#to write Dain opening his heart like this to someone

[reginrokkr]

Nothing but acceptance is offered in the face of lack of interest to see him to the eye, for what is a sinner in the eye of a sovereign in the Realm of Light but an inconvenience, a mote of dust to blow off? But the rex deigns to turn and Twilight Sword can't help but stop and look at him in silence. Suffice to say he is cognizant of the details about the sovereigns of old —and to his dismay, it was clearly a point of interest for those who were obsessed the most among Khaenri'ahns—, tales about a prophesized Hydro Dragon reincarnated in human flesh. Dáinsleif knows about the majestic nature of the being before him, yet starry eyes paint him otherwise.

So... human.

The sovereign points out aloud his unwillingness to destroy him despite knowing his true nature despite the deceiving exterior of human flesh before him, but Dáinsleif makes no move to respond. That is a matter to be entertained later should it be still appropriate, and his lack of hostility towards him should suffice to denote otherwise. Now that he captured the dragon's interest for the indicated course of action to take in order to solve the crisis is here. ◜First, we ought to eliminate the current source of...◞ But he himself cuts his explanation short, words drift away with violent waves stirred by defilement when a new question is presented to him:

What concern is it of his?

For reasons he cannot describe, here the Bough Keeper stands as if he were tested before something of importance is about to unfold, similar in vein as what he experienced with the holy Irminsul to make sure that he knows what he would subject himself to in immersing himself in an endless Samsara his soul might not return unscathed from— back when he wished to learn the truth hidden under wraps of Khaenri'ah, and then of the world upon coming to terms with the fact that the aureum kingdom had no saving from his part, regardless of what now monsters of the Abyss try to convince him.

Be that as it may, Dáinsleif accepts it. ◜Khaenri'ah, the pride of humankind has fallen at the hands of inclement gods. It mattered ought if its people were innocent or guilty, native to the country or people who had lost their faith in their Archon. In their eyes, all of us were sinners.◞ This, he will never forget nor be able to forgive those gods for. In all their wisdom and omniscience, they should be merciful with those who had no part in the calamity that unfurled thereafter— he should've known better. Roseate lips press tight in a thin line, fighting back the urge to enter in yet another spiral of depreciation: to himself and this unjust world.

◜It would be the height of folly to defend what cannot be defended and say that every Khaenri'ahn was clean of guilt, but among them were people who simply wanted to live peacefully without external concerns outside of what they can do to fix themselves.◞ And these people— these were the ones he was tasked to protect with his life, as the Twilight Sword. ◜They were unfairly branded and massacred, turned into monsters or cursed to wander the wilderness for transgressions they never committed.◞ Nor would agree with, were they aware of what was transpiring in the darkest corners of the society for millennia.

◜And that same unfairness would've played in this Cataclysm, in every other nation included this— directly or indirectly. Those whom have been drowned in their delusions far too long don't differentiate betwixt gods or humans to hold accountable for the disgrace of the golden kingdom. In their eyes, all of them are guilty. I do not wish that to happen if I have any say in it.◞ And he does— he so does. In Mondstadt and Liyue, in Sumeru assisting the Pari and marshalling the last of the Schwanenritter as his final duty as Twilight Sword thereafter before coming to Fontaine —but he needn't know that, it's irrelevant to this matter—. Just so no more innocents have to suffer the same fate— to protect what he couldn't. Albescent lashes flutter close to inhale and exhale deeply to calm his boiling sentiments on the matter, to present himself as a calm figure that seeks no destruction to the being before him. His eyes open again, sapphire irises peering into draconic ones as a hand rises to rest over his chest and his beating heart. ◜The matters of humanity are of my concern, and as far as I am concerned... so are you.◞

Though the sovereign barely deigns to move, he does listen. Whoever this man is, who sprung from the mist and into this cemetery of ships and sailors fallen to the defilement left in Elynas' wake, he seems as much at home here, in the aftermath of catastrophe, as he seems out of place in Fontaine. An outlander whose aura radiates of impossibilities, of powers that should be irreconcilable, and yet, seem to coexist as best their can in that human body of his.

Human, but not entirely human. That makes it the two of them, he supposes.

Water pools at the dragon's feet, defilement diluted in rain of a different kind (a rain of his own, water answering the call of an afflicted heart, skies weeping the loss of those fallen in this disaster intended by neither man not abhorrent creature) - it is not enough to cleanse the poison around them, but at the very least it may, perhaps, be a small, incidental, sorrowful blessing. Neuvillette briefly closes his eyes, ancient (yet so young) mind pushing back against the intrusive memories of those who perished here (their last moments forever carried into the water of Fontaine and returned to him, final repository of their history); and finally, snaps them open again.

Hydro Dragon. So he knows.

The sovereign turns to face his visitor, reptilian gaze drilling into khaenri'ahn one (he has heard the tales of those peculiar pupils -- what omen do they carry with them, he wonders?), gauging him, taking in the surreal appearance of pristine purity and most vile poison merged into a single man. "If you have borne witness to Durin's fate with your own eyes and know of the origins of his tragic predicament, then you know more than I do of such creatures and creations." He says, both hands resting atop his cane - incapable of completely hiding the prudent curiosity that rouses in his heart, brows knitting into a perplexed frown while the rain, indifferent to propriety, continues to pour down upon them; light and darkness at a standstill, contemplating their next move.

"You know what I am, yet seek not to destroy me." Despite the power he senses dwelling in him - the very same dark corrosion left in Elynas' wake, or close to it. The Abyss, he knows, does not strive to solve crises - it causes them. So why does this man...? "Pray tell, then, outlander." His voice rolls between them like a wave unfurling onto the shore during the storm. "How do we solve this crisis... and what concern is it of yours?"

[danikamariewrites]

Dude every time I read Tairn’s insults or snarky remarks about anything and everyone, I cackled every time.

Could you do one where Tairn chose reader instead and reader, Xaden, Sgayel, and Tairn are just shit talking about everyone with their minds through out the day? I would love to see more of Xaden and Tairn bonding over being grumpy together lol

I have a really bad habit of when someone pisses me off I just insult them in my mind and I could just imagine Xaden accidentally laughing out loud at the insults causing the reader to also laugh lol

Shit Talking

Xaden x reader

A/n: this idea was sm fun to write. Also this is very heavy on Dain hate, bc I hate him.

Warnings: none

Sitting in history class waiting for the professor to start, you reach out and tap on Xaden’s mind. “Morning grumpy! How are you?” You don’t know who the huff came from, Xaden or Tairn.

“You’re too joyful for the morning.” Tairn deadpans. You chuckle to yourself and hear Sgaeyl chuckle as well. “He’s right.” As you were about to scold them for being old grumps, you hear the classroom door opens. Dain and the professor walk in.

“What’s wrong?” Xaden asks feeling your annoyance at Dain’s presence. “Dain’s observing class today.” You hear all three of the groan. You slap your hand over your mouth to keep from laughing too loudly.

Dain sits down at the front of the class and you relay that to the others. Sgaeyl laughs, Tairn lets out another annoyed groan, and Xaden laughs out, “Loser.”

As class goes on the four of you continue to talk about your fellow riders. It’s also rare Tairn and Sgaeyl are so vocal about other dragons. Or speak to you and Xaden when they don’t need to. It was nice and it felt normal in an odd way.

At Battle Brief you so badly wanted to sit with Xaden, but you had to stay with your squad. This time you feel Xaden tapping on your mind. “Hey sweet cheeks.” You feel your face heat. You turn slightly in your seat and see him hiding a smirk behind his hand

His eyes quickly dart to you, then back to the professors at the center of the circular room. “Aetos is particularly talkative today.” You mentally groan, “I know, his voice is so grating.” Another huff from Tairn has your eyes rolling.

“Wingleader,” you jump in your seat a little, shocked by Tairn addressing Xaden. “I think we should just be rid of him.”

“Mmhhmm, for once I agree with you.” “Now, now my mate, behave. We know he and his dragon are pompous but leave them be.” Sgaeyl chastised. Your heart skipped a beat. Not in a bad way, but in a good way. You had this full feeling in your chest. Like you were about to burst that the people your closest with were getting along.

Walking to dinner alone you hear Xaden in your head again. You pause for a moment at the intrusion and continue down the dimly lit stone hallway. “Are you heading to dinner?” “Yeah, are you there?”

Xaden steps in front of you from a shadowed alcove off the hall. You have to lean your head almost all the way back to see his face. He’s so gods damn tall and you love it. “Hey beautiful.” The corners of his full lips turning up, brushing lose hair behind your ear. Caressing your cheek, moving to hold your chin with his thumb and forefinger.

You smile up at him, fluttering your eyelashes. And out of nowhere you both burst out into a fit of laughter. You love Xaden’s laugh, it’s loud and untethered. Like he doesn’t have a care in the world for a moment. Grabbing on to each other for balance as you wipe at your eyes, calming down. Xaden pulls you into him kissing the crown of your head.

You start walking down the rest of the hall toward the dinning hall. You break the comfortable silence between you, “I had a good day today, thank you.” You feel Xaden stiffen next to you. “Why are you thanking me?”

“Because, you and Tairn, and Sgaeyl made today fun. I liked that all four of us were talking. It made me happy.” Outside of the large doors Xaden stops. You don’t notice until you were two steps ahead that he wasn’t with you.

Looking back at him, his face set in contemplation. You open your mouth to ask him what’s wrong when he says, “That makes me happy. All I want is for you to be happy. And I’m glad I could give you that today.” You close the distance between you, wrapping your arms around his middle and burying your head in his chest.

Xaden wraps an arm around your shoulder bringing his other hand up to cradle the back of your head, stroking your hair. You stay like that for a few more moments until footsteps and a scoff interrupt. You both look to the source of negativity and see Dain. “Get a room.” Disgust at your affection is clear in his voice. He walks in the dinning hall as you and Xaden look at each other and laugh.

tags: @nyotamalfoy @auggiesolovey @bubybubsters @baybay123455 @msiecrane

[angstywaifu]

You Think I Wanted This? Dain Aetos x Reader

Prompt - “You think I of all people wanted to fall in love with you?” by @fw-gt

A/N: For a prompt for a character I never thought I would write, I am honestly really happy with this. So I hope all you Dain girls like this. Pre Warning though, there is no happy ending. This is just Dain angst. So enjoy if thats you thing? As always requests are open if you want to suggest anything.

Masterlist

It was so hard to keep my focus on Devera and Markham who were talking about one of the current issues on our borders. I could feel his eyes on me and the bruise and cut on my eye. My squad had come back from our RSC interrogation training late last night. We had been told to let our injuries heal naturally if they weren’t life threatening. So here I sat in battle brief, with my squad, with very visible and notable injuries.

Most of the other riders had ignored it after our arrival back at formation this morning. But not him. I had felt his eyes on me as soon as I had taken my place in the rotunda. Had felt them in the corridors as our squads crossed paths. And I knew if I looked to my right I would meet the sandy brown eyes of Dain who sat a few seats away with his squad mates. His squad had yet to be taken for interrogation training. But we had seen enough come and go to know what it entailed. Knew from the injuries the other second years had returned with what awaited us. And yet I had felt his eyes on me all morning. I knew I wasn’t the only one. A few rows behind me I knew my closest friends were watching him as well. Probably wondering why Dain was watching me like a hawk.

Dain and I had become friends somehow. Somehow he trusted me unlike the other marked ones. All the others he kept his distance from. Somehow that one challenge had changed everything. The challenge where we had gone all out as it was one of the last of the year. We had ended up sending each other the healers quadrant, both being deemed a stay over night. We had also been the only cadets there. The joys of giving each other concussions and a mender not being available to heal us fully till the next day.

With only each other for company, we had begrudgingly talked to each other. We had then stayed up till the early hours of the morning talking till a healer had told us off and demanded we get rest before being mended in the morning. From there it had spiralled. Late night sparring sessions, catching each other in the library while we studied. Keeping our new found friendship secret. Mainly for Dain’s sake than mine. I would definitely get a talking to from my friends, but Dain would have it far worse if his father found out he was friends with a marked one. A child of the rebellion.

But recently our friendship had changed. Something more teetering at the edges. Our library catch ups turned into study sessions in one of our rooms, our sparring sessions having a little extra tension when one of us managed to pin the other underneath us on the mat. I had started getting feelings for Dain. Very strong feelings for Dain. I would get jealous any time he doted after Violet, protecting her. But then my heart would do cartwheels whenever his eyes met mine. And my eyes would wander whenever I could see him during sparing and challenges. Admiring the way he handled himself, and honestly the view. Dain wasn’t as built with muscle as Xaden and Garrick were. But the amount he did have suited him perfectly.

I had fallen hard for Dain Aetos, as much as I had tried not to. I had fallen for someone that was considered my enemy. And I had to put a stop to it. Or at least get through the next year and a half where we would most likely get posted far away from each other and I would never see him again. Just another year and a half. In the distance the bell rings across the college, signalling the end of classes and the start of lunch. As I had been too out of it to unpack anything for the class I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed down the stairs. Away from Dain’s eyes. Very glad my spot in the room gave me a quicker escape than Dain who I had glimpsed fighting against the crowd to get to me.

I headed for my room, hoping Dain would head directly to the dining hall where most of the quadrant would go. Where I should be going seeing as I had slept through breakfast this morning. But clearly Dain knew me better than I thought. I had been so caught up in making it to my dorm room to change before challenges that I hadn’t heard the fast approaching steps. A yelp escaping my lips as a hand grabs my jacket sleeve and drags me behind a pillar. My eyes meeting the sandy brown eyes of Dain. His eyes are frantic as they take in my face properly. Focusing on the deep blues and purples around my eye, and the scar that extended from more fore head, narrowly missing my eye before ending halfway down my cheek.

”You should go see a healer.” He says as his eyes meet mine, his hand still grasping my jacket sleeve tightly.

”Not allowed to.” I say numbly as I cast my gaze away from his, feeling my cheeks starting to flush under his intense gaze.

I see his eyebrows furrow in annoyance, a slight tick in his jaw. “But you’re hurt. They can’t stop you. I’ll take you.” His hand releases my jacket as he goes to grab my hand.

I step backwards, his hand hanging in mid air where it went to grab mine. “I don’t need you to baby me like Violet. I’ll be fine.” I snap at him.

I hate myself as the words leave my mouth as he recoils. He had confided in me about his situation with Violet. From the kiss they had shared at Threshing, to the fights they’d had since she had arrived. He had confided in me about that, opened his heart to me and let me in. And I had just thrown it in his face. I knew he was just trying to help. But something in me had reared up at it. Telling me to shove it away. That I didn’t need his help. Didn’t need his pity. Didn’t want the help his name would bring if he took me over to the healers.

“I’m not trying to baby you. I know you’re different to Violet. But you’re hurt. You need healing.” He pleads to me as he steps towards me again.

”If I was out in the field I wouldn’t get healing. They’re just preparing us for when we leave.” I take a step back. I see the pain in his eyes as I step back, my words pushing him away. Maybe this was my way out. It pained me to do it, but I had to distance myself from him. Push the feelings I had away. I couldn’t be with someone like him. It would never work. Him the Colonels son, and me a marked one from the rebellion. A reminder of what happened. Our friendship would never leave this quadrant. “I don’t want your pity, and I don’t want healing the rest of my squad wont have available to them. I don’t want the privileges that come with your name.”

I go to push past him, my only avenue of escape. I had hoped my words would numb him. Stop any reaction he would have to me walking past him. But his hand reaches out and grasps my hand, spinning me around to him, his other hand cupping my cheek. His eyes go with with shock at the contact. I want to pull away, but its as if something is holding me there. Something willing me to not move. A connection. No. A presence? What was it. Whatever it is lets me go after a few seconds, Dain releasing his hold on me as he stumbles back. The shock still evident in his eyes. As if he has been told something he can’t quite believe.

”You love me.” He suddenly blurts out.

I stand there in shock as my own eyes go wide. How the hell did he know I had feelings for him? Wait. Did he say love? No. I just had strong feelings for him. Feelings I needed to get rid of. Feelings that shouldn’t exist. Feelings I was trying my best to get rid of by pushing him away. Feelings I had not told him about. But somehow he had know about them. Dain’s hand the had cupped my cheek still hovered in mid air as his eyes darted between it and me. Could Dain read my thoughts? It’s then I realise he has never told me his signet. That the patch on his uniform indicates classified. A mind reading signet that could only be activated by touch would definitely be one they would allow to stay. And one they would keep secret.

“No. No I don’t.” I tell him as I shake my head quickly.

”No you do. But you don’t want to.” He says with a sad tone to his voice as his eyes focus on me.

I swallow nervously as I stare back into his eyes. My suspicions confirmed. Dain could read thoughts at touch. And I had been practically screaming mine in my head as I had tried to push past him. I knew he hadn’t done it on purpose by the way he was reacting. But hard to ignore something when it is practically being yelled at you.

”You think I of all people wanted to fall in love with you? Gods I tried not to. I tried so hard.” I feel wetness on my cheek and realise I’ve started crying. “But I did. I fell so fucking hard for you it wasn’t funny. And I shouldn’t have. But here we are.”

”You make it sound like a bad thing.”

”Because it is Dain!” I yell, not caring who hears us now. “We shouldn’t even be friends. I should have ignored you that night in the healers quadrant. But I didn’t. I should have pushed you away when you sought me out after. But I didn’t. I didn’t because I didn’t want to push you away. But I should have. I should have ended this before I fell fucking fell for you.”

Dain just stares at me in shock. I swear I see some tears in his eyes as well. But unlike mine they dont stream down his face. He manages to keep his emotions in check.

”What if I fell for you to? What if I was dumb enough to fall for you to even though I knew I shouldn’t be?” He takes a step towards me.

I shake my head. “There is no what if, because even if you did Dain, nothing can come of it. This doesn’t end well for us in any scenario.”

He reaches out and takes my hand in his. He knows I will try to pull away as he links his fingers in mine and holds on tightly. “What if it did?” He asks softly, leaning down to rest his forehead on mine.

I close my eyes, not wanting to stare into his eyes that I know will have me succumbing to my emotions. I needed to push him away. I couldn’t let him in. I couldn’t go down this path. It only ended in heart break. It would not have a happy ending.

”We know it doesn’t Dain. Someone like you and someone like me don’t work together. We would constantly be hiding it. I don’t want that.” I say softly, still keeping my eyes closed.

I feel his breath across my face as he sighs. He knows I’m right. And I know he would constantly be torn between who he is, who his father is and me.

”We could just have this. Have us while we are here. Where we can hide it. Enjoy what time we have.” His voice pleads to me.

My breath comes out shaky. His grip on me tightening in response. “I can’t do that. I can’t do this knowing there’s an end date. I can’t Dain.”

I feel him nod. His movement causing mine to move with his. He knows I’m right. I open my eyes to see his sandy brown eyes already staring into mine. So much sadness in them. So much emotion in them. I know mine reflected the same. I wonder if he could sense my emotions with his signet, or if it was just past memories. Either way it didn’t matter. Everything was out in the open right now.

”Can I have one thing before you walk away? Before we go and pretend we don’t exist to each other any more?” He asks.

I nod at him, and in an instant his lips are on mine. I don’t even try to push him away. I let my emotions take over. Let my body do what I’ve wanted to do whenever he’s had me pinned underneath him on the training room mats. I grasp his jacket and pull him as close as I can as I deepen the kiss. His lips parting in response. His arms wrapping around me so tightly I don’t know where he ends and I start. The kiss is urgent and passionate, both of us knowing this will be the first and last time this happens. We pour all our emotions into it before shuffling feet has us breaking apart. No one could see us behind the pillar, but we couldn’t risk it. I can feel the tears threatening to flow again, so I push past Dain with ease this time as he lets me pass. Not daring to look back to see if he watches me go. But I know he does. I feel his eyes on my back like I had all day, but this time for a different reason.

[redheadloverr]

Relationship tropes w/ Genshin Boys

Dainsleif, Aether, Childe x gn!reader

idea inspired by miss.livai on tiktok!

content; fluff, angst, gore

A/N i wrote Dain and Aether’s parts months ago and just finished writing Childe’s today so I’m sorry if they seem less passionate!

Sun + moon

Dainsleif

“You are like the sun. You burn passionately, you shine brightly, you light peoples worlds up. I am the moon. I hide in darkness, I shine only on those who’ll allow me to. We are so vastly different, yet so alike.”

You met Dainsleif through the traveler, Dainsleif came off as cold hearted, he looked as if he were annoyed 24/7. However, the more you two adventured, the more he opened up. You came to realize he wasn’t as cold and mean as he seemed.

You two were like complete opposites though, he was closed off, cold, you were bright, open to everyone. You let everyone in, he was reserved. From an outsiders point of view, you two were total opposites.

You knew the truth, however. He was a softie, he cared for others so much, he observed people every chance he’d get. You were no different. The only difference is that you’d actually talk to said people, Dainsleif was always too afraid to talk to others. Dainsleif knew others looked at him weirdly so he never approached them.

You were different though, he felt safe with you. You were one of the few people he let in. You two grew close quickly, he didn’t understand his feelings but you did. You knew you liked him from the minute you saw him, he liked you from day one as well but he never knew. He never had such strong feelings before, he didn’t understand why he was so overprotective of you and not others like the traveler.

He told you about these feelings he had hoping you’d help him understand why he was acting this way and you just blushed. You couldn’t believe what he was saying, he liked you… the same way you liked him. You told Dainsleif what these romantic feelings were, he didn’t deny it. “Maybe I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you allow me to?”

His eagerness and willingness to want to be with you forever made you blush a bright pink. secretly, he loved seeing you be a blushing mess. you would shove your face into your hands or occasionally, which is his absolute favorite, you would shove your face into his chest. he loved being with you and seeing expressions only he could see. 

though you two liked each other the same way, you didn’t start dating immediately. You two took a bit more time to get to know each other aka Dain wanted to ask you out properly. It didnt take long though, took about two weeks.

You guys have been inseparable since, you two were always seen together and when you two weren’t, people questioned where the other was. You were his sunshine and he was your moonlight. You two shined together, without the other you wouldn’t shine as brightly in your own ways. That’s what everyone loves about you two.

BLOOD, ANGST, DEATH WARNING!

Lovers to enemies

Aether

You met Aether through the adventures guild, you were commissioned with him to show him into one of the caves he offered to help clear out. You were strong but he still wanted to make sure you were safe so he protected you.

You two were commissioned together a lot more often and became really good friends. Though he traveled all throughout tyvet, he always came back to mondstadt to see you and catch up with you. “You’ve gotten so much stronger since the last time we talked, Y/N!”

Soon, he changed. He started coming around less often, started ignoring your text and calls, you even asked around and people said he started looking grumpy. You went as far as to go to inazuma to see him.

When you got to inazuma, you saw him with other people such as Ayaka, Yoimiya, Ayato, Thoma, and Sayu. A part of you felt, jealous. You two weren’t exclusive but you thought he liked you. You watched them for a bit before his friends signaled to him saying someone was watching all of them, he turned around to see you, you couldn’t hide around the corner in time. He excused himself from them and went to you.

“What are you doing in inazuma, Y/N?” he didn’t even look happy to see you. it hurt. “I got worried so I came looking for you.” you said softly, waiting for him to tell you to return to mondstadt. he smiled and chuckled instead. “Sorry i haven’t been back in a while, i’ve been working for the Raiden Shogun for a bit here. I’m so glad you came, though it was most likely dangerous, I’m glad to see you here!” he gave you another smile. it looked so genuine. you couldn’t help but smile back.

He introduced you to his friends as his partner. HIS PARTNER! One of his friends looked disappointed, like she was saying “oh.. so you do have a partner..” But you were just over the moon hearing him call you his partner. Later on, you asked him about it. “Ah sorry, I guess I forgot to confess my love towards you when we talked earlier. I love you, Y/N, please go out with me!” he said it so calmly but you knew his heart was beating really fast. “Of course silly! I’d be honored to be your partner!”

You stayed in Inazuma for another week before returning, Aether escorted you and spent two days with you in your home. You knew he had to go back soon, though. It broke you, you felt like you just got him back and he was leaving already. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, I love you, I’ll text you every moment I get my love.” He kissed you both on your lips and forehead, and then went off. You both looked so sad without each other, or so that’s what everyone saw.

Soon though, things changed. Aether was good about texted you or letting you know before hand if he was gonna be busy. It stopped one day. You went back to the whole spamming him and asking if he was alright. No response from him. Spam calls, text, you even went as far as to call the adventures guild in inazuma to hear updates about him. You stopped one day, the day you realized it was over. You didn’t want to admit it because aether was so good to you before he left you again. There was no point, you were done, he was done, why drag it on?

“Aether, I don’t know what’s going on with you but i’m sorry. I cant do this anymore. You never return my calls, You never respond to my text. I don’t know why, but I’m tired of waiting for the answer. If you’re back in mondstadt, we can talk about it. Until then, I guess this is goodbye. Thank you for everything, I’ll always love you.” You sent the message with tears in your eyes and you deleted his number.

No response. Neither a phone call or text. “So it is over, huh.” Just as you said that, your door bell rang. You weren’t expecting anyone, who could it be. “Coming!” You open the door and your heart dropped. It was Aether, he… came back for you? No, stop it. He didn’t reply for a reason. It was over, Don’t go back to it.

“Im sorry.” Was his first words. He didn’t look at you the entire time though, he just looked at the ground. “I know I messed up, I’m not begging for you back either. I don’t think i’m good enough for that. I just hope you know I genuinely did love you and I still do. I hope you find someone who treats you the way you deserve to be treated.” And he left. He didn’t even let you reply. He just… left.

You stopped thinking about him, and then… a commission. “In Inazuma some chaos has occurred and apparently it’s Aether. Go check it out please, i’ve sent everyone else over there too. Now go.” You’ve never ran faster to your horse.

True enough, it was Aether. He wasn’t himself. he was… evil. What the hell happened to him. “We have to kill him before he kills everyone in Inazuma!” Someone screamed and everyone seemed to agree. You couldn’t breathe. Kill… Aether? how did it get like this… why did it get like this. Before you could think, he took off. Everyone ran after him trying to kill him. You stayed there shocked. Soon enough, you dragged yourself along with the crowd. One by one they fell. Every single one. Until it was you.

“Ah, if it isn’t the love of my life!” His voice was so… evil. It wasn’t Aether. “Why… what happened… why did you leave me. WHY DID THIS HAPPEN AETHER?” you screamed. he laughed. all he did was laugh. Tears fell down your cheeks. “It’s pointless, hun. You’ll die to me, You’re nowhere near as strong as me anymore!” “Kill me then.” He snapped out of it for a second. “Kill… You?” he asked quietly. “Kill me. Do it. End me. I don’t want to live knowing I let this happen to you. I don’t want to live knowing I can’t save you anymore.” He got.. mad. He rushed at you, slammed you by your throat to a wall behind you.

You coughed but you didn’t wanna seem weak. Suddenly, he snapped. He let go of your throat and put his hand in his hair, almost ripping it out. “Run, Y/N! I don’t want to hurt you.. please… you’re the only thing i’ve ever loved… RUN.” But you didn’t. You stayed. You hugged him. You cried. “I cant. I’m sorry Aether. Just kill me. Please. I don’t want to live without you. Please.. KILL ME ALREADY!” You screamed. Suddenly, you lost your breathe. “I’m so sorry Y/N. I’ll always love you. I’m sorry it has to end like this. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry I-“ he started but you replaced his words with a kiss. A deep and lovingly kiss. It reminded you of how much you loved him and reminded you you wouldn’t be able to live without him. You bleed out in his arms. The more blood, the more you started collapsing and falling onto him. Your last moments alive, he was repeating how sorry he was, he told you he’d see you soon, he said he’d treat you better in the after life. all you could do was just kiss him and wipe his tears away. “I love you.” You said as you closed your eyes and died in his arms.

Right person, wrong situation

Childe

You two were destined to destroy from the minute you two met. You two were chaotic and would give the traveler a headache anytime the two of you were commissioned with them. You two soon became the bestest of friends. The two of you were never meant to meet, you met by total coincidence, but it was the best mistake to have ever happened to the two of you. You gave him chaotic ideas to fuel his ever chaotic personality. You were more than happy being his partner in crime, being able to inspire him to be his inner chaotic self. A part of you was happy to be able to see a side of him no one else really saw, but soon it made you feel a weird way.

Tartaglia would give everyone the cold sholder and a death glare but you, he looked at you the same way he’d look at his siblings. It felt nice, it was warm, you felt special. You soon became doubtful, however, you werent sure if he did this on purpose or not, you were scared what made you feel so special meant nothing to him. You weren’t sure how he felt, but if he hadn’t felt the same way you have started to feel for him, you don’t know what you’d do. He never gave you any signs of wanting romance in his life, you didn’t even know if he was single or not. You hadn’t known anything when it came to romance and him. It made you wonder a bit.

“Childe, can I ask you a question?” “Shoot.” You two were sitting on the top of a hill in Liyue, you haven’t spoken to him in a month due to him being out working for the fatui. You had to get it out of him tonight, you had to ask if he felt the same way you did. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I like you, Ajax. I don’t know how you feel about me but I just wanted you to know how I felt before you left for another commission out of Liyue.” You turned to look at him with a smile. “Y/N….” “It’s okay, I understand if you don’t feel the same way-“ “It’s not that. I do like you, I just don’t want to put your life in danger. My work is very dangerous and you… I don’t want anything to happen to you. I want to keep you safe.” “I know how to defend myself, Ajax. You don’t have to worry about me, I promise.” He was still worried and you knew he was, but he couldn’t help but smile. “Then, will you be my partner, Y/N?” “I thought you’d never ask.”

Ajax had another commission out of Liyue not long after you two started dating, it had barely been a week since he left and you already missed him. You’d usually sit on the same hill you confessed to him 2 or 3 nights a week, it was like your comfort place. Today was no different than those other days, you’d take your headphones and listen to music as you’d watch over the city of Liyue. You didn’t know when Ajax would be back but you couldn’t wait to be with him again. Suddenly, you felt a tap on your shoulder and when you turned around- “AJAX!” “Hi there lovely” you quickly got up to hug him, “I missed you, welcome back!” “I missed you too, I’m so glad to be back.” He kissed you, a genuine, loving, kiss.

Ajax didn’t go on commissions out of Liyue for a bit after that and it was wonderful. Having him around even if it was just at night meant the world to you. You two often spent your afternoons watching tv and cuddling up at home together. On weekends, you two would go visit his family every 2-3 months. Everything was going perfectly, he spoiled you like crazy and showed you off to everyone. He would sometimes slip and eve be call you his soon to be spouse. You thought everything was going perfectly, you two seemed so in love, you two were in love.

Like most lovely things, it came to an end. Ajax got commissioned out of Liyue more and more frequently and even with all the effort you put in, it wasn’t enough. You couldn’t get ahold of Ajax, you had no other option but to go find him. You knew it was dangerous, you vaguely knew the area he was commissioned to be in and you left not thinking clearly how badly it was going to be. You looked and looked for him, you couldn’t go back now, you were too far from home. There was no going back and you knew it, you had to figure out where Ajax has been one way or another. And soon enough you found your answer.

Ajax had gone completely insane, he went on a killing spree. This wasn’t the Ajax you knew, the Ajax you loved. Ajax was too far gone, you couldn’t recognize him and you doubt he could recognize himself. Even if you tried stopping him, he wouldn’t listen to you, you’d just end up being a sacrifice. At times like these, you wished he would’ve never gotten involved with the fatui, you wished he wouldn’t have to be apart of them, you wished he had it easier. Without thinking, you went up to him. “STOP. What is going on, what are you doing?” “You shouldn’t be here, Y/N.” His voice was empty, hallow. “This is why I haven’t been able to get a hold of you? What happened to us. What happened to you.” “This isn’t the time, Y/N. Get out of here before I-“ “BEFORE YOU WHAT? YOU KILL ME? IS THAT WHAT? DO IT THEN! KILL M-“ without being able to finish your sentence, you felt a sharp pain in your chest. “I’m sorry, Y/N, I promise you I am. I didn’t want to do this, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Tears engulfed your eyes, the realization that your own lover just stabbed you started to set in. “Ajax…” you collapsed onto him bringing him down to the ground. Though he just stabbed you, he couldn’t let you fall to the floor like you were nothing.

as he starred into your teary eyes, he leaned over and kissed you. “I’m sorry it had to end this way…I love you.” Before dying, you saw him begin to cry. You held out your hand, it was too late. Your hand plopped onto his leg as you repeated back to him “I love you.”

after your death, Ajax was never able to find another lover. Your death left so much pain in his heart, he couldn’t find anyone to replace you. He didn’t want to replace you, he didn’t go a day without regretting his career choice. You both knew that this was bound to happen, you were waiting for the day to happen. He missed you everyday, he doesn’t live much longer after your death. He commits to the fatui until his final days. Even as he got stabbed and was left to bleed out, he felt so happy to be able to come back to you. He was so excited to be able to hold you again and not have to dread living without you. He couldn’t wait to die, he couldn’t wait to be free with you again.

[inavagrant-a]

@ @ @

@ghostlyanon

Ohohoho's to your hhehehe's awraxa.

@scarletooyoroi es next.

I actually know Jace from a distance from a while back ago! Back when I barely entered the Kingdom Hearts fandom, I knew of his Sora blog and I was a Roxas blog but I don't think we ever rp'd. It wasn't until my Cloud blog that I began to rp with him via his Sora blog! Jace is so fucking cool dude like, he's so damn chill and always has the coolest thread ideas, goes into it 100% and that just gets me hyped up. I honestly had no idea this was Jace until we followed each other and I was lIKE HEY HEY I REMEMBER YOU from a distance, could have just been me, I tend to remember lots of people I interact with here. I also figured out that he was also in the Naruto fandom once! I had no idea I never really ran into him there but that was cool cause I too dipped my feet there a bit. It's just amazing how you just run into people here honestly. Jace has always been a chill dude, always and like I said every time he rps he just does something that gets me so hyped up for it, I love reading his interactions and how he thinks about his characters. If you're not following him then you're really missing out honestly, give this guy some love, he's really cool and chill.

@reginrokkr es another.

If you aren't following Lyria you are doing yourself a disservice. Like holy shit this blog is so good, godly even, not just the rp content itself but the insight and thoughts on the game and on Dain himself, they are delicious meals every time. Lyria puts a lot of thought into their portrayal, using inspirations from that which inspires the game material itself to establish ground, I too find myself learning a lot of cool information through the posts they make in which they share their thoughts. Honestly, rp wise they too are goals, having threads that are like 50+ notes and still continuing that I read in silence to myself in the background and I'm just like hello?? Amazing, showstopping. Though I do my best to keep up with the game and keep tabs on the lore of it even I miss some things and get confused by other things and sometimes Lyria's breakdown posts about them and it helps me understand and see what I missed or what point went completely over my head. I've only gotten the chance to speak to them here and there but they've always been pleasant conversations. I've gotten the chance to rp with them too and I've had a blast interacting with them. Please do yourself a huge favor and follow them!

@dochttore ohohoho

Freaking Eddie, the Edster. Eddie is really quiet but they are very pleasant to chat with. They've always been considerate and I'm glad and count my blessings that they're someone I had gotten the chance to know. They are also a very amazing artist and I'm happy that every now and then I get to see their works in progress. Like I said before they are very quiet so most of the time I feel like I'm being too loud and annoying them by sending them messages on disc awraxa, but they're always really reassuring. I love the plots that we come up with and how open they are to exploring things because they also have some crazy ass ideas that very well match my own awraxa. So that makes me feel less crazy not gonna lie awraxa. Anyway, as a rper they are also great, their rp style is very easy to understand and to follow. I just love, like I can't express this enough, I love how Eddie's writing is always moving the scene forward, like there is always something left open on purpose for you to respond to. I can't say how frustrating it is sometimes when the scene just stays stagnant and it's something I really admire about the way they rp because it's something I want to get better at as well and I want to do all the time not just every now and then. I'm really thankful for their consideration for me and for sparing me some time off their busy life.

[arlecchno]

oh good lord , h i hope you know what youve gotten yourself into by asking for the fic … [insert evil laughter here] okay okay now actually , the fic series doesnt focus on serial killers it was just that one fic in the series , but the serial killer fic is Blind Mirror (linked) by StrangeDiamond on Ao3 !!!! i have the print copies of the series (behold my collection) i think i also have to mention that its not an xreader fic lol

songs of resistance isnt part of the series but yaknow whatever . the ragnvindr brothers are a passion of mine and theyre my favorites i love them so much SHIDJSKDKD AND WHILE WERE ON THE TOPIC OF FIC RECS if you just so happen to have my horrid taste in men (/hj ?????) and like alhaitham , heres another one of my absolute favorite fics , i just call it Summers Fic (i hope these links are working properly lmao) and its got our favorites !!! murder / crimes , slowburn , (kinda) enemies to lovers (i fucking love the banter the author writes between mc and haitham) , + forensics stuff !! which is totally my jam because im a stupid little science gremlin .

you saying my board looks cool is so funny to me because like its a literal stock image , and while i couldve gone without it , low quality stock images just make me giggle for no reason so .. its also a little surprising you think its detailed because when i was making it i felt like i had to condense so much information for textbox space😭😭

i actually do a handful of things in the arts department , ive written my own little short stories and poems , and every once in a blue moon (when i have enough motivation) i make games ! granted theyre not very good , because im pretty sure im jackshit at characterization LOL heres a silly authors note i put in one of my short story docs just cuz why not honestly

also , YES I AM A DAIN LOVER IM ACTUALLY HIS BOYFRIEND (REAL) /j . all the khaenriah boys in general are my little sillies (i say as if they arent older than me) SO IF YOU NEED SOMEONE TO TALK ABOUT DAIN WITH MY MESSAGES ARE OPEN (and i am more than willing to spout theorist nonsense about him and the other khaenriahn boys as well)

also you absolutely do not have to worry about your wording of anything , none of it came off negatively at all ! i think youre very nice lmao

heres a little question to end off because im running out of creative ways to signoff , do you kin anyone from genshin ?

hoping the images dont glitch out ,

- jellyfish

OHHH WAIT i think i've heard of that kaeya and diluc novel thingy??? i'm pretty sure i've seen them around twitter or tiktok some time ago and omg i should check them out then!!! those covers look so good maybe i'll actually get around with the whole series now that you've mentioned it

and omg that summers fic you just linked is already so amazing. you've captured my taste in genshin men perfectly (i say as i drool over alhaitham). i just finished with the first chapter and the author have really captured my heart with the bits of forensics and crime, adding on with the tinge of arab culture too!!! i'm gonna go ahead and read them when i have the time hehe

you do short stories... poems... AND GAMES???? hello am i seeing this right

(p/s: i low-key do those kinds of a/n in my google docs draft for ma too... but they just never made it to the finalized version 😔)

and actually dain is in bed with me rn idk what you're talking about 🙄🙄🙄 /j

me personally i am very interested in khaenriah lore but i really haven't gotten to it (tbh the overall lore of the game is a lot to take in) but i probably will someday,, if i am not lazy /hj

and honestly... i don't exactly know who i kin in genshin tbh. so i have decided to take this VERY extensive genshin kin quiz (as per what they've named their site) and surprisingly i got... collei?

though when i read this, it made me realize that, maybe i do kin her. whoops

okay i'm heading to bed now it's 1 am and i'm busy tomorrow 😔 it was nice talking with you again jellyfish !!! have a nice day 🫶

[thepiinkpages]

It's been 3 months since I've read a 5 star book and this book takes all the fucking cake. Fantastic, give me more. NOW.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

GENRE: Romantasy, Dragons, Magic, Fiction

This book is a once an a lifetime read I TELL YA. Its amazing. I was hitting the book, screaming at the book, crying on the side as I clutched the book. It left me gobsmacked and the ML, Xaden, has been put in my top book man list which is a tough list to get into.

This review will contain spoilers. BEWARE ye who enter here.

First of I want to say if I had a mother like Violet's, I would've taken my chances with the dragon and called it a day. Second of all, how can a man be so wrong but so right. That is the definition of Xaden Riorson. He's dangerous, secretive, protective...everything you would ever want in a man *insert sobbing face here* He just so hot it physically hurt me. Violet is such a lucky girl to have someone love her as much as Xaden does.

On that note. There is more than one character I would've thrown to the wolves (dragons) but the one I loathed the most was Dian. That fucker should've died instead of Liam. From the beginning, I hated him more than any character i've read about before. And Violet at the time was so stupid for believing him, it made me want to throw my book at the wall but I love my books too much so I didn't. He is the bain of my existence and if Dain has no more haters, just know I am dead. He's like Tamlin to me except I enjoyed Tamlin in the first book and I hated Dain since the moment he opened his stupid mouth. All of my negative highlights were just Dain talking. He needs to shut his mouth.

Liam did not deserve to die. It was such a hard death for me, I had to freeze as I listened to my audiobook while I cooked. It makes me so sad that someone of his potential had to die but he died doing what Xaden told him to do which was to protect Violet. I'm devastated, really. It's engraved in my head that he gave her a wood carving of Tarin. I will randomly think about it from time to time. He was an experience.

And let me just say this, Xaden was going crazy when she got hurt. Like he didn't eat or sleep, he just watched her breath to make sure she was still alive. MY HEART STRINGS ARE IN FACT TUGGED.

One thing that I found continually hilarious was her saying fuck that. It was like her catch phrase or something.

The ending though. It shook me to my fucking core. What do you mean Brennan is still alive and helping the rebellion? WHAT DO YOU MEAN KIND SIR. IM SHOOK.

This book as the perfect ratio of smut to plot. It reminds me of how A Court of Thorns and Roses was but less smut and more death. I thoroughly enjoyed it. You know a book is good when you remember all of the characters names without highlighting them or writing them down.

Here are some ravishing quotes:

"...I'm so wildly in love with you that I can't imagine what my life would even look like without you in it.."

"...Your all cowards..."

"...And how exactly would you be reviewing candidates? What will you be scoring?...You could just watch. Just be sure she's fully covered. You know so no one sticks it to her....I'm just saying that since you're protected at night now-..." I highlighted what parts are different characters in this quote

"...I've been yours for longer than you could ever imagine..."

This book changed my life. In a way it reminds me of Game of Thrones but I know it's just because of the huge dangerous human squashing dragons. It is appropriately hyped. READ THIS BOOK.

[glazelilyy]

in your arms

request from anon - "Can i request cuddling hcs for Kaeya? If its possible as some sort of aftercare but if not then just general is alright too (＾∇＾)ﾉ♪"

a/n - hi hi anon! i decided to stick with just general for this since it could probably be applied in an aftercare sense as well based on your interpretation :) i threw xiao, scara, and dain in here for the heck of it too (first time writing for dain and scara so i hope it went well eeee). i hope you enjoy because i enjoyed writing this!! (reposting this bc i was a big dum dum and made it not show up in the tags)

pairings (separately) - kaeya alberich, xiao, scaramouche, dainsleif x gender neutral reader

word count - 2751

genre - fluff

format - headcanons + blurbs

warnings - skinship

summary - cuddling headcanons for my fav cavalry captain, an emo adeptus, my fav harbinger, and dain my beloved <3

content under the cut!

oooo one big cuddle bug

but it’s not like that at first

i’ve said this before but a lot of what kaeya does is cold and calculated

he’s not necessarily a cold person, rather it’s that he knows how to extract exactly what he wants out of someone

and to do that, he’s gotta perfect every single move he makes, every syllable and tone that comes out of his mouth, and every glint in his eye

so at first, his moves are calculated in a way that he knows will have you swooning

it’s not until you allow him to lay his head on your chest and wrap your arms around his shoulders that he realizes what he’s been missing out on

you may need to remind him that you ask nothing of him, no secret information or critical knowledge for him to drag out from you, that all you ask for is his unwavering love

there’s no need for him to think critically about which of his movements would be most beneficial, all he has to do his open his arms and allow you to embrace him

and it’ll take him a while to realize that, but once he does you might never leave his arms again

going back to the beginning: one BIIIIIG cuddle bug

practically never leaves your side and will always indulge you if you want hugs

loves to hug you from behind and walk around like that

many times you’ve shown up to your commissions with the love-sick cavalry captain stuck onto your back with his hands around your waist

in the comforts of your home, kaeya adores when you sit on his lap and rest your ear above his heart

reversely: he loves listening to your heartbeat, it sounds like pure, sweet music to his ears

peppers your face with kisses while you cuddle, any skin that’s available will be skin that his lips have had contact with (though he favors your neck, nose, and [obviously] lips the most)

he absolutely cannot sleep if you aren’t tucked away in his arms safe from the world in his embrace

on days when rain pours from the heavens or snow decides to grace the lands, he’ll dig around for his largest, softest, and warmest duvet, beckon you close and sit in front of the fireplace with you snug in his lap with his arms around your waist while the two of you laugh over fond memories and kaeya’s ridiculous ghost stories

his body is slightly cold, but he warms up after you spend a bit of time in his arms

when things get hard, too hard for kaeya to handle, he’ll seek out your warmth and cling to your shirt like his life depends on his

usually kaeya is the one holding you, but on days where he struggles with himself, he burrows deepers into your arms and listens to the steady beat of your heart to ground himself back in reality

kaeya loves to hold your face in his hands while you’re cuddling and tease you when you get embarrassed

but if you do the same to him, and call him “handsome” or “gorgeous”, congrats! you’re the first person to have him at a loss for words and a babbling, stuttering mess!

cuddling to kaeya is like a drug and he can’t get enough of it :)

“what...what did you say?”

you couldn’t stop the cheeky smile from spreading across your face even if you wanted to, “i said, you’re gorgeous, kaeya.”

you held his face like a gentle vase and brushed aside the stray locks that dangled in front of his visible, single, lilac eye. his usual constructed features had gone slack from shock you supposed, the usual neverending movements of his jaw had ceased in favor to hang loosely from his face. the soft pad of your thumb ran over his bottom lip as if to bring him back to reality.

“what’s wrong? cat got your tongue?” paired with a giggle, your voice seemed to permeate his dazed state. from your place on his lap, his sturdy arms drew you flush against his chest and held your head over his hammering heart.

“the things you do to me, doll...i hope you know you’re not leaving my arms.” a content sigh escaped your lips as you leaned in gratefully towards his gentle touch.

“that implies that i would ever want to leave.”

“well then, you’ll have to suffer the wrath of my terrible ghost stories in exchange for flustering me like that!”

you dramatically placed the back of your hand over your forehead and gasped, “oh my! so terrible, what a ludicrous punishment!”

his laugh rumbled heavily against your ear, “thank you.” he whispered against the searing skin of your exposed neck. you weren’t sure if you were meant to hear his strained murmur, but nevertheless you indulged him as he drew you even closer to his body and placed a frenzy of kisses all over your face in tune to your giggles.

it’ll take lots and lots and LOTS of convincing

for xiao to even be near you in an intimate matter

it’s not that he doesn’t want to, in fact there’s nothing more he’d like to do that be within your arms or have you within his own

the problem for him is that his fears of the karmic debt that run through his veins eat him up alive at the thought of harm befalling you because of it

your safety is his number one priority and he’s ever so fearful of jeopardizing it

however, you can convince him by wearing the protective adepti amulets he makes for you and cleansing yourself daily

then, and only then, might he let you hold him

the first time he takes you into his arms, it’s a revolutionary feeling

he’s committed so many atrocious acts in his mind, and something as simple as a hug baffles him beyond comprehension

it’s warm, fluffy, and nothing like the feel of his cool, steel spear in his hands that drips with blood

he likens it to his days of eating dreams or slipping almond tofu past his lips on clear, summer nights when the breeze was gentle and calm

did i say touch starved? yeah he’s touch starved

since his favorite relaxing spot his on the railing of wangshu inn, he prefers when he sits on the railing with you in front and his arms secure and tight around your body: both to prevent your fall and to be close to you

once he’s gotten a taste for holding you in his arms, xiao is nearly insatiable, though you might never know

everytime he sees you, he’s always itching to take you away and sit with you in his arms for hours, just letting your body mould to his

when you propose the idea of having him be the little spoon, he’s hesitant to be in such a vulnerable position

but one he tries it, he’s practically in heaven

never before has he felt this warm, protected, and loved

i can see xiao favoring being the one cuddled but not openly admit to it

you’ll definitely have to take matters into your own hands, and by “matters” i mean xiao himself

his favorite cuddling position is when your chin is planted firmly on his head and the palm of your hand strokes up and down his back

adepti don’t need sleep but it sends him right to dream land

his body is rigid and strong but he melts like putty in your arms

“long day?” the tip of your nose pokes over the creased edges of an old novel as you watch xiao part with the leather gloves on his hands.

“nothing for you to concern yourself with, mortal.” though his words were harsh, his voice was no softer than a pillow. you understood him better than anyone else.

“come here,” you set your book down and opened your arms from your seat on the bed, “you look exhausted. come recharge!”

at first he dismissed your teasing glint, but found himself in your arms within the minute, nose nuzzled snugly into the crook of your neck.

“doesn’t that feel better?” you cooed, tucking behind stray strands of his silky hair. he merely mumbled out a response, something along the lines of “be quiet human”, and heaved a soft breath onto your skin.

you knew he wasn’t going to be moving anytime soon.

scaramouche will flat out turn you down if you express your desire to cuddle at first

why? he hasn’t got time to waste on “stupid little acts of romance”

the most he does as a partner in the beginning is not yell at you, and sometimes pats your head (though it feels more condescending than it does endearing)

eventually, with enough patience, scaramouche will find himself unable to avoid the thought of having your body fitted against his

when he finally lets you indulge and snuggle into his arms, he’s at a loss for words

he goes rigid with uncomfortableness but soon embraces the unknown feeling of warmth from your cuddles and finds himself addicted

scaramouche will never outright ask for cuddles, but it’s not hard to tell when he wants some

he’ll stomp around the house and leave you to guess what’s got him in a foul mood

and about 80% of the time, he just needs cuddles

scaramouche isn’t exactly the gentle type

but he’s found with cuddling that there’s no need for brute force or passion

all he needs is you and his arms and he’s more than satisfied

of course, he’d adamantly refuse to let you be the big spoon

HE’S gonna be the big spoon cause he said so

childe and la signora often make fun of him when they catch you snuggled up in his lap in his office

he says he doesn’t care but after your cuddle session you can spot him from the window of his office chasing the “two idiots” (as he affectionately calls them) down with a hardcover book in his hand

prefers to cuddle with you away from everyone’s prying eyes

any acts of intimacy or romance (the very few he does) are always behind closed doors

1: because scaramouche would never be caught dead being emotionally vulnerable at all

2: he’d rather not give his enemies a target

all in all, he’s a bit rough around the edges but loves to have you in his arms

“scara?” your voice timidly called from where you sat perched by a bookshelf in his office.

“what do you want? i’m busy.” he grunted, eyes still trained on the documents in front of his cherry wood desk.

“you’re making that face again.” you hummed, rising from your seat with a sly glint in your eyes.

“what face, you brat?”

you stood beside his desk chair and slipped your palms over his cheeks, tilting his head upwards so his narrowed eyes were fixated on you.

“the face you make when you need cuddles!” you teased and plopped down onto his lap facing him. scaramouche didn’t seem pleased at first judging by the menacing look on his face, but as soon as you dipped your face into the crook of his neck, he let out a withheld breath and snaked his strong arms around your waist. his eyes closed in sheer bliss, relishing in the warmth you provided.

“you’re lucky i’m in a good mood, dummy.” he muttered against your shoulder.

“mhm…” you drowsily replied.

he wasn’t sure how long you spent tangled in his arms, but he felt himself getting closer and closer to joining you in slumber. just as he began to drift off, the door to his vast office swung open.

“hey scarabear! what’s kickin’-!” childe sauntered in with a cheeky smile, la signora not far behind.

childe cut himself off when the tangled mess of limbs between you and scaramouche caught his eyes. his cheeky grin morphed into a malicious smile lined with a teasing string. “oho? i didn’t take you for such a cuddle bug~” he crooned just as la signora strolled in.

she snorted seeing the ever so feared 6th harbinger glued to his beloved like a pair of clingy koalas. “aw they’re a bit cute- look at his cheeks! i’ve never seen him so red!” she cackled, nudging childe in the ribs with her elbow.

scaramouche sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, careful not to stir you who had already drifted off. “get out of my office you absolute nuisances! if you monkeys are any louder you’ll wake them.” he hissed between his teeth, gesturing down with vigor to your sleeping figure.

somehow he managed to wrangle those two idiots out of his office and returned his face to the crook of your neck and his arms around your back, where he began to join you in dream land.

he’d be sure to have childe and la signora pay for their transgressions, but for now he’ll indulge in your warmth for just a minute longer.

dainsleif is a bit of an enigma

he’s got no real sense of human skinship and can’t remember the last time he’d ever indulged in cuddles

realistically, he’d see use in it for staying warm in cold environments

but as something that derives more pleasure than practicality, it’s got him confused

it’s not until you wrap your arms around his torso and press a kiss under his jaw that he melts and succumbs to the warmth of cuddles

he’s not sure where to put his hands or whether or not to sit or stand at first

you would have to guide him and reassure him that he’s doing a good job

for someone so solemn, he may need a bit of encouragement to know that it’s alright for him to not know how this stuff works

one he figures it out, cuddling becomes like a lifeline to him

very polite about it too! he’ll always ask for permission to hold you and, honestly, when are you ever gonna say no to him??

his favorite cuddling position is having you sit in his lap, chest to chest so he can hold your face and press kisses on your forehead uninterrupted

if you cup his face he’ll absolutely melt and be putty in your hands, he almost won’t know what to do because such simple, sweet actions have such a strong effect on him

he’s a modest, straightforward man but will occasionally sneak one or two passionate kisses in between your cuddling sessions

a wrist kisser!! he likes holding your hand over his heart and the other one slung over your back to support you

dainsleif wouldn’t admit it first but when he first tried being the little spoon, he nearly cried

for someone to be able to hold him as if he were fine china or so delicate that he would break with the wrong movements struck a chord within his heart

for so long he’s been alone and destined to pursue what seems like a neverending goal

but within your arms is a paradise unlike any other, and whether you want to hold him or be held yourself, he’ll always indulge you

chest to chest, his warmth cloaked your entire body and you fed off of his woodsy scent that came in bunches whenever you deeply inhaled into the soft fabric of his shirt. his large palm cradled your body like fragile porcelain.

he’d been a bit shy at first but the more he indulged, the bolder he got. you found it quite funny seeing how he had come from being shy and blushy when you first hugged him to now merging your lips against his in a passionate kiss.

he broke away with a gentle tug of your bottom lip and rose your wrist to his reddened lips, pressing kiss after kiss to the delicate skin.

“this is nice…” he mused into your scalp, his other arm coming to wrap around your body.

“i’m glad you’re indulging, dain,” you murmured as your hands came up to cup his face and captured his lips in a brief, chaste kiss, “you deserve it.”

for once the stinging coldness of loneliness didn’t greet him when he opened his eyes, instead he found himself staring back at your glassy irises and meeting your lips in another kiss that would leave him breathless hours later.

date published: july 15th, 2021

[writing-for-me-at-this-point]

I’m Not Letting You Go | Genshin Impact | Dainsleif

A.N. im back :) and now im rewriting a scene from outlander instead of focusing on finals because im tired. hope yall enjoy. this is... really rough. i havent written anything in a good while so be honest in the comments

Word Count. 1747 words

Page Count. 5 pages

Description. After leaving Teyvat for only a few years, you return to your husband, finding over 500 years have past- and your home has fallen into ruin. Many things change as time goes on, and some of these changes can cause us to fall, and become overwhelmed when thrown into the fray. 

Reader. fem!reader, afab!reader in mind when writing

Warnings. yandere-ish themes, mentions of pregnancy 

        But now? You don't think home was in Teyvat. It wasn't with Dain. Not when everything had changed, even if he hadn't, too much had molded your place in the world into a lost memory, lost to 500 years of time. Of the shattering of a Kingdom, the corruption of its people, and the fight to live from its survivors. You barely care for the creak of the heavy door, opening and closing, smooth yet uncertain footsteps make their way near the bed.

        The blind noise of laughter and dinning was minimal in the scene you were captivated in. Women and men together in the first floor of the sizable Inn, uncaring of the crisis your mind and heart were going through, your room being one of the many meant to be spent in with a partner. The oak wood of your room was dark, contrasting heavily with the soft candlelight, the fireplace from across the bed creating most of your ability to see. Rushing between one end of the room to another, you just needed to leave, your mind racing with everything and nothing at all. You were coming back, back home, back to him-

        "Let me explain, Starlight."

         "It's a little late for that." You huffed, throwing your clothes into a bag, some matching the land of Teyvat, others matching your own modern time. With hair a mess, unkept and in no particular style, the natural flow was interrupted with your erratic movements. The fire that warmed the room was the loudest thing at the moment, other than the rush of your blood deafening your ears to the worried huff Dain let out, a poor attempt to calm himself. His cape was thrown on the bed from earlier in the day, with the rest of his uniform, leaving him in nothing up his black shirt and pants. He feels exposed, unworthy, unable to keep himself together in this moment. Everything was moving too quickly. 

        "I didn't live with her. This was before Khaenri'ah, before it fell, for her safety. Nothing happened." He starts, with hesitant steps, moving towards you as you continued to stuff the bag with everything that came to your mind.

        "It... was a great mistake. The marriage. Between Lumine and I." His voice is steady, calm, wanting to make things right.

        "With a child? A bit late, don't you think?" You're huffing, rolling your socks into your feet before moving to fin your boots, thrown somewhere from your earlier excitement to be with Dain. Your thoughts weren't in the right place, only half listening to him, the other half telling you to leave, the thought of him leaving you for someone else left you damaged you never thought was possible- and your sense and logic were paying for it especially with all the emotion that overtook you at the moment.

        "Child? You mean Klee? She's not mine, I'm not her father." 

        "Really?" Exhaustion came from your voice, the tears from the news of his second marriage, and to Lumine of all people. "The little girl with the blonde hair?" Dainsleif chuckles to himself, mainly from disbelief, before going to his usual tone.

        "Well there's other blonde haired men in Mondstadt, Starlight." He reasons, and the nickname he's chosen for you slips off his tongue so naturally, like breathing air or letting the comfort of sleep overwhelm you- the name he's given you ever since you fell into his life half a millennia ago, giving light like no other. The light that not even stars could compare to. You saw it before you had left, so why couldn't you see it now? His love for you was undying, never lessening in all your time apart, but you simply ignored him as you picked up your shirts and dress. You continued on your desire to run. 

        To run from him. It pained his heart, and his mood molded into something slightly panicked, wanting you to just stop trying to leave. He couldn't handle anymore time apart. Especially from a misunderstanding. One that meant nothing to him when compared to the prospect that is you. 

        "Please- it was only for a short time. Before Khaenri'ah fell and the monarchs demanded she'd be wed into close rank, especially after they suspected her ties to Celestia. It was before the war, and we've been at odds since the Abyss came to be, Hell, I didn't even sleep in the same room as her." He voiced his panic, a hand reaching forward in some sense to soothe, for you or him he wasn't quite sure.

        "And that makes this alright? Huh?" You paused to look at Dain, the shock in his face was evident of your distress, your belongings piled in your arms as your own pain shone through the dark. His heart fell at the sight, wanting to rid you of the distress immediately, but he knew it wouldn't be easy. The situation he was in after you had left Teyvat wasn't any easier either. This world was much different from yours, and with his kinder heart at the time, he didn't wish for even Lumine to be condemned. Teyvat was in harsher times, ancient and less accepting.

        "It's Lumine. She tried to have me killed!" Dainsleif rattled your words, before moving back to your bag, Dain following you closely. Your breathing is heavy, unable to look at him in the moment.

        "You're the one that told me to be kind to her." The shock made you stop, his confusion only made your anger rise, eyes wide and looking him up and down.

        "I said to thank her. Not marry her." You continued to your bag, Dainsleifs figure stepping into your way, his hands gripping at your arms to keep you in place.

        "You're not going anywhere." He's firm, unyielding. His eyes are narrowed, dangerous, daring you to stand against him and his need for you.

        "You're not stopping me... you lied to me. You said you never loved anyone else." You started strong, only to slowly break. The tears started to spill ever so slowly, the weakness in your voice made his knees nearly give out, to simply fall to the ground and hold onto you. To beg you to stay, keeping your being with him, the embodiment of his sanity.

        "I did not fall in love." He softened at your pain, his grip easing immediately.

        "You told me about Kaeya, why couldn't you tell me about this?" Dain fell silent, his jaw clenching, brows furrowed in thought for a clear second. His mask was nowhere to be seen on his face, allowing corruption to pulse in the poorly lit room, the light only shared between the two of you.

        "Why."

        "Why? Because, I am a coward. That's why." He slowly stepped away, unable to face you.

        "I couldn't tell you in fear of losing you. And... I couldn't bare the thought of losing you again." His voice became harsh, in a whisper that feared becoming too loud.

        "I wanted you so bad nothing else mattered. I would sacrifice Hell on Earth, our family, life itself to see you again- to lay with you again. Even though you left me!" Dains voice started quiet and strong, building in temperament and volume as he continued.

        "Left you? Left you! You forced me to go back! I would have died, gladly, in the fall with you... and now you want to blame me for that?" Your tears fell freely now, unable to mask the pain, the items in your hands falling to the ground immediately.

        "I'd never blame you for that. You had to go, for Freyja and Odinns sake, I can't regret that." He shot back, not wanting you to feel as if leaving was your fault. The back and forth between the both of you left you tired, whiplash taking its affect on your mind, the emotions just kept rushing up no matter how hard you attempted to contain yourself.

        "But you blame me for coming back?" You cried, taking a step back from Dain.

        "No... yes... no." His voice and mind shook, unable to comprehend what even he wanted to say, hands moving as he spoke, his mannerisms becoming less refined and more emotional- something he hadn't been able to be in such a long time. 

        "Gods no. Do you know what it's like to live 500 years without your heart? To live half a man and accustom yourself to the bit that's left?" He starts off, heart bleeding for you.

        "Do I know? Do I know? Yes! I do know how that feels, yes, you bastard I know! Or did you think that I went back to Morax and lived happily ever after?"

        "Sometimes I hoped you did." A growl slips through his throat, warning, touching an anger held deep and locked away for years on end. His chest was heaving, shoulders tense, as if he was holding himself back from screaming.

        "But sometimes... I could see it. Lying with you day and night, taking your body, holding my bairns?! Gods, I could kill you for it!" He's nearly snarling at this point, his entire body moving as he took steps forward. 

        "Well I don't have to imagine Lumine!" You shot back.

        "Lumine?!" He yells, turning to throw the small table near him to the wall, cursing loudly before going back to you just as quickly.

        "I don't care about Lumine! I never have!"

        "Oh? So you marry a woman you don't even want and just discard her the second you're done with her?!" 

        "Well, I'm damned one way or the other! If I felt anything for her I'm a faithless fuck of a husband and I didn't I'm a heartless beast!"

        "Well you should have told me." You finished, turning to walk away before he grabbed you by the arm, pulling you in close to meet face to face once again.

        "And if I had you would have turned on your heel and left without a word, but having seen you again? I would do far worse than lie to keep you." He said in a low voice, eyes digging into your own, but your own anger started to leak through the sadness that had overtaken you. The silence was deafening, and your glare was blank compared to his sharp one. It was detachment against focus, a promise settling into your bones, and a shaky breath leaves you once again.

        "Then I'll stay."

[blue-pastel-cat]

Xiaobedo Fanfic Recommendation

Welcome to my personal “if you are new to xiaobedo peeps please read these” list. As said before this is my personal list so please feel free to reblog/comment/hit me for not including any gem here. I might miss a lot of them because I am drunk or blind. (mostly have them on my to read and then forgot as I am being assault by real life shit).

I would like to say first that so far there are 150+ Xiaobedo fics on Ao3. I can’t review all of them but I can say that I have read a majority of them. Most of them are just pure love and I would like nothing more than a thousands thank you for all the fic writers who spent their free time writting these gems for us to read for free. But these...these takes the cake as it finds a special landing spot in my heart that I would just thrust them into someone’s hand if they say “I am new to this ship can you recommend me?”

1. Orange dust by bobamilkteas (Wes)

In which Xiao learns to open himself up to the world a little more after the collapse of Rex lapis's contracts but it was not always easy for a soul doomed to eternal damnation. Meanwhile, Albedo liked to tempt fate where the extraordinary are concerned.

If only the traveler's comrades are made of saner bunch.

Comment: Long ago when I like both Albedo and Xiao as a character, I was wondering hmmm....will anyone actually even write about them lmao they never met each other. I am surprise to see this one as the 3rd fic in the whole 3 Xiaobedo fic on Ao3 (yeah back when there’s literally only 3 fic for this couple). I was like I’ll read it for the curiosity, I’ll probably won’t ship them. And that people is how I put my clown make up on my face upon finishing reading it. This ONE fic alone convert me into a devotee of Xiaobedo. Please consider joining me in this circus if you want to know what is Xiaobedo. I would put this as the first of my “Big 3″

Orange Dust also come with its compliation of short stories over the course of the game and a big sequel to it. Please also consider reading ALL OF THEM.

2. Solar Wind by birdpriestess (Sparrow)

For the yaksha, his duty was his life, and his life was his duty. No human could ever hope to understand the eternal war he fought out of sight and in silence.

So why, then, did he feel that Albedo would understand?

---

Finding himself at death's door once more, Xiao is saved by a surprising person, setting off the unlikeliest of adventures.

Comment: Do you like crying? Do you like the feeling of getting your heart ripped into pieces as the author destroy your emotions over the end of each chapter as the story picked up the climax? Yeah, this one is for you masochists. The action, the characterisation, the drama THE EMOTIONS OH WOW. I kid you not that it was so good I read this while workinng when I am not suppose to me. Also, this fic has my favourite characterisation of Gold ever. I love that dramatic queen Mad Alchemist. AND DAIN. I LOVE DAIN IN THIS FIC. Our dearest Sparrow manage to toy with our feelings like how I bully ruin guard for big numbers lmao. This is the secound of “Big 3″ of my Xiaobedo list.

Again, just like Orange Dust, Solar Wind comes with its own compliation of short stories of what came after that. Please also consider reading ALL OF THEM.

3. Castle of Glass by AlchemicalStardust (Morgie) 

A black shadow rises over Huaguang Stone Forest. Caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, Albedo flees the shaking ground and the crash of boulders tumbling form the sky. As the dust settles, Albedo finds a young man – an Adeptus – amidst the carnage. Despite the karmic agony ripping his body from the inside, Xiao’s only question is “How?” How did a human survive after witnessing his battle?

Comment: The last of the “Big 3″ of my Xiaobedo list. And it is still on going! Castle of Glass? More like I AM IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTIONS! Have you read a fic about 2 people yearning, longing, reaching out for each other so damn well that you just want to throw your phone in the air as they both had their impending doom coming down upon them? Yeah this is one of them. You will like want to be stuck in the moment they express how much they just yearn for each other’s love and care that you want to shake the author for what comes next. Like...everytime Morgie update I am expressing my gratitude at the end of the chapter by writing on Xiaobedo discord “MORGIE COME HERE AND LET ME BONK YOU WHY ARE YOU ENDING IT THERE”

trust me when you read you will def feel the same. With just Big 3 and their compliation alone that would give you like a LONG list of reading already LMAOOOOOOO

4. Find a place to call it home  by yamajiroo 

Our room, he said. Xiao’s brow twitches. Zhongli never said anything about this. But then again, perhaps he should anticipate this from the beginning...

Xiao looks over at Albedo, who is now tilting his head, his look as innocent as ever.

“Are you not okay with sharing a room?”

Comment: College AU for Xiaobedo! One thing that I love this is the slow burn and what made me LOVE LOVE LOVE this fic more is how cute Klee is in this fic. Their relationship in this one is very simple, but that simplicity highlight why their chemistry work. Xiao is someone who was just very gentle, who was largely misunderstood by his lonesome nature. Albedo was someone who like peace and quite in his introvert bubble. And how they respect that bubble that each other has actually made their relationship work. I love it when fic highlight this and this one captures it.

5. I Can't See Your Face From the Other Side of the Classroom by MissWeaver  

When Albedo and Xiao unexpectedly start eating lunch together, they begin to find that they have more in common than anyone would have realized. They both struggle in their own ways with blossoming feelings, too many assignments, and annoying classmates as they navigate a relationship for the first time.

Comment: I’ll be honest, I usually hate high school au just because its so cliche. I don’t even watch and drama/anime surrounds high school student anymore LMAOOO (unless it’s very good). So if there’s an high school AU that I actually keep come back and read after a couple of chapters, it means that the cliche that I hate wasn’t there or barely was there at all. The pinning in this fic makes me want to bang their head together sometimes LMAOOO The tag wasn’t kidding when they said both Xiao and Albedo are bad at feelings. Also that’s a lot of heart broken caused by these two idiots XD

6. new world, same me, same bullshit  by  bobamilkteas (Wes)

At the belly of Dragonspine, Albedo lost control to the festering corruption that permeated his senses and watched, from the recesses of his mind, as his devoured body turned his allies into enemies. Before his rampage reached its climax, he is sealed in a crystalized confinement by the last hand of Reindottir, where he then reawakens centuries after, in a rebooted Teyvat.

Comment: Yeah I know it was list in Orange Dust but here me out. This sets out in an entirely different universe. And if you like Polyamory, this one has Zhongli joining the duo and I love it because I also love ZhongXiao with my life. Time Travel is my biggest kink. Especially when I am the person who love it when people explore Archon War era/ Alatus!Xiao. So this one hits double of my kink. Of course it is still on going and I will bully Wes whenever I can to see that new chapter. Albedo is a total fucking badass in this story and I completely agree from using him in Abyss so often. Everyone should write badass Albedo.

7. misplaced heart of mine by  inkburn           

“If you are ill, then you should be resting at home. In Mondstadt.” He emphasized Mondstadt with a pointed look in his direction.

“I assure you I won’t be troublesome, Adeptus Xiao,” Albedo said, “You’ll find I’m a rather low-maintenance traveler.”

“Travel,” Xiao scoffed, “without airstep?”

Albedo looked him up and down. “Are your legs just for decoration?”

(albedo is sent to liyue on mandatory vacation. xiao is his unfortunate bodyguard.)

Comment: Most of the time you will see Albedo and Xiao starting their relationship with one of them taking interest in another. But this one took another approach, they starting off by make them hating each other’s guts LMAOOOO and I live for every second of it. There’s only 1 chapter so far but wow it was SOOO GOOD. I am really really excited for next chapter and is waiting patiently ;w;

8.  Blossom of Grace  by birdpriestess  

One day in Liyue Harbor, Albedo watches a street performance by an enigmatic dancer named Xiao. And he becomes completely obsessed.

Comment: Have you ever look at Xiao fight and thinking that he’s one of the most beautiful deadly thing ever? How it was like he was dancing around the battlefield? How about actual dancer Xiao being so absolutely beautiful and perfect and that slow burn of Albedo falling in love with that beauty with a touch of Modern AU and cute Ganyu as the Wing woman. Yes, Sparrow delivers yet again another beautiful slow burn and while it’s still ongoing it is worth the read.

9. i think we could make this work (could get used to this) by outspaced               

“Xiao? What are you doing out here?”

“I—”

“It’s raining,” Albedo says, as if it isn’t obvious. “You could get struck by lightning.”

“What are you doing out here then?” Xiao does the only thing he knows how to do, he challenges Albedo. “It’s raining.”

Albedo just hums. “If I get struck by lightning, it’s for science.”

Comment: A short one-shot where I read the summary and went “This is it... this is their relationship.” I am sold immediately. Oh god Albedo why are you like this.

10. Ephemeral by criedprinz        

“It’s not for your investigation, is it?” Aether asked mildly.

Albedo traced a finger around the sketchbook, considering the question. “No,” he admitted finally. “I... I just want to see them again.”

He opened the sketchbook to reveal the drawing he’d just finished. Aether nodded, clearly recognizing the sharp golden eyes.

“Xiao,” he said. “You were rescued by an adeptus.”

When a visit to Dragonspine goes horribly wrong, Albedo is rescued by an unknown stranger, wielding powers he's never heard of. Led on a search to find out who it is, he finds himself in the middle of an unforgettable encounter..

Comment: A really really well written one-shot that I love. The yearning oh godddd the yearning from Albedo side is just so so much that I have to put it here. (I think you can see the trend here lmao. I am a sucker for yearning). And the moment they get to meet each other again is just chef kiss. MWHAA

11. Idle Yaksha, Brilliant Yaksha by Pit0fTheEarth

Alatus didn’t have a lot of responsibilities to keep. He spent most of his days dancing across the sky and eating away all nightmares that plagued a person’s sleep.

But one fortunate encounter led to too many unfortunate ones, taking his carefree existence and plunging it in darkness. His wings, stripped from him. His gentle touch, replaced by an unforgiving grip of destruction.

There was a lot of blood on his hands. With each passing moment, it became harder for Alatus to recall the last time someone gently held him.

Comment: This is one of the ongoing fic where I am very very much excited on the take of Naberius. And the way the author portray Xiao when he’s still the innocent Alatus is just *clench fist*. Baby ;w; Baby why do you have to lose all that innocence. Also the fic has long LONG flashback to Xiao past and his relationship with Naberius. We are unwielding more what happened to both of them and why perhaps does this have to do with Albedo.

That’s it for now, might add more later! Thank you <3

[teyvattherapist]

funny how if dainsleif laid still for maybe an hour someone would definitely check his breathing. ohm constantly checking for a pulse and it keeps waking dain up is such a funny image

I always write your ideas instead of just answering your asks smh I'm sorry. But yes I agree, the mental image is humourous!

I ended up being too serious with this one though which hadn't originally been my intention but ALAS.

tags: Dohm if you squint i GUESS? could be read as platonic, mention of injuries but no blood, sfw pretty much, i just woke up so this isn't edited AND its short bye

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

There were some injuries that even the well respected Medical Captain could not heal. Not from lack of skill nor lack of trying. Simply due to the location and risk involved with the injury. Ohm had always been weak of heart, physically. Though, this didn’t stop him from trying anyways. Just stopped him from going any further.

How late had it gotten? Pondered question had him gently pushing himself up from where he had been leaning against his couch, tired lilac eyes checking his pocket watch. Late. His knees hurt from the position so as quietly as he could he shifted to sitting beside the couch instead. He brought a hand up, rubbing his face as he tried to form any cohesive thought free from the clutches of sleep.

Ohm lowered his arm to the small space free on the edge of the couch, glancing at the man currently wrapped in bandages and blankets. Out of instinct, Ohm pressed two of his fingers to Dainsleif’s wrist, his pulse faster than usual but at least steadier than it had been when he showed up on the captain’s doorstep. Pulse testing wouldn’t be necessary if Dainsleif at least looked like he breathed while he slept, but alas. Ohm did not have this luxury as the man’s primary caregiver.

“What are you doing?”

Raspy voice startled Ohm who dropped his wrist back to the couch, a sharp exhale leaving the captain. Dainsleif’s eyes fluttered open, head carefully turning to the side to inspect the man sitting beside him. Surprise gave way to a small uneasy smile as Ohm instead rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I was merely ensuring you’re still alive. You took a pretty nasty hit.” Ohm clarified, earning a half nod from Dainsleif who looked back to the ceiling.

Dainsleif watched out of the corner of his eye as Ohm stood, the man stretching with a sigh. Had he been sitting there all night? If so, that’d explain the occasional touches he had felt in his sleep. Dainsleif went to sit up only for the captain to catch his shoulder, easily pushing him back down. “You took a spear through the heart, don’t move. I need to change your bandages.” Dainsleif obliged Ohm’s command, remaining still as the captain grabbed his roll of bandages.

“Do you do hourly pulse checks on all your patients?”

“Only the ones that look like they’re dead.” Ohm retorted as he began to undo Dainsleif’s bandages. The Bough Keeper snorted, eyes closing at the uncomfortable feeling of the bandages being removed. “You’re healing quickly at least, not as fast as I’d like but..” Ohm trailed off as he inspected the injury, he merely wished he could do more. He shook his head, getting back to wrapping the fresh bandages around Dainsleif’s torso.

[aelin-queen-of-terrasen]

Could you please write “‘i didn’t want to tell my friend who my real date last night was so i just pointed at a random stranger (you) but now they’re storming over to interrogate you and you’re playing along??? okay’ au”. Jurdan?

Sorry for the late, hope you'll like it!

chapter - two | beautiful disaster

Full Masterlist

Beautiful Disaster Masterlist

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I've been in the club for a half hour now and I already wish I wasn't here.

Vivienne ditched me in favour of dancing two minutes after we arrived; funny how she is the one who insisted we need more 'sister time.'

"I'm bored," I complain when she gets off the dance floor. "I wish you'd let me leave—it's not like I'm having fun."

Taryn is beside her, looking a little too drunk herself. She clings to Vivienne like a timid child to her mother, eyes wide as saucers and an awestruck expression on her face—I don't know what she's pleased about. She stumbles towards the bar, ordering more drinks. Vivienne turns to me, expression purposeful and determined.

She says, "We barely see you! You're always out—even dad doesn't know where you are." Her words sound like a lament, though I'm almost sure she doesn't notice my absence often and if she does, it doesn't bothers her enough to enquire after me when we're both sober, apparently.

"I know where she is all the time," Taryn tells the two of them, a giggle escaping her lips. "I know your secret, Jude."

I stiffen, but manage to keep my face nonchalant and voice amused, unaffected. "You do now, do you?" It's almost to easy to lie now, to speak half truths, to be deceitful and clever and guarded all the time. It should bother me but it doesn't. I'm too scared she knows I'm working for Dain, too scared Madoc could find out and gods know what he'll do when he does.

Taryn nods. "I saw you sneaking out of the house at nights!" Then, she giggles, "I know you have a secret lover."

I relax, tension released from my muscles when the words settle in. She thinks I have a secret lover, which isn't that far off but my real secret is safe. A blush creeps onto my cheeks as I think of Dain, my apparent secret lover and boss. I can never tell when we went from thinking of each other as best friends to lovers but he's one of the very few people I almost trust.

"You have to tell us who it is, Jude," Vivi says, clapping in excitement. She's ridiculous. "Oriana will be so happy!"

I stare in horror. I don't like where this is going. I can't tell them who I'm sneaking off with but I can't deny their suspicions lest they follow me out on my nightly escapades someday.

The two of them cheer loudly, drawing some attention and shouting 'Tell us!' in chorus when I see him.

"Cardan," his name escapes my lips in surprise, quieting the loud pair. Then I realise what it sounded like, and I rush to correct them but it's too late. Neither of them wants to hear much now.

"Ohmygod, Cardan Greenbriar?!"

"I suppose they have the whole enemies to lovers thing going from them," Vivi tells my twin sister.

"He's so cute."

"I don't even—" Jude is cut off by Vivienne's answering squeal.

"Think of all the double dates—" everyone is looking over at us, "and Madoc will be furious, that's a plus."

Taryn hums her agreement. "That's why Jude can't tell Madoc, isn't it? But Jude, we'd never tell him—" and her words are cut off with a sharp gasp when their eyes land on the entrance, and they notice him leaning against the wall.

His eyes are fixed elsewhere, but then they sweep around the whole room and land on me. Faintly, I can hear my sister's teasing comments but it sounds so far away, and he seems like he is too close for comfort. I wonder how he can do that—make me feel like the world is collapsing around me with all but one look; how he can intimidate me without ever coming close.

"Aw, they're making fuck me eyes at each other," one of my sisters coo.

Entirely too fast, he's gone from my sight and I come back to reality. I drown out all comments about him, giving vague, evasive answers to each question. It feels like he's still looking at me with that impenetrable gaze, though he's nowhere to be seen.

I fetch us some drinks, and soon find other topics to converse about. I'm hoping they've forgotten our conversation, when I stumble upon a sight that makes my heart stop dead inside my chest. He's standing there with a drink in his hand, and from the opposite side of the dance floor, my sisters make their way towards him.

I run towards him, pushing through the crowd. I stumble, almost falling into him and he rolls his eyes. "Falling again, Jude? This is the second—"

I hold up a hand. "Shh, you have to leave—my sisters think we're—" but before I can make my request of Cardan Greenbriar, my sisters have arrive. I can't let them know I lied—they'd wonder what I'm hiding from them and it won't end well. I have too many secrets to protect.

"Cardan Greenbriar," Taryn breathes out. She sounds a little starstruck.

Cardan narrows his eyes at the newcomers, an amused expression on his face. In front of his graceful manner and controlled movements, everyone else looks like a fish flailing in the air. He doesn't have that cruel gleam on his face, but I stay on my guard. Whatever my grievances with my sisters, I can't help being protective of them.

He says, "You didn't tell me you had such a pretty sister, Jude."

Taryn flushes at the compliment, and I wonder what he's playing at—or if, perhaps, this is another attempt to rile me. "We're twins," I mutter under my breath, though it comes out louder than intended and he hears me.

"Of course you'd find Taryn pretty—she looks like Jude, after all." Vivienne smirks, "You don't need to pretend. Jude told us everything."

"She did?" He can't hide the confusion from his face, but it's gone in a minute.

"Yes! I'm glad you're dating Jude. Just know if you hurt her, well, she'll hurt you back worse so..." she trails off with a sweet smile. I didn't know when my eldest sister got so scary, but she looks positively terrifying now.

"Dating? Jude?" Cardan quirks an eyebrow at me. "Yes, I'm, uh, doing that. Am I not, sweet Jude? I'd never hurt her, not unless she asks me to," he grins at his innuendo, sending my sisters cackling too. I can't bring myself to share their amusement, too busy wondering what he's playing at.

"Aw, he's blushing!" Taryn coos at him, words near slurred. "When did this happen? Why didn't we know? Ooh, Jude, how long have you been fucking? Wait, have you even had sex—" Vivienne interrupts my twin's barrage of questions with an apologetic smile and a quick 'you both should make a date night out of this' leaving me alone with my worst nemesis.

The moment my sisters are out of sight, he cocks his head to the side. "Jude. Am I supposed to know what that was about or will you explain?" There's no sneer in his voice, just curiosity with a touch of amusement.

"A misunderstanding," I clear my throat. "They wanted to know, uhh, who I'm dating, and I looked here and they assumed it was you."

His lips twitch upwards, as if he's entertained by my reply. I bristle at the mocking look, but I know my anger will only provide him satisfaction. His lips are curled in a small smirk, and he has never looked more beautiful. There's an air of confidence around him, a careless, unassuming grace in his movements that makes him look so intimidating and yet, so appealing all the same. The top two buttons on his black shirt have been left open, and reveal more of the serpent tattoo around his collarbone. I have the strangest itch to trace it with my fingers but I dismiss it as curiosity.

He turns on his heel without another word, then looks back. He frowns, "Are you not following me?"

"Should I be?" I don't recall him asking me to go somewhere with him.

Cardan makes an 'isn't that obvious' face, and I give him an impatient look in return. He tells me, "I was about to get another drink, but apparently, we have to get drinks, have a date and whatnot now. I do loathe the idea of making someone unhappy."

"And if this makes me unhappy?" I ask, even as I walk beside him to the bar.

Almost absentmindedly, as if I'm daft and it's the simplest answer in the world, he gives me a blank look. "You're Jude. No one can make you unhappy." He orders drinks for the two of us, and it occurs to me that I'm talking to him, and it's not a part of my plan.

But maybe this coincidence might help me earn his trust. He's never so affable as he is when he's drunk.

We talk, if you could call it that. Mostly, it's just us remaining in a silence that feels too loud, each of us too aware of the other's presence and Cardan's occassional remarks laced with dry humor. And if upon hearing one of those sharp remarks, I let a loud laugh escape my mouth, or if I look rather flushed, I blame it on the alcohol I consume. It isn't until Vivienne informs me Madoc is home and he's asking for me that I remember all the ways this mission can go wrong if I'm not careful about it.

We're in the cab, and I'm almost dazed as I recall every remark Cardan made. "He's quite the catch," Vivienne must have seen the confusion on my face because she adds: "Cardan, I mean. I quite like him."

I make a face at her. "He's a disaster."

"A beautiful disaster," she corrects me with a suggestive look. I don't bother arguing with her this time.

═════════⚠═════════

tags:

@courtofjurdan // @thesirenwashere // @nightbringer // @queenofgreenbriar // @jurdanhell // @sweetlyvillainous //@clockworkgraystairs // @blog-lady-vi // @the-dark-swan //@storiesandschemes // @fangirltrash74 // @augustintodarkness // @queen-of-glass // @jurdan7 // @aesthetics-11 // @mijaldraws // @hades-flame // @sensitivehighlord // @annejulianneh111 // @b00kworm // @mysweetvillain // @doingmyrainbow // @curlyredqueen06 // @chaotic-fae-queen // @thewickedkings // @thesurielships //@df3ndyr // @clouds-and-peonies // @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln // @thefolkofthefic // @st00pid231 // @iminsanenotobsessed // @abookishfreak // @maddymelv // @iammissstark

[writingfromkitchenator]

The Mad Dawn

Written for @sdavid09 Tale Teller’s Fright Night 2020 ~ Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity and challenge!  This was awesome fun as someone who has a deep love for horror and felt real good to be able to write something like this!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Inspired by Dawn of the Dead

Inspired by Mad World by Gary Jules

Set several months after the battle of the five armies, Erebor is awoken to bells ringing in Dale, a bleak warning for what comes over the course of the night and into the dawn.

Pairings: Thorin x F!OC (previous), Dain x F!OC (current)

Words: 3,811

Warnings: Zombies, grief, minor talking of blood and fighting (nothing intense or graphic), major character death and reanimation (it is zombies after all), bleak future outlook.

The bells sounded in Dale, ringing through the darkness in the middle of the night.

Feet hurried, left the warmth of their beds, hastily pulled on armour as they scurried to the gates of Erebor.  Fear of the not so distant memory of a dragon clung to the dwarves, murmurs filling the halls as some sat still, holding their breath.

At the gates, a messenger arrived, pale faced and stammering, and it took a few minutes for the words to come from him, the bell continuing to ring.

“The dead,” He croaked.  “The dead are rising.”

The dwarves were confused for a moment until screaming began within their own halls and soldiers threw themselves into action, shaking off the thought of the messenger at the gate, even as he screamed after them.

“They’re rising from the lake!  The dead have returned!”

Orders were given, hurried footsteps marching loudly through the halls before falling silent.

Dain was shouting, but no one was listening, the soldiers all having stopped to stare, another army approaching from the halls of the dead.

“Mahal have mercy on us,” Dain breathed, the glistening dead eyes staring back at him, sending a cold chill up his spine, unlike anything he had felt before.  “Get the Queen!  Get her out of here now!”

Myara was on her feet, pacing the bedroom, the bells still sounding in Dale, a sound signalling doom was upon them.

There was a knock on the door and she hurries to throw it open.

Dwalin stood there, his expression grim.  “We need to go.”

“What? What is happening?”  She asked as Dwalin marched in and started gathering a few small items into a traveling pack.

He swallows, casting her a look, one that drifts down to her swollen stomach.  “I think it’s best if you don’t know my Queen. We need….we need to go.”

She rests a hand on his arm.  “Dwalin…”

Dwalin shakes his head.  “Get dressed Myara.  Please.”

A cold chill settled over her, the hair rising on the back of her neck, and she moves as best she can to throw on travelling clothes and what armour she could, the sword on her belt looking strange against her stomach.

“You know I will defend you with my life,” Dwalin said quietly, an odd note in his voice as he waited by the door.  “As will anyone in Erebor, but I will warn you now…” He swallows.  “This is unlike anything we have faced before.”

Out in the hall, Bofur and Nori waited, both pale and afraid, although doing their best to hide it.

Myara looked between them and then at Dwalin again.  “Please.  Just tell me.”

Dwalin shakes his head and takes her arm, starting to lead her down the hall.  “Trust me, nothing I say will be able to prepare you. Let’s hurry.”

Soon, Bombur, Bifur, Dori, Ori and Oin had joined them.

“Gloin has already got his wife and son out,” Oin explained.  “They’ll meet us there.”

“And Gloin?” Dwalin asked.

Oin’s expression went grim.  “Has gone back to the fighting.”

Myara looked at Dwalin.  “Where is Balin?”

He shakes his head.  “I do not know.”

Their footfalls seemed to fall oddly in the halls, against the backdrop of the ringing bell, the shouts of soldiers, and Myara had a growing feeling she had felt before, long ago, when a dragon had attacked.

A blood curdling scream made them all freeze, all of them arming themselves as they stared into the darkness at the other end of the hall.

Dwalin went forward slowly, cautiously, his axe out in front, trying to see through the dark. His grip was tight, too tight, his hands slipping as sweat built up from the pounding of his heart in his ears.

Myara almost screamed, tears filling her eyes at the sight coming down the hall towards them.

“Thorin…” Dwalin breathed, his axe lowering slightly.  “Thorin please…no…”

Several months of decay had twisted Thorin’s features, the cut that had been sealed was now split and oozing thick black blood, his skin an ashen whitish green. He shuffled towards them, lifeless eyes on Myara.

Myara thought she was going to be sick, her fingers subconsciously finding the bead in her hair, the bead that Thorin had not long put in before the battle of the five armies, seated securely above Dain’s.

“Thorin, don’t-don’t come any closer.  I meant it.” Dwalin’s voice cracked, his feet carrying him slowly back, the others all tense.

It seemed that none of the soldiers had had the heart to fight him.

There is a further shuffling noise behind Thorin, and Fili and Kili join him, a low groaning growl leaving their throats, and Thorin’s hand reaches out for Myara.

“Go,” Dwalin said thickly, turning away from the sight.  “Go!”

Several hands forced her to move, hurrying her in the other direction from the horrible sight. Her chest ached, her heart broken again. What had they done to deserve this horror?

“Where is Dain?”  She managed to ask, her voice soft and broken.

“In the front lines,” Dwalin said, casting her a worried look, but still constantly glancing behind them, worried that the shambling corpses of their friends would follow.  “He will try and meet us there.”

“Dwalin-”

“Myara, we all swore to protect you and Thorin’s child,” Dwalin said.  “Swore with our lives, no matter what would come. Dain is doing this protect you.”

She hangs her head and focuses on moving, doing her best not to think about how this could turn out, about she could lose all those that she loved.  It was to ignore the grief of what she’d seen, but she knew if she was to survive, she would have to.

Winding passage after winding passage passed them in a blur and Myara looked over the edge of one of the many bridges in Erebor, normally lit in golden light. Fire burned below, illuminating the soldiers fighting off the dead that seemed to fill the halls endlessly, many in varying states of decay, but the freshest were those from that horrible battle, weapons still in hands as if it had been sealed around them in death, and she knew the soldiers were grieving once again.  She caught a flicker of red hair, of a mighty shout, but it quickly disappeared in the ocean of bodies beneath her and she was hurried into another hall before she could call Dain’s name.

The bells of Dale went silent.

They hurried past another hall and a loud screech caused them to freeze, several corpses shambling towards them, some of them old and some of them very fresh, bleeding wounds still fresh under their armour.  This lot was moving quicker, Bombur, Bofur and Bifur all sharing a look and nodding, stepping between the oncoming dead and the rest of the group.

“No-”

“You need to go,” Bofur said, giving a nod to Myara.  “We’ll deal with these and catch up.”

Dwalin takes Myara’s arm again and leads her on, his expression grim.  The sound of fighting followed them for a long few moments before all fell silent once again, their footsteps falling softly through the hall.

Tears streaked down her cheeks, but she keeps herself silent, her grip tight on her sword. Erebor would not fall today, not after everything that it had already been through, not after they had not long got it back, she had to believe that.

A deep rumble echoes through the ground, making the group stop and a fear filled look to pass between several of them.

“It’s not possible,” Dwalin breathed.  “No, I refuse to believe it, not with all this going on as well.”

He marched ahead and the others slowly followed, Myara still keeping her head held high.  All of them grew more anxious the further they went.  Why were the dead rising?  Why were they being haunted like this, after all that they had suffered? Those that they had loved, those that they had already mourned, now seemingly after them and their blood.

Another rumble goes through the halls, dust falling from the ceiling and Myara mourned, as she knew the others were, mourned that they were just getting back their homes, their lives, and now this would change everything again.

There was a kick in her stomach and Myara let out a steadying breath.  She had no choice but to survive.  She had to survive.

They reached the secret entrance just as there was a roar outside.  They had all been there, they all knew that sound.

“Mahal have mercy on us,” Myara breathed.  “This cannot be happening.”

Footsteps sound suddenly behind them, and Dwalin and Nori quickly step in front of Myara, Oin, Dori and Ori stepping in close on the sides.

With a limping shuffle and the shine of blood on his head, Dain stepped into view, his face pale under the blood, an equally injured Bofur was hanging on his shoulder.

“We need to go,” Dain grumbled.  “We need to go now.”

Myara hurried to his side and helped him, while Nori took Bofur, a pained grin on his face.

“You should just leave me here.”  He said grimly.  “I’m pretty sure I’m gone for.”

“Not a chance,” Nori said firmly.  “I think we’re going to lose enough today as it, without you staying here.”

Bofur laughs grimly, but it quickly silenced by the pain, holding onto the worst of the wounds as best he could.

“What is happening?”  Myara asked, trying to see the extent of Dain’s wounds.  “I saw…I saw…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say it, the ache in her chest too much, but by Dain’s grim expression, he understood.

“I saw him too,” Dain said quietly, taking her hands and kissing them gently, his own expression pained.  “But we cannot dwell on it.  There is nothing that we can do for them.”

Screeching and growls come from down the hall.  As quickly as they could, they hurried out the door and swung it closed behind them.

Outside, Myara stared out towards Dale, her breathe stolen as she saw fires burning once again, but her attention was only held briefly as an all too familiar roar cut through the air, earning all of their gazes.

A large dark form was in the sky, coming from where Lake Town was still being rebuilt. All of them standing there knew what the form was, and they all watched helplessly as it headed towards the burning city.

“This isn’t happening,” Ori said quietly, voicing what they were all thinking.  “Smaug was dead, we all saw him fall.”

“We saw a lot of those we’ve seen fall,” Dain said grimly.  “It seems that the gods have abandoned us tonight.”

A green light filled Smaug’s chest and even from where they stood they could make out the rotting dark red scales, the black arrow still embedded deeply into Smaug’s chest.  The fire erupted from his chest, illuminating the sky in a vivid green glow.

Dain’s hand rests on Myara’s lower back.  “Do you think you can get down alright?”

Myara’s jaw clenches and she nods, Ori and Dori leading the way so she can follow, Dwalin and Dain close behind, Oin and Nori taking up the rear, helping Bofur as best they could.

“Where is Tula and Gimli?”  Oin asked, huffing a little.  “They should have been here.”

“Tula is no fool,” Dain said.  “She knew that they could not have waited long.  Hopefully we find them later.”

The night felt so cold as they reached the ground, Myara’s arms wrapping around herself as they waited for the others to get down.  There were screams in the distance, and her gaze turned towards the gates of Erebor, the fires still burning brightly, enough to illuminate the figures struggling there.  A wave of nausea struck her, and she managed to just get a little further away before she was sick, the stress all a little too much.

Dain was there in a flash, his hands rubbing her back gently until the vomiting eases, and she breathes deeply, getting herself back in control.  “Easy love, take it slow.  You are going to need all the strength you can muster to get through this.”

Myara nods, barely listening, feeling a ringing starting in her ears.  Whatever had caused these events was nothing normal. Whatever had called Thorin back, had brought Smaug back, it seemed to be against her people.

There was more screaming and she looked back up towards Dale.  “Is…is there nothing we can do?”

“We could not even hold them at bay ourselves,” Dain said, helping her straighten out.  “I stayed as long as I could before we were overrun.  I was not proud in calling a retreat.”

Myara rests a gentle hand on his arm, earning his gaze where he was hiding his pain.  “This is beyond any of us Dain.  We will get away and find help.  We can-”

There was a shout and they turned, seeing Bofur practically falling on top of Nori, pulling away from Oin, but there was a snarl leaving him, one that was cold and empty, almost animalistic.

Dain moved first and shoved Bofur off Nori, Bofur’s body thudding into the stone with a sickening crack and sat there, unmoving, his hat sitting soaked in blood next to his head.

“What-what happened?”  Nori asked, his face almost white, staring at Bofur.  “He…he went limp and then-then-”

“That’s what has been happening,” Dain growled, cautiously approaching Bofur.  “They’ve been dying and then getting back up, sometimes partly eaten.  Not much seems to slow them down, although a sharp knock usually disables them, at least for a time.”

A stunned silence sat around everyone, even as Dain crouched next to Bofur, gently prodding him, his expression pained.  Slowly, he sighs, and gets back to his feet, shaking his head, earning more than a few grief stricken expressions, Dwalin cursing silently under his breath.

“Tonight has been a tragic night,” Dain said.  “We need to get moving now, before it gets any worse.”

“But Bofur…”  Nori said, his face still pale.

“There isn’t anything we can do now,” Dain shakes his head and re-joins Myara.  “We must move on before they realise that some of us have gotten out.”

Myara sniffs and shudders, her mind almost numb now to what was happening, but she couldn’t rid herself of a bad feeling that had been growing her since she’d seen Thorin earlier.  Dain’s hand rests gently on her and she nods, starting to lead them all away from the distance screams and the sickening roar of the dead dragon.

“How will others get out?”  Ori asked quietly as they walked.  “There has to be something else that we can do.”

“There are many paths through Erebor,” Dain said.  “And as much as it pains me to say it, they will have little choice but to try them.  The hoard that we were facing was nothing to be taken lightly.  It may just be the end of the world as we know it.”

A chill goes up Myara’s spine and she finds herself stopping dead in her tracks, Dain almost running straight into her, his hands resting on her for a moment before he sees what she’d stopped to stare at.  Quickly, he moves in front of her, the others reacting accordingly, all pretending they couldn’t see the shake of the sword in her hand.

“Thorin…” She breathed, her voice barely audible even in the silence that suddenly seemed to surround them.

“You will go no further,” Dain said loudly, even as more figures begin to step out beside Thorin.  “This is not your world anymore.  You will return to where you came from.”

Dawn was approaching, the light starting to peak over the horizon, illuminating the walking corpses more and more.  Myara stared with wide eyes as Thorin starts to approach, unaffected by Dain’s words, and it was only now that they could see the Arkenstone still clutched tightly in one hand, but it was no longer rich and vibrant, reminding her of starlight, now it was blood red and dark, but still unmistakable.

“I will give you one last warning,” Dain’s voice went low, into almost a growl.  “Whatever creature you are, you will leave and you will not return, releasing all those you have under your spell.”

A low snarl in the air and it took them all a moment before they realised that it was coming from Thorin, or what had once been Thorin, because none of them could be certain that they could even call him that anymore.

“My…ara…”

Myara’s breath caught in her throat and the tears started again, shaking her head, not wanting to face the reality of this, her chest aching so much.  If it wasn’t for Dain’s protective hand on her, then she knew she’d be running, and she knew that she wouldn’t stand a chance, not against Thorin, or whatever this things now was.

“Dwalin,” Dain’s voice was quiet, firm.  “I want you to take Myara and I want you to get as far from here as you can.  Do not stop until you can find somewhere safe, or someone that can help.”

“Dain, you can’t-”

He glances back at her, his expression set.  “I am sorry love, I know that you deserve more than this, but for you survive, for our people to have a chance, this must be done.  Oin, go with them.”

“I can’t lose you too,” Myara said.  “I can’t…I can’t see you like this too.”

“Dwalin,” Dain’s gaze left her.  “Please. Your duty is to your king, and this is your kings final order.”

Dwalin swallowed and nods slowly, stepping in beside Myara, even as she stares at Dain with tears in her eyes.  “What…what about the others?”

“It is their choice,” Dain said grimly, holding Thorin’s cold, dead gaze.  “It is an honour to have fought by all of you.”

Dwalin looked around at the few others left as Oin stood by Myara’s other side.  Dori, Nori and Ori all nodded grimly to him and moved and stood next to Dain.  With a final glance back at the growing number of dead, they could now make out a few more faces, Fili and Kili, Balin and Gloin, and many other soldiers and citizens, that they had laughed with, spoke with, and they knew that there wasn’t a choice left.

“It has been an honour my King,” Dwalin said, taking Myara’s hand.  “I will do all that I can.”

Dain nods, his grip tight on his weapon as the horde slowly approaches.  “My Queen…I’m sorry that we didn’t get more time.”

Myara felt herself go back to end of the battle of the five armies, of having too much to say and too little time to say it, of suddenly feeling like the world was being pulled out from under her feet again, and she couldn’t stop the whimper that built up from her chest.

“It’s not fair,” She whispered.  “It’s just not fair.”

“No, it’s not love,” Dain said.  “But you need to go.”

Dwalin and Oin start to pull her gently away, the weight of the situation sitting heavily on their shoulders.

“I love you…” Myara managed to get out, her voice broken, tears rolling down her cheeks as her hands rest over her stomach.

There was no chance to say anything else, the four dwarfs standing alone against the approaching dead, even as Thorin’s gaze follows Myara as Dwalin leads her away.

Myara can’t watch anymore, turning away, her eyes blurred with tears, letting herself be led by Dwalin and Oin, know she would go back if they so much as let her go or got her to focus.  Dwalin and Oin remained silent, both in their own grief, and knowing that the sudden task before them, was going to be even harder than the one they had not long come from.

Eventually, as the morning light spilled over the land, the sun just beginning to peak, the three of them stopped and looked back from their position on a ridge. Dale and Erebor were burning, the distant figure of Smaug crawling its way to the gates of Erebor.

The worst though, the worst was the horde, they could all see it clearly from where they were, a large group of dead, men and dwarves alike, all together, all moving slowly, and the three of them on top of that ridge could not bear to look too long, just in case there was another face they recognised.

Myara sighs and pulls her hood over her head, not wanting the see the world any longer as she stares at her swollen stomach and wonders just what will happen to them now, of how she was meant to raise a child in a world like this.  She didn’t want to face the fact that she was going to have to start again, she felt like she’d started again too many times, and now this time, it was almost alone, only the two others by her side and whoever ever they could possibly find in this mad new world.

Dwalin rests a hand on her lower back, earning her gaze, and she can see the grief and despair matched in his gaze, can see the same questions burning away in his mind, but he just nods, his expression stony, one she returned.

There would be time to grieve later, time to speak and try and answer those questions, but for now, again, they had to move, had to find safety, maybe a friend. There was no time to focus on those big questions, or the self-despair that sat in the backs of all their minds.

“Hopefully we can find Tula and Gimli,” Oin said, but there was little hope in his voice. “Hopefully they came this way.”

“Just keep your weapon close,” Dwalin said, shouldering his axe.  “We do not know what the paths ahead will be like.  Let’s just start by getting as far away from here as possible.”

Oin nods, casting a glance at Myara, his expression turning worried, seeing her head down, her face hidden beneath her hood, hiding herself from the world as much as the world was hidden from her.  Dwalin just shakes his head slightly and the two men share an understanding look before helping her away this place.

Silence followed them, no birds singing in the dawn, no beasts stirring from slumber, no voices starting as they start the day.  In that silence, it’s just the three of them leaving their world behind, Myara’s hand tightly wrapping around the two beads in her hair, a soft sob leaving her, a sob that seemed to echo through the ages and be the voice of the times to come.

[silverscreenbabushka]

Okay, so I have this little head canon about the wedding scene and idk if anyone would like to read it but I just have this urgent need to share it with someone so bear with me. (Oh, and that’s my first attempt at writing anything fic-like so I’d appreciate any comments!)

So idk if in your countries there’s something like this but in mine there’s this belief that some gifts can bring you luck as long as the person that gave it to you gives it in good faith and believes in its powers. So, you don’t need to believe that the necklace your grandma gave you will bring you luck as long as she believes in it. That being said, my story goes:

As a little girl, Jude feared many things: loud trucks, barking dogs, Viv when she got angry but more than anything, she was scared of all the monsters hiding under her bed and lurking in the shadows. She hated going to sleep or waking up at night needing to pee because she just knew in her heart that there’s something malicious waiting in the dark. And for weeks nothing helped, no lamp or glowing stars, no half open doors or calming bedtime stories could convince Jude that there’s nothing to be afraid of. So finally, her mom come up with an idea. If the monsters couldn’t disappear on their own, then she would give her daughter a shield to protect herself and a weapon to fight. And that’s why she gifted her an old ring she found at a nearby flea market. It was a simple silver band with an amber in the center.

Jude was skeptical at first, but after all if her mom believed in its magic then it was enough for her to accept it. And since it was a bit too big for her, she hung the ring on a chain and vowed never to take it off. And she never did. Not when she was taken to Elfhame after her parents’ murder, not when she went to school with all those cruel faery kids, not when she joined the Summer Tournament or when she became Prince Dain’s spy. She even managed to hide it in the Undersea and kept it safe from the merfolk. And even though she had no reason to believe in its powers she still did. Despite all the scars and hardships she experienced. Despite all the fear and anger. After all her mother gave it to her as a protection so how could it not be magical? So, she never took it off. Not until that one night.

“Marry me”. Two simple words and her world turned upside down. She took a leap of faith and said yes. Just like this. Because she run out of ideas. Because it would secure her power. Because it made sense strategically. Because she wanted to. Because he was as easy to love as to be feared. And she feared him with all her heart.  The air was heavy with the scent of flowers when he slipped the ruby ring on her finger and her voice trembled a bit when she said the vows. And as she was about to release Cardan from his oath an alarming thought came to her.

She tricked him for Oak’s sake, and she controlled him for her own, but it wasn’t the whole truth. Many of her commands were given to protect him. Because no matter how hard it was to admit, she cared about him. It pained her to see him hurt and in her weird, misguided way she wanted to shield him from it. Releasing him, letting him do whatever he wants would not only mean trusting him, but also giving up whatever means she had to protect him. And that’s why she took it off. Slowly, with blushing cheeks and unsteady hands she took off her necklace and put it on Cardan’s palm. He gave her a puzzled look. “I want us to be fair and square” she said. And then she released him from his oath.

If she couldn’t protect him through her commands, then she could only wish and hope her magic ring would.  

[riot-in-reverie]

Villainous neighbors

pictures will be in a different  post because this is on computer

sorry this hasn’t been updated in a while  @b00kworm @queenofgreenbriar @cardan-greenbriar-tcp  sorry if I missed you

Chapter Four

As soon as I was seated in my car I pulled out my phone and saw there was a new text from Locke. I clicked on the notification and scoffed at what I read.

Locke: I have a date 

Cardan: No you don't 

Locke: Yes I do you jackass. I met her at the mall. She is really pretty. 

He then went on to describe Jude but in different clothes. 

Cardan: What the fuck man I just got a tattoo from that girl her names Jude

After a moment I received a picture of him and the girl in question. They were by the fountain in the mall. Locke had his usual devilish grin and his russet colored hair seemed to be purposely disorganized. The girl had a small, shy, and tentative smile. Her gaze was cast downwards and she was wearing a dress. That was definitely not jude. It must have been a sibling but Jude didn't tell me they had a sibling...granted they didn't really tell me anything about their personal life. I guess it was possible that this wasn't one of lockes stupid pranks. As I was thinking this over my phone buzzed in my hands.

Locke: we're going out on a date soon

Cardan: Dude you literally just met this girl at what like a Macy's and you're already taking her out?!

Locke: first of all it was Bath and Body works and second of all don't call me Dude. 

I chucked my phone onto the firm leather of the passenger's seat and put the keys in the car. I'm not getting involved in his dating life of all things. 

Looking at the clock on the dash I noticed I have quite a bit of free time or, rather, time to procrastinate so I might as well visit one of my longest lasting company relations.

 I started driving to Roibens company. Roiben has been with me from the very start and we have remained on good terms, we might even be considered friends. 

 I arrived at their building and parked in the back. After I put my phone and wallet into my pockets I got out of the car and went in the employees entrance that was located at the side of the building. I wasn't really allowed to but no one had the guts to stop me. I waved casually to Roibens assistant Kaye who glared at me, her pitch black eyes staring right into my soul. 

"Carden your back"

"Yes. Where's Roiben"

"In his office. Tell him I'm leaving for the day" she stood up, grabbing her emerald green handbag that matched the rest of her outfit from the desk along with some keys. I fully believe she could take someone out with that bag if she swung it hard enough.

"Lock up for me" 

she threw the keys she was holding at me and walked through the glass doors disappearing around the corner. I looked at the keys in my hand. Our conversations never lasted very long but I don't think I got more than five words in that time.

 I nodded and went to the elevator. It was all white marble and for once I felt underdressed. The elevator took me up to his office and I put the keys in my pocket. I stepped out of the elevator and waltzed straight to Roibens desk where he was writing on some papers. Unfortunately he was too close to them for me to rip them away from him. 

"Roiben!" I said louder than necessary as I leaned in closer. I put my hands on the edge of the desk and leaned over to see what he was looking at. "What are you working on so hard that you can't greet your best friend?" 

He sighed and sat up using the pen he had been using to get me out of his face by repeatedly wacking it against my forehead. 

"What do you want?" He asked calmly, putting the pen in a cup with lots of other pens of assorted colors.

"Do I always have to want something? Can't a friend just visit a friend?"

"Sure they can to bad you don't have any friends to visit" 

I frowned as he chuckled at his own jab. 

"But seriously what have you been up to? How are things?" He asked crossing his legs something he did when he was getting ready for a long conversation. 

"Same old same old. Nothing interesting really. Thinking of doing ransomware soon on a certain company but that's a lot of work"

"Surprised you've gotten this far considering all you do is drink and talk" 

"I'm living the life. Speaking of that do you have anything to drink?"

Judes POV 

"You're not going to call him, are you?" Dain said in a worried but hateful tone

"How could I?" I mumbled as I started putting stuff away "You took his card"

"I still don't want you hanging out with him" He said as he sat down on one of the neon chairs

I almost dropped something "Hanging out? He was a customer. It was work. I was payed!" 

"So are prostitutes" 

I threw down my rag I was using to clean up. I could finish all this later. "Are you calling me a prostitute!?!" 

He hurriedly stood up and took my hand "No no. It was just an example. Lets go take a walk I think the fumes are getting to your head"

The fumes? What the fuck? I can't believe I've been with him for 2 years. 

"I'd take a walk but I do need to get home. Do you think you can walk me home?" 

"Why do you need to go home this early?" He said skeptically 

"I have stuff to do. Its girls night. Since Oaks at his friends we can all hang out and watch movies and do girly things" I did have things to do but it most definitely wasn't that. I just knew he wouldn't want to do the girly stuff 

"Oh well I could…"

"And Heather! Vivienne's girlfriend is going to be there" I put extra emphasis on girlfriend knowing he didn't approve.  (He's probably not homophobic I just wanted to make him an extra jerk)

"Okay but we're going to hang out soon" he said and it wasn't a request as he left me at my front door. 

About an hour later I was a completely different person. I was more myself to be honest. I was walking down the street in an outfit that was pretty good for these kind of heists became it could also be worn in public without someone batting an eye. I had added a larger purse this time because what I was getting I guessed would be larger. 

This wasn't supposed to be too hard of a job because it was said that this man Roiben had a pretty weak security system just because he had a person he really trusted always on guard. Just to be safe I had brought some of my homemade equipment with me. Nothing deadly or explosive this wasn't that kind of job. Just some papers and numbers and I'd be gone.

I arrived at Roibens building to see one more car than usual. When I had scoped out the place that car hadn't been there. He must have a client I'd have to watch out for that. 

I went through the employees entrance and worked my way around to where important documents and items were held. It was a small safe. You couldn't even fit a basketball in it and what was odd was that it wasn't a keypad. It was a deadbolt lock. All the better for me but still weird. 

I pulled out my small tube of freon and poured on the lock. I pulled out the small hammer I had bought at home depot and hit the lock breaking the cillander. The lock broke off and I quickly caught it before it hit the floor. 

I pulled documents out of the safe and shoved them in my purse. I'd look through them later, I didn't have the time right now. 

As I was closing the safe I heard the ding of the elevator and stumbled over my feet to get to the reception desk. Luckily I made it just as the door opened. I looked over ready to make a fuss about how there's no secretary and what kind of business is this when Cardan stepped out the elevator. He seemed to be just as shocked as I was.

I didn't know what to do so I went with my original plan "What kind of business is this! I walk in and there's no person behind the desk. What am I supposed to do now?"

He crossed his arms "Sorry ma'am it seems the receptionist left early can I help you?" 

I was drawing a blank "uh...hmm"

He smirked "take that as a no. Well if you need anything here's my card" 

He handed me the same card as before and waved to me as I showed myself out. 

Cardans POV 

The look on her face. Hysterical.

I went through and casually glanced at things to make sure they were how they were supposed to be. That's what  Kaye would do and I was about to leave when the last thing I checked on was not right it was not right at all. 

Fuck. 

A woman after my own heart

[displacedhobbit]

Update: Greater Than Gold

AN: Whoop whoop; here’s part 3.

IDK who is still out here and reading this but I hope you enjoy!!

Also, the formatting keeps getting messed up when I try to post it on Tumblr so it’s probably better to actually read on FF.net or AO3. One day I’ll get it figured out.

Warnings: Some swearing, shoddy depictions of violence because that’s what I’m garbage at writing.

Also on FF.net and AO3

Chapter 27: Eighty-Three and Seventy-Seven - Part 3

Word Count (chapter): 9368

Thorin shifts farther back into his cell, intent on ignoring Balin’s lecture. He settles into the back wall, into the shadows, letting the din from the idotic elvish party reverberate around the stone to drown out his cousin’s rough whispering.

He knew what he was doing. At least, he thought he knew. Bilbo would come through; he was so sure of it, more sure than most anything else in his life these days. The hobbit owed him no loyalty, could have left a dozen times at least, but he never had. He had stuck with them through all of this mess - had stuck with him . Bilbo had won Thorin’s trust, and had shown the depths of his loyalty. He would wait a hundred years for Bilbo before he bent to trust Thranduil.

He could not say as much to Balin. Not here; not now. So he would let Balin rant himself out instead, here in these damp cells.

He picks a piece of dried mud from his boots, his ire renewing as he recalls how Thranduil’s guard had stripped them of all their belongings, down to their shirts and trousers, and locked them away like criminals. Angrily, he flicks the mud to the ground, then squashes it with the toe of his boot. They were so close . If only they hadn’t lost the road.

He sighs, Balin’s incessant whispering still reaching his ears, though it has become too jumbled for him to make out the words. He hoped the rest of the company fared well enough. Fíli sounded as though he had recovered from the spider’s  venom, and he could breathe easier knowing Kíli had returned from Thranduil’s interrogation unscathed.

The fire of his anger grew. How dare Thranduil? How dare he attempt to weasle a deal out of him by having his own son hold a knife to Kíli’s throat? Truly, he lacked all honor.

He releases a shuddering breath. For a moment, he was afraid that Thranduil would issue the order, that he would spill Kíli’s blood on his throne room floor. But, dishonorable as he was, Thranduil was not stupid. Lestwise, he was not stupid enough to kill an unarmed dwarf and incur the wrath of the Iron Hills in retalliation. Dain and Thranduil had a long-standing cease order between their two kingdoms - Dain would harm no elf and Thranduil would harm no dwarf - to violate it would wound Dain’s pride and invoke his wrath.

But still, he’d seen the glimmer of panic in Kíli’s eyes. And Thorin had felt it, too - the fear that he would be wrong . Though he was a king, Thranduil was still unpredictable. He’d been foolish to hedge his bets on the elven king fearing retaliation from Dain.

Once, when Kíli was still a tiny dwarfling, he’d had a horrifying night terror in which he’d gambled with Kíli’s life and lost . It had plagued him since, popping up in quiet moments, surprising him by squeezing the breath out of his lungs in unprecedented panic. The same image always leapt to his mind, of Kíli, pale as snow, his blood poured out around him. Like Frerin. Just like Frerin .

He’s found his thoughts drifting to his brother quite frequently on this journey. He wishes, beyond anything else in this world, that Frerin were at his side. He was so much better with Frerin. Would his brother’s presence have calmed him enough to negotiate a deal with Thranduil? Would his gentle, loving demeanor have tempered his ire?

But no, he had let Frein down ages ago. Let his blood spill on unholy dirt, until the light faded from his eyes.

He thinks of Dís, her sharp mind and quick wit. Had she been with him, she would have surely performed some sort of verbal gymnastics on Thranduil and charmed them out of their cells. She had always been so eloquent, so thoughtful. As children he had often envied her way with words; while he and Frerin stumbled over theirs, she had always sounded like a queen.

And he had let her down, too. Promised to care for her boys but led them on this damn quest, to these gods-forsaken cells.

He swallows thickly. He could not dwell on the past, or on horrors seen only in dreams that he would fight with every breath in his being to keep from coming to pass.

When they were free of this wretched place, he would explain it all to Kíli, explain why he had taken such an unfathomable risk, see to it that he understood that Thorin knew in his bones that Thranduil would not harm him. He would remind him that there was no treasure, no honor, nothing in this world that was worth more to him than Fíli and Kíli. Nothing .

He can only hope that Bilbo will be swift.

-----

He fiddles with his shirt hem, idly fingering along a tear, flicking the flap of it up and down as the sounds of the elven party drift through the corridor. It sounds downright raucous, much more so than the parties that Lord Elrond had hosted. Kíli admittedly didn’t know much about the different families of elves (which made him strangely grateful for the cells that separated them - Balin would chastise his ear off is he knew Kíli had forgotten his lessons), but he had to imagine that the Mirkwood elves were the most...un-elf-like of them all. Perhaps like how Kíli himself was decidedly un-dwarf-like.

He sighs, once again considering trying to fall asleep. He can hear snoring from somewhere, and he wonders who has already nodded off. Not Fíli, at least; he can hear his brother humming quietly. He wishes it were easier to talk with him, but he didn’t dare speak too loud and the music and laughter from the party would probably drown him out anyway.

The redheaded elf patrols by again, glancing into each of their cells as she walks by with quick, light steps. She had been the one who spared him from the spiders in the wood. It was probably proper to thank her, but that seemed senseless now that she was ensuring they stayed locked in their cells.

He also thought she looked quite sad, and he found himself wondering why. Perhaps because she was on patrol while the rest of the elves were celebrating. He tried not to dwell on it too much; for the moment, she was their enemy - an obstacle. Dwalin had warned him that his soft heart would be his undoing one day.

He pulls his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them as he scans the hallway once more. Candlelight flickers off the walls, casting strange shadows. He focuses on Fíli’s soft humming, and closes his eyes.

Fíli’s humming stops. “You still awake, nadadith?” he asks, and though his voice is quiet somehow Kíli manages to hear it clear as day.

“Yea,” he murmurs in reply, scooting closer to the door of his cell. “Don’t think I could sleep with all this anyhow.”

“Such a light sleeper,” Fíli comments, and he can hear the smile in his voice. “One positive of the spiders was that Oin’s drought knocked me right out for a while.”

Kíli snorts. “I know. You’re heavy.” Fíli chuckles outright, and they lapse back into silence.

“I’ve been thinking a lot,” Fíli says after a while, his tone wistful. “Do you remember that autumn in Ered Luin when we snuck off from Dwalin? And built the fort?”

Kíli smiled. He did remember. They were young, much younger then, and they’d fancied themselves as fine explorers so they’d ‘snuck’ away (Dwalin had told him later that he’d known exactly where the lads were - they weren’t particularly stealthy in their youth), venturing to an outcropping of rocks with a large slate overhang, gathering sticks and stones to fashion their fire and other comforts, pretending they were regal princes of Ered Luin, sword fighting with the largest sticks they could find. They had played for hours, until the sun had begun to dip below the horizon, and Dwalin had come and feigned ire at their escape.

It was a good memory. He hadn’t thought on it in a long while.

“I came upon it on a patrol once,” Fíli says. “I went to look inside but there was a fox and her cubs. ‘Bout near scared me out of my skin.”

“I guess she’s the Lord of Ered Luin now,” Kíli says with a small laugh.

Fíli hums in agreement. Were they in different circumstances, he’d imagine his brother would be packing his pipe and settling in for the evening. Kíli finds himself longing for those simpler times, longing for the only home they’d ever known, wondering if he will ever be that content again. He tries instead to conjure up other happy memories of his childhood with his brother, willing away the loneliness he feels.

Fíli must sense his distress. Even though it was through a stone wall, he could still read Kíli like one of Balin’s books. “After this is all over, I want to go back some day,” he says, quietly. “And I suspect you do, too.”

Kíli swallows the lump in his throat. “Aye,” he manages. “I think I’d like that.”

His gaze focuses again on the flickering light of the hall, trying to make out shapes in the shadows that skirt along the wall. It must be his imagination, because the shadows suddenly move as if blown by the wind, a too-uniform wave passing through their movements. Kíli narrows his eyes, leaning forward to focus, wondering if there is some form of elvish magic at work, but the shadows resume their random dance as though nothing odd happened.

He relaxes, leaning back against the wall with a sigh.There’s the sound of a stone being kicked farther down the hall.

“Did you hear that?” Fíli asks, his voice a sharp whisper, and Kíli’s body snaps to alertness again.

“I thought I saw something move a second ago,” he confirms, hauling himself up to his knees and watching out his cell gate. He can make out voices down the hall, but nothing else.

“ Bilbo !” someone halfway shouts from down the hall, and he hears the sounds of a key opening a lock.

-----

“Come on, this way,” Bilbo whispers, sneaking down the corridor, looking around every corner to ensure they are unseen.

The dwarves follow, boots scraping along the stone floor. Since they’d been divested of their weapons and most of their affects they were much quieter than normal. Fortunate, that was.

“He’s leading us to the cellars!” Dwalin hisses, accusatory.

“You’re supposed to be leading us out, not farther down!” Bofur nearly shouts.

Bilbo whirls to face them. “Shh! I know what I’m doing. Trust me .” He leads them around a corner, where a number of large barrels sit empty. “Well?” Bilbo says, gesturing to the barrels. “Get in!”

“Are you mad?” Gloin replies. “They’ll find us!”

“No, they won’t. I promise ,” Bilbo assures them, turning pleading eyes to Thorin.

Fíli looks to his uncle, then to Kíli who stands uncertainly at his side. Bilbo has proven his worth many times over, and had already broken them free from their cells. What reason did they have not to trust him? Yet still...hiding in barrels in the elven wine cellar didn’t seem like the best of plans.

Thorin turns to the rest of the company. “Do as he says!”

At his command, they clamber into the barrels, the wound in his side stinging uncomfortably. Kíli casts him a worried glance. “I’m fine,” he assures him. Then, almost as an afterthought, he reaches forward, grasps the back of Kíli’s neck and presses their foreheads together. “I promise.”

“What do we do now?” Bofur asks, as all the dwarves turn to look at Bilbo.

The hobbit looks uncertain for a scant second. “Uh, hold your breath.”

The floor beneath them begins to creak, and suddenly their barrels are rolling, then falling, then splashing violently into the stream below. The shock of hitting water instead of solid ground forces the breath from his lungs and he sputters, trying to find balance as he bobs in the stream. Once he has his bearings he searches for his brother - frowning at the wide, terrified look in his brother’s eyes as he coughs some of the splashed water out of his lungs. After a deep, shuddering breath, Kíli’s face clears, and he catches Fíli’s gaze and gives him a reassuring nod.

There’s no shortage of shouting and coughing as the dwarves regain their composure. Ori and Bifur, caught off guard in their fall, had fallen out of their barrels, and it was no simple task to get them back inside as they bob about. From behind him, Fíli can hear Dwalin muttering something about useless hobbits and being drowned like criminals.

“Hold on!” Thorin shouts, reaching his arm out to grab Fíli’s barrel. “We must wait for Bilbo.” Taking his uncle’s cue, he reaches for the nearest barrel (Bofur’s, who for his part looks a bit like a drowned rat) and grasps it tightly. The dwarves work quickly to form a chain with their barrels, blocking the path forward in a makeshift dam, when the hobbit suddenly falls from the ceiling, plopping into the water, barrelless.

Once he comes up, sputtering for air, he swims to the nearest barrel, Nori’s, and hangs on for dear life.

“Well done Master Baggins,” Thorin laughs, sounding almost mirthful at this turn of events.

Bilbo waves them on, spitting water as he does. “They’re coming. Go .”

With that, they release their barrels and start paddling to gain speed. They careen down a waterfall, each of the dwarves (and poor Bilbo) clinging to their barrels, and they rise from the water to see that they’re now bathed in bright daylight. It’s a sharp contrast from the dark cells they’d resided in for who knows how long, and it takes Fíli’s eyes a moment to focus. He can see shapes rushing through the woods, when suddenly the elf-guard that had captured them in the woods springs forth, shouting something in elvish just before a horn sounds.

“No!” Thorin shouts from ahead, and he turns to see a gated bridge across the stream, and an elf standing atop it near a lever as a sluice begins to close.

Well, shit . He thinks. They’re weapons-less and, quite literally, sitting ducks. He desperately tries to form a plan, to come up with some way that they do not wind up back in the cells or dead . Thranduil didn’t strike him as a particularly merciful king.

“Watch out!” Bofur shouts, and he turns to see the elf that had stood atop the bridge falling into the water just in front of him, a jagged arrow lodged in his back.

Orcs . Of course the orcs have come.

Now that they have nowhere to go, the dwarves are seemingly forgotten by the elves as they shift their focus onto the orcs. The orcs, however, remain fixed on getting to Thorin, lunging onto their barrels with blades drawn. Fortunately, Bilbo produces a sword from somewhere , stabbing one, and Dwalin, brawny as ever, elbows another in the face, stealing it’s sword before it plops gracelessly into the water. Fíli manages to subdue another, grabbing its dagger.

He catches movement from the corner of his eye, and turns to see Kíli rushing up the ramp, completely unarmed, eyes fixed on the lever the elf had pulled before. Orcs rush toward him, and Fíli’s breath catches in his throat.

“Kíli!” Dwalin calls, lobbing the sword he’d snagged up to his brother. Kíli catches it easily, swinging it down to take out the orc in front of him, sending it splashing into the water below as Bofur reaches over to snag it’s weapon.

His brother continues up the stairs and across the bridge, slashing his way through. Another orc comes up behind him, spear poised to strike Kíli in the back, and Fíli hurls the dagger forward, sighing with relief when his aim rings true and the dagger lodges itself in the filth’s temple. The way is clear now, and Fíli feels a surge of adrenaline as Kíli nears the lever. They’re going to make it ; Kíli is going to open the gate and they’re going to get away -

Suddenly, Kíli lets out a strangled cry of pain and collapses to the ground, grasp coming just short of the lever, sword falling from his fingers and clattering to the ground beside him.. “Kíli!” he hears himself shout, fear welling up within him. From under the bridge, Thorin calls out his brother’s name as well, blind to the situation.

An orc leaps onto the bridge, sword drawn and prepared to bare down on Kíli, but an arrow abruptly skewers its head as more elves arrive. Distracted, the orcs switch their focus to the ambush, and Kíli manages to crawl up to his knees, gasping for breath. With a groan of pain, he throws his weight onto the level, pushing it down and opening the sluice, before collapsing once more.

“Kíli!” he shouts again, grabbing his brother’s empty barrel with one hand and trying to find purchase on the slippery rocks with the other. “Kíli, come on!” he calls again, voice breaking. “Please!” His hands are slipping on the rocks, his barrel is being pulled under the bridge by the rushing current, The other dwarves slip one by one down the small waterfall, into the rapids below.

Just as he’s certain he’s going to lose his grip on the rocks (and by extension, Kíli, because he knows without a doubt in his mind that if he’s left behind he’ll be captured and worse ), Kíli’s body falls from the bridge, landing roughly on top of his barrel, halfway into the water. He looks positively ashen, and Fíli’s heart sinks as he prays to any diety that will listen that the arrow wasn’t poisoned, that his brother will be okay .

“Hold on!” is all Fíli can say as his hand loses its grip on the rocks. Kíli manages to hoist himself back into his barrel, a rough shout of pain bursting from him, and they’re swept along the current with the rest of the dwarves, the orcs still in pursuit.

-----

“Mahal, Kíli,” Fíli breathes as he examines the wound, pulling the torn pieces of his trousers to get a better look. It was already so inflamed, and he couldn’t tell if the arrowhead was still inside or not. “Oin needs to take a look at this,” he says, immediately searching for their healer. “If it was poisoned, then -”

“Just bind it,” Kíli hisses, brow furrowed in pain. “We have to keep moving. You heard Thorin”

Fíli frowns at him, shaking his head. He cannot be serious ; there’s no way he would make it far with his leg wounded so badly.

“I’ll be fine,” Kíli says, looking him straight in the eye, which manages to reassure him, however smally. “We’re not safe here.” Fíli still hesitates, and his brother reaches for his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Fíli tries to ignore how badly Kíli’s hand is shaking. “I promise to have Oin tend to it as soon as we can spare,” he adds.

Finally, Fíli nods and unceremoniously rips fabric from the hem of his shirt, dunking it into the river in a feeble attempt to clean it, before setting about tightly wrapping Kíli’s wound. His brother winces and grits his teeth as he works, driving Fíli’s own anxiety higher. He knows he will feel much better once Oin has a chance to properly tend to him. He can only hope, as he finishes up, that Kíli will be able to make it to safety. Frowning, he looks at his work. It’s a poor excuse for a bandage, even for a field dressing, but it will have to do. He doesn’t have another option.

“Come on,” he says, helping Kíli back to his feet. For the first few steps, his brother leans heavily on him, but after a moment he regains his footing well enough to walk on his own across the slippery rocks, with hardly a limp in his step as he goes to rejoin the others. Fíli frowns again; he knows how good Kíli is at hiding his hurts and knows that his brother is going to overdo it and wind up being in more agony farther down the line if he can’t get a proper dressing soon.

There’s a commotion from behind him, and Fíli whirls around to see a man, bow drawn and aimed at Ori and Dwalin, the latter brandishing a tree branch as a weapon.

Dwalin raises the branch, ready to fight, and an arrow strikes directly into it, right between his hands, in warning. “Do it again and you’re dead,” the man snaps, another arrow already drawn.

“Excuse me,” Balin calls, using his ‘diplomatic voice’ that Fíli has heard countless times before. He approaches the man with his arms raised. “You’re, uh, from Laketown, if I’m not mistaken?”

The man lowers his blow, casting a sidelong glance at Balin.

“That barge over there,” he continues, gesturing behind the man, where Fíli now sees the very tip of a boat, mostly hidden from their sight by the thick underbrush that lines the river. “It wouldn’t be available for hire , by any chance?”

-----

Dwalin keeps his eyes on the lads as they sail.

Fíli and Kíli are pressed shoulder to shoulder, their backs against the damaged barrels. He’d been worried about the lad since he saw the arrow pierce his leg - orc arrows were rarely free of poisons or filth that could take even the hardiest dwarf down in a matter of hours. Once they’d safely boarded the barge, Oin had tended to the wound and gave it a proper dressing. The arrowhead had still been lodged in his leg, but with steady hands and a sharp knife borrowed from the bowman, Oin had been able to remove it. The old healer had stated that he’d need a poultice to draw out any infection and to help with the pain, but the man - Bard , he remembers from Bilbo’s chastising - had none, so Kíli would have to make due until they were smuggled into Laketown.

Kíli was too pale, so much so that the darkness of his hair and the red smear of blood on his lip (he’d bitten it so hard to keep himself from screaming as Oin had removed the arrow) stood out in stark contrast. It made the dark circles under his eyes look worse. It made it look like he could slip from this world at any moment, despite Oin’s assurances that he would make it to Laketown.

It’s the cold, Dwalin tells himself, it’s just the cold that makes him look so pale.

The small blessing was that Kíli was asleep, that he was able to take this brief respite while his brother watched over him.

They’d come too close to losing him too many times on this quest. Dwalin had sworn to protect him, knew without a doubt that he would gladly die if it kept either of the lads safe, but every time he had been too far away or otherwise unable to help, unable to do anything other than watch . He wouldn’t be able to bear it if they lost one of them and Dwalin had done nothing .

He chews the inside of his cheek, keeping the lads in his periphery as he watches the lakeman. He doesn't trust him, doesn’t like that they’re stuck on a boat in the middle of frigid, foggy waters with him, doesn’t like that their survival may very well depend on him being true to his word. Something sits ill within him, like they’re walking into a trap, but with the other option being trying to beat orcs on the road, unarmed and without supplies, he knows they had no other choice.

Someone comes to his side, shoulder brushing his as they lean along the railing beside him. He doesn’t have to look to know that it is Thorin.

“How is he?” he asks, barely concealed concern in his voice.

Dwalin shrugs. “Not well, by any means,” he says, gaze shifting back to Kíli. “But, not getting worse.”

Thorin makes a small noise in the back of his throat in acknowledgement. “Do you think it knew?”

He does look at him then, eyebrow raised in confusion.

“Azog’s spawn,” Thorin clarifies. “Do you think it knew who he was? That he was my kin?” he adds in a whisper.

Dwalin shakes his head. “Think he was just trying to take out anyone that would’ve helped us escape,” he says. “Wouldn’ta mattered who it was.” He knows this fear, this old, horrible fear that Thorin had carried with him ever since Frerin had died. He couldn’t bear to lose anyone else for being associated with his line. It would almost certainly spiral Thorin into madness, and if it were Azog’s own spawn (for how else could the other pale orc have come to be?) that ended one of the lads...he could not fathom how Thorin would go on.

With a sigh, he looks for his brother, catches him with a gaggle of the company, counting coins to pay their way as Bard navigates them through the waters.

“How do we know he won’t betray us?” he finds himself asking, putting words to his fears in the confidence of his best friend.

Thorin frowns, a misted look in his eyes. “We don’t.”

Dwalin settles back with a huff, hating the answer but knowing Thorin is right all the same. There’s some squabbling between Gloin and his brother that he considers intervening on, but the fog thins ahead, and he finds himself awestruck instead. “Look,” he says softly, nudging Thorin’s arm. His eyes water on their own accord.

The Lonely Mountain sits on the horizon, closer than he’s seen it in an age.

-----

“You look like shit,” he says fondly as he tucks Kíli’s hair behind his ear.

Kíli scoffs in indignation at him, but he doesn’t argue. “I feel like shit.”

Fíli just smiles and wraps a blanket around his brother’s shoulders, sitting beside him on the settee, eyes fixed on the Lonely Mountain out the window. Kíli leans back into the plush cushion, turning himself the tiniest bit into his brother, just a tiny bit too close, as always. His leg is propped up on a footstool, at Oin’s request. Fíli lets his cheek rest on the top of his brother’s head, content.

They’d been welcomed into the home of the Master of Laketown (who, in Fíli’s humble opinion, looked more like a louse than the lord of a town, but men were much different than dwarves), and while the man had thrown them a rather uproarious party, Fíli and Kíli had taken their leave to rest. Oin had instructed Kíli to do so (and Thorin, too, though he need not say the words aloud) to give the poultice he’d packed the arrow wound with time to work. He’d worried that they’d perhaps taken too long, and that after being doused with river water, covered in fish guts, and crawling through a toilet the wound had likely become infected. So off he’d sent them, just after the party started, with a plate full of food and a mug of ale ( for Fíli only he had stressed) - and Fíli had felt Thorin’s eyes on them the entire time he’d helped his brother up the stairs to the rooms they’d been lent.

When Kíli had fallen in the armory, Fíli’s heart had stopped. He knew , the second he’d heard the loud clattering of weapons that it had been Kíli, the ache in his leg finally overcoming him. He had pushed it too far, given too much without resting, just as Fíli knew he would. He loops his arm around his brother’s shoulders, tugging him a bit closer still.

“How’s your side?” Kíli asks softly, sleepiness evident in his voice. He turns to press a kiss against his brother’s hair. Of course Kíli was still worried about him. Even with everything that had happened, even with the wound that Fíli knew was causing him pain. Kíli’s kindness never wavered

“Better,” he says, and Kíli hums in acknowledgement. His head seems to sink further into Fíli’s shoulder, blessedly cool forehead pressed against his neck.

From below, he can hear music, shouts and cheers. The merriment at the return of the Lord of Silver Fountains seems as though it will last long through the night, though Thorin had told the company that they would be leaving at first light.

“Tomorrow, we’ll be there,” Fíli murmurs softly as he gazes at the mountain, but Kíli doesn’t reply. He listens for a moment, pleased to hear his brother’s breathing deep and even with sleep. He presses another kiss to the crown of Kíli’s head. “Tomorrow we will finally see Erebor, nadadith.”

From his right, the door to the guest room they’d been lent for the night creaks open, sounds of the party spilling in, causing Kíli to stir slightly. He cranes his neck around to see Thorin sheepishly enter, closing the door behind himself with a quiet snick . He walks over to them, sitting gingerly on the edge of the settee before reaching out to card his hand through Kíli’s hair.

Fíli sees the fondness there, the raw emotion. It warms his heart - Thorin had been so focused on the quest, so in control for fear that their enemies would discover them as his heirs - he cannot remember the last time he had seen such tenderness from their uncle. He’d known to expect distance; Thorin had warned them that it was important to keep their relation to him a secret. He just hadn’t expected it to bother him as much as it did. Hadn’t expected it to hurt .

“How is he?” Thorin asks, his thumb tracing reverently over Kíli’s high cheekbone, as if committing his face to memory. Fíli frowns; what does Thorin know that he isn’t saying?

“He seems better,” Fíli admits. “I think the medicine is starting to take.”

Thorin smiles at him before reaching over to cup Fíli’s cheek, before dropping his hand to squeeze the nape of his neck.

“Talk to me, Uncle,” Fíli says quietly. “What troubles you?”

Thorin sighs, drawing away from the lads to stand by the window, eyes on the mountain. Fíli hates it a little because he can no longer see Thorin’s face, but he knows good and well that that’s probably the reason he stood in the first place. He almost wants to join him, just so he can see his face and read him better, but he doesn’t dare leave from where Kíli is tucked safely into his side.

“I’ve not been this close since...since we fled,” he says softly. “It’s made me sentimental, I suppose.” Thorin runs a hand through his beard. “I fear what we will encounter when we reach the mountain. I fear what will happen if we awaken Smaug. I fear...everything all at once, I suppose.”

Fíli can hear the barely restrained emotion in his voice. “So do I,” he admits just as quietly. “But I’m also…” he frowns, trying to decide on the right word. “Excited? Anxious? I don’t know. You’ve told us about Erebor our whole lives. It feels surreal that tomorrow...that we’ll be there.”

Thorin stiffins, almost imperceptibly, but he catches it nonetheless. “I hope it does not disappoint you,” he says after a long stretch of silence.

“I doubt it could,” Fíli says quietly. “Even after years of Smaug’s squatting, I’m certain it will be grander than anything we’ve seen before.”

Thorin turns back to him and smiles softly. “I cannot wait to show it to you.” He hears so much in his voice - pride, worry, fear, love - and it fills Fíli with an emotion he cannot quite identify. “But you should rest,” he says as he comes back toward him, bending down to press their foreheads together.

Fíli nods. “You should, too,” he says, an amused smile coming to his lips. “Can’t stay up partying all night.”

“Know that I love you,” Thorin says softly, not playing into his joke. “The both of you. More than anything in this world.” There are tears in his eyes when he pulls away, and Fíli has to swallow the lump in his throat, blinking back his own tears.

“We know, Uncle,” he asserts with a shaking voice. “Kíli adores you. I love you. Always.”

The corner of Thorin’s mouth quirps upward, in the barest hint of a smile. “It is more than I deserve.”

-----

He’s wrestled with this decision for days, though it felt like years.

Ever since his youngest nephew had been struck by the orc filth’s arrow, he’s wondered if he should send him home, or have him wait here, with these wretched men in Laketown. He doesn’t want to. Kíli is, for all intents and purposes and lineage aside, his son . They both are. He’s been with them since they were babes, he’s promised them Erebor since before they even knew what it meant.

They still didn’t know what it meant.

It meant no more rumbling stomachs, no more scrimping and saving, no more threadbare clothes, no more disdain from elves and men. It meant the end of the suffering of their people, the dawn of a new age. It meant peace and happiness in their lives for all the rest of their days. It meant everything to him because it meant he could finally, finally give everything to them . Everything they’d craved, everything they’d deserved…everything .

And they’ve come so far, they’ve conquered so much, and it seems such a shame to send him away when they are but in the shadow of the mountain.

But time is not on his side. If he is to give them all he desires, he must be swift.

And when Kíli makes to step onto the boat, horrible limp still evident in his step, his decision is made. He had hoped Oin’s cures would have had more of an effect, that the solid night’s rest would somehow make him strong enough to complete this last, precious leg of the journey.

But it hadn’t, in his heart he’d always known it wouldn’t. It had been a foolish hope.

“Not you,” he murmurs as he reaches out an arm to stop him. Kíli’s face twists into something that is a terrible cross of hurt and shame and fear, and Thorin knows he must school his features and stay impassive. He cannot let these men see him break. He cannot let them know what his nephews mean to him. They could use it as a weapon against him, and he will not have it.

“We must travel at speed,” he elaborates when he feels many eyes fall to him. “You will slow us down.”

Kíli looks up at him, disbelief clouding his face as he tries to manage a smile, to pretend that this is just a joke.. “What?” he murmurs, gaze flickering just quickly to where Fíli stands behind his uncle. “What are you talking about? I’m…I’m coming with you.”

Thorin can see the pallor in his face, the dark circles under his eyes. Kíli is still clearly not well. It would be reckless to bring him, he reasons with himself.

Thorin gives the barest shake of his head and resolutely ignores the tiny whimper of desperation that escapes Kíli’s throat. He has to do this. He has to keep him safe and win back the mountain. He has to do this. For them .

“I’m going to be there when that door is opened, when we first look upon the halls of our fathers,” he implores. “Thorin…”

He knows Kíli cannot possibly understand why he is doing this, knows he should have done this earlier, should have prepared him, should have explained . But he didn’t. He was a coward, had seen Kíli asleep the night before when he went to speak his mind, and had lost his nerve. With a sigh, he reaches to cup the back of Kíli’s head, pulling their foreheads as close as he dares.

He cannot let them know how much Kíli means to him.

“Kíli,” he murmurs, fixing him with a gaze that he hopes will explain everything. “Stay here. Rest . Join us when you are healed.” Kíli has always been better at reading him than anyone.

Kíli’s eyes search him again, desperate. Thorin’s heart breaks; he doesn’t understand.

Kíli shakes his head, breath coming out in a staggering huff, and a barely whispered ‘Uncle…’ reaches his ears. For a moment he’s terrified that he’ll cave, that he won’t let Kíli go , but Óin comes to his rescue, saying that he’ll stay with the lad. It eases his heart greatly to know that Kíli will not be alone here, that he will be in good hands between Óin and Bofur, if he ever chooses to come round again. He watches as his cousin leads his nephew away, heart feeling leaden in his chest.

When he turns back to the company, he’s met with Fíli’s furious face, nearly cringes when he sees the betrayal shining in the depths of his cerulean eyes. “Uncle,” he murmurs the damning word, but thankfully none of the men seem to hear it. “We grew up on tales of the mountain. Tales you told us. You cannot take that away from him!”

He is hurt, his tone accusing, and Thorin has to focus to keep his face neutral and impassive. “Fíli,” he starts, trying to find the right words to explain himself, but his nephew doesn’t give him the chance.

“I will carry him if I must!” he declares, and in it Thorin hears the silent ‘Uncle, please!’ , but he resolutely ignores it. They’ll be angry at him now, hurt because of him now, but he’ll make it up to them. He’ll win back the mountain. He’ll give them everything that he couldn’t for the entirety of their lives.

“One day you will be King and you will understand,” he says.

You will understand why I have to do this. It’s for both you , he means.

“I cannot risk the fate of this quest for the sake of one dwarf – not even my own kin,” he explains, in nothing more than a hushed whisper.

I cannot risk losing him, losing the mountain, not when I’ve come this far to reclaim it for you…for all of us , he means.

Fíli’s face is filled with disbelief and fierce determination, and Thorin knows what he means to do before he even moves his feet. He reaches out quickly, grabs his arm.

“Fíli, don’t be a fool,” he half-begs. “You belong with the company.”

You belong with me. I am doing this for you . I need you by my side , he means.

“I belong with my brother ,” his heir all but snarls as he wrenches his arm free.

With a heavy sigh, Thorin watches him leave the boat. He cannot blame him. He wants Fíli to stay with him, knows that he will feel better and stronger if he has at least one of them by his side, but he can’t stop him. He won’t stop him.

He turns back to the company, desperately ignores with worried glances, particularly the one Dwalin aims at him, and gives the nod for them to depart. He doesn’t look back, cannot look back, because if he does he will break. Time is not on their side, and if he is to do this, if he is to do this for them , then he must be swift.

Dwalin slides close enough to him so that their shoulders are pressed closely together to give him strength. He knows he needs it. He has to see this through, and when he does everything will be alright in the end. He will be able to give them everything.

He can do this.

He’ll do it for them.

-----

This is how it ends for him, he thinks. He cannot see a way that his brother survives this day.

They are back at Bard’s home, having been turned away everywhere else when Kíli took a turn for the worse. He’d practically fainted, then spiked a deliriously high temperature that had startled even Oin. When he’d peeled away the bandage the healer hadn’t been able to hide his gasp of surprise. In a matter of hours the wound had festered, turning black around the edges.

“It was poison,” Oin had hissed under his breath as Bofur and Fíli had supported Kíli’s deadweight. “Slow acting, very deadly... damn those creatures.”

Deadly . When Oin had uttered that word Fíli felt as if part of his soul had left his body. It took every ounce of his strength to remain calm ( for Kíli , he would constantly remind himself - in his fleeting moments of lucidity he was completely terrified, and Fíli vowed that he would not make his terror worse). It helps that Oin has taken control, that he is barking orders at him, giving him something to do , a task to focus on.

“Get him up on the table,” Oin commands. Bard makes a sound as if to protest, but he clears the table nonetheless, sending dishes and bowls clattering to the floor, making space for Kíli. Fíli stays by his head, knelt on the ground, trying to talk his brother through what is happening, though he has no idea if Kíli can hear him or not. One of Bard’s girls brings in a cloth and a basin of cool water.

“Can you not do something?” Fíli asks frantically as Kíli’s form seizes once again. He is burning hot; even pressing the cool rag to his forehead seems to do nothing.

“I need something to bring down his fever,” Oin calls over his shoulder, to Bard, as he cuts Kíli’s pant leg off and removes the latest bandage, face stricken. Fíli can’t make out what the bowman says in reply. “No, no; those are no use to me. They won’t stop the poison. Do you have any kingsfoil?”

“No; it’s a weed,” Bard says as he presents Oin with his own bowl of hot water and some cloths. The healer immediately starts clearing out the wound,  causing Kíli to groan in agony once more. “We feed it to the pigs.”

“Pigs?” Bofur says, jumping up from Kíli’s other side. “I’ll find it,” he says. He fixes Fíli with a comforting look. “I’ll find it, laddie.” He reaches for Kíli’s hand and squeezes it. “Hold on for me, yea?”

Bard’s daughter comes to kneel beside him, placing another basin of cool water beside him, then wetting her own rag and wiping it along Kíli’s face. Sigrid , her name pops into his mind again. He nods at her in gratitude. Sigrid gives him a soft, small smile, and reaches out to squeeze his arm.

Kíli lets out a pitiful, gasping wail as he arches his back against the pain. Fíli can’t take it; the tears spill freely from his eyes now as he presses his forehead to Kíli’s too-hot temple. “Hold on, nadadith,” he whispers, voice tight. “Just hold on for me, yea? Bofur will be back. We’re going to fix this. I just need you to hold on. Please,” he adds, his voice breaking on the last word as he hopes beyond hope that Kíli can hear him.

Suddenly, the ground around them shakes violently. Fíli’s stomach sinks into his boots.

“It’s coming from the mountain,” Bard’s son says, just as the room rumbles once more.

Fíli’s eyes find Bard’s. “You should leave us. Take your children and go; get out of here!”

“And go where?” Bard says, clearly distraught as he takes in each of his children.

“Are we going to die, Da?” the littlest one asks, and Fíli fears that they will . “Is the dragon going to kill us?”

“No darling,” Bard says, quickly striding over to their kitchen and yanking something free from a hanging rack. Fíli bites back a gasp of surprise; a black arrow. Ammunition for a wind-lance. “I’m going to kill it first.”

-----

“What about Bilbo?” Ori asks, a slightly panicked tone in his voice. It seemed like everything was going well enough, but then the ground had trembled beneath them.

Smaug was awake. There was no denying it. Any hope that Thorin had held that the blasted worm had perished and died within the mountain wafted away like smoke.

“Give him more time,” he says finally, eyes anxiously watching the door. He trusted Bilbo; he knew the hobbit would not let him down, knew that he would find the Arkenstone and return it to him.

“Time for what?” Balin scoffs. “To be killed?”

“You’re afraid,” Thorin acuses, crossing his arms over his chest and staring his old friend down. They need the Arkenstone; Balin needs to trust him.

“Yes, I’m afraid,” Balin retorts. “I’m afraid for you .”

Thorin takes a step back, leveling Balin with a glare.

“A sickness lies upon that treasure horde, Thorin,” he needlessly reminds him. “A sickness that drove your grandfather mad .”

“I am not my grandfather,” Thorin hisses, ire rising up within him. He knows , he knows the tragedy that had befallen his grandfather because he had watched it happen, helplessly on the sidelines. Stuck to do nothing while Thror withered into a shell of himself. He would not go down the same path. He would fight, tooth and nail, to keep that from happening.

“You are not yourself!” Balin continues. “The Thorin I know would not hesitate to go in there and -”

“I cannot risk the fate of this quest for one burgular,” Thorin interrupts, hoping that he sounds practical.

“ Bilbo ,” Balin hisses. “His name is Bilbo. Or have you forgotten?”

Thorin frowns, eyes drifting to Laketown, to Fíli and Kíli. The ground rumbles lightly beneath them once more. “What would you have me do?” he says quietly. “What would you have me do to stand against this worm who has taken everything from me.? I cannot hope to triumph against Smaug.”

Balin’s face softens. “It seems that you are also afraid, my dear friend.”

Thorin says nothing, but his gaze shifts back to the stone door. He knows that Balin is right , he cannot leave Bilbo to fend for himself. But still, he cannot make himself move to venture into the halls. He cannot face Smaug again, not without a plan to defeat him. But if Bilbo can get the Arkenstone, he can rally the dwarf kingdoms, they could form an army and stand a chance at killing that beast…

“We have to do something , Thorin,” Balin says again. “We would not have made it this far without him. We cannot leave him to face the dragon alone.”

It shakes him to his core, but Thorin nods.

-----

Kíli has gone positively ashen. His cries have weakened; he has started murmuring nonsense. Fíli can do little more than stroke his brother’s hair from his sweaty face, than whisper empty reassurances. There’s nothing they can do unless Bofur can find the kingsfoil. Nothing.

Kíli will die here, and he probably will too, judging by the ever increasing rumbles coming from the mountain.

A cold resignation settles over him. He presses a kiss to his brother’s sweaty temple, suddenly grateful for the evening they’d had the night prior, when everything had seemed so simple, so much like when they were children. He’d felt safe. Happy. He’d felt like they were going to make it to Erebor, to live out their destiny, but it had all gone wrong.

How had it all gone so wrong so quickly?

There’s a clunk on the roof, drawing Sigrid’s attention. “Da?” she calls, peeking out the door. When she receives no response, she shrugs and turns back into the house, when an orc suddenly lands on the balcony behind her. With a scream, she tries to slam the door shut, but the orc stops the door with his sword.

Sigrid’s scream snaps them all to attention, even Kíli, who struggles to get to his feet, bleary eyes trying to focus on the situation at hand. “Kíli, get down ,” he hisses, pushing his brother behind him onto a nearby settee as the orc forces its way in.

A second orc crashes through the ceiling. Oin is grabbing anything within reach and chucking them at the orcs  - starting with the plates. Bain gets his sisters under the table, blocking them from the orcs with the bench as Fíli grabs the pike hook Bard had fashioned for them and throws it with a snarl, finding a sick sort of satisfaction as it finds its mark in the orc’s throat.

More orcs crash through the ceiling, and he hears Kíli cry out in pain behind him. One of the orcs has him by his wounded leg, dragging him off of the settee, and Fíli sees red. He spies a knife on the floor and grabs it, hurling it with deadly accuracy, freeing his brother, who crashes to the ground with a whimper. Fíli has enough sense about him to grab the sword from the creature before turning to face the onslaught.

Just as suddenly, two elves come crashing through the roof, quickly getting to work on the orcs. He recognizes them from Thraduil’s halls - the blond he thinks was the elven king’s son, and the redhead had been the one patrolling the hall with their cells. The orcs must have continued following them, seeking Thorin, and the elves were clearly still hunting the orcs.

Fíli grabs Bain, shoving him down as another one of the orcs rushes at him, giving him space to slay the beast. It only takes a few moments for them to dispel the orcs - the elves are deadly accurate with their blows. There’s shouting in black speech from outside, and the remaining orcs flee from the house, leaving it a chaotic wreck. Fíli pants heavily, eyes scanning the small abode once again to make sure they are safe.

“Are you alright?” the redheaded elf asks the children as she helps them to their feet.

“You killed them all,” Bain murmurs in amazement.

Oin pushes past him, rushing back to Kíli’s side. His brother is struggling to breathe, his whole body hitching as he tries to take in air. “We’re losing him!” the healer shouts.

“What happened?” he hears the elf ask from behind him, but he can barely make it out over the blood rushing in his ears. They’re losing him.

“Please, Kee,” he begs, sinking to his knees beside his brother, a sob forming in his throat. “Please don’t leave me here alone. Please .”

“I found it!” Bofur shouts, bursting back into the home. “What in the blazes happened here?”

Fíli turns to look at him, tears streaking his face. “You found it?” he asks, numbly. Bofur holds up his hand, the plant clutched in it.

“He’s too far gone,” Oin says sadly. “I don’t know what to do.” Fíli chokes on a sob.

“I do,” the redheaded elf says, eyes switching between Kíli and the kingsfoil in Bofur’s hand.

“Tauriel,” the prince says. “We must go. We’re losing the pack.”

She shakes her head. “I’m going to save him,” she says. “Get him up on the table. I need hot water,” she says, looking at Sigrid and Tilda.

Fíli feels something akin to hope blossoming in his chest as they gather Kíli’s limp form and settle him back onto the table. He has heard the stories of elvish healing magic; he prays to Mahal that it will be enough to save Kíli. His brother is mumbling deliriously again, skin so pale that, were he not drawing in breath, Fíli would think he was dead.

He watches as the elf washes the herbs, hands deftly shredding the leaves and creating a poultice. “Hold him down,” she says, eyes fixing onto Fíli with something akin to sympathy. Fíli grabs his brother’s shoulders and Bofur takes his ankles, pressing them to the table as he tries to ignore the whimper of protest that slips past his brother’s lips.

The elf begins chanting in a language he does not recognize, before she presses the poultice into the wound, and Kíli screams. Fíli struggles to keep him still, even as Oin and Bard’s children come to help. Kíli thrashes, but the elf holds steady, keeping the poultice pressed to his wound as she recites the healing magic. After a moment, Kíli takes a heaving breath and his thrashing calms, glassy eyes staring sightlessly at the roof.

“Kíli,” he murmurs, relinquishing his hold on his brother’s shoulders and pushing his sweaty hair from his face.

The elf’s chanting ceases, and she pulls the poultice away from the wound. Fíli gasps aloud - the festering blackness of the wound has vanished, and it looks tremendously better already. He can hardly believe it.

“I’ve heard tell of the wonders of elvish medicine,” Oin says, sounding just as awed as Fíli feels. “That was a privilege to witness.”

“Burn this,” the elf says as she hands the poultice to Bofur, who obediently tosses it into the fire. “He needs rest, though I fear it will be a while before he can have it,” she says softly as she sets about binding Kíli’s leg with a clean bandage. “The poison is gone, but his body is weak.”

Fíli can hardly find the words to speak. He presses his forehead to Kíli’s temple, breathing a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he manages finally.

“He is precious to you,” the elf observes, a small smile on her face as she finishes Kíli’s binding.

“He’s my brother,” Fíli whispers. “My only family.”

She squeezes his shoulder as she stands. “I thought as much,” she admits. “You looked after one another in Mirkwood. With the spiders.”

The ground rumbles around them. Fíli closes his eyes. Have they saved him only to perish in dragonfire?

“You have to leave,” she says, speaking to all of them now. “There is no time!”

Bain hesitates. “We cannot leave without our Da,” he says, but even as he speaks the ground rumbles again, shaking debris loose from their damaged roof.

Tauriel frowns. “If you stay here, you and your sister will die. Is that what your father would want?” Bain blinks quickly, eyes shining when he finally shakes his head, looking to his sisters sadly.

Fíli and Bofur work to get Kíli to his feet. His brother is slowly coming back to himself, his eyes clearing, but he’s far too weak to walk on his own. “Fee,” he mumbles softly, his head lolling onto Fíli’s shoulder as they right him.

“Don’t worry; I’ve got you.” he promises, pressing a kiss to Kíli’s temple. Bofur helps Fíli get his brother onto his back, keeping the weight off of his leg.

Oin and Bard’s children gather some provisions as Fíli and Bofur make their way down the stairs to the dock. It is slow work; Fíli is careful not to jostle his brother and Bofur works to ensure he maintains his balance as they navigate the steps. He is just getting Kíli situated at the back of the boat, propping his wounded leg up on the side, when the others rejoin them.

A horrible tremor shakes the ground, sending waves sloshing through the lake. In the distance, they hear the shriek of a dragon. Fíli locks eyes with his brother.

Smaug is coming.

-----

No. No, no, no, no, no .

Bilbo stammers to his feet, chasing after where Smaug had fled, the other dwarves clambering behind him. He can hardly breathe. How had this happened? Thorin’s plan had been so good , he was so certain that it would work to subdue Smaug, but now ...now thousands of innocents were now in Smaug’s path. Because of them. Because of him .

They can do little more than watch when Smaug unleashes his flames upon Laketown.

-----

AN - So it looks like I’ll be rounding this bad boy out at 30 chapters. Next chapter will be pre-BOTFA focused, 29 will be BOTFA, and 30 will be the end. I’m sad and anxious and excited all at the same time.

Anyway, as always thank you so much for reading this little story that has occupied so much of my life at this point. It means the world.