#v; What if This Storm Ends and Leaves Us Nothing Except A Memory A Distant Echo? /// Calliope

[magpiemorality]

Okay okay okay can we learn more about Tall Logan :0?

You absolutely can :D

Warnings: fantasy battle and accompanying implied violence, minor character death (multiple), implied injury

First | Previous | AO3

***

"I'd like to tell you a tale, Remus," Logan said one evening. It was the depth of what passed for winter there in the land of eternal temperate weather. Mostly the nights just felt a little longer, and Eavan's cousins had joined them to journey into the mountains to explore for the season. They'd found a cave and had stoked up a fire, and with Eavan's head in his lap Remus had suggested they find a way to pass the time.

"You have my leave," Remus agreed, getting comfortable and pulling his Fae into his lap and back against his chest to cuddle. "What's it about, your tale?"

Logan glanced at the two other cousins, and they apparently understood some unspoken signal because the first sat bolt upright with wide eyes and the other hid his face in the first's side with a soft sound. "A King, a long time ago," Logan answered slowly, dragging his eyes away from the other two and back over to Remus. "A King of lands unimaginable. Perhaps more than a King, because he ruled entirely unopposed for more years than can be counted, revered almost as a god of the world you now tread."

Eavan shifted. "I don't know this tale," he murmured.

"That's because I have never told it. It's too old and too sad for most days, but it feels right to tell it now, here." Logan and the other two Fae looked around with a curious expression in their eyes before all three refocused on the fire, their glow outlining them to Remus from the opposite side. "Will you hear it?"

The mortal shrugged and his Fae nodded. "Yes, go right ahead," Remus agreed, and tugged his Firefly a little closer for comfort as they got ready to listen.

The tallest Fae nodded slowly, staring into the fire with eyes already gone distant again. "Where to start?" He murmured to himself, as the air hung still and saturated with anticipation.

For a moment the only sound was the soft crackle of the flames, before the Fae who'd hidden his face sat back up, still clutching the other for support. "Start with the beginning of the end, Lo," he whispered, reaching out a hand that Logan took, locking their fingers together. The second Fae nodded his agreement, curling tighter around the first, gazing attentively at their soon-to-be storyteller.

"The beginning of the end, indeed."

"I must stress first that it truly was a shock when things changed. Change was almost unthinkable before that time, after so long of the same and the same and more of the same. The world was smaller then, or perhaps it was bigger, but it felt entirely complete from land to sea to sky and nothing ever strayed from the norm. Oh, people would travel, bicker perhaps, have their own little intrigues and very occasionally there were children born or changes to households through bonding ceremonies or departures, but true change was quite inconceivable. Even the land was simple then, mostly flat plains and rolling hills all covered in rich forest, and the folk gathered in large droves around the shore where the seas would provide for there was little water inland.

The first tremors of change came with the winds. Where there had once been peace with the sky before now there was instead a restlessness. The flurries agitated the trees, and the tides, and the people who walked across the land, sometimes playful or gentle but often biting and bitter and cruel. The King who ruled heard of this new attitude of his once great ally, but little did he know he should not blame the wind, for it was not of its own accord that it was acting so strange.

If only they'd known that then.

Next came the seas, clashing on the shore, stealing the fish, drawing out and rushing in, still when they should run with current and sneaky when anyone tried to swim. Too many were lost to the depths before caution was observed, and the sprawling towns that ran up and down the shoreline grew afraid, always waiting for the sea to rise and claim their homes as it seemed so likely to do.

Which left, of course, just the land as not turned traitor to the folk that lived on it. Before the land could inevitably also rise up against them, the King had word of a possible cause of all of their sudden troubles. There was a faction of miscreants, troublemakers, traitors, who were using magics too dark to contemplate to upset the world against the inhabitants thereof. They weren't targeting the King directly, nor did they seem to have much motivation other than to sow pure chaos, but what they were spreading in its wake was fear and uncertainty and most importantly doubt. People were growing wary and losing faith in their King, and the witches and warlocks delighted in what they'd caused, growing ever bolder.

The King called a council swiftly together, of the Lords of the land he presided over. They came from every corner, all but one. She was called Lord of West because of where she held dominion, but she had reportedly been waylaid by a group of these fanatics. At first there was much sorrow and shock, because Fae were so rarely lost in those days, and even now death is often far from our minds. But the messenger who brought the news had other information to share as well.

The fanatics had been bold, loudly proclaiming themselves true children of the land, which in our oldest language we knew as 'dragon'. These dragons had spun their sorcery over the Lord and had not killed her but entrapped her in a new form, that was bound to unleash destruction on the towns, already burning a wide trail through the forests from her home towards their goal, leaving great swathes of open land where once the trees had flourished.

So the sorrow turned to rage and determination, and the King and his council rode out, gathering armies out of Fae who were more used to tilling and tending the land than defending it. There were a few protests from those Fae who turned out to be sympathetic to the cause, calling for change and crowing injustice whenever they were caught and expelled from the army, but the King and his people carried on despite the growing dissent and he told his people to be merciful, to let them leave to join their chosen side and fight with what honour they had left.

They intercepted the dragons, the Fae who had joined them, and their enslaved Lord long before they reached the peaceful shore, clashing against them army to gaggle of scum. The fight was long and bloody and hard, and magic rent and tore the world around them all, pulling seas inland in great rivers, thrusting the earth up to form new mountains at the top of which great storms gathered, shaking trees down many miles away from earthquakes that rocked the ground beneath their feet.

But they were vanquished when one brave young Fae threw themself from their horse and climbed up the wing of the Lord, foolishly sacrificing themself so that she may be freed from the magic with a spell that has been since banished from memory. The energy involved in that sacrifice shook the foundations of the earth more than any quake before and all those who had fought on those plains were lost in a moment. Too much other magic lay in the air and the sacrifice in the end, ended the battle only at unbelievable cost.

The King himself had been stood at what passed for the enchanted Lord's feet, near the very epicentre of the spell, attempting to reach one of the dragons spouting the foulest magic.

The remaining Fae saw the lights all the way from their homes by the sea and knew what it meant. That magic left behind the first cracks through to the world of mortals, and the Fae that remained living became wary of one another and governed only in small tribes at most. The shoreside towns were abandoned as the seas grew too unpredictable and the Fae became rovers, almost solitary, wild. Changed.

In many ways the dragons in fact achieved their goals."

Logan paused for breath, shaking his head slowly and bowing it with a weight Remus could almost see crushing down on him. "That's... awful," the mortal whispered hoarsely, hugging Eavan tighter. The air felt colder and he shivered.

"Awful does not begin to cover it," the second cousin said, lifting his head from where he'd clung to the first. "It hurts my very soul to hear the tale."

"And there is more to come, hush," the first murmured, still holding Logan's hand tightly. "There is more, Lo. Don't stop there." They all watched as Logan took a deep, unsteady breath, and lifted his head again, squaring his shoulders with a determined nod.

"Quite right."

"It was not the end of the story for the King. For he had not been killed, but thrown far, far away. The dragon he had been fighting had hit him with a bolt of some still unknown magic at the moment the sacrifice was made. I'm sure you may have realised by now that magic is incredibly delicate, and easily mixed and merged to disastrous effect. That magic that enveloped the King combined with the sacrificial spell and every other piece of wild magic in the air and, through some stroke of perhaps fated luck; protected the heart of him as he was transported.

For many years he remained unseen, unknown and yet alive, healing deep in the mountains with V- it appears I- I must have missed a part, my apologies.

Something else happened when he first awoke after the battle. There was the sound of a child crying, and he sat up. Everything hurt, of course it did after what he'd been through, but he could only think to get to the child. A tiny Fae child, so rare, was lying nearby and calling for him. He cradled it in his arms and promised to care for it. No one else could be nearby, he reasoned, if they'd left the child next to his body and run off.

Except there was someone else. Another Fae, but this one an adult. He was surprised to find the King awake, and explained that he'd been running with the child, fleeing from the growing mountains, when he had heard an almighty crash and had diverted to investigate as the mountains finally settled and the magic dispersed. He had recognised the King and set out to find the herbs to help with his injuries, leaving the child alongside his body as he swiftly searched nearby. His home had once been where the mountains now stood, he said, and the remains of it lay far up in the peaks that towered above them. He had pledged himself immediately to help the King and the child, and together they built a home in a cavern, far away from the rest of the Fae where they would be safe and the King could recover.

It was slow progress, and the King insisted every time the Fae offered, that they not send word to anyone about his whereabouts. He was changed, he said, and he had only one charge left to protect, which was the child. After a while the answer changed to two charges, as the other Fae grew to mean much to him in their solitary convalescence. Years passed until they were all strong enough to travel, and the King finally felt restless enough to want to see the aftermath of what had happened, ready to mourn the losses and adapt to the new world.

They found the world as I said, much changed. Insular, isolated pockets of Fae, distrustful and doubtful and proud. It hurt his heart to see it, and to see how few and far between they really had become, but nonetheless there were survivors and he could be nothing but glad for that. The Fae with him helped him raise the orphan child as they journeyed, and they found a new and deeper bond between them, growing close on their long travels across the world that he'd once called his own.

While there were many years to come we will skip to the final chapter to this story. It comes some while after, when the King had long been forgotten. Or so he had thought, but one auspicious day, upon finding a copse and staying in it a while, they were interrupted by another Fae journeying, equally restlessly, across the land.

Once a member of the King's court, this new Fae recognised his King immediately and wept to find him alive, falling into his arms with grief and relief in equal measures. They spoke for many long hours as his first companion tended the child, and after much arguing finally agreed that the decision to no longer be king was the right one, much as the court Fae despised seeing his King no longer afforded the respect his long term of service to their people had rightfully earned. He joined their party and ever since they have all roamed together, closer than family, the three of them raising the child as their young cousin until he was ready to explore the land of his own accord.

The young child Fae left, roaming alone, and for a long while the three old Fae travelled without him. They turned to a new task, keeping order among the Fae that remained in the world and keeping as tight a grasp as possible on the doorways between your land and ours. Their little cousin visited from time to time, until one day he quite abruptly vanished from the world. And when he at last returned he brought an entirely new chapter to their lives, one that has yet again changed things anew. Perhaps, hopefully, for the better."

Logan leaned back and nodded slowly, satisfied with the conclusion to his storytelling.

They sat in silence for a while, gazing at the flickering fire and letting the tale sit in the air between them all. Then the first cousin, the one holding Logan's hand, squeezed it and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek with a soft look, and the other took up residence on the tallest Fae's other side, bracketing Logan with twin embraces.

Eavan sighed quietly, absently stroking the back of Remus's hand where it sat over his stomach. "It sounds familiar somehow, but I don't believe you've told it before," he said, frowning over at his cousins, something tense in the line of his shoulders as though his words weren't quite revealing everything they were actually saying. "It is true?"

"More true than most," the first cousin said with a smile, even though his voice was hoarse with repressed emotion. "Most of it was a very long time ago though."

"I remember it still," Logan said sagely.

Remus looked up at him with raised eyebrows, trying to read the expression on the tall Fae's face. "You remember it? Were you there? Did you know the King?"

"In a sense," Logan replied with a wry smile. "In some ways I only joined the story later on, but that's a matter of interpretation. And as for the King, I knew him better than anyone, you might say."

"Oh talking in riddles is unfair," the second cousin said, snorting softly. "You chose to tell the tale and you must answer their questions now."

"I will, I will. But tomorrow, after the night is done. Leave tonight for stories, tomorrow we can come to truth and answers."

Silence fell again as the five went wandering in their own thoughts. Remus could feel Eavan shifting restlessly and wondered what was going on in that pretty blond head. He was clearly thinking something through but whatever it was was, Remus was apparently going to have to wait until the morning to find out. Remus had learned a new patience from the experience of living with his Firefly, and while often he had to fight to outlast Eavan's stubbornness; this time he thought he might be able to guess what thoughts troubled his beloved.

It wouldn't be such a stretch to imagine Logan as the King of the story, with the two other Fae completing the trio, and his Fae, his Eavan as the child they'd found. It was mysteries upon mysteries and opened more questions than it answered, but such seemed to be the way with these Fae in particular, and Remus counted himself lucky to have been generously given a piece of the puzzle at all, no matter how small it might end up being.

If he was a betting man though; he'd put all he had on this being the biggest piece of all.

--

[ofxwonder-moved]

In the modern world where Ancient Greece is remembered but long since dismissed. The Muses of the Arts, no longer revered, inhabit human bodies of women that uphold the values and inspiration that each signified, now living among the mortals, becoming mortals themselves in the process. In spite of tension and conflict, the muses remain together in a life of normalcy.

Muse name: Calliope (Muse of Epic Poetry) Basic description: Hair: Black Eyes: Blue Personality: Creative, insightful, wise, assertive Background: The officiate of eloquence and epic poetry by the “ecstatic harmony” of her voice. She is recognized as the head of the Muses as she is recognized as the eldest, often competing for the position with her sister Urania. Seeing it her job as the eldest, she takes care of and watches out for each of her sisters, often making their business her own and constantly mothering and/or guiding them with authority. This habit continues on even as mortals.  Human Form:  Diana Prince, a writer and literature professor at the local university.  Why: Diana is passionate and knowledgeable about her work, always carrying a pen and notebook Abilities: Excels at spinning tall tales Riveting story teller (her articulate and vivid descriptions paint a picture) Beautiful singer (as the rest of her sisters are) Relationship with other muses: (to be edited) For more information on joining this verse, please see the link

[prxttylittle]

💧🤝💋

💧 Wipe away my muse’s tears

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

       If Prince knew he was going to behave the way that he was, he would have gone home. And it really wasn’t until he got to Luna’s and crawled into her bed that he discovered he was cracking. His intention coming here had been to argue with Luna so she would be just as irritated as him so he could take his frustrations out by having angry sex. His plans were shot to the dark when he arrived and she was in the shower, which really would have been no dealbreaker for him only for the fact that she had locked the bathroom door behind her. This meant he was forced to wait for her and in a way forced to face what had just happened. It was so fucking weird for Prince, the lump in his throat, the burning behind his eyes and the heaviness in his chest as he tried to fight off this feeling. He wanted to blame it on being overtired or just so confused he couldn’t help himself. It didn’t matter why or when it started happening, what mattered is that it was happening. He was fucking crying. He draped his arm over his eyes, cursing as the realisation hit him. Maybe he should leave before Luna– “Prince?” Shit. He cursed out loud. Prince felt the bed dip as Luna crawled in beside him, pulling the covers up over both of them to bring them into darkness. Prince wondered if she did that because she knew how humiliated he would feel about how emotional he was, or if it was her way to make him feel safe from anything else. Either one made him feel a little better. He let out a deep breath, followed by another and another as he tried to calm himself down. “Fuck Luna, this isn’t supposed to happen to me.” He breathed, not removing his arm from his eyes until her hands pried it anyway, forcing him to look at her. He was grateful when she didn’t speak, her hands going to wipe under his eyes. It felt intimate, like he had let her all the way in for her to be able to see him like this. She’d known that Prince’s mother had recently come into his life looking for refuge but he had made it very clearly he didn’t want a relationship with her. He’d agreed to sort her out with money and drugs, and somewhere to stay just for the sake of getting her out of his life. He didn’t think it would make him feel like _this. _He wasn’t crying for very long but it was enough to tear-stain his cheeks, those of which Luna grazed her lips upon, gently and tenderly to calm him down. Prince wrapped his hands around her wrists where her hands rested against either side of his face. He pulled her in closer to him and kissed her, sort of embarrassed about the taste of saline from his tears. He didn’t want to talk about it and he appreciated Luna not pushing the issue. Now, Prince was somewhat grateful that Luna hadn’t been there when he arrived because the fighting and angsty sex wasn’t something he needed. He didn’t want to upset Luna for his own sake, not this time. What he needed was this; having her kiss his pain away and cradle him in silence as she wiped his tears away. He didn’t plan on talking about what happened to make him feel like such an idiot. She already knew he was crying about his mum and that’s all he needed her to know for her be there for him. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

       Jason wrapped a hand around Iola’s squeezing tightly. He beamed brightly when she turned to look at him with a smile that just honestly made his heart flutter. It had been years but Jason still couldn’t understand how he had managed to land someone so beautiful. Even now that they had their little family and life was set for them, he caught himself trying to comprehend the reasoning behind her devotion to him. He leaned in to kiss her but was interrupted when the sudden sound of her two brothers came up on the speaker. He furrowed his eyebrows and looked across the room to see them standing on the make-shift stage in front of the band. They talked about how happy they were for Iola and Jason, of course not missing their opportunity to make a joke about how long Iola had waited for this, before they went on to say their families had put together a little surprise for them. He frowned when he noticed them say ‘their’ families, looking across the room to see his brother and sister both smiling at him. They’d actually gotten involved in something? He couldn’t believe it. He re-focused on Iola’s brothers when they started setting up the screen and a projector. Jason could predict what was coming and he let out a chuckle, pulling Iola into his chest. The lights dimmed and the distant sound of a ‘What a Wonderful World’ became louder. The projector flickered to life and Jason was amazed when pictures of him as a child came up, followed by pictures of her which caused him to laugh and also receive a slap on the shoulder. He pursed his lips together when Michael talked about Iola as a child followed by the statement one of his siblings had provided to talk about Jason as a kid, too. Azriel compared Iola and Jason as kids to Freddie, to which clips of them with their son flashed onto the screen, the sound of the music quietening in favour of Freddie’s giggle which warmed Jason’s heart and also caused his eyes to water. Michael changed the topic to Iola as a teenager, specifically when she was sixteen and first met Jason. The first ever photo of them popped up in the slide and Jason had to laugh. He looked so uncomfortable likely due to the nerves he continued to feel around her for months and months into their relationship and it showed in the picture. She was grinning widely while he pressed a tentative kiss to her cheek. ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’ started playing and Jason could feel a tear fall down his cheek as more images and video clips of them played on the screen from their thirteen years together. He kissed her temple softly, laughing with content as she recalled their best memories from the photos. “I haven’t noticed _half _the times people have taken videos of us dancing in the kitchen.” Jason murmured to his now-wife. Laughter erupted from the entire crowd when a video of Jason singing to some Lionel Richie song in his underwear with the sound of Iola laughing behind the camera as he serenaded her. The camera turned around into selfie mode as Iola kissed Jason despite how she was ruining his run-up to the final verse and the two couldn’t stop smiling against each other’s lips. Jason watched the two on the screen and almost forgot that it was themselves only for the fact that he could see the love he still felt for her radiating from the screen. Jason was as good as sobbing by the time the clip came to an end and he knew Iola hadn’t noticed until she turned around to kiss him and she realised what a big teary mess he’d become. He laughed pathetically when she cooed at him, her thumbs brushing under his eyes to wipe his tears away. He kissed her to distract him from how emotional he’d become, despite how she still dabbed at his face to dry him up. They pulled away and he beamed. “I fucking love you, honey.” He mumbled, slightly embarrassed at the applause they got from their friends and family. 

{ v ;; katie and leo. 

        Katie let out a long groan when Leo disappeared into the bathroom. Why did she have to have a crush on the world’s literal fittest male? And why did he have to know the perfect way to rile her up and tease her? Sure, she knew it was payback for the way she acted at the party but it still just didn’t seem fair to her. He hadn’t even made out with her. How was that fair? She was pouting when he returned, dressed now and fully dry bar his hair. He still looked majorly fit and she wanted nothing more than to jump his bones. When he fell into the bed beside her, she tried to convince him to let her do just that. She rolled over so she was propped up on her elbow, hovering slightly over him. She ran a manicured nail up his arm til she reached his neck, wrapping her hand around to the base where she trailed her fingers through her hair. She pouted her lips. “C’mon, Leo you’ve made your point. I shouldn’t have teased you last week and you shouldn’t tease me now. Can we please just–” And she let out a curse when he rolled off the bed and away from her. It was killing her that he was doing this to her but she wasn’t going to get irritated and storm off like she really wanted to. Katie rolled her eyes when he acted innocent, asking if she wanted a snack. She didn’t but she chose to follow him downstairs anyway. Staying in his room, surrounded by the smell of his cologne and the memory of him pinning her down moments ago was honestly going to drive her to insanity. When they walked into her kitchen, she beamed at the sight of Luna, who seemed a little surprised to see Katie. Aside from her dad and Leo, Luna was her favourite person in the world. “Hey Luna!” She greeted eagerly. Her smile faltered slightly when she noticed what Luna was doing. On the kitchen table in front of her there was a bunch of photographs. Katie sat down slowly, next to Luna, and picked up one picture. In it, Luna and Katie’s mum had their arms wrapped around each other, looking like they were dancing on the beach. The next picture was pretty similar except they both had a bottle of wine to their lips in it. Katie chuckled, the noise a little sad. “She’s so pretty.” She thought out loud. She noticed a pile of polaroid pictures on the table looked to Luna for approval to poke through them to which Luna encouraged. One of the images Katie picked up was a black-and-white still of her mother sitting on a counter, laughing as she sprayed perfume. It was totally posed but Katie still thought her mum looked beautiful in it. Katie felt her eyes water but took no notice until Luna took her hand. “I’m sorry.” Katie mumbled, laughing pathetically at herself. She pulled herself together and asked Luna if she could steal the black-and-white image before her and Leo gathered all they came down for and returned to his room. Their teasing from earlier disappeared when Leo wrapped his arms around Katie to make sure she was okay. It was nice of him but it also completely set her off. Tears streamed down her cheeks and just like she had done downstairs, she tried to laugh it off. “Sorry, oh my god, I don’t even know where this is coming from.” Katie saw photos of her mum all the time, she always talked about her with her dad. She didn’t know why seeing Luna go through those photographs was triggering her so much. She cursed as she wiped at her cheeks. She paused when Leo’s hands wrapped around hers, replacing them with his to softly wipe under her eyes, telling her she didn’t need to apologise just for crying. The vibe was so completely different from the flirting they’d done ten minutes previously when she practically nearly begged him to fuck her. Now, he was being gentle and so sweet with her. She looked up at him through wet eyelashes and sniffled. “Thank you.” She mumbled, snaking her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. Would it be too much to guilt him into changing his mind about having sex with her now?

{ v ;; july 17th. 

         Zayn let out a heavy sigh when he entered the bedroom. Ari was still asleep, or so he thought. He settled into the bed and just as he shut his eyes to attempt some hours, she spoke. “Z, where have you been?” She sounded sad and Zayn’s chest felt heavy. He turned around in the bed to face his wife. He smiled, both sad and soft, at her. He brought a hand up to rest against her cheek, his thumb softly brushing back and forth on her face. “I didn’t want to wake you, guess I didn’t even, like, think you’d notice I was gone all night.” He shrugged, his smile fading now. He could tell by her face that she had thought the worst from whenever she noticed he wasn’t home. Maybe she thought he’d gone out to score some coke, or she’d assumed he was out cheating. He hoped he was wrong that she was distrusting of his absence. He wondered momentarily if the news he had would from here on out rid her of her paranoia when he wasn’t around. “C’mere.” He mumbled, bringing his hand down to wrap around her waist now so he could pull her closer to him. He kissed her, once she was pressed up against him. Her touch was soothing, having her in his arms was soothing. It helped, somewhat. He sighed and pulled away, tucking his face into the crook of her neck, now. With his eyes closed, memories of the night flooded into his mind and he struggled to take deep breaths. He could feel his eyes welling up and he wasn’t even sure why or where all of the emotion came from. Part of him felt like he was to blame because he hadn’t been in touch in so long, despite how his rational side knew otherwise. Another part of him knew it was the exhaustion on top of all the weight that had been placed on his shoulders from having been the one called in to the hospital. Zayn avoided thinking about the real reason he was crying, feeling selfish for thinking ‘what if that was me?’ after what had happened. He cursed quietly as he felt his body betray him, and the tears flowed. “Zayn are you–” she pulled back and he let her look at him, let her see him cry. “Why are you crying?” And he laughed then, not because he was amused or anything was funny but the complete opposite. It was so unfunny that he just had to laugh. He should have seen this coming and he was sure Ari _had _seen it coming. His features softened when he felt both of Ari’s hands place on either side of his face as her thumbs brushed away the tears and she dried his cheeks. Her lips grazed his forehead and he sighed, grateful to have her here to wipe his eyes. It made him feel less pathetic for crying. “It’s Ant. He– uh, he died last night.” He shrugged his shoulders, sniffling slightly. “I mean, yeah it’s sad and everything but we saw it coming, didn’t we? Like, the surprising thing was him not being dead. I don’t–” He paused. Could he carry on? He looked up, his wet eyes meeting those of his wife and he knew he could trust her with what he was feeling. “I don’t think I’m crying because he’s dead.” Zayn confessed, feeling guilty. “I had to, like, tell his family, yeah? And, honestly, I couldn’t stop thinking about, like, you and the kids. If Ant had got what he wanted years ago, that might have been me.” He shook his head. Ari eased his tension when her lips brushed his cheeks where tears had long stopped falling down. He didn’t want to talk anymore so he shifted to kiss her, not feeling as tired as he had ten minutes ago. 

{ v ;; what if. 

**        **Ashton laughed, sour and miserable as he shook his head. “I have no fucking idea why I’m crying.” He sighed and sat back, trying to look upwards as if that would stop the tears streaming down his cheeks. He was so humiliated to be sat here in front of Ari, who he did truly love, and to be crying about the breakdown of his marriage. Ashton loved Lexi but he hadn’t expected he would ever be this upset if the relationship fell apart. Though, part of him knew hew was just devastated because of how it happened. Ashton was never anybody’s first choice, not even his wives. He cursed. “Maybe it’s because my star sign is Cancer.” He attempted to joke and he was grateful when Ari reached a hand out to pull him back. He leaned forward then, still mortified about his emotions. Her hands were soft, when her palms lay flat on either of his cheeks. She wiped at his saline-soaked face. It helped. He looked straight at her, for the first time since she’d walked into the apartment. Their eyes met and Ashton felt uncomfortable at how intimate it felt– her wiping his tears because his wife had cheated on him. It felt hypocritical considering how often Ashton had encouraged Ari to do exactly that. He sighed. “Maybe it’s just karma, maybe I asked for this–” But Ari cut him off, her hands still on either side of his as she maintained the strong eye contact. “You don’t deserve this, Ashton.” She spoke and he felt his breath hitch in his throat. They both went silent then. Ashton’s gaze flickered from her eyes to her lips and he wavered before leaning in. He paused, again, but she didn’t pull back so he broke the distance and crushed their lips together. It was a tension-fuelled moment. They both knew he was doing it to make himself feel better, and she was kissing back because she felt sorry for him. Neither would admit it. Ari stopped dabbing at his cheeks as her hands went around to the nape of his neck, gripping comfortably at his curls. Ashton leaned even closer so his arms were wrapping around her waist. He curled his hands under her thighs and easily lifted her so her legs were wrapping around her waist. That made it awkward when she pulled away from the kiss. Their lips were no longer in contact but he was still carrying her. His eyes searched hers and it seemed as if they both contemplated their guilt-ridden reasons for doing this and both simultaneously decided not to think about the guilt for now as their lips came crashing together again. Ashton was glad Ari didn’t change her mind; he would much prefer they do this rather than she wipe his tears away as he sobbed pathetically. Tomorrow he could cry about losing his wife and for re-risking his friendship with Ari by crawling into bed with her. Now, he was going to enjoy himself.

🤝 Hold my muse’s hand

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

**      **Prince rolled his eyes when Luna hopped up onto the end of the trolley. He really hadn’t wanted to come to the shops with everyone but they needed his car so they could stock up on more than enough alcohol and snacks for the back-to-school party Matt was going to be throwing. Prince didn’t understand why Matt had to stock the house and why people couldn’t just bring their own alcohol. He also hadn’t expected quite literally the whole squad to join in the shopping. When Cass joined Luna in riding the end of the trolley, Prince called Nick over to take control of pushing it. He was not dealing with those two right now. He shrugged when Matt asked where he was going as he stalked off, muttering something about anywhere the rest of them weren’t. Prince had half-expected it when Luna hopped off the end of the trolley and caught up with him. Prince didn’t say anything but he held back a smile when he felt Luna fall into step with him as they wandered away from their friends. He wasn’t stupid. He knew as her hand brushed against his she was testing the waters to see if he would push her away. He didn’t. When she reached out and finally laced their fingers together, Prince didn’t push her off. In fact, he squeezed hers to reassure her it was okay that they were holding hands– especially now that their friends were out of sight, probably in the alcohol section arguing about which beer to get. Prince moved in a way so that the hand Luna was holding wrapped around her shoulder. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as they wandered aimlessly around the shop, hand-in-hand, looking something like a normal couple. “Y’know,” Prince started, quiet and hushed and also avoiding eye contact as he spoke. “I just wanted to spend today with you, if I’m being honest.” When Matt had asked Prince to pick up stuff for the party he had thought Matt meant just Prince and so he’d asked Luna to come along with him. But then Matt was texting Prince to say he was ready to be collected after he picked up Luna and when he reached Matt’s house, Nick and Cass who were hanging out decided to tag along. They were good at disturbing his plans. It was stupid but he had actually kind of looked forward to grocery shopping with Luna. He rolled his eyes when Luna hit back with a teasing comment. “Shut up.” But he was laughing and pressing her back up against one of the fridges in the the frozen foods aisle. He connected their lips, his hand immediately grabbing under her face. His other hand snaked around her waist, pressing against the small of her back. They remained like that until an elderly lady passed by, excusing them so she could get to the frozen dinners behind them. He hummed against her lips, smirking as he pulled back, both chuckling quietly as they moved out of the woman’s way and into a new aisle. He took her hand in his again, stopping to kiss every few minutes and eventually making a game out of not getting located by their friends whenever they heard their voices nearby. Eventually they were found by the rest of the gang and when Luna went to detach their hands, it was Prince who tightened his grip. He knew she was only letting go because usually _he _wouldn’t want their friends getting a glimpse at them being romantic and touchy-feely together but he liked holding her hand and all the sarcastic comments in the world from Matt and Nick somehow felt weighed out. “Are you guys… holding hands?” Matt quizzed and Prince glared at him. “Are you guys putting all that crap in my car?” Prince retaliated and motioned at the trolley full of cases of beer, spirits and crisps. 

{ v ;; no reason. 

**        **Jason cursed as he was forced to pull his shirt over his head. He hadn’t even met up with Iola yet and he had already sweat right through it. He didn’t put on another one until he calmed himself down, reminding himself she obviously liked him if she’d agreed to go on a date with him. They literally hadn’t even had a moment where their phones weren’t buzzing from notifications from each other, be it text messages, Snapchats or tagging each other in memes on Twitter. The only times their phones quietened down was when someone fell asleep first. That had to mean she didn’t dislike him, somewhat. It didn’t help his nerves as much as it should have, though. He still got worked up and so jittery around her. He became giddy, like a fucking schoolgirl, whenever she flirted with him. His heart raced to an alarming degree whenever she put a hand on him even if she was just brushing past him. Jason had never felt like this around anyone before in his life. Jason was pretty sure he liked Iola more than five-year-old him had liked Sandy Cheeks. That was pretty frightening to him. He found himself trying to impress her while also not physically being able to come across as any bit cool. He sighed and fanned himself a bit before pulling a new shirt on. His doorbell rang and he let out a final shaky breath before finally going to greet her for their evening together. “Hey Iol—wow! You, uh, wow, you look– you look amazing!” Jason stuttered out the second he swung open the door to greet the blonde. He nodded they head off now, recommending they had enough time to just walk from his apartment to the gig since it was such a lovely evening outside. He convinced himself he could make it through enough to not sweat through this shirt if they walked. It only took twenty minutes together before Jason finally stopped stuttering anytime he said as much as to words to her. He let a laugh fall from his lips when Iola commented on his accent, saying she liked it. “Seriously? Most Americans have trouble understanding me. I’ve had to learn how to speak slower just to have a conversation.” His smile softened when she shrugged, insisting it was cute. His cheeks flushed a deep red and he simply thanked her. His hand fell from being tucked into his pocket down to his side and, without meaning to, brushed Iola’s. His eyes widened. He hated how furiously he could feel himself blush, it was so embarrassing. Jason wasn’t sure if Iola had picked up on how nervous and freaked out he got around her. It was just instinct, he’d never known anyone as beautiful, funny, warm and kind as Iola that he so quickly came to admire. It was sort of intimidating. If she had picked up on it, it was nice that she never mocked him or commented on it. She certainly didn’t make it any easier though when her fingers danced around his wrist and slid down to grab onto his hand. His breath hitched and he avoided looking at her. Please don’t notice the sweaty palms, please don’t notice the sweaty palms,_ _he repeated over and over in his head when she laced their fingers together. He finally looked down to their hands interlocked and the sweetest of smiles took over his features. This was definitely a great sign that she liked him. He looked up to meet her gaze and tightened his own grip around her hand. “Hmm, I’m looking forward to tonight.” He beamed despite how, technically, this was the date already started as they walked hand-in-hand through the streets of Chicago.

{ v ;; july 17th. 

         Zayn laughed lightly when Ari pointed across the room to where the Teen Wolf cast were sitting, as if he was going to care even half as much as she did. He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Hey, there’s some empty seats over there– what if Dave Franco gets a seat near Dylan?” He gasped sarcastically and his smile only widened when she slapped him on the shoulder playfully for teasing her like that. “You never know, Liz might join them too.” Zayn didn’t really get jealous when it came to Ari, especially considering her crushes on Dave Franco and Dylan O Brien weren’t exactly based on having any kind of relationship with them. She simply admired from afar. He could respect that and even make their own jokes about it. He knew both of Dylan’s brothers were on the show with them and if she really wanted she could get introduced to him but Zayn still wouldn’t worry. She had already made out with one of the O’Briens and when she’d told him, he had simply double checked that it didn’t affect how she felt about him or their relationship and then they had carried on with laughing and joking like they’d done before. Zayn wasn’t sure why he hadn’t made a bigger fuss about that. Was he supposed to? It was normal for boyfriends to get jealous when someone else potentially got closer to their girlfriends but Zayn had dumped Ari. He didn’t feel very much like he had the right to worry, nor did he feel the need to. If he had really abandoned her without much reason and she still stayed by his hospital bedside every hour until he woke up in the week after he’d overdosed, Zayn was very trusting in her loyalties to him. Zayn knew Ari wanted to be with him, so he knew he had nothing to worry about. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to make some fun out of it. He leaned into her, pouting slightly. “Hey babe, on a serious note–” He watched as her eyes settled on him, focused on his words. “Promise to only gawk and stare at the Teen Wolf crowd when I’m on stage. I’ll be very jealous if you do it in front of me.” He jutted out his lower lip just to add to the drama of his words. He chuckled lightly when she accused him of being insincere. He leaned closer, urging her to meet his lips along the way. They shared a quick kiss and Zayn grinned. He definitely had nothing to worry about. He watched as she rested her arm against his armrest, their elbows colliding. He raised an eyebrow. “Uh rude, get your own armrest.” He remarked, sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at him which only added to his amusement. He watched with an adoring grin on his face when her palm lay flat against his. He immediately followed her lead and laced his fingers through the spaces of her hand. “Okay you’ve convinced me, maybe we can share.” He shrugged, squeezing her hand tightly. The rest of the TCA’s went pretty much like that; Ari and Zayn laughing and joking and being sarcastic with each other. It even resulted in Harry and Ed turning around to shush them for laughing at their own jokes at some points, which of course set them off further. Zayn knew people were probably going to analyse over the fact that he and Ari didn’t stop holding hands once during the show but it was like a comfort blanket, having some sort of touch with her the whole evening. 

{ v ;; katie and leo. 

**        **Katie was tired. She was sick and tired of fighting with her dad’s girlfriend but she hated feeling like her mum was being replaced even though she knew that wasn’t her dads intention and he deserved to move on, too. Katie just didn’t like Aria. The only escape she got that really made her feel better was hanging out with Leo. He didn’t have to even say anything to cheer her up, just being in his presence was enough. But his words did also help. Talking about stupid stuff, gossiping about their friends and schoolmates and arguing about their favourite tv show characters was all minuscule stuff that she looked forward to sharing with him everyday. Katie wasn’t sure what that meant. She loved joking around and talking with her other friends but ti wasn’t the same as with Leo. She could sit around in silence with him and feel a million times better than rolling around in laughter with Eli or Ava or anyone. Did that mean she had feelings for Leo? She thought so. Or, she knew so. Katie had a crush on Leo and she didn’t even mind. He was the nicest person to her so why wouldn’t she feel the way she did? Their parents had always joked about it with them when they were kids and they had shared a kiss under a tree in the park when she was seven and they were playing make-believe families with his cousins. So, feelings were kind of bound to happen. She sighed, sitting down beside him on the bed. “I know she’s your mum’s cousin but honestly Aria Moon is such a fucking bitch. Like, who does she think she is telling me to ‘do my homework’ as if I’m ten years old.” Katie scoffed. Leo ran a soothing hand up and down her back and it massively helped in aiding her mood. She lay down, turning to face him. It was strange; the atmosphere between them. She was only fourteen but it felt like— sexual tension? She wasn’t sure. Maybe just tension. Her eyes met his and there was something in her that felt like their friendship was changing, advancing. She had come over here to vent and complain about Aria but now she found herself wanting to do literally anything else. Katie bit her lip. “Hey,” she murmured, not sure why or when her voice had turned to a whisper. Her eyes searched his before she turned onto her back, gazing up at his ceiling. “D’you remember when we were kids and we used to play those silly make-believe games? I used to be, like, the mum and you were the dad and either Sage or your cousins were, like, our kids for whatever.” Katie couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that fell from her lips as she remembered their childhood games. It was a fond memory to look back on. The best part was her mother was in all those memories, encouraging the games. Katie’s heart raced when, out of nowhere, Leo held onto her hand, tracing her palm first before wrapping their hands together. It felt sweet. Neither looked at each other. She knew her palm was sweating up a little bit but she also knew Leo wouldn’t mind. She shrugged. “I was just thinking of that. You remember we–” Katie was interrupted when Leo chuckled lightly, the voice an adorable melody to her ears. “Remember that we kissed? Yeah, I do.” He spoke. It was kind of unnecessary for him to interrupt her to say exactly what she was going to but the way he said it made her blush. Katie laced their fingers together, squeezing his hand lightly. Here they were, lying in his bed, holding hands and Katie’s heart fluttering like crazy. Were those butterflies in her stomach? She let out a shaky breath when an idea came to her mind. “Hey, Leo?” “Yeah?” And feeling brave, Katie rolled over and kissed him, without letting go of his hand. She giggled when she pulled away. “Just that.”

💋 Kiss my muse’s neck

{ v ;; the princess and the moon. 

       A chuckle fell from Prince’s lips as they rolled around on the bed in a tangled mess. His eyes lit up when she squealed loudly as his fingers pinched at her side and tickled her. He wasn’t sure why he had woken up in such a good mood or what the cause was but he wasn’t going to let it go to waste. Which is why he’d woken Luna up by pressing soft tender kisses all over her face, smiling in greeting when she finally came to wake. He knew she wouldn’t mind him waking her because a part of him knew that she loved Prince like this; smiling and giddy, falling all over her. He knew that she wasn’t going to waste time on giving out about him waking her too soon. Their laughter died down as a comfortable silence filled the air around them. As Prince hovered over Luna, his eyes searched hers and a bright smile reached his eyes. Gentle, he leaned in and kissed her. His hand cupped her face, thumb brushing under her jaw as he pulled away from the kiss. He rolled off of her to reach over for his phone and, not even thinking about why he wanted to, he snapped a picture of her. The way she was looking at him was incredible. It made a lump form in his throat but not in the way that would usually cause him to storm off so he could avoid thinking about his feelings. He smirked when she took the phone from him to take selfies of them. He took that as his opportunity as he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers, catching her by surprise as she let out a laugh and also managed to catch the moment on camera. Prince took the phone back off of her, uploading the image on his Instagram story before he went back into his home screen . “Babe, look what I downloaded.” He wrapped his arm around her to bring it back around to his phone. He opened the Magic 8 app and tilted the phone in her direction. “It’s like a Magic 8 ball but on the phone. Did you ever have one of those things?” Prince chuckled quietly as he remembered pre school. “I had one when I was a kid. I was fucking obsessed. I asked it should I let Matt play with my Lego’s when we met.” He glanced down at her. “It said yes. Guess that’s why I’m still stuck with him.” He looked back to the phone. He asked a random question about the weather and pressed ‘shuffle answer.’ Prince looked down to Luna again, holding eye contact as he asked the next question. “Should Luna let me give her a hickey right now?” He nearly missed the answer from the pair laughing with each other. He frowned playfully when it answered _better not tell you now. _Another quiet laugh fell from his lips when he felt her hand wrap around the base of his neck, fingers curling through his hair as her lips connected to his neck. He hummed at the feeling of her pressing kisses to his skin there. “Should Luna give me one?” But she was already nipping at the skin, making his lips part breathlessly when the Magic 8 app responded with _Outlook good. _It was such a soft, tender touch but the sensation of Luna kissing his neck caused him to moan slightly. It was an embarrassing noise, somewhat between a moan and a whimper but he didn’t care enough to feel the embarrassment. He felt her hand trail down his chest. “Should I stop playing with this stupid app and fuck my girlfriend?” Prince asked aloud but he was already locking his phone to drop it so he could bring his hand under her jaw, shifting her from her place kissing his neck so he could guide her back up where their lips met, kissing with eagerness. Prince didn’t often address her by the word ‘girlfriend’ but it was unspoken that they both knew that’s what she was. It felt natural when he called her that, just as natural as it felt when they kissed like this.

{ v ;; no reason. 

       Jason hummed tiredly when he felt a pair of hands slide under his shirt, and lips kissing, pecking and sucking against his neck, easily pulling him from his slumber. He yawned. “Oh, Michael, I had no idea you felt that way about me.” He teases, his eyes still shut and a hint of sleep still in his tone through his joking. He didn’t know how long he’d been asleep for but the last time he checked he had a giggling baby in his arms and his girlfriend’s brother and sister-in-law had been picking around the house, helping maintain it some bit. He had insisted it wasn’t necessary for them to help take care of Fred but secretly he was delighted when they’d showed up earlier and replaced Iola’s presence in the apartment. He loves his son but it really does take a village, especially while he and Iola are still learning how to adult, let alone parent. His eyes blinked open and he was wowed by the pretty sight of Iola leaving pecks all over his upper body. A soft smile turned up his lips and he placed his hands on her waist.��“Hey, love.” He puckered his lips to encourage her to shift from his neck to his lips without him moving his head. She indulged him for a moment before her lips were reconnecting to his neck, brushing down along his chest and over his collarbone, causing his breathing to go shallow. He wouldn’t mind the sleep deprivation so much if this was how he was going to be woken up every time. He couldn’t focus, though. “Where’s–” Iola cuts him almost immediately off by informing him that Michael had taken Freddie out for a walk in the stroller, continuously kissing him as she speaks each word. A chuckle falls from his lips. “You’re eager.” And she proves him right when she stops kissing him to sit fully upright and pull her shirt over her head, swiftly at that. He bites down on his lip at the sight of her, his hands sliding over her thighs. It’s been so long since they’ve had the time, or the energy for that matter, to be so close like this. Jason still doesn’t really have the energy but he brings his hand to cup under her jaw and pulls her back down to reconnect their lips. Jason has a mole at the base of his neck and Iola never really lets it get lonely for too long with how often she leaves a mark beside it. He can feel her doing just that the moment their lips detach and she starts kissing his neck again. His breath is shallow and while he’s missed being able to just lounge around and make out with her, he hasn’t had sex in _months _and he’s not sure how much time they have so he wraps one arm around her waist and promptly turns them around on the bed so she’s the one lying with her back against the mattress. She lets out a squeal and it makes him chuckle lightly, shutting both of themselves up by kissing her. 

{ v ;; july 17th. 

       Zayn laughed, despite the crying child in his arms. “Seriously, Ari, does she ever do anything but cry?” His voice was desperate when his wife appeared in the doorway as he attempted to rock Leilani to peace. He was grateful when Ari took the baby from him but he did also feel a little jealous when she immediately quietened down for her mother. As far as he could see, Ari was doing exactly as he had done so why did Leilani go quiet for her? He grumbled for a bit and nodded Ari off when she said Leilani just needed to go to sleep and she’d put her down herself. Zayn was appreciative that she didn’t say ‘I told you so’ since she’d given out earlier that Zayn played with Leilani through nap-time instead of putting her down which is probably why it had just taken him so long to get her to settle now. He sighed tiredly and lay down on the bed. He hadn’t been gone for that long and before leaving he’d been an absolute pro, heating the bottles perfectly the first time, sterilising like nobodies business and changing diapers like it was second-nature. How had he lost his magic-dad touch in just three weeks? The sound of Ari whispering good-night as she emerged from Leilani’s room, dragged Zayn out of his thoughts as he sat up from the bed to pout at her. “I’m sorry, babe. I don’t know why I’ve been so useless all day.” But she was forgiving as she she draped her arms over his shoulders, settling on his lap. His hands rested on her hips, thumbs brushing under the material of the shirt she was wearing– belonging to him, as usual. He arched his neck back when she grazed her lips against it, kissing softly and gently. It was soothing, immensely so. She spoke between kisses, telling him it was understandable he was finding it so hard but he was losing focus with the way she was kissing his neck, her tongue and teeth a major distraction. He smirked and pulled away, eyes meeting hers. “It’ll get better tomorrow. Right now, though, my husband has been gone for three weeks. They say to sleep when your baby is sleeping, but I think there are more pressing issues.” Their hushed laughter filled the air as they fell back against the bed together. 

{ v ;; katie and leo. 

       Katie smirked mischievously when Prince and Luna entered the living room with their suitcases in tow. “Right, we’re off.” Prince stated but was quickly interrupted by Luna going over what Leo was to do if there was any trouble, if he needed them or his uncle Matt, any numbers he needed and all the other over-protective motherly stuff that Katie admired about Leo’s mum. When his parents and Sage were out of the house, she raced him back upstairs to his room. She threw herself down on the bed and demanded he put on Netflix. This was going to be the only evening she would get to hang out with Leo and take advantage of the free house seeing as her dad was aware of the fact Leo was going to be home alone for the week and would probably keep her on lockdown. Luckily for her, Prince and Luna had agreed to lie to her dad and say they weren’t leaving for their holidays until the next day so she could spend the night while her dad thought she was staying over at one of her friends from dance class’ house. They spent the whole evening mocking the characters on Riverdale, questioning if the series was a prank every time Veronica spoke. However, when it came near the end of the episode they were on and Betty suggested she should leave to which Jughead placed a hand on her thigh and asked her to stay, Katie found herself getting invested. She scoffed when they started making out, finally tuning back in to Leo’s insults around the show. “I think it would have been more interesting if she shagged Archie.” Katie commented with a shrug, finding the remote to turn off the tv. She didn’t want to watch it anymore. She looked to Leo with a grin when he said they were just friends. She nudged him. “Just friends can hook up, too. Besides, Archie is her real best friend, who could she trust more with her virginity?” Katie had been joking but when she looked to Leo, she felt uneasy under his gaze. Her eyes met his, noting the smirk on his face. Katie didn’t know how or when but the air between them felt thick, a cloud of tension falling around them. Her eyebrows furrowed when he sat forward to get closer to her. She felt his hand on her waist and her heart raced. “Leo.” She breathed. He didn’t kiss her, not right away. He nudged the crook of her neck, his breath warm against her shoulder, before his lips grazed the skin on her neck, causing her to arch her head back. She wanted him to carry on, despite her nerves. His lips trailed the surface of her neck, kissing and pecking in a way that made her question everything she knew about being just friends with him. His fingers traced her jawline carefully when he pushed her hair aside. She couldn’t take anymore of him kissing her neck without going insane so she shifted on the bed, pushing him down against the mattress before she finally connected their lips. They’d kissed before but it had never felt like this before. It had never been so heated. It had never felt this serious. She chuckled as she pulled away from him, hovering over him but not straying too far. “I think we just broke all the friendship rules.” But his amusement only matched hers for a moment as his hands hiked up her shirt. Katie was so turned on by his confidence. They joked in the past about taking each others virginities but nothing about this felt like a joke. Leo turned her around so he was straddling her now. He kissed her neck again but this time she could feel he was leaving a mark behind. Maybe he had a death wish from her dad. She placed her hands on either side of his face to pull him back. She wasn’t sure why. She just wanted to look at him. And when he asked with genuine concern if she was okay, she knew immediately she was and she knew what she wanted. “Leo, I think we should—” She pulled her lower lip under her teeth. Katie shook her head, slightly embarrassed. Did she have to say it out loud? Clearly, she didn’t because Leo nodded, understanding where she was heading with this as he dipped in to kiss her again. 

[ofxwonder-moved]

Verse tag drop.