that," He nods

"You do? You always seem so- I don't know- at ease,"

"Around everyone but you I kinda am," He shrugs, she blushes a little at that. "You wanna know something else?" He questions.

They're still swaying a little but there's not much movement at their feet, instead the entire thing looks like a loving embrace and she figured to an extent it kind of was.

"Sure,"

"All night I've thinking about if I were to try and kiss you. If you'd kiss back or you'd pull away and laugh in my face and I'd have made a fool of myself," His words leave her breathless and his charming grin only makes it better

"There's only one way to know for sure," She whispers.

His lips crash to hers in the moonlit courtyard, the snow falling around them. It's slow and gentle. Holding years of emotion and there's no need to rush, in that moment they both know they have forever to hold each other this close. It's a little toothy from both their wide grins but as his hands cup her cheeks she's sure nothing has ever been as perfect as this moment and the boy she's sharing it with.

MASTERLIST