#then the US took hold of the islands again and his parents returned

[wewerebornsextuplets]

parentce 👍

[estaticheart]

ᥫ᭡. WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE

Summary: You find out about Sarah's pregnancy and so does someone else.

Warnings: literally nothing

A/n: thank you for anon for this idea!

JJ Maybank was a liability to most on this island, kook or pogue. If JJ found out about something at 10am, you best believe the whole island would know by noon. It wasn’t necessarily his fault, he had a big mouth that just happened to slip out information even if he didn’t mean to. Which is exactly how you found out about Sarah’s pregnancy.

Just as you were minding your business, sunbathing on the yacht, and waiting for Rafe to come back with some drinks on the hottest day of the year, you spotted JJ and Pope walking along the dock. Nosy as ever, you effortlessly shifted back from their view, curious to hear their conversation. Chances were it would be about Kie or their new treasure- but gossip was gossip.

“I just still can’t believe it, man. A kid? What the hell are we going to do?” Your jaw dropped at JJ’s words. A kid? JJ and Kie having a kid, was not something you expected to happen. You knew they definitely had something between them, but having a child was a big step to take. You grabbed your phone eager to tell Rafe, of course with strict instructions to slow his return to the yacht.

But as you began to type out a message Pope’s voice began, “We? It’s not our kid JJ, and as far as I’m concerned Sarah and John B are gonna be the best parents we know.”

Sarah and John B.

Your heart thudded in your chest, dropping your phone onto the couch cushions you resided on. You had only seen Sarah a few days ago as you defended her honour against Ruthie and her minions. She hadn’t looked pregnant at all but when you thought back you remembered seeing John B’s hands on her stomach, caressing. Oh my god, she is pregnant.

Your sister-in-law was pregnant, with a pogues baby, fuck me was Rafe about to lose his shit. But you? You were proud, it takes a lot of courage to decide to keep the baby and you knew Pope was right- they’d be the best parents ever.

Minutes later, Pope and JJ disappeared from the harbour and Rafe returned, arms full of all the drinks you like. “Hey baby, I didn’t know what you wanted so I got everything.” He laughed, attempting to place them all down on the table without dropping any. Your mind was far too busy to reply, so you stifled out a laugh. But of course, your boyfriend didn’t miss a thing. Frowning, he looked at you curled into a ball on the seats of the top deck.

“You okay?” He asked, concern coating his face as he took up his seat next to you. His arm around your shoulders settled some of the worry in your brain- but not all. “Yeah, I’m okay. Think the sun is just getting to me that’s all.” You attempted to joke, strategically pushing your body into your boyfriend’s embrace to avoid any more questioning. Convinced you were fine, Rafe stood up, “I’ll go get you some sunscreen. You need to stay protected.”

Protected. Your mind was catapulted back to Sarah. So as Rafe walked down to the deck below, you pulled out your phone again.

1:42pm

Just found some old pics of us as kids, you should come over and see them. We need to catch up Mrs Routledge!!

——————

"Oh my God." Sarah giggles, pointing at a picture of you and her in a swimming pool, with ice cream coating your wide grins. You quickly rifled through your collection of photos, acting as if you had miraculously found them as an excuse to have Sarah over. "We were so cute!" You giggled, as you flipped the photobook over to the next page to see a picture of you and Sarah holding a newborn Wheezie.

Your breath stalled for a moment, before you began to breathe normally again, hoping Sarah wouldn't notice. "Wow." She breathed out, tracing over Wheezie's face as her eyes glazed over with admiration. You weren't going to push Sarah to tell you but you wanted her to know that if she needed a handout, you were there. Deciding to push the limits, "I hope I have a baby as pretty as her." You said softly, smiling at Sarah as your eyes met hers.

She knew instantly that you knew. Your eyes were soft and wide, waiting for her to admit what you already knew. "You know, don't you." She whispered, her hands still hovering over the picture. You nodded, reaching over to take her shaking hands in yours.

For a moment you sat in silence, it wasn't awkward but peaceful. "I love you, Sarah. Whatever you, John B and the baby need I'm here." She nodded, eyes beginning to tear up. When you first started dating Rafe she was scared she would lose you to him, but you had been an anchor in her life, a big sister she never had. She knew she had the pogues support, but to have you behind her meant so much more.

"I'm scared." She feebly admitted, dragging her eyes down to your connected hands before continuing on. "What if they hate me or I'm a bad mom?" You shook your head adamantly, if there was one thing you knew for a fact it was that Sarah would be a good mother. "You could never be a bad mom. Remember when you were 7, I was older but had fallen and grazed my knee? I was a crybaby but even at 7 you knew how to clean it and put a bandage on. Those instincts don't leave you." By the end, your eyes were full of tears too. "Will you help me?" She muttered.

You nodded enthusiastically, "Of course. Sarah whatever you need I'll be here. You are my best friend before I'm Rafe's girlfriend. If you want me to go shopping with you I will. Or go to your appointments, I will. And if you want to keep this a secret, we can."

"Keep what a secret?" Rafe suddenly spoke, he wasn't in the room but you could hear him walking over to the lounge. Sarah's eyes enlarged in fear, you had promised her Rafe was out the whole day. Unbeknownst to you, he had finished his work in a hurry, eager to get back to you. You lunged over to the coffee table slamming the photobook shut, Rafe wasn't an idiot and you didn't want him putting him two and two together before Sarah was ready.

By the time he reached the lounge, you and Sarah had quickly wiped your eyes but it would be obvious to anyone what had happened. His eyes widened as he saw Sarah next to you on the couch. He obviously knew you two had a special connection and often went out whether it was for coffee or to the beach. But it had been ages since he had seen you two together in his house. "What's going on?" He asked, still unmoving from his position.

You glanced over at Sarah, who was staring at her brother. Normally, her eyes were full of hate and anger at Rafe but you noticed a new look in her eye. Full of emotion and sadness. You began to ramble a reason for Sarah's visit and also your 'secret', "Just some gossip with Pope and Cleo. You know they always made sense to me, Pope was always really quiet he needed someone more outspoken, you know? I think they really match, but there is just some stuff going on- but obviously, it's our secret can't just be telling anyone. Bu-"

Amid your rambling, Sarah spoke, "I'm pregnant Rafe." The air in the room warmed instantly to you, your shirt clinging to you as you waited anxiously for Rafe's next words. You hoped your boyfriend would sense that Sarah needed all the support she could get regardless of who it came from. You hoped for once he could see past his misguided anger at his little sister.

"What?" He finally muttered out, although it wasn't the response you hoped for it was better than the string of curse words you were expecting. Sarah waited for a brief second before nodding, moving her hands to let Rafe see her small- but visible- bump. Eyes full of emotion, he followed her motion. His baby sister. Pregnant. And despite them having mountains of unresolved trauma to work through, he felt an instinct to protect her baby, and weirdly of all, Sarah too. He finally moved from his frozen stance walking over to you both on the couch.

"Can I?" He asked gesturing at her stomach. Seemingly hesitant, Sarah waited a moment before nodding slowly her eyes never leaving Rafe's hands as he tentatively placed them on her bump. You watched on, trying not to cry at the sight of the two people you loved the most connecting once more. They had problems to solve and conversations to have but at this moment, it was like everything had fallen back into place. "It's only small," Sarah whispered, desperate to not disturb the peace. She had never seen her brother so quiet and attentive.

"I can't believe it. I'm lost for words." Their eyes met, both of the Cameron siblings thinking the same thing, everything would work itself out. But in the back of Rafe's mind lingered one thing, his own want and longing for a baby of his own.

[sanyu-thewitch05]

Just thought of this idea just now.

Can you do a smut with a yandere greek god of war x water nymph reader, with the nymph being chased by the god until he caught up with her and takes her to his bedroom, and the whole love making thing is more consensual?

Sure!

A/N: Also, sorry I'm answering this late again. Hurricane Helene came over my state so I was literally(and still am) preparing for the worst.

You were a water nymph. A lonely one at that. Also, a confused one, because you grew up alone with only water and the sealife to keep you company. You didn't even know what type of water nymph you were, all you knew was that both of your parents didn't want you. And so, here you are, living your life on the shore of some tourist beach.

"Do you always sit there?" A man with brown skin, red hair, and purplish-blue eyes asks, sitting next to you.

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't exactly have anywhere else to go," You respond, enjoying the feeling of the waves touching your feet. "What about you? Do you have anywhere to go?"

"Of course, I do. I go to lots of places," The man answers, blushing a little. "Say, what's your name, cutie?"

"Aqua...Aquata. Or at least that's the name others have given me But I prefer Y/N." You answer, getting up.

"Y/N, where are you going?" The man asks, seeing you walk into the ocean. "Y/N? Y/N!"

And with that, you're in the sea filled with inspiration. If he could travel everywhere, then you can too. Your first stop was the island that the sailors call Sirenum Scopuli. It was flowery and pretty, and the women were welcoming. For some reason, they said you smelled familiar to them.

Your next stop was the island of Thrinacia, where you found a crying cyclops.

"Excuse me, if I may ask, why are you crying?" You ask, standing in front of the cyclops.

"He took stabbed me in the eye! I'm blinded! I'm blinded! I can never see my beloved sheep again!" The cyclops cried, making you feel pity for the poor creature.

"Oh, I can fix it if you want. I've healed many eye injuries before," You say, getting an idea.

"Really, you'll fix my eye? I'm in your debt for eternity," The cyclops exclaims, a smile on his face.

"Yep!" You say, diving back into the water, and returning with the eye of a giant sea squid. "I've performed this plenty of times on animals. Hold on, I need to get the eye out."

You pull the cyclop's eye out and put the squid's eye in its place. You work your magic on the eye and use the liquid inside it to weave your magic through his nervous system.

"Ok, try blinking. Do you see anything?" You ask, standing back.

"YAY! I CAN SEE AGAIN!" The cyclops yells, jumping around and clapping. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"

"Don't mention it, big guy," You exclaim, kissing his cheek.

"Here, take sheep's wool. It can be used to warm you up during the cold," The cyclops replies, giving you a cloak.

You accept the gift and continue on your way. As you travel through the ocean, an arrow strikes your arm. You scream in pain, your blood dying the water around you red. You hear men screaming above and force yourself to see the same red-haired man from the beach.

"YOU FOOLS! HOW DARE YOU HURT MY GODDESS?!" The man screams, letting his wrath decimate the soldiers above him. "My goddess, are you ok?"

"You? What are you doing here?" You ask, gripping the wool cloak.

"My dove, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Good."

He kisses your lips, and a wave of memories comes flooding back. You haven't been back on that beach in years. You've been living with him, your dear husband, Ares. One day you got into a fight with him, ran away, and had been aimlessly wandering through the human world until you eventually pushed everything concerning Ares and your life with him to the back of your mind.

"Ares?" You gasp, feeling his hands cupping your cheeks.

"The third. Ares the third," Ares says, looking into your eyes. "I had been looking for you for five long years. Do you know how much it hurt me to see you not recognize me on that beach?"

"Ares, listen, I...what were we even fighting about?" You ask, straddling your husband.

"I...we were arguing about your family-our family-both. Your family wanted to reach out to you, I was talking about wanting a baby, it all piled up and we had a really bad fight, and no words could describe how sorry I am. I should've let you reach out to your family, and I shouldn't have tried making a family of our own as if it was an acceptable replacement for your family."

"Oh...Ares. I-Is my family ok?"

"Yes. They've been living at my castle since you disappeared. They'd love to meet you."

"I'd love to meet them too."

~~~~~~~~~

"Welcome home, my goddess," Ares says, removing his hands from your eyes.

"Mom? Dad?" You say, seeing a siren and Triton.

"Hi, sweetie. We've got a lot to explain, but I think your husband really wants to talk to you. We'll be waiting at the dinner table," Your mom says, nudging your dad to say hi.

"Don't worry, I will return your daughter to you in a walkable manner," Ares says, guiding you to his bedroom.

The door shuts, and Ares is already kissing your body.

"Do you know how long I've missed you, missed your body?" Ares murmurs, kissing your neck as he slips his dress off your shoulders. "Please tell me you remember my touch?"

"I'm sorry..." You say, guiltily looking at Ares.

"Don't worry about it. I'll make you remember again," Ares whispers, feeling you up.

"A-Ares!" You moan as your husband kisses your breasts.

Ares sucks on your breasts as he pushes your dress off your ass. The two of you fall on the bed, and Ares grasps your hands. You see his toned chest peak through his white v-neck blouse and stare at it.

"Oh, you want my clothes off too?" Ares asks, holding back a smirk as he looks at your cute face.

"Yes, please. Take it off. Take it all off," You plead, rubbing your leg against his crotch.

Ares does as you say and you gawk at his glorious body and skin.

"What? Never seen a god before?" Ares mocks, stroking his 7 1/2-inch cock.

"Wow..." You gasp, closing your legs as Ares crawls towards you in all his glory.

"Don't worry, babe. I won't make a mess out of you," Ares responds, kissing your pussy and lining himself up at your entrance. "I'm going in."

"Mm!" You moan, your husband not moving to let you adjust.

"You're ok, you're doing good. I know it's been a while since you've had me inside you," Ares moans, resisting the urge to thrust. "Are you ready, my goddess?"

You nod your head and he begins to thrust. You gasp as a wave of pleasure washes over you, your hands gripping the sheets. Ares grabs your hands, guiding them so they're gently around his waist.

"You look so amazing!" Ares moans, speeding up. "I love you. I love you so much! I love you so much, I'll be with you even after the mortals move on to the next set of gods. I love you so much I'd kill the entire world and the pantheon for you."

"I love you too, Ares!" You moan, making your husband tear up.

He orgasms inside of you and kisses your sweet lips. His tears fall on your cheeks, and you look at your husband with pity. The genuine love for you flowing through his tears, send you over the edge, and you cum on his cock.

"Aw, honey, don't cry. I'm sorry I forgot about you," You apologize, kissing your husband's head.

"I've seen the bloodiest of slaughter and entire people wiped out from genocide, but you're the one thing I could never forget," Ares cries, laying his head onto your boobs. "Please don't leave me like that again."

You start to cry and wipe your husband's tears away. You kiss him, feeling his heartbeat calm down.

"It's ok, I won't leave you again," You say, touching your forehead with his.

[richincolor]

December Releases

As we prepare for our hiatus, we are gathering the releases for December all in one place for readers. Next week, we'll start posting our favorites from 2024 and then we will have a bit of a break and see you again in 2025. Here are the books we're watching for in December.

December 3

Encanto: Nightmares and Sueños by Alex Segura Disney Press

Return to Casita where we find seventeen-year-old Bruno from Disney’s hit animated film Encanto, where readers will finally learn what happened to make people never want to talk about him.

Fans will love this dark and mysterious young adult novel by Alex Segura, a NYT bestselling author who also wrote Poe Dameron: Free Fall and Araña and Spider-Man 2099: Dark Tomorrow.

Seventeen-year-old Bruno has never really fit in with his family—why can’t he be as outgoing as his sister Pepa, or as friendly as his sister Julieta? Does he like being the awkward loaner who never seems to find where he can fit in? But it’s hard to be popular when you have the power to tell the future and people don’t always like what you are telling them. So Bruno devises an act, and begins to model the behavior he feels the town wants to see in a hero.

But is being dishonest to himself and others the right path to walk down in order to make friends, or is Bruno just kidding himself as he hides from his own destiny that threatens to destroy all he holds dear?

My Fairy God Somebody by Charlene Allen HarperCollins

The way Clae’s mom tells it, her dad took off when Clae was a baby, end of story. Ever since, it’s just been the two of them, living in the coastal city of Gloucester, where Clae is one of the only few Black girls. But when Clae discovers clues about a mysterious person she calls her fairy god somebody, she’s determined to know more.

Her chance comes when she’s accepted into a summer journalism program in New York City, where her parents lived before she was born. With a couple of leads and a steel resolve, Clae leaves home for the first time to find out about her history.

New York is as full of magic as it is mystery, not to mention romance. From Brooklyn to Broadway, Clae and her new friends, Nze and Joelle, explore neighborhood haunts and hustles, discovering a family trail that someone’s tried hard to bury. So who is the fairy god somebody? And can Clae use her sleuthing skills to find out the truth?

Set against one unforgettable NYC summer, this is the story of lies that run deep and patterns that are meant to be broken. Clae, Nze, and Joelle will stick with you and remind you that every girl deserves to write her own story.

The Last One by Rachel Howzell Hall Entangled Publishing, LLC (Red Tower Books)

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help.

Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting.

As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

And no one is what—or who—they appear to be in the kingdom of Vinevridth, including the man whose secrets might be as deadly as the land itself.

When the Mapou Sings by Nadine Pinede Candlewick Press

Infused with magical realism, this story blends first love and political intrigue with a quest for justice and self-determination in 1930s Haiti.

Sixteen-year-old Lucille hopes to one day open a school alongside her best friend where girls just like them can learn what it means to be Haitian: to learn from the mountains and the forests around them, to carve, to sew, to draw, and to sing the songs of the Mapou, the sacred trees that dot the island nation. But when her friend vanishes without a trace, a dream—a gift from the Mapou—tells Lucille to go to her village’s section chief, the local face of law, order, and corruption, which puts her life and her family’s at risk.

Forced to flee her home, Lucille takes a servant post with a wealthy Haitian woman from society’s elite in Port-au-Prince. Despite a warning to avoid him, she falls in love with her employer’s son. But when their relationship is found out, she must leave again—this time banished to another city to work for a visiting American writer and academic conducting fieldwork in Haiti. While Lucille’s new employer studies vodou and works on the novel that will become Their Eyes Were Watching God, Lucille risks losing everything she cares about—and any chance of seeing her best friend again—as she fights to save their lives and secure her future in this novel in verse with the racing heart of a thriller.

December 17

Spell of the Sinister (A Fairy Godmother #2) by Danielle Paige Bloomsbury

Two magical sisters. One more chance at revenge. . . .

Ever since Cinderella disappeared with Prince Mather the queendoms have been in disarray. Now with her magical power completely unchecked, Galatea intends to exact revenge on humans for using the Entente. Her plan? Send Bari off to find a new prince and take over one queendom at a time. But Bari’s mission is complicated when South joins her and sparks begin to fly . . .

Meanwhile, Farrow is on her own journey to reunite with Cinderella and Prince Mather in the first Queendom. Amid brewing conflict, Farrow grapples with her feelings for Mather, her friendship with Cinderella, and her loyalty to the Entente’s original purpose–to influence with helpful magic, never take total control.

Once as close as sisters, Bari and Farrow now find themselves on opposing sides. Will malice win out, or will the next generation of Entente chart a new path to “happily ever after” for their magical coven of fairy godmothers?

December 24

Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow #2) by Xiran Jay Zhao Tundra Books

After suffering devastating loss and making drastic decisions, Zetian finds herself at the seat of power in Huaxia. But she has also learned that her world is not as it seems, and revelations about an enemy more daunting than Zetian imagined forces her to share power with a dangerous man she cannot simply depose. Despite having vastly different ideas about how they must deconstruct the corrupt and misogynist system that plagues their country, Zetian must join this man in a dance of truth and lies and perform their roles to perfection in order to take down their common enemy, who seeks to control them as puppets while dangling one of Zetian’s loved ones as a hostage.

With political unrest and perilous forces aiming to undermine Zetian at every turn, can she enact positive changes as a fair and just ruler? Or will she be forced to rely on fear and violence and succumb to her darker instincts in her quest for vengeance?

December 31

Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao Viking Books for Young Readers

For Gemma’s whole life, it has always been her and her mom against the world. As far as she knew, all her grandparents—and thus her ties to Taiwanese culture—were dead. Until one day when a mysterious man shows up at her door with two shocking the news that her grandfather has just recently passed, and the first clue to a treasure hunt that Gemma hopes will lead to her inheritance.

There’s just one major to complete the hunt, she has to go to her grandfather’s home in Taiwan. And the only way she can get there is by asking her ex and biggest high-school rival, Xander, for help. But after swallowing her pride, Gemma finds herself halfway across the world, ready to unearth her life-changing prize. Soon Gemma discovers that the treasure hunt is about much more than money—it’s about finally learning about her family, her cultural roots, and maybe even finding true love.

Filled with ingenious puzzles, a vibrant Taipei setting, and a delicious romance, Ex Marks the Spot is an exciting adventure by award-winning writer Gloria Chao, perfect for fans of Loveboat Taipei, The Inheritance Games, and Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes.

[thehalfbloodedwitch]

Cigarettes too burn out (jj x reader)

Pairing- jj maybank x reader

Summary- when the reader is in a vulnerable position, jj maybank, a person she despises, comes to help her out. | Ansgt, fluff

Warnings- mentions of abuse, smoking, drinking, panic attack, language, toxic parents

Words- 3,322 words

jj maybank masterlist main masterlist

Outer Banks, an island divided by whether you are rich or poor, the Kooks and the Pogues. The island that both your parents and you decided to call home. You will always remember the places where you made friends and hold those memories dear to your heart.

Even though you were a pogue, which means that your family wasn't rich, you still enjoyed yourself. The Pogues—John B., Kiara, Pope, jj, and Sarah—were your only friends.

The loyalty of the pogues, which took you some time to understand because you never trusted people with your problems or your burdens, was something you respected about them. The pogues knew everything about one another and were always there for one another.

It was a typical Pogues night as you all sat at the chateau drinking beer while jj chose to play silly games with Pope and Kiara. You all laughed as you watched them both attempt to chug an entire beer in one gulp.

"Oh, you think I can’t chug this beer pope?" asked jj and Pope responded, "Yeah, jj, let’s see about that," and opened the top of the beer can that Pope was holding.

"Y/n, give us a countdown," said Pope looking at you, and you stood up and spoke, "Alright, three, two, one, go." The two boys poured the beer in their mouths while their heads shot up. 

Pope held onto the can and tried to chug it as fast as he could, but jj had experience chugging beers, so he chugged the beer within one gulp and crushed the can with a smirk plastered on his face, the smirk of his victory, while Pope finished his after a few seconds.

Dammit," Pope muttered and tossed the can on the ground,. jj looked at Pope and said, "I told ya" as he sat down on the couch and Pope soon joined him.

"It’s fine, pope, jj only got to prove how much of an alcoholic he is with this challenge," you said while sitting down on your chair beside kie, while jj glared daggers at you. "It doesn’t matter, I still won the challenge," he said as he took out his lighter to smoke.

The other members of the group got along with you fairly well, but jj was never quite ready to accept you into the group, but you didn't mind him because you were constantly going back and forth with him. You both detested each other and would do anything to irritate the other so much that they couldn't take it anymore.

You had to be at your house around 8 o'clock; and it was now 9 o'clock.  You stood up from your chair, making kie look at you in question.

You apologised to her saying, "Sorry, kie, got to go; it's already 9 and I had to be at home at 8." and she nodded. With the exception of jj, to whom you extended your middle finger, you waived goodbye to everyone else at the chateau before leaving for your house.

You weren't always excited to go to your house, and you never wanted to return to that wrecked place you call a house because it was never a place where you could find comfort, a place you could feel safe in and free from judgement.

Your mother opened your door as you knocked, letting you in while wearing an irritated look. Your mother glanced at you and pointed to the couch as you entered quietly.

You sat down on the couch, and as soon as she shut the door, she turned to you and demanded, "Do you know what time it is?" with enraged eyes. You sat there motionless, afraid to say anything as her voice got louder with each word.

Your mother yelled, "If you enter this house at this time of the hour, you'd better be off with your stupid friends elsewhere and never enter this house again." You fidgeted with your shirt sleeve, not paying her any attention or responding to her remarks.

The entrance to your father's room then opened, allowing him to exit. Your mother said, "Look at this stupid girl, what time does she decide to come home?" as he turned his attention from you to your mother.

"This is not acceptable; who do you think you are?" Your father said, "If you think you own this house, you don’t." He said, and you swallowed all your feelings as he continued, "Just because you are an adult now doesn’t mean you get to do whatever you want."

"You realise what the problem is? Her friends, she has gotten with the wrong group of friends; I've tried to tell this bitch she shouldn't hang out with those assholes, but she won't listen to me,"  your father said. He was obviously intoxicated, and the words that came out of his lips prickled like needles.

"Now you won't hang out with those idiotic friends of yours; tomorrow you're going to help me out around the house, got it?" You nodded as your mother gave the order.

You could still hear your parents talking vilely about you and your friends after getting up and going to your room. You shut the door and plugged in your headphones to listen to music. It was the only escape you could get at your house.

It's safe to say that your relationship with your parents was toxic and complex. Your parents would yell and curse at you one second, and then the next they would express how much they loved and cared for you. They'd be pleased if you did what your parents desired but they wouldn't like it at all if you did what made you happy, though.

Although your father once grabbed your hair and dragged you to the laundry just because you hadn't completed the chore you were supposed to do, you were glad that your parents didn't physically abuse you. After that, though, they never physically hurt you; instead, they were fucking with your mind.

Teenagers weren't supposed to know that when they hear footsteps approaching their room, they should stop what they are doing and pretend to study; they weren't supposed to comprehend how cruel and poorly their parents treat them, they weren't supposed to understand that they should despise returning home, and they weren't supposed to refer to their home as a house rather than a home.

You were never able to call the place you lived "home," and you never felt secure there. Whenever your parents visited, you always felt confined and unable to be yourself. Suddenly, you weren’t the person your friends knew you as; you changed, A girl who had been cheery and fun became silent and lonely. 

Your parents didn't notice that you had dark circles under your eyes from being so tired at home; all they noticed was that you were hanging out with the wrong group of people and arriving late. All you could do at your home was remain in your room, and they wouldn't have given a damn what you did there.

And the fact that none of your friends knew about how your parents were or how badly they treated you because you never told them—you were a person who didn’t trust people that easily, and it was hard for you to tell them about your parents as they showed themselves to the world as though they were the best parents in the entire world—no one saw what was going on behind the curtains.’

After finishing the work your mother had given you, you headed to the chateau the following day. When you arrived, you faked a smile in order to hide your worn-out expression. 

“Ayy, Y/n! What’s up?” Sarah asked as she came to you and hugged you, you hugged her back and replied, “Nothing much, the same old” 

The time you spent with your friends started to make you feel much better, but it always hurt you to have to keep all that pain and trauma inside of you. You really wanted to tell them about it, but you never had the courage to do so, and none of them inquired about how you were doing either. 

"Would you ever be able to stop arguing with each other?"  kie, asked, who was sick of you and jj's pointless argument over who should get the last beer.

You said to kie, "Tell him to fuck off," and he responded, "Tell her to piss off because this is mine," grabbing the beer out of your hand. You swiftly snatched the can from his grasp, drank from it, saying, "Told you it's mine," and stuck out your tongue to mock him. 

jj rolled his eyes and moved to sit next to John B at the kitchen counter, and kie sighed and moved to sit next to you.

Kie said to you, "You guys should really talk this out, you fight like your life depends on it," while Sarah entered and agreed with kie. 

As Sarah sat down next to Kie, you said, "He just doesn't like me, I know it. For some reason, he just doesn't like me from the very beginning, and well, the feeling's mutual." as you chuckled.

“I don’t care what you say Y/n, but we are gonna make you two get along with each other,” Sarah said as kie nodded. You rolled your eyes and said, “Do whatever you want, I will never like him”

You all nodded in agreement when John B said, "Guys, I'm going to be staying at Sarah's tonight; you all can leave whenever you want." Sarah then waived you and kie goodbye as she left with John B.

“Yeah, I think I’ll also leave,” you said as you stood up and left to your house.

The second you entered the house, you heard your mother and father arguing, they were shouting and throwing things in their room, and it wasn’t hard to overhear their conversation. 

Your father yelled at your mother, who remained silent, "I should have left you and gone off with that other woman I was in love with, because of your parents I had to marry you and live this miserable life."

Your mother left the room and saw you, "Can't you do one nice thing for me?" she asked "You come here acting like you owned the damn house after I told you to carry out the trash! Do you understand me when I say that everything which happens here is entirely your fault? What an unreliable child I have."

This was the final straw for you; you couldn't take it any longer. As your mother left the living room, you took the trash and went outside, where you dumped it near the trash can. Holding a cigarette in your hand, you then departed for the chateau while sobbing tears welled up in your eyes.

You whispered to yourself to breathe as memories of your parents fighting, cursing at you, calling you names, and all other unpleasant memories with them suddenly flooded your consciousness. 

The chateau was closed when you arrived, so you opened the door and shut it. The lights were off because you didn't feel like turning them on, and you sat on the couch with tears streaming down your cheeks that you had managed to hold back.

You cried uncontrollably, unable to control what was coming out of you because it had been trapped inside of you for far too long. 

Your breath hitched as the cigarette from your hand dropped to the ground in to ashes, and your hand held your hair.

Your legs were wrapped around your torso, your head was on your knees, and you were desperately trying to calm yourself as you let out a sob and found yourself suddenly gasping for air. "No no no no," you said as you suddenly ran out of breath. 

When you heard the sound of a bike outside, John B had already told you he wouldn't be there. So who could this be? You thought to yourself.

"You should have been at home, right?" asked a familiar voice which you didn't want to hear.

You attempted to contain your sobs in front of him by saying, "P-Piss off M-Maybank," but it wasn't hard to tell that you were sobbing. 

"Hey, what's going on?"  jj asked as he approached you, his voice tinged with concern. 

"W-What does it matter to you, anyway?” You asked while keeping your kneeling position and making an unsuccessful attempt to contain your tears.

"Why do you think so low of me? I'm not here to make fun of you, y/n.," he said as he sat next to you, looking at you with worry.

Tears started pouring out of your red puffy eyes from crying so much. "No, you were right, I am a-a bitch t-that just i-is good for nothing, I am s-such a disaster," you said.

Without saying another word jj pulled you into his strong and muscular arms, your face on his chest and his arms around your waist as he soothed your back.

You sobbed into his shirt, not caring if he was going to make fun of you about it the next day, you cried and held onto his shirt for dear life. How much had you kept in? How long did you have to suffer with all of that inside of you?

You eventually stopped sobbing as you left jj's embrace after about thirty minutes. jj Maybank sat in front of you, gazing at you with a troubled expression as you rubbed your eyes. 

He hesitated a little before asking, "Uhm, if you don't mind me asking this but, what happened?" with a serious expression plastered on his face.

How could you possibly explain the reason behind your unexpected emotional outburst to jj—someone who hadn't even cared about you for so long? 

“You don't have to lie to me," he said before you could finish. As he stared into your eyes, his blue eyes bore into yours, giving you a feeling that you were in the ocean's clear water and were almost lost in them. 

Without any hesitation, the words poured out of your mouth, and he patiently listened to you, with an occasional hum to let you know that he was listening. 

After you were done, you refused to look at him, your eyes stared at your hands as your fingers fiddled with the sleeve of your shirt.

You anticipated that jj would be sympathetic towards you, feel sorry for you, or view you as an issue that needed to be resolved, but instead, he hugged you and stroked your hair as he did so. 

He said, "You don't deserve to be treated this way” “What if I do? What if they view me as a shitty daughter?" you questioned as you left jj's embrace and sat on the couch in front of him.

“You aren’t a shitty daughter Y/n, there are many people who are worse than you, look at me,” jj said making you chuckle, as jj continued, “I fucking drink, smoke weed, go around carrying a gun and fight people” 

You repeated his words, "Maybank, you aren't a bad son, there are worse." " And who might that be?" You both laughed when you both said "rafe" in response to jj's question. 

“You aren’t wrong though, he is worse than me,” jj said, “Told you,” you said and the two of you sat in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of the waves and crickets.

But you soon broke the silence by saying, “It’s sob stories night, your turn” you said to which jj raised an eyebrow and said, “My mom left me and my dad when I was five, and my dad is an abusive asshole, so I left him and stay here at John B’s house”

“Oh, I didn’t know,” you said to which jj scoffed, “No shit, we never even talk,” he said to which you rolled your eyes,” Because you never liked me from the day I came in this group”

“Why did you hate me?” you asked after a pause, you always wondered why he never liked you, he cleared his throat and replied, “I never hated you, I just wanted someone to have a back and forth with” 

“And you couldn't find any other person to do that with?” to which jj chuckled and swayed his head to a no, “I did enjoy fighting with you” you admitted.

“I hated you though,” you said, “No, you didn’t, you liked me” he called out to which you laughed. 

“Don’t you ever miss your mom?” you asked but regretted asking it instantly, you didn’t want to press on too many buttons.

“Yeah I do sometimes,” he replied, and continued, “People say I am nothing like her and that I am like my dad, drinking, smoking and not having a job, I don’t want to be like him, it pisses me off when people say that, but they might be right” 

"jj, you are nothing like your dad," you shook your head. He looked away from you and towards the nearby window, saying, "You don't know that"” “Yes I do, your dad wouldn't be sitting here with one of his friends, sympathizing about their fucked up parents," you said to which jj chuckled.

jj smirked at you, “You finally called me by my name?” he said, you tried to hide your smile and said, “Oh right, sorry forgot to call you douchebag” and the two of you laughed.

“Thank you,” you said looking at him, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you thanking me for?” to which you replied, “For listening to me about my problems” “You don’t have to thank me moonlight, I will always be here for you,” jj said with a smile on his face.

You two then sat in quiet comfort for a while before you said, "I too hate it," to which jj asked, "What?" You continued, "I hate when people say I am like my mother; I don't want to be in any way associated with that lady.”

“I don’t know why, but I feel like I might become just like her in the future” you said to which jj replied, “Moonlight, you are nothing like your mother because your mom wouldn’t be sitting here with her friend sympathizing about their fucked up parents” repeated what you had told him and you smiled at him, blushing at the nickname he used for you.

Then you lay in the couch with your feet on jj’s lap, he looked at you with confusion written all over his face, “What? Don’t you want to sleep too?” you asked, jj was taken aback by the question. 

You said, "I might change my mind and let you sleep on the floor," before he could respond, and you moved over so jj could lie next to you. 

"Thank you so much jj, no one has ever really helped me out, but today I just couldn't hold it in and-" before you could continue, jj’s index finger pressed on your lips, sealing your mouth.

"Everyone burns out, so you don't need to thank me, moonlight”. He said as he slowly removed his finger from your lips, "Whenever you need help, never hesitate to call me. I will always understand you and help you get through it. You don't have to do this on your own, not anymore.”

He then wrapped his arm around your shoulder as you snuggled into his chest and inhaled his comforting scent, which was a mix of cheap cologne, sand and seawater.

The next morning, as you both awoke to the morning light peeking through the curtains, you couldn't help but grin at jj when you saw him with his hand firmly around your waist and his mouth slightly open. 

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TAGS- @poppet05 @idli-dosa @lolrcggt @blackthunder137 @addyheartsyou @gxthicwxrm @blrryyfcee @iheartmaddyperez @queen-of-never-monster @thescarletweasleywitch @linelianeravn

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[unholly-reader]

It should have been me - Daemon Targaryen x f!OC!

Hello lovely people!

Today we're going for a somber vibe, I had this idea walking around for my ff, but I just wanted to share this with you all. To all you sensitive creatures - I highly recommend a tissue nearby.

Enjoy!

[again - English is NOT my first language!]

Warnings: soooo much crying, little angst, little fluff, just Daemon being an emotional beast with anger issues.

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

For weeks upon end Alanna awaited word from her lord husband, yet none ever came. The day he left for Harrenhal was the last time they spoke before she was left with their children to keep her company. This predicament wouldn’t have been as cruel had it not been for the tragedy that befell Alanna when she suspected it the least. Alyssa’s death hit her mother in more ways than anybody could anticipate. As hard as she tried to keep a brave face for her children, especially for Viserys as he had lost his other half when Alyssa was murdered, when night fell on Dragonstone and her darling boys fell asleep, all she did was cry. Fighting with the silent sobs crushing her chest like a mallet, Alanna Targaryen cried her heart out for her only sweet daughter until there were no more tears to cry. Only then she would stop weeping and stare at the wall as if she was someplace far away from the island. Her efforts to keep her children away from her own sorrows failed miserably the day Viserys walked in on her screaming on the floor as she held desperately onto the bloodied cloth that used to be Alyssa's favourite dress. Although he was a boy barely two and ten, he understood much more than his parents gave him credit for. He knew his twin’s death was the Usurper’s vengeance. He also knew that dragons do not forgive spilling the blood of their own kin. Despite his young age, Viserys bore his father pride and spirit like a shield for everyone to see. Many people would say he was a young prince Daemon reincarnated. When he overcame his own grief, which is too much to say for a boy of his years, he swore to avenge Alyssa’s death when the time came. That was the only difference between him and his father. Daemon never understood the importance of the right time. Viserys took after his mother, weighing when it was right to act and when inaction was the best course. 

Upon seeing his mother weeping her heart out, kneeling on the floor he ran towards her standing next to her and bending just enough so he could hug her shaking body. He felt his own tears falling down his pale cheeks but he couldn't care less. She needed the comfort just as much as he and his brother’s did. When Alanna realised it was her youngest son holding her, she tried to compose herself, clumsily wiping her tears away but when she looked up and saw Viserys’s face, she let it all go. She brought him closer into her embrace, clawing at his body like an anchor keeping her afloat. Viserys hugged her in return, snuggling his face into her golden hair just like he used to when he was younger. 

– I promise you, Mama. We will avenge Alyssa, I swear this to you. 

– Shh, my sweet prince. Just hold me, my sweet boy. Just stay here. 

Viserys listened to his mother’s pleas and stayed for as long as she held onto him. By the time the night came and the moon lit up the skies, Alanna was fast asleep in her bed with her youngest by her side. It was only when Rhaenys came by that Viserys woke up and slid out of his mother’s bed, careful not to disturb her sleep. He walked through the chambers, reaching the Princess by the entrance. He looked up at his aunt, eyes still red and puffy from the tears he shared with his mother that day. 

– The crying exhausted her. She needs the rest. 

Rhaenys felt her heart shatter for the young prince so bravely caring for his Mama. 

– As do you, my darling boy – she replied, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and gently bringing him into her embrace – Let us get you in your bed, dear. 

As much as he wanted to stay and guard his mother in her sleep, Visersy felt the exhaustion overtake his body. He was tired and grieving and had no strength left. The moment he hugged Rhaenys side, he felt himself fall into slumber. Having raised children of her own, the Princess quickly picked him up and he instinctively wrapped his ambler arms around her form. Quickly she left her half-sister’s quarters and moved towards the prince’s bedchambers. 

***

When Alanna stirred awake and felt the empty space beside her, she panicked. Fearing the worst she shot out of bed, her hair flowing down her back in messy waves and she sprinted out of her chambers. It was still dark outside, although a mist of sunlight was creeping from the horizon, bringing morning with its reddish haze colouring the eastern skies. Barely thinking about putting her shoes on she ran barefoot, frantically calling out her son’s name. Following her instincts she ran towards Baelon’s chamber where all her boys now resided and prayed she would see all of her four princes abed. It was nerve wracking and heart shattering, fearing for her children’s life every step of the way for now she knew the unbearable pain of losing one so cruelly. Her steps were light, yet heavy at the same time. Each one brought her closer either to her hope or her demise. She burst through the door like the lighting piercing the night and only then did she feel her heart slow down. All four of her sons were comfortably settled in Baelon’s bed, tightly pressed against one another and all four in deep slumber. Feeling her legs giving in Alanna leaned on the door frame, watching from afar as her boys slept soundly and more importantly, safely. Regaining her breath she retired from her eldest son’s quarters, closing the door behind her only to lean back on the wooden door and slide down to the floor. Tears once again stained her porcelain like face as she weeped silently, eyes wide open staring into nothing. Every time she thought she had cried all the tears her eyes held, the violet-like irises found another source of salty streams. It was a never ending nightmare where whenever she would open her eyes, she would be reminded of the life that could not be retrieved. 

Time seemed to escape her as she sat unmoving, almost resembling a marble statue. In what seemed like minutes the sun began to rise by the horizon, slowly creeping inside the castle walls. Alanna was almost cathartic when suddenly she heard a loud screech sounding from afar. At first she thought a mere ringing in her ear, irrelevant to what was happening in reality but when the sound roared the second time, she could not dismiss it. She knew that screeching all too well and if she was correct, her prayers had finally been answered. With little caution she stood up and let her feet guide her towards the tunnels leading to dragon caves hidden beneath the surface of Dragonstone. She hoped it was not her cruel imagination painting her a fool once again. Her ruby skirts flow behind her, sweeping the stone floors of the castle as she descended onto lower levels of the fortress. Hair in complete disarray and eyes puffy and red but all that mattered was running to meet him. 

All the guards she passed by bowed before her but she paid them no mind as she finally reached her destination the same moment a ruby red beast crawled inside the cave with her beloved black knight in its saddle. Caraxes gracefully flew towards the pier where Alanna stood, looking up in desperation and then landed smoothly. His rider took no time to slide down his mount’s back and onto its wing, running straight into Alanna’s open arms with a heart wrenching sob. The Rogue Prince held his Princess close to his chest, clawing at her velvet clad back with all his might. Having only heard about the tragedy that befell his family the previous day he flew relentlessly to meet his beloved wife. Now that she was in his arms all he could think about was how she had to watch his daughter’s blood pool at her feet and he was not there to protect his little girl. 

– Tell me it was a horrible nightmare. 

Daemon’s voice sounded so unlike him. So fragile and cautious, almost as if he was a glass figurine ready to crumble in the matter of seconds. Alanna could not mutter a single word so she just shook her head against Daemon’s shoulder, feeling her tears well up once again in the corners of her eyes. At her response he only weeped louder, burying his face into her golden hair. Almost simultaneously their knees buckled under the weight of their shared grief and they collapsed to the stone floors, holding one another as if their very lives depended on it. It was too painful for the both of them to lean back and see the rattling pain on their faces but eventually Daemon broke. He looked at his wife and his heart shattered a thousand times over seeing her perfect violet-blue eyes red and puffy, filled with tears that never seems to stop. All at once he noticed all the little details on her face. The little wrinkles slowly appeared in the corners of her eyes. The pink shade of her pretty lips. He also noticed the small cut on her forehead, now almost completely healed, but still visible to the naked eye. Suddenly his grief became irrelevant when his mind was overtaken by fuming rage. As gently as he could, Daemon reached his palm towards Alanna’s forehead, delicately brushing his fingers over the healed cut. 

– Did he do it?

Alanna just nodded, taking hold of his wrist in her smaller hand. Hre face was still pain ridden as she stared into his lilac eyes with fear shaking like a lonely willow. 

– He slit her throat, Daemon – she spoke quietly, her voice crumbling seemingly with each word – He took my baby and he took her life. I have her blood on my hands. I have Alyssa’s blood on my hands. I don't…

She began rumbling and talking frantically like a wheel that just keeps spinning, spiralling into her own madness. Daemon watched with horror as his beautiful wife tormented herself, relieving the horrifying events of the day they lost their daughter. Unable to stop the words spilling from her mouth, he did the only thing that came to his mind. Abruptly he grabbed both her cheeks and pressed a quick yet genuine kiss to her chapped lips. She still tasted like heaven but her tears covering her mouth made it bitter sweet. Gently Daemon leaned his forehead on hers, slowly calming her rattled presence. 

– Shhh, my light. You do not blame yourself. Do you understand me? You did everything you could. You fought as best you could. He could have killed you too. I could have lost you too. Gods, I cannot begin to imagine what I would do if he took you from me. I swear to the Gods, if he wasn’t dead already I would have taken his hands, his cock, his head for ever laying his hands on you and Alyssa. 

Alanna felt her heart flutter, trying to calm down, listening to Daemon’s voice but the demons hunting her never stopped. When she closed her eyes, she saw her little girl’s body drowning in blood. The vision haunted her every living second she breathed the air her daughter no longer could. 

– It should have been me, Daemon. He should have killed me, not my little girl. I should have…

– Don’t you dare! I forbid you – growled Daemon, grabbing her face sternly, looking into her tears stained eyes – Don’t even think about it. 

The Princess stared into her husband’s lilac orbs in silence. She could see all the feelings throwing him around like a puppet, the hurricane of emotions passing through his mind. She stilled in place, keeping her hands clasped on his wrists like a lifeline. He was mad and frustrated and above all furious, but hearing her say those things brought him over the edge. His voice barely above whisper when he spoke to her, his gaze piercing through her grief. 

– I will have Aegon’s head. I will cut off his worthless corpse right after I rip his heart out of his chest and I will make Alicent watch her son die in agony. Our daughter will be avenged but I cannot bear to listen to you saying such foul things. Don’t ever say you should have…

His words faltered much like his body still kneeling on the stone floors of the cavern. His strength shook in its very core as he caressed his wife’s cheeks almost too gently like she was a porcelain doll. His silence was so loud. No words were said and yet it was as if he was shouting at the top of his lungs. Like he was trying to find the words but faltered every time. Swallowing hard, he kissed Alanna’s lips swiftly, quickly looking back into her sparkly eyes. The eyes that became his everlasting beacon of hope. 

– I will forever mourn our daughter until the world crumbles in its foundation and all light is swallowed by the darkest depths of this realm. I could never forget the emptiness left in my heart that was once filled with her joy, her laughter, her life, but you cannot say you wish you took her place. I live for you, Alanna. I live because of you. My life has begun the day you gave me your love. If you die, I die too. There is no life for me where you’re not by my side. I don’t care about anything else. If need be, I will let this world burn for you so long you stay with me. My wife. My life. My light. My love.

[owlwithanapple]

Fate Chapter 03. — New

Roronoa Zoro X OC X Trafalgar Law

The story tells about the encounter between Yuki and the Straw Hat Pirates from different worlds and different eras.

In the evening, you get together with everyone for dinner and talk about a grand carnival that will be held on a certain island. When Luffy heard about the carnival, he took the opportunity to clamor to go there and have fun. Sanji and Chopper happened to have to fill up supplies, so the next destination was there.

Robin knew the destination, she took the opportunity to suggest buying you some daily necessities and clothes. Nami felt a little guilty that she felt sorry for giving you old clothes, but you really didn't mind.

After dinner you helped to sort out the dishes and take them to the kitchen for cleaning. You came to this world, they treated you well but you didn't give them anything in return. Thinking about it was better to start with basic chores first, which was better than idleness.

Washing so many dishes reminds you in the past there were just a few dishes in your own home, but now there are so many as if they were enough for a family. It’s the life you’ve been looking forward to spending with your lively family and friends.

Your family originally had you with your parents, but you were alone in the empty home. You are a little envious everyone always has their parents to accompany and play with them, but you are always alone.

Even if your parents leave Japan to work abroad, they will come home to celebrate your birthday. You are very happy from the bottom of your heart. Since then, you have been looking forward to their return home and reunion every day, but the reality is often cruel.

In the end, there was nothing to wait for. The door to the house was opened by no one but yourself.Recently learned how to cook curry rice and feel very proud of yourself and want to share with them.

Gradually, you discovered that they have not come back in recent years, the phone calls are no longer dialed immediately. The only way to confirm that both parents are still alive is to remit the amount to your account every month. The once-a-year birthday wish suddenly collapsed. .

As time goes by, you gradually no longer have any illusions and expectations. Go to school then come home on time to do your homework, work part-time during holidays, and watch anime or sleep in your free time.

Perhaps these reasons have caused you to become more withdrawn and unwilling to socialize. It may be that you are afraid that the loneliness of separation will be unbearable. Life must go through many setbacks, and you should probably learn to accept or reject them.

In order to numb your emotions, wake up every day and tell yourself must face everything with strength. In fact no one to rely on. Even wanted to seek comfort for a small matter, you see nothing but just an empty space when got home. You could only curl up on the sofa and cry silently.

It's hard to get used to being with the Straw Hat Pirates now. It's so lively and you feel out of place. You have been accustomed to loneliness and suddenly come to a strange but lively world. You are afraid of making the same mistakes again. The moment of happiness will gone again.

"Hey!"

You were jolted out of your thoughts by a shout "Hwah!"

"Why are you looking so sad~" Luffy tilted his head.

"Really?" Luffy saw through it immediately but you still kept smiling.

Luffy just stared at you with a pouted "Hmmmmm..."

"Luffy?" Luffy kept staring at you, and felt a pressure in your heart.

He put his hand on the straw hat smiled brightly, "You are no longer alone!"

You learned from Nami that Luffy is a relatively casual and simple person. He often yells and makes a fuss in a silly manner but is a very reliable person. Although his behavior is very strange, he can inexplicably sense the vulnerability deep in your heart.

"I know." You were so moved by what he said, you almost couldn't hold back your tears.

Luffy seems like a sunny boy who can warm people's hearts. You have to cheer up, you are no longer the lonely person you were before, now you have the Straw Hat Pirates with you.

Luffy left happily after chatting with you. After that you organize all the washed dishes put them in the cupboard one by one. Some large plates are stored in high cabinets. You pull up a chair and stand up, holding several plates placing them carefully.

"Need a help?" Zoro's voice came from behind you.

Thinking that there were still a few plates that you could put away, so you politely refused him, "There's just a little more. It's almost done."

Zoro hadn't left yet just stood at the table with his arms crossed. He actually just heard the conversation between you and Luffy outside the door. He had a vague feeling that Luffy noticed something was wrong with you, and he walked in out of curiosity.

He was purely wishful thinking, and his body followed you unconsciously. He has a premonition that you may appear and disappear at any time, as you said, you may suddenly return to your own world.

He wants to hold on to you and not let go. Once he lets go, you will really disappear from his world. This also means from now on, the two of you will really be friends who can never meet again in different worlds.

He knows very well that he cannot control your appearance, because it is an unknown ability that brings you. He knows that since that ability can bring you, it can take you away at any time.

"I'm done!" You get off the chair.

Your voice brought him back to the present "Oh, good."

"Zoro, are you okay?" You stood in front of him to make sure he was okay.

He took a step back and looked away, "I'm fine."

"Liar. You don't look okay at all." His expression clearly showed that he was uneasy.

He was very annoyed when you poked a sore spot "Tch."

"Zoro...do you have something to say to me?" You don't know if it's your imagination, but you want to know what Zoro is thinking now.

He couldn't help but think about it, but after thinking about it he felt strange. Should he ask or not? He still compromised. He clenched the scabbard in his hand to calm himself, "I want to ask... if have the opportunity to return to your World, will you go back?"

His question poked deep into your heart. You had indeed thought about this question. If you could really make your own choice, what would you choose, whether you would go back or stay.

"You don't need to answer, I'm just asking casually." Zoro noticed that your expression had changed, he think about it and quickly change the subject with you.

Zoro looked a little flustered. You knew in your heart that he wanted to end the topic, but the question he asked was indeed a question that you had to think about and choose. "You are right to ask, it is the question I should be thinking about."

"Oh..." Zoro was a little at a loss because you didn't change the topic.

Zoro gives you the impression he is someone who knows right from wrong. Coupled with his super combat power and keen insight, he is like the strongest support for the entire team.

You believe that he has seen through your inner doubts before asking you this question. You don't hate the fact that he is straightforward and cares about other people's feelings. Getting along with him makes you feel much more at ease.

"If I could choose whether to go back or not...Zoro, as long as you ask me to stay, I will definitely stay." You haven't figured out how to answer yet, so you tell him in a naughty tone.

Zoro's current expression is one of surprise with eyes wide open "Huh!?"

"Hahaha, I'm kidding. I just haven't figured out the answer yet. I'll tell you as soon as I think about it." Zoro's reaction is really cute. You smile and answer your current thoughts.

He didn't know why felt an impulse surge in his heart for a moment, and he told himself to calm down in annoyance. Zoro, who was now in a good mood, just smiled softly and touched your forehead with his finger, "Idiot."

"Hehehe." You continued without saying anything and just laughed in front of him.

"Yuki-chwan~ Do you need my help?~" Sanji wanted to sneak in to take a look at you, but Zoro was there. He immediately rushed over stand between you and Zoro. "Hey! Marimo! You want to do something to Yuki-chwan again? !"

"Huh? What are you talking about again..." Zoro was indeed a little impatient.

You gently moved your fingers on Sanji's shoulders, "I've done the dishes."

Sanji turned around and saw your face so close. His eyes turned into loving hearts and his hands were waving in the air, "Thank you~ Yuki-chwan~ You must have been working very hard today~"

You shook your head, "No. I just want to thank you for hosting me."

Sanji raised your hand and put it under his lips. "No, it's actually just my wishful thinking that I want to be nice to you."

You are not good at dealing with Sanji's personality. You know that he treats you out of kindness. Although you are very happy but is difficult to adapt and strange suddenly have such special treatment.

You want to stop but you don't know how to say it. It would be rude. While you were troubled, Zoro went to the cupboard to get a tall pot and covered Sanji's head to plunge him into darkness.

Zoro pushed Sanji away then grabbed your hand with a wicked smile "Let's go."

"Hahaha..." You were frightened by his actions but amused.

You both fled the kitchen together leaving poor Sanji with a tall pot on his head and yelling "Damn Marimooooooo!"

You escaped to the front of the boat and made sure Sanji didn't catch you. Then you breathed a sigh of relief and found a place to sit down. Thanks to Zoro for saving, otherwise you really don’t know how to refuse.

You two looked at each other, and couldn't help but burst into laughter holding stomachs. Although sorry for Sanji, the scene of the head being covered just now was really hilarious.

After you finished laughing, you sat there stared at the night sky in a daze. It's incredible to be able to look at the sky in the middle of the sea. It's like the sky and the sea are so close but so far away visually.

The vast sky and sea may seem calm and beautiful, they can never erase your feeling of loneliness and helplessness. Frankly speaking, you are actually very scared when you enter another strange world.

Fear is normal. Coming to a strange world, woke up in a sea, suddenly sank into the sea, with a talking reindeer, a singing skeleton and all kinds of weirdos.

The emotions you were holding back surged up in your heart in an instant. You hugged your legs rested your forehead on your knees. You wanted to cry but hold back the tears because Zoro was sitting next to you and didn't want to affect him by your emotion.

Zoro touches you "Are you sleepy?"

You just shake your head.

He is annoyed by the way you are silent now and doesn't understand what he should do. He is not good at comforting and expressing his thoughts. He is more like the type who silently protects people from behind, but now he can only give it a try.

"Erm...the night is particularly beautiful today?" Zoro muttered but so embarrassed by what he said.

You raised your head and looked at him with dumbfounded eyes. Although there were tears in your eyes, what he said caught your attention. You tilted your head and wondered why he suddenly said such embarrassing words.

Zoro was startled and there were tears in your eyes. He was wondering if he had said the wrong thing, but he just said it casually. He scratched his head and couldn't understand.

You wiped your tears "What are you doing?"

"It's nothing. Don't pay attention to me." He relieved his embarrassment and looked at the sky.

You can probably guess from Zoro's reaction that he is not very good at expressing himself. He looks cool and strong, but he is very gentle and considerate, he doesn't show it. You know that he cares about what's going on, and you are really happy.

You smiled slightly, "I'm just a little scared, being in a strange world. Being alone in a world I'm not familiar with..."

Zoro interrupted before you could finish your sentence. "You are no longer alone."

His words moved you to tears. You tried to wipe away your tears but were stopped by Zoro's hand. Instead, he was wiping away your tears. You said nothing and just watched him comfort you with this small gesture.

"Thank you." You simply said.

He took back his hand and faced you, "You might as well tell me..."

You hesitated for a moment. Since everyone is Nakama, it doesn't matter if you tell him. If he wants to listen, let him listen. If he doesn't want to, just go away.

You clasped your hands and pondered for a moment before you started to say, "I miss my parents. I don't know if they miss me."

"Huh?" he asked.

"My parents and I are separated in two places. I am alone in Japan, and they work abroad, so I cannot see them often. I can only contact them by making phone calls."

"But... gradually I can't contact them anymore. I only know that my parents will remit money to me every month. Now I am in this world, I feel very warm. Everybody here who have filled my loneliness."

You looked down at your legs with tears in your eyes and your vision began to blur.

"So whether your parents are still alive, you only know through that thing called remittance..." Zoro doesn't understand what remittance means, but he probably understands you.

You nodded slightly, "Yes. Obviously we are a family but I feel very lonely. So I am very curious whether they will miss me and whether they will be sad when their daughter disappears suddenly."

"I don't know your parents' thoughts or reasons for alienating you. Now we have filled your loneliness, you can enjoy this world start from today on." Zoro crossed his hands and looked at you smile slightly.

You rested your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes "Zoro...you are so gentle."

"Ha!" He was a little embarrassed but not disgusted with you leaned on his shoulder.

"Huh..." A slight snoring sound was heard.

Zoro glanced at you "No way! Did you really fall asleep?!"

He poked your cheek saw that you were not awake. He scratched his head and was worried. He really couldn't do anything to you, he would wait until you were completely asleep before taking you back to the room. He was just chatting with you, but you fell asleep comfortably, leaving him alone in embarrassment.

His clothes expose his chest muscles, he can vaguely feel the warmth of your breath transmitted to him. He pinched his own wrist to suppress the turmoil in his heart. You are just a girl but you can make him feel itchy.

The one-line collar top reveals your fragrant shoulders and collarbones, your hair has a light floral fragrance, and your body moves with the rhythm of your breathing. You looked so innocent sleeping on the shoulder of a beast like him.

"Unsuspecting idiot." He lifted your hair.

Suddenly you rub his shoulder and say, "Zo...ro..."

"Damn...!" He covered his face.

He picked you up while you were sleeping, your face resting on his chest, and he felt the warmth of your breath getting closer and closer. He pushed open your door with his shoulder, walked in, gently and carefully placed you on the bed.

"Cute sleeping face." He poked your cheek several times.

When he stood up to leave the room, he heard "Zo...ro..." It was you moaning.

He sighed loudly and walked to your bedside pull up a chair and sit down. Your unsuspecting and innocent appearance aroused a burning desire in his heart. He clenched his fists told himself to calm down.

But he finally couldn't bear the feeling of saying his name from your mouth. He slowly stood up held your hand. His slowly came closer to your lips. He realize that your face was close and really beautiful at first glance.

When he couldn't resist the urge in his heart and wanted to kiss you secretly, you suddenly turned over and slept on the other side. He was fortunate realize that he almost made a mistake to you and immediately fell into embarrassment.

"What the hell am I doing..." He stood up and stood by the door, holding the doorknob.

After he calms down, leaves your room and goes outside to relax. He went to the kitchen get a bottle of wine and find Franky who was guarding at night. He sat down and started drinking heavily. He almost kissed you by mistake just now, but luckily he controlled it.

"Can't you sleep?" Franky adjusted his robot hand.

He put down the wine"Well, drink some wine so that can sleep better."

"What's wrong with you? Your ears are a little red. Do you have a fever?" Franky pointed to his ears.

"A little drunk." He said Franky casually.

Franky became suspicious and found it hard to believe, "You drunk?"

Zoro realized that he seemed have said the wrong thing, he chose to avoid the question and continued drinking his wine. Franky vaguely noticed something was wrong with Zoro, but he ignored it and continued to do his own thing.

As time passed little by little, it was already morning time. You was tired from getting used to the new environment and cleaning yesterday so slept for a long time, longer than usual.

Someone was running in the corridor, and the sound was getting closer to your room. Luffy opened your door and shouted, "Get up! Breakfast!"

You don't feel very angry when you wake up just your face looks bad every time you wake up. You lifted the quilt and sat up from the bed, glaring at Luffy who was standing there with a silly smile. Your eyes were sharp, but Luffy felt a fierce aura coming towards from you.

"Bye!" Then he ran away without closing the door.

You looked around realized there was your soft bed in your room, but why was the wooden chair next to your bed? It was obviously placed next to the wardrobe. Maybe you pulled it over yesterday and forgot about it.

You get out of bed leave the room and look up to see a clear sky with the sun shining brightly. The sun is not that close to you at home, but now you feel that the sun here is really bright.

Because the sun was very dazzling, you covered your eyes with hands and went to look for other companions. You see Ussop, Chopper and Luffy hanging out together. Robin sat alone and read a book silently.

You walked up to Robin, she patted the empty space with her hand to signal you sit down. You sat down and opened your mouth to yawn. You admired Luffy for being so energetic and lively so early.

"Oh, didn't you get enough sleep?" Robin closed the book.

"I'm not used to waking up early~" You yawned and fell asleep on her shoulder.

Robin looked at your behavior this morning and snickered, "Hehehe, so cute."

She continues to read her book quietly without disturbing you. Nami greeted everyone before walking towards where you and Robin were. Nami sat next to you and leaned back in the chair, chatting quietly with Robin.

"Such a soft face!" Nami poked your cheek gently.

Robin laughed "Hehehe."

"The hair is so messy. This little girl must not have combed her hair when she woke up." Nami ran her fingers through your hair.

Robin waved "Nami..."

Nami understood Robin's idea and nodded.

The two of them secretly used a comb and hair tie to create a new hairstyle for you while you were still asleep. Brook and Sanji came around to join in the fun.

You vaguely felt many eyes staring at you, making you uncomfortable. You opened your eyes slightly saw Chopper sitting on your lap. You were surprised why Sanji had love eyes and Brook covered his mouth with hands.

You felt a cool breeze blowing on your neck. You didn't remember that you had your hair tied up when you went out. Robin and Nami were sitting next to you and kept smiling. Did they do something to your hair?

Chopper took out a mirror for you to look at, and you saw a double braid look. You were not good at braiding hairstyles, so you simply tied a ponytail every day. Now you liked the new look very much.

"Nami! Robin! Thank you!" You smiled.

Robin smiled slightly and said, "As long as you like it."

Nami likes "Let's us braid your hair from now on~"

"It suits you very well~Yuki-chwan~" Sanji praised you with loving eyes.

You looked in the mirror and stroked your braided hair. The two of them were really good at creating such complicated styles. You saw Zoro coming over with a yawn, and you handed the mirror back to Chopper.

Zoro yawned "Hwahh~ Why are you gathering here?"

"What do you think of Yuki's hairstyle?" Ussop pointed at you.

He glanced at you and held out his hand with a chuckle, "Yeah, it fits."

"Hehehe" you smiled and let him stroke your hair.

"Hey~ I saw the island!" Franky informed the two of you who were chatting.

Luffy immediately jumped up "Yahoooooo~Island~"

You looked the direction of an island pointed by Franky. Ussop handed you a telescope to let you see more clearly. Through the telescope, you saw many ships docked at the island's pier.

There are a lot of colorful decorations on the pier, which is a custom of the island's carnival. You put away telescope and prepare for the fun time to come with anticipation and excitement.

Zoro stood behind saw you and Chopper looking very expectant and excited. He was secretly happy. To be honest, he was really looking forward to arriving at the island as soon as possible. Maybe it was your reason that infected him.

To Be Continued—

*If you have any ideas leave them in the comment section, and I will try to add in the story.*

[radiance1]

Sup motherfuckers, I have another barely thought up au that I would like to hand over to you.

So basically, when Danny, Sam, and Tucker were 14 years old.

The world was invaded.

It wasn't an instant invasion at all, instead it was a gradual thing. Interdimensional aliens sent a virus to infect humanities greatest minds and leaders, before slowly spreading to a larger chuck of the population.

Then when a significant portion of the human race was infected.

It activated.

Supposedly that virus was there even before the trio turned 14, which means the alien's prepared this in advance. It went unnoticed for years and when it was noticed?

It wasn't pretty.

People dropped like flies, their bodies unable to defend themselves from this virus that killed them in a few days.

The longest someone lasted was a week.

Taking advance of the massive drop in population, the aliens finally invaded, opening a large portal that sent through ships and troops that further killed of the human race.

Surprisingly, the GIW or Guys In White, proved themselves to be useful in fighting against the aliens, beating back the troops and either reclaiming lost territory or holding onto it with an iron grip.

They, along with the military managed to reclaim some semblance of order in various spot outside of Amity Park.

Amity Park was completely unaffected by the virus, the residents biology somehow prevented the virus from even lasting a few minutes within their bodies.

That doesn't mean they weren't unaffected by the invasion when it happened, the ghost shield around the town took the brunt of the damage, with the aliens trying and failing to get in to the town as easily as any other.

Phantom then appeared and beat them back.

The entire world was shaken by this seemingly out of nowhere invasion, with anywhere other than Amity Park suffering great losses.

Agent Alpha, the chief of GIW, approached the Fenton family. To various reactions from each memeber.

Blatant distrust from Danny.

Wariness from Jazz.

And politeness from the Fentons.

Agent Alpha threw away his dignity at asking non-government officials for help, not like that even really matters anymore to be honest, and asked the Fenton's to join their war effort.

Danny and Jazz immediately said no.

To which Agent Alpha wasn't surprised at, but he asked from time to explain.

Jack and Maddie agreed to hear him out.

Agent Alpha then went on to explain what life outside of Amity Park was like, telling them how humanity has been culled significantly down from they're frankly overpopulation. Cities have been destroyed, with some smaller islands and continents taken over by the alien force.

Agent Alpha doesn't want them fighting in this war physically, no. What he wants is for them to replicate what they did for Amity Park with their ghost shield, and supply them with Fenton works technology.

In return, they will offer any material they have at their disposal. And if they don't have it?

They will find it.

He again emphasized that they themselves do not have to fight in this war, they're actually far to valuable for that, but he wishes for them to supply their side with the defenses and weaponry needed to survive and hopefully win this war.

And how could the Fenton's say no such a thing?

Jack and Maddie went down into they're lab and handed them anything they thought they would need.

Such as ghost shield's, Fenton phones, Fenton bazooka's etx.

After the GIW left, they immediately started working on what was requested of them.

Danny and Jazz couldn't help but feel a bit of displeasure at the way they're parents are back in their lab and not coming out for hours on end after they finally decided to be a family again.

Even though they understand why they have to do it.

Danny himself has been rather fidgety a few weeks after Agen Alpha came by, with the alien attacks getting less and less frequent because of the GIW and Military deploying bases to fend them off from anywhere close to the Fentons.

Two months later phantom joined the war.

With intense displeasure from his family and Sam and Tucker, but Danny assured them he would be ok. Hell, some other ghosts even joined in.

Sam went off into the zone to pleas Undergrowth to help her, help her gain power to fight without the need to rely on any kind of tech or weaponry.

Perhaps Undergrowth was amused, or perhaps he simply took a liking to the girl. Regardless, he took her under his wing and taught her what humans would dub as 'magic'.

Tucker and Jazz, the great minds that they is. Helped the Fenton's develop and make ideas for new technology or to even upgrade existing ones.

With they're help, they even managed to complete the Ecto-Skeleton, and even make prototype nano-bots that enhanced healing and made the user stronger.

A year later was when Sam came back stronger than ever.

A year later was when the Fenton's and Tucker managed to complete the nano-bots and make even more of the Ecto-Skeletons.

A year later was when more ghosts joined the war.

A year later was when Sam joined the war and unleashed the might have nature upon her enemies.

A year later was when people started to gain abilities not unlike those out of comics like the elements and flight.

A year later was when the aliens found a way to kill ghosts.

Nobody knew how they managed to find a way, but they did. Adding on to even more of the stress this war has on basically everyone.

Even with all of this tech the Fenton's made for everyone, the nano-bots in their blood streams making them tougher and stronger. The war was still ongoing.

Even as a half and being far more durable than the normal human, Danny still had to take the nano-bots.

He couldn't say no to the worry and concern from basically everyone he knew.

To everyone's surprise, Jazz became a pilot for one of the alien bioships they managed to take down and rework for themselves. She was determined to not let her brother fight alone here, to which is understandable, but Jack and Maddie still asked her not to this.

Faced with her determined expression, they could only give her a hug and words to get back safe and send her on her way.

Jazz was one of the only few who were highly compatible with the alien bioship, so much so that it was a perfect assimilation.

In the middle of the year, humanity finally saw hope. Sam, Danny, Jazz and the GIW took down an enemy mothership.

To which the Fenton's greedily took and remade, and as even more compensation, Agent Alpha and the Military leaders let them keep the thing whenever they completed it.

Sam herself helped in multiple ways, one of them was fighting yes. But she also grew food and helped guide those with similar abilities along with their powers.

Tucker, Jack and Maddie finished the Mothership nearing the end of the year. Moving the most important things into it such as research and all that.

A few days into December was when something terrible and great happened.

Danny was almost killed by an alien mothership.

Another mothership was taken down.

Danny took the brunt of the damage, almost dying again just to ensure that the ship was taken down. He was incredibly weakened because of this, his body littered with cuts that were thankfully healing thanks to his powers and the nano-bots.

Jazz immediately scooped him up before he fell to the ground, not taking any type of bullshit and taking him straight home and staying by his side.

Agent Alpha gave her the go ahead, much to some of the Military leader's chagrin, mostly because she was one of the best pilots out of hundreds of people.

Agent Alpha then reminded them that she is just a child and was unwillingly to take zero shit in this regard.

Sam also pulled away from the war for a time, going back to check on her friend, which again, just like Jazz. Agent Alpha gave the go ahead for.

Although it was a reduce in their combatants, they were good enough to hold out for an extended period of time.

Though Jazz and Sam had to inevitably come back to help, Agent Alpha still gave them the leeway to go back and check on their friend whenever they felt like it. The children already joined a war they shouldn't be in, he'll gave them as much leeway as he's able and deal with the other leader's to protect what little innocence that they have left if he has to.

A few months later, and Danny still hasn't woken up. Connected to the best medical facilities they have in the Fentonship, they would have thought him dead if they didn't know any better.

Didn't help how Danny was looked like he was basically engulfed by the bed and hooked up to various machines.

Safe to say, that year ended off with a very solemn Christmas.

The beginning of next year was when Jazz and Sam left to back to the battle field.

The middle of next year was when another mothership fell and Jazz and Sam returned to Amity park.

The end of next year was when the aliens had enough.

Enemies swarmed the bases around Amity park, swarm after swarm after swarm. Taking them out and reaching Amity park.

The last mothership left focused most of its power into a single shot, leaving enough to leave it floating in the air, and shot it at the Ghost Shield.

The ghost shield broke.

And the aliens invaded.

Jack and Maddie told Jazz, Sam and Tucker to stay in the mothership. It was no request either.

It was an order.

Amity was quickly overrun, people dying left and right. Even Vlad put aside his one-sided feud with Jack to help against the hoard.

It wasn't enough.

Jack and Maddie built a giant ghost portal before this happened, big enough to fit the Fentonship ship through. They said it was to get even more ectoplasm to power the increasing demand of their tech.

Which wasn't a lie, but wasn't the whole truth.

The Fentonship had a secret command installed into it, one not even Tucker himself knew of.

When it looked like Amity Park would fall, and the combined forces of Jack, Maddie, and Vlad weren't enough. The Fenton's executed the command.

The Fentonship powered up and flew itself into the Ghost Zone. Then, sharing a nod between the three of them.

The ghost portal was broken.

Vlad made sure to deactivate and take apart every ghost portal he has himself, and so did the Fenton's. They let Vlad in on the plan and he, surprisingly, agreed to it.

The Fentonship flew into the zone, and then through another portal. Lading in an empty part of space.

Jazz was barely keeping herself together, and when a hologram video of her parents standing together and saying how "If you are seeing this, then we are already dead", and then explaining they're plan to keep them safe in case Amity Park ever fell.

Jazz couldn't keep herself together anymore.

Sam and Tucker comforted her in anyway they could, and even they themselves couldn't help but shed tears over what they've heard.

Danny is still in a coma.

Amity Park fell.

The Fenton's are most probably dead.

Earth lost a great combat force and minds.

so there they were, 4 kids flying through space with one of them in a coma and the unknown of if their home even survived.

Some time later, they don't know how long but they could tell its been a while, they came across an earth look a like.

They don't know if its actually earth, but they couldn't help but hope that they're home actually survived, and that the Fenton's aren't dead and that there's still time.

A few hours prior, the Justice League discovered and unidentified spacecraft flying to earth.

[anangelwhodidntfall]

You Had One Job...Just the one: Dad!Quaritch

Avatar Masterlist 

word count: 1.5k

description: A more in depth story about about the first time Quaritch comes back around after everything and where where reader finds out that her twin saved him as well..

It had been almost six months since you were taken by "Quarditch" the man who was supposedly your father died during the battle on the demon ship. You had been suffering from nightmares since it happened, sure he didn't completely torture you while you were there but some of his actions left a last effect on you especially when Lyle held you a knife point to stop Quaritch from bargaining with Jake and your father said that you meant nothing to him, just some human, and had it not been for Neytriri you would probably be dead.

You moved Spider away from you, as you stayed in your room to help you sleep, and grabbed your mask deciding a walk might help you clear your mind. You went to the pond that Neyetam always took you to, and sat there slowly dipping your feet in the water until you heard footsteps making you put your hand on your knife until you saw Jake holding his hands up in defense.

"Just me sweetheart, I  heard you leave. What are you doing up this late?" He asked taking a seat next to you.

"Couldn't sleep even with Spider being in the same room." You said quietly.

"Nightmares again?" He asked knowing you had been struggling with them since they rescued you.

"Yeah. This time it was that Lyle guy successfully killing me." You said as he wrapped his arm around you closer to him.

"I promise you nothing is ever gonna happen to you as long as I'm here. I'm sorry that we didn't get to you sooner. But your dad is dead and so is Lynoel, your safe now." He said pressing a kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you." You said quietly as you both heard footsteps approaching making you both alert.

"Son, what are you doing up?" Jake said to Neyetam even though he had a feeling about why his son was awake.

"Something felt wrong, so I went to check on Y/n, but she wasn't in the lab, so I figured she was here." He said making you smile at how caring he was.

"You can stay the night with her, and bring her to breakfast in the morning. You two get some rest." Jake said squeezing your shoulders as he left.

You and Neteyam talked for a bit before walking back to the lab, and into your room where Spider was still asleep on the floor making Neteyam laugh as you two crawled into your bed. Neteyam wrapped his arm and tail around you as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

"Get some rest, I'm right here. Nothing is gonna happen to you." He said to you as you snuggled into him.

The next day you, Neteyam, and Tuk had returned from a walk when you walked into High Camp and saw him making you freeze as he was supposed to be dead. You looked to Neteyam and then to Jake and Neytiri who looked just as shocked as you.

"You see him too?" You asked Neyetam.

"Unfortunately." He said squeezing your hand as Tuk ran over to her parents.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead." You said to him making him laugh as you looked at everyone confused.

"Oh, your brother didn't tell you did he? I was on the brink of death but your twin here saved me, even helped me get set on some island." He said as you turned towards Spider.

"Sis listen...I can't explain.." He started to say but you cut him off.

"No...no you had one job! Just the one. How you could save this man after everything he did to the people who were our only family... and not to mention us while we were kidnapped is beyond me!" You said.

"Sweetheart." Quaritch tried to say but you stopped him.

"No, you don't get to say anything... you told your little buddy Lyle that you didn't care if I died or not...so I don't want anything to do with you and Spider I'm disappointed in you." You said turning and leaving the tent with Neyetam on your trails.

He eventually found you sitting by a tree, with your head resting on your knees, so he took a seat next you and pulled you into his arms, gently rubbing your back trying to comfort you in the best way he could...knowing you would talk when you were ready.

"I just don't understand how he could think that he would just be accepted back here with open arms after everything did to the Na'vi to me." You said as the tears slid down your face as he hugged you tighter.

The next few days consisted of Quaritch and Spider both trying to talk to you, which you both ignore still angry at both of them. You felt hurt by Spider for what he did, he grew up with the same people you did but yet saved the man that was going to kill them and you two if you didn't cooperate with him? It didn't make sense. Meanwhile Jake was tired of seeing you and Spider going at it, so he decided to step in and get you two to make up.

"Alright! Enough you two! I'm tired of you two arguing, your gonna sit in here until you two talk this out." Jake said.

So you and Spider sat there for nearly two hours not talking to each other because you two were just that stubborn making Jake roll his eyes at how much you two were truly Quaritch kids. You three sat there for another thirty minutes before Spider decided to speak up.

"I'm sorry I wasn't upfront with you about saving him. I honestly debated for a while whether to save him or not, but there was something in me that was saying that maybe if I saved him then maybe he could see how much he needs to change..and get a second chance at getting to know us. I've always wondered what it would be like to know him." Spider said.

"It's alright I guess..I just can't forgive him quite yet for what he did to us to everyone here...if you want to that's fine but I don't want to not yet at least. Sorry for punching you, and ignoring you this past week it hasn't been fun not talking to you." You said to him.

"Good job now hug and make up." Jake said as you reluctantly hugged each other making Jake smile.

A couple of weeks later you, Lo'ak, Neteyam all returned from hunting when Jake stopped you, before stepping inside making you look at him confused and that's when you saw that man and your brother inside the tent making the anger return to your body.

"Absolutely not." You said to Jake who in a lot of ways had become your father.

"I know we said the same thing, but he swears he's a changed man, that he's been learning the ways of our people." Jake said shocking you as you defended him.

"So that doesn't change what he's done! I never expected you out of all people to defend him! I don't want to see him!" You yelled at Jake catching the attention of everyone inside the tent.

"Y/N, wait!" He said but it was too late you were gone, running as he and the rest of the sully's stood there confused, you were usually so kind...so helpful, and for you to act like that just now worried them.

"Do you know where she went? I would like to try and talk to her." Quartich said to Jake as he really wanted to build a relationship with you.

"I do dad, I can walk you halfway there and leave you two to talk." Spider offered as Quartich agreed following his son.

"Ma Jake, are we sure that's wise? I mean she could probably kill me right now, not that I'm opposed to it but still.." Neytriri said to Jake more so worried about you than Quartich.

"Give them about an hour and if they're not back then I'll go check on them. This could do them some good." Jake said to her.

You sat by the pond slowly running your hand through it as a million thoughts ran through your head about Quartich and if you wanted a relationship with him. Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps approaching until you saw Quartich's face reflected in the water.

"You know you are a pretty fast runner." He said taking a seat next to you.

"Obviously not fast enough, as you still found me...Let me guess my twin gave me up didn't he?" You asked still not looking at him.

"I asked him to. I want to talk to you." He said making you roll your eyes.

"You know you look just like her....you both do...I couldn't believe the news when I got back home and they told me I had not just one kid but two and twins at that...I never saw myself as having kids but then I saw that picture of you and your brother...and then we ran into each other almost a year ago...and when I laid eyes on you I couldn't believe how much you looked like her and how much you were like her...the entire time you were hostage you didn't speak a word and that's when I saw myself in you that loyalty... the warrior spirit is in you. I know I can't change the past but I would like a chance to get to know you without you being a hostage." He said making you look at him.

"What if I do let you in and this is some trap so you can hurt the sully's? Then I'm without the only family I ever known?" You said.

"This isn't a trap, which I know doesn't mean a lot to you but I would like a chance just to prove myself and if I'm like a month you still hate me then you can leave and I won't bother you again." He said.

"One chance. That's it." You said to him making a rare smile appear on his face.

[dragonmasterhiccup]

His words reassured her that Freya hadn't said anything bad, and yet, there was a part of her that hoped Stoick would get to reunite with Valka soon either way. She wanted both of Hiccup's parents in his life, not knowing exactly what he could've gone through for the last twenty years with only his father who, quite frankly, lived up to his name; he was stoic. She wanted to say more, to say that she understood what he'd experience, but the fact remained that she truly didn't.

She didn't know what it was like to only have one parent, although hers weren't perfect, she at least had the two of them growing up. So, the only thing she figured out she could do..was be there alongside him and give him the necessary support he probably didn't ask or expect for in most of his life, based on their earlier conversation.

There's the weird, fluttery feeling again. Freya managed to hear what he had said, and she fumbled over what to say in return, her face growing warm at the thought of Hiccup willingly wanting to spend more time with her. "Well, I, uh, y-you--" She cleared her throat, hoping the wind would take away her embarrassment. "..Thank you-- I mean, uhm, I--" Giving up, she heaved a sigh and plopped her forehead down on his back. "Forget I did that..."

Blaze lightly nudged him in the same manner he'd done to his rider, encouraged by all of their comfort. With his mood boosting, he grinned at Toothless as his tail excitedly flicked to and fro; they would get to see what this whole 'dragon sanctuary' was about, making his anticipation skyrocket.

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

Freya noticed him fiddling with his pencil, her hands itching to grab his but she didn't, assuming her hold on them would be too stiff because of her restlessness.

"No, no, he won't -- okay, maybe he'll throw one or two daggers, but he won't actually try and harm you.." She nervously chuckled, trying to hide her apprehension that her father probably will aim for that. "And, no..he wouldn't do anything to me, which is why I'm moreso, uh...concerned for you.."

Seeing Hiccup appear more..resolute, it revitalized her and she felt like they could do this, they could go in there and tell Ragnar Leif the truth, making her nod firmly. Without resisting the urge anymore, she grabbed his hand in determination, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Yeah. Together. C'mon." A newfound strength sparking in her, Freya marched up the steps as Blaze looked on, staring at them with a flat expression as though he already knew it wasn't going to go so well.

Not another second wasted, she quickly opened the door, her chin slightly lifted as she stood at the entrance. She was met with silence at the sight of her entire family in there; Yrsa glanced at them from relaxing in her seat next to the fireplace, Ayla paused her movements of eating her mother's famous porridge as she sat beside her, and Ragnar turned to pointedly look at them from where he stood next to the dining table, a bowl in his hands.

...

Suddenly, Freya didn't feel so confident. Slowly lowering her head, her boldness began to deflate as her grip on the future Chief's hand loosened. "...Hey, guys.."

Immediately, Ragnar put his bowl down on the table, striding over to them with precise steps . "And where did you go to that made you come home so late?"

Letting go of Hiccup's hand, she started to tap her arm, subtly standing a bit in front of him. "Oh, uh, y'know...we..went to explore some islands we came across a while back..."

Now in front of them both, her father crossed his arms, his gaze piercing through the two expectantly. "And? It took you that long to 'explore'?"

Freya hesitated for a moment, opening her mouth to speak but nothing came out. After taking a deep breath in, she glimpsed over in her fake boyfriend's direction, nodding nervously. "Well, dad, a few things...uhm..happened, and it prevented us from coming home earlier..."

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

How did she end up in this situation?

All she said was that Blaze got shot down by a trap and she almost fell in the sea...

'Okay, maybe that's why..'

"Dad! Just wait! I promise you, I'm fine!" Freya kept both of her hands on Ragnar's chest, desperately trying to push him back to put some distance between him and Hiccup, whom Ayla was blithely standing in front of as a grin was evident on her face - for some reason.

"You almost died and you're telling me that you're fine!?" He shouted, one of his hands raised with a dagger in his grasp, pointing the blade at the Chief's son as he attempted to throw it at him.

Yrsa's panicking form didn't help either; she was fanning herself to prevent her from fainting, her amber eyes glossed in tears that hadn't yet fallen. "S-she almost...d-died..." Her voice trembled while repeating her husband's words, using the chair she was originally sitting on to keep her from collapsing.

Ayla gazed at Hiccup, beaming with a newborn elation. "So, you saved my sister? I told you! I knew you'd keep her safe! I didn't doubt you for one second!" She lifted her chin, hands on her hips while she nodded contently. The young girl ignored the fact that she did feel a little scared when she first heard what happened, but after understanding the entire predicament, she was put at ease.

Freya yelped, ducking down as Ragnar managed to fling one of his daggers just barely above Hiccup's head. "Dad! Quit it!" She pushed his bulkier body farther away, her own anger arising. "I'm still alive aren't I!?"

Not bothered at all by her father's weapon, Ayla continued to slightly rock back and forth on the heels of her feet, her back towards the chaotic scene behind her. "Toothless must be pretty fast, then...huh?"

Hiccup immediately turned red, grateful that she was sitting behind him and couldn't see his face. He hadn't meant for that to come out, but it did, and...she was just as flustered as he was, it seemed.

He held back a relieved chuckle as her forehead hit his back, and he turned slightly to reassure her. "Consider it forgotten." Feigning confusion, he asked, "What were we talking about again?" With a wide grin, he faced forward again, breathing in the sea air as they flew.

As Blaze nudged him, Hiccup let out a surprised laugh, "H-hey! Glad to see you in good spirits!"

----------

At the confirmation of daggers being thrown, Hiccup gulped, not even hearing the second part of Freya's sentence. "He...he has incredible accuracy, too..." He may not get out of this unscathed.

No, he couldn't appear afraid. A Chief doesn't show weakness, his father had told him. He couldn't show weakness now.

Looking down at their intertwined hands, his look of surprise softened, turning into that resolute look he wore previously. "Right, together."

He marched in with her, though Toothless was still stuck outside, behind Blaze. Stopping next to his pretend girlfriend, Hiccup looked in turn at each of Freya's family members, eventually raising his free hand in greeting, offering a nervous smile. "H-hi... how uh, how's it going?"

Freya's grip was loosening, and he looked over at her, brows furrowed in concern. She was losing her resolve... With a light squeeze of her hand, he tried to convey that he had no intention of letting go...but then she did let go, and he was so focused on her that he had no idea that Ragnar was right there.

Keeping his composure, he tried to help her explain, "We were planning on filling out the details in the map, things just didn't go as planned..."

Hiccup gave her an encouraging nod as she continued. They hadn't done anything wrong, surely this can't go that bad.

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

Oh, this was very bad!

Suddenly Freya was holding Ragnar back, Ayla was trying to shield him--- wait, Ayla?!

"Ayla, what are you doing?" His voice was quick, almost panicked, and a harsh whisper. "I don't think your dad would be too happy with you doing this...not, not that I don't appreciate it, I do, but, this--its a bit dangerous, don't you think?"

He had now backed himself up to the wall, his hands up to show he was unarmed.

"T-Toothless and I got to her in plenty of time! We pulled her out of the air and onto Toothless' back!" Would saying that even help at this point?!

Hiccup started crouching down a bit, his eyes not leaving the dagger in Ragnar's hand and the fear evident on his face. This is it, he thought to himself, I'm going to die, and that will be the end. 'Oh, that Hiccup,' they'll say, 'he had a good run, but he just couldn't keep the girl out of harm's way. What a shame...'

He ducked just in time to hear the dagger dig into the wood above him. Shaking, he looked up at it, visibly turning pale. That was too close...

His eyes darted around the room, looking for something, anything, that he could use as a shield. "Y-yeah, he's fast..."

Normally, he'd have Toothless, but Toothless was stuck outside.

He'd draw the Dragon Blade, but it may only make things worse.

So what was left?

"Uh, i-if I may," he croaked out, "it's true, neither of us saw the net in time, but Toothless and I made a beeline for her." As he spoke, he started to stand taller, even stepping forward as he held Ragnar's gaze, "Nothing was stopping me from getting to her. If it came to it, I would have jumped off of Toothless and taken the brunt of the fall, but it didn't. We got her, we got Blaze, and we just needed time to find a way to get him home with his injured wing. Which," he quickly added, "I will personally make sure he gets tended to with everything he needs until he recovers."

His gaze flicked over to Freya, his eyes showing that everything he'd said was true.

Taking a breath, he took the risk of turning around, releasing Ragnar's dagger from the wall and setting it down on the table, still not wanting to risk getting within arms reach of the angry man.

[strangercarla]

Polaroids - Pietro x Y/N ft The Avengers and Guardians

When a heatwave approaches normal people go to the beach or the park, however, the avengers and guardians were trapped inside the blazing hot compound for a meeting with Fury. The heat blazed through the windows, causing groans amongst the team.  

“Look, I know it is hot and sweaty in here, but we need to discuss the latest mission.” Fury said, clearly annoyed at the team.  

“We should be out of here in half an hour.” However, the meeting was taken over by Tony which annoyed Steve, as well as everyone else and the meeting lasted for over two hours. After those two hours, Fury finally made his point, and the meeting was over.  

Y/N sighed in relief and left the meeting room, making her way to the kitchen. She made herself an iced coffee and parked herself onto the stools on the island table. The young avenger took out her phone and scrolled through her TikTok.  

Steve walked into the kitchen holding an old, dusty box and put it onto the table where Y/N was sitting. She arched an eyebrow, looking down at the object.  

“Y/N, remember when we were talking about polaroid cameras, and you told me you always wanted one, but your parents said it was a waste of money?” 

She nodded.  

“Well, I was sorting through some of my belongings that were salvaged by Fury, and I found my polaroid camera!”  

Her eyes lit up at her friend. “No way, can I have a look?”  

Steve smiled, “Never mind looking, no, it’s yours now.”  

“Are you serious?” Her eyes widened.  

“Of course, you can have a play around with it if you like?”  

She carefully opened the box and held the vintage camera, admiring every detail.  

“Steve, you are the sweetest thank you so much!” 

As Steve and Y/N continued their conversation about his camera, Bucky walked over to the pair. He looked at the camera Y/N was holding and smiled.  

“Man, I haven’t seen a camera like that since the 40s, where did you find it?”  

“Steve gave it to me!”  

“I cannot believe after all those years he still had hold of it, it’s in great condition too.”  

It meant a lot that Steve gave her the camera, she always had a passion for photography. And as she is a sentimental person, she uses her passion for photography to take photographs of her friends.  

“I’ll put it away in my room, I don’t want it lying around the compound.”  

She walked down the hallway to her bedroom, running into Pietro on the way. He gave her a quick smile before leaving in the opposite direction that caused Y/N’s cheeks to heat up. 

She entered her room, about to place the camera on her shelf she noticed there was no film. She frowned, placing the camera down and grabbed her bag to head into town.  

 

The heat only got worse which caused a fuss amongst the team. Handheld fans were scattered around the place as well as bottles of water.  

“Can we please stop leaving bottles of water unintended? I don’t know which bottle belongs to who!”  

A chorus of “sorry” and “my bads” filled the room, Steve groaned. Tony entered the compound and noticed the mess and snickered.  

“Well, well, well looks like Cap is making one big mess.” He ignored his comment and made his way into the kitchen.  

Tony spoke up again, following behind. “Instead of boiling away in this toaster oven, how about we have a barbeque? I mean we’re done with work for the day, we have nothing better to do.”  

“Sounds like a plan. I will round up the gang.”  

After Steve informed every one of the plans, there was a shift in the atmosphere. 

Y/N returned to the compound, clearly happy with herself as she found film for her camera. She made her way to the living room and found some of her friends taking things out of the freezers and fridge.  

“What’s going on?”  

“Steve and Tony told us we are having a barbeque!” Kate shouted.  

As Yelena and Steve love to cook they took it upon themselves to prepare the food whilst Y/N, Natasha, Kate and Peter took out plates of snacks, fruits and the drinks. Y/N had a plate of strawberries and had “secretly” snuck two.  

“Stop eating the strawberries.” Natasha playfully glared at Y/N.  

“I can’t help it they are delicious.”  

The four placed the items onto numerous picnic blankets that Wanda and Pietro laid out. Pietro reached out for a strawberry, but Nat slapped his hand away.  

Eventually everyone settled down and enjoyed a lot of delicious food, chatting, laughing and playing games. After, in Peter’s words the picnic-barbeque extravaganza, the group split off to do their own things.  

Some of the guys and Gamora decided to have a game of football whilst Loki read his book, Quill was listening to his Walkman and the rest of the girls decided to play around with Y/N’s polaroid camera that Steve gifted her.  

“I want to take more pictures of you guys.” Y/N said, turning her camera to Mantis, squealing in excitement. “You look so cute!”  

Mantis smiled and posed for the camera, and with a flash the polaroid printed. Mantis looked at the blank photograph and frowned. “Where am I?”  

“It takes a little bit to develop.” Y/N gently shook the polaroid.  

The girls continued to take photographs of everyone and everything and pointed the camera at Pietro playing football. She blushed and took the photo of her friend. Pietro noticed and snuck behind her.  

“You didn’t see that coming? Oh, that is a great, am I that handsome you had to take a picture?”  

He teased Y/N a lot, and this was just another perfect opportunity for him to do so. This was his shameless way to show his intertest with his friend, however he believes she is not seeing it that way but just as friendly banter.  

“No, I just thought I’d take it to warn girls of how unattractive you are.” Pietro scoffed playfully.  

This was a lie; in fact, this was the biggest lie Y/N had ever said. He was attractive, so attractive that she cannot bring herself to make eye contact with him for so long, so attractive that it feels as though her heart is about to combust from her chest.  

“Pietro, are you up for another game?!” Clint shouted.  

“I’ll be right there!”  

Y/N turned her attention back to her camera and smiled at the girls.  

“Anyone else want to have a play?” 

Wanda grinned at Y/N, knowing her true feelings for her twin brother.  

  

The sun began to set, and the air got colder, one by one people went inside, except Y/N. She decided to take more photographs. She began to shiver as the tempter dropped more, but she was determined to stay outside as long as possible.  

What she didn’t know is that Pietro was watching her from his bedroom window, his heart was pounding, his cheeks burnt red. What he didn’t realise was his sister walking into the room.  

“Tell her Pietro.”  

He jumped. “Wanda!”  

“Tell her how you feel.” She pushed. “I know you like her.” 

He sighed. “But she doesn’t like me.”  

“And how do you know that?”  

“Wanda, isn’t it obvious? She only sees me as a friend.” He ran a hand through his hair.  

Wanda placed her hand on her brother's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Trust me, I know that she feels the same way.”  

“How?” He said, arching his eyebrow.  

The twins watched Y/N out of the window shivering as she took a couple more photos of the now dark blue sky. Pietro took a sweater from his wardrobe and headed towards his bedroom door. Wanda smirked.  

He approached Y/N, this time taking care not to scare her, and offered her his sweater. “I think you could do with this.”  

“Thank you, Pietro.” She put on his sweater, which smelt of his favourite cologne, which was secretly her favourite scent.  

“I like watching you take your photographs, but not in a weird way!” He panicked. She laughed.  

“I like that you like watching me take photographs.” She joked.  

“I also like you.” He spoke.  

She stopped taking photographs and looked up at Pietro, her heart stopped.  

“I like you too.”  

[sanctuary-kingdomhearts]

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐕

꧁𝐑𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫꧂

    The sun shone brightly down on the vastly kept greenland that made up the park. Radiant Garden's specialty was the ever-consuming flower fields of its culture and world. And despite the sun's rays not being as harsh as they were on the islands, the plants blossomed under it. There was a giant, metallic playset for little children in the middle of a mess of mulch, enclosed by strips of old wood. Trees were sparse next to the flatlands to really let the kids run wild, and I stood with Denzel right at the edge of it as Squall gently pushed us closer to the playground.

    Denzel eyed the swings, shaking my shoulder to alert me that there was still one swing not taken by a kid yet and that we had to move quickly. I saw a kid go down the slide and another fall off the monkey bars. It seemed like a busy day.

    I took a step to follow him as he started running toward the swings, saying he'd save it for me when Squall took my book. I let out a cry of protest, but he didn't return it.

    "Give her the book back," Cloud told his spouse as I turned to face the brunette, holding out my hands and trying to reach up to grab it myself when I saw he had no intention of it. Without hurting me, Squall put a hand on my head and turned me around, pushing me out again toward the playground.

    "She doesn't need this," Squall said, sighing. "I don't know why we let her bring it."

    "Max and Goofy aren't even here yet," Cloud protested. I turned back around, eyeing my book.

    "(Y/n) needs to play with the other kids," Squall insisted, eyes trailing down to me as I stared up at him. I waited, but he didn't budge.

"It's alright, go play. I'll keep it safe for you and give it back later." He tried to reassure me, smoothing his hand over the book. Realizing I wasn't going to get it back, I huffed, starting to walk away as I heard Squall tell Cloud I was, 'behind other kids my age, socially.'

    "She's got a keyblade at age four, what did you expect?" I heard Squall groan, and then I was out of earshot of them as I hurried over to Denzel. He waved me over, hopping off the swing he managed to save but held onto the metal chain.

    "Come on, faster, (Y/n)! I wanna push you on the swing!" The older boy rushed me as soon as I got close enough, he picked me up by the waist and helped me onto the swing when I couldn't do it myself. I gripped the chains with my hands tightly so I wouldn't fall, my hands enclosing just one of the big links.

    Denzel took a place behind me, placing his hands on my back before gently pushing me. The swing moved a little bit and I wiggled my legs. He did it again, and I kicked. It felt like I was flying.

    "No. If you do that you'll lose the momentum!" Denzel warned me.

    "Oh." I didn't know that. I stopped kicking, just letting him push me. Back and forth, back and forth, as he was pushing me Denzel had to move out of the way so he wouldn't get hit. And I managed to soar above his head.

    "Hey Denzel, who's that?" Another kid's voice broke through the air followed by a surprised scream. I swung back and didn't feel a push. I turned around, Denzel was catching his breath as a kid around his age looked at him with a raised brow.

    He was taller than Denzel and had black hair and a snout with big eyes. He reminded me of Mr. Mickey but he didn't look like a mouse. With his floppy ears on his head, he reminded me of a friendly doggy. But that was a rude observation, wasn't it?

    "Dude, you okay?" I noticed when he opened his mouth to speak that he was missing a couple of teeth, but the ones he did have were sharp and jagged. He took his gloved hands out of the pockets of his baggy jeans and crossed them over his chest. A plain red t-shirt covered his upper half. I'm pretty sure that this must be Max, then.

    "No," Denzel huffed, "You scared me."

    "Aren't your parents like noble warriors or somethin'?" Max scoffed, "Where's your backbone?"

    "Over there," Denzel pointed in a random direction. By this time all my momentum had dropped and the swing stopped. In an effort to observe their conversation more, I tried to move directions on the swing seat, but it kept moving. I almost fell, which made me grab onto the chain with both hands and lean on it to stay on the swing. I was very wrong about it, I don't think I can get down on my own...

    Denzel saw my plight and steadied the swing, picking me up and placing me down next to it. The hole under the swing caused by people's feet slowing their dissent made me look even shorter next to the two boys.

    "Must've fallen out when you jumped out your skin," Max snickered.

    I tugged on Denzel's shirt, "What do Cloud and Squall do, Zel?"

    He looked down at me and offered a smile, "They fight monsters and keep Radiant Garden safe."

    I nodded, but I already knew that. I meant specifics, but I guess no one will tell me those. "What about you, Max? What do your parents do?"

    "My dad's Captain of the Royal Guard." There was a lot of pride in his voice as he told us, and I got a distinct feeling that there was more attached to that. He had the same tone of voice Sora uses to talk about Riku, admiration present in every word.

    "What about your other parent?" I asked, realizing he only explained one of his parents' jobs.

    His entire being seemed to sag, but overall his mood didn't seem to drop much when he said, "Don't have another one."

    I blinked, "Your daddy had you alone too?" I narrowed my eyes, suspiciously, "Do you have a twin?"

    I looked around, but I couldn't find any kids like him around. Max looked befuddled. "I– no, what? Denzel, who is this?"

    "My little sister, (Y/n)," Denzel told him proudly, smoothing his hand over my head. He seemed so happy that I didn't correct him. He told me how much he wanted a little sibling, I wouldn't say anything to ruin that. It's not as if we weren't that close anyway.

    Max looked at me, squeezing his eyes closed like I was something far away and he had blurry vision, before declaring, "She's tiny."

    Denzel chuckled, "Yeah, I know, right? I was surprised when I first saw her too."

    "I may be small now," I started, stepping closer to both of them and placing a hand on my chest, right over my heart, "but someday soon I'm gonna be a big, strong keyblade wielder. Like Mr. Mickey!"

    Max scoffed, "You? Like King Mickey? You've got a long way to go if you wanna grow up to be like him."

    "That's why I'm starting now," I told him, "because I'm gonna be even better than Mr. Mickey."

    "Sure you will, pipsqueak." I gasped as he called me that name, but Denzel changed the subject.

    "What's that you got in your hand, Max?" Confused about what he was talking about, I took a second look back at Max, discovering a parchment paper crushed in his left hand. He waved it in front of us.

    "Uncle Scrooge gave me a treasure map, I've tracked the location to this park and I'm giving you two the honor of finding the treasure with me." He told us as he smoothed out the map and showed Denzel, who leaned over to see it. I tried to look over it too, but I was too short to see it from the angle they were holding it.

    "How do we know it's real?" Denzel asked skeptically. I crossed my arms, siding with him.

    "My uncle wouldn't give me something that wasn't legit," Max said confidently. "He loves me," He emphasized, "so it has to be something good. I'm his favorite, after all."

    "Alright," Denzel shrugged, "I guess it doesn't hurt to try."

    "Are we hunting for treasure?" I asked, grabbing onto the bottom of my shirt and playing with the fabric as I rocked back and forth on the heels of my feet. "Like those pirates from the cartoons? Can I help?"

    "Of course!" Denzel exclaimed, ruffling my hair.

    "Then, can I see the map too?" I asked, shifting in my spot. I expected Max to say no since they didn't let me see it before, but he handed over the map for me to take a look without an issue.

    It had four locations connected together by a dotted line before X marked the spot on the fifth one. The first circle was a picture of Radiant Garden, the second one was a park, the third one was a tree with a deformed trunk, and the last one looked like a hole in the tree. Then the X.

    "So we're looking for a tree?" I questioned, looking around the park for such a tree. There didn't seem to be one like it in sight.

    "Hey," Another voice called. This one sounded more like one my age, "Are you guys gonna use that swing or can I take it?"

    I turned to the one who asked the question, he had floppy hair that covered his eyes and tan skin. Just like his voice, he looked to be around my age.

    "Oh, no! You can take it," Denzel took my hand and started walking away from the swing as Max stayed right next to us, walking beside me. The kid happily jumped onto the swing with no problems.

    We passed by the playground set as we started looking for trees. All of them seemed normal for the most part. Certainly none with deformed trunks like in the picture.

"Are you sure this is the right park?" Denzel asked as he blew his hair out of his face. The sun beat down on us, and it seemed I was the only one unaffected by it. Denzel had a sheen of sweat covering his skin and Max was trying to hide his tongue which was flopping out of his mouth.

"It has to be. It's the only park near here." I stated, looking around again. I didn't see Mr. Scrooge giving Max a treasure map to a park he wouldn't normally go to. The only other one was out of the way from here and neither Max nor his father had any reason to go over there.

"Should we split up?" Max suggested. I shrugged, that would be the best plan to find it quicker. Denzel disagreed.

"No, we stay together. I don't want to lose my new baby sister. I just got her." Denzel wrapped his arms around my shoulder. I couldn't help but think it sounded as if he were comparing me to a new toy. But even if that's what it sounded like, I knew what Denzel meant. And knowing that he wanted me around was reassuring.

Max huffed, crossing his arms. "I see who's the favorite."

"Glad I made it obvious for you." Denzel quipped back. I didn't think he meant it though. He'd known Max far longer, they were friends.

"So we won't be splitting up?" I asked, just to be sure. Both boys gave me noises of agreement and Denzel let go, taking my hand. I held the map in my free hand as we walked along the tree line.

There were many trees near the park, but none that looked like the picture. Max walked ahead of us, mostly because Denzel had to slow his walk so I could keep up with him. I appreciated it.

There was a tree with a weird trunk that we took a look at, but there wasn't anything except a nest in the hole. Denzel had to lift me on his shoulders just for us to have a look inside. We wobbled a bit, and I had to hold on to the tree for stability as I checked.

By the time Denzel had managed to put me down safely, Max had run ahead and was shouting for Denzel to come take a look.

"Coming!" Denzel yelled back, smiling at me. "C'mon, (Y/n), let's see what he found!"

He rushed toward his friend before I even had time to respond. I clutched the map close to my chest as I made my way over to the boys. They'd hurried to check the tree and found nothing. Leaving them quite dejected.

I thought it was a bit too soon to be dejected, we hadn't been looking that long.

"Denzel, Max, (Y/n)!" Cloud's voice cut through the heavy air of disappointment as he came from the tree line.

I waved at him to let him know where we were, but he'd already caught sight of us.

He sighed in relief upon catching up to us. "You shouldn't go that far. Stay in our sight line."

I noticed that when he was warning us, his eyes went between Max and Denzel, making a point not to look at me. I felt myself shrink just a tad, he really didn't like or care for me at all.

Cloud shook his head, "Let's go back to the playground. You can play out here another day."

Despite his words, his tone made me think he didn't mean it. Still, if Cloud said it, it must be true. He wouldn't lie to us. I saw the way he talked to Denzel, every word was truthful and genuine. And even if he didn't like me, nor want me, when we did talk, I never sensed any ill will.

So I suppose we'll have to wait until next time to find the treasure, then. If Cloud and Squall still want me around.

"Okay, can we go down the slide?" I nodded to Cloud before asking Denzel, reaching my hands up for Denzel to grab. He took my hand in his easily.

"Of course we can!" The brunet looked up to his father for confirmation and received a subtle smile in return.

Behind the trees far off in the distance, near the bramble and bushes, something shook violently. Max looked off toward that direction, farther than I could see, with a sense of pointedness. He inhaled, before voicing his suspicions aloud. "Wait! I think that's it."

He took off running without a second thought, and without a third thought, Denzel started running after him, voicing a 'wait up!' as he went. Denzel hadn't let go of my hand before he took off, leaving me to try and run at a pace I couldn't keep up with as he dragged me along.

"You can do it, (N/n)," Denzel exclaimed. Out of breath and a bit bitter as he made me run, I thought to myself that, no, I can't.

By the time we made it to the tree, Max had pointed out, I was huffing and puffing and about ready to double over. Placing my hands on my knees as I tried to take in big breaths. The boys tried jumping up to put their hands in the nook of the nest, but couldn't reach on their own.

"Aw, man! C'mon, just a little more!" Denzel groaned, getting on his tippy toes and stretching his arm in there. Max exhaled heavily, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Dude, you're not gonna reach. Just put your sister on your shoulders again." He suggested, moving his hands in his baggy jean pockets.

I shook my head in denial. "Nuh-uh, he almost dropped me last time."

Denzel paused, light blue eyes turning to meet mine. "(Y/n)! I swear I'll be careful this time. You know I'd never mean to drop you."

"No," I stated, very sure of myself. I knew Denzel would never mean to drop me, but that doesn't mean that I want to try it again. "Just wait for Cloud, he's tall. He can get it."

"He's taking his sweet time getting here, though," Max grumbled, slumping against the tree and crossing his legs. Denzel sighed, walking around in a circle as he waited for Cloud to catch up with us.

The adult didn't seem to sense the boys' urgency, as he kept walking at his regular pace until he reached us. I couldn't quite read his face when he asked, "Do you all need some help?"

Dramatically, Denzel waved his arms between Cloud and the tree. "Please! The treasure's right there. I can feel it."

Without another word, Cloud walked over to the tree and knocked on the hollow trunk, nodding to himself when it reverberated back and stuck his hand in it. Pulling out a small wooden box that was smaller than his hand, but would've been big in both of mine.

"This is what you were looking for?" He inquired, raising a brow and passing it to an excited Denzel. The brown-haired boy was practically jumping for joy.

"It's the treasure, we found it, Max. Thanks, Dad," Denzel laughed, not even caring as Max took the box from him and took a peek inside.

"What's in it?" Denzel asked, trying to grab at the box to see inside of it too. Max held it away from him with a mischievous smile.

"Come find out." Denzel let out a noise of indignation before Max took off running in the direction of the playground. Denzel chased after him, seemingly forgetting about me and Cloud.

I finished catching my breath, standing straight. As I did, I noticed something by the base of the trunk. Something Denzel and Max both missed in their excitement, but something I found much more appealing than a simple treasure.

It was a single, fluffy black feather. If it came from a bird, I'd never seen it before. Not on the islands or here in Radiant Garden. I walked over, crouching to pick it up and examine it. Just a feather. I wonder where or what it came from. It looked well-groomed and healthy.

As a resident of this world for far longer than me, Cloud would know which animal this feather belongs to. Right?

I stood up and turned around, waddling forward to show him up close. I held my hands up to him to show him the pretty feather I found.

"Cloud, look what I found. I've never seen a feather like this before. We don't have this kind on the islands. What bird does it come from? Can I keep it?" I thought it might make a good bookmark. A nice reminder of the different and unique things I could find in Raidant Garden that I could never see back home.

In my wonder, I hadn't been paying attention to Cloud's face very closely. But when I looked to him for his reply, I found that he was unusually still. His breathing had stilled and his eyes were alarmed.

No, not alarmed. Distressed. He was panicked.

He swiped the feather out of my hand and held it in his gloved one before snatching my wrist in his other and quickly turning on his heel. Walking at a steady pace back in the direction of Squall and Mr. Goofy.

I blinked, trying to keep up with him. Watching as he clutched the feather like it was burning away the cloth above his skin and searing his being. His jaw was clenched, and his eyes looked off into a far distance that wasn't here.

In his eyes, I saw genuine fear.

And though I didn't understand why the feather had caused this reaction, I understood the fear itself. I would've hated it if Cloud had presented me with darkness.

I couldn't help but think I made my relationship with Cloud worse by picking that feather up.

[theonlylivinggirlinseattle]

Arlong x OC

I don’t have a working title for this story yet but here is the first part of chapter one. I’ll eventually post the full one to Ao3. Arlong has been my hyper fixation for a bit now 😅 and I decided to create a character that I think would compliment him nicely. Feedback and suggestions welcome! I don’t have the entirely of this story planned out yet but I have a good foundation. I’m still debating making his love interest a nurse shark or an oceanic white tip shark ( both are sharks that I find really neat). I’m also thinking about giving her a last name.

I typed this all up on my phone so there might be some mistakes.

Storm had a pretty normal life on Fishman Island until a horrible tragedy involving humans took the life of her parents as a teen. Ever since the incident Storm disliked humans and never wished to coexist happily with them. She had everything she could ever want on the island but she felt trapped and yearned to see what life was like on the surface. Storm was aware that fishmen were much stronger than the average human but still put in long hours in her training before heading to the surface. On the surface she faced the discrimination the merfolk talked about first hand making her heart grow cold.

I only own the OCs mentioned in the story

Warnings: none (so far)

Ch 1

It was a bright day on Fishman Island when Storm and her friend Kiki decided to go out for coffee and a stroll. Storm had just returned from her trip on the surface and wanted to spend more time at home before eventually going on another excursion.

She was a swordsman and had gained some attention for her skills and was fairly known on the island.

She caught Arlong’s attention right before she left the island two years ago and they've had a few interactions and flirty exchanges. Arlong even wanted her to join his crew but the timing was off and Storm wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet.

Storm and Kiki noticed a crowd forming and walked towards it only by to see Arlong holding a few papers above a small mermaid’s head. “Hey, is that that the sawfish guy you’re been seeing” Kiki whispered looking over at Storm. “There’s nothing between us it’s not like that!” Storm quickly responded. Storm saw the poor mermaid struggle to get her papers back and Storm felt like she needed to intervene.

“These papers aren’t going to change a damn thing!” Arlong laughed. Before Storm could say anything a guard started to run towards Arlong calling him a Fishman district reject. Without a second thought Arlong picks him by the neck. “Arlong! Let him go!” Storm yelled out. Arlong glances over and his eyes widen to see…her.

He hasn’t seen the shark woman in a while and as much as he would deny it he was glad to see her again.

Arlong has been with fishwomen and mermaids in the past and has always had a cocky attitude with them but with Storm he felt like he needed a different approach.

At first Arlong thought she was just a snobby privileged girl. She had the luxury of growing up with two parents in a better part of the island, but the more he got to know her he realized that she was not like what he imagined.

He was drawn to the shark woman and even admired her swordsmanship. Arlong had to have her on his crew. Besides he could never have too many fishmen who were skilled in combat.

“What are you doing picking on a rookie guard? Let him go it’s not worth it” Storm stepped out of crowd towards Arlong. Arlong smirked and threw the guard on the floor. Arlong lost complete interest in him and would much rather give Storm his attention.

Storm stood out amongst the crowd. Her long hair was neatly held back in a seashell clip and wore last nights eye makeup with a bare face. She was tall with a lean build and always carried around one of her swords at her hip.

Both Arlong and Storm didn’t realize that Jinbe was watching the whole scene. While Jinbe scolded Arlong Kiki ran up to Storm and grabbed her arm “ I promised Nora that I’d help her with something, I’ll see you tonight okay?” She said giving her a hug before heading home.

[in-my-feels-probably]

We’re Burned For Better - Chapter Six

Chapter 6

---

Aelora prayed the Gods would strike her down from the sky, sending her into the sea, all so she wouldn’t have to go home and face her Mother. But as Dragonstone came into view, she knew she wouldn’t be so lucky.

She wasn’t crying anymore. There weren’t any tears left in her. Only sorrow and despair, and a pit so heavy in her stomach that she was sure she’d sink to the bottom of the water below if she jumped off Meraxes.

Feeling the urgency, Meraxes flew swift and steady, landing on the clifftops. Aelora slipped down her back, stepping down her wing and onto the ground. It was evening now, the sun setting behind the clouds. It would be dark soon.

Lucerys would be all alone in the surf, waiting to be washed up on a beach somewhere. It took everything in Aelora not to think about him like that.

“Go rest, my girl. You did your best,” Aelora said, running a hand along Meraxes’s cheek. Meraxes huffed, flying away towards the cave system she was found in off the coast of the island.

Aelora didn’t remember walking down the cliff face and into the castle. She didn’t remember walking through the halls, or saying hello to any of the guards. She didn’t remember walking into the throne room. She didn’t remember asking for the room to be cleared, and everyone piling out, except for Daemon and her Mother.

But here she was, standing before her parents, and she couldn’t get the words out.

By the look on Rhaenyra’s face, she knew what was happening. She was still, waiting for her daughter to confirm her suspicions. Daemon saved them both from standing there and looking at each other all night, walking up to Aelora.

“Aelora?” He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at his touch, unable to look at him. “What is it? What has happened?”

Aelora’s face crumbled, and she fell to her knees. She shut her eyes tight, bringing her hands to her face. This seemed to snap Rhaenyra out of her trance, and both her and Daemon dropped to the floor, scrambling to reach their daughter.

“Aelora? Aelora, I need you to be strong, my girl. What has happened, you must tell us,” Rhaenyra asked, cupping Aelora’s face in her palms.

Daemon, sensing something was going to be very wrong, settled Aelora all the way to a sitting position on the floor, before kneeling behind Rhaenyra. He reached a hand around to rest on Aelora’s knee, patting her leg.

“Please, tala. Tell us.”

Aelora opened her eyes, immediately turning to her Mother. A tear slipped down her face as she let out a shaky breath.

“I’m so sorry, Mother. I couldn’t save him.”

Rhaenyra paled, pulling her hands away. “Aelora, what are you saying? I need you to be very clear.”

“I couldn’t save Luke,” Aelora said again, voice shaking. “I got there too late. By the time I found and could reach him, Aemond had beaten me to Luke. Aemond couldn’t control Vhagar, and she chewed Luke and Arrax into pieces. Mother, she did it right in front of me. I saw him fall…I saw him die.”

The sound Rhaenyra made would stay with Aelora for the rest of her days.

Rhaenyra fell back into Daemon’s arms, thrashing in his hold. She let out a scream that brought guards running from every direction, only to see the head of the Targaryen family, weeping in a puddle on the floor.

“No!” She wailed, not even aware guards and servants had stumbled in. “My boy! My sweet boy.”

“Get out!” Daemon yelled, standing to shut all the doors. The guards and servants hurriedly returned to their posts.

Aelora crawled over to her Mother, finding herself in the very position they had been in mere days before when they lost Visenya. She wrapped her arms tightly around her Mother’s shoulders, rocking her back and forth. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry,” Aelora repeated into her Mother’s ear, over and over again.

Rhaenyra had never known a pain like this. She thought she knew grief, when she lost her Mother. Then she thought she knew grief when she lost her Father. She had known the pain of the death of a sibling. The death of a parent. The death of an unborn child.

There were no words to describe the death of her baby boy.

There were no words to describe the sorrow and rage she felt, knowing her firstborn was the one who had to witness it. Rhaenyra took a deep breath, trying to be strong for her daughter.

“It is not your fault, my sweet girl. I forbid you to blame yourself. Do you hear me?” Rhaenyra said, gripping Aelora’s chin.

Aelora didn’t answer, but her Mother wouldn’t relent. Rhaenyra looked to Daemon, who nodded and bent down in front of Aelora. He took her hands, making her look up at him.

“Aelora. It is not your fault. Hear me when I tell you, it is not your fault. We will avenge your brother. I am so sorry you had to witness his death, but believe me when I tell you…we will get revenge. I promise you that.”

That night, Aelora slept in her Mother’s bed, like she used to as a child when she’d have nightmares. She longed for her brother, who was usually there to make her laugh and forget about them. And she longed for Jace, who had been sent word of the news.

In the following days, Rhaenyra kept to her chambers with the rest of her children. She cried every night, when she thought they weren’t listening. The only one who she could truly be vulnerable around was Aelora, since the rest of them were too young to understand what was happening.

Sometimes, Aelora and her Mother would talk about the what ifs, and what could have been.

“I’ve always wanted a little sister. I know I’ll have Baela and Rhaena, but they don’t feel the same,” Aelora murmured, wrapped up in her Mother’s arms.

“I know, my dear. I wanted that for you too.”

“In another life, then?”

Rhaenyra’s voice was sad. “Yes. In another life.”

Everyday, Daemon watched the pair of them with sadness in his eyes, spending half his time keeping them company, and half his time plotting a war.

After a week, Rhaenyra began joining Daemon in his plans, leaving the children to the handmaidens for part of the day. Aelora joined when she could, but spent much of her time alone, or riding on Meraxes.

One morning, she found herself down by the sea, where she used to watch Jace and Luke spar. She heard a rustling behind her, and quickly stood to her feet, spinning around.

To her shock, Jacaerys was standing behind her.

He took one look at her, and his face fell. “So it’s true, then?”

She could only nod, and he pulled her into a tight hug, crying into her shoulder. “The letters said you saw everything. Is that true, too?”

“Yes.”

“How do you survive it?”

She shook her head, pulling away from him. “Survive what?’

“The memory of it. I would have jumped into the sea after him if I witnessed something like that.”

She sighed. “Trust me, I thought about it.”

“Oh, Aelora,” he said, his face softening. “I’m so sorry.”

As the days passed, it got a little easier. Especially now that Aelora had her brother at her side. Jace had told her he could only stay a couple days, and then he was to return to his mission. Their Mother asked that he still go to Winterfell and meet with the Starks.

Aelora had him for a little while, at least. Jace spent much of his time with Aelora. He wanted to make sure she was alright, and that she got out of her room and ate enough. He joined her in meetings with the war council, and on flights with Meraxes.

He even let her fly on the back of Vermax with him, like they did before she claimed Meraxes.

Throughout their days, he voiced his discomfort with being heir. It was to be expected, and Aelora wasn’t at all shocked, but it was still hard to listen to, knowing she’d do anything for her brother.

“It’s just so hard, you know? You’re the firstborn, and yet I was the one named heir.”

“We’re twins, Jace. Minutes apart. And you’re the son, of course you were named heir.”

“I know that. But you should see Rhaena. Daemon tells me she has now confined herself to her room, weeping every night. She mourns for Lucerys. And for her position. She’ll stay with Rhaenys, but for how long? Her position is now unstable, her betrothed is gone.”

“Mother won’t let her suffer, Jace.”

“But she is suffering, Aelora. I know that Mother will ensure she is taken care of, but she still is suffering. And…I don’t want my betrothed to go through that, as selfish as it is. I will do my duty, I would never impose this burden on anyone else, but it is so hard. Sometimes, I wish that I could run away, and take Baela with me. Live alone in some summer home, have little children running around. I want to be a father. I can’t do that if I go and get myself killed, or am buried up to my neck in duties that keep me from my children.”

Aelora listened as Jace spoke, feeling her heart sink. With the way he was talking, it was sounding as if he planned on giving up the throne. And if he didn’t take it, who would? Would it fall to her? The thought made her sick. It is a burden she did not want.

“I don’t want it, Aelora.”

Aelora nodded. “We have time to discuss it. Those days are far away. We will figure it out together, when it comes.”

“I do not want it,” he reaffirmed, turning to her. She smiled at him sadly, knowing that she loved her brother so much, she would do anything to ease his pain. Even if it meant bearing the weight of his burdens on top of her own.

“I’ll carry it, Jace. Don’t worry about it yet, it is not a burden you need weighing you down. We have years to plan for it. So I will carry it, until the time comes. Let me carry it.”

He sighed, shaking his head. “Aelora…”

“Jace…,” she mimicked, grinning at him. “Do not speak of it any longer. I will carry it until the time comes. I will hear nothing more of it.”

He finally relented, nodding. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, saying nothing more.

—

One evening, the day before Jace was set to leave, Aelora was called to her Mother’s chambers. Just her, no one else, and Aelora thought that perhaps her Mother needed someone to talk to.

But when she stepped inside, and saw how grim her Mother’s face was, she knew that wasn’t the case.

“Sit down, Aelora.”

Aelora uneasily sat down at the foot of the bed next to her Mother, fiddling with her hands. Rhaenyra gave her a sad smile.

“I have received word from King’s Landing. Aegon has sent additional terms.”

Aelora’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What more could he possibly want? He’s already asked for my brothers to become his little pets and for me to practically become his personal handmaiden, what more could he want?”

“I believe when the terms were sent, it was Otto’s word, not Aegon’s. Aegon seems to want an easier transition to the throne, one that doesn’t increase conflict within the family. He knows that I will not give up the throne, and Daemon will stop at nothing to see me on it. I think he’s trying to buy time, show the masses that we are not as broken a family as we appear.”

Aelora shook her head. “What does that mean? I don’t understand what he’s asking.”

Rhaenyra paused, cupping Aelora’s cheek in her palm. “He proposed that we decide amongst ourselves the best course of action, as long as at least one part of his terms are met. But Aelora, he has threatened violence. We might have a fleet and dragons, but so do the Greens. And they have the coffers to pay for more aid.”

“Aegon may be an ass, but he is not cruel. Surely he’s more bark than bite,” Aelora tried to rationalize.

“He has Otto in his ear, just as my Father did. Otto took the position as Hand, and he’d gladly watch this family burn if it meant he could sit highest upon the ashes. We have to assume that Aegon will listen to him. You say he isn’t cruel, but he isn’t an idiot, either. He will not stand for what he thinks are terms any less than met.”

Aelora felt like she was going to be sick. Losing any more of her family, or watching them suffer, it was not an option. If there was anything in her power she could do to stop an all out war from breaking, she would do it.

“We have to think of something, then. Give him what he wants most.”

Rhaenyra was quiet, casting her eyes to the floor. Realization set in, and Aelora felt the pressure build up in her chest.

“You’ve already thought of something, haven’t you?”

Rhaenyra nodded, taking Aelora’s hand. “I will not watch another one of my children die. I will not sit on this throne, knowing my children are out there and in harm's way. I cannot have Jace somewhere I do not trust, he is the heir to the Iron Throne. He has to stay alive and well, so that one day he may sit upon it. And I cannot watch Daemon making futile attempts at planning battles every day, knowing one of the plans could result in the death of the people I care about the most. Or the death of countless innocents. The stakes are too high, Aelora.”

“I understand, Mother. What do you propose? Name it, I’ll do anything you ask.”

Rhaenyra’s face crumbled, eyes brimming with tears. She caressed Aelora’s hand with the back of her thumb, giving it a squeeze. Her voice was soft.

“I did not ask for this. And I would not ask this of you if I thought there was any possibility left that would keep you children safe, guaranteed. I hope you can forgive me for suggesting it. But I truly see no other way that doesn’t end with the streets filled with blood.”

Aelora couldn’t take it any longer, standing up. “Please, Mother, just tell me!”

“You proposed marriage before you left for Storm’s End,” Rhaenyra finally said, standing as well. “You proposed marriage between you and Aemond to unite the family, and now I believe it is the only way to prevent a mass slaughter.”

Aelora felt her heart sink, tears beginning to sting her eyes. “No…”

“Aelora–”

“How can I?” Aelora exclaimed. “I have only just returned home, and now you intend for me to return to the very people who usurped your throne out from under you? To the man responsible for my brother’s death?”

“I cannot give up the throne, Aelora. We cannot let them win. But I need to make sure my children are safe while we are at war to get it back. Appeasing part of Aegon’s terms will distract him long enough for us to come up with a plan.”

“But Mother, that could take months. Months that I’d be stuck there alone. Even when you finally do win and come to take the throne, I will still be eternally bound to Aemond.”

“I know,” Rhaenyra said, taking Aelora’s hands. “But I truly do see no other away. We have to win. We can hit them full force now, and people will die. Or, we can do this strategically. I have to keep you safe, darling. And you will be safe if you’re protected through marriage. They won’t hurt you if they think of you as their own. You’ll be uniting our house in the eyes of the realm.”

Aelora cast her eyes to the floor. “Aegon asked for my return personally. This is the part of the terms we’ll meet? This is what we will propose to Otto?”

“Yes,” Rhaenyra nodded. “He would be a fool not to accept. He knows we will stop at nothing to avenge Lucerys and get our throne back. A Princess backing his side shifts the tide.”

Aelora’s voice was soft, squeezing her Mother’s hands.

“I will always be loyal to you, Mother. Where I live and who I am married to could never change that. I won’t be swayed.”

Rhaenyra took a shaky breath, pulling Aelora into her arms. “I know that, darling. I would never question it.”

“I really have to do this, don’t I?”

“I leave it up to you. I trust that you will make the decision that is right for our family. Even if it is a hard decision to make.”

Aelora felt like she could scream. She would have if she was sure no one would hear her. But she had never questioned her Mother’s choices up until then, and she wasn’t going to start now. If she believed it was the only way, then Aelora did too. If this was how she kept her family safe, if this is how she’d keep the realm from tearing itself apart, then she would do it.

“I’ll do it,” Aelora said, fighting the lump in her throat. “I’ll go to King’s Landing…I’ll marry him.”

A single tear fell down Rhaenyra’s cheek, and she quickly wiped it away. There was a rage like no other brewing inside her, already hardening her heart.

“I am so sorry, my love.”

—

The next morning, Rhaenyra called Daemon, Aelora, and Jace together, before Jace had to leave. Aelora knew what was happening, but she went with her family anyway, taking her place next to her Mother’s side.

“I have given Otto an answer to Aegon’s terms. We await his approval now. If he accepts, and I expect that he will…things will change. As your Queen, I command that you accept them as well.”

Daemon narrowed his eyes, nodding for her to continue. “His approval? That fucking bastard can rot, we’re not meeting a single one of his terms.”

“We will if we want to keep everyone alive,” Aelora said, her stare icy. She hadn’t gotten an ounce of sleep the night before, tossing and turning with her thoughts.

“We will, tala—“

“You can’t promise that! We’ve already lost Luke. You have no way to assure me that everyone will stay alive…but I can.”

“What are you talking about?” Jace asked, meeting Aelora’s gaze. “What did you do?”

“She did nothing,” Rhaenyra said, stepping in. “Nothing that I did not ask of her.”

“Which is what?” Daemon asked, his tone serious.

“I already agreed, it is done—“

“Aelora! Which is what?”

Aelora cast her eyes to the floor once more, not meeting her Father's gaze. She felt her Mother’s hand slip into her own, squeezing it tight.

“Within the week, we will receive word back from King’s Landing. Aegon has made it clear that he expects only the most important of his terms to him to be met, and we have promised that. In exchange for the boys staying here, and a cease of threats to the family, Aelora has agreed to return to King’s Landing.”

“What?” Daemon said, laying a protective hand on Aelora’s shoulder.

Jace shook his head. “She has only just arrived. What reason could Aegon possibly have for throwing away all of his terms in exchange for her return?”

“That is not all we have promised,” Aelora finally said, finally meeting her family’s gaze.

“What is, then? Hmm? How much of yourself did you sell, Aelora?” Daemon hissed, venom in his voice.

“I sold what I had to! To keep us safe! I won’t apologize for it.”

Daemon sighed, holding Aelora by her shoulders. He lowered his voice, speaking softly to her.

“What were the terms, tala? Just tell me.”

Aelora took a deep breath, steadying herself. “I will return to King’s Landing, as Aegon has asked. To be an advisor to him, and a friend to Helaena.”

“And?”

“All Aegon wants is a smooth transition to the throne. He will cease the threats if he thinks he has won. To unite the family in the eyes of the realm, and to buy us time to plan…I will marry Aemond.”

Jace’s eyes widened in shock, and he grabbed his sister's shoulder, turning her to face him.

“What?”

“I am unmarried, he is unmarried. You are betrothed, Helaena and Aegon are already wed. We are the only two left that can bring the family together.”

“You can’t be serious? I won’t hear of this,” he said, storming out of the room.

“Jace, wait—“

Aelora was cut off by the door slamming before she could finish her words. She turned to her parents, pity written all over their faces.

“Kepa?” She asked, turning to Daemon. “It’s your turn to yell. Go ahead.”

Daemon sighed, bringing Aelora into his arms. He placed a kiss on top of her head, squeezing her tight. Aelora felt tears well up in her eyes as she hugged him back.

“I’m not going to yell at you. You’re doing what your Mother asks of you and what you think is best for the family. That’s braver than I could ever hope for you to be. Our brave girl.”

“Really?” Aelora asked, her voice muffled in Daemon’s shoulder.

“Really. Now, go find your brother. You know you’ll regret letting him leave mad.”

Aelora nodded, hurrying out of the room to find Jace. He would never leave without saying goodbye, especially after losing his brother so recently. But he is stubborn enough that he would leave mad. Aelora couldn’t bear the possibility of it being the last time in a while, if ever, that she’d see her brother, and she certainly couldn’t bear the last time being amidst a fight.

She didn’t have to search far for him, knowing he’d be down by the beach where he used to train with Lucerys. He had gone there every day since he returned. Aelora found him there, pouting in the sand.

“Alright,” she said, getting his attention. “Out with it. We are not children, you can be mature about this.

Jace turned around, standing up. “That’s just it, Aelora. We are children. You are a child, being shipped off to King’s Landing to marry the man responsible for our brother’s death. You do blame him, don’t you?”

Aelora had her doubts. When she arrived at Storm’s End, Aemond was yelling at Vhagar to stop. He tried to control her and she wouldn’t listen. Did Aelora think Aemond meant to kill Lucerys? No. Did she hold him personally responsible for Luke’s death since he was the one to make the decision to go after Luke? Yes, she did.

“Yes, I blame him. But not for the same reasons as you. And it doesn’t make a difference. I have to marry him anyway.”

“That’s not the point, Aelora!”

“Then what is? Why are you so upset about this?”

Jace turned away from her, huffing. His fists were bunched in a fist at his sides, his jaw clenched. He felt rage and sorrow course through him. It was quiet another moment, before Jace’s somber voice broke the silence.

“Love should make you feel good.”

Aelora felt her heart break at his words, sitting down in the sand.

“I know you loved him, Aelora. You may even still. It’s not your fault, we can’t control who we love. But I wish the Gods had been kinder to you. It is cruel, what you must bear. It is too much, even for you. It’s not fair.”

“This is war, Jacaerys,” she said, running her fingers through the sand. “It isn’t fair. We still have our duties to do, though, don’t we? I am being sent to King’s Landing, and you to Winterfell. How is it fair that either of us must leave our home? It’s not. But we will do it anyway.”

Jace watched her with sad eyes, unable to come up with a response. Aelora didn’t mean to sound so bitter, but it accidentally slipped out.

“Sometimes, I really wish it had been you who married Helaena. It would have been your one duty, so easy for you to fulfill. None of this would have happened and I wouldn’t have been stuck in this position if you had been born a true Velaryon. Alicent would have agreed to it if you had my hair and not Ser Harwin’s.”

She immediately regretted the words the second they had left her tongue, wishing she could take them back. Jacaerys, to her surprise, didn’t look in the slightest bit hurt by her words. He knew she was angry, and sad, and scared for the future. She didn’t mean any of it, not truly.

“I wish that, too, sometimes. But I cannot change our fates. Believe me, I would if I could. I’d do anything to get you out of this.”

“I know you would,” she said, standing up. “It’s not your fault it turned out this way.”

“I’m sorry, Aelora.”

She nodded, giving him a sad smile. “I’m sorry, too.”

—

Daemon found Aelora that evening, sat upon the cliff tops. Meraxes circled overhead, wanting to be close to her rider. She always stayed close when Aelora was feeling a lot at one time.

He sat by her side in silence, watching the waves lap along the shoreline. Aelora hadn’t spoken a word since Jace left, not to anyone. Daemon watched with her for a while, finally interrupting the quiet by setting a hand on her arm.

“I’ll kill him the second we land on the city's shores. The very hour I arrive, if it is what you want.”

Aelora could not bring herself to smile or laugh, instead squeezing his hand. He was serious, she knew that. She laid her head on his shoulder, sighing.

“I don’t know what I want. I had the opportunity to kill him myself, but I hesitated. I let him go. I was furious, and reckless, but I still told him to go. I scared myself. I was afraid that I was actually capable of hurting him. If he stayed another minute, I probably would have.”

“I certainly wouldn’t have blamed you.”

Daemon wrapped his arm around her shoulder, slowly rocking her back and forth.

“You’ll have time to think about it. When the time comes, it will be your decision to make. I’ll stand by whatever you choose.”

Aelora just nodded, unable to get herself to speak. Daemon seethed at the thought of one of his girls being so beaten down that they couldn’t bring themselves to talk to him.

“We’ll get you out, Aelora. I won’t abandon you. This isn’t forever, I promise. We’re coming back for you. Understand?”

Aelora scoffed, wanting to laugh in his face. It was an easy thing to say, when you’re not the one who has to do it. It certainly felt like it was going to be forever. It might as well have been. But she didn’t say that. She just nodded, relishing in one of the last moments she’d have with her Father for a long time.

“Yes, Kepa. I understand.”

—

A/N - This update was a bit of a long one, I hope you enjoyed it. It’s kind of a filler chapter, it’s not my best work, sorry. I just wanted to get this out so I can get to the majority of the story. Let me know what you thought! Comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.

[hepaidattention]

caves

Kie said they lived in a cave together, and i took it as very specifically just them, so I had to write this.

sleeping in caves was never something Kie thought she'd ever find herself doing. It was especially not something she thought she'd find herself getting used to, let alone finding it comforting in a weird way.

the sound of the waves clashing against the rocks and shore was her white noise, and the sound of her best friend's steady breathing was her peace of mind. sure, they were all trapped on an deserted island with little chance of ever finding a way back home, but they were alive. they all breathed the same air, they all ate the same food, they all laughed at the same jokes, and they all lived as one. they were a family. and the sound of air leaving and entering their lungs brought her so much peace, knowing they were here, always here, even when hope felt lost sometimes.

sleeping was hard for her, no matter how much comfort she found in hearing them breathe. don't get her wrong, the sight of the wide open, starlit sky was never a view she could get tired of. yet, it wasn't something she likes to see when trying to fall asleep. she normally loved looking out into the never ending ocean, or gazing up into the abyss of a sky. however, when she was trying to sleep, it only reminded her of how small they were, and how little and insignificant things are often forgotten. Kie didn't want to be forgotten. she wanted to be found, she wanted to be saved, she wanted to make a difference.

yet, sometimes being stuck here forever wasn't so bad. at least she had her friends by her side.

"fuck off, you jackass of a…" JJ muttered in his sleeve. he was sound asleep, right at Kie's side. he didn't seem to leave her side much now and days and she wouldn't deny that she loved every second of it. sometimes she thought to herself, "if I have to be stuck here forever, at least I have JJ." sometimes she even thinks about leaving this island, and knowing if they ever go home, everything will change again. then she decides this island forever sounds like paradise - because she doesn't want things to change between them again.

every night, when everyone huddles by the fire and falls asleep to the glow of the night sky, Kie stays awake wondering about her parents, her school, her old life. she needs solitude to find peace of mind. so one night after everyone fell asleep, she got up and walked to the cave everyone retreated to in the hottest days or the stormiest ones. she laid down on the cool, sandy ground and closed her eyes. however, her eyes shot open moments later to see JJ walking up into the cave beside her.

"hey," he whispered, concern written over his features.

"hey," she said back, a small smile in return.

"couldn't sleep either, huh?"

her smile grew a little bigger and she shook her head no. he sat down beside her, arms propping up his upper half as his legs laid out in front of him. she sat up beside him, holding her legs to her chest as she said, "sometimes everything's just too … big, you know? freaks me out. gets me thinking so much I start spiraling."

"I get that. can't say I blame ya."

"what about you?" she nudged his shoulder with her own, "what's keeping you awake?"

he shrugged, and the way his shoulders moved and his gaze drifted off, she realized there was something significant bothering him. but this was JJ, he would never admit that. so, he said, "Pope's snorings got me thinking I'm being chased by some kind of rabid bear just about every time I enter any kinda dream state." He added a little smirk to his lips, giving her the quickest of grins when he met her gaze. God it made her want to kiss him. but how do you tell your best friend you want to kiss them? she's been asking herself that for ages now. being friends with a bunch of boys who all had crushes on her was always fine with her because she never had any interest in liking them back. yet, JJ just kind of snuck up on her. he hit on her time and time again when they were younger and Kie always blew him off - but then one day he just kinda stopped, and suddenly she realized just how much she hated not having it. and when his attention went to other girls, she found herself often getting more and more upset about him flirting with them. it wasn't before long that she realized she liked him, she was just too stubborn to notice it when he was right in front of her offering himself up.

God, then she just decided it was just her. she just liked all the guys. it wasnt just a JJ thing, she just loved them all so much that sometimes lines got blurred. she could kiss any of these boys and it would all make sense in some kind of way. John B kissed her and she thought fuck, I hated that. then Pope confessed his feelings and she thought fuck, I really hated that. and all of those reasons for hating it was because it wasn't JJ kissing her or confessing his undying love for her and that really made her angry. so, she went for it. Pope liked her, she loved Pope, and love was love right? only, it wasn't, and after her biggest mistake, she could think of only one person despite trying everything not to. it didn't matter who she kissed, she always just wished it was JJ and she hated herself for it even more because JJ was an idiot. he did stupid shit all the time and got himself into stupid shit all the freaking time and god he drove her absolutely insane and yet she didn't want to spend another day without him beside her ever again.

so here he was, watching the waves beat across the shore and the moon cast a light on the beach in a special way, and she silently prayed to herself that he didn't leave her. she scooted to his side and she noticed the look he was making. it was the one that usually said shit I wish I had some weed right now. one he always made when he wanted to punch something or do something reckless because he was just so tired and he felt so broken and all she could ever do was share a joint with him and give him a hug. but now, now he was just forced to live in silence with his thoughts.

she thought about asking him what was wrong, but she knew he'd just lie and say he was hunky dory or some shit. so she grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers together tight. he looked down at their hands like the sight was something of a dream, and then he met her eyes and his expression said everything. no matter how far away JJ ran, he could never escape his ghosts. Kie said nothing, she just laid her head onto his shoulder, and together they looked out into the moonlit waters.

they fell asleep in that cave that night, Kie lying on his chest, his arms tightly wound around her like she was his safety blanket. they woke up the next morning and said nothing about it, yet every night after that they found themselves back in that cave, sleeping beside each other, needing each other's presence to feel safe and secure.

and that brought her back to the present, JJ jumping in his sleep, and Kie staring up at the ceiling of the cave thinking about him the same way she hasn't been able to stop thinking about him since they got on this beach.

JJ flinched and Kiara jumped a little, his spasming a little more lively than most nights. the only nights JJ ever slept soundly was when she slept close to him - holding his hand, hugging him, his head resting on her stomach. but she couldn't allow that to be a regular thing, she only did that when he was visibly upset or when his nightmares woke him up. if she allowed them to cuddle every night, well Kie would start to lose her composure every time he took off his shirt to go for a swim right in front of her. she already struggled, good God he was beautiful.

"Stop," JJ shrieked in his sleep. "Please, please stop," he whimpered. Her heart pounded hard in her chest and she looked over to see tears running down his sleeping face. Kie thought about waking him up, but he had nightmares almost every night - sometimes she thought he deserved sleep over escape from his dreams. she never knew which was better for him, but she usually still caved and woke him anyway. "No mom, please," he cried. Kie couldn't do it anymore. She reached for his arm but before she even made contact, JJ lunged forward in a bellowing cry. Kie quickly followed behind him and she saw his eyes open now, his cry turning into a sob, his face falling into his hands, his hands falling into his knees.

"shh, shhh," Kiara wrapped her arm around him, her chin resting on his shoulder as she massaged his back in soft circular motions. "it's okay, Jayj, it was just a dream," she said soothingly. "it's okay, I'm here. you're safe." He blindly grabbed her hand then, his grip tight. she placed a gentle, butterfly kiss on his shoulder blade. "you’re safe."

after a moment of JJ pulling himself back together, he wiped the tears from his face and gave her that soft little grin he assigned just for her. "You okay?" She asked.

"you don't gotta worry about ol' JJ. just haven't got the whole sleepin' peacefully thing down yet. work in progress."

"wanna talk about it?" She knew the answer, but she always asked.

"nah, just dreaming about that damn rabid bear again, nothing too severe." He wiped his eyes and sat up straight, breaking Kie from her hold on him.

"Jayj," she said softly, "it didn't sound like you were dreaming about bears."

"Yeah?" He was poking his finger in the sand now, drawing squares with his index finger and ovals with his thumb. "what'd it sound like then?"

"Well, you said mom at one point."

"gotta admit, that's a pretty weird name for a bear."

"JJ,"

"Kie," he looked at her like nothing ever happened, his shoulder shrugging his concerns away. "I'm fine now, alright? I don't even remember dreamin' at this point - that's how dreams go, ain't it? go in one ear and out the next, or somethin' like that."

"okay," She accepted defeat. JJ hardly ever even opened up to John B, and they've been friends much longer than she can even imagine. she had go let JJ come to her, she couldn't push or he would just run away.

Kie laid back down then, lying on her back to look up at nothing but cave and dirt. JJ laid back down too, but he went back down on his side and he faced away from her. he really thought she couldn't hear him as he sniffled to himself in the silence. Kie didn't even let him say anything as she wrapped her arm around his torso, her face pressed up against his shoulder again. JJ held her hand in his. they fell asleep like that, their bodies intertwined together until the sun broke the horizon, waking them up before everyone else wondered where they'd gone.

waking up was nothing new, finding JJs head lying on her stomach and her hand laced in his hair was a regular position nowadays. she combed through his hair without thought of her actions, sometimes twirling some of his strands around her index finger, her thumb brushing against his neck.

"How do you feel about a mornin' swim?" JJ voiced, awake on Kie's stomach unbeknownst to her. she never knew he could be that still. he lifted himself up and hovered over her, a grin on his face as big as the ocean itself. "c'mon, I'll beat you to it," JJ bounded up, peeling off his shirt and looking at her with wild hair. "well? you comin' or what?" He teased, racing to the beach before she could even fully stand.

"hey, cheater! you didn't even say go!" she called out after him, uncontrollably smiling from ear to ear as she watched him shout out his normal cheers before crashing into the waves.

Kie realized on this island, she wasn't sure when, but she realized at one point that she loved every single one of these idiots, and there was no doubt about it. but her love for JJ was different. there was more to it. she wanted more. she felt more and it was overwhelming sometimes, but it was also exhilarating. she loved JJ, but not like she loved John B or Pope or Sara, she loved him with parts of her heart she didn't even know could love. and she didn't know how to tell him she loved him more than she's ever loved anything before, without scaring him away. love, commitment, those were things JJ often refused to accept. he didn't think he deserved them. she guessed it was up to her to change his mind.

Kie took off her shorts, wearing just her bathing suit, and ran out into the ocean. she jumped onto JJ's back in the water and brought them both down to crash into the waves, laughing the entire way down.

the end

(yes I know they all had a sort of cave in s3 but I like to imagine jiara had their own shhhh)

[the-man-who-loved-a-mare]

Training Challenge #2

“She’s moody and she’s slippery and she’s in love with the sea.”

Sooner or later, he would have to tell his parents what he’d just done in Skarmouth, but for the moment Jaxom let his feet carry him towards the comfort of their small barn, the very same place where he’d first met Her.

It was a cold February night, and rain sluiced down in sheets, chilling the bare hands of the man who spent the last few hours helping a ewe struggling to lamb. He’d taken over lambing duty for his father two year prior, and this was not the first time he’d spent a night out amongst the sheep and straw. The ewe had managed to deliver two healthy lambs, although the process had taken longer than Jaxom felt comfortable with, and now he rushed to get them back outside with the flock. Perhaps, on another island, the single stall barn would have been suitable for the new mother to overnight, but on Thisby Jaxom’s concern about what the storm may dredge up from the depths was not unfounded.

As soon as the lambs had dried, stood, and nursed, the man ushered them out of the old stone barn to rejoin the flock in the corral outside, despite the downpour. As the sheep merged into one wet blur, Jaxom forged his way through the rain to the gate, swinging it open and watching as his flock rushed out and melted into the darkness. It was safer for them to have room to run, over the confinement of the corral. In the morning, he would locate them, and with any luck both new lambs would have made it. It was harsh, yes, but to survive out here you had to be. Exhaling slowly as the last white silhouette disappeared into the darkness, Jaxom turned back to the single stall barn to go clean up the bloody straw and afterbirth before anything lurking in the storm caught scent of it. An inhuman chuckle to his left alerted him he was too late, his body immobile as instinct took hold.

A quick assessment of his surroundings alerted him the sheep were out of sight, but it wouldn’t be much for the creature drawn by the scent of blood to follow them. On the other hand, if he made a sound now, it could be him on the menu. The young man didn’t give himself time to be afraid, he merely acted. Slinking down low to the ground, adrenaline pumping through his veins with every beat of his heart, he crept along the fence line, eyes scanning the area around him for the predator that he knew was out there. A grumbling groan from somewhere nearby cause him to freeze again, the sound of the rain drowned out by the sound of his thundering heart. As he got closer to the single stall barn the scent of the capall washed over him, salt, fish, and something that sent his heart into a frenzy. She was inside. Without thinking, Jaxom rushed forwards, slamming the dutch door and making sure both the top and bottom were fully latched. Inside, the beast began to keen and wail, the thrashing animal causing the entire building to shudder. She was caught.

Now, seven months later, in the very same stone barn and corral, she greeted him with a whicker as she galloped to the edge of the reinforced corral, tossing her head and rocking back on her hind legs for a moment before all four feet returned to the earth, pale eyes sharp upon the man as he entered her domain.

“Saoirse…” Jaxom breathed, reaching for the mare, running his hands down her muscular neck and pressing his cheek against hers and inhaling her warm, salty, fishy scent. Anyone who knew anything about the capricious capaill told him he was crazy, and he knew they were right. He trusted her with his own life far too much, but she’d given him no reason to doubt. Iron had no place in their relationship, and he liked to believe she loved him as dearly as he loved her.

“I’ve entered us in the Race beloved.” His voice was low as his hands worked rows of knots in threes and sevens into her thin mane. “It’s the only way I can convince them to let you stay here.” He explained, watching her as she stared at him with those intelligent eyes. He knew her well enough now to know as her attention turned, the magic of autumn ocean pulling her away from him. His heart clenched as his lithe black capall floated towards the furthest wall, her blue eyes fixed upon the horizon where he knew the ocean to be. She gave a low, mournful sound, turning to stare back at him intently.

Reaching into the pocket of his worn jacket, Jaxom pulled out a thin strip of raw mutton, tossing it to the mare. She snapped it out of the air, breathlessly fast. He smiled, moving to stand with a hand on her shoulder, following her gaze out over the horizon. “If we win…” he trailed off, not finishing the thought. “Don’t fret too much darling. The autumn will be over before you know it, and the sea won’t call so badly then.” Never turning his back on her, Jaxom retreated from her paddock, gazing at her fondly one last time before turning in the direction of his house, and the dismay he would face from his parents once they found out what he’d done.

@thescorpioracesfestival