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aliwritesfic · 3 years ago

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The Night Shift part 7 (F!Reader x Frankie Morales)

Summary: Sunday lunch with the nightcrew bois, what secrets will come out?

Warnings: Emotional abuse

W/C: 1.9k

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Part 1 Part 8

The sun was too fucking bright. You groaned and rolled over, mouth dry and head pounding. Your phone told you it was almost eleven, which meant you only had an hour to get ready. That was okay, though. You weren’t exactly dressing to impress. It was only Manny and Frankie . . . Frankie.With a wince, you remembered your conversation with him last night. Had it been painfully obvious that you were talking about yourself? Surely not, if he was drunk too. But as you showered, you thought about what he said, and realised that he was right. At least, he was right about what you could remember him saying. Leaving Kurt wouldn’t mean you would be alone and unloved. You had Manny and Sara; you knew they loved you. But that didn’t change that if you left, you’d have nowhere to go. You had never been the type of person to ask for handouts, especially sympathy handouts. There was just too much to think about.

A text from your phone from Sara told you as much as you needed to know about her night went.

Manifestation WORKS 😉 sent 8:34AM

You spent a few extra minutes washing your face, enjoying the feel of cool water on your skin. Flecks of makeup that you had slept in swirled down the drain, grey and black and blue. Tiny bits of glitter glinted on your cheeks, reminding you of days past when you would drown yourself in glitter to go out clubbing. The memory made you smile, remembering how carefree and happy you were just a few years ago.

Grabbing your darkest pair of sunglasses, you were ready to go. You hadn’t bothered with styling your hair beyond running a quick brush through, and your face was devoid of makeup aside from any remnants left from last night.

It was a quick walk to the bistro, your stomach roiling the entire time. You knew it was food you needed; you had already thrown up several times last night after arriving home. The thought of filling your stomach spurred you on, your feet moving slightly faster. You whipped out your phone to text Manny.

Get. Bread. Please.

There were a few unread messages from Kurt. You knew that avoiding him was immature and would only come back to bite you on the ass when he came home, but the thought of opening them and actually reading them made you feel ill. And he would know when you opened them; he complained whenever you turned your read receipts off. So, you kept them on, to keep the peace, and just avoided opening his messages until you were ready to deal with them.

The bistro came into view, and you saw Manny already sitting at your usual table on the outside terrace. You sat down gingerly next to him and flashed him a weak smile.

“You look terrible,” he said gleefully, pushing a basket of bread and butter your way. You grabbed a small roll and broke it open, inhaling the warm scent.

“I feelterrible,” you told him. “Hangovers don’t suit me.”

Manny laughed ruffled your hair. You groaned loudly, swatting his hand away, which only made him laugh harder.

“Lover, I’ve never seen you in this kind of state before, let me tease you a little,” he said. You flipped him off and ate another roll.

“Is Frankie here yet?” You asked, trying to keep the hope out of your voice. Judging by the look on Manny’s face, you had failed miserably.

“Crushing on the cook, are we?” He waggled his brows.

“No! Of course not!” You said quickly. Liar a tiny voice whispered in your ear. “I was just wondering if he got the right place.”

“Well, wonder no longer, that’s him isn’t it?”

From your spot on the terrace, you could see the familiar figure walking down the shady street to the bistro. Your palms dampened with sweat at the sight of him.

“Francisco!” Manny called, waving him over. Frankie broke into a half jog, raising his arm in a wave. You sunk slightly in your seat, praying that he wouldn’t bring up your conversation with him last night.

“How’s your hangover treating you?” Frankie asked, taking a seat at the table.

“Fucking terribly,” you said, “this is not at all what I was promised last night when I did my fourth shot.” Manny snorted and turned to the waitress who had appeared at your table.

“Good afternoon, dearest Andrea,” Manny said.

“Manny, hun, you know I hate when you use my full name,” Andi, as she preferred to be called, said. You liked Andi, she a couple years younger than you and working her way through a master’s in engineering. “What are we all having today?”

“My usual, please,” Manny said.

“The greasiest thing on the menu for me, I don’t care what it is,” you said. Andy smiled at you in sympathy, knowing the tell-tale signs of a hangover. She then turned to Frankie.

“I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of meeting before,” she said, her voice suddenly an octave higher.

“Francisco, or Frankie if you like,” he said. “Can I have the alfredo?”

“Of course, Frankie, anything else I can get for you?”

You and Manny glanced at each other, Manny with his eyebrow slightly raised. You knew Andi was a flirt, you’d seen her flirt with customers dozens of times, but something about this felt different. Personal. You chewed the inside of your lip, hoping your annoyance didn’t show too plainly on your face.

“So, what didyou do last night, lover?” Manny turned to you once Andi left.

“Drank too much,” you said. “Kurt’s out of town and Sara’s in town so I . . . I could go out. And I saw Frankie and his friends out.”

“Are your friends all as gorgeous as you?” Manny asked, turning to Frankie who blushed deeply.

“I wouldn’t say I’m gorgeous,” he mumbled, adjusting his cap slightly. “I’m just average.”

“Gorgeous and humble,” Manny said, “your partner is a lucky person.”

“I’m not- I uh don’t- I’m not with anyone,” it dawned on you that Frankie was terrible at taking compliments.

“Maybe it’s my personal bias, but out of all his friends, Frankie is truly the most attractive of them,” you said. You knew this could lead to something dangerous, but the chance to see Frankie flustered was just too good to miss.

“Yo-you do?” he asked, turning an even deeper shade of red. You nodded seriously.

“Whoever you date in future is going to be very lucky,” Manny said. Then, never one to linger on a topic for too long, Manny took a sip of his water and declared that it was feelings time.

“Feelings time?” Frankie sounded uncertain.

“Well, neither of us can afford therapy, so we use each other as therapists,” Manny explained. “We started it when I was working at Lou’s, and it’s been so long since I’ve had a good feelings time. Of course, you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to, and if you do want, keep it as light or as heavy as your heart tells you. Consent is key.”

Frankie nodded, obviously still unsure of the whole situation. It struck you then how strange you and Manny would seem to an outsider. Andi returned with food for the three of you, placing down the biggest burger you had laid eyes on in front of you.

“Enjoy,” she said with a wink to Frankie. “Come find me personally if you’re not satisfied.”

You could’ve thrown up at the blatant flirting. What made it worse was Frankie seemed to be enjoying it, smiling up at Andi.

“I’ll start,” Manny said, once Andi was gone again. “I’m feeling overwhelmed recently with my new job and the house renovations James and I are undertaking. We had a big fight over fucking tiles last night, and I know we wouldn’t have if I could just be decisive.”

“Does James know how you’re feeling?” You asked. Manny shrugged.

“I don’t know. I’d normally tell him about it in a heartbeat, but he’s been stressed too, and I don’t want to add to it.”

“He’s your husband, right?” Frankie asked and Manny nodded. You glanced at him in surprise. “Husbands should support each other. You usually feel supported by him, right? So why is now any different? His stress is your stress, yours is his. That’s what you signed up for when you got married.”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t be afraid to tell him what’s going on with you,” you said, realising how ironic that was coming from you.

Manny looked thoughtful as he cut into his vegetable stack. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. Now your turn, lover.” You groaned. Feelings time was fine when you were listening to other people, and when the feelings you had weren’t so messy. But you could filter your feelings, and you trusted the two men you sat with.

“Okay,” you took a deep breath. “Okay, I’m feeling like I want to end my relationship. I feel like I’m fucking miserable, but I also feel like I’m trapped. Frankie, you remember that friend I told you about last night? It’s actually me.”

“I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah, it was pretty obvious, but I didn’t wanna make you uncomfortable by saying that.”

“Oh, my god,” you rubbed your face. “Right. So, like I said, I want to break up with Kurt, but it’s not easy to do.” You waited for one of them to interrupt you, when they didn’t, you went on. “For one, I don’t have enough money to move out. I don’t have much in savings at all because I keep needing to dig into it when he’s short on rent or money for bills or whatever. I don’t love him anymore, I don’t even know if I like him. Also, he said hedkillhimselfifieverleft.”

“Excuse me, he said what?” Manny leant forward, rage curdling his usually placid face. Frankie too, looked furious.

“He said he would kill himself if I ever left,” your voice was small. “I tried, one time, and-and he sent me a video of him tying a noose to a ceiling fan telling me it was my fault he was doing that. So, I went back, because I don’t want his death on my hands.” You realised with growing humiliation that you were crying.

Manny reached across the table and took your hand, holding it gently. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to bother anyone,” you said, “it was my problem to deal with.”

“When does he come back?” Frankie asked quietly.

“Tomorrow,” you said. Manny and Frankie exchanged a look and Manny nodded.

“If you let us,” Manny said carefully, “we’re gonna help you get out. We won’t force you into anything, but we want to help.”

“Wait,” you sat back, confused, “wait. Have you too been conspiring behind my back? How? When?”

“No, not til this morning. I gave Frankie my number when I first met him, in case he had any questions. Then he messaged me this morning, and we got to talking about how we can help you.”

“If you want our help,” Frankie said. Part of you felt like you should’ve been angry, but you couldn’t be. Instead, you were overwhelmed with gratitude, with love. You grabbed a napkin and dabbed at your eyes under your sunglasses.

“I think I want help,” you said finally. You knew you couldn’t do this without help, even though it embarrassed you to admit that. Frankie nodded, satisfied.

“Alright, we need to make a plan.”

Taglist: @hnt-escape @sharkbait77 @1800-fight-me @annathewitch @darnitdraco @frankiecatfish @punkerthanpascal @nakhudanyx @gracie7209

#the night shift #frankie x reader #frankie morales x reader #frankie catfish morales #fransisco morales #triple frontier

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thebiscuiteternal · 4 years ago

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“A Safe Place To Die” Madwoman In The Attic, Forced Seclusion, Slow Death By Misplaced Kindness, Nie Huaisang tried to tell Lan Xichen his suspicions about his brother’s death and it Did Not Go Well, Not-Quite-Sangcheng.

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Three times, Jiang Cheng has informed the servants that he only wants a pot and some cups, and yet when he arrives at the door of the tiny house at the edge of the Cloud Recesses, there is a maid waiting with a fully-made tea tray. Well aware that he is already treading on thin ice with having demanded this visit, he bites back the acrid comment that threatens to bubble up behind his teeth and focuses his ire on the wards of the door instead.

Inside, Nie Huaisang sits on a cushion on an otherwise empty floor and doesn't so much as turn his head away from the window at the intrusion.

Jiang Cheng waves the maid over to put the tray down, then scowls thunderously when she putters at it for too long.

Point taken, she flees.

Once he's well and sure she's gone, he picks up the teapot, walks over to the window, and unceremoniously dumps the contents onto the bushes outside. Nie Huaisang hasn't moved, but Jiang Cheng is well aware that he's being watched as he takes a cloth from what he assumes is the bathing area and thoroughly wipes out the pot. He refills it with new water and presses a heating talisman to the ceramic, then sets it down and fetches another cloth. Settling himself onto the floor across from the other man, he begins wiping down the cups as well.

"I brought some of that spice tea from the southwest that you like," he says a little too roughly to be purely conversational. The cups now clean and clearly safe, he pulls a pouch from his sleeve and begins producing small, tightly wrapped packages to lay between them. "Nie Hengbai insisted I bring you these as well."

That finally makes Nie Huaisang turn his head a little, rather than observing him from the corner of his eye or through his eyelashes.

Good.

That's good.

He takes out the box of loose tea and opens the lid so that the other man can observe it for himself, setting it close enough that he won't have to lean too far to peer in.

"I actually had to explain all this to Sect Leader Lan, you know." Nie Huaisang blinks up at him, expression still unreadable. "Apparently the concept that you would fear being poisoned by the same people who locked you up for insisting your brother had been murdered never once occurred to him."

That earns him a snort, followed by a weak and rasping huff of not-quite-laughter that is both encouraging and a little unnerving. Apparently satisfied by his efforts, Nie Huaisang reaches out of the blanket he has cocooned himself in and gently pushes the box back.

Jiang Cheng focuses on the prep work of measuring and brewing the tea and adding the honey he has also brought. Focusing on that keeps his mind from dwelling on the thought that he could count the bones in his friend's wrist, or that the hollows of the other man's cheeks remind him uncomfortably of-

"How are they?"

The faded crackle of the other man's voice brings him out of his focus. "Who... the disciples?" he asks hesitantly. At the small nod he gets in return, some of the tension in his back eases. "They're... pretty pissed about all this. Nie Hengbai only took the leadership position three days ago after literally no one else would accept, and he's insisting he's only an interim leader."

Nie Huaisang blinks at him, confusion written all over his face. "Why?"

"Well, they're not happy with the elders rolling over for Lanling Jin and Gusu Lan, that's for sure, but mostly they want you back."

"Why?"

Jiang Cheng offers a teacup, keeping his hands around Nie Huaisang's when the other man's fingers tremble trying to hold it. "Is it so hard to believe?" he asks as he carefully helps his friend drink. "They know you. They know you'd watch over them no matter how much you complained about it."

Nie Huaisang swallows the last mouthful, then hesitates for a moment before letting him have the cup back. "And you?" he asks, so very softly and cautiously. "What do you know?"

"That you lie about things like hiding junk food from Grandmaster Lan, not about another sect scheming for your brother's life." He takes a deep breath, then picks up the pot and refills the cup. "I voted against the seclusion," he says quietly. "Even if you were losing your mind the way the others believed, and I don't think you were, being locked up alone wasn't going to do a damn thing to help."

"Oh, I have regular visitors," Nie Huaisang murmurs, and gods above, Jiang Cheng is glad to hear the sarcasm in it. He bites back the briefest smile before he picks up the cup and holds it to the other man's mouth again.

"When the vote passed, I offered..." He swallows hard. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not angry. Not at you, at any rate."

"You should be," he argues, but Nie Huaisang gently pushes back the cup so he can shake his head.

"It's not your fault. Not when you have to share Ling-er."

They fall into silence then, not quite companionable but not uncomfortable either, until the second cup is empty. Then Jiang Cheng opens the first of the little bundles sent from Qinghe. The sight of several rice flour balls, clearly made by an expert and caring hand, draws a broken little sob from his friend that makes his own chest tighten. Partially to give Nie Huaisang what laughably little privacy is available and partially to keep from breaking down himself, he turns away to examine their surroundings with a more critical eye.

The first thing he notices is that there is no bed frame. Several extra pallet mattresses have been added to make up for some of the lost height, but that's all the bed is. Pallets and a few pillows.

In fact, there isn't anything sturdy in the room. He'd picked up on the lack of a table, but now he sees that there are no shelves or a wardrobe; he sees a few boxes made of layered paper that might contain books and robes, but that's all. There's no tub, nor a privacy screen to go with it. The cloths are cut so small that they'd be useless for tying together. There is nothing remotely sharp to be seen anywhere.

This is, he realizes, a room entirely designed to keep the occupant from having anything they could use for a suicide attempt.

He inhales, keeping his breathing deep and slow, in order to swallow back the sudden and intense urge to vomit. He's not entirely surprised; Nie Huaisang has been painted as having gone mad and Sect Leader Lan genuinely seems to believe it. Of course he would want to keep his dearest friend's little brother safe after losing said friend to a violent madness of his own.

But this place is a nightmare cloaked in kindness.

Hell, if they'd locked him in here by himself, he probably would have been trying to tear down the walls after the first few days.

"Jiang-xiong?"

Another deep breath, then he turns back to find that Huaisang has finished the first of his gifts, his eyes red but the tears dried.

"I'm sorry, but I can't get the knots open," he says, looking somewhere between dejected and deeply embarrassed as he indicates another of the bundles. Trembling fingertips are red from his attempts to do just that. Just a few months ago, Jiang Cheng would have rolled his eyes and called him lazy. Here and now, he simply nods and picks it up, and the irony is thick enough to choke on.

"I'm going to meet with Nie Hengbai as soon as I leave," he mutters as he pulls apart the strings. At the questioning head tilt, he continues. "We're going to get you a cook from Qinghe or Yunmeng. Someone we'll both vet. They'll handle all your meals and the delivery of them. And the Lans are going to accept them whether they like it or not."

"Are you sure that's-"

"I'm going to visit more often. I should have been visiting already."

"I told you, I don't blame-"

He takes a piece out of the pile of spiced and dried lamb in the package and pops it into Nie Huaisang's mouth, then grins when the other man sulks at him while chewing. "There you are. I was worried you wouldn't come back."

Nie Huaisang rolls his eyes and swallows, then sinks in to rest his head against Jiang Cheng's shoulder. "You're going to be stubborn about this, aren't you?"

"I am."

"You might get in trouble, too."

"Might not be so bad if they throw us in together."

It's a joke of incredibly poor taste, considering their situations, but at least it gets Nie Huaisang to actually laugh.

#mdzs #nie huaisang #jiang cheng #sangcheng #fanfic

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beauvibaby · 4 years ago

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Across The Street — Part Two

read part one here

a/n: just a short two parted series for y’all, I hope you enjoyed it!

Surely this wouldn’t be easy.

Those words were all that ran through your mind, but, if you’re being truthful, you didn’t know if it was anything to be worried about. Considering how he just kissed you and walked off, who does that?

But then, he started texting you daily, and sneaking flirty comments in when you’d see him in public, just enough to keep your mind at ease. Not to mention the kisses stolen when it was just the two of you. He wasn’t used to something like this, for him it kind of just always happened, but with you, it was different. He wanted to show you how you should be treated, and he hated to admit that how he normally went about things wasn’t how you deserved to be treated.

“Good luck on your first day!”

His text read, following a good morning message as well, it was finally time for you to start watching Steven and Emily, you were beyond ecstatic to fall into a routine. You needed it, a constant in your life. You were at a red light, just outside the kids neighborhood when you sent him a thank you, and told him to have a good day. It sounded cliche, but the two of you didn’t have that awkward phase, you skipped straight into being comfortable together.

Parking your car, you went inside and proceeded to have an amazing first day, both of the kids so happy to have you there, putting their mom at ease. Emily clung to your hip most of the day, still being new to walking, but she happily babbled to you whenever she wasn’t napping, and Steven was proudly showing off his Lego collection to you, and adorably telling you how Emily wasn’t allowed near them because she tried to eat them. You gasped, making him feel proud that he at least thought he taught you something new. By the end of the day you were beaming ear to ear, and couldn’t help but call Tyler on your drive home, you didn’t think much of the gesture, but Tyler did.

“Hello?” He answered, confused, not expecting to hear from you, not that he was complaining. “Tyler! I just had the best first day, I’m already in love with those kids, they’re so sweet, and cute, oh my god!” You rambled, stopping when he began to laugh over the phone. “What?” You pouted, even if he couldn’t see you. “Nothing, it’s just–am I the first person you called?” He questioned, and your face warmed up, “maybe.” You sang, he laughed under his breath. “That’s sweet, baby.” The word slipped before he could stop it, and you swear you couldn’t get even redder than you already were. “Mhm, who else would I call?” You teased him, listening as he went silent, you heard movement before he spoke, “dunno, Cassidy? Henry? Jenny?” He offered, laughing groggily, “oh my god! I’m sorry, your nap.” You rushed checking the time, they were away for a game, the time difference, you felt terrible. “S’alright.” He mumbled, “go to sleep, Ty.” You demanded with a giggle, “call me after the game?” You added in a questioning tone, unsure if that was pushing the bounds of this new relationship. “It’ll be so late there.” He reminded you. “I don’t care.” You admitted, realizing how badly you wanted to see him now. “Ok, ok, I’ll call.” He laughed softly, “bye, Y/N.” He murmured, “bye.” You repeated, hanging up the call, chewing your lip, a smile evident on your face.

“Why are you so happy?” Henry teased the second you walked in, you rolled your eyes, slipping your shoes off by the door, “it was my first day remember?” You called, walking through the kitchen, “how was it?” He paused whatever show he was watching, looking over the back of the couch towards the kitchen. You pulled out something to cook for dinner, “it was great! They’re such a nice family.” You gushed, not boring him with the details, knowing he wouldn’t bother to listen anyways. “I’m going out with Jenny again tonight.” He spoke over his show as he turned it back on. Your eyebrows shot up, “really?” You squealed, bouncing in the kitchen. Henry only laughed in response at your enthusiasm. You were happy that the two were working out so far, and Jenny was the only one who knew about you and Tyler. Your mind drifted back to him as you cooked, about what it would be like to go on a proper date with him, not sneaking off when you were with your friends, or hushed conversations at night.

“Seriously, you're terrifyingly happy.” Henry grimaced, walking past you after he got ready for his date, you scoffed, trying to kick him as he walked past but he dodged it. “Am I not allowed to be happy oh dearest brother of mine?” You mumbled, scooping a spoonful of your rice and beef into your mouth. “I didn’t say that! It just seems like more than a good first day of work…” he trailed off, eyeing you suspiciously. “Is it a boy?” He raised an eyebrow, you shrugged, “don’t wanna be late for your date, Henry.” You pointed to the time, and he gasped, panicking as if she wasn’t just downstairs, but rightfully so, because then he’d have no excuse for being late. “Have fun!” You called as the door shut, slinking your way to your room after doing the dishes, you wasted time on your phone until the game was supposed to start. After making sure you had your things ready for work again tomorrow, your music cut off as you got a notification, making you rush over to your phone. A Snapchat from Tyler, a simple photo of his laced up skates, “almost game time, you gonna watch?”

You laughed, rolling your eyes, you already had the channel on the TV, and your Seguin jersey, of course you had one, it had been–at the time–a terrible Christmas gift from Henry, but now it wasn’t so bad. You walked over by the TV, taking a silly selfie, “of course I’m watching, I’m offended you thought I wouldn’t!”

He opened it nearly instantly, and you turned pink as you got the notification of him taking a screenshot. “That better be my jersey.” A chat, instead of a photo, “no, it’s Roope’s.” You laughed, receiving a string of angry emojis from him. You felt a little daring tonight, and you felt good, running off a high from today, so you stepped into the bathroom, turning to the side so the number on the sleeve showed, sending him a picture, the caption only being a winking face. This time you chuckled as he took a screenshot, he wasn’t shy, that’s for sure. He didn’t respond, which you expected as the game was supposed to start in a few minutes. You curled up against your headboard, plugging your phone in beside your bed and snuggling in for the game. Happy that Henry was out, giving you the chance to shout at the game as much as you want without him questioning your sudden concern for the players, Tyler specifically. But it was a good game, an easy game, which was good, as you weren’t sure you’d be able to handle anything serious happening when they were so far away.

When you woke up to your alarm, realizing Tyler never called, you were slightly upset, but it melted away when you saw the texts from him in your phone.

“Are you up?”

“Told you it was gonna be late, goodnight Y/N”

You laughed, typing out a congrats and good morning text before beginning your new routine for the day.

It went like this for a while, the boys gone on a string of away games for a couple of weeks, which felt like an eternity to you.

You were thankful for Henry’s ever changing work schedule, since he was working late tonight, installing traffic lights, you were going to Tyler’s house, he just got back this afternoon and insisted you come over, since you would have just been sitting alone at home. You were suddenly very aware that you were coming straight from work, your clothes reeking of the baby food Emily had spilt on you today. You grimaced, not coming to this realization until you were pulling up his driveway. No going back now, the dogs started barking when they heard your door shut, they came running out as Tyler opened the front door for them. “Hi puppies!” You shrieked kneeling in the grass, allowing them to smother you in licks and tail thumps. Gerry the youngest, and most excited jumped, putting his paws on your shoulders, sending you backwards into the grass. “Gerry!” Tyler laughed, coming over to you, you were a giggling mess underneath the dog, as he pinned you down, licking the sides of your face repeatedly. “Gerry, that’s enough.” Tyler spoke again, looking down at you with outstretched hands when the dog moved, you pouted, letting him help you up. “Don’t be so mean to him.” You mumbled teasingly as Gerry nudged between the two of you, Marshall and Cash calming down and sitting on either side of you. “Are you more excited to see me or the dogs?” Tyler questioned, wrapping his arms around your waist, you held your chin in thought. “Oh definitely the dogs.” You answered, laughing when he tried to move away from you. “No.” You whined, throwing your arms around his neck, “I missed you.” The words slipped from your mouth, but you couldn’t care to be embarrassed as he hummed in response before kissing you, maybe it was the two weeks apart, but this was definitely the best kiss you’ve had in your short relationship. He squeezed you a little tighter, “Ty.” You mumbled pulling away as he chased your lips, “Tyler.” You spoke again, laughing as he opened his eyes with a dramatic whine. “We’re still in your front yard.” You reminded him, he looked around, “whoops.” Dragging you inside, the dogs following happily.

You stayed tucked under his arm, giggling when he looked at you oddly, “what’s that smell?” He inquired, tilting his head to the side, you covered your mouth, hoping to hide the almost snort that fell from it. “Did you just snort?!” He gasped, trying his best not to laugh hysterically. “It’s baby food.” You answered, between your laughs, “the smell.” You added when he looked lost, “oh!” That sent him into a real fit of chuckles, “did you want a shirt?” He asked once he calmed down, you bit your lip but nodded, you saw his eyes flicker to your lips but he didn’t say anything. You followed him around the large house, trying to remember your way around. “So I was thinking.” Tyler trailed off, as he pulled a random stars shirt from his closet, “is that ever a good thing?” You retorted, watching as he gasped. “Well never mind then.” He huffed, handing you the shirt, making his way out of the room so you could change the material. “No, what is it?” You questioned following him, easily slipping the shirt on, it ended about mid thigh, but it didn’t matter as you had jeans on. “I was going to cook–“ he glanced back, eyeing you over, his words coming to a halt. “Uh, cook? Did you want to stay for dinner?” He managed to get out, you smirked, knowing his reaction was related to seeing you in his shirt. “I’d love to stay for dinner.” You answered with an innocent smile, resuming your spot under his arm, he nodded, clearing his throat as he walked. You laughed softly, such a guy.

You pushed yourself up onto the edge of the counter, swinging your legs girlishly, Tyler turned to face you, you motioned him closer. “You played so good when you were gone.” You mumbled, resting your arms over his shoulders, like this was a normal occurrence, his hands rested just above your knees. “Yeah?” He smiled, “you watched?” He questioned, hoping this was going in the way your touches were leading, but if it wasn’t, he wouldn’t be mad, he wouldn’t rush you. “I watched every game.” You mumbled, his smile only widened, “every game?” He smirked, sliding his hand up a little higher. “In your jersey.” You whispered, one hand moving up to play with his hair. He still didn’t make a move to kiss you. “Ty, do I have to spell it out, or are you going to make a move.” You whined, suddenly worried that he didn’t even want to be with you like that. You pushed him back, “did I read this wrong? Oh my god, I’m so embarrassed.” You rushed, hiding your face in your hands, Tyler grabbed your hands, moving them off your face. “No, you definitely didn’t read it wrong.” He pulled you in for a kiss, smirking when you sighed into it, his arms moved around your back the tips of his fingers dipping into your back pocket. You leaned away, keeping your forehead pressed against his. “I believe I was promised dinner first.” You teased, watching as he laughed, “I’m more of a dessert first kinda guy.” He mumbled, “Tyler Paul Seguin!” You shrieked, lightly whacking his arm, laughing but not fighting him when he pulled you back in. Yeah, it was a late dinner that night.

You looked in front of where Tyler parked, and over at him, then down at your clothes, “why are we so dressed up, to go to the park? At night?” You questioned, looking at him with confused eyes. Over a month of dating him, and he still managed to confuse you. Secret dating, keep in mind, so you were still learning somethings about each other. “Because, I didn’t want you to figure out what we were doing, and I thought you would like it.” He answered, cheeks pink, he shut the jeep off, demanding you stay in your seat as he hopped out. You giggled but agreed, not wanting to ruin his hard efforts, he opened the door for you, holding his hand out for you. “And they say chivalry is dead.” You laughed, allowing him to help you down, he grabbed your other hand, steadying you when you stumbled a bit in your heels. “Are we going in the grass?” You questioned, before he could shut the car door, “yes?” He answered skeptically. You placed a hand on his shoulder, using it to steady yourself as you reached down and pulled your heels off. “I’d sink if I tried to walk in the grass in these.” You laughed when he looked at you confused, he nodded, understanding what you meant. “Are you going to get cold?” He sounded concerned, releasing your hand to reach into the backseat while you threw your heels onto the floor of the passenger seat. He pulled out a basket, and your face fell into a happy pout. “Tyler, that’s so cute.” You gasped, leaning up to kiss his cheek. “Oh thank god.” He mumbled, the tension in his shoulders releasing. “You were nervous?” You asked, smiling as he laced your fingers together again.

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be nervous? I have to impress you.” He gasped dramatically, you smiled with a shake of your head, “you don’t have to do anything special to impress me.” You assured him, allowing him to lead you to a spot in the grass, a blanket already there, you smiled again, in awe of the effort he went through. “So cute.” You grinned, carefully sitting in your dress, he followed, sitting beside you, popping the basket open. You threw your head back in laughter when the food in the basket was takeout from your favorite restaurant, coincidentally the one you had went to the first night you moved here. “Surprise.” Tyler laughed, opening the container, “you remembered?” You gasped seeing the same pasta you ordered that night. He shrugged, looking down as he stuck a fork into his food, “aw, bub, thank you.” You placed your hand on his leg, “this is all really sweet.” You added, giving him a quick kiss, “I’m glad you like it.” He mumbled, shifting in his spot, taking another bite of his food. You put your food down, moving to be in front of him, holding back your insecurities, “are you alright, Tyler? You’re acting weird.” You questioned, sitting in front of him. “I’ve never done stuff like this.” He admitted, finally, finally, meeting your eyes. “What?” You didn’t understand what he meant.

“Romantic stuff, personal stuff, I just, I’ve never wanted to do it for someone before.” He explained, watching as you nodded, processing his words, “I’m flattered that you want to do those things for me, I really am, but Tyler. I don’t want you to think you have to do this to impress me, I’m perfectly happy spending our dates watching Netflix and playing with the dogs.” You explained, wishing he would understand that, this wasn’t how you wanted tonight to go. “Yeah, but you deserve this too.” He sighed, also frustrated with how this date started going. You shook your head, taking a bite of your food, “we’re trying too hard.” You deadpanned, and it was true, both of you were trying to rush this along, but you didn’t have too. There was no rush, there was no need to speed it up, you already knew each other, and maybe, just maybe, that’s why the two of you were trying to be farther along than you were. “I know.” He sighed, undoing a button on his shirt, slumping down more. “Let’s just talk then.” He added, relaxing as he realized you felt the same.

“Mhm, this food is cold but good.” You laughed, bringing your teasing back into the date, Tyler chuckled, desperately stabbing at his pasta, the noodles continuing to mush and roll away from his fork, “how’s work?” He asked, missing the stories you would call and tell him when he was on the road, you grinned and pulled your phone out, showing him the video you took of Emily walking completely on her own to Steven. He felt much more at peace as the two of you fell into easy conversation, and how he could look at you while you spoke and see the happiness you emitted as you talked about them. “They’re cute.” Tyler commented, smiling at the pictures of them you had, “I love them, it’s not even like a job, you know? I just love going to see them every–what? Why are you looking at me like that?” You cut yourself off, catching the way he was smiling, his most genuine one so far. “Cause you’re cute when you ramble.” He answered in a duh tone, “see this is much better.” You grinned, scooting closer to him, letting out a surprised shriek when he pulled you over one of his legs, leaving you sitting between them, your back against his chest. He smiled, placing a lazy kiss to your cheek, “can I ask something?” He murmured, wrapping his arms around your torso. “Anything.” You mumbled, leaning further into his hold, when he didn’t speak you looked up to see him smiling down at you fondly.

“It’s stupid, but I’ve always wondered–more so now, what you were really crying about on the dock that night.” Tyler explained, confusion settling on his face when you started giggling uncontrollably, never thinking you’d be having this conversation. “What?” He questioned when you looked at him and started laughing harder, you took a breath, calming yourself down. “It’s stupid, Ty, you wouldn’t understand.” You mumbled, it didn’t matter if he knew now, he was your boyfriend after all, you just knew he’d be confused. “Try me!” He whined, now really interested at the fact you were laughing about it now, but crying about it then. “I was the first one of my friends to have boobs.” You spoke bluntly, and he stared at you, trying to determine if you were being serious. “You were crying over that?” He mumbled, eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Oh my god,” you paused to laugh, smoothing the wrinkles on his forehead out, “it’s not like guys, girls were mean because of it. And older guys would stare, it was just not a good year.” You laughed, Tyler still looking at you uncertain, “why did I ask.” He muttered, nuzzling his face into your neck. “Dunno, babe.” You sighed, happy with his reaction to the pet name, you could feel him smiling against your skin. He was definitely the one that used your name less, but maybe now you’d start using his name less too.

****

Jenny smirked at you as you kept changing your mind about what to wear to this house party, more of a get together but you were certain there would be more people there than you thought. “You don’t want to be obvious.” She reminded you, being the only one that knew about you and Tyler, tonight would be the first time you two were hanging out in such a public setting with all your friends around, and you were wondering how it would go, and quite honestly, how you would keep yourself from kissing him the second you got there. “I know, but I also want to know that he’s looking at me.” You spoke sheepishly, holding the two options out for her to survey. “Oh, definitely this one.” She pointed to the light wash skinny jeans, and burgundy sweater, “with those cute cut out boots!” She added, clapping her hands in success. You laughed, but did as she said, feeling good about yourself once you had the outfit on. “Are you guys ready yet?” Henry groaned from the living room, the two of you laughed, Jenny pulled her sweater on, giving you a smile, “let’s do this.” You were so grateful that she was your friend as much as she was your brother's girlfriend, it was the ideal situation to get along with someone so important in his life. “Quit rushing us.” Jenny chastised him once you two walked out of your room, he rolled his eyes but gave her a quick peck before heading to the door.

You arrived at Tyler’s house, shooting him a smile when he saw you, nothing too conspicuous, Roope waved, as well as some of the other guys who were here. Jamie gave you a quick hug, you’d grown quite close to him over the past couple of months, considering how often he was around Tyler. You made your way to the kitchen, grabbing yourself a drink, jumping when you felt arms wrapped around your waist. “Hi, baby.” Tyler mumbled, spinning your around for a quick kiss, you smiled against him, “hi.” You breathed out, “don’t get us caught.” You demanded, lightly pushing at him when he placed a kiss to the side of your neck. “Just getting my fix.” He teased, giving you one last peck before putting some space between the two of you. He started a casual conversation with one of the guys while they walked into the kitchen, getting themselves some drinks too. You snuck out, squeezing past them, mumbling a sorry when your hand grazed over Tyler’s. He smiled at you, hiding a laugh from your purposeful action.

“Hey, Y/N.” Roope smiled when you sat beside him on the couch, “hey, how’ve you been?” You questioned, settling into random conversation with the group around you, Henry being across the room with Jenny glued to his side, Roope beside you, and Esa beside him with his girlfriend. “Good, what about you?” He answered, keeping the talking going. You soon drifted into talking about random things, from work, to hockey, to random stories from over the years. Your head snapped up when Tyler walked in, a girl trying to keep herself tucked into his side, your stomach clenched, and you had to resist the urge reacting. Of course, you knew that since you wanted to keep this a secret, he couldn’t just stop his normal behavior completely. You shifted in your spot, before deciding to go get another drink, you made it a little stronger than the last one. “Y/N, are you alright?” Jenny came in beside you, she watched as you shrugged, “yeah, it’s just weird.” You admitted, giving her a solemn smile. “Maybe you guys should just stop keeping it a secret? Henry would get over it.” She offered, and you wanted to do that, but you were nervous. “I’m just afraid that if we do that, things will change, it’s been so easy! Not having to deal with people's opinions, or the boys chirping him.” You explained, sipping on your drink, the girl that was attached to Tyler just a moment ago, walked in and got herself a drink, already seeming more than tipsy enough. You shook your head, walking out as the conversation ended now. Tyler watched you walk out the back door where more people had dispersed, he discreetly followed you, pulling you to the side. “Tyler.” You sighed, he pulled you into the pool house, “don’t be mad, it’s just for show. I haven’t don’t anything with her, and you know I wouldn’t.” He rushed to explain, afraid you were upset with him. “You can’t expect it to be easy for me, how would you feel if I walked out with some guy wrapped around me?” You retorted, not meaning to snap, his face fell.

“I wouldn’t like it.” He confirmed, reaching for your waist, pulling you closer to him, “baby, I would walk out there right now with you all over me if you let me.” He assured you, he was over keeping it private after just over a month of sneaking around, he wanted to show you off, and be able to kiss you and hug you whenever he wanted. You nodded biting your lip, “I know, bub, soon, not tonight.” You whispered, pulling him in for a sweet kiss, “I promise, soon.” You added, feeling him nod against you. “Do you think you could figure out a way to stay tonight?” He mumbled, pushing your hair back. “I’ll figure it out.” You smiled, kissing him once more before sneaking out, he waited around in there for a minute, making sure nobody noticed how you both had walked out.

Instantly you went to find Jenny, hating that you were asking her but you needed a way to stay here without Henry questioning it. “Hey, Jenny, can I talk to you for a minute?” You asked, she looked up at you, smiling, Henry released her waist as she stood to follow you. “I’m spending the night here, is there anyway you could keep Henry distracted?” You pouted at the slightly older girl, she laughed, “one step ahead of you, he’s staying at my place tonight, he won’t know you didn’t come home.” She winked, strutting back to him, your mouth agape, “too much information.” You grimaced before she reached him, she laughed at you but accepted your grateful smile. As you were walking back towards the center of the party, you passed Tyler huddled around some of the guys, his cheeks pink, “is it her?” Miro asked, Tyler shook his head. “No you guys it isn’t like that.” He mumbled, “then what is it like? That girls been all over you tonight, and you don’t get marks on your back for no reason.” Jamie chirped the younger guy, your stomach dropped to your feet. They didn’t notice you as you walked by.

Before you knew it, everyone was gone, and you had more than one to many drinks. You were sitting on the couch, trying to hold your emotions together, but the alcohol only made you want to cry more. Tyler sighed, sitting beside you, for the first time all night, and only then did he realize how much you had drank. “Baby?” He laughed, reaching for your hand, his face quickly falling when you yanked away from him, he wasn’t completely in the wrong here, you were the one keeping it secret, but now your insecurities were getting the best of you. “Hey, what’s wrong?” He tried again, you shrunk away from him, “I don’t want to talk about it.” You sniffled, wishing you could hide. He shook his head, moving in front of you, “talk to me, don’t do this.” He murmured, grabbing your hands before you could move again, you looked down at him as he kneeled in front of the couch, he rested your connected hands on your lap. “I just–are you sure you want this? Want me?” You whimpered, the water slipping over your eyes, if you had been sober, you’d see the way Tyler’s heart so clearly broke when you started crying. “Y/N, of course I’m sure.” He rushed, releasing your hands to cup your face, “but you looked so much better with that other girl.” You admitted, and he realized these tears were more about yourself doubt than anything. He shook his head, “no, I look better with you, baby.” He assured, wiping at the tears, “I promise, you’re the one I want to parade around with at parties, only you.” He tilted your head down, kissing your forehead, frowning when your body slumped with a cry. “I’m sorry.” You whispered, “for what?” He gasped, leaning away to meet your eyes again.

“For keeping it a secret.” You whined, feeling your head already begin to hurt. “It’s alright, princess, let’s just get you to bed, yeah?” He murmured lovingly, helping you to your feet.

When you went to sleep that night you could swear he whispered an I love you into your hair, but you were too far gone to be certain.

Your hands shot to your head when you woke up, the pounding being unbearable, you shifted in the bed, freezing when you felt the weight of Tyler’s arm over your waist. He groaned incoherently into his pillow, “my head hurts.” You whispered, he groggily chuckled into his pillow, lifting his head slowly. “Mhm, I figured it would.” He smiled, he left a careful kiss to your head before pointing to the nightstand and laying back down. You looked over and saw a water and pain killers sitting there, you quickly took some before curling back into the bed. He watched you with a lazy smile as you rolled closer to him, “Ty?” You murmured, a hand resting on his jaw, lightly rubbing against his beard, he raised a brow at you. “I love you too.” You sighed, he widened his eyes before a cheeky smile came over his face, “I didn’t think you heard me.” He laughed, quietly, not wanting to hurt your head anymore. “I kinda took a leap of faith, assuming that I had heard you correctly.” You breathed out in relief, laying your head back down, “we can tell Henry, but not until after you make it to the conference final.” You added, smiling when he shot up, “really?” He gasped, apologizing when you winced. “Yes, now shush.”

***

This was it, the game that would tell you if they made it to the conference finals. You were sitting in the stands with Henry and Jenny, all three of you anxious beyond belief, this was a huge deal, and you were praying they’d make it through. Tyler and you had decided that if they won, you’d tell Henry tonight, right after the game, because Tyler knew he wouldn’t be able to resist kissing you during his game winning high, and well, if they didn’t, you’d probably also tell Henry tonight because you’d be a mess worrying for Tyler.

Puck drop, your heart rate picked up, grinning when Jamie won it, and sent it flying behind him. A good start, setting the tone. You could only hope the game would continue like that.

The first period did, if anything it got even better, they were ahead by two, the other team not even scoring.

The second period, that’s where things began to shift, the score was tied, Tyler was on the end of a long shift. He had been a little bit more feisty tonight, and that’s how you saw it coming, the way the player from the other team was skating right towards him, it was definitely going to draw a penalty as Tyler had passed the puck long before the opponent reached him. It felt like slow motion as you shot to your feet before they collided, Henry followed right after you, not noticing how you gasped sharply and your hands shot to your mouth. You watched Tyler’s head bounce off the ice as he went down, how thankful you were that his helmet hadn’t come off in the hit. He slid a little bit before the refs were blowing whistles constantly, swarming over to them as the opposing team member stood there, they directed him to a penalty box, Jamie skating over to Tyler as he didn’t try to get up. You watched your boyfriends hands go up to his face, hiding it from the cameras. Jenny wrapped you up in a hug, allowing you to hide your face in her hair. “It’s ok, he’s going to be fine, I’m sure.” She tried to assure you, but even her voice was shaky, it was a terrible hit.

You removed your head from her hair, and saw the team doctor making his way to the ice, kneeling beside him, he felt around his neck and shoulders, making sure nothing was broken, eventually, what felt like hours but was only two minutes, they were helping him to his feet, slowly walking him off the ice. Jamie came over to the glass in front of your section, searching for you. Jenny spotted him first, pointing him out to you. “Go.” He mouthed, having figured out your relationship quickly, you looked to Jenny with tears in your eyes, Henry coming to his senses and looking between you and the ice, eyes moving quicker than you’d ever seen. “Why you? What’s–oh my god.” It hit him, as you scrambled to make sure you had your phone, “go, go.” Jenny assured you, seeing the way you hesitated, you didn’t wait any longer, and took off towards the tunnels you’d learned your way around so well. Henry was calling for you over the sound of the crowd talking, but you didn’t stop, you could hear Jenny faintly as she told him to calm down.

You reached the locker room in record time, the security guard telling you that you couldn’t go in until they were done, you watched as people kept going in and out. Only furthering your nerves, you couldn’t be bothered to care anymore, the second they came out and one of them looked at you, you lost it. “I’m guessing your Y/N?” He spoke, a soft smile on his face, you nodded vigorously, “you can go in there now.” As you heard the loud speakers, “number 91 Tyler Seguin will not be returning to play tonight” your heart dropped, not needing to hear anything else as you stormed in there. Tyler sitting in the corner of the room, in a chair with his eyes shut, a bandage over his shoulder, and his brows furrowed in pain. You froze, letting out a cry at the sight of him, so clearly in pain, his eyes fluttered open at the sound, the second he met your eyes you were rushing over to him.

“Are you ok?” You whispered, carefully cupping his jaw, he nodded, wincing, “don’t cry because of me.” He mumbled, smiling softly when you shook your head with a breathy laugh. “You scared the crap out of me, Ty, that was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” You sighed, gently kissing his pouted lips. “How bad is it?” You asked once you pulled away, carefully touching his shoulder, he groaned, and you instantly pulled your hand away. “Dislocation and a concussion, they put it back in, but damn it hurts like a bitch.” He muttered. “I’m sorry, baby.” You spoke gently, sitting beside him, he nodded, resting his head carefully back against the wall. You carefully played with his hair, knowing it soothed him, he smiled at the gesture, “you’re gonna put me to sleep.” He laughed gently, placing his hand on your thigh, squeezing it reassuringly. “I love you.” You murmured, moving to place your hand over his, “I love you.” He repeated, so happy that you were here with him. He leaned his head onto your shoulder, also happy that you sat on his good side, “I think Henry knows now.” You whispered.

The door opened and both of you looked over, Henry standing there in shock. “Yeah, I know.” He snapped, arms crossed, neither of you made an effort to move, he shook his head, “don’t be a dick, Henry.” You snapped, Tyler laughing but stopping as it increased the pain in his head. “Careful, bub.” You whispered, returning your hand to his hair, ignoring your brother, if he wasn’t going to be nice, then he didn’t deserve your attention. “How long?” Henry asked, in a softer tone, aware of how Tyler must be hurting. You sighed, “almost three months.” You practically mouthed, but he definitely heard you as his jaw all but dropped to the floor. “Three months?!” He snapped, and you glared when Tyler groaned, squeezing his eyes shut. You carefully pushed him off of you, “let me go talk to him.” You whispered, pecking him quickly, before dragging Henry out of there. “How? Tyler I mean–the age gap, but he’s him.” Henry stuttered out, his face pale, you shook your head. “Henry, I’m not in the mood to do this. This is why I didn’t want to tell you.” You mumbled, arms crossed as you looked up at him. “You can’t expect me to just be ok with this all of a sudden, you’re dating my best friend, that’s gross.” He snapped, and that was the last straw for you.

You tuned out the sound of the final buzzer filling the arena as you got close to Henry, “I love him, and he loves me. You’re just going to have to be a grown up about this, so you can either suck it up, and be a good brother, or you can go home and I’ll stay here to take care of my boyfriend.” You snapped, Henry looked behind you at the influx of sad hockey players, you whipped around, taking in their faces. “Oh, I’m sorry guys.” You gasped, Jamie nodding solemnly, when you turned back around Henry was walking off, not daring to give you a second look.

And then, if it couldn’t be worse, you looked to your left and saw Tyler standing there, not taking too long for him to figure out what happened. “Damn it!” He snapped, slamming his hand against the cement wall, you were there in an instant, surprised when he hugged you, hiding his face in your neck. “I’m sorry, Tyler, it’s not your fault.” You whispered, hearing the guys moving past you, they were suffering too. “Hey, look at me.” You demanded, leaning away from him, he looked at you with glazed over eyes, “you’re gonna go in there, and carefully put some clothes on, you’re going to take a minute to be with your team, and then you’re gonna come out here, and I’m gonna take you home. Everything’s going to be ok, Henry can go be a pain, I don’t care, as long as I know you’re ok.” You spoke sternly, but still had a softness in your voice. “Ok, baby, please. It’s going to be ok, I promise.” You whispered, he nodded slowly, kissing your forehead before forcing himself back into the locker room.

Finally, when he did re-emerge, he seemed to be in slightly better spirits, allowing you to take him home and stay with him.

Although, the next day you had to go back to your place, having to get ready for work, Tyler protested, milking his injuries for all he could get. “I’ll FaceTime you when the kids are napping, you’ll live, babe.” You had told him as you walked out the door, despite his whining from the couch. A man child, that was your conclusion.

When you got to the kids house, you were surprised to see them with the hockey channel on, your heart stopped for a moment as they were discussing Tyler’s injuries, of course, you couldn’t escape it. “Oh, Frank had it on last night, I didn’t even realize when I turned the tv on.” Julie spoke when she saw you looking at it, “oh, honey. What’s wrong?” She questioned, sensing your off mood as she finished cooking the kids breakfast, having a late start at her office today. “What? Nothing, I’m fine!” You assured her, the two of you had grown close, she was like an older version of you, it was nice, she really cared for you. She raised a brow at you, watching as you picked up Emily who was grabbing at your legs, you kissed the girls chubby cheek, smiling when she giggled, “Tyler Seguin,” you motioned to the tv, where somehow they were still replaying the hit, “that’s my boyfriend.” You told her, Steven shrieked. “You know Tyler!?” He shouted, a grin over his face, you weren’t sure how hockey hadn’t come up, but now that you think about it, Frank did have some stars items in his office. “I do.” You smiled down at the boy, Julie still processing it, “he’s a lucky man.” She finally spoke, sending you a smile when you blushed. “Hopefully he’s doing alright.” She added, “Frank played in college, I hated it.” She explained, seeing the way you were looking at her. Oh, “he’s alright, he’ll be back at it before you know it.” You laughed softly, Steven rambling off so many questions, apparently sharing his dads love for hockey.

“Steven, calm down honey.” His mother laughed, helping him climb into his chair at the dining table while you strapped Emily into her high chair, “I really have to be leaving for work, hopefully he doesn’t bug you too much about this new information.” Julie smiled, you waved her off, “it’s fine.”

And it was, truly, and while he was eating breakfast and rambling about hockey and asking you questions, to which you answered to the best of your availability, you had recorded a clip to show Tyler, of how excited Steven was. Which Tyler loved, and made sure to get some stuff for you to give him.

You walked into your apartment, hoping Henry had already left for work but when you saw his boots by the door you knew he hadn’t. “Y/N?” He rushed around the corner, you looked at him with wide eyes, “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, sheepishly, his face showing his regret, you hadn’t spoken to him in over a week. Ever since he found out about the two of you, “I should’ve reacted better, I mean, I should be happy that you’re dating such a good guy. Someone that I trust.” He rambled, you stayed silent, you were still angry, it hurt for him to so blatantly choose to be upset over supporting you. “Ok.” You sighed, and he stared at you blankly, “ok? All I’m getting is an ok? When you’re the ones who hid it from me?” He looked exasperated, “that’s all Tyler said too. You guys are insufferable.” Henry muttered, this peeked your interest. “Wait, you talked to him?” You questioned, finally shutting the door to the apartment. “Yeah, like three days ago, he said he wasn’t going to say anything else until I talked to you.” He looked at you skeptically when you started smiling like a fool. “Damn, you really do love him don’t you?” He sighed, shaking his head. “Just don’t kiss in front of me and we’ll be fine.” He gave in, laughing when you jumped on him in a hug. “Deal, deal, deal.” You grinned, happily rushing off to your room.

You dialed Tyler’s contact, his face popping up on your screen shortly after, “hi baby.” He grinned, only smiling more when he took in the happiness on your face. “Why are you so smiley?” He teased, you shrugged, “I talked to Henry…” you trailed off, and Tyler nodded, “Mhm, and how’d that go?” He hummed, you rolled your eyes, “I’m quoting him, ‘just don’t kiss in front of me and we’ll be fine’.” You mocked your brother's voice making Tyler laugh deeply. “It’s about damn time.”

A couple of days later you told all your friends after a game, and the two of you FaceTime Cassidy and Candace, they reacted much better than Henry, that’s for sure. Then you made it public by posting a photo on social media, the two of you smiling brightly, Tyler towering over you as he was still dressed in his skates, you were looking up at him with a goofy grin as he laughed at something Jamie had said. His arm around your shoulders and your hand resting on his chest.

“Who knew moving across the street would lead to all of this…”

taglist: @vinceduhn @vincecdunn @kempe @literarycharleton @wtfkie @myjacketisblue @jackiesquinn @summer--infinity

#Tyler seguin #imagine #imagines #dallas stars #Tyler seguin fic #Tyler seguin imagine #Tyler seguin imagines #across the street

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charincharge · 4 years ago

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could you write something about cardan maybe tricking jude into leaving her queenly duties just so he could spend time with her alone? if it's really fluffy i would adore that

Cardan’s No Good, Very Bad Idea

could you write something about cardan maybe tricking jude into leaving her queenly duties just so he could spend time with her alone? if it's really fluffy i would adore that

Jude taps a long nail across the long mahogany table in front of her. She looks over the lengthy agenda for today’s meeting. The scroll seems to be never ending, and Jude has a feeling she will be trapped here until the wee hours of the night, especially if they wait any longer to begin. She’s been worked to the bone, recently. And Jude is exhausted. She doesn’t know if she has the stamina for this tonight.

Randalin sighs, staring at the double doors on the opposite side of the room, as if willing them to open. But, they remain shut, its gold filigree swirling across the front to create a perfect replica of the Greenbriar crest, unbroken.

“I suppose we should begin,” Randalin says, addressing the rest of the Living Council, though the seat next to Jude remains conspicuously unoccupied.

“I suppose…”

Jude has sat through many of these councils by herself. Since her coronation, the High King has been scarce during political meetings. He’d much rather be drinking in the basement, learning how to be a shadow, or sparring with his cantankerous wife. The latter usually happens immediately after the Living Council wraps.

Today, Jude is impatient and weary. She woke early to an empty bed and a note from Cardan that he was going on “an adventure” and would return for Council. A faerie loophole, Jude laughs to herself. Apparently he can lie in writing.

Just as Randalin is about to begin his lengthy agenda, the doors swing open, the crest splitting apart in two. The loud crack makes the room jump, almost as much as the appearance of The Bomb, looking distraught and disheveled. Her white hair falls into her panicked eyes haphazardly, her wings tittering, agitated, behind her.

Jude stands immediately.

“Her Majesty.” The Bomb pants, out of breath, and Jude can scarcely breathe as she continues. “You must come at once. It’s the King.”

Jude is out the door before the end of the sentence is complete. The Bomb takes Jude’s hand in hers as they rush through the halls.

“Where is he?” Jude asks. “What happened?”

“We couldn’t move him.” The Bomb slows and looks at Jude, the weight of her words evident in her serious eyes. “He asked for you.”

Jude’s throat tightens as she nods and picks up the pace.

The Bomb leads Jude out of the palace, out the back towards the stables where her horse is already saddled and ready to go.

“He’s on the western shore of Insmire Lake,” The Bomb explains.

Jude hoists herself onto the horse and looks down, confused and upset. “You’re not coming?”

The Bomb shakes her head. “We’ve already said our goodbyes. You two need your privacy.”

Jude nods and digs her heels into the horse, spurring him forward, as fast as she can. She races across the palace grounds, needing to go faster and faster. Lush green plants angle themselves as she passes by, the wind curling itself around them, leading the way to where her king lies. If only she could see them in the dark. The stars seem to grow brighter at her desire to see clearer, clouds parting to reveal a dark yellow moon.

She spots him, sprawled on his side, exactly where The Bomb said he’d be. He is completely still and silent, and Jude doesn’t even bother tying the horse up as she dismounts and rushes to his side.

“Cardan,” she pleads. “Cardan.” Tears well in the corners of her eyes as she strokes his shoulder. “Cardan, please,” she chokes back a sob.

Cardan stretches his arms above his head and a sly smirk curls his lips upward as he flutters his dark eyes open. “I really thought you’d be here faster with the threat of your husband in mortal danger.” He pushes himself up on his elbows and finally takes a look at his wife. “Am I truly so meaningless to you, my Queen?”

Jude’s brown eyes darken as she examines him. She realizes he’s in perfectly fine form, and shoves him back down onto the ground, pinning his hips with her straddled thighs and her hand dangerously clasped around his throat. Her glare is like two piercing daggers, and he can’t stop the rumble of laughter that starts in his chest.

“Are you serious?!” she gasps. “I swear, Cardan Greenbriar, if you ever do anything like that again, I will murder you my gods damned self,” she hisses. “I thought…” She swipes at the stray tear that’s betrayed her and rolled down her cheek. “I thought…” She repeats herself, and Cardan’s devilish eyes turn worried.

He places his hand atop hers, stroking her fingers so they release their grasp on his neck, and twines with his fingers instead. He places their joined hands above his head, and she leans over him, her heart still racing with the remnants of panic.

“Please forgive me, my darling,” he coos, his voice holding none of the mirth from mere seconds before. “I’d seen the council agenda and thought I was saving you. I know you’ve been exhausted. I just wanted to treat you. I didn’t think…”

He sits up, still keeping Jude in his lap, cradling her soundly against him. She presses her ear against his chest, letting the thrum of his heart center her. He’s alive and well. Just an idiot.

“I planned us a picnic.”

It’s only then that Jude realizes they’re spread on a large and soft blanket. A host of fireflies hover around the tree they’re perched under, acting as their own personal twinkle lights, which reveal an elaborate feast. Toast with soft cheese and honey. Real mortal strawberries dipped in dark chocolate. Smoked meats and assorted nuts. And wine. So much wine.

“I thought you could use a night off,” he whispers into her ear as he rubs her back, and finally her heartbeat starts to slow.

She looks up at him, her pink lips pursed in contemplation. “I hate you.”

He grins, knowing she’s already forgiven him for his clumsy way of extracting her from her queenly duties. “Shall I feed you? You must be famished.”

Jude frowns. “I’m not a child, Cardan. I can feed myself.”

But Cardan ignores her and lifts a strawberry to her lips. They part slightly as she nibbles away the tip of chocolate and then takes a bite of the ripe juicy fruit.

“Mmm,” she hums as she chews. It’s been so long since she’s had a strawberry. Cardan swipes the berry back and forth across her lips, staining them red.

He tilts her head up and licks the sweetness from her lips. She opens to him, and lets his tongue explore her mouth, curling around hers softly, until she’s putty in his hands. Their tongues move against each other in languid strokes as Cardan’s hand moves into Jude’s hair, softly caressing the back of her neck with his thumb.

As Jude pulls away to gasp for air, Cardan plops the rest of the strawberry in his own mouth, and then can’t resist leaning down and kissing Jude once, twice more.

They take turns feeding each other and taking sips of wine from the same cup, until they’re both sated. Only then does Jude stretch out on the blanket, curling into Cardan’s side. She kisses the top of his chest, which is exposed in his unlaced shirt.

“Okay, maybe I did need this,” she admits, and Cardan beams at her. A night, just the two of them, with no pressure and no one to accidentally interrupt and no pressing matters to attend to… it’s pretty much perfection.

“A husband always knows,” he chuckles, running his finger down her arm. She shivers under his touch, goosebumps raising like little pin pricks under his hand.

“Are you cold?” he asks, worried, and Jude shakes her head. She looks around the darkened lake.

“Are we really alone?” she asks, and Cardan’s smile curls into something far more salacious as he grasps her waist and pulls him astride his lap.

“Take whatever you want, my dearest.” His hands rest under his head, goading her into action. And so she does. Over and over, well into the night. And when they head back to the castle, locked like intertwining puzzle pieces galloping and racing against the rising sun, Cardan reminds himself to plan this again for next month. Only maybe he’ll tell her before time.

~*~*~*~*~

tags:

@hizqueen4life @wordsafterhours @cursebreaker29@x3hopeless-dreamer @sarahjmaasslave @thewickedkings @aesthetics-11 @thewayshedreamed@studyforthestars99 @feed-the-madness01 @brit-alltoowell @gabs-2002 @m-like-magic @sophiekarim @the-third-me @babycardan @justfangirling @isardinesinacanblog @youknowpurple @snusbandxknifewife @youknowpurple @cosmosstarstudio @wannawriteyouabook @aneurwin @bookieworm @bamchickawowow @taco-taco-belle

#jurdan #jurdan fanfic #jude x cardan #prompts #charincharge writes

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teacupfulofstarshine · 4 years ago

Text

but i make these high heels work

summary: roman has something new that he wants to try out, but he’s nervous about his family’s reactions. he needn’t be; they’ve always got his back.

(OR: a birthday fic for roman sanders, set in my moxiety dad au)

a/n: i’m jumping on @notveryglittery‘s “giving the gay everything he wants” agenda. happy birthday roman sanders!!!

cw: anxiety, mild angst, fear of homophobia

wordcount: ~1.8k

read it on ao3!!

Roman carefully smooths his hands over the fabric spread out across his bed. He knows that no one else is awake yet. Not even Logan, who routinely wakes up early because apparently he can run on crumbs of sleep and nothing else. Not even Dad, the earliest riser out of all of them, since he doesn’t have any pressing appointments. No one is awake but Roman.

He’d tossed and turned all night, barely snatching a few hours. He knows he’s going to regret that later, but he also knows that there’s nothing particularly important happening today, so Papa and Dad will be more lenient if he decides to nap. So, rather than waiting until later to roll out of bed, Roman gets up a good hour before anyone else. He makes his bed - properly, this time, pulling off the excess of blankets and pillows and stuffed animals and tucking his thick quilt in. He never has the time or the willpower to make it in the mornings, but today.

Well.

Today, he has anticipation thrumming in his chest like caught lightning, and he needs something to do with his hands.

Roman showers, quietly. The bathroom is between his room and Logan’s, and there’s always the off chance that the water running will wake up his lightweight-sleeper brother. He holds his breath, keeping in all the melodies that usually bubble from his mouth in the shower, and is rewarded with no signs of wakefulness from his brother.

He doesn’t bother to wash his hair, so he doesn’t have to worry about blow-drying his fluffy curls. Instead, he spritzes them with dry shampoo he stole from his Papa and combs through them with his fingers. It takes him about fifteen minutes to get them to just the right state of artfully tousled, but it still doesn’t waste nearly enough time.

Which brings him to here, sitting cross-legged on his perfectly-made bed, staring at the fabric spread across his quilt. It’s plain, compared to what he usually wears, but he supposes that’s the trouble with borrowed clothing. Adding to all that, it’s not real clothing; it’s an old prop he’d salvaged from a box of costumes destined to be torn apart and repurposed. He kind of wishes he had the courage to ask Dad or Papa to take him to the mall to buy a proper one, but he’s never been that kind of brave.

Roman fiddles with the hem of the skirt between his fingers.

It’s red, at the very least, but not the proper shade of red. It’s garish and bright, like a firetruck, like a cartoon bloodstain. It comes down to about Roman’s knees, hanging in loose folds, and it’s not the most comfortable thing he’s ever worn, but he loves it. He loves the way the fabric feels when it swishes around his knees, he loves the way it flares out when he spins in circles, he loves the way it feels to smooth the fabric beneath him in a single fluid motion when he sits down.

He’s terrified to wear it out of the comfort of his bedroom, but he figures that today, June first, the first day of pride month, is as good a day as any to come out of the closet. Roman sighs, curling his hands into loose fists on his thighs.

His phone pings with a notification, and Roman almost falls off his bed as he scrambles forward to snatch his cell phone off his desk. He takes a moment to smile at his home screen photo before answering the message: it’s a picture of himself and Janus from last year’s pride festival. They’re wrapped in a rainbow flag like a cape, leaning their heads together and laughing. Janus has a genderqueer flag painted across his cheek, and Roman has rainbow star stickers across his nose and a rainbow bandanna tying back his hair.

Roman thumbprints his phone open and checks his messages. It’s from Janus himself.

[7:41 am] snoyfriend (snake boyfriend): you’re going to do wonderfully, dearest. your family loves you, and they’ll support you no matter what. and even if they don’t, i support you no matter what. i love you <3

Roman wiggles his feet back and forth eagerly in a gleeful stim as he taps out a response.

[7:43 am] me: thank you, snove (snake love). ily2 <3

[7:44 am] snoyfriend (snake boyfriend): are you ever going to stop calling me snake-themed nicknames, beloved?

[7:44 am] me: sno (snake no)

[7:46 am] snoyfriend (snake boyfriend): i hate you <3

[7:47 am] me: i snove (snake love) you too <3 <3

*~*~*~*~*

Someone knocks on his door around 8:45. “Ro? Are you coming down to breakfast? I’m making pridecakes!” Dad calls. Roman’s stomach growls at the thought; every year, Dad makes multiple colors of homemade pancake batter and draws pride-flag pancakes on the griddle.

“I’ll be down in a minute!” Roman says.

“Okay, kiddo!”

Roman takes a deep breath. He slides off his bed and shimmies out of his pajama pants. Rummaging around in his drawers, he pulls out a white t-shirt with a swooping golden outline of the Disney castle on the front. Carefully, he steps into the puddle of skirt and tugs the red fabric up over his hips. It’s not a perfect fit, but it comes down to his knees. Roman studies himself in the full-length mirror on the inside of his closet.

“It’s going to be okay,” he sighs, reaching for the rainbow bandana on his desk. He folds it and ties it to form a headband which he uses to push his bangs off his forehead. “It’s going to be okay. Dad and Papa aren’t going to hate you. Thomas and Logan aren’t going to hate you. It’s going to be okay.”

Roman waits until he hears Logan and Thomas go downstairs before he leaves. He picks up his phone, glances at the photo of himself and Janus one more time, and then steps into the hallway.

He lurks on the stairs for a moment, glancing into the kitchen. Logan is sleepily gnawing on a bagel slathered with jam. Papa is pouring coffee into a row of mugs while Thomas helps Dad with the pridecakes. Roman grips his skirt tightly in his hands, watching his family, and then he steps into the kitchen.

“Morning.”

“Good morn - oh!” Dad whirls around, holding a spatula which he quickly foists off onto Thomas. He hurries forward, taking Roman’s shoulders, eyes scanning up and down his outfit. “That’s new! Where’d you get it?”

“It’s an old costume skirt,” Roman says. “Is that - am I - do you -”

Dad smiles, eyes crinkling up as he leans in to kiss Roman’s forehead. “I think you look wonderful, Roman. No matter what you choose to wear.” Roman smiles, hugging his dad tightly. He feels Dad reach up and press a hand into the back of his hair, rocking them back and forth a little as they hug.

When Dad pulls away, Roman’s eyes jump up to Thomas. He grins, flashing a thumbs up, and Roman shakily offers one back. “Nice skirt,” Papa says, wrapping an arm around Roman’s shoulders and pulling him in. Roman feels Papa press a kiss to the top of his head, and he fights to keep himself from crying.

Roman turns, looking at the only family member who hasn’t said anything yet. Logan is still placidly chewing his bagel, watching Roman with his typical calmness. “Logan?” Roman hates the way his voice shakes a little. “Do you like it?”

Logan swallows and sets his bagel down. He scans over Roman’s outfit with a strange critical expression and says, “No. It looks completely wrong on you.”

Roman’s heart sinks to the bottom of his chest. Logan stands up, scanning over Roman repeatedly, frowning as he stares at the skirt. “Logan,” Dad says warningly.

Logan keeps talking. “That is the wrong color for your skin tone. It does not compliment the tan you always achieve in the summer months. The shape is unflattering on your body type, and the material is -” Logan reaches out and rubs the material between two fingers, shuddering. “- is entirely unpleasant. This skirt is completely wrong for you.”

Roman recognizes the glint in his brother’s eye as he examines the skirt with a critical eye. It’s the way he looks at pieces of clothing that the theater department asks him to help tailor. “You would look much nicer in a circle or handkerchief style skirt. That red is hideous, you need a darker shade. I think that dark green would also look nice on you.”

“You . . . aren’t mad about me wearing a skirt?”

Logan blinks at him. “To quote that Avatar show you like so much, ‘Pants are an illusion and so is death.’ Gender is a social construct and clothing should not be dependent on the genitalia you were born with. I do not care if you wish to wear a skirt or not, Roman. Why would I care?”

“I was nervous about wearing a skirt because I thought you would judge me.” Logan takes a few steps closer, offering a small smile, and Roman feels his heart start to swell and rise like a balloon.

“I was not judging you for wearing a skirt, Roman. If you would prefer to wear a skirt, I will support you, always. I did not mean to imply otherwise. I merely meant to offer my assistance because that skirt looks uncomfortable.”

“It really is,” Roman sighs. “I stole it from a box of outgoing props.”

“Go put comfortable clothes on,” Logan tells him. “I am going to the fabric store with Dad later today. I will take your measurements and you can come with us to find a fabric you like. I will make you a skirt that actually fits you.”

“You’d do that for me?!”

“Skirts are relatively simple garments to sew, provided you get the measurements correct. I cannot promise that it will be perfect, but I will work to make sure that it is comfortable and flattering on your form.” Roman bounces eagerly. “Can I hug you?”

Logan tilts his head, considering. “Ten seconds,” he decides, which is more than enough time. Roman pulls his brother into a hug, feeling Logan’s hand flap back and forth against his bag as he happily stims.

“I love you, Logan,” Roman says, squeezing him tightly. Logan hums at the pressure, pushing closer to his brother before leaning backwards to signal that he’s done being hugged. Roman lets him go, settling down at the table. He can change after breakfast.

(Two weeks later, Roman comes downstairs in a dark red circle skirt embroidered with golden stars and detailing. Logan hums, flapping and rocking happily when he sees Roman twirl around and show off the way the skirt flares around his thighs.

“It’s perfect, it’s perfect, I love it so much!” Roman squeals. “Thank you, Logan!”

Logan flaps even more in response.)

#starshinewrites #little and broken but still good #happy birthday roman sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #janus sanders #patton sanders #virgil sanders #platonic tlamp #brotherly logince #romantic roceit

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volkswagonblues · 4 years ago

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mai/ty lee (for the rarepair ask game)

[from my ATLA rarepair game. “drop me a rare pairing and i’ll either write a little drabble for you, or tell you what 80k epic I’d plot out if I have time ] @space-feminist

Mai/Ty Lee, writing each other letters. “Which one of us do you love more?” (ie. Mai takes the third option)

Ty Lee wrote her lots of letters from Kyoshi, too many to keep up with. Some days the ink would hardly dry on Mai’s response before there came a tap-tap-tap on her window frames: another messenger hawk bearing another letter about another day of Ty Lee’s new life. Mai didn’t understand why she wrote so often; every one of the letters sounded much the same.

“Dearest Mai,” — that’s how they always began – “Life on Kyoshi Island is great! Today the crocuses came into bloom, they have shades of purple here that you’d never see back in the Fire Nation, I’m sure you’d find them garish but actually they’re quite pretty–“

Or,

“Today the dog roses came into bloom, Suki says later in summer we’ll get red and orange rosehips, and they’re delicious in teas and preserves. She says that when that happens you should walk through the forest while chewing them, and then spit the seeds out as you walk so more can grow next year–“

Or,

“Today it snowed, and I taught Xue-Yi about the twelve principal meridians of the body. She’s a fast learner and soon I think we can start on manipulating chi. She’s only thirteen and she’s just got initiated (like me!) but she’s so quick to learn! I’m sure you’ll find her too chatty but it’s great to have a friend sometimes, isn’t it?”

Or,

“Today I miss you and Azula. I know I shouldn’t. I’m happy here. But if you do see her, Mai, give her a kiss from me, won’t you? Promise you’ll bring her something nice for me, but don’t tell her I asked you. Do tell her I still think she’s the prettiest and most special girl in the world. Say that for me. Those exact words. “

Mai put the letter down and rubbed her temples. The sheer volume of letters meant she didn’t always respond to each one, and she wondered if she can get away with never responding to this one. Maybe she’ll pretend she never got it. Messenger hawks go missing all the time, don’t they? Nothing to say this one hadn’t gone missing too. In another universe, this letter would be mouldering in a ditch somewhere, or else sinking to the bottom of the sea. That’s not unusual.

But the letter was here, in her hand, safe in Mai’s royal rooms with their silk cushions and cherrywood table. The black characters rose up before her eyes. Dry, complete, accusing. Mai sighed again, readied her brush, and wrote back:

“Dear Ty Lee,”

She stopped.

There was nothing she could say. What could she say? Sorry, Ty Lee, but we picked the wrong side, politically speaking.

If Mai asked, the current Fire Lord would certainly grant his permission for her to visit his sister – he would encourage her, even – but that even as he hugged her goodbye she would see the flash of distrust in his eyes. It would be a distrust so subtle that he didn’t even know existed, but that Mai, raised on the complicated intrigues of palace politics, could smell like smoke before a flame. Which one of us do you love more? ran the unspoken question. Who would you pick if you had to make the choice again?

It wasn’t just a question between them, but a question for the nation. Zuko’s grip over the country was tenuous at best; there were still lords and dukes who longed for the good old days of conquest, who never accepted the results of that final Agni Kai. People who would, the second they sensed the winds of power shifting, back poor, mad Azula as the legitimate heir.

Which one of us do you love more? Who would you pick if you had to make the choice again?

Zuko never said it out loud, perhaps he never even put it into words in his own mind. But Mai could hear it nonetheless. It was the heartbeat of their relationship. It was the ticking clockwork that counted them down to their inevitable end.

So no, Mai could not visit Azula, not even if Ty Lee asked her too. Not if she didn’t want to make her life very difficult, Zuko’s as well. She understood this long before anyone did, but she never told anyone before. No one had thought to ask dull, impassive, monotone Mai.

But Mai was only dull and impassive on the outside, on the inside there was a sharp intelligence that cut through secrets and half-truths like a knife.

That knife-sharp intelligence was still puzzling out how to best write her response when there came a tap-tap-tap at her window. It was a messenger hawk bearing a letter – no, a tiny parcel, wrapped in waxed paper. Mai undid the hemp cords and shook out the contents.

It was a black bay scallop shell, inky black on one side and iridescent on the other. There was a small note attached: “This reminds me of you.”

There was no signature but a lip print, made in same red paint the Kyoshi Warriors used on their lips.

Who would you pick if you had to make the choice again?

Mai traced the red outline. After a second’s hesitation, she lifted the paper and pressed it against her own mouth, seeing how their edges fit.

She put it down again. She picked up her brush and re-dipped her brush. She got the feeling she herself was dancing on the edge of a blade, on the precipitous drop of one choice and versus other.

“Dear Ty Lee,” she wrote. “I’ve made a decision. Life in Caldera is quite boring after all, and I’ve decided that I’m coming to Kyoshi Island. Ask if they have a place for me – I may be there for a long time.”

She hesitated, then added:

“I hope the rosehips will be ready by the time I get there. I hope we’ll go walking together. I miss you.”

Mai picked up the scallop shell again. One would never expect nature to create something with two shades so diametrically opposed to one another, but it had. On one side, a dull black; on the other, a rainbow iridescence of colour. They fitted against each other seamlessly.

#Avatar The Last Airbender #my fic #these are VERY rough drafts but i think it helps me to stop overthink everything and over correcting all the time #idk i guess technically its mai/ty lee but also it's about them and azula and about mai finding some agency #mai and zuko are great characters but its astonishing to me how little chemistry they have #(because they're each others gay beards)#but still #easily the worst end game couple #mai/ty lee

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silence-burns · 5 years ago

Text

Please Hate Me //part 15

Fandom: Marvel

Summary: Based on "Imagine having a love/hate relationship with Loki." by @thefandomimagine

The shock on Loki's face was adorable, if well hidden. It did a lot to your self-esteem to know he didn't think of you as a complete idiot anymore.

You did your best not to show that on the surface, though. Your plan might be hectic, but it did require a few important things to happen.

The man that left had threw some coins at your face, which gave you the perfect excuse to have your head turned to the side, as if in pain, or whatever people would focus on. You used it to pry the collar of your suit open with your teeth. Chewing on it enough for a very thin, very needed wire to come out, you were glad the last man left was standing far enough from you not to have a good angle at your doings.

Loki, on the other hand, did.

A mischievous smile grew on his lips, shaping them into a sharp, precise weapon.

"Are you completely sure this is how you want to spend your short, futile life?" he asked the man, focusing the attention on himself. He'd always enjoyed doing that.

The man didn't answer, immune to the god's charm. He had a bored, but calm expression, like his mind wasn't really there and he was fine with that. You'd never met anyone named Jeff, but that was exactly the type of person you always imagined would go by the name of Jeff.

Unaware of his rebirth, Jeff picked on his teeth in a manner that strived very far from any proper manners. If throwing a textbook of good manners at a person was ever justified, it was in a situation like this. Loki was sure all of his childhood tutors would agree. Silently, but agree.

You managed to pull the thin wire out of the fabric and drop it behind your back. You only had one chance to catch it with your tied hands, but you, luckily, managed that. The man didn't seem to notice. His last meal's remains must be way more interesting.

"Such a lowlife job seems like a lot of fun," Loki continued with his bruised chin up. "You must have plenty of occasion to prove what a disgusting creature you are deep inside. Kidnappings, illegal business… When was the last time you had a real talk with your conscience?"

Jeff smirked a dangerous, rotten smile.

You wanted to tell Loki to be careful, to watch his tongue, and not to go too far, but with the quiet manipulations of your hand prying the cuffs open, you couldn't bring attention to yourself just yet or it all would go to waste.

Loki's confidence didn't falter, even as a shiver ran down your spine. You had a bad feeling and no way of acting on it - the worst possible stress enhancer when it comes to stabilizing your hands. The lock was taking longer than it should, but you had to move carefully in order not to show it or lose the wire. It was a shame you couldn't do anything about the ropes tying your legs to the chair.

Loki let out a quiet laugh. It felt too smooth to be natural. It made you think of hours spent alone in a room, trying to perfect it.

"You're not much of a talker, are you? You must truly be a pleasure to work with."

The man huffed. It was not an aggressive sound, it was actually barely audible if you weren't listening closely enough. But the man followed it with a turn of his body and a step in Loki's direction, followed by another one and a few more.

Your fingers turned slippery, the moves sloppy. Your heart raced loud enough to be heard.

It was not the right time yet, you wanted to say. Just a few more minutes you could use on the lock, you tried to bargain with the inevitable.

But the sad truth was, no matter how brilliant a plan, life will catch it like an old, annoyed teacher, easily finding any and all mistakes and marking them in bright red.

The man stopped in front of Loki. Loki didn't fail to look charmingly relaxed.

"Did you come here for your first lesson on manners?" his smile was easy. "I promise I'll do my best to-"

"I know what you are."

The man fished out a thin blade from his pocket. If you weren't looking close enough, you would miss the movement.

Your throat tightened, almost cutting your air off. It was a stupid reaction, you were aware of that, especially since it was a literal god being threatened. Loki must be immune to anything the man could do, right? Besides, why would he damage someone his boss intended on selling?

The man raised the blade. "I really don't like guys like you," he said. "You think you can come to my planet and start a massacre and after a few months, walk the streets like nobody remembers that?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, not looking at all distressed. After all, it was far from the first time he's been threatened.

Jeff raised the blade. "That's why I make sure to be equipped with something worthy of guys like you."

The blade moved. It wasn't particularly big or lethal looking.

But it made Loki bleed.

Loki didn't gasp. He didn't even flinch, to be honest, which was caused more by the surprise of actually seeing his own blood than immunity to pain.

"What is it?" you blurted out before you managed to bite your tongue. One of the locks holding your hands in place was already open, but you were working on the second one.

Jeff's lips curved into a thin, pale line. You no longer wanted to call him such a common, normal name. He didn't deserve it.

"I've been a part of this business for long enough to take a hold on a few interesting scraps from the alien's ships and other garbage you all loose around a city when you demolish it, heroes and villains alike. I guess every job has its perks," he spat in Loki's face. “One of them is killing garbage like you.”

The lock came undone with a click louder than you intended to. The man's attention was drawn immediately to it.

You jumped forward. His fist flew over your head. The chair had been bolted to the floor, and it made your legs scream in pain when they twisted, still tied to it.

Your elbows hit the floor. It was an unfortunate position in general, but in your current situation, you could make it work.

You grabbed the man's ankles and made him lose his stance. You burrowed your nails in his legs, dragging him down.

A boot struck your stomach, but it wasn't enough. The man fell with a muffled curse.

He hit the floor. The knife was in his hand, clenched tightly around the hilt.

You grabbed it whole and, before he could react, pushed it into his arm. He jumped, and you locked his neck in a tight embrace. He trashed, and lost consciousness after what felt like ages.

Your breath was shaky, the adrenaline making the world seem too bright and too vivid. But no matter how much your mind needed time to process everything that happened, you didn't have any. The other man could come back any time.

Loki observed you in silence. The knife was slippery, but it cut through the ropes on your legs easily. Grimacing, you stood up. The blood painfully circulated in your limbs.

You heaved to Loki's chair and freed his legs too. You didn't talk as you manipulated the handcuffs. There was nothing to talk about. No matter what you considered yourself to be, life had a wicked way of forcing difficult decisions on people without any preparations. Whether you were a hero or a villain or none of that, sometimes life just sucked and all that was left was to move forward.

The cuffs landed on the floor with a metallic sound. Loki rubbed his hands together, feeling the uncomfortable stiffness. He dared a direct look at your face.

"What now?"

It was not what he wanted to ask, but it was all the tense air allowed.

"Onward, my dearest Prince. It's all that's left."

Taglist: @writerjmlove @drakonwild @eeveesjourney @lokislilcaribbeanprincess @oatballsoffury @inumorph @ejectur @nerdybabywrites @twhgirl @nikkoliferous @unlikelygalaxygiver @multifandomreaderinsertfanfics @dreamingofonceuponatime @iamfelixc @bluebunnlee @effmigentlywithachainsaw @sadwaywardkid @ravenclawpossum @waitforthehurricane @absentmindeduniverse @unicorniorosacomefrutillas

#Please Hate Me #Loki x reader #Loki x you #loki laufeyson x you #Loki laufeyson x reader #Loki/you #Loki/reader #Loki #loki laufeyson #loki laufeyson reader insert #loki laufeyson imagine #loki laufeysonxyou #loki laufeysonxreader #Marvel #Mcu

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samgtt700 · 5 years ago

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Happy Ever After...

Part Three. (Annabelle x MC).

Tag list(let me know if you want to be tagged): @iam-the-fuckin-queen

Annabelle woke, rolling over to feel the emptiness. Knowing Maria had woken up. Spotting the small folded letter on her bedside cabinet. Smiling as she unfolded it and read its contents aloud.

"Dearest Annabelle,

Meet me at the old castle when your ready for your birthday present.

Your Maria."

Annabelle saw a light green dress hanging from her wardrobe she didn't recognise. Getting out of bed and walking over to see a small note attached. "Happy birthday. Mrs Daly." She couldn't help but smile, knowing Maria would have organised this in advance for her.

Annabelle made her way downstairs once she was dressed. Joining Harry and Mr Chambers for breakfast. "Morning." She greeted before taking her seat next to Maria's empty chair. Mr Chambers next to Harry, discussing Harry's trip to France.

"Good morning Miss Parsons and happy birthday." Mr Chambers greeted pouring Miss Parsons tea.

"Happy birthday Miss Parsons." Harry smiled at his oldest friend. "I'm certain Maria will have several plans for your birthday."

"I have lunch with my father. But I do know of my party." Annabelle confessed. "How is viscountess Theresa?"

"Well. She is having breakfast in bed." Harry answered. Glancing at Annabelle before meeting mr Chambers eyes. "I would like to apologise for my wives comment when we arrived about Maria and you having little feet. She does not know the truth."

"No harm done Harry." Mr Chambers insisted. "Maria and I have had several discussions about children."

"You have?" It was the first Annabelle had heard of this.

"Idle conversation Miss Parsons. I assure you." Mr Chambers kept his gaze off miss Parsons. Not wanting to give anything away. Spotting mr Konevi entering. "Mr Konevi. Morning."

"Morning mr Chambers." Mr Konevi greeted.

"Mr Chambers, did you enjoy your trip into town yesterday. You seemed rather nervous?” Harry asked, intrigued.

"I was but relieved by the end. Lady Maria and I both had our moments." Mr Chambers glanced at Annabelle. Hoping she would know by days end.

"Miss Parsons." Briar walked in. "That dress looks splendid. My mother's fine work."

Annabelle sipped her tea. Briar sitting down. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"My mother was more than happy to assist." Briar cajoled. Noting mr Woods approach Annabelle and lean in to whisper in her ear.

"Your horse is ready Miss Parsons."

"Thank you mr Woods." Annabelle smiled. Getting up. "If you'll excuse me." She departed. Riding her horse out to the old castle. Feeling all the emotions of this place. From her first time with Maria, to being shot and exchanging vows before Maria gave her the most treasured gift she ever thought she could receive. Her mother's wedding ring. She dismounted, tying up her horse beside Maria's.

Annabelle walked inside, her hand resting against the stone as she turned into the main room. Seeing Maria sitting on hay, chewing her bottom lip and playing with her wedding ring. She saw the rose petals, a few burning candles, the bottle of port. She knew Annabelle too well, waiting for her by the picnic blanket. She couldn't help but smile, knowing this was all for her. Her way of giving Annabelle her birthday present without any looks. Use to this secret way they went about, the secret glances and touches.

“Maria."

Maria smiling and meeting Annabelle's adoring gaze. "Annabelle." She barely whispers before standing. "Happy birthday my love."

Annabelle taking Maria's hands, a gentle squeeze before sweetly pushing their lips together. "Is this the surprise you so eagerly worked for?" She questioned.

Maria smirked. "No." She led Annabelle over to the picnic, sitting together. "This is part of it but not the surprise I intend." Maria poured two glasses of port. Handing one to Annabelle before reaching back into the basket, handing Annabelle her gift.

Annabelle opened the small wooden box. Smiling adoringly upon sighting the gold necklace with an emerald pendant. "It's gorgeous Maria."

"For my beautiful wife." Maria smiled. "I had Sir Luke craft the wooden box, I had it detailed with roses, to remind you of that night in the maze."

“It also reminds me of you walking down the aisle.” Annabelle closed it, admiring Sir Luke's craftsmanship. "This is a lovely surprise."

"That wasn't the surprise." Maria quipped. Taking Annabelle's hand and pressing it just below her stomach. "This is the surprise. I'm with child."

Annabelle's eyes lit up, breaking into a biggest smile Maria had ever seen. "Our child?!"

Maria nodded. Tears streaking down her cheek. "Yes. Our child."

Annabelle pushed everything aside before kissing Maria, letting her eyes close as she lost herself in the feel of Maria's lips against hers. Feeling Maria smile against her lips.

"My Annabelle." Maria parted breathless, resting her forehead against Annabelle's, idly stroking her cheek before leaning back in to kiss her.

Annabelle opened her eyes. Her chest heaving before pulling Maria to her. "This must be a dream."

"It isn't." Maria promised. Wiping her tears. "I know it won't be easy."

"We will find a way. Like we always have. No one has stopped us yet." Annabelle smiled. Tilting Maria's chin down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you Annabelle." Maria whispered.

Annabelle buried her head in Maria's chest, pulling her close. "How I wish this didn't have to end." Inhaling her sweet perfume. Not wanting to leave.

"You’re due at your fathers estate." Maria knew their time was up. "Just think of after the party. When you can hold me in your arms. Just the three of us. Our little bubble."

"Your making it harder for me to leave." Annabelle chuckled. Pressing a kiss to Maria's exposed collarbone. “I wish to stay in our little bubble.” Maria rose to her feet. Offering her hands to Annabelle who accepted her help. Squeezing firmly. "I wish I could tell everyone my beautiful wife is expecting." Annabelle said adoringly. Her hands sliding around Maria's waist. Pulling her close.

"Our friends will know the truth." Maria reminded Annabelle. "I'm so excited for this adventure." Annabelle let a sly smile appear before lifting Maria off her feet and spinning her around. "Annabelle!"

Annabelle giggled before letting Maria down, cupping her face as her eyes glistened with tears. "I just- I am so overjoyed about all of this. I feel so blessed that we can have our family.” How she longed for this moment to never end. “I love you.”

#annabelle x mc #annabelle parsons #annabelle #choices: desire and decorum #choices fanfic #desire and decorum #reblog #enjoyeverymoment #choices annabelle

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kayr0ss · 6 years ago

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Boundaries are Important (and are Driving Me Crazy)

[LWA, Diakko, Diana is a nerd who doesn’t know how to deal with physical intimacy] [AO3 link] Hello there anon! It was just supposed to be a drabble but then 3k words

#15- …passionately [give me a number & I’ll write you a kiss challenge]

Falling in love with Akko was frighteningly easy. By the count of three, Diana was all in—mind, body, and soul.

That’s just how Akko was: she enraptures people without trying, wins over their affection without wanting. But she also gives and gives and gives and Diana reckoned that’s what made people stay; what made Akko such a beautiful soul, inside and out.

And boy was she having a crisis with all that outer beauty today.

She frowned at her book, realizing that she’s been reading the same line over and over again. She was distracted—disconcertingly so, and she found herself in this state of ‘disconcerted distraction’ quite often these days. Of course, Diana was a smart girl, she knew that at the bottom of it all was a certain Atsuko Kagari.

Her girlfriend—she blushed upon remembering—for all of eleven days by now. It was a bit past five in the afternoon, so that would make it eleven days and six-hours if one wanted to be more precise.

She snapped her book closed, finding it embarrassingly sentimental to be counting down to the hours but at the same time, she smiled. Akko had that effect on her; and while it might have been a little out-of-character, she embraced it nonetheless.

But where was Akko anyway? Diana leaned up from her recliner, noting that the horizon was beginning to grow dark and a chill would soon blanket the beachfront. It was nearly the end of summer break and they were on a (supervised) vacation at the beach. Akko, along with Lotte, Barbara and Amanda have been swimming for what felt like four hours by now. Professor Croix and Professor Ursula were suspiciously missing. The rest of their friends were huddled around a camp, and Constanze was stoking the beginnings of a campfire. Hannah was preparing utensils— she should probably go and help her after fetching Akko. Jasminka, of course, took it upon herself to prepare their food and drinks with the help of Sucy.

Diana paused, narrowing her eyes. That… might not be a very good idea, perhaps she should go help Jasminka instead.

“Hey,” a familiar voice caught her off guard. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your shirt. It’s getting a bit chilly.”

The blonde witch glanced towards the woman she’d been looking for, relieved that she wouldn’t have to go and fetch her from the coast, “Akko. I was beginning to worry. It’s unsafe to be swimming after dar—”

Diana choked on her words. Then she felt her blood skyrocket towards her face.

“Diana?” Akko tilted her head in concern.

She probably had an expression that no dignified Cavendish should be caught wearing.

Akko, bless her soul, was fresh from the ocean and—litearlly—dripping wet. Her skin glistened in the afternoon sunset, and her red, unfairly flattering, two-piece swimsuit could be seen through Diana’s white button up shirt. It was damp, sticking to Akko’s skin in a way that made Diana want to send herself to detention. She swallowed, noting that Akko hadn’t bothered buttoning it up properly, and the overall disheveled effect was making her face burn up in a fire that started at the pit of her stomach.

“Everything okay, babe?”

No, everything was most certainly not okay. Since when did Akko call her babe? It was a double-whammy within two minutes for Diana, and soon she was blinking to shake herself out of her stupor. Akko must have noticed the look she was getting, because she smiled sheepishly, suddenly finding the sand interesting and nervously chuckling to her feet.

“Yikes. I thought I’d try the whole term-of-endearment-thing out,” she scratched at the back of her head, trying to gauge Diana’s reaction, “we—we don’t have to do it! If you don’t want! I just thought—”

“No, no I—uh—don’t mind,” Diana finally found her voice, laughing a little at Akko how was twiddling with her thumbs. Granted, she was a fidgety person by nature, but it comforted her to know that they were both a little clueless in navigating their newly-upgraded relationship status.

Akko did what she did best to dispel a kind-of-awkward situation, “would you prefer something from the eighteen-hundreds like ‘My Dearest’?”

Diana raised an eyebrow, “I am not that old fashioned.”

“Or perhaps,” Akko had put on an exaggerated Shakespearean voice, “you’re the cheesy ‘My Love’, type!”

“Akko,” Diana nagged.

She wasn’t going to admit that if Akko called her that it was probably going to work.

But Akko just giggled at her response—soon their fingers were intertwined. Joking around was familiar territory, and the blonde could appreciate that she could at least talk and keep her eyes above Akko’s collarbone.

—

By the time summer break was over, they were twenty-eight days into dating.

Diana would always remember the eleventh day as the beginning of the end—at least, the end of her upstanding reputation and dignity as a model student of Luna Nova and heir apparent of the Cavendish Aristocracy. Sure, she was being overly dramatic about it, but she really did have a reputation to uphold and she would much rather turn into a tree than be caught ogling Akko in school; in public. Hannah had unfortunately seen the moment her jaw went slack; that moment when Akko showed up wearing her damp, white shirt on top of a swimsuit. Needless to say, the teasing was merciless.

Of course, just because it was merciless doesn’t mean it wasn’t manageable. At least it was Hannah. It could have been much worse—it could have been Amanda.

“I think you need to cut yourself some slack, Diana.”

The blonde in question looked up from her notes, the corner of the pages growing worn from her habit of worrying at them.

Hannah was sitting across her at the table in the common area. Her arms were crossed and she looked a bit… exasperated?

“You’re fidgeting with your notebook, and pulling your ‘overthinking’ face. Judging by the way your ears have turned red—”

“They’re what?”

“—it’s probably about Akko.”

Diana was expressionless for a moment, debating on whether or not she should disclose her inner turmoil to her friend, and—she sighed. Hannah was literally the only person she could talk to about it. She looked at her hands, feeling a blush creep on her cheeks while she admitted, “I feel quite… unbecoming.”

Hannah nodded, leaning forward on her elbows and motioning for Diana to continue.

“Akko has been increasingly distracting as of late.”

“You’re going to have to be more specific,” Hannah snickered, “Akko is distracting for everyone.”

Diana smiled; she wasn’t wrong. Then she sighed, and if Hannah looked hard enough she would have noticed the pleading look on the blonde’s face when she said, “but my case is—ah—a bit different from everyone, or so I hope.”

“Is this about her looking extra-hot at the beach? Because that’s totally understandable.”

Hannah was kidding. She was teasing her to put her at ease, Diana knew this, except, well, this time there was no indignant huffing or crossing of the arms. Instead, she sighed, chewing at her lip in distress.

“Oh, no.” Hannah stared. “It actually is?”

The thought of saying yes was a little mortifying, so Diana just glared.

Picking up on her friend’s cue, Hannah stared back, as confused as Diana was bashful, “you do know that’s perfectly normal right?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re dating,” Hannah gestured with both hands to emphasize her point. “You’re supposed to find her attractive.”

“I’ve always known she was beautiful—”

“No, no, that’s not what we’re talking about. You’re head over heels, we get it, but you two aren’t exactly kids anymore. You’re nineteen; that makes Akko about eighteen, yes? I’m talking about the kind of attraction related to physical intimacy, and—oh my god? Are you okay?”

The words ‘physical intimacy’ and a certain image of Akko at the beach had elicited a rather strong reaction in her. Aside from the obvious and undeniable flush of her cheeks, there was a knot doubling in on itself at her stomach, and by Jennifer, she didn’t know what to expect but she felt kind of… angry?

Her fists balled in frustration and, “she’s going to be the death of me.”

Hannah physically backed away.

“I mean—by the Nine—have you seen her? Like seen her? In the most mundane of situations? Perhaps when she is tying her hair, or chewing on her lip while she works on her essays.” Diana ran a shaky hand through her hair, fighting for composure, “she doesn’t even try. It’s everything I can do to restrain myself from—I honestly don’t even know what. And I have no right to come forward to Akko in relation to these… feelings. They are utterly my responsibility.”

“Oh my god,” Hannah shook her head in disbelief, “you are… major league repressed, Diana.”

—

They’ve kissed before, of course.

Akko lips were soft and sweet, and Diana could feel her entire being melt into every kiss they had ever shared. That part of her—her soft, loving gaze, the pads of her finger tips ghosting gently across Akko’s cheek—that was reserved only for the woman she loved.

And, of course, for places of respectable privacy.

Akko liked to sneak behind bookshelves for a peck on the lips, and Diana didn’t mind; but she was also more modest when it came to public displays of affection. Kisses on the cheek from ‘hellos’ and ‘goodbyes’ already left her flustered, and blatant displays of flirting and of bashfulness did not contribute to the reputation that a student of her caliber had to uphold.

This isn’t to say that she was ashamed of Akko. Definitely not. They held hands in public, and Diana was never one to mince words when asked about her relationship. Yes, they were dating, exclusively—Akko was very much taken.

Hers. For a good thirty-three days, if her count was correct.

But of course it is.

She gazed at Akko from two tables away. The topic was antivenom-type potions; she had already read up on it two weeks ago and could afford a few moments of distraction. And she was very much distracted. Those lovely red eyes, and smooth, brown hair was calling out to her, and the moment she noticed Akko’s forwardly short skirt she almost felt affronted. Not by Akko—but by the flare of unprocessed emotions that had thrown a party in her head. She felt a little infuriated at their refusal to co-exist with the level of decorum she had imposed on herself. This was going to drive her crazy, and she really, really wished she was just ‘Diana’ and not ‘Diana Cavendish of a thousand expectations to fulfil’.

“Hey,”

Apparently, she was distracted for more than just ‘a few moments’ and the period had flown by.

‘I want to sneak behind a bookshelf and give you more than just a peck on the lips’, is what Diana wanted to say, but of course she’d settle for, “hello.”

Akko looked amused, “hello?”

Diana blinked. “Hi?”

Akko was laughing, and the sound brought a smile to Diana’s lips. She felt fingers thread with her own, “you’re being… weirder than usual.”

“I dislike the implication that I’m usually weird.”

“Right,” Akko stuck out her tongue, “would you feel better if I used the word ‘peculiar’? No, no, maybe ‘inscrutable’. You like big words and I can’t seem to figure out what you’re thinking. ‘Acting strange’ actually works, but I think strange is too simple a word for your liking so—”

“Akko,” Diana rolled her eyes.

“So what is going on,” Akko pouted, “underneath all that soft, poofy, obscurely colored hair?”

“‘Obscure’ was a good one, although I’m quite reluctant to use it as a descriptor for my hair.”

“That segue would have worked!” Akko raised her index finger, “if I wasn’t too curious about what’s gotten into you. You’re spacing out. You know you can talk to me, right?”

Diana hummed, leaning into Akko’s personal space when she noticed that the rest of the students had filed out of the room. Was this a respectable level of privacy? Diana blushed when she realized that it was. She wanted to—to—

“Diana?” Akko softly rubbed at Diana’s forearm, her earlier teasing replaced with a tinge of concern.

She wanted to wipe that worried frown away.

So she inched in closer, cupping Akko’s cheek and pressing her lips softly against the brunette’s. She felt Akko relax, hands coming up to rest on Diana’s shoulders.

When she pulled back—a mere few centimeters—Akko’s eyes had fluttered open charmingly, and Diana felt overwhelmed by everything she had fought to keep back. She inhaled, and didn’t notice the way her hands grabbed at the back of Akko’s clothing and—

They were kissing again. Or, as it was, Diana was kissing Akko. With much more conviction than she had ever done before. Her head tilted sideways, and a tremor traveled down her spine when she felt Akko’s lips part a little. There was a sound from the back of her throat, and she noticed that Akko’s hand was threaded through her hair. Before she could even register what she was doing, she had taken Akko’s lower lip in-between her teeth and oh-so-gently-nibbled, before pulling away and running her tongue along to soothe the area.

Akko had made an undignified squeak—

Realization hit Diana like a brick to the face, and in less than a second Akko was pushed a good arms-length away.

She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Bright, red, blinking eyes were dazed and confused, and oh my lord, her lip was a little swollen, but the sound she made didn’t sound like it was comfortable so—

“I—I apologize,” Diana stammered, her heart beating a thousand by the minute and she thought she might burst a blood vessel, “I didn’t mean to be so—” she pulled back her hands, and honestly Akko looked completely floored, “I respect you!” she promised, “and your boundaries. I shouldn’t have pushed, I—I—”

“Diana, calm down—” Akko held up her palms to placate her erratic girlfriend but it wasn’t working.

“That was utterly reprehensible of me, I should have at least asked and I—”

In a fit of too many emotions at once to name, she blinked, then turned on her heel, storming out of the classroom, cursing herself, Bellatrix, her god-forsaken button-up shirt, and fine, maybe it was reasonable to curse the length of Akko’s skirt this one time.

Diana fell into distress; Akko probably thought she was utterly impudent.

—

“Holy shit,” Akko had her hands in her hair in bewilderment, “she was so cute.”

“And she just stormed off?” Hannah tried not snicker.

“Yeah! Like. She literally pushed me a total arms’ length away and began telling me about how much she respected me—”

“That sounds just like her,” Barbara nodded.

“—and honestly? I was so… swooning? Doesn’t every girl just want to be respected?”

“But surely you also wanted her to—”

“O—Of course!” Akko cut Hannah off, blushing a little bit at the thought of what she wanted. Of course she wanted it! Diana was gorgeous, and while Akko loved her for everything that she was—not just the porcelain looks and sapphire eyes—was it wrong for her to appreciate the more… physical aspects of their relationship?

“Well, it’s been eating her up for a while now—”

“It was?!” Akko and Barbara asked in matching incredulity.

“You both didn’t see it coming?”

“Well,” Akko shrugged, “I know she’s a big softie, but when it came to stuff like that she’s just all ‘Cavendish’ and dignified and her darned reputation, you know!”

Barbara shot her a soft smile, “do you at least know that she loves you more than she cares about all those?”

“She does,” Hannah supplied, “just in case you’re stupid enough to think otherwise.”

She never doubted Diana. And while that in itself was enough for Akko, hearing the blonde’s two closest friends affirm something that was a bit of an insecurity on her part made her heart flutter, to say the least.

“But she isn’t here,” Hannah snapped her out of her musings.

Akko sighed, that much was obvious the moment they opened the door for her. But where on earth would she storm off to? The library? Unlikely, granted that it was such an obvious choice.

She blinked. The observatory?

—

“Mou, Diana!”

Diana cursed, and was honestly at a total loss regarding what to feel. Seeing Akko was always a wonderful thing, but after the amount of stupidity she had exhibited, she just wanted to phase into the observatory’s wall and hide for another hour or two. Perhaps pull off a Chariot and make it ten years. Interestingly enough, there might just be a spell for that.

“You can’t pull something like that and then storm out on me,” Akko had her arms crossed, but to the blonde’s relief there didn’t seem to be any trace of, she didn’t know, unbridled rage or unmitigated fury.

“That was completely obtuse of me,” the blonde sighed.

“You know so many synonyms for ‘stupid’, I’m a bit concerned,” Akko was walking towards her. Her hands were opened; inviting. Their fingers brushed and Diana was feeling better just being able to hold her again.

When put into perspective, the entire debacle she had suffered through was laughable. Hannah was on point. She was painfully repressed, glaringly self-conscious. But whenever Akko held her, looked at her, she was just Diana—exactly how she wanted to be.

“You make me feel things I’m ill-equipped to handle,” she admitted, breathing in slowly while Akko’s hands travelled from her palms, up her arms, to her shoulders before clasping together around her neck. The sensation was electrifying.

“Such as?”

“I love you.” Diana blurted out.

Akko blushed prettily, but she snickered, “and you can’t handle that?”

“N—No, I just—” Diana sighed, learning against the brunette’s forehead, “am coming to terms with the many different ways to express it.”

“You’re kinda silly,” Akko chuckled, “for someone so smart.”

For once, Diana wasn’t going to argue against that.

“I love you.”

Diana closed her eyes, memorizing the sound of Akko’s voice and the words she had just spoken.

“So why don’t you—” Akko’s voice was suddenly a purr. Taking a page from Diana’s book, she had leaned in for a kiss, and Diana felt her knees go weak when she felt a tongue dart out tease against her lips, “—pick up where you left off?”

“Akko,”

“I appreciate that you respect my boundaries,” Akko whispered against her lips, massaging the back of Diana’s head, “except they’re a little farther back than where you thought they were.”

One by one, with the aid of Akko’s clear constant, the gears started clicking in Diana’s head. This is okay, she growled into her next kiss, stepping forward until Akko was against a wall, this is perfectly okay, she tilted her head, urgently meeting Akko’s opened lips. With a thrill, she felt her own tongue against Akko’s, and the sensation it gave was—overwhelming.

When she pulled back to breath, she was flushed and heaving. Akko wasn’t one to take a break, though. Her lips settled on Diana’s pulse, and the audible sigh she released only encouraged the brunette continue kissing, leaving a trail upwards, to her jaw, to cheek, to her earlobe.

“I couldn’t stop thinking of you in my shirt, from that beach trip,” Diana shamelessly admitted.

“It might have been on purpose.”

“Atusko,” Diana warned. Her hands were trailing up Akko’s sides, bunching up the cloth of her uniform and sliding over smooth, bare skin.

With deceivingly large puppy dog eyes, Akko implored,

“Yes, babe?”

Of course, there was a limit to whatever boundaries were crossed that afternoon. And if one wanted to be precise, it took thirty-three days and four hours for Diana to finally make out with Akko.

It's 5:20AM. I am procrastinating Appointments Chapter 3. I must be awake in 4 hours. Are there any regrets? Nope.

Is Diana a dork? Absolutely.

#Diakko #Dianakko #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagari #LWA #Fanfic #Hannah England #Barbara Parker #Fluff #ish?#idk #yuri #shoujo ai #Little Witch Academia

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kinkykinard · 7 years ago

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A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing

Fandom: Star Trek AOS. Pairing: Leonard McCoy X Reader. Prompt: “Stop talking about love for a minute and help me with this bullet wound.” For @kaitymccoy123‘s Spring has Sprung challenge. Word Count: 1514. Warnings: minor description of a bullet wound, a little bit of blood, mentions of violence. Rating: Teen+. Genre: action, fluff. Summary: An away mission gone awry has reader admitting feelings she wasn’t quite ready to have out in the open yet. Author’s Note: The title is a play on the old expression of biblical origin for something that’s not as it appears. This was hastily written and I feel like it felt a lot better in my head than it does on paper, but I hope you enjoy it, loves! Especially you, Kaity dearest!

A Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing Everything around you has long since faded away. Your world is reduced to the immediate bubble of space around your body as you pace nervously back and forth in the wake of a firefight that’s left the guards who’d chased you and Dr. McCoy out of town out of ammo and far behind.

It was supposed to be a peaceful, run-of-the-mill supply drop off for the town’s medical clinic. Starfleet had never had problems with this planet’s people before, and so the captain had decided a security detail wasn’t necessary. A doctor and nurse were plenty for the short trip down, he’d said, and so you’d come along on his orders.

You supposed it wasn’t Jim’s fault that female crew members had always historically come down in dress uniforms and that they didn’t appreciate how short your dress was. It also wasn’t his fault that they had reacted with violence against your sacrilege. You were the one feeling personally responsible for the whole situation now. Ordinarily you would have changed into a more practical uniform, but because you were only supposed to be planetside for a few minutes to makes the exchange, you’d elected not to waste any time getting into different clothes so you could just get the whole mission over and done with.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Leonard is kneeling in the grass nearby, cursing his lack of medkit because he, too, assumed the mission would go off quickly and without a hitch. You’re not too worried, though - you’re sure he’s just worrying in excess, he always does. You’re fine aside from a few scrapes, but you know that Leonard won’t be convinced until he’s been over you with a tricorder a half dozen times.

“God, I’m so sorry,” you blurt suddenly.

“It’s not your fault,” Leonard replies, and you’re so distracted you miss the strain in his voice.

“I should have just gone and changed, I had no excuse,” you babble, more to yourself than to him. “I was lazy and stupid, stupid, stupid.”

You can hear his voice in the background, but you’re so stuck in your own head that you can’t discern his words. All you can think about is how you almost got your boss - not to mention the man who stole your heart on your first day aboard the Enterprise - killed. He could have died. You could have, too, you suppose, but that’s irrelevant. If he’d died and you’d lived, you never would have had a chance to act on your feelings. You’ve been doing your best to bide your time, test the waters, see whether he feels similarly, and you were very nearly denied the chance to ever find out.

“We almost died,” you cry; exasperated, scared, on a roll and unable to stop yourself. “I almost got us killed. If you had died and I’d never told you I think I’m in love with you, I don’t know what I would have done!”

You fall silent in the wake of your admission, anxiety already eating at you as you realize what you’ve said. You pray that he hasn’t heard you but his sudden lack of shuffling around tells you that he has, and that he’s shocked at best. Disgusted at worst. You’re trembling as you slowly turn on your heel where you’ve stopped your pacing, anticipating the worst when your gaze finds Leonard.

“I appreciate the sentiment, Y/N, I really do, and I return it, but…” Leonard trails off slowly, and for the first time you notice he’s got one palm clasped around his other arm, below the elbow and over the fleshiest part of the muscle there. “Stop talking about love for a minute and help me with this bullet wound.” You suck in a breath and your eyes widen as you realize what he’s just said. Rushing forward, you drop to your knees at his side and hold out your hands, taking him in, looking for the injury. In all the chaos, you hadn’t even realized that the locals had been firing at you with honest-to-goodness guns. You’d just assumed the things shooting by you and Leonard had been phaser bolts. “I’ve never treated a bullet wound before,” you say dumbly. Leonard’s expression is simultaneously sympathetic and somewhat exasperated. “I need you to stop the bleeding,” he instructs you. “The rest will have to wait until we’re back on the Enterprise. Just tear a strip of fabric off of one of our tunics and wrap it around my thigh.” “Right,” you say with a nod. “Okay.” You work quickly now that you’ve had a bit of coaching and you reach for the hem of your tunic, pulling at the seam in an attempt to get a tear going. It takes you a few moments but eventually a couple of stitches pop and the hemline starts to unravel. Yanking harder, you manage to tear the entire folded hem off of your top – a strip about an inch and a half wide. It’s not much, but it’ll be enough to cover a bullet hole with a bit of extra padding. Leonard’s already got you beat to it – he’s taken off is glove and folded it over on itself to create a thicker pad to press to the wound. He’s holding it in place as you work to slip the strip of fabric around his leg before finally tying it tightly and securely into place over the wound. His wince and grimace aren’t lost on you and you look up at him apologetically as you finish up. “Sorry,” you murmur. “I wish I had something to give you for the pain.” Leonard chuckles – it’s strained and a little bit forced, but the amusement in his eyes is genuine when you meet his gaze. “Don’t be sorry, you did great,” he assures you. “I’ll be fine, sugar.” Now that the second of your adrenaline rushes of the day is fading, you can feel blood filling your cheeks again and you chew on your lip as you consider what you’d let slip a short while ago. You also busy yourself berating yourself for not being at the top of your nursing game. “About what I said…” you begin, but he cuts you off, holding a hand up to stop you. “I meant what I said before about returning your sentiments,” he says gently. “But this isn’t how I want us to talk about, well, us. This is a conversation I think we’d better save for when we’re not under threat of death.” You nod, your voice and words failing you as you take a slow, deep breath. You’re reassured that he does have some measure of feelings for you, too, when his tone changes as his comm buzzes a moment later and the captain informs him that they’ve pinned down your signals and will be beaming you up shortly. “Took you long enough,” he growls into the unit, stashing it back in his pocket and returning his attention to you. Just as the golden light of the transporter begins to engulf the two of you, tendrils of it wrapping around your bodies to whisk you away, you hear shouting in the distance and feel something – a bullet, you realize belatedly – whip by your head. You yelp, throwing your arms around Leonard and shutting your eyes tightly as you’re spirited away back to the safety of the Enterprise. When the two of you rematerialize on the transporter pad, Leonard’s arms are around you, holding you tightly to his chest. For a moment, you allow yourself to feel safe, to put the firefight out of your head, but you’re brought back to reality with a startling clarity as you feel something warm and wet against your thigh. “We need to get you to med bay,” you say quickly, disentangling yourself from his embrace and glancing down at his bullet wound, which has begun to bleed through your makeshift dressing. “Dr. M’Benga needs to take a look at this.” Leonard smiles as a transport team descends on the two of you, helping you move him onto a stretcher to take the pressure off of his injured leg. “I think you can handle it just fine on your own,” Leonard says warmly as you walk swiftly at his side. His tone is mingled flirtatious and encouraging, and you’re thrown. He must sense as much by the look on your face because he starts to laugh as you board the turbo lift. As you exit it once more on the right floor, your heart flutters wildly in your chest at the prospect of the conversation the two of you are undoubtedly going to have once you’re pieced him back together, and you wonder, not for the first time, whether he was just waiting for the right moment to admit his own feelings, too. For better or worse, the bullet wound had been the catalyst to a deeper relationship between the two of you and you file it away in your mind as a blessing in one hell of a disguise.

@imamotherfuckingstar-lord @feelmyroarrrr @starshiphufflebadger @musingsongbird @gerardnot-gerald @ababyinatrenchcoat @the-alpha-otter @alluramc @medicatemedrmccoy @arrowsshootyouforwards @wonders-of-the-enterprise @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse @answer-the-sirens @devanshade @dolamrothianlady @startrekimagines @theonlyparadox @mccoymostly @goodnightwife @thevalesofanduin @distinguishedqueenofbooks @elsa-lost-in-translation

Click here for my masterlist! Would you like to be tagged in any of my works? Just send me an ask!

#springhassprungchallenge #star trek #star trek aos #star trek tos #star trek reboot #star trek 2009 #leonard mccoy #leonard bones mccoy #dr. mccoy #dr. leonard mccoy #leonard h. mccoy #bones #fanfiction #reader insert #star trek fanfiction #star trek imagines #imagines

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narcissablvxk-blog · 8 years ago

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Days of darkness and doom. Nights that are cold and lonely. A love that keeps her warm even during those times.

The future is a looming ghost over her shoulder, and when it comes, the haunting will still be far from over.

Lucius wasn’t around, and the quiet was eerie. It sent chills through her bones like the air outside. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, she thought, looking over at the empty side of their bed that was suffocatingly large on nights like this. He was supposed to be there because she couldn’t sleep without him anymore. Not knowing the things he was facing. It was a welcome sound that broke the silence when she heard Draco crying in his room. In a millisecond Narcissa was out of bed. She shrugged a robe over her shoulders, tying it around herself as she made her way to her son’s room.

Dobby had beat her there, and he looked down as she approached the door.

“Mistress Malfoy I wasn’t sure if you were coming I’m sorry I’m s-”

“I am a good mother you stupid elf. I don’t need you to raise my child.” He looked down again.

“Sorry I’m s-sorr-” but she shut Draco’s door in his face before he could finish blubbering.

“Mummy’s here my Darling,” she said in her softest voice. “I’m here, it’s okay Love.” Draco still cried and she didn’t mind a bit as she scooped his small form up in her arms. “There there my dearest Draco. It’s okay, Mummy’s here. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Pressing her lips against his forehead, she made gentle shushing noises as she did so. Taking a seat in a rocking chair, Narcissa hummed quietly. She looked down at the shock of white hair against Draco’s pale skin and a smile rested upon her lips.

“Mummy loves you, Daddy loves you, Uncle Rod loves you, Aunt Bella loves you, Uncle Amycus loves you, Aunt Alecto loves you, Uncle Evan loves you, Grandma and Grandpa love you, Grandmother and Grandfather love you,” she repeated the list over and over, long after he’d stopped crying, still even when he’d fallen asleep. She whispered the words into the cool night air, as if daring the world to try taking a boy who was so loved away from her. Let them try, she thought to herself, looking down at her son. Let them try to touch him, I’ll shred them limb from limb. Because she had never loved anyone like she loved Draco. A love so entirely independent of herself that she almost didn’t understand it. How could she love someone so much, when they offered nothing in return? Even Bella at least loved her back. Draco could hate her and she would still love him.

But he wouldn’t hate her, he loved her, he smiled for her and stayed quiet for her and laughed for her and clapped his hands for her when she asked him to. They were each other’s world, especially on nights like this. There were many nights like this, and she didn’t mind. She knew what she signed up for when she accidentally started loving Lucius, and she didn’t mind that lonely nights with her son was a part of the deal.

Her arms were numb and the sun was on its way back up when she heard Dobby rush to open the door. She quickly placed Draco back in his crib and popped back into their bedroom. The robe hung itself back up and she acted as though she’d been asleep all night when Lucius came into the room.

“Morning Darling,” she said, stretching out her arms. “Have you been home long?”

He fell into bed next to her and shook his head. He said he just got back, he apologized for waking her up, she said it was okay and that he should rest - she’d make him tea when he woke up. He promised to be home that night, promised he wouldn’t go anywhere and she nodded. Kissed his forehead.

“Just get some rest, Luc. I love you I love you I love you,” Narcissa told him, kissing him after each time. Just try, she challenged the world again as she ran a thumb against his cheek. Try to take him away and you’ll see the iron I’m made of.

She heard Amycus ask if she was okay. Narcissa was stumbling towards the front door, trying not to think of what had happened. Trying to forget the flashing lights and the ambush by people she recognized from school who thought they were fighting the good fight.

“Of course I’m okay why wouldn’t I be okay I’m always okay I have to be okay I’m completely okay.”

He told her she didn’t seem okay and she shook her head as the front door opened for her and she rushed to the bathroom, watching the clear water turn red as it ran over her hands.

“I’m okay they were going to hurt you I didn’t have a choice I’m okay because you’re okay - you have Draco right? Okay great, I can’t believe they tried to attack us when I had my son with me, I can’t believe this but yes I’m okay.” She shoved her hands in her coat pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking and she didn’t want to face him because she wasn’t supposed to have crossed that line, not ever but now she had and she didn’t even think she could look her own reflection, how could anyone else?

“We’ve all done worse, Narcissa it’s okay,” he said and she shrugged.

“Oh I know, that’s why it’s okay, don’t worry, I’ll be right in the other room.” Narcissa went into the kitchen, gripped the counter tightly, trying not to think of all of the people she’d had laying there, the people she had to fix. She wondered if anyone could fix the person they left in the street before realizing she hoped he wasn’t saved.

She took a deep breath and told Dobby to make some tea, pasting a smile back on her face as she went back into the drawing room.

“We’re all okay so of course I’m okay, let’s sit. Dobby is making some tea so please sit down Am, I’ll take Draco and get him into some pajamas, let’s go Darling follow Mummy and it’ll be okay.” She held onto Draco’s hand as he made wobbly steps, following her to his room where he looked at her.

“Okay Mummy?” He mumbled and she laughed as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“I am if you are,” she said as she knelt on the ground to be closer to him. She hugged him tightly, pulled her wand out and tapped it to his head, watching as a small silver strand followed the tip of her wand and disappeared. “There we go my Darling,” Narcissa told him, kissing his forehead. “All better now. Just remember that those people are not heroes, they aren’t even though they try saying they are.” She kissed his forehead again before wiping the pink lipstick off of his skin. “They’re just as bad as they say we are. But we’ll be alright. You’re always going to be alright. Mummy loves you, okay? Don’t ever forget that.” Because she was reminded that life was fragile no matter how invincible you pretended to be. He hugged her back with his tiny arms and another tear rolled down her cheek. “Yes, Dearest, Mummy loves you very much.”

The look on Rodolphus’ face was not one she wanted to see. Not at all. Because she knew what had happened, she saw it in the news. Frank and Alice Longbottom, tortured into insanity. Names were being thrown around, suspects that she dined with every Saturday, people who she fell asleep on as she waited for the others to come back from those god awful missions, friends whose wives shared tea and biscuits with her. But worst of all - family. Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan as well. And they’d done it, they were the ones who had done it. They stood there, minutes after she’d taken a picture of he and Draco and he had a hand on her shoulder.

“You’ll pull through it Rod,” she told him, desperately trying to believe her own words. “You always do this is nothing different than the other accusations it’s going to be okay.” Please let it be okay.

“This is different, Cissa. We aren’t getting out of this one. We’re going to Azkaban.”

“No, no you can’t. This can’t happen. They can’t take you two away from me I won’t let them.”

“You have a family to take care of Narcissa, this fight is too big and neither of us want you to risk your own reputation because of this. Please don’t fight this.”

“You’re asking me to give up, Rod. I can’t give up on you, I can’t quit on Bella.”

“I’m not asking you to give up I’m asking for you to sit this one out. We aren’t going to get out of it, no matter what strings you pull this one was just too much, we bit off more than we could chew.” He looked down and she shook her head.

“When will you get out?” She asked, her voice broken and unrecognizable when compared to her normal powerful tone. He shrugged and she lifted his chin up, placing a hand on either side of his face as her chin quivered at the thought of losing two of the few people she loved. “I’ll come visit you,” she whispered, looking into his eyes and knowing that wasn’t allowed. “I’ll tell Draco how amazing you are and how much you love him, you’ll be free eventually.”

She didn’t allow herself to think about the Dementors and what they could do to them.

“I just thought you should hear it from me. We’re going to trial tomorrow, and we aren’t coming back.”

Finally a gasp of a sob that she quickly stifled.

“Okay, okay, it’s alright, you’re going to be fine, okay? You and Bella and Rabastan, you’ll all be fine. It’ll be okay, you’ll be out before you know it.” Because it had to be okay because they had to be alright and they had to be out. She pulled him into a hug abruptly and he hugged her back after a moment of hesitation. “I love you Rodolphus,” she whispered, holding him tightly. “Draco is going to know how amazing you are, I’ll-I’ll tell everyone about your heart and nothing else because your heart is pure and true.”

Then she stepped back and sniffled, dabbing beneath her eyes. “A few more pictures then, shall we?”

What could he do but nod?

“My Light,

It’s lonely in this house. My feet make echoing noises against the walls when I walk around. Draco is still at school, but he’s doing well. He’s doing great actually, our little boy has grown quite tall and despite all the time I’ve seen pass and the moments I’ve spent with him, it never ceases to surprise me when I see him with my own eyes.

He misses you but he can see that I do too, and he’s so so strong for me. He shouldn’t have to be strong for me, I’m supposed to be the strong one. But you were the one who was strong, all I ever did was pretend to be, I guess. Or maybe that’s wrong, maybe you were my strength. Whatever the answer, I feel so weak now. I’m sorry I can’t be strong for our boy.

Do not blame yourself for the things he is doing. I’ve done what I can to protect him, I promise. He is trying to say it’s punishment but it’s not. He would have made him do this no matter what happened that night. When you get out, do not blame yourself.

I’m thankful Bella is here, the floor is cold on my feet but she makes everything a little warmer. Still, I do not do well with sleeping alone and even when I do join her, we sleep apart. We will be having Christmas, and I wish you could be there with us. Even if you are not, you will be in my heart and in that way you will be there. You are always in my heart, Lucius. It’s the only way I can cope with being alone. Our portrait is quiet too. But you’re still there to look at and that makes things okay.

This house is too big without you, and the worst part is not knowing when I will see you again. You’ve been here all my life, even when you came back late, or left early you have been here for my entire life and I love you. I love you I love you I love you and I’ve never taken you for granted - not once - but this has shown me how much of me depends on you. Perhaps it isn’t right, maybe this isn’t supposed to have worked out like it did but the unfortunate truth is that you are the other half of my soul.

For the first time since I’ve fallen in love with you, I hope you do not love me to this caliber because it is a pain I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

My husband, you are my light and what keeps me strong, I only hope you can feel me there with you because my soul is with you. (Now I am empty). We will be together again, until then I will love you and hold you in my thoughts until I can hold you in my arms.

I will see you soon.

-Your Daffodil”

Narcissa finished the letter, sprayed her perfume on it and folded it neatly. Then she stood in front of their fireplace and dropped the letter into the flames, which engulfed it quickly. After loads of letters which received no reply, she realized no hope for a response meant no disappointment when it never came. So she let her words burn and turn into smoke that disappeared.

It was better that it disappeared anyway.

#violence tw #murder tw #blood tw #malumfuture #all four of them aLL HERE #interactions w/ rod + amycus were both approved FYI!!!!!!#malumtask #FI N A L L Y #( self para )

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francohoe-blog · 8 years ago

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Trust || Drabble

ooc ;; And here it is -- The drabble that inspired this drawing that I made on my art blog! I was literally on my way home from school when this conversation between them popped into my head lmao. I hope you guys enjoy my take on Wilhelmine and Hans~!

“I want you to stay away from him,”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Did you not hear me properly – I said that I wanted you to stay away from my brother!”

Furious blues go on to meet started gray ones ; hands curling into white knuckled fists at her sides. Wilhelmine didn’t fancy herself as the type to lose her temper so easily, especially not she was so often a victim of her father’s unstable temperament, and there were very few things that could illicit the princess’ open display of frustration – Concern for her brother’s safety being one of the top things on that list. Truth be told, she never warmed up to the idea of Frederick being friends with the young lieutenant standing before her now, but she learned to tolerate Hans; if only to make her beloved sibling happy. But if her brother’s recent grumblings about attempting to flee the country were any indication of the bad influence his ‘friends’ were having on him, then her suspicions were right all along. And if he wasn’t going to cut them off ---

--- Then for his own good, by hell or high water, she will.

“I… I am sorry, Your Highness, but I truly do not understand where this is coming from!” Hans interjected, confusion and surprise lacing his tone as he spoke. He had no idea what to expect when he was suddenly summoned to the princess’ quarters; but this kind of conversation was definitely not one of them, “Have I somehow stepped out of line? Did I do something to displease you--?”

“You know EXACTLY what you did, lieutenant – Do not play me for a fool!” Wilhelmine briskly turned around, taking quick steps until she was only a couple inches away from Hans; jabbing a finger at his chest for added emphasis, “I know of all the reckless ideas you’ve placed in my brother’s head! I love my little Fritz and I would give my life to make sure he’s nothing but happy, but he can be impulsive enough on his own – He certainly doesn’t need the likes of you to get his hopes up over nothing!”

Hans felt his heart lodge itself in his throat at the accusation and he was quite sure his face flushed a good two shades paler too. Was it really so obvious that he and the prince liked each other more than mere friends should? His brain was scrambling for any sort of an excuse – Something to reassure the princess that whatever she thought was going on between him and her brother wasn’t really so ( no matter how much of a lie that would be ).

“Your Highness I…” A pause, “Whatever you believe is happening between the Prince Royal and I… It’s – It’s not what you think—“

“You do not have the slightest idea what the implications of your actions will be, do you!?” Despite Katte’s pleas, Wilhelmine kept on with her tirade, furiously gesturing with her hands as she spoke, “If word of this gets passed on to the wrong ears, it could have dire consequences for my dearest brother! Father will be even more furious with him and it will be all YOUR FAULT!”

Surprise quickly turned into a frown on the soldier’s face, looking like he was ready to stand up for himself for the first time since he stepped into the room, “Forgive me if what I am to say is out of line, Your Highness – But I resent the implication that I would do anything to purposefully cause His Highness to come to any sort of harm,” Hans said firmly, folding his hands behind his back as he straightened his posture up, “I understand your concern and he is most fortunate to have a sister who looks out for his best interests, but please believe me when I say that I want nothing but the best for him as well. The prince – No, Frederic is the most charming and intelligent young man I’ve ever met; I consider him to be one of my dearest friends. I would NEVER dream of doing anything that would put him in harm’s way – I’d sooner give my own life before I let such an unthinkable thing happen!”

“Then why must you encourage him to run away!?” Wilhelmine’s voice rose, cracking near the end from the weight of emotion hidden in those words. Realizing that she may have spoken a bit too loud, the princess shot a cautious glance towards the closed door, lowering her tone when she spoke next, “If all that you say is true, then why would you entertain him with plans to run off and commit an act of treason!? Do you know what they punish traitors with, lieutenant? DEATH!”

A lull of silence fell over the room as soon as the final word left Wilhelmine’s lips – Making the air in the room much heavier to breathe. Just when Hans felt like he was getting the hang of the situation, he was thrown for a loop yet again, “T-Treason…?” he mouthed out, the damning word heavy on his lips.

“Yes, treason. That’s what they charge people who attempt to flee their country with!” Wilhelmine spat back, although the genuinely confused look on Katte’s face was making her stomach churn with unease, “What else did you think I was accusing you of!?”

“I... I thought...” Hans sputtered out, trying hard to swallow back the lump in his throat. On one hand, he was thankful that Wilhemine wasn’t going to confront him about his relationship with her brother; but on the other hand, he wasn’t so sure if being accused of treason was any better. “Mon Dieu, I did not think he was actually being serious…” He muttered, running a hand through his hair, his face the very picture of exasperation, “I just… I – I never encouraged him to run away, I swear on my life!” He shook his head, beginning to pace back and forth only to stop so he could address his princess once more, “He did mention it to me a couple of times and each time I tried to warn him to be careful about his words lest they fall on the wrong ears! I always thought that he was simply being sarcastic!”

The princess had taken to chewing on the inside of her lip now, picking at the delicate skin until she tasted blood on her tongue ; her fingers tying themselves into nervous knots from where they rested in front of her skirts. “You mean…” She gulped, “… You mean to say that that you played no part in this?”

“I did not know that he was being serious!” Katte shot back, “But I would never encourage Frederic to do something so reckless – Especially not when I am aware of what kind of punishment might await him should his attempt fail!”

Another lull settled between the two, the gravity of the situation dawning on them. Both of them knew of the turbulent relationship between the current monarch and his errant heir ; and perhaps even worse was that they both knew that Prince Frederick was perfectly capable and desperate enough to attempt something that might cost him his very life if it meant having a shot at freedom. Guilt was chewing on Wilhelmine’s gut, ashamed that she was willing to pin the blame onto the lieutenant so quickly that for a moment she had no choice but to pin her gaze to the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

“Who else knows…?” She finally spoke again, “Who else has my brother spoken to about this?”

“I… I’m not too certain,” Hans admitted tentatively, wishing that he had a better answer to give the worried sister, “Although if it’s any comfort for you, Your Highness, I seldom hear him speak about it when we’re in the company of others. It is only in mine and Peter’s company that he dares to express such sentiments out loud,”

Wilhelmine nodded slowly to show her understanding ; her mind already busy conjuring up every single possible outcome of this situation – From the best case scenario right down to the absolute worst, “Then you must make certain that it stays that way,” The princess spoke firmly, finally lifting her gaze to meet the lieutenant’s once more, clasping her hands together tightly, “You must try to stop him from taking these thoughts of leaving the country too seriously before he goes too far and makes them a reality--!”

“Me? But I had thought you wanted me to---“

“That was before I knew that you were not behind my brother’s brash actions,” Wilhelmine said before taking in a deep breath and letting it out as a long sigh, “I will be frank with you, Lieutenant von Katte,” She continued, keeping her voice at a lower level than it was prior, “I was never fond of you growing close to Fritz,”

Gray eyes narrowed slightly at the admission, but Hans would remain silent, waiting for her to finish her thought, “I always thought you had no business being so intimate with the prince royal, but I am no fool – My brother trusts very few people and there are even fewer that he will readily take advice from and you are obviously one of them,”

There’s bitterness in Wilhelmine’s voice, but nearly all of it vanished in favour of adopting a more pleading tone of voice. She was a princess and she most certainly did not have to beg anyone for anything – But for her brother’s sake, she would learn to swallow her pride, no matter how hard that might be, “So I must ask... Can I trust you, lieutenant?” She asked directly, “Will you swear to do everything in your power to keep Fritz from attempting anything that might put him in danger? Can I trust you to keep my brother safe?”

There was silence yet again as the pair held each other’s gaze ; a flurry of thoughts and mixed emotions running rampant in Katte’s mind. Can he be trusted? Without a doubt, he knew that in his very heart, he wanted the same thing that Wilhelmine did – To ensure the happiness of the one person that they both held so dear. But while he understood her concern and knew that the risks of fleeing the country probably outweighed the benefits; could he really bear to stand idly by knowing that his beloved was being treated so horribly? Would he be able to deny Frederick should he ever ask him to help him with his attempt to escape?

Hans could feel uncertainty bubbling up his throat, but with a short huff, he forced it all back. This was for the best – He had to at least try to steer the prince away from something he might regret, “As long as I am with that beloved prince---” He finally spoke, hoping that the princess would hear the sincerity in his voice, “---I shall prevent him from executing his designs. You have my word, Your Highness,”

Lifting one hand to place over his heart, the soldier then bowed his head to seal his promise. Wilhelmine watched the noble gesture for a moment before she loosened the tight grip she had on her own hands, relief washing over her for the first time since this conversation started. Ever since that fateful night when she had a conversation with her brother after he brought up his musings about escaping, not a single day passed when she didn’t fear that he would put his plans into action and jeopardize his own safety in the process. She still didn’t trust Hans fully, but it felt better to know that there was at least one other person out there who genuinely cared for her brother’s well being.

“Good,” Her reply came with a short nod of the head, shoulders slumping as the rest of the nervous tension left her body, “That was… That was all I wanted to discuss with you, lieutenant,” She extended a hand towards him, “Thank you for your time,”

“You are most welcome, Your Highness,” Taking the hand offered to him, Hans bent down and planted a polite kiss on it; knowing that she was thanking him for more than just his time. Satisfied, Wilhelmine brought her hand back to herself before crossing over to the coffee table in the middle of the room and gingerly picked up the book that sat on top.

“You may be dismissed,” She said as she flicked through the pages, only to stop as soon as she caught a glimpse of him bowing to her before he took his leave, “Oh, and one more thing, lieutenant—“

“Yes?”

“We never had this conversation,” Wilhelmine said simply but firmly, fingers unfolding the dog-ear fold on the top of her chosen page, “Understood?”

There was a short pause before a hint of a smile tugged on the corner of Hans’ lips as he dipped his head in a respectful nod, “Understood, Your Highness,”

Nodding back in acknowledgement, the princess would watch as the young soldier made his way to the doors, giving one more bow before heading out into the hall. As soon as he was gone, Wilhelmine all but collapsed onto the chaise that was waiting to catch her; staring up at the ceiling blankly while mentally replaying the conversation she just had. Her list of worries was an extensive one but now she could cross at least one of her major concerns off of it, thanks to Lieutenant von Katte. Perhaps she really was mistaken for judging him so quickly. The princess pondered on that thought for a moment and then promptly shook her head, bringing herself back to reality as she turned her focus to the book she held. Only time will tell if the lieutenant will really hold up to his promise and she hoped that for all their sake, he would.

Hans, in the meantime, was striding through the palace halls; his face appearing more solemn that unusual as he remained lost in thought. He had every intention of living up to the promise he made to the princess, but at the same time, he knew that it was nothing short of useless to deny that at the end of the day, his true loyalty belonged the prince and the prince alone. And if the day came that his beloved would ask for his assistance to get away from this cruel life---

Then he would gladly follow him into hell itself.

#ooc;; lιғe ιѕ мade oғ cнapтerѕ and pageѕ ( draввle )#[ hans and wilhelmine were on two completely different pages there lmao #as for where frederick was where this was happening #~~who knows~~#that boi is everywhere ]

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