#very busy month but i’ll sacrifice everything just for this one thing…

[fawnpires]

had like the best fic concept for halloween season… slasher!simon.

[vodika-vibes]

Vodika... could we, please and thank you very much, get another mystic au with the Same Faces Gods? 👉👈 With a commander (Wolffe, Fox, Cody, Mayday, your choice). A first wohoo of love at first sight but busy.

Idk someone tries to appease the gods with a sacrifice, or the imperials try to replicate the technique but it backfires or a friend of 1st reader is a bit clumsy in a good way??

Of course you have every right not to do so!!!!

God Of War

Summary: Your cousin has been missing for months. Her social media has gone dark, and the people in the ExploraCorps have been tight-lipped about her whereabouts. Your family is sick with worry, and no one in the Empire seems willing to help. And then, when you're at work one day, everything changes.

Pairing: Commander Fox x F!Reader

Word Count: 3079

Warnings: Mentions of attempted human sacrifice, and kidnapping

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Thanks for your request! I wasn't sure if you wanted smut or not, so I erred on the side of caution and left this largely SFW. SFWish. I hope you like it!

You peek around your mother to look at your aunt. She’s sitting at the kitchen table, her hands wrapped tightly around one of your cousin’s old stuffed animals. Her eyes are glassy with tears. Your uncle has been staring out the back window since you and your mother arrived.

“Are they okay?” You ask, your voice quiet to not be overheard.

Your mother presses her lips together, and lightly cups your face, “Never you mind,” She admonishes, “They’ll be alright. So far as we know, your cousin is alive. They’re just worried about her.”

“The ExploraCorps hasn’t said anything?”

Your mother tapped your nose, “Never you mind.” She leans in and kisses your cheek, “Go on, baby. You’re going to be late for work.”

Worriedly, you gaze at your aunt and uncle and then back to your mother, “Are you sure? Senator Organa won’t mind giving me the day.”

“I’m sure. I’ll take care of them today,” She lightly pets your cheek, then turns back to her brother and sister-in-law.

You watch them momentarily, then turn and hurry out of their house. Luckily, the taxi is still waiting for you and you climb in the back before giving the driver your destination, the senate building. 

When you completed the placement tests as a child, you had a predisposition for politics and law. You were lucky and were selected to be an assistant for Senator Bail Organa, rather than some of the less agreeable Senators. 

He’s an agreeable man, with a big heart, and has come to view you like a beloved niece. When you told him that you were going to be late that morning due to a family emergency, he offered to give you the whole day.

If you thought that your presence would help your aunt and uncle, you’d take him up on that offer. But your uncle took one look at you and nearly collapsed to the ground in his grief.

You pay your taxi driver and head into the Senate Dome, walking the familiar path without really paying attention. It’s late enough in the day that there aren’t many people roaming the halls.

Which is good for you, because you’re not paying the most attention to your surroundings. 

You don’t snap back to yourself until you open the door to Senator Organa’s office and he says your name. You focus your attention on him, and he smiles kindly, “I wasn’t expecting to see you until this afternoon.”

You pause, and then duck your head, “Sorry, Senator. My presence wasn’t helping things, so Mom said to come in.”

He looks worried, “Is everything alright?”

Your hands curl into fists, “My cousin is a member of the ExploraCorps. She’s missing. Has been for months, and no one is telling us anything. Her social media has gone dark and…” You trail off, “Well, we’re worried.”

“I can understand that. Would you like me to reach out?”

“I appreciate it, Senator. But I doubt you’ll get an answer any different than what we got.” You sigh, “I just need something to do, that’s all.”

He walks over to you, and lightly places his hand on your shoulder, “Well, I have a lot of that. Would you be a dear, and deliver this stack of missives for me?”

You glance at the small stack of brown envelopes, and then you nod, “For the Perkins Bill?”

“Indeed. I’m sure it’s going to pass, everyone supports it, but we need to do things properly.” He walks over to his desk and hands you the stack of envelopes. “Take your time, there’s no rush.”

“Yes, Senator.” You reply as you flip through the envelopes, and then pause when you get to the last one, “Senator?”

“Yes?”

“This last envelope isn’t labeled.”

“Oh?” He takes it, and stares at it in bewilderment, “I think this goes to the ExploraCorps.”

You stare at him.

“Ah, hold on.” He moves around his desk to open the envelope, and scans the content inside, “Ah, I was wrong. This goes to the Director of the MediCorps.”

A frown pulls at your lips, “Wasn’t the director of the MediCorps recently replaced?”

“Yes, he was.” Senator Organa flips open a binder and scans a sheet of paper at the top, “The current director is…hm…ah, here she is. Doctor Yasmin Kelb.”

“What happened to Doctor Trudel?” 

“Medically Retired.” Senator Organa replies, “Cancer.”

“That’s a shame.”

“It is.” You watch as he seals the paper in a new envelope and labels it to Doctor Kelb, “Here you go. Once you deliver all of these, come on back. I’ll have some more for you then.”

“Yes, Senator.”

“Good, lass. Off you run.”

You turn and leave his office, and stop in the hallway to organize the envelopes in a way that makes sense to you. Mentally, you map out the senate building and organize the delivery schedule in such a way that you won’t have to backtrack a lot, and then you start making deliveries.

The nicest thing about being Bail Organa’s aide is that you’re largely invisible. The people you work with don’t see you so much as Senator Organa’s crest on your nice jacket, and it gives you access to places where you normally wouldn’t have access.

It’s only fair. Senator Organa is a very well-respected man, almost as well respected as his lady wife. And anyone who is even remotely attached to him is treated with the same amount of respect.

It’s one of the few perks of your job.

The other one is the daily free food and coffee.

Finally, you only have the envelope for Doctor Kelb, and so you hop on the elevator to go up to the Director of the MediCorps office. Only to find yourself in front of an empty room.

“Everything alright?” A security guard asks as he walks over to you, glancing at the crest on your jacket, and the straightening.

“I have a message to deliver to Doctor Kelb for Senator Organa. Did the location of the MediCorps office change?”

“Yes ma’am,” He nods once, “They’re in the basement now. At Doctor Kelb’s request. You’ll find her office next to Director Frosch’s office.”

Slowly, you nod, “Next to the Office of the ExploraCorps?”

“That’s right.”

You hum thoughtfully, “Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome. Have a good day, ma’am.”

“You as well.” You turn and head back to the elevator, bypassing the first one and heading to the second one. There’s only one elevator that heads to the basement, for security reasons, luckily you already have an access card and you don’t have to go ask the Senator to use his.

You wave your card over the panel next to the elevator, and the door slides open several moments later. You hit the button for sublevel one, and you wave your card over the panel inside the elevator, which allows the doors to slide shut and the elevator to start moving. 

It takes almost a whole minute to get to sublevel 1, that’s just how massive the senate building is, and you scrunch up your nose at the scent. The sublevel smells like a disgusting mix of antiseptic, the pine of the cleaning solution that cleaners use, and mildew. There must be a water leak somewhere.

You walk down the hall until you reach Director Frosch’s office, and you peer at the two offices next to his. 

One is empty, it used to belong to the director of the EduCorps, but EduCorps was moved to the local university several months ago. But the other one has a temporary door sign marking it as the office of Doctor Yasmin Kelb.

The door is shut, but you can see a light on under the door, so you lightly knock and wait.

The door swings open so suddenly, and with such force, that you jump back.

If you were to meet Doctor Kelb on the street, you’d think that she was a professional dancer. Less thin and more willowy. She towers over you, standing nearly the same height as your uncle as best as you can tell, and she squints at you through a pair of wireframe glasses. “What?” She demands, impatiently.

“Doctor Kelb? I have a missive for you from Senator Organa-” You start, holding out the envelope, only to blink as the woman rips it from your hands.

“Yes, yes. Good.” She vanishes into her office, and you stare at the spot where the woman had been standing, wondering if you should just leave, only to jump when she appears again, “What are you doing?” She demands, “Follow.”

“I…yes, Doctor!” You step into her office and she slams the door shut behind you.

Her office is a mess. Boxes and books and loose papers leave very little walking space.

“Ignore the mess,” The Doctor says as she brushes past you, knocking a box full of papers to the floor. “I just moved in.” 

Her office is a lot bigger than any of the other offices. It almost looks like her office continues deeper beneath the Senate Building. 

“Doctor?” You ask.

“What?”

“Where are you taking me?” 

The woman sighs explosively, “Keep up, girl.” It’s not a very neat side-step of your question, and you’re starting to get an eerie feeling, as though you should probably leave.

“...Senator Organa will be waiting for me.” You say as you slow to a stop.

The woman sighs again and spins to look at you. There’s a frightening look on her face, and you take half a step back, only to trip over a book and fall.

“This,” Doctor Kelb says to you as she advances on you, a syringe in her hand, “is for the good of the Empire.”

“W-wait-!” You try to scramble back but there’s nowhere to go. 

You feel the sharp sting of a needle entering your neck and the cold feeling of something entering your body. Panicked, you manage to kick the woman off of her, but you only manage to get a few feet away from her before whatever she injected you with takes hold.

A terrified sob falls from you, even as the world fades to darkness.

Slowly, you come back to yourself.

You’re in a dimmed room, and you seem to be lying on stone. 

Immediately you know that you’re either no longer in the senate building, or you’re so deep beneath the building that you might as well be somewhere else. 

Slowly you sit up to take stock of your surroundings. 

The first thing you note is that you’re naked, even your hair tie has been removed. Your feet are chained to this stone bed, though there doesn’t appear to be anything keeping you from moving. 

There’s a deep gash on the palm of your left hand. Curiously, it’s already been wrapped in bandages.

You turn your attention away from yourself and to your surroundings. It appears that you’re in some kind of ritual circle, like the ones you learned about in history class all those years ago.

Across from you is a stone table. You can’t see, exactly, what’s on it, but you do see a blanket folded on the table, as well as the skull of some type of animal.

Around the edges of the circle is Doctor Kelb, as well as several members of the ExploraCorps.

They don’t seem to notice, or care, that you’re awake. 

“We have everything,” Director Frosch insists, “This is exactly what the ritual entails.”

“I agree.” Doctor Kelb says with a dispassionate glance at you, before she looks back at the director, “Best get started before the sacrifice starts making a nuisance of herself.”

“Yes, yes.” Doctor Frosch strokes his beard and then picks up a lighter and lowers it to a divot in the ground.

You watch, in numb horror, as flames spring to life around you. Blocking the people who kidnapped you from sight.

They mean to burn you alive.

You’re only thought, hope, is that maybe it’ll be quick. Maybe your death won’t hurt too much.

The flames lick up the sides of the stone bed you’re strapped and you can feel the almost cold heat of the flames licking the soles of your feet. You slam your eyes shut, you don’t want to see this.

Then the impossible happens.

The flames bend away from you, the pain in your feet fades, and a cool hand presses against your cheek. Tearfully, you look up.

A man is standing over you, just as naked as you are, but strangely, you aren’t afraid of him. “It’s going to be okay.” He says soothingly, as he drapes the blanket over your shoulders and wraps it around you.

You start as the manacles holding you to the stone bed shatter as if they were never there to begin with. “Who-?”

His other hand presses against your cheek, tilting your head back so you’re meeting his gaze, “My name is Fox. I am the patron god of the forgotten and the abused.” Something like malice slides across his face, “I do not think they meant to summon me.”

Even with the malice rolling off of him in waves, you’re still not afraid of him.

Then he smiles at you, soft and warm, and he lightly presses his lips against your forehead, “All will be well. I promise.” The flames finally die down and Fox helps you off the bed and stands you behind him. “Stay behind me, ad’ika.”

You nod mutely and cower behind him.

Director Frosch and Doctor Kelb step into the circle, “Finally.” The director says, “Proof.”

Fox gazes at them dispassionately.

“We are the ones who summoned you,” Doctor Kelb says, “You have to obey us.”

“Oh? I didn’t see you in the summoning circle,” Fox replies.

The two adults share a look before the Director clears his throat, “We are at war, we need your expertise to destroy our enemies.”

Fox smiles, “I am a god of war.”

“Yes! So you can kill our enemies for us-”

“I am not a god of slaughter.” Fox interrupts.

“Then…then you can tell us strategies to help us win-”

“I am not a strategic god.”

“Then who-?”

Fox advances on them, “I am a god of war. I am every mother who has lost her son. Every wife who has lost her husband. Every orphaned child.” He pauses and glances at you, “...every sacrifice. Everyone who has been forgotten and abused.”

The protective circle crumbles, not meant to hold the will of a deity, and the people who kidnapped you scramble back as shadows pool at Fox’s feet.

“How dare you call on me.”

You see the shadows sliding across the floor, and you slam your eyes shut as the shadows lift from the ground. This isn’t for your eyes. Even though you can’t see what’s happening, you can hear it.

Screaming, and begging, and the sound of something sharp cutting through flesh.

And then-

Silence.

The silence is almost deafening, and you only open your eyes when you feel those cool fingers against your face again.

“They will never harm you, or anyone else, again,” Fox says. There’s blood splattered on his face, and you use the corner of the blanket to reach up and wipe the blood off of his face.

His gaze softens as he watches you.

“What happens now?” You ask.

Fox hums thoughtfully as he takes your hand in his, “I have never had a priestess before. Though, I’ve also never had a priest before either. People generally aren’t fool enough to summon me.”

“I didn’t-”

“Shh.” He presses his finger against your lips, “I know you didn’t summon me. But, you are mine. Mine to protect, mine to hold, mine to love.”

Your face heats at his words. Not that you’re complaining. You feel drawn to him, and you wonder if the ritual had something to do with that. But it doesn’t matter. Not really.

You don’t want to leave his side.

Fox moves his finger from your lips and leans in so his lips are hovering over yours, “I should finish the claiming,” He murmurs, chuckling as you try to lean in to kiss him, “But we’re not safe yet. And I want to take my time with claiming you.”

He pulls away and you make a disappointed noise.

Fox chuckles, “Patience, ner ad’ika. When we’re safe, I will give you everything you want and more.”

You try to hide your disappointment, but you must not do a great job of it, as Fox leans in and trails his lips from your ear to your jaw. It’s like shooting electricity down your spine.

He chuckles, “Oh, ad’ika, I am going to have fun playing with you.” Fox pulls away, “Is there someone safe in this building?”

“Um…Senator Organa is a good man.” You say, your face heated from embarrassment. 

“Then we should go to him.”

“W-wait! We can’t walk through the Senate naked!” You blurt.

Fox pauses and glances at you, and then down at himself, “I suppose you have a point. Can you get him here?”

“If I can find a phone, yes.” You step out of the ritual circle, and make a face at the bodies, “Gross.”

“They insulted me.” Fox says as he sits on the stone bed you were just chained to, “They’re lucky I didn’t do worse.”

“Ah, found one!” You pick up a working phone and dial a number you know by heart, “Uh…what should I say about you?” You ask as the phone starts ringing. 

Fox just shrugs and leans back slightly, his dark eyes locked on you, an almost hungry look on his face.

Slightly flustered, you turn away from him as your boss answers the phone. You give him a very abridged version of what happened, but you have the feeling that he knows something is wrong because he promises to be there immediately. 

“He’ll be here in a bit.”

Fox hums, and pats the stone bed next to him, “How about you tell me exactly what’s happening here?”

“I can do that.” You move to sit next to him, only for him to pull you onto his lap and bury his face in your neck. 

Absently, you wrap your arms around him and play with his curls at the base of his neck as you start talking. You know that nothing is going to be the same now.

You hope your mother will forgive you.

[thenovelartist]

Life After Destruction - Chapter 6 - Honkai: Star Rail

<Previous Chapter ~ Next Chapter>

“You were supposed to die.”

At the all-too-familiar sultry voice, Stelle looked up from where she was sitting to see Kafka. “What a way to greet someone,” she snipped.

“I thought I’d cut to the chase.” Uninvited, Kafka stepped closer and took a seat on the bench beside Stelle.

Stelle narrowed her eyes at Kafka. Even after all this time, she never could fully figure this woman out. The only thing she knew for certain was Kafka never wished any harm to come to Stelle. Though Stelle supposed if there was one thing to know about a person, that certainly wasn’t the worst.

“What brings you here?” Stelle asked, glancing around the crowded plaza of the planet they were visiting. “Out in the open.”

“The place is busy enough for people to notice everyone yet no one,” Kafka answered. “I’m nothing more than a face in this crowd, just like you.”

Well, that was true. Despite Stelle's face having become quite a famous one, no one had approached her. Honestly, for the better.

“I’m surprised that vidyadhara of yours left you alone, though.”

“He’s just across the street.” Through the crowd, Stelle could spot Dan Heng standing beside March as they waited in line at a food stall. The reason for that was March’s phone had broken on the latest mission, and they were currently waiting for it to get fixed at a shop down the street. After meandering the streets for a while, March thought she’d grab snacks for everyone, but Stelle was not up for standing in line. Despite being told her belly was smaller than average for a woman six months along, Stelle was beginning to feel its effects to the point she no longer protested the occasional break. Seeing as March had no phone, Dan Heng had gone with her, leaving Stelle to rest on a bench for now.

“Still,” Kafka continued, “he doesn’t often leave you alone long enough for us to chat.”

“You could approach me when he’s here.”

“That would ruin our girl time.”

Stelle just rolled her eyes at Kafka’s evasive answer. “Anyway, what do you mean? Or am I gonna have to play ‘truth and lie’ to maybe get an answer out of you?”

Kafka chuckled. “Actually, I’ll humor you and give you straight answers today. You deserve it, considering you’re still alive.” She leaned back against the bench, crossing her legs. “In every future Elio foresaw of us winning against Nanook, there was not a one where you didn’t die from that stellaron burst. As cruel as this might sound, we accepted it. A single life is a better sacrifice than a galaxy full of them.”

Considering she was that life, Stelle was inclined to hate that sacrifice more than anyone. But on the other hand, she also understood it. She’d met so many wonderful people, both comrades in arms and civilians who just wanted to live peacefully in this galaxy. She’d come to care for them so deeply that if she could pay a price that would guarantee their future, then she would.

Once again, she caught flashes of a particular green and gold coat as well as a cotton-candy-colored dress through the crowd. Heck, she would have made that sacrifice if only for those two over there, plus the other Nameless, of course. They’d given her everything, and she gladly would have returned the favor, even at the cost of her life.

A sudden jolt to her stomach was enough of a reminder that a very tiny someone was glad she didn’t have to.

“Is that all you wanted to say?” Stelle asked, automatically covering the spot her baby kicked with her hand.

“No,” Kafka admitted. “Actually, there’s quite a bit I want to say, but you’re not the only person I want to say it to.” With that, she stood. “That is, if you dare to follow me for a bit.”

Stelle quirked a brow.

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long. You better text your husband, though. He doesn’t look too happy.”

At the mention of Dan Hang, Stelle looked through the crowd for him, only to see he was glaring in her direction. Not only that, but Stelle watched March’s expression darken the instant she caught on.

She forced herself to give them a smile and a wave before pulling out her phone.

Stelle: It’s okay. 

Stelle: I’ll be right back.

Dan Heng pulled out his phone in response, March looking over at it.

“Now that you’ve taken care of that,” Kafka said, starting to walk away. “Follow me. I promise it will be worth your while.”

As Stelle stood, her phone dinged with a message.

Dan Heng: Where are you going?

Stelle: It’s fine.

Stelle looked up to see Dan Heng and March looking at her through the crowd.

Stelle: Trust me. Just get the snacks for when I get back.

And with that, she shuffled off after Kafka.

“Clingy, aren’t they?” Kafka joked once Stelle caught up to her.

“Well, I don’t need to tell you they don’t exactly trust you,” she snipped.

The woman shrugged it off. “Probably for the better.”

As they walked through the ever-moving crowd of people, Stelle didn’t initiate conversation, even though she certainly had questions.

“Congratulations, by the way, for being the first to bear a vidyadhara.”

“Half-vidyadhara,” she corrected.

“Full-blooded, if Elio’s prediction is correct,” Kafka returned. “But either way, a miracle child for the woman still miraculously alive. It makes for a nice fairytale, doesn’t it?”

More on instinct, Stelle’s hand rested on her stomach. Was Kafka right? Was her child a full vidyadhara? It wasn’t like they knew for certain, and there was a chance they wouldn’t know until it went through a reincarnation process. But if it was, then that would be a boon for Dan Heng's people. Even if they could add a single vidyadhara to the population, that was more than anyone could ever have hoped for. Though, she supposed a vidyadhara having fathered a child in the first place was already a miracle. 

Not that any of that ultimately mattered in Stelle's eyes. This was her and Dan Heng's child, and she was excited to have them come into her family.

“Do you know if you’re having a boy or girl?” she asked.

Stelle shook her head. She was at the point where she could find out if she wanted, but when discussing it with Dan Heng, she’d commented how it would be fun for it to be a surprise seeing as everything else about the baby was. At the time, Dan Heng had frowned, probably because he’d wanted to know, yet he’d humored her and agreed to wait until the baby was born.

Kafka hummed. “Elio wouldn’t tell me his prediction, either.”

“Does he know?”

“If he does, he isn’t telling.”

Stelle resisted the urge to roll her eyes. In all her travels, she’d crossed paths with the Stellaron Hunters many times, but never Elio. He remained a mystery that Stelle had grown too leery of to want to solve.

As they wove their way through the streets to an alleyway nearby, Stelle caught sight of a tall man with silver hair. She froze a moment, almost tripping over her own feet in the process as she was struck by an overwhelming sense of familiarity.

Beside her, Kafka chuckled. “I know you lost your memories when the stellaron was implanted in you, but do you happen to recognize him?”

They stopped in front of the man who looked down at her with uncertainty wavering in his golden eyes. “Should I?” she finally asked.

“I guess not,” Kafka muttered. “You could say he’s my gift to you.” She then tapped the blue gift tied with a pink bow in the man’s arms. “And then one for the baby. Curtesy of me and Silverwolf. I’m sure Blade would have reluctantly appreciated being included, too, if he’d survived.”

Stelle blinked in surprise. Blade was dead? But… wasn’t he…

Kafka seemed to read her mind, melancholy tainting her ever-present easy smile. “One of the very few ways an immortal can find relief from their curse is to be killed by an aeon. This battle presented Blade with an opportunity he could not resist.”

“Yeah,” the man weakly confirmed. “But he didn’t go down without fighting.”

Kafka sighed. “I suppose you’re right. It wouldn’t have been like him otherwise.”

At the somber mood, Stelle felt uncomfortable, like an interloper intruding on a private moment. There was also the fact Blade had a turbulent past with Dan Heng—er… Dan Heng’s past incarnation, which only made her feelings towards that particular Stellaron Hunter all the more confusing. Should she feel glad that Blade got his wish granted, or glad that he was gone? Was it wrong to feel both ways?

“Er, um…” With a forced smile, the man soon shoved the gift box at Stelle. “Sorry, for bringing the mood down. Here!”

Hesitantly, Stelle took the gift. While she did have half a mind to thank him, the only words that came out instead were, “Who are you?”

Kafka spoke up. “If I said he was your brother, would you believe me?”

Her… brother?

Wide-eyed, Stelle looked the man over. She knew he’d felt familiar in some odd way. Was this why?

His chuckle was strained, and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, I knew you wouldn’t remember, but it’s still kinda weird.”

Words were slow in coming, considering how dry her mouth was. “So… you remember?”

He nodded. “Yeah, kinda.” With an uncertain smile, he extended a hand. “I’m Caelus.”

“Stelle,” she returned, more automatically than anything, before taking his hand to shake.

“He can catch you up on the old times later,” Kafka spoke up. “That is, if he still remembers them.”

Stelle’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“I took a hit to the head in that last battle,” he answered. “The concussion was a monster. A lot of my memories are still fuzzy.”

“If you weren’t so reckless, you could have avoided it,” Kafka lightly chastised. “But then again, that’s to be expected of you.”

Caelus chuckled sheepishly.

“Getting back on topic…” Crossing her arms, Kafka looked over to Stelle. “I’m sure you want to know why I’m here, introducing you two now after all this time.”

Stelle nodded.

“I don’t care to be sentimental,” she said, “nor do I care to go out of my way unless I can see a benefit of it. But… I guess you two are an exception.”

The mood changed then, the world seeming to fade away. It clicked for Stelle that this was the first time she’d ever seen Kafka’s eyes look so clear, except the time Kafka was the Master Diviner’s captive. But considering that Kafka had been a prisoner then compared to now when she was free, Stelle was hesitant to count that as an exception at all.

“Many years ago,” Kafka started, “Elio predicted Nanook would bring about the end of the galaxy. So, he started making a plan. The first step being to produce a human that could be a vessel for a stellaron. This was a process that took a few years to complete, resulting in several babies being created. As they grew, they were constantly being tested for their ability to withstand the power of a stellaron. By the time the group reached the age of five, only two of the children remained viable vessels for the stellaron. We only needed one, but there were only benefits in having a backup, and if both of the vessels made it to adulthood, then we would choose the one that held the most promise. The other would remain a Stellaron Hunter.

“I was put in charge of your training. I gotta admit, I thought you two were going to be real hassles. And while you were in your own way, training you was… amusing. I wish more people had half the raw talent and determination you two showed. But, that shouldn’t be surprising considering whose DNA was taken to create you.

“Then came the day that one of you had to be chosen. Ultimately, both of you were good options to be the stellaron’s vessel, each having your own strengths and both of your bodies physically up to the task. But when it came down to it, there was something in Stelle that made me lean towards her as my choice. Hence Caelus stayed on as a Stellaron Hunter, running errands and whatnot behind the scenes so Stelle’s merry band of Nameless could handle other galactic problems and build alliances along the way.”

At the rush of information, Stelle was quickly growing overwhelmed. It was becoming a struggle to even continue standing when she felt so shaky on her feet. Yet, she forced herself to keep it together. Kafka was never forthcoming with information unless it benefitted her. From all their meetings, Stelle had learned to listen to what Kafka had to say and negotiate for anything more she wanted. But with Kafka dumping this out of her own free will, Stelle wanted to grasp onto every word.

“So… you raised us.” Stelle clarified.

“In a sense, I suppose I did,” Kafka answered. “In your eyes, I must not seem like the type.”

Stelle shook her head.

“Well, I didn’t think I’d be the type, either. And I wouldn’t say I was fully in charge of raising you. You both had a nanny who was actually responsible for you until you were about eight, at which point you were dropped fully into my care. I just taught you everything I felt was important to your life goal.”

“She was brutal,” Caelus whispered to Stelle. Yet, the light tone and slight smile he wore proved he didn’t mind.

Whether it was because she didn’t remember or because the part of her that somehow did remember didn’t mind, Stelle was unbothered by that fact. “So my ability to fight—”

“Came from me,” Kafka finished. “From your bat to your lance, I trained you in both.”

Absently, Stelle looked down at her hands, currently not in gloves allowing her to see the callouses that covered them. Callouses that took on a new meaning now that she knew she’d gotten them due to training with the Stellaron Hunter before her.

“Any other questions?” Kafka asked. “This is the one time I’m answering them freely.”

Clenching her fists, Stelle looked back up at Kafka. “What if I’d failed as a… vessel?” The word felt sour in her mouth. It was hard to grasp the fact she’d been artificially created to be a means to an end. As though her whole existence was, in fact, simply to hold a stellaron.

Kafka hummed. “If ever there was a future where you failed as a vessel, whether it was because you ran away or because you died, we had another stellaron lined up for Caelus.”

“What?”

Stelle glanced over at Caelus, whose jaw was practically on the ground at this point. Clearly, that was new information to him, too.

“Is it such a surprise we had a plan for you?” Kafka challenged. “You know how carefully everything was planned in your time as a Stellaron Hunter.”

Caelus didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

“Thankfully, we never had to implement that plan. It wouldn’t have been ideal anyway as the purpose of putting Stelle on the Astral Express was to help build an army that would rally behind her.”

So even that was planned, putting Stelle on the Express where she’d made a home for herself. Where she'd found a family and even a husband. 

But... then what was to become of them if she'd... “What of the Express members?" Stelle questioned, a defensive anger giving a bite to her words. "Did you mean to put them at the heart of the war?”

“Don’t get upset with me. They would have found their way into the war regardless. You just happened to be so charming that they rallied behind you. In that sense, you were an overwhelming success as an intended vessel.”

Stelle didn’t even know how to feel about that. Yes, she found a home on the Express, and she was thankful for it, but she could have led them all to their death, just because someone else had been controlling the strings.

Any freedom she’d ever thought she’d had over her destiny was slowly slipping away.

“Before you get too sulky,” Kafka continued. “Just realize that they would have all died without you. Along with nearly all the galaxy.”

“At cost of my life, right?” Stelle clarified, anger covering the fear that was creeping like ice through her veins.

Kafka frowned. “Yes. Maybe it was the pure determination both of you possessed to be in control of your own destinies that changed the outcome to something Elio couldn’t have predicted, but what happened was truly the best-case scenario. We were prepared to lose both of you in the aeon war.”

“So we were always meant to die?” Caelus snipped, a hard edge to his tone. "No matter which one of us was the stellaron's vessel?"

Kafka didn’t respond right away. Instead, her expression turned regretful. “I’m sorry,” she slowly spoke, those words ringing with more genuine emotion than Stelle had ever heard from her. “I know that this sentiment is far too little too late, and you might not believe me at all, but… I did care for both of you. A future where I lost either of you was not what I considered ideal, but when the existence of the galaxy was at stake… my feelings on the matter were irrelevant.

"But,” Kafka continued, “considering that you both defied all odds and predictions, I thought you both deserved the truth, no matter how harsh it may be.”

Stelle was rendered speechless. As overwhelmed as Stelle was, that sentiment felt genuine, at least, which almost made them harder to process.

Caelus, on the other hand, still had some fire in him. “How can you say that,” he challenged, “knowing you were raising us to send us off to our deaths?”

“Everything I did was to give you a fighting chance to avoid death,” Kafka answered, her voice taking on a growly edge in defence. “Stelle may not remember, but I know you do. You even said yourself I was brutal on you. I had to be because I knew there would come a time when I wouldn’t be around to protect you. Every bloody battle I let you face, where you screamed at me or cried or got hurt, was all to prepare you to face even worse situations that I wouldn’t be around to help you tackle.”

Caelus grew silent at that.

“I was not destined to save the world,” Kafka continued, her voice calmer now. “That was placed on you two. All I could do was give you every skill you would need to accomplish your destiny. But now… you two are all grown up with bright futures ahead of you. That is more than I could have ever asked for. So if you hate me now, I can live with that.”

“Kafka…” Caelus spoke, all previous anger now gone from his voice.

As weird as it was, Stelle felt similarly. Maybe she was too numb to make an accurate assessment of things, but she felt like Kafka meant every word. Like Kafka, her supposed enemy, actually did care for Stelle more than she knew. 

“Stelle," Kafka spoke, approaching the two of them, "you have a place you need to get back to, but I need to ask a favor of you.”

“Depends on what it is,” she said, her mind still reeling with information.

“Take Caelus with you.”

Caelus’ brow furrowed. “Huh? Take me where?”

A sad smile flashed across Kafka's face. “I’m kicking you out of the Stellaron Hunters.”

“What?! Why?”

She leveled him with a knowing look. “I know you’ve been sneaking off trying to fix stellaron problems the way the Astral Express does. So it’s better I let you do that instead of watching you get yelled at by the others for not following orders.”

Caelus fell silent at that.

Kafka hummed, amused at winning this verbal battle. “You’ll never hear these words from my mouth again, but…” She reached out, cupping Stelle’s cheek with one hand and Caelus’ with the other. “I’m proud of both of you.”

For some reason, those words hit Stelle harder than she expected them to.

The next second, Kafka pulled away. “Take care, Kiddos.” With a smile, Kafka turned on her heel and started strolling off down the alleyway.

Leaving a speechless duo standing in her wake.

~~~

“Where is she?” March muttered, looking over the busy plaza.

Dan Heng’s fists tightened. He should never have let Stelle wander off alone with Kafka. Nothing good could ever come from it. He’d been about ready to sprint to her side when he first saw Stelle with that Stellaron Hunter, but he’d trusted her and stayed put as she’d asked him to. That had been ten minutes ago, and despite he and March having acquired the long-forgotten snacks, Stelle was nowhere in sight.

He pulled out his phone again, searching for a response to any of his previous five texts, only there was none.

Just as he was about to call her—

“I see her!”

Dan Heng looked up, searching the crowd for Stelle and finally spotting her approaching with someone he’d never seen before by her side.

His feet moved on their own as he wove through the crowd towards her. “Stelle.”

Her somber expression brightened slightly as she saw him.

Before he could ask if she was alright, she threw her arms around him and held on tight. With her safe and sound back in his arms, relief flooded him, though he quickly turned a sharp gaze at the newcomer she’d been walking with. One who, oddly, looked familiar even though Dan Heng was certain he’d never seen that man before in his life.

"Hey!" March said, having caught up. "We were worried."

"Sorry," Stelle muttered. 

"Did something happen?" Dan Heng asked.

With a heavy sigh, Stelle pulled away. “Er… I’ll tell you later. But, right now…” She turned around, only to wave the man over to them.

At least the man had the decency to look abashed at his intrusion.

“So, uh…” Stelle gave Dan Heng and March a painfully awkward smile. “This is my brother, Caelus.”

“Brother?!” March cried.

Not bothering to cover his surprise, Dan Heng looked the man over, instantly seeing the family resemblance.

“Yeah,” Caelus sheepishly confirmed. “It's a long story. Uh… nice to meet you both?”

“You probably already know,” Stelle said. “But this is March 7th and my husband, Dan Heng.”

“Uh, nice to meet you, too,” March awkwardly greeted, giving him a wave.

Dan Heng gave a nod of acknowledgment, too surprised to do much else.

“So,” Stelle started. “From here on, he’s joining us as a Nameless.”

“Huh?” March glanced between Caelus and Stelle in surprise.

Dan Heng felt like he was going to have a headache with how fast the surprises were coming. He should have been used to it, considering who he was married to, but this was notably different. “Why don’t you sit down and start explaining?”

Stelle didn’t protest, allowing Dan Heng to guide her back to the bench before heavily taking a seat on it. Dan Heng took a seat next to her, unwilling to let go of her hand quite yet. Before he could ask her to start explaining, though, she patted the empty seat next to her. “Why don’t you take a seat?” she offered Caelus. “That was a lot for you, too.”

The man sighed, suddenly looking extremely ragged. “If you don’t mind,” he said, practically collapsing down on the other side of the bench. He set down the long gift box he’d been holding, leaning it against the bench before bracing his elbows on his knees and hanging his head.

Although his guard didn’t completely fall away, Dan Heng wasn’t so cruel as to not feel some pity for Caelus. Seems whatever happened with Kafka was hard on both the siblings.

Unsure what else to do, March held out the bag of snacks to Caelus. “We got some of the little donuts from the shop over there. Want one? I bet it would be a good pick-me-up.”

Though surprised at the offer, Caelus shyly accepted. “If you don’t mind.”

With a smile, March held the bag out to him. “We got plenty.”

He took a couple with a quiet thanks.

March then held the bag over to Stelle. “You better like these considering you disappeared on us.”

Stelle smirked. “And if I don’t?”

March yanked the bag away. “Then none for you!”

“I haven’t even tried them yet.”

March took a single donut out of the bag and put it in Stelle’s outstretched hand.

Stelle glowered at it.

The interaction was enough to clear the remaining tension in Dan Heng’s shoulders. Stelle was just fine. Everything was okay. Even with the exception of the newcomer who sat with a small smile as he ate his snack, everything felt back to normal.

With March having finished passing out snacks, including giving more to Stelle, Caelus scooted over to the edge of the bench so as to make room for March to sit.

“Thanks,” she said, plopping down between him and Stelle. “So, you’re going to be joining us?”

“Seems so,” Caelus answered, his mannerisms more relaxed now.

“You said you were Stelle’s brother,” Dan Heng prodded.

Caelus nodded.

“He was with the Stellaron Hunters,” Stelle explained.

“Then what brings you here?” Dan Heng inquired.

Caelus cringed. “It seems I’ve been kicked out.”

March frowned. “Huh? For what?”

“Apparently, being too helpful.”

“Do they think that’s a bad thing?”

Caelus shrugged.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Stelle spoke up, “but it felt more like… an excuse than anything.”

“Seems about right,” Caelus quietly agreed. “It seemed like Kafka wasn’t exactly kicking me out. More like… she didn’t want me to have to be with them any longer.”

“What did Kafka say?” Dan Heng asked, his curiosity growing stronger by the second.

He almost regretted that question as a heavy cloud seemed to settle down on the siblings once again. Stelle answered, “I’d prefer to tell everyone all at once. It’s… a long story.”

“Okay.” Dan Heng rubbed her back soothingly.

“Then, I guess Caelus is really coming back with us,” March said, turning back to Caelus. “So, welcome to the crew.”

Caelus’ expression lit up. “If you’ll take me, I’m happy to be aboard.”

“I think we still have some time before my phone is fixed. So do you want—”

“Actually,” Dan Heng spoke up, having heard his own phone ding with a message notification. “They just finished, if you want to make your way back to the shop.”

March popped up from her seat. “Then let’s go.”

“Wait,” Stelle said, taking out her own phone. “I want to send a message to Himeko saying we’re bringing someone with us.”

“Good call,” March said. “Hey! Caelus, what’s your number, anyway? We’ll add you to the group chat.”

Caelus pulled out his phone, tapping it a few times before offering it to March. “Add your info, and I’ll text you when you get your phone back.”

“Sounds good to me.”

~~~

With their mission of fixing March’s phone completed, they all headed back to the Express. Stelle was beginning to feel the exhaustion kicking in but she had to keep pressing on. She had to properly introduce the newest trailblazer to Himeko and Welt, after all.

Much to their surprise, Welt and Himeko were waiting right outside the Express for them, Pom-pom standing in the doorway.

Suddenly, Stelle grew a little nervous, though she wasn’t sure if that was truly nerves or if it was her baby moving around. Maybe they were kicking out warning her to calm down and stop stressing them out.

Sorry, Baby, she thought, rubbing a hand over her stomach.

Dan Heng’s hand came to rest on her back, calling her attention. She glanced up at him, spying the concerned look on his face.

She just shot him a smile and a nod, hoping he’d understand she was just fine.

“Welcome,” Himeko greeted, being the first to approach them. “Is this the new Nameless I heard about?”

“Yes,” Stelle said, stepping forward to make proper introductions. “This is my brother, Caelus.”

Himeko looked him over in surprise. “Well, I can certainly see the resemblance.”

“Caelus, this is Himeko and Welt,” Stelle introduced, seeing as Welt had come up to them. “And over in the doorway is the conductor, Pom-pom.” Who, by the way, seemed very excited considering how frantically they were waving.

“We meet again,” Welt said.

Caelus nodded. “I guess we do.”

Wait… “again”?

“Huh?” March piped up, confused. “Do you know him, Mr. Yang?”

“Yes,” Welt confirmed, looking back over to Caelus. “In the war, you provided protection for the medical transport, did you not?”

“That’s where I’ve seen you,” Himeko jumped in, realization dawning over her. “You were always such a mess, and you never stayed for long so I never got a good look at you.”

Caelus gave a sheepish shrug. “Heh. Yeah, that was me. Kafka told me not to get too involved, but I couldn’t help it. If Stelle was going to the heart of the war, I couldn’t not follow, stellaron or not.”

“Wait,” March spoke up. “Where exactly were you? Dan Heng and I followed Stelle into the heart of everything, but I don’t recall seeing you.”

“I doubt any of us would have been paying enough attention to recall an unfamiliar face in the crowd,” Dan Heng said. “We had more pressing matters.”

“I started on the outskirts,” Caelus answered. “Just started dragging out the injured and helping them get to the transports. Occasionally, I’d ride with them to be a guard against the tougher monsters. The deeper I followed you guys into the mess, the less I focused on the injured and more on helping defeat the machines. Things get a little fuzzy toward the end, but Kafka said I took down a doomsday machine?”

At that, Stelle felt her jaw hit the ground as she stared at him. Suddenly, hazy memories tainted with vivid fear came rushing back to her. Standing in the middle of a war-torn planet, the acrid smell of burning machinery and the metallic smell of blood filling her nose as she stared up at robots larger than anything anyone had ever seen before. The worst of which was a destruction bot imbued with the power of Nanook himself as the dying aeon tried to hide behind it. It had taken all their strongest weapons and planning to even make a dent in it.

But then, they’d watched the center of the bot start glowing, brighter and brighter like bubbling lava, until it had exploded. It had taken a moment for everyone to realize what had happened, but once the dust had settled, a war cry had rung out. In the middle of the noise, Stelle had led the charge forward to Nanook himself, Dan Heng and March by her side with a roaring army behind her, ready to take on the last wave of monsters protecting the aeon.

“That was you?” Stelle murmured in awe.

“Don’t ask me how I managed to do it,” Caelus said, running his hand through his hair before lifting up a section to reveal a long, curved scar carved into the side of his head. “Cracked my skull open so I don’t remember much. Must have just charged headlong into the fray with half a plan and somehow completed it. Apparently, that plan was taking a stellaron and shoving it inside the core.”

“Wait, what?” March cried, suddenly stepping closer. “You were inside that monster?”

Caelus sheepishly smiled. “Yeah. Somehow. I’ve always been an ‘act first, think later,’ kind of person, more than Stelle ever was. Must have just run on impulse.”

“How’d you manage to survive the explosion?” Dan Heng asked.

Caelus shrugged. “My only guess is that my body, like Stelle’s, was specifically designed to withstand stellarons.” He lifted up the sleeve of his jacket, revealing a spiderweb of angry red scarring. But then took off his glove, revealing how his hand held no scarring and the red ring on his wrist that separated the two sections. “Weird, isn’t it? Kafka’s guess as to why my arm’s like this is that when I stuck my hand in the core with the stellaron, everything outside that core ended up being a mess whereas the inside was protected. As for why I survived at all when I definitely should have died… maybe the core expanded, protecting me? Don’t have a better guess than that. I remember seeing white; that’s it.”

There was a short pause as no one knew what to say to that. It wasn’t as though Stelle didn’t have anything she wanted to say but rather had too many thoughts rolling around in her mind and not a clue which one needed to be voiced first.

In the end, it was Welt who broke the silence. “You did well,” he said, resting a hand on Caelus’ shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Yeah!” March chimed in. “That was amazing! We had no idea how to take that monster down.”

“I second that,” Stelle finally said, giving him a smile. “Guess being a Stellaron Hunter had its perks.”

The mood lightened just ever so slightly at that as Caelus mirthlessly chuckled. “I guess it did.”

“Well,” Himeko said. “With a story like that, I feel you’ve earned a place on the Express. We’re lucky to have you, Trailblazer.”

Finally, Caelus’ smile turned genuine as his eyes brightened. “Happy to be aboard.”

“Here.” Stelle reached for the box Caelus was still holding. “I can take that while the others show you around. Thanks for carrying it back for me.”

With a nod, Caelus handed it over.

March watched with curiosity. “Who’s that for?”

“Kafka gave it to me. For the baby.”

“Oh?” Himeko said. “Baby shower gifts already coming in? Though, one from Kafka is most surprising.”

“No kidding,” March agreed. “Makes me curious.”

That one little remark was how Stelle found herself sitting in the parlor, gift on her lap while her family looked on. She understood why they were curious and maybe even a bit concerned. She felt similarly if she were being honest.

After untying the pink bow, she lifted the powder blue lid off the box to reveal white tissue paper inside. Laying on top was a small baseball bat, complete with plastic balls and a little glove.

Amused, she took out the toys, one clearly meant for a small child. A few chuckles sounded around her.

“It’s fitting,” Dan Heng said with a grin, taking the small glove to examine.

But the box felt too heavy for that to be the end. Stelle lifted the paper, only to see a full-sized bat, complete with baseballs and a leather baseball mitt.

Stelle pulled the bat first, looking over the blue design painted on the gray material. The weight was familiar in her hand, but as memories resurfaced, the weight soon settled on her heart. Kafka had trained her how to wield this weapon, a long time ago.

Suddenly, Kafka’s conversation came rolling back to the forefront of her mind.

“Wow,” March remarked. “That’s really… thinking ahead.”

“Yeah, but Kafka didn’t really want to get a baby item,” Caelus said. “At least she got something nice. She never spent money on toys for us.”

Stelle hummed, trying to ignore the haunting thoughts for now. “That sounds accurate."

“She did let us rummage through the dumpsters behind the toyshops, though," Caelus continued. "We found some good things in there.”

Suddenly, the room went silent.

And Stelle watched as Caelus slowly grew uncomfortable. “What?”

“So you’re telling me that was Kafka’s fault?” March cried.

Dan Heng sighed, suddenly looking very tired. “So that’s where that came from.”

“Uh…” Caelus’s expression turned sheepish. “Did I… say something bad?”

Stelle shook her head, a sudden headache coming on. For as long as she could remember, she'd always had a draw to garbage cans, making her the butt of many jokes and much harassment. She was happy her friends slowly accepted that part of her, seeing as a part of her never wanted to stop. She just got so much joy out of finding something good that nothing else seemed to faze her.

It was just... the last thing she expected was for her favorite hobby to be explained like this. “No. But just… never let them catch you rifling through dumpsters. They will never, ever let it go.”

~~~

With all the excitement that had occurred today, Dan Heng expected Stelle to be in bed by now. When he’d suggested earlier that she retire early for the evening, she’d looked tired with the way her eyes were glazed over and her cheeks had lost some of their color. The most concerning thing, though, was that she hadn’t protested to the suggestion.

However, instead of finding her resting in bed, Dan Heng entered the bedroom only to see Stelle staring at her chest in the mirror.

The scar that had once been so blatant had faded somewhat thanks to Bailu’s medicine. Although it looked slightly less angry than it once had, it would likely take years for it to fade. Even with Bailu’s medicine, Dan Heng doubted it would ever fully disappear. Which was fine. It’s not like Dan Heng cared that she had scars; he had them, too. The only reason he wished it would disappear was because his wife looked completely lost in thought as she ran her hands absently over the mark between her breasts.

Unable to watch any longer, he marched over and laid the small mirror down flat on the dresser, interrupting Stelle’s musings maybe a little too brashly considering that she startled at his action.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

She shrugged dismissively.

He hated the way her eyes held none of their usual light, her face having taken on a gloomy gray tint. “Is something wrong?” he asked.

Her gaze hit the floor, her brow scrunching together and lips tugging downward as though in pain. It was an expression that practically ripped out his heart.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. Her abdomen was growing, so facing chest to chest was becoming increasingly awkward, but she was still small enough where it wasn’t too bad.

She leaned into him, clinging to his jacket and nuzzling her face into his shoulder. The way she leaned so fully against him further proved something heavy was weighing on her. But he didn't want to press. He'd just wait for her to respond, or maybe, if need be, not respond at all. 

“Kafka said I was supposed to die.”

Her muttered words surprised him for just a second before a wave of anger overtook that feeling. It figured Stelle’s mood had something to do with that woman. He never should have let her go off with Kafka. “But you didn’t,” he reminded.

“No,” Stelle clarified. “Like… I was literally created to die.”

At that, words failed him.

She sniffed, and he held on tighter as she clung to him.

“But you escaped that destiny,” he finally said. “You’re here now.”

“I know,” she said, pushing away and wiping her tear-stained cheeks with the heel of her hand. “It’s just… I don’t know. It’s a lot.”

His heart was breaking as he watched his wife fall apart. Regret for his earlier actions—rather, his inaction—was creeping in as he cradled the back of her head, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers. “I should have gone with you. If that’s all Kafka had to say, she could have saved it.”

Stelle shook her head, her bangs ruffling against his. “No. It’s not…” She sniffed again. “It’s fine, but…”

“Deep breath,” he gently instructed, rubbing her upper arms now.

She did as told, taking a deep albeit shaky breath.

“What all did Kafka say?” Dan Heng asked, leaning back to look her in the eye.

Wiping away the remnants of her tears, Stelle began. “She admitted that Caelus and I were both created to hold a stellaron so we could defeat Nanook, and that we were both supposed to die. In every foreseen future, there wasn’t one we were supposed to live. But… like…” She made a flailing motion, as though explaining that her foreseen future clearly hadn’t come true. “Obviously.”

“You made your own destiny,” Dan Heng said. “You and Caelus both, it seems.”

She nodded. “That’s why Kafka told us the truth. Because she… I think she felt bad.”

Dan Heng’s brow furrowed, yet he kept all opinions and doubts to himself.

“So… it’s hard because part of me doesn’t want to hate her,” Stelle continued. “Especially since she raised us and taught us so much. She's the closest thing I've had to a mother figure, even if I can't really remember. But I feel like I should be mad because I was just… I was used. And planted here to fall in line with their plan no matter how hard I tried to escape it. Every step of the way, I was fighting against their plans for me, yet… I was in their plan the whole time.”

Her voice was warbly, and her eyes were red as her tears started up again. He hated it, yet he was helpless to do anything but listen.

“And I’ve got this reminder now,” she continued, grabbing at her chest. “That… that their future for me was never something I could escape from.”

“But you did,” he cut in, cradling her cheeks and swiping the tears from them. “That scar is a reminder you made it out alive. That you’re still here, forging your own destiny with us.”

Her frown deepened. “Yeah, but… Caelus could have just as easily been the one to have the stellaron. It was just… as long as one of us made it on the Astral Express. So even being here now… I feel guilty, knowing I was just a plant. It’s my fault you all were dragged so deep into this war. It’s all… my fault.”

He took a moment to carefully choose his words. “Even if that was the intent of the Stellaron Hunters, you yourself were never a plant. You were, and still are, one of the Nameless due to your own choice.”

She finally looked back up at him.

He gave her a sad smile, his heart in pieces for her. “You choose this path. You fought Nanook because you ultimately are selfless. And we followed you because you were our shining ray of hope. The Stellaron Hunters couldn’t have accounted for the fact that you made such strong connections of your own volition and rallied the galaxy behind you to lead the charge for the universe. That was all you, not the Stellaron Hunters. Nothing is your fault.”

His words sparked a little glimmer of hope back into her golden eyes, only for it to fade just as quickly. "But that was their plan, for me to make connections."

He sighed. "Even if it was their plan for you, it was because of who you are that people rallied behind you. But... if that's not enough, then I guess I just have to give them credit for putting you here. It's because of the Stellaron Hunters' plans that I was able to meet you. Whatever opinions I have of them, it was because of them and their decision to choose you that I was blessed with you as my wife.”

Stelle glanced away, though this time, it wasn’t pain that flashed across her expression but sheepishness. “Kafka told me not to marry you,” she admitted. “At the time, she didn't tell me why, though I guess I understand now. That’s why I tricked you into marrying me. To spite her.”

His lips twitched up in amusement. “How many times do I have to tell you that you didn’t trick me into anything.”

“I feel like I did.”

“I knew what you were doing,” he whispered, holding her close. “Although, I wanted to marry you more formally elsewhere.”

“Sorry,” she returned quietly. “I know I messed up your plans.”

“With you, I’m used to it. I just couldn't say no to you when you were so happy.” He could still remember her unabashed smile as he agreed to partake in that ceremonial wedding dance with her on a planet many, many trailblaze missions ago. Several other couples surrounded them, but as they spun around together—likely missing many of the steps even though the announcer was calling them out and allowing their wrists to grow ever entangled by a silk cloth that connected them—Dan Heng felt like it was only him and Stelle in that moment. He could still feel the way the cloth bound their wrists in the end, tying them together in a union that would not be so easily broken.

He was never one for crowds, hence why he’d been planning a private, quiet ceremony elsewhere, but ultimately, he’d never regretted that being their wedding. Though Stelle did humor him later by partaking in customs he was more familiar with, allowing him to formally present her those particular hair sticks she loved more than anything despite rarely wearing them.

“So never feel bad about that,” he continued. “I was happy to follow you.”

“Yeah, but… what if I had died? Then Kafka would have been right that it was better to stay away—”

“But you didn’t,” Dan Heng cut in, reminding her again. “So don’t worry about a past future that’s impossible now.”

“I just don’t want to hurt you,” she admitted on a whisper.

Dan Heng frowned. “I know you never would on purpose,” he assured. “If I’ve learned one thing from my past incarnation, it is that death is not something we have control over. Even with all the power I have at hand, I cannot bring you back. Which is why I need to cherish the days that I do have with you. Scars or no, and no matter what intentions others had for you in the past, I consider myself blessed every day I spend with you, my starlight.”

Her eyes had lost their melancholy now, regaining some of their normal sparkle. Although, that might have been exaggerated by the new round of tears forming.

“And even if I’d known I would have lost you, I still would have married you.” Sweet words, yes, but words he meant. An outcast like him would have gladly taken that blessing even if he’d known it would be temporary. Stelle had taught him the meaning of “better to love and lose than to never have loved at all.”

She sniffed, her lips warbling as the forming tears broke free and rolled down her cheeks anew. Before he could swipe them away, she grabbed his cheeks and lunged forward to kiss him.

“I love you,” she said, her words weak and whispery.

“I love you, too,” he quietly returned before bestowing kisses of his own on her.

And promise I will love and cherish you for as long as we both shall live. Hopefully, for a long time yet to come.

[luvksj]

Roman Reigns Request: His Warrior Queen

A/N: this is an overdue request for @queengreenarrowmia89​. i apologize for the wait as i’ve had to deal with uni and a big writer’s block. the bloodline story has been phenomenal so far and now that the Usos have left - it’s getting even juicier. the MITB match was awesome especially with Jey pinning Roman, ending his ‘invincible streak’. god, this storyline deserves an Emmy, Oscar and all other TV awards cause it’s absolutely amazing. maybe we’ll finally get a Jey vs Roman rematch for his new title at Summerslam? i would love to see that. this imagine may be shorter than usual and for that i apologize.

i apologize if its shit, i tried my best. anyway, enjoy the story :)

pov: the story of Roman Reigns and his warrior queen, Jo Wilson

Roman Reigns and his wife, Jo Wilson were considered a power couple in WWE amongst fans, staff and fellow wrestlers. Some dreamed of having a love like theirs, you could call it a ‘fairytale romance’ but those who knew the couple well knew it was nothing like that. 

It wasn’t easy with their equally busy schedules. They could be apart for months on end and only be able to speak with each other once or twice a week if that. But, they made it work. They fought hard for this relationship and made many sacrifices which helped create their unbreakable bond. 

But how did the two lovebirds meet? I’ll tell ya. 

Before Jo, Roman was with Galina Becker and had Joelle together. A year after Joelle was born, they decided to go their separate ways but remained on good terms and co-parented, raising Joelle together. It was an amicable split, their busy schedules meant they couldn’t be together often and ended up growing distant. 

It was a few months following his split from Galina that Roman met Jo Wilson. A friend of Jo had an extra ticket to RAW and asked if she wanted to come. Jo, having nothing better to do, agreed. 

Jo knew nothing about wrestling, she was going into this blind. I mean, she did a quick Google search but it barely told her anything - so she was relying on her friend to ‘educate’ her about one of their favourite things ever. 

When Jo first saw Roman, she was entraced by him. His menancing aura, the power it radiated. He was making his entrance, standing at the top of the stairs flanked by his two team-mates. Jo couldn’t take her eyes off him, everything about him captivated her. 

Everything about him just screamed power and dominance. He walked around like he owned this place, his tall statue was enough to make people tremble. Jo proceeded to ask her friend about him, she wanted to know more about this Samoan man. 

“That’s Roman Reigns. He’s part of the Shield with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. His nickname is the Big Dog for very obvious reasons.” Jo’s friend explained. Jo’s eyes remained fixated on Roman for the whole match, he never left her sight - she was hypnotised by him. 

The power and dominance he exuded mixed with the cheeky smirks made Jo’s heart go doki doki. They briefly made eye contact, Roman grinned at her and she swore that her face had never turned on red in her life. 

He looked like a god in her eyes - the way his long black hair stuck to his body because of his sweat made him look all the hotter. The way Roman loomed over his opponent made Jo’s thoughts turn south but she reigned herself back in. Roman won his match and glanced at Jo, he winked at her making her face redder and her heart beat even louder. 

“Well... did you enjoy it?” Jo’s friend asked once RAW had finished. She nodded, still in a daze, “I saw you oogling at Roman. You like him, don’t you?” her friend teased making Jo smack their shoulder in embarassment which made her friend laugh. 

Before exiting the arena, a staff member stopped them and handed Jo a piece of paper claiming someone backstage wanted to give it to them. She opened it to reveal a phone number from Roman Reigns, it took everything in Jo and her friend to not scream. 

“You’ve gotta text him!” her friend urged and after relentless pestering, she did. 

‘Hi, you gave me your number. I don’t know if you remember me or not but I thought I’d say that you were so cool tonight.’ 

Jo wasn’t expecting an instant reply since he’s a busy man, she wasn’t expecting a reply at all. She only did it so her friend stopped bugging her. To her utter surprise, Roman did reply a couple hours later:

‘Hi, I remember you. You wouldn’t stop staring at me during my match and I thought you looked rather cute. What’s your name?’ 

Squealing, she hugged her pillow hard and kicked her feet in the air. Jo didn’t know if it was out of embarrassment or excitement - maybe it was a bit of both. Embarrassed that he knew she stared at him the entire time, she must’ve looked dumb but excited that he remembered her and called her CUTE!

Responding, they found themselves messaging each other whenever they were free. Jo was a gynecologist, someone who specialized in female reproductive health and loved her work. 

It wasn’t until months later that Roman and Jo coincidentally met again... at the hospital. Roman was there to get checked up after getting hurt in a match. Jo had just finished her shift and recognized Roman, who was waiting to be seen. 

Mustering up enough confidence, she approached him and they began talking. They could both sense an undeniable chemistry and attraction between them, it felt like they’ve known each other for years when it’s only been a few months. Jo ended up waiting for Roman and chatted more over Waffle House. 

After months of pinning, Roman officially asked Jo out and she said yes. She met his family and they immediately accepted her. She even met Galina when Galina dropped Joelle off, they became quick friends and she bonded well with Joelle. 

Like every relationship, it had its ups and downs - times where they were near breakup but powered through. Jo had visited Roman at work a few times when she had free time and WWE was in Florida, she befriend a few people including Seth and Dean. 

Years of dating, Roman finally proposed to Jo in an intimate moment and during this time, Jo was pregnant with their first children. They got married in a gorgeous, private ceremony in Samoa with all their friends and family present. The friend who took Jo to that RAW was her maid of honour, she proudly declared that she was the reason Jo and Roman met during her speech. 

Jo gave birth a few months after the honeymoon. She gave birth to a beautiful girl named Luna. Roman was over the moon and Joelle had quickly adapted to her new role as the eldest sibling. Jo watched the two fondly, her life literally couldn’t be more perfect. 

Fast forward to now, Roman and Jo were the proud parents of 6: Joelle, Luna, twin boys named Christian Roman and Seth, another set of twin boys; Jimmy and Jey, after Roman’s cousins. Jo was also expecting twin girls and they had already decided on the names: Madison Meredith and Patricia Lexi.

With her due date fast approaching, Roman had been taking time off WWE to care for his pregnant wife and look after his children with help from their eldest children. Jo still worked as a gynecologist despite Roman earning more than enough to support the family, she loved her career and Roman would never ask her to give up something she was passionate about. 

Jo watched WWE from time to time. In all honesty, she wasn’t the biggest fan of his current gimmick - the Tribal Chief and would sometimes scold him for attacking wrestlers, especially her favourite ones. Wrestling wasn’t her thing but she always supported her husband, being his number one cheerleader and sending him good luck texts before matches. 

Roman considered it his good luck charm, without her encouraging text he would’ve lost the title a long time ago. He was lucky for many reasons but in his opinion, the luckiest thing he ever had was his amazing family. 

Roman didn’t enjoy being away from his family for so long and plans to take an extended hiatus once his twin girls were born. Sure, he enjoyed his career and wrestling in front of thousands of fans and travelling all over the world to wrestle. But nothing beats being with his family, he’d pick his family over his career any day of the week without hesitation. 

Roman had his wife to thank for this life, someone he proudly dubbed his warrior queen and his eyes - the true Tribal Chief of the family. 

[madamebaggio]

Notes: I did say I could have one more WIP if I finished another.

So...

Summary!

So… Yeah…

I mean, I’m a weak woman, I don’t even try anymore, blah blah blah… You guys know the drill ;)

This an AU, Londinium is part of the Seven Kingdoms (which actually makes it 8 now, but you get the idea). I’ll explain much more of what happened in future chapters, but the North did go to war, Ned did die, but Sansa was not in King’s Landing with the Lannisters and she never married Tyrion.

Also, I am making her older, just so it’s not completely creepy the fact that she and Arthur consummated the marriage. It’s for my personal comfort.

Also also… I know this summary and first chapter make it sound very serious… But it’s most certainly not. This is going to be full of fluff and shenanigans.

I hope you enjoy.

Oh, one more thing. I am just posting this as a reward for myself, but all updates are blocked until I finish the three other WIPs I had on my update list. So… Yeah.

***

Chapter 1

Sansa Stark first met her husband, Arthur Pendragon, on the day of their wedding. The first time she saw him was early the same day when he arrived for the ceremony. He’d been dirty, dressed in rags with his long hair was quite greasy. He’d barely looked at her, but moved instantly to talk to Robb.

Her mother consoled her, saying this was not a normal courtship, this was a wedding for an alliance.

Everything Sansa knew about Arthur, she’d heard from other people’s conversation. No one would really talk to her about him, not even her mother. All they told her was that he was a good man, and his father had been her father’s friend.

The other tales she’d heard around the camp: his uncle had killed his father and stolen his birthright. The Lannisters had helped and abetted this treachery. He’d been raised by whores at a brothel. Robb had promised to help him get Londinium back. His father’s former bannermen were more than willing to betray his uncle, the Warden of Londinium, for him.

Arthur was apparently happy to throw his lot with the North and call Robb his King, if it meant to get revenge on his uncle.

Sansa’s opinion hardly mattered, as Robb hadn’t asked, but only told her she’d marry this man.

The second time she saw him was in front of a crowd that was there to watch the wedding. Her mother dressed her for the ceremony, and -at least -her groom had washed for it. 

She barely remembered it, for Sansa felt as if she was sleep-walking through it all.

That wasn’t what she wanted, she didn’t even know him, but sacrifices had to be made, apparently.

The feast was a somber affair, as they were at war and couldn’t waste provisions for it.

The bedding was even worse. At that point they’d hardly exchanged more than a few words, he’d drunk quite a bit of ale, before they were carried to the chambers.

He took her in the dark. He wasn’t a brute about it, but he also wasn’t sweet. The only word Sansa could use to describe the whole thing on his part was practical. It felt as if he was doing what was expected of him in the easiest possible way. On her part, it had been painful, uncomfortable and… Empty.

She was very happy when he finished his business and promptly fell asleep beside her.

She was even happier with the fact that they didn’t have to repeat it at all.

Seven days later, her husband was gone.

Sansa was sent back to Winterfell with her siblings.

One year later, she was told she should go to Camelot as the Lady of the Keep.

She lived there for a bit over a year when refugees from the North started coming there because of Long Night and Night King.

She saw dragons flying over the land.

A few months later, news came that it was safe to return to the North.

A month later she received a raven. After three years, her husband was coming home.

Sansa was not impressed.

[brooklynbrunette]

Hi blog,

Been a while, but that’s the norm here. Lately I’ve been getting such a strong urge to write, to get all of my feelings out on paper (or doc, or tumblr post, whatever) but by the time I finish the work I have planned from the day, I’m to exhausted to think. These past two weeks have been rough. Lack of sleep, tons of headaches, and just having a mind that refuses to focus and nail a task one at a time, but rather stay in a freeze state when it sees the much bigger picture of everything I have to do.

Don’t get me wrong—yes I am stressed, busy, tired all the time, but I also think my mind being all over the place has to do with the fact that I am falling for a boy. I just haven’t really gotten the chance to sit and write and express my feelings on the matter. So here I am, four months into knowing the guy, one month into dating, and I don’t know if what I’m feeling is love or not, because I’ve never really loved anyone, romantically at least.

For the sake of not spilling names I’ll use initials: I was obsessed with E, discarded D, and lusted after V. I don’t even count L, although I have to say I am learning that he was kind of my only test-run at an adult relationship. He took me out on dates, walked me home, cared for me. It was sweet. But it wasn’t what I needed nor what I was ready for at that time. I was still very immature with my emotions and needed to “play the field” a bit more.

What I didn’t realize is how I almost talked myself out of my first date with K, now I can’t imagine my life without him in it. I am usually stressed, moody, angry, and even though seeing him means I have to sacrifice more sleep I really cannot afford to lose, he calms me. He makes my brain go quiet. And that to me is no small feat. I feel protected, I feel safe, and I feel like I can be soft around him. I’ve never felt that way before.

Which begs the question—is this what love is supposed to feel like? What are the signs? Am I in it? How will I know? SHOULD I know? Am I moving to fast? Will I regret this? And more and more questions pop up as I try to figure out what I’m feeling. It’s so odd. I feel like I can’t keep my hands off him, like I need his body heat to feel okay. But I’m so fucking skeptical.

I was always the one saying I wouldn’t conform to dating in the culture, because I couldn’t see it happening. I could never see myself yearning for the cute relationship where you talk about marriage and kids and futures. That. Was. Never. Me.

With K, I feel like my realities have shifted. I’m trying to do it all—to expand my goals and dreams for myself and my career while also standing by someone’s side. To not feel like I’m alone. To truly care about someone, and drop the act. And every time I think he’ll be afraid to know everything about me, he proves me wrong. Every. Single. Fucking. Time.

I told him how things with V ended, but I told him the whole story. I didn’t want to hold any details back because I felt like it was important to know: would this stop him from seeing me and thinking of me in such high regards? Would it bring him back down to earth? But no, he held my hand, he squeezed it when my voice was getting shaky, and he reassured me that everything was going to be okay. And whenever I find myself stressing out about work and wanting to do more, be better, screaming at myself that I’m not doing enough, I have that same notion in my head: no matter what, everything is going to be okay. And it is. It will always be.

So yeah, maybe I do love him or I’m still falling in love with him but as much as it enlightens me to get that out of my system, it terrifies me. I’m scared of how much I want to impress him, impress his friends, impress his family. How much I want to be perfect for him, but also perfect for all the people I work for. How my mind is so scattered that I completely missed an important work call that I should’ve been a part of. How I’m losing sleep and doing the bare minimum of work. How as much as I want to grow in my career, more work terrifies me because I’ll see him less. But on the flip side, it terrifies me that I find myself blaming him for my lack of constraint over my work schedule. My forgetfulness.

I have a lot I want to do with my life. I’ve stated it, written about it, typed about it. I know I was put here to make something of myself in whatever way, shape or form that I see fit. Right now I see myself growing brands, growing businesses, and being known as the person who comes into a company or a brand and flips it. Makes it better than it’s ever been. Brings more meaning to its message. I want to be known as that person. I want to turn myself into a brand. To be recognizable.

Recently I talked about my loss of respect for one of the women I was working with that I saw as a mentor. That loss has fueled me to be even better. I want K in my life, but not at the expense of my career. I want his affection and attention, but not at the expense of my aspirations. He’s been so supportive of me and I plan to be the same for him, and I think we’ll be alright. I just had to say that I will NOT change myself and my course.

I do have a lot to better about myself. I need to be on top of my game in all things me: self-care, doctor’s visits, personal time, gym routine, SLEEP. I can’t just give 110% to the people I work for. I have to give that to myself first. This right here is a reminder when I check back in to my blog - DO BETTER FOR YOURSELF. See how big of a difference it will make in your life.

[whatstheoccasion]

Random, sweet headcanons about some Tokyo Revengers boys as your boyfriend.

edit: part 1 / part 2 / part 3

genre/tags: fluff. only fluff. gn reader. warnings: none!

a/n: hey again:) sorry for being mia this month, have some fluffy thoughts as an apology! thank you for reading. if you guys like this maybe i’ll do a part 2 with bonten members hehe. please enjoy <3

Mikey is a blanket stealer, even if he has his childhood blanket with him. No matter what position you tried to sleep in, he's stealing yours. Absolutely whines if you try to give him a spare blanket so each one of you have individual blankets, Mikey wants to be under the covers with you and be as close to you as he physically can, even if he's too proud to say it, he needs the physical reassurance that you're there. He's so dramatic. No one forced you to deal with him, he'll remind you, you should have known what you were getting yourself into when you agreed to dating him. "You can't take yourself away from me like that!" An absolute brat. 

Mitsuya will make your wedding clothes. He doesn't really believe in luck and the superstition of not seeing your fiancé before the wedding, so he goes to see you a few minutes before the ceremony anyway, asking if you need any help with the fit. He also gets offended if you have your own tailor before dating him, which is ridiculous because you didn’t know him back then!! Oh, and if you don't drop them after meeting him? He's jealous, huffy, pouty. Mitsuya's never too tired or busy to fix that little stitch of your jeans if needed, even if he plays dumb for a while, if only to watch you struggle your way into them for longer. He likes the way your butt jiggles, okay, don’t judge him.

Draken is very, very soft at heart– have you seen that official art where he was crying in the movies and pretending nothing was happening? Yeah. He'll cry in your relationships’ most precious times. He cried the first time you told him you loved him, he cried after meeting your loved ones for the first time, he secretly cried after you gave him some tire levels for his birthday. Draken totally cried when he saw you making your way down the altar and got completely made fun of ("who's the crybaby now, huh?" "shut the fuck up, 'michi!" *sobs*), but he really, really couldn't help himself. He cried three times in the hospital during your relationship; the first time you got badly injured and had to stay there for a few days; the first time he got badly injured and after making sure everything was okay with him you started crying which created a chain reaction, as he tried to excuse himself, that made him cry; and then he cried when he first held you guy's baby.

Chifuyu gets all excited when you watch or read something he recommends, especially if you're not that into the genre but you still do it for him. He’s canonically into shoujo mangas, genuinely a helpless romantic to heart, and if you’re not into romance - or even that into mangas at all, but you’ll still do it for him, even giving him little reviews about them, you’ll have his heart forever. He will return the favor, and invest his time in things you like as well- even if he is skeptical at first. He’ll also reward your sacrifices (his words) with kisses!

Baji is loyal to a fault. Once he falls in love with you, he has zero interest in anyone else, romantically and physically, and he’s so casual about it too- if you’re out together and a waitress starts flirting with him, he’ll shut that shit down in a second, grabbing your intertwined hands and lifting them to their face to prove his point, also getting offended on your behalf. He’s judgy and lifts an eyebrow at anyone who flirts with an openly taken person. But this is a two-edged sword, because given this nature, he also gets upset when you get jealous of him- he doesn’t mind possessiveness because that would be hypocritical lmao, but jealousy? He just doesn’t get it. How can you be insecure when he’s shown you time and time again that there’s no one else for him but you? Has he not made it clear that you’re it for him? You’re going to have to talk him out of this, and work this throughout the relationship, but he’s still going to be slightly pouty about it. It’s a good thing you almost never get jealous, tho, mostly because he just doesn’t give you the chance.

Kazutora does not interrupt you. Ever. The sound of your voice makes his stomach all warm and fuzzy, and all the guilt and erratic thoughts clouding his mind dissipate the moment you’re talking to him, making him feel light-headed but grounded at the same time. That’s enough to make him want to hear you forever. He lowers down the volume of the playlist you put out as a background noise when you hang out so he can listen to your voice better. Your voice is already my favorite song, he'll try to joke with you, but you can listen to the sincere tone of his voice. He pauses the movie you guys are watching if you have an opinion about a certain scene. He'll also ask you a lot of questions only to block out everything you say to him, he’s going to get lost in the tilts and melody of your voice anyway. You rarely interrupt him when he’s the one talking, but if you do, he doesn’t mind it one bit, taking in everything you say with a fond smile. Tora also lives for the little noises you make when you’re kissing. He wants to feel this way for as long as he possibly can, so he’ll do about anything just to hear your voice, if only for a little longer.

[asweetprologue]

me lámh le do lámh - Part I

Ahh I can’t believe it’s finally done! After a year of working on this beast, it’s finally ready for me to share. This is something I started way back last summer, and I decided to finish it as my project for this year’s @geraskierbigbang. It will be ten parts in total, and I will post one part per day until it is complete! There are several art pieces that were created by the wonderful @herostag​ and Miranda.draws for this story, which I will link when the appropriate section is posted. For a summary and further links, please see the masterpost.

Next | Ao3 | Masterpost

“Alright,” Geralt said. “Don’t laugh at me.”

Yennefer looked up at him with bright eyes, curious and already mirthful. She was sitting across from him in his quarters, reading through a tome she’d found in Kaer Morhen’s disheveled library. Geralt had just come from a bath after hours spent training Ciri in the yard, and the room was filled with the warm evening light, supplemented by the fire crackling in the hearth. Yennefer had insisted on carting dozens of tapestries and drapes to hang around the drafty keep, and the room was nearly stuffy with their bulk keeping the heat in.

Yennefer gave him an amused smirk. “I will make no such promises before I even know what you’re going to say.” The gentle teasing brought a fond smile to Geralt’s face. After the events of the mountain all those years ago, things had been understandably tense. Yennefer had been reluctant to join them when she had finally met up with Geralt after Sodden, but had eventually agreed to seek refuge in the witchers’ keep and teach Ciri to control her magic. Once she’d met the girl it had all been a wash; it was clear as soon as their eyes met across the room that Yennefer was as much a part of Ciri’s destiny as Geralt was.

Geralt had expected that to either mend the rift between them enough for things to go back to the way things were, or make things even more awkward. Instead, they found themselves in a sort of in-between. Over the years his affection for Yennefer had only grown, but he found himself looking to her more and more as a friend—maybe his best friend. After Jaskier, of course.

Speaking of. “I was thinking about Jaskier.”

Yennefer rolled her eyes obviously. “As you are so frequently wont to do. The thaw will come soon enough, dear, and you can run off in search of your bard.”

Geralt felt his ears grow warm. Witchers couldn’t blush, not truly, but he still felt the tingle of it as he fidgeted with embarrassment. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, absently tracing a finger against the grain of the wooden table. There were two goblets of wine sitting between them, but so far neither of them had begun to drink. “Do you know how many winters it’s been since I found Ciri?”

If she was confused by the odd turn in subject matter, Yennefer didn’t show it. Instead she looked thoughtful. “Two, perhaps three? You know I don’t follow the seasons with diligence.”

“Neither do I,” Geralt agreed. “I was thinking the same though, two or three years since the fall of Cintra. Which means Jaskier is…” He paused, trying to do the math. “He was a few years past forty, during the dragon hunt, I think. He must be closer to fifty now than not.”

Yennefer raised an eyebrow at him. “I recall mentioning something about his crows feet. What of it? Humans age. Are you only just discovering this?”

Geralt forced himself not to grumble. In a way, he was only discovering it. He’d known humans across the years, of course, and knew that many that he’d once been acquainted with were no longer alive or were in their twilight years. For decades Geralt had wandered through the world, changing no more than a ghost would, touching the lives of regular mortals for a brief instance, maybe a few times if they were particularly unlucky. No one had stayed by his side, dedicated themselves to a relationship with him, the way that the bard had. The amount of devotion that Jaskier showed to him had made Geralt antsy, in earlier years, and then confused and angry by turn. He had hated the idea of someone needing him, had hated needing someone in return. The way his chest felt heavy when he and Jaskier parted ways had left him furious with himself and the bard.

And then Ciri came into his life, and everything had changed so quickly.

With Ciri, it didn’t matter whether Geralt felt like he should care for her, or if he wanted to. He needed to. Without him, the girl would die, or be kidnapped by Nilfgaard for who knows what purpose. He had to feed her, and clothe her, and teach her, and he had to love her for her to thrive.

She made it very easy. It was only afterwards that he realized how much of an idiot he’d been to Jaskier, and the thought of how he’d treated the bard over the years had plagued him. It had been months before he could find him to apologize, but Jaskier forgave him almost immediately—which Geralt found both relieving and infuriating at the same time. This was the first winter they’d spent apart since. Geralt left the keep more rarely now, heading out on the Path only when the months grew truly warm and returning at the first hint of falling leaves. Ciri was safe on her own, he knew, but he missed her when he was away. And he could admit now that one of the forces driving him back into the world over the last few years had been the itching desire to find Jaskier again and settle the yearning in his chest for another year. He was less inclined to venture forth when his bard, his daughter, Yennefer and his brothers were all in one place.

This winter Jaskier had begged off, saying that he had “work in the south,” which could mean anything from spending a decadent winter in the court of some noble or sludging through the front lines as a Redanian spy. Geralt had learned not to pry too deeply into Jaskier’s business when he wasn’t around. It was often either too explicit for him to stomach or too confidential for Jaskier to share freely.

It worried him, being away from the bard for so long. He could get hurt, or captured by Nilfgaard, or worse. But what really terrified Geralt was the idea that he would find Jaskier in a tavern along the Path and realize that the bard had grown old, to find silver in his hair and wrinkles beside his eyes. “He’s getting too old,” Geralt said to Yennefer, who looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You must have known when you started travelling with him that he would eventually leave you,” Yennefer said, not unkindly. “Humans are so short lived.”

“I didn’t exactly get a choice about becoming his muse,” Geralt said with a huff. Despite his improved relationship with Jaskier over the past few years, he still found it difficult to admit that he had always been more than willing to let the bard tag along. If he’d wanted to travel alone, he would have. But he never had. “I just didn’t realize…”

“It always comes sooner than you think it will,” Yennefer sighed. She set her book aside and picked up her goblet of wine, turning to look out the large window their table sat in front of. It faced west out of the keep wall, towards the mountains and the forest beyond. The sun had set below the craggy peaks, throwing the snow covered valley below into darkness. Geralt could just make out the ruins of the old tower, its stones dark against the white landscape. “You can’t cure his mortality, Geralt.”

“We did.”

The look that Yennefer gave him was sharp, almost angry. The firelight in the room turned her violet eyes darker, like mulberry wine. “At great cost,” she snapped. “I can’t imagine you would put him through the Trials.”

A stab of panic shot through his gut at the thought. “No. Of course not. He wouldn’t survive it anyways. Only children stand a chance at all.”

Yennefer nodded, apparently satisfied that Geralt hadn’t completely lost his mind. “The boy hasn’t got an ounce of Chaos in him, in spite of his rather chaotic nature, so I highly doubt they’ll accept him as a late trainee at Ban Ard.”

“There must be other ways,” Geralt said, feeling petulant. “Less conventional.”

“I cannot believe we are actually discussing this,” Yennefer said, rising to her feet. She picked up her book from the table as well as her glass. “There is no way to achieve immortality, especially not without sacrifice. You know that, Geralt. Drop this foolish line of thought.”

Geralt rose after her, reaching out to catch her retreating wrist. A grasp loose enough that she could break it, if she wanted, but Yennefer paused. “Please, Yen. Just… look into it for me? I can’t—the thought of—” He cut himself off, dropping his hand away from her arm. The look she gave him was more pitying than he would have liked.

“I’ll do some research, but nothing more. Don’t get your hopes up, Geralt. There’s a reason there are so few of us,” she said. Her face softened slightly, as much as it ever did. Despite Ciri, Yennefer was still made of more glass and fire than anything else. “I know you love him, even if you can’t admit it to yourself. I promise, I will do my best.”

Geralt nodded wordlessly as she left and wondered if Jaskier's eyes would be as bright next time he saw him.

*

For weeks Yennefer said nothing about his request, and Geralt refocused on spending time with Ciri and preparing to depart for the spring. Lambert and Eskel had already left a month before, as soon as the road down the mountain began to thaw, but Geralt had hung back. The roof needed repairs, a difficult job to do in the midst of winter, and it was a hard task to leave for Vesemir alone. It was always like this, now—him looking for odd jobs to keep him at Kaer Morhen, with Ciri, making excuses until Jaskier’s jitteriness or Vesemir’s raised eyebrows forced them on the road again. Some of that was mitigated this season by the silence he heard when he found himself listening for the sounds of lute strings strumming gently in the background, and Geralt’s increasing anxiety about Jaskier’s wellbeing. Even so, it was hard to leave Ciri behind.

The girl was progressing rapidly as she entered her teen years, the chubbiness of her youth morphing into lean if awkward muscle as she continued to work on her swordsmanship. When Geralt and his brothers weren’t pushing her through drills, she was studying monsters and alchemy with Vesemir, or practicing her magic with Yen. She never seemed to tire, eagerly absorbing any lessons passed on to her and desperate to prove her worth. The only person she seemed to let her guard down around was Geralt, who found himself often goading her into mock wrestling matches (which he refused to throw on principle) and humoring her when she became restless and wanted to explore beyond the keep. Kaer Morhen was dangerous in the winter, but as spring approached and the deep snows on the surrounding mountains began to thaw, the duo spent more and more time trekking through old ruins and sleeping beneath the stars.

He could put off his journey south no longer.

“I’m going to be fine, Geralt,” she said, rolling her eyes at him. He wondered if he’d been this petulant as a teenager. Certainly Lambert had. “I can take care of myself, and Yen will be with me.”

Geralt tapped her wooden training sword with his own, indicating that she should prepare to go again. When he was a boy he’d trained against the other foundlings, stumbling around like pups through drills and sparring matches. Ciri trained against full witchers, and only Eskel ever faked a misstep here or there to allow her to get in a good hit. When she won a fight for the first time, it would be on her own merit.

The girl raised her sword into a decent fighting stance, and Geralt moved to correct her footwork. Her sword work was exceptional above the belt, but she consistently forgot her stances, throwing herself off balance. They’d begun putting her on the pendulums to force her to focus, dancing between posts to attack the dummies. Geralt had spent many a night rubbing salve into her bruised shoulders, gained from taking fall after fall from the low poles. No one forced her, but if there was one thing Ciri hated, it was admitting to weakness in herself. “Sword up,” Geralt said, and launched into his attack.

He stayed on the offense, forcing her to practice the defensive drills they’d started going over recently. “I know you’ll be fine,” he said, continuing their conversation. His breathing was relaxed, almost meditative through the slow exchange of blows. “Just seems cruel to leave you with only the old man and Yennefer for company.”

Ciri giggled despite herself, and Geralt found himself grinning back before he smacked her lightly in the ribs with the training sword. She swore—Lambert, Geralt thought with chagrin—and danced back a few paces. “Gotta focus,” he said, still smirking at her.

She poked her tongue out at him childishly and reposted off of one of his blocked attacks. He easily swayed out of the way, but the movement was fluid and smooth, which meant someday it would be fast, faster than he could dodge. He gave an encouraging nod.

They continued to spar for another half an hour or so before breaking, heading to the well to fill their water pouches. Geralt sat on the short ring of stones and Ciri slumped on the ground beside him, leaning against his leg. The simple trust and familiarity she exhibited around him still took him by surprise, sometimes. “I’m leaving tomorrow,” he said, rubbing a hand over the top of her head. Her hair was almost as white as his.

She sighed, wiping dripping water from her chin as she tossed her water pouch down. “I figured,” she said. “Say hello to Jaskier for me, when you find him? I missed his songs this time.”

Geralt’s caress turned into a playful ruffle. “I will. Any requests for books?”

“Ones about Elves,” she said immediately, “and Skelligan alchemy. It’s different from ours, did you know? The Druids—”

Geralt chuckled. “I know. You’ve said half a dozen times. No fairytales this time?”

The girl hummed, reminding him for a brief and touching moment of himself. “Just bring Jaskier back. He tells about your adventures so much better than you do.”

“He’s certainly made a career out of it,” Geralt grumbled, feigning annoyance. “I’ll do my best. You know how he is.”

“You missed him too,” she said, hitting his knee with one closed fist. “I know you did. You get all…Well, more grumbly and mopey than usual, when he’s not around.” She wrinkled her nose up at him in exaggerated disgust. “It’s gross. But I do want you to be happy.”

Geralt knocked back against her gently with his knee, swallowing around the feelings that rose in his throat. “You just think I’m a boring old man who won’t help you put toads in Eskel’s bed. But you never even ask. I’m the expert, not Jaskier.”

Ciri laughed, bright and crisp in the morning air, and Geralt felt warm despite the fading winter chill. Tomorrow he would leave, and he would find Jaskier, and next winter he would tell Jaskier that he had to stay at Kaer Morhen. For Ciri, if nothing else. And if it was more for Geralt’s sake than anything, well, no one had to know.

*

Yennefer found him before he left, saddling Roach in the stables.

“Go to Triss,” she said by way of a greeting. Geralt knew what she meant by the gravity in her tone and the tension sitting in the corners of her mouth. “Ask after Ida. I don’t know where she is or if she’ll speak with you, but a Sage is the only one that might be able to give you anything.”

Geralt reached out to grasp her hand firmly in his own. “Thank you, Yen,” he said honestly.

The sorceress sniffed. “Well, you owe me one, I suppose. I hope you find what you're looking for. But be careful.”

“I won’t do anything that might put him in harm’s way,” he promised. “I swear it.”

“Good.” She gave him a slight smile before leaning in to brush a kiss over his rough cheek. The simple touch warmed him from inside out. “Say hello to the bard for me. Tell him I heard about that disastrous competition in Vizima. Ought to have him stewing for a good long while.”

Geralt rolled his eyes. “I’ll give him your love as always.”

“Goodbye, Geralt,” she said, patting his arm lightly. “Be safe. You know how to reach me, if you have need.”

“I do,” he said. “I will. Take care of Ciri.”

“It’s more the other way around, I’m afraid,” she said with a soft smile, and Geralt understood exactly what she meant. Ciri had saved them both, in more ways than one. Every time he left her was more painful than the last. Someday, he knew, they might travel the Path together, a witcher, a sorceress and their daughter. Maybe even a bard, if he was extremely lucky.

Geralt hoped he would be.

[purecantarella]

Revamped Rhapsody

double update? who is she? HAHAHA but for real i wanted to release these two at the same time to sort of compensate for being gone for a week. i hope you all enjoy this one too! im nayeon x idol!reader disclaimer/s : i had fun writing some good good angst

Words were important to you, it was a part of your passion and your work. Language was something that you'd adored since you were younger but the premise that you always found it a little odd how words could be twisted to mean or imply different things, just on tone and situation alone.

You wouldn't know or understand it was when you were permitted to write your own songs in your company. The blend of different meanings and people made you find a deeper understanding for the words and lyrics of songs. Then when you met Im Nayeon, the only person who could fill your mind and heart with a rhythm that followed the way you fell in love with her.

It began when you met after you entered the practice room she reserved by mistake.

You tapped away at your phone, your bag hanging lazily over your shoulder as you pushed in the door of the practice room. A familiar song that wasn't yours blasted through the speakers. Your head slowly raised as you saw the eldest member of TWICE staring intently at herself as she danced. You'd watched live performances and met once or twice backstage very briefly, but it was a different sensation to see her in her zone. No cameras and no expectations.

'She has a good form...' You thought to yourself, in an awestruck daze. Just as you were about to retreat to find the right room, a sharp thud and a small squeal sliced right past the blaring music from the speakers. You hastily turned around to see the vocalist on the floor, holding her leg.

"Oh gosh, are you okay?" You asked dropping your bag and sliding to her side. When she got over the initial shock, she recognized you. Her celebrity crush. The vocalist blushed and nodded quickly. The sparkle in her eyes as she gave you her iconic bunny smile made your stomach turn in the best way. "Y-Yeah, I'm good!"

A smile graced your lips as you saw the usually confident extrovert awkwardly fidget with her fingers. "You wanna get up or is this whole floor thing a part of your routine?" You joked to which she laughed, shoving your shoulder gently.

"Oh gee thanks, jerk!" You chuckled before getting up and offering your hand to the shorter woman. Once she took it, you pulled her up slowly, making sure she wouldn't tumble over. "Is your leg okay?" Nayeon nodded quickly.

For a second, there's a silence and a pause. You two just staring at each other like you had for years. Like you knew each other in a much deeper way than just idols who shared the same company. There's a point where she thinks that you might just lean in but nothing comes of the inkling.

"Uh, well I should go. Leave you to it..." You rushed as you took your bag from the ground. Turning to face Nayeon then the door then back to Nayeon. "Uh, I'll see you around?" You asked, readjusting the strap on your shoulder.

"I'll be counting on it." You grinned as you left, the lead vocalist running through your head the entire time you were practicing for your latest comeback.

Brushing past each other in the hallway of the company building became more frequent, on some occasion you both even ate lunch together rather than with her group and your managers or other friends. You both became a little more than smitten with each other and wound up dating a couple months after you first met.

Im Nayeon became your inspiration for working hard, to build to become the person you know she deserves. Of course, she thinks you're pretty great. She was your muse, she just hadn't put all the pieces together yet.

When your latest song dropped, of course she listened to it immediately. Then as she listened to the lyrics that you wrote, the way you described the perfect girl for you, how you began to fall in love with this girl, it clicked in her head. Nayeon rushed out of the TWICE's practice room, making the girls look at her with either a smirk or a look of genuine concern.

She sprinted across the building to reach you in your practice room. As the door flung open, your body shifted to the side, immediately smiling as you saw your girlfriend. "Nayeonie, hey what's u—" She pressed her lips to yours, cutting you off in a passionate meeting much to the dismay of your managers who sat behind you both.

Jumping into your arms, you placed your hands under her thighs as you pulled away. The dopey yet confused smile on your face made her giggle again as she placed a series of kisses over your face.

"You wrote a song for me..." You smiled even wider and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Of course I did, Nayeonie..." You paused for a second before adding, "I love you."

The smile on her face mirrored your wide and bright one as she kissed you again. Deeper and overflowing with an intense amount of love. "I love you too, dummy..." She whispered against your lips.

Despite how much you loved each other though, two years into the relationship both of you became extremely busy. Busier than you'd ever been since you were breaking into the international market and as was TWICE. Coming home to each other tired and grouchy. You'd tried to push it further but with one last fight after a long day of taking orders, you called it quits and left her dorm.

Your break-up was the toughest time for both of you, since you'd never gone public, you both had to maintain the happy facade for both your fans. It was particularly rough on you since a lot of the songs you'd been set to sing all the time were about and for her.

She anticipated every one of your songs since it was the only way she could hear your voice. Hearing how you forced yourself to be bouncy and in love with someone. At least she hoped you were forcing yourself.

On the day of your Sponsored Events, the day your latest song was to be performed during the event. The vocalist watched and saw the visible tiredness under your eyes but you still performed your heart out. Then a familiar melody played. One that Nayeon listened to all the time.

It was the first song you wrote about her. Except the lyrics were different. They were sadder, depicting your break-up rather than how you were beginning to fall in love with her. The lively guitar sound of the original was traded in for a softer and more delicate piano instrumental. As she looked at your face and heard the words that fell from your lips, it all came back to her in a wave, making her heart shatter all over again.

The rest of the girls came in after a while to check in on her and opted to stay with her to offer her some sort of comfort.

Nayeon watched your face intently, the ‘idol’ smile that was plastered onto your lips. You didn’t want to be there. She knew that. The interviewer went through a series of questions about your career and finally about the song. Your song for her, both versions. The smile on your face grew tighter, uncomfortably so.

“So two years ago, you released a song that you revamped and performed for us.” The interviewer asked you and you nodded, a dry chuckle falling from your lips. “And you said before that that song was written for a very special girl. What’s the story behind that one?” He pried making your jaw evidently clench. The girls sitting next to Nayeon eyed her carefully as she stared at your tense form. Silently anticipating what you were going to say.

For a moment, you collect yourself. The sadness swirling in your chest again from rewriting the song that you wrote for her. Having to channel all those emotions without crying on national television. You took a deep breath, releasing it with a pathetically winded laugh. “Short of it is that sometimes you need to let go of things to keep them whole. Uh…” You cleared your throat softly. The smile on your face fell a little, a sad and wistful grin left in its place. “Some things just need to happen to make way for better things, I guess.” You finished, the interviewer stunned.

A silence hung over the live feed for a moment. Nayeon and the rest of TWICE waited patiently to see what would happen next. The man leaned forward, propping his elbow onto his knee as he looked at you and asked, “If you could change the circumstances, Y/n…Would you choose to stay with her?” A somber smile on his face as your head upturned a little, eyes red and watery. Without a second thought, you nodded slowly.

Nayeon’s held tears trickled slowly down her cheeks as she held back a soft sob. “If I could…” You took a deep breath, lifting your hand to fan the tears out of your eyes, laughing softly at yourself before continuing. “I would leave everything behind to be with her.” The vocalist’s members had their arms around Nayeon as you spoke. She had pretty much bawled her eyes out as the unspoken confessions left your mouth.

“But I could never do that to her, not after all her sacrifices. I can’t.” Your voice finally cracked as the feed finally cut. The room echoed the eldest’s soft sobs while you did the same on the other side of the city.

okay, so this one was a little wobbly because i was not sober when i wrote this. had a bottle of soju and i'm feeling good HAAHAHH anyway, i hope you all enjoyed this and remember that requests are open and comments and criticism is completely welcomed! keep safe everyone and i will see you all very soon 😊😁

[dreamwritesimagines]

Twisted 26 - Blood On My Name [Spencer Reid x Reader]

A.N.: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves! Here’s the next chapter, I hope you will like it as well, and please let me know what you think of it! ❤❤ Ily, kisses! ❤❤❤

Series Masterlist

Warnings: Murder, serial killers, violence, manipulation, mentions of sex, drinking, smoking, guns.

Word Count: 3000

Summary: No one can run away forever.

There were some days when you just knew it wouldn’t be easy for you, and today was one of them, that was for sure. It was as if after seeing how Spencer had managed to charm your family the other night and how everything was going well in your relationship, the universe had decided to throw in some difficulties to make it interesting.

For starters, you had forgotten to buy coffee the day before so you couldn’t even have your much needed caffeine. After managing to get rid of the sleepiness with a very cold shower and getting ready, you left your apartment to get to your car, and that was when the second problem hit.

It wouldn’t start no matter how much you tried, so you had to take a taxi to your office.

And as if all that wasn’t enough, Spencer had decided to call you with some bad news as well.

“You can’t be serious,” you whined, pressing the phone to your ear as you paced in your office, “Spencer, please tell me you’re not leaving me alone at a party I didn’t even want to go to in the first place!”

“Trust me, I don’t want to.”

“You have a case,” you felt the need to repeat, “Today of all days.”

“We’re flying there in ten.”

You heaved a sigh and plopped down to the couch, nibbling your lip.

“I’m really sorry,” he said softly, “I swear I’d be there if I could.”

You sook your head, “No, don’t be sorry,” you murmured, “I get that. It’s your job. Besides, it’s probably a life or death situation if they called you guys there.”

He hummed in agreement, “Probably,” he said “But are you going to be alright?”

“I mean I’ll probably drink a lot,” you tried to joke, “And miss you for the whole night.”

“I’ll miss you too,” he confessed, “They’re sending some agents to make sure the copycat doesn’t try anything at that party if they even show up, but… Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

“When am I not careful?”

He scoffed a laugh, “Do you want a list? Because I think it’d be a long list.”

“I’m always careful!” you protested, “Also, given our occupations it’s kind of ironic to hear this from you, I’ll have you know.”

You could almost hear his smile, “Just promise me.”

“I’ll be very careful,” you said, “Cross my heart. Besides, it’s Nolan’s company, professor. No one can walk there with any weapon, it’s a security company remember? Even I am leaving my knife at home.”

“Just don’t go anywhere alone, be in the crowd for the whole time—”

“Make sure to stay where security cameras can see me, I know.” You finished his sentence for him, “It’s not my first rodeo. Relax boyfriend, it’s just one boring party. What could possibly go wrong?”

“Don’t say that,” he warned you, “Bad things happen when people say that.”

“I didn’t take you for a superstitious type, professor.”

“I’m not,” he said, “I just don’t want to take any chances. It’s already bad enough that I won’t be there.”

“You’re telling me,” you said, “I was hoping we could hook up somewhere in there, it’s a huge building.”

You heard his chuckle, “You’re incorrigible.”

“Well it’s always Mina and Kenzie who have fun in these things, for once I want to have fun too!” you defended yourself, “Besides, don’t pretend like you don’t like it.”

“Hey, I said nothing of the sort.”

“Reid, come on.” You heard Luke’s voice and Spencer sighed.

“I should go,” he told you, “I love you.”

A smile warmed your face, “I love you too,” you said, “Go save some lives.”

You hung up, then ran a hand over your face, slumping on the couch.

“Y/N?” your assistant knocked on the glass door of your office before peeking her head in, “Hi, are you busy?”

“Not really,” you sat up straighter, “What’s up?”

“You wanted me to remind you when it’s time for lunch,” she said, “Also I sent your dress for tonight to your place, the front desk will get it.”

“Thanks,” you checked the time and stood up to walk to your desk, “Damn it, I’m going to be late.”

“I also called the mechanics, but they said it would take two days for it to be fixed.”

“Today just gets better and better,” you muttered and she tilted her head,

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Hm?” you looked up, “Yeah, sorry. I’m fine, it’s just one of those days. Since the morning everything is going bad, and I was hoping my boyfriend would be with me at this party, but he had something to do so…”

“Maybe he can change his mind?” she suggested, “See, I had this boyfriend once, and he said he wouldn’t show up to my birthday party because we had this huge fight, but then he showed up anyway.”

“Oh it’s not like that,” you shook your head, “There’s no fight, he’s just not gonna be in the city tonight.”

She scrunched up her nose, “That sucks.”

You scoffed a laugh and grabbed your coat and your purse, “It’s fine. Where are we on the Riley wedding flower arrangement by the way?”

“All confirmed, she says she loved it,” she said and you smiled.

“Thanks,” you said as you walked to the elevator with her following you, “I’ll be back in an hour, okay? Have a nice lunch.”  

                                                        ***

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Lincoln said as you sipped your rosé, looking around the restaurant you two were having lunch in, “How did you even break down your car?”

“I didn’t do anything!”

“When was the last time you took it to a mechanic to get it checked out?”

“When I bought it?” you said and he let out a chuckle.

“So you have no car for tonight?”

You pulled your brows together, “Tonight? How did you-?”

“You know we run in the same social circle right?” he said, “My dad’s company also does business with Nolan, of course I’m invited. That being said, I wasn’t sure if I would show up, but since here you are, begging me to help you—“

“I’m just eating my food here.”

“I can drive you there,” he finished his sentence as if you didn’t interrupt him and you tilted your head.

“I can just take a cab,” you said, “Or mom could send a car, it’s fine. You don’t have to.”

“Consider it my thanks for your unrequited advices on my relationship.”

“Oh you need more advice?” you perked up and he rolled his eyes.

“No.”

“You made up with your girlfriend then?”

“It’s complicated.”

“You really need to go to Italy for a surprise visit,” you pointed at him with your fork “That’d be incredibly romantic.”

“Is that right, love doctor?”

Your jaw dropped, “Come on, when have I ever failed you with my advice?” you asked, “If you love this girl, you need to show her that.”

“I’m just gonna play it cool.”

“That’s a terrible idea!” you said, “I know you’re not the romantic type, but you need to at least make an effort!”

He shot you a look “I’m a romantic.”

“Bullshit,” you let out a laugh, “You might be the most emotionally distant person I’ve seen after me, and you’re telling me you’re—“

“I believe that some people are meant to be,” he cut you off, “No matter the circumstances. Consequences be damned, anyone who thinks otherwise doesn’t deserve to be in love. I think if you’re in love, you should adore that person every day, and be there for them for better or worse. Whatever sacrifice it takes.”

You blinked a couple of times, shock coming over you, “Linc…”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for the woman I love,” he told you, “Trust me. Nothing at all.”

You just gawked at him for a few seconds before you put your fork down.

“I stand corrected,” you muttered, and he grinned at you.

“Yeah, how does it feel to be wrong?”

“Oh shut up,” you said and stabbed your salad once more, ignoring his laugh.

By the time your lunch with Lincoln was over and you got back to your office, your fingers were itching to text Spencer. Reminding yourself that he was probably busy, you managed to suppress the urge and waited for the elevator doors to open.

Erica was already waiting for you by the door and you let out a whine.

“Don’t tell me,” you said, “You have bad news because today has a grudge with me.”

“I mean it’s not bad, but I figured you’d want to know.”

“Give me some good news, like you saw a puppy today or they named a whiskey after me or—“

“Your mother is waiting for you in your office.”

“I said good news, Erica.” you reminded her and made your way to your office before you opened the glass door to step inside. Your mother looked over her shoulder, sitting up straighter on the couch.

“Hi honey.”

“Hi mom,” you walked to peck her on the cheek, “What’s up? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I need help,” she said and you hung your coat, placed your purse on the coffee table, motioning at one of the interns for coffee before you leaned back to the table.

“Sure thing, what is it?”

“How do my nails look?” she held up her hand and you pulled your brows together.

“That’s what you need help with?” you asked “You do realize that this is why we have phones?”

“No, I wanted to talk face to face for my next question.”

“Ah, I won’t like that question will I?” you hissed in a breath, “Your nails are fine by the way.”

“It’s just that, I don’t know when Nolan will propose so I booked my nail artist for a month.”

“I want to have your problems,” you muttered as your phone buzzed and you checked the screen, then touched the text message.

From: Spencer

The power of Love borne in my lady's eyes

imparts its grace to all she looks upon.

You couldn’t help the wide smile pulling at your lips as you skimmed Dante’s lines, then thought for a moment and typed in:

See that you bless the day that I took you captive; it is your duty to do so.

“Y/N!”

You lifted your head, “Hm?”

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, sorry,” you lowered the phone as the intern brought you two cups of coffee. You thanked her, then turned to your mother, “It’s just… Spencer is out of the city again, that’s why— never mind. What did you want to ask me?”

“I think I have an idea about Nolan’s proposal and this…potential marriage.”

You cleared your throat, “Uh, sorry. My client list is full.”

“Nobody buys that excuse honey.”

“I mean can you blame me?” you asked, “You would be the worst bride I’ve ever had to deal with, no offense.”

“First of all, I’ll just have a cocktail, not a wedding,” she said, “It would be inappropriate to have a wedding, considering our ages.”

“Mom!” you protested, “That’s not a thing! Anyone can have a wedding, fuck what society thinks.”

“Very delicately put, but I’ve made up my mind,” she said, “That’s not what I came here for. I decided, I want to be with Nolan and spend the rest of my life with him. So I will say yes when he proposes.”

“A surprise to no one,” you grinned and she shot you a look.

“But considering what people would think, I feel like I need to make a schedule. Do you happen to know when Spencer will propose?”

The coffee you were drinking went down the wrong tube and you started coughing, but your mother sipped her own coffee, patiently waiting for you to stop.

“Say- say what now?” you asked and she shrugged her shoulders.

“Yes, I was thinking I could stay engaged to Nolan until after your future wedding.”

“Mom we’re not— I’m—“ you stammered, “That’s not happening.”

She tilted her head, “Oh don’t be nonsense, you’re in love. Very obvious to anyone who has eyes, he couldn’t stop looking at you throughout dinner the other night.”

“Yeah but….” you cleared your throat, “I don’t think he’s planning anything like that.”

“Well—“

“I’m not going to ask him if he’s planning anything like that,” you cut her off, “I don’t live in Victorian ages, neither do you. I told you, you can get married to the eccentric billionaire puppy with a bowtie whenever you want.”

She rolled her eyes at you. “Unbelievable.”

“Right back at you lady.”

“If Nolan lets you know about when, you will tell me okay?”

“I doubt he’ll let me know, he looks like he’s got it covered.”

“And you’re still planning my cocktail party when the time comes.”

“Mom, no!” you let out a whine, throwing your head back, “Please don’t do that to me. I’m your daughter, you’re supposed to love me!”

“I do love you, that’s why I don’t trust anyone else with my wedding except for you.”

“Don’t trust me,” you said, “I’m begging you not to trust me. Planning Mina’s wedding was bad enough, you’re even a bigger control freak than she is—“

“Y/N.”

“I say that respectfully!”

She put her cup of coffee on the glass table, then stood up.

“Just remember, I absolutely hate carnation flowers and polyester gives me a rash.”

“Why does God hate me?” you wondered out loud and she kissed you on the cheek.

“I’ll see you tonight honey,” she said and walked out of your office, ignoring your overly dramatic whining. You buried your face into your palms, letting out a groan.

“I really should’ve drunk something heavier than rosé.”

                                                         ***

You had picked this dress thinking Spencer would like it, and now that he wouldn’t be there with you, you were two seconds away from changing it. You heaved a sigh, looking in the mirror before you fixed the tulle floor length skirt of the pale pink dress and pulled at the long sleeves adorned with lace. The small screen by the door lit up as it started ringing and you walked there to touch it, then told the doorman that he could send Lincoln upstairs when he told you he was there.  

Soon enough, the doorbell rang and you opened it.

“Hey,” you said, grinning when he did a double take and blinked a couple of times.

“Wow.”

“Bad wow?”

“Good wow.”

“Why thanks Linc, you clean up well too. Come in!” you stepped aside so that he could enter the apartment and he looked around as you closed the door.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks,” you said and checked the time before you went to the kitchen island. “You’re early.”

“And you started early,” he nodded at the wine glass on the kitchen island, making you shrug.

“I just have one e-mail to check for confirmation, then we can go.”

“No rush,” he said, leaning back to the wall as you looked at the photos of the wedding venue for your newest client, swirling the wine in your glass.

“You want some?”

“Nah, not yet,” he said, “Work stuff?”

“Mm hm,” you mumbled, “She describes the venue she wants as boho-glam so it’s going to be pretty tough for me to find a lot of options.”

“Your job is definitely more fun than mine.”

“My job is harder than yours,” you pointed at him and he scoffed.

“How is that?”

“Have you ever dealt with an angry bride?” you asked him, “You wouldn’t last a goddamn second. Just the other day, one of them tried to make me give her a list of her wedding dress options too, the one thing I’m not responsible from.”

“I mean can you blame her?” Lincoln asked, “You obviously have a good taste, look at yourself.”

“Aw thanks Linc,” you hit send, and closed down the laptop lid before you reached for your wine glass to take a sip, taking a step towards the coffee table.

“Yeah I’ll almost feel sorry for Spencer for missing it.”

It took you a second. For a second, it was all good and then you stopped dead on your tracks, a shudder running down your spine as your brain comprehended what he just told you. You could feel the goosebumps rising on your arms as you put the glass down, your back still turned to him.

“I never told you I was dating Spencer,” you managed to mumble through frozen lips and he chuckled.

“No you didn’t,” he said, “Erica told me. Family dinner with Spencer, it was on your schedule the other night.”

Your thoughts were like a tornado in your head as your heart started slamming against your ribcage and you turned to him, your eyes finding potential weapons you could use all around the room instantly and he tilted his head.

“So I know that there are about fifty things in this room you can attack me with,” he said, “But just so you know, if you try anything, your niece goes down. You don’t want your precious Lily to have an accident, do you? Because I don’t either.”

That red haze clouded your vision for a moment as your jaw clenched.

“I’m going to kill you,” your voice didn’t even sound like it belonged to you anymore, it was way too cold, way too calm, the shock leaving its place to fury roaring through your veins. A manic smile pulled at Lincoln’s lips and that dangerous gleam which you had seen multiple times in your father’s eyes appeared in his eyes as well before he took a step towards you.

“I missed your fire,” he said as if he was in awe, “So much. It’s been a torture to keep my distance from you. But honestly, Petal,” he tut-tutted, then reached behind him and pulled out his gun to point it at you.

“You should’ve known better.”

Chapter 27 

[honeypiehotchner]

intelligence & issues (Hotch x Fem!Reader) -- chapter thirty-five

Welcome to the shitshow! Remember that I love y’all <3

Warnings: arguing, fighting, tension, angst

Previous chapter || Fic Masterlist

Chapter Thirty-Five: I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you

The tearful phone call with your mom lasts for nearly four hours.

“I just don’t know what to do,” you admit. “I don’t want to leave the BAU.”

“I know, honey.”

“And I’m not going to,” you say firmly, wiping your cheeks on the back of your hand. “I didn’t let Trevor stop me from accepting that job with the BCI, I’m not letting this stop me from staying in the BAU. I’m better than that.”

“I know, baby.”

“And I want Aaron, I do, but if it’s at this cost, then I…” You don’t even want to say it out loud.

“Have you talked to him?” Your mom asks gently.

You shake your head. “Haley surprised him at the office earlier with Jack, so I’m sure he’s hanging out with Jack for the rest of the day. He might spend the night, too.”

“Hm,” your mom sighs. “Is he trying to get back together with her?”

“Not that I know of.” You pause. “I don’t think he is. I know him, he’d…he’d tell me if they were, right? Or if she had asked about it?”

“I want to say that he would, honey, but I don’t know. I’ve seen the way he looks at you and I know he loves you, but…”

“But what?”

“Marriage…” Your mom sighs. “When you marry someone, especially as young as the two of them were, the bond is different. Add a child into the mix and it’s…it’s hard to let go of.” She pauses. “I never told you this, but letting go of your father was the hardest decision I ever had to make.”

“You told me it was the easiest.”

“Because I had to tell myself that. If I told myself anything else, I wouldn’t have had the courage to leave. I had to convince myself I could do it, and that meant letting you know that I could. I didn’t want you to think our independence should be held hostage from us.”

“So you’re saying…”

“I’m saying, I know you love him, and I know he loves you. But you’re still young. And whatever your future looks like, as long as it has the best version of you, then it’s enough. Everything else will sort itself out. But you have to be there and be the best you before everything else can fall into place around you.”

+++

When you head into the BAU the next day, you go straight to Hotch’s office. You don’t stop at your desk, or Morgan’s when he calls out to you (though you do wave at him, and Emily too).

“Come in,” Hotch announces after hearing a knock, unaware that it’s you.

“Hey,” you say to get his attention. “Can we talk?”

Immediately, he stands, rounding his desk to gather you in his arms. “Hey, of course. I’m so sorry I couldn’t call you last night.”

“It’s okay,” you pause to accept his kiss. “I was on the phone with my mom for a while anyway.”

“Everything okay?” He asks.

“Yes and no,” you exhale nervously, stepping out of his arms, needing to ground yourself. “That’s why I came straight here.”

“Okay…” He steps over and shuts the door, gesturing for you to continue.

“When I was called into Strauss’s office yesterday, it wasn’t about being back. It wasn’t routine. It was because she knows about us.”

“I know.”

You freeze, mouth open and ready to speak, but you shut it slowly, processing his words. “What do you mean you know?”

“I talked with her yesterday before I left.”

“And you didn’t think to text me about it yesterday?”

Aaron watches you carefully. “If I recall correctly, you didn’t tell me the real reason Strauss talked to you either.”

“Because Haley was here with Jack!” You argue. “I wasn’t going to bring that up in front of them.”

“Okay, I understand.”

“What did Strauss talk to you about?” You ask, not wanting to stay near the topic of Haley for too long. “Was it just about her knowing about us?”

Aaron looks like he doesn’t want to answer, but you stare him down until he does. “Yes. And she asked if you had been…inappropriately pushing yourself onto me.”

“What?”

“I told her you had done nothing like that whatsoever,” he says quickly and firmly, wanting you to hear him. “But she did ask that your behavior be monitored for the time being.”

“For the— Hotch, are you kidding me? Don’t tell me you agreed to that?”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“You could’ve told her that our relationship is mutually consensual and none of her business.”

He gives you a look because you both know he couldn’t tell Strauss it’s “none of her business,” but you still wish he had. You could certainly never say something like that to her, but he could almost definitely get away with it. You’d be surprised if he hasn’t said something similar to Strauss before this.

“I didn’t want to confirm anything about us and risk your termination as an agent in the bureau.”

“Well, thank you for your concern, but Strauss very politely told me yesterday that I need to pick a transfer before she forces me out of here.”

“What?”

“She talked to me about transferring the entire time,” you cry. “She told me I’m young, I don’t need to go to extreme lengths to prove myself and better my skillset.”

“It’s true, you don’t.”

“She thinks I’m sleeping with you to do exactly that.”

Aaron sighs heavily. “I told her that you’re not.”

“She’s not going to believe it. She obviously didn’t believe you since my behavior is now going to be monitored like I’m a fucking child.”

“I know it’s not ideal,” Hotch says. “And I wish I didn’t have to agree with her. But if these are some small prices we have to pay, then…we have to pay them.”

It sounds good. In theory. It sounds right.

But it’s wrong.

“No,” you shake your head. “Because they’re not prices that we’re paying. It’s all coming down on me. And I can’t do that. I can’t.”

“Y/N…” He hates that you feel this way, and part of him knows you’re right.

“I know we said we would wait before telling Strauss, but that was before she found out. She already knows now, so why don’t we go to her ourselves and tell her how serious we are?”

You thought he’d be all for this idea. But he shakes his head.

“It isn’t that simple.” He pauses. “She also mentioned others overhearing our…less than appropriate comments to one another.”

“You mean yours.”

“Excuse me?”

“Hotch, I told you before we even started any of this that we needed to stay professional. Your good girl comments here and there surely weren’t peak professionalism.”

“If it’s been making you uncomfortable, why haven’t you stopped me?”

“Because I wasn’t uncomfortable,” you cry. “I never was, and I never am around you. I knew we were pushing it, but I didn’t think about stopping.”

“Okay,” he nods. “I’m sorry. I should’ve known better.”

“It’s fine—”

“No, Y/N, as unit chief, I should’ve known better.”

“Okay…” You raise your eyebrows, waiting for him to keep going. “Okay?”

“I think it would be best if you and I take a step back from our relationship until this all settles down.”

You blink. “What?”

“I knew since the beginning that something like this could happen,” he pauses. “And I’ve worried for a while now that our relationship is too…inappropriate.” Pause. “That it’s putting a strain on the team and our jobs.”

“How long is a while?” You ask. And when he doesn’t reply, you demand an answer. “Hotch. How long have you been thinking like this?”

“Since the night you were shot,” he admits quietly, “and we almost lost you.”

“Since…” You cut yourself off out of sheer disbelief. “You’re telling me you’ve been thinking like this for…for the past six months?”

“Y/N—”

“All this time we’ve been together, and you’ve just been waiting to break up with me.”

“I want to be with you, but our jobs…”

“And if I transfer somewhere else? What then?”

“No,” he shakes his head. “I don’t want you to sacrifice your job here for our relationship.”

“And if I do?”

He says nothing.

You figure that’s enough of an answer.

“Do you need me for anything today?” You ask. “For work.”

“No,” he murmurs.

“I’ll be going home, then,” you say. “Have a good rest of your day.”

+++

Down in the bullpen, Morgan, Emily, and Garcia have been watching your conversation with Hotch unfold through the cracks in the blinds of his office. He didn’t close them all the way, so Spencer has been able to lip read.

But as soon as Spencer realized the conversation wasn’t going anywhere good, he stopped.

When you open the door to Hotch’s office, you’re not surprised at all to find the team staring up at you. You ignore eye contact with every single one of them as you skip down the steps, heading straight for the glass doors.

Hotch stands in the doorway of his office, watching you go, watching Garcia and Emily run after you.

Standing outside the elevator, shaking with frustration, and holding back your tears as hard as you can, refusing to cry here.

“Okay, what just happened?” Pen asks, and you almost don’t hear her because you can barely see straight anyway.

“Nothing,” you mutter. “Or—I don’t know. I don’t actually know what just happened to me. God, can this thing hurry up?” You press the call button a few more times.

“It didn’t look like nothing,” Emily replies.

“It looked like—Wait.” Pen stops, her eyes wide. “Did you—”

Finally, the elevator doors open.

“Did you break up?” Emily finishes, sadness all over her face.

“I don’t know,” you reply, stepping inside the elevator. “Ask him, I guess.”

You reach over and almost press the ground floor, but at the last second, you hit Strauss’s floor number.

You wave sadly at Pen and Emily, and as the doors close, you catch a glimpse of Hotch standing at the glass doors.

I can always return to the BAU someday, you tell yourself. Maybe this is a sign that I’m needed somewhere else.

After Aaron sees the elevator doors close, he knows right then that he’s lost you.

Next chapter

[jiminrings]

umm maybe this is me projecting bc i am messaging you during my break but for a drabble request, yoongi in a retail setting???? 😐😐😐😐 oc could either be a co-worker or a regular customer who asks too many questions 😔😌

retail-type beat

drabble week: day three

drabble week masterlist

pairing: customer!yoongi x retail worker!reader

wordcount: 3k

glimpse: "hi! almost thought you were hiding from me for a second. anyways, is this sweater wool or cotton?"

feedback + support mean the world to me!!

the last time you checked, work doesn’t start until nine

you kNEW it doesn’t start until 9 in the morning, so clearly that’s why you’re just wearing slides instead of your sneakers

the company uniform is either black or purple (it has to be from what the store is selling though so you can get to choose) with of course!!!! a lanyard!!!!

and you know this, because you’re still wearing your slides from home because it isn’t opening time yet

“goddamn it, i forgot to bring my slippers,” jin moans the moment he walks to see you, looking down on your feet that only reminds him he’d be stuck in his cool yet painfully uncomfy sneakers

he’s probably the only co-worker that you’re truly close with, not feeling the urge to sell him just to get a free day

“i told you to get the sneakers that nurses use!!”

hands-down one of the best purchases you’ve ever made

retail’s hard and it’s not exactly the best-paying job!!! thankfully the franchise owner is a bit more generous so that’s why you get slightly-higher hourly pay

“i would if they looked a little more seasoned,” jin snorts and stubbornly crosses his arms, “i might sacrifice my pride and buy some compression socks.”

OOOOOH THOSE ARE GOOD TOO

makes you feel like ur walking on air

but lol no seokjin isn’t ready to buy those just yet

he’ll settle on some blisters and putting salonpas patches because they look cooler that way, thank u very much <3

jin yawns, talking about finding a steam iron somewhere to replace a blowdryer so he could break in his shoes

“you wipe the glass this time.”

oh right he absolutely hates wiping down the glass — even before opening!!! even when there aren’t any grubby kids that would soil it instantly with their equally as grubby hands

you don’t mind it honestly

you might honestly like it

you prefer wiping the glass a hundred times over than steaming clothes

there is nOT a single thought in your head when you spray on the solution to the glass, rag and squeegee tucked between your fingers when-

maybe you should’ve hOLY FUCKING SHIT

it’s not opening!!!! it is nOT nine o’clock in the morning!!!!

you know that the shop you’re working in is pretty fucking famous and it’s located on one of the most populated streets ever BUT THERE’S ALREADY SOMEONE

although the bucket hat seems familiar from a distance and-

oh it’s just yoongi

yoongi?

yoongi’s already here????

:O

yoongi, the guy in question, is an always customer!!

no, not a regular customer — an always customer

he comes every week and maybe even twice within that period

he’s a nice talkative customer who likes asking questions and even occasionally guides the other customers on what to buy and where to find it

he’s yoongi!!! of course that’s expected of him

he’s been going here long since you ever started working here, and jin keeps iNSISTING that he’s been here more frequently since you started like a year ago

but doesn’t he come at eleven in the morning?

“woah, yoongi’s already here? — doesn’t he come at eleven in the morning?”

?!!?!!

“i was just thinking the exact same thing.”

jin bangs the glass with his fist and you automatically wince and frown

you dO like cleaning the glass panes!! you didn’t say you liked cleaning them a second time :(

“YOONGI!”

“YES??”

you push jin’s fist away to wipe at the smudge his hand left

“IT’S NOT OPENING YET!”

“I KNOW!!”

wow they’re uh

they’re really loud

sometimes you forget how seokjin could be since it’s been awhile since you heard him yell

lol no one’s been shoplifting recently so you haven’t been hearing him

a mind-blowing idea is for jin to come outside and talk to him in a normal talking voice, so your ears would stop ringing

“HEY! WHAT IF YOU JUST ENTER EARLY IN?”

“REALLY? IS THAT EVEN ALLOWED??”

"YOONGI, EVERYONE ON THE FLOOR KNOWS YOUR NAME. NAMJOON EVEN GAVE YOU A CUSTOMARY BIRTHDAY GIFT, AND WE DON'T GIVE CUSTOMARY BIRTHDAY GIFTS TO ANY OTHER CUSTOMER!!"

namjoon, who technically should be called mr. kim because no one really thinks to call the franchise owner with their government first name, is actually pretty cool

but he's too busy these days and haven't been visiting because he's too busy tending to his newly-opened coffee shop

as if the money he earns from opening his franchise in a day alone isn’t enough :0

"IF YOU SAY SO?"

you’re the one who hikes up the roll-up door in the slightest, enough for only yoongi to enter and not encourage anyone else to nOT enter when it’s still not opening time!!!!

he only has to crouch a little but he still has to dust his thousand-dollar pants as if he crawled through mud

his cream-colored slacks with a large black hoodie that has a giant bear embroidered on the middle of it and mules

... you don't hate his outfits

pretty cute, actually

it's yoongi!!

you'd never catch him lacking!!!

you don't even have to envision him rocking the shit out a paper bag

one time, he came in the store wearing the WRINKLIEST brown linen jumpsuit that no iron could possibly fix and he still pulled it off

toon-teen-ten!

oh god that’s the sound of the intercom

and the sound of the intercom equates to jungkook

... as in jeon jungkook who’s the floor manager and his constant top one goal for every month is to endearingly annoy seokjin

he’s young and mischievous!! but if you were to ask him, only you and jungkook are the people in this floor he’d actually get drinks with outside the shop

“seokjin come to the lingerie department right now, please.”

you see the thing is :D

“now this is just funny

there’s walkie-talkies for everyone here!! jungkook likes intercoms, and seokjin like yelling!!

“WHY ME AGAIN?? I’VE ALREADY FOLDED-“

“there’s a literal rat and i need yOU to catch it!! you know that i hate rodents!!”

him and jungkook are forever gonna be on this eldest-youngest brother dynamic and while jungkook pouts and shared the extras that he gets, jin is the one who kills the bugs :D

10/10 totally fair

fine then!! he’ll catch that goddamn rat

that leaves you and yoongi. alone.

“why did you come so early this time?”

you ask out of courtesy, genuinely baffled too because you know that yoongi’s a creature of habit

yoongi’s eyes pop out, head fervently shaking no

“i’m typically not the type to do that, no.”

???

is he-

are you-

are you both talking about the same thing

yoongi’s face flushes in embarrassment, his mind just then registering what you were actually saying

“o-oh! it’s because last night, i dreamt of the sweater i saw here last week!!"

oh right

typical :D

"need me to find it for you or do you already know the aisle?"

you align the folded shirts by the corners as you pass, looking at yoongi briefly while he trails behind yoh

“not unless you pulled it out already."

he's hoping that dear god you haven't

the black sweater with the moon aND buildings on it and when you turn on the flash, the windows of said building reflect it right back???

he SHUDDERS just by thinking about it

it’s gonna go with everything!!! an instant boost of serotonin every time he sees it

"for you, yoongi?" you shake your head, a small smile on your face that he only sees every once in a while, "i'd comb through the entire stock room."

wait

that’s sweet :((

“i’ll hold you to that.”

you know what??? you're less cranky when it's only him, and a couple of hundred people less

your smiles aren't for customer-service and you don't have misplaced clothes hanging from your shoulders and your walkie-talkie isn't talking in latin

or when no one’s asking you to reach something from the top shelf

or when you’re on the way to the intercom because a kid got separated from their mother

or when someone’s approaching for a refund for a shirt who has a stain that’s 100% no doubt customer error

his feet immediately move on its own because he’s memorized the outline of this too many times

there it is!!!

the sweater he’s dreamt about is already on his hands, only a handful few left

the piece is considerably more expensive than majority of the items here, so that’s why they’re all spaced-out instead of being clustered altogether

yoongi rarely goes to the dressing room, regardless if it's a full-house or not!!

he could just look at an item and immediately tell that it’s made for him ta know

he's beyond sure that this sweater fits him perfectly, but he may want to be here a little longer

yoongi may have say inside one of the fitting rooms and spent a little time in it just to sit on the chair inside, not fitting the sweater at all

he's gotten his item SO quick and he wished he could've just walked slower or pretended to not know where it was!!!

he wants to spend a little more time here

you don't hate yoongi!!! but sometimes he could just be... yoongi

he's quite talkative and strikes it whenever, making you unguarded

he could be overbearing but like an overbearing kind of nice

yoongi’s nice!! he’s the type to ask a lot of questions sure, but he’s also the type that would point the other customers what to buy and where to find it

he’s the type to find an obvious faulty stitch on a shirt, but he’d just quietly exchange it instead of asking for the manager

he’s the type you wouldn’t want to stand behind in line because it would take a long time for him to finish, but he’s also the same one who buys giftcards with generous amounts for family and friends

yoongi’s kind of cool and that’s cemented on your mind

"what do you got for me?"

he materializes out of nowhere, spooked because you thought he already ringed up and was out of the store already

it just happens to be ten minutes before opening and you’re doing last-minute arrangements on a new spread

well, yoongi most certainly is still here and his attention’s piqued

“we have... a new collection."

you clear your theory, awkwardly gesturing because you’re more than aware that yoongi hasn’t seen this either

“yeah, i know that. but like, what's going on??" he gestures to the displays and racks, squinting his eyes, "what's the theme? what's the material?"

:O

uhm you haven't read the brief about this

you aren't even sURE if there is one!!

doesn't everyone make up something on the spot in retail

or atleast that’s what seokjin tells you

“the theme," you clear your throat, scratching your temple before gesturing towards the full rack, "is everything."

“everything?

yoongi’s eyebrow is raised, not expecting that answer at all

you look back to the new feature, and nOW that you think about it,, there's no cohesion at all

“y-yes. the shop was going for the theme of uhm, everything... all at once — yeah, that's it. everything all at once."

it’s a nice way to put it when not one bit of the new collection goes together

“hmmmm. i like it,” yoongi nods solemnly and tilts his head, “and the material?"

"the material?"

you repeat, eyesight not the best so you can’t really tell anything off the bat or uh aNYTHING really

"t-the material is shirt."

they're all shirts!!! that’s it

yoongi grimaces in disgust, the first time you’ve seen of it

“what?? you can't say that.”

he outsretches his hand to the nearest article, holding it up by the hanger

"this, right here, is satin. see how it shines like silk, but doesn't feel like silk?"

uhm yes

you have a gist of what he’s saying but yes

yoongi picks up a pink button shirt this time, flipping it inside out

"this, is silk charmeuse. look at the inside, is it smooth?"

okay where is he going with this

he urges you to put your hand on the fabric and uhhh you didn't sign up for this???

it looks smooth, sure!! end of discussion

"yea-..."

“it's not. it's rough. it is smooth, but it's dull. silk charmeuse is still silk, but the backing it has is different from the lustrous part."

okay yoongi

you’re starting to feel uncomfortable and it has to do something with the tone he’s using on you

“can't believe you didn't know that!! how about this," he plucks out a shirt with a tiny print at the middle of it, "cotton or polyester and rayon?"

"i don't-"

there’s an itch in your neck that you want to scratch, a tell-tale sign that you just wANT to remove yourself from this situation

“come on!! it's a dead giveaway!!"

:((

why is he being like this?

toon-teen-ten!

“y/n, panty section please. jin almost got bit by a mouse and he needs comforting. two minutes until opening, people!!"

jungkook speaks at the right moment, and jin’s little incident is enough of a reason for you to bolt

yoongi's still looking at you but you can't afford to embarrass yourself further

“bye. happy shopping."

huh?

yoongi’s face falls when you leave as cold as that!! typically when you were going to show him out (when it’s regular shop hours), there’d be a smile :((

there's not even a customer service smile :(((

yoongi goes to the only cashier that's open so far and it happens to be far away from you and a teary seokjin

seokjin's fine he didn't even get bit!! that much he could say

but are you okay? uhhh you kinda went cold on him by the end and he thought he started on a good note

yoongi doesn't visit for another week and you don't find yourself counting the days until you meet him again

you did not have a devil wears prada moment where anne hathaway has an epiphany for fashion knowledge

you just felt belittled at a job that isn’t exactly what you wanted anyways

needed, yes. but wanted? not exactly

you know that basic knowledge about clothes is required in a retail job like this and you have it!! you do!!!!

you’d know more if only there were actual available resources for employees to know!!! nobody besides yoongi asks anyways

you’d know if you have time to yourself and aren’t working two jobs trying to make ends meet and tHEN you could pull up a book or something!!!

you’d know if your life is as lax as yoongi’s and could have the budget to buy new things for yourself every single week

“jin, i need to ask you something.”

he hums as called, looking at you briefly until you get on with it

“do you know the difference between silk and silk charmeuse?"

he shrugs casually while you're sitting inside one of the closed-off fitting rooms to catch a break, sharing a burger because the store’s packed-packed

why did you ask him? it’s too easy

“one's made by worms, and the other's a pokémon."

that,.,., could not possibly be righti* it brings you a laugh and you honestly don’t even try to correct him

it’s 11:15 and you kNOW it’s time to resume your shift, straightening your shirt because atleast one (1) person would hound you when they see a familiar red lanyard

oh you’re hounded alright

“hi! almost thought you were hiding from me for a second.”

yoongi????

oh

you haven’t seen him for a week and you don’t know what to feel in all honesty

"anyways, is this sweater wool or cotton?"

wow

you're quite speechless as he holds up the item

really?

this thing all over again???

why are you even surprised

the only thing that yoongi gets your customer service smile, fishing your hand from inside the sweater to show him

“70% wool."

that's it???

NO GOOD MORNING????

you're mad at him, aren't you?

he knew it :((

he knew something was wrong but he just didn’t know what

he’s gonna fix this!! he will

which is why the very next day, he takes the day off from his work and comes to the store at a time he knows you’d surely be there

you're on cashier duty and you like it actually :D

you have an option to sit and the way you’re just gonna scan pricetags (and occasionally enter the code if it doesn’t work) is really appealing

“good morning!"

you’re about to grab the items from the basket laid on the counter and your eyes could only see the very familiar hand

the same one you’ve seen go through racks and racks

yoongi??

he sets his items one by one, buying himself more time

the first one is the same exact sweater he came to wait for before opening

“you already bought this."

you tell him even before you could hold it back, looking back at him briefly before you scan the tag

“i know. i just wanted to see you."

oh

oh

yoongi threw a bunch of other items (individually) so it would be a longer talk, but you scan each item quickly that he’s grabbing things from the counter

hand sanitizer!!! hair ties!!! keychains!!!! yeah he needs them

“i'm sorry that i tend to spring shit on you most of the time. you don't need to know the difference between silk and silk charmeuse."

you only chuckle then, a meek smile on your face

"it's okay, yoongi.”

“it's not."

... it’s not?

yoongi fidgets, opening and closing his mouth like he’s nervous!!! he’s never had his credit card cancelled but he could only feel that this type of jitterness is more than the former

“can i make it up to you? no lanyards, no baskets, no customer service?? i don't wanna fuck things up with you."

“don't feel obligated-"

“i know i could be a condescending ass who expects people to automatically know fabric and whatnot, but i wanna make it up to you."

alright yoongi’s a really good apology-maker

you mIGHT be even flustered a little

“you're holding the line, yoongi.”

“i cleared my schedule."

“i haven’t!!!!!” - guy in the back

“dinner at my place at 8. i-i promise to make your hard-earned break after your shift worthwhile!!!"

hmmm

maybe that wouldn’t hurt

“okay. just because you're holding the line."

“fine by me."

:))

yoongi transfers all the items he bought, all but one, to his tote bag

he hands back the paper bag to you, scribbling his address on the back of the receipt before he does

he lingers a little while at the counter, the people behind him ALREADY switching lanes to the one seokjin’s just opened beside you

it's the sweater that he has too

yoongi scratches the back of his head, this time being the meek one

“what? m-matching sweaters for our first date. s'cute."

[tsrookie]

Always In My Heart

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Alyssa Brooks)

A/N: On today’s episode of ‘I have no idea wtf I’m doing’, we have something that I cooked up because I had terrible WiFi and no other app but Google docs would open up.

Trope: Fluff, but a tiny bit of angst?

Rating: General

Word Count: 2.3K

Warning(s): Mentions of character death

Summary: Their son has a very important question to ask.

——————————

The delicious aroma of chicken and rice wafted through the Brooks-Ramsey household. The couple worked side by side in the kitchen as they had all those years ago, the only difference being that it was now a dinner for five and not just two.

Allison Dolores Brooks-Ramsey came into their lives nine years ago, and while it was earlier than they would have wanted, they didn’t regret a second of their lives ever since they first heard her voice.

The twins on the other hand, were planned, but nothing had prepared them for the chaos that Nathan and Natalie would bring. A new broken object every week, a dozen fights for the TV every day, and yet were nothing short of tiny tornadoes when they joined forces.

It couldn’t be more perfect.

“What time did Jackie and Emilia say that they would bring the girls back?”

“6:30, I think.”

“Ah. So we have time till 7:00.” They shared a knowing smile. Two aunts taking their nine and six year old nieces to the mall meant a complete raid of the toy store, and a new guitar.

“You need to stop letting everyone spoil the girls just because you have a soft spot for them, Ethan. Ally’s grown old enough to understand that she has her daddy wrapped around her finger, and we don’t need Nat coming to that realisation as well.”

“I don’t- I can’t believe you would accuse me of not loving all my children equally!”, he exclaimed in mock offense.

“Mhmm. So why did I have to come up with an explanation to tell Nathan why his dad wasn’t on board with ordering dessert when he asked for it, but relented once his sisters kept bugging him for another five minutes?”

He opened his mouth in protest, but decided against saying anything for his own good. “Well what can I say? They’ve inherited their mother’s persuasiveness. And I can’t really say no to you, can I?”

Alyssa’s lips curved upwards at that. The playful look in her husband’s eyes caused her to finally break into a grin. “At least you’re self-aware.” Stuffing the rice into the bird she added, “But I can’t exactly tell our son that his dad is too in-love with his mom that he sees her in his daughters and hence can’t say no to them. He’d gag in disgust.”

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head in the crook of her neck. “That he would. Alright I’ll try a little harder to resist their charms. Wouldn’t want my only son to end up hating me.” He said it without a hint of worry over it becoming true someday. Over the years, he’d learned to put aside his fears of not being a good father, and with the help of some therapy, and Alyssa’s unwavering love and support, he’d locked up his insecurities in a box and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean.

They took the stuffed chicken and put it in the oven, washed their hands and plopped down on the couch for some rare downtime.

“Crap.”

“Everything okay?”

“Fred’s mom got called in, so she’s dropping Nate off on her way to work.”

Ethan sighed. “There goes the hour I planned to spend with my wife, who I barely get to spend enough time with these days.”

“I swear, you were never this busy when you were chief. I have no idea why my workload’s ten times bigger.”

“I do.” Ethan smiled with pride. “One usually does have a lot of work when they’re at the front lines of the battle for making free healthcare accessible for every single person in the country. My brilliant wife, though she could choose to leave most of the work to her very competent team, opts to take it all upon herself. So that’s probably the cause behind all the extra workload she complains about.”

She smirked and perched herself onto his lap. “Well your very brilliant wife also knows that you called my team very competent just to avoid hurting my feelings, and that you and I both know that they’ll be running around like headless chickens without me taking care of things.”

“I know, love. But you can still make them do a little more instead of working yourself to the bone while still making sure that you have at least one meal with the kids every day.”

She sighed. “Yeah, to make sure that they don’t forget what I look like.” She leaned in closer. “Besides, are we really going to spend our last few minutes of peace talking about work?”

Just as she uttered the words, the door burst open, and Nathan kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the couch as Alyssa slid down from Ethan’s lap. She shot him a look that very clearly meant What did I just say?

Ethan gave her an apologetic look and ruffled his son’s hair. “Hey buddy. How was your day at Fred’s? I know you wanted to spend more time with him.”

“I did, and we were just about to open his new LEGO set when Mrs. Watson told us that she had to run up to her office for some emergency meeting.”, he pouted. “But it was a nice day. We watched Thor: Ragnarok and Luca, and we would’ve watched another movie if his dad didn’t tell us that two movies were enough for a day.”

Alyssa shot him a mildly stern look. “Well he was right. You’re too young to have movie marathons just yet. Two are more than enough, unless you want to have a headache.”

“But mom, I’m not too young! I’m a big boy! I can swing along the monkey bars at the park faster than Natalie, and soon I’ll swing across buildings just like Spider-Man!”

“Well Spider-Man got bitten by a yucky spider before he swung across buildings. Do you want to be bitten by a gross and poisonous spider?”

“Mommy, not all spiders are gross and poisonous. Dad told me that when I was four and got scared of them at the zoo.”

She rolled her eyes. Leave it to her husband to convince her kids that insects were anything short of creepy and disgusting. In reality, they were, but as someone who ran a mile away at the sight of a butterfly, she wasn’t going to accept that.

“That’s right, Nate. Some of them are certainly very poisonous and dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that you should be scared of them. If you maintain your distance and admire them from afar, there should be no problem at all.”, he said with a pointed look at Alyssa, who just huffed in annoyance.

Nathan giggled, his brown eyes lighting up with amusement. He loved watching his parents playfully bicker. It was way better than seeing them- ugh, kiss.

“We were pretending to be superheroes and Fred used his full name for his pretend name cause it sounded cool, and it is. Fredrick Anthony Watson sounds like something from that show you and mom watch with the guys in the stuffy suits.”

“When did you see us watching the show with the guys in the stuffy suits?”, asked Ethan with a slight hint of concern. Whatever he and Alyssa watched on their free nights was definitely not kid-friendly.

“I don’t remember. Maybe a few months ago.”

Their year old puppy, Ivy, woke up from her nap and bounced into the living room to jump onto her favourite person. Nathan squealed with joy as the fluffy hair of the dog tickled his nose.

Ethan and Alyssa smiled at each other. Getting another dog after Jenner was a decision that took a lot of convincing, but their kids were responsible enough and it was impossible to say no after two years of constant pestering.

“Fred told me that he was named after his great-grandfather William, and that he was this really cool guy who saved a bunch of guys from getting mugged in a dark, dark alley.” He turned to look at his parents as Ivy snuggled into his lap. “Who was I named after mom?”

The question caught her off guard, and she glanced at Ethan for backup.

When they knew that they were having a boy, they immediately knew what to name him. They hadn't, however, anticipated Nathan Daniel Brooks-Ramsey to ask such a question this soon.

Seeing his wife at a loss for words, Ethan spoke up. “C’mere Nate.” He pulled him closer and pressed a kiss atop his head. “We once had a friend named Daniel. He worked at the hospital as a nurse, and he was close to your mom and Aunt Sienna when they were interns.”

Having found her voice, Alyssa joined in. “He was an amazing friend. He was the only nurse in the hospital who helped me out when things got messy, and cheered up Aunt Sienna when no one else could. He’d join us for picnics and movie nights, and you could always count on him if you needed something at the hospital.” She took a deep breath, and Ethan nodded. “Things were going well, but then in my second year, something really bad happened.”

“Oh no.”

“There was this bad guy, who wanted his revenge on another bad guy, and he was ready to risk his own life, and the lives of everyone around him to do so.”

“That’s horrible! Who would want to do something like that?”

Ethan smiled wistfully. “A lot of people in this world actually do. You’re a good person, so you know that it’s wrong. But some people aren’t, and they don’t care about other people getting hurt because of their actions. That night at the hospital, Danny tried to tell the bad guy that it was wrong, and to think things through. But he didn’t listen, and did something that hurt both himself, Danny, Uncle Raf, another friend of ours, and your mom.”

His little eyebrows creased with worry, Nathan asked, “What happened then?”

“He… he died. Along with our other friend, Bobby. Do you remember what we once told you about an autopsy?” Nathan nodded his head. “Well Danny asked for his body to be autopsied, and thanks to him, we were able to find out what was wrong with mom and Uncle Raf.”

He fell silent for a moment, remembering the horrors of the day, and how eternally grateful he was to Danny for being the reason he didn’t lose everything. He couldn’t imagine a life without the love of his life and his children, and he wouldn’t have either if not for the sacrifices that were made.

He looked up at Alyssa, and she squeezed his hand in support. “We’ll tell you more when you’re older, but to make it short, you’re named after a hero too. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have you, your sisters, or mom here with me.”

Nathan wriggled out of his dad’s arms, and set Ivy down so he could hug his mom as tightly as he could.

“Well… if you can hear me Mr. Daniel, I just wanna thank you. Thanks for saving my mom. I love her so much and I’m so thankful that I got to meet her because of what you did. I wish I could’ve met you, you sound like a really cool person, and I’m sure you were. So yeah, thanks. A lot.”

Alyssa’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and she held her son as she expressed her silent thanks along with Ethan.

What they had was precious.

Fifteen years had passed since they first met, and yet each day they fell in love a little more like they did when they held hands for the first time in the dim light of the NICU watching over little Ethan, or when she finally got to see the real him the first time she visited his place; the first time in years he let someone know a little of the worries residing deep in his heart.

With all the odds against them, it was a miracle that they survived, even more so that they managed to raise three perfect children who had more love to share than they could ever comprehend.

And they’d never forget all the reasons that made it possible for them to survive.

Ding!

The timer on the oven went off, and they got to their feet to get the chicken.

“Was he a good cook dad?”

“I… don’t really know, Nate. Your mom knew him better than I did.”

“Well there was this one time where he helped Aunt Sienna bake an amazing cake, so I guess he knew his way around the kitchen.��, Alyssa recollected fondly. It was for Jackie’s birthday, one of the few nights where the competition was completely forgotten about.

Nathan’s face melted into a glowing smile. “I love cake. So I guess I really would’ve loved him.”

She mirrored his radiant expression. “You definitely would’ve.”

“Why don’t you go play with Ivy while mom and I get the food ready? You can help us with the dessert later.”

“We’re having dessert?!”

Ethan grinned at his son’s excitement. “You bet we are.”

“Yay!” They watched as Nathan ran off to go play fetch with Ivy in their enormous backyard.

Ethan pulled Alyssa in for a sweet, lingering kiss as soon as he was out of sight.

“You’ve been wanting to do that for a while now hmm?”

“Something like that.”, he murmured as they broke apart.

She could see the ever-increasing strands of silver in his brown hair, and the faint wrinkles along the sides of his forehead, but his clear blue eyes were just as loving and devoted as she remembered from over a decade ago.

“We have a pretty good life, don’t we?”

Ethan kissed her again. “No, we have the perfect life.”

——————————

A/N 2: Aaaand I’m going MIA again. Honestly though, to everyone who’s read so far, thank you so much for sticking around. Means the world💙

P.S: I finally chose Chyler Leigh as my face claim!

Taglist: @whimsicallywayward15 @aleynareads @starrystarrytrouble @dxnicaramsey @decadentwinnerjudgedream @ilikemenbutonlyethanramsey @rookiefromedenbrook @eramsey28 @the-pale-goddess @ohchoices @wellhelloramsey @mvalentine @swiftlydarcy @utterlyinevitable @akshara16 @sushiharrington @drethanramslay @lion-ess24 @whippedforethanfreakingramsey @drariellevalentine @perriewinklenerdie @blossomanarchy @stateofgracious @takemyopenheart @open-heart-ramseyyy @maurine07 @udishaman @queencarb @ethanramseylover @rookiemarsswiftie @aworldoffandoms @lsvdw-blog @n03lia @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfan @jamespotterthefirst @senseofduties

Please let me know if you want to be added to or removed from the taglist!

[the-passenger-if]

Angsts sequel pls 🥺 how do the ros in the last break up ask react to Newman coming back and trying to fix things?

“I don’t care why you did it,” Fiama says, arms crossed and eyes fixed on the street.

“Can’t we discuss this somewhere else?” C.C. Diner’s regulars are staring at them from the windows. Fiama acceded to give Newman a minute of her time, but she doesn’t seem particularly interested in going anywhere farther than a few feet away from the building.

“No, and I am very busy. Are you done yet?” And she still isn’t looking at them; she hasn’t since they stepped out of the diner.

“Fiama, please. I swear I had very good reasons to do what I did.”

“Mh-hm, so you say.” She glances over her shoulder. “Do me a favor, will you?” Finally, she looks at them and the blank stare she throws their way makes something inside Newman shrivel and die. “Take those reasons and shove them up your ass.”

She makes to leave, and Newman tries once more, “You can’t lie to me. You still care about me, Fiama. You still care about us.”

She lifts an eyebrow. “I did care about us. Six months ago. I’ve moved on. Bruno has moved on.” She gives them a once-over. “You should do the same. Don’t come back, and don’t bother my son. It’s over.” With that, she turns around and goes back into the diner, leaving Newman alone in the street.

---

Jonny listens to Newman’s story in silence, he hasn’t made a sound since they showed up in the video store with an awkward smile stuck on their face.

He closed the door—it was almost closing time, anyway—and came back to position himself behind the counter. Newman didn’t attempt to follow him; they knew Jonny needed that space, at least for now.

“And that’s what happened,” Newman finishes. Jonny doesn’t say anything; he just keeps staring at his fingers on the counter. “I know it doesn’t change the fact that I broke up with you—“

“Over the phone,” Jonny says, then looks at them in the eye. The vulnerability in his expression almost has Newman reaching out, but they can’t, not yet. “You broke up with me over the phone,” he winces as if the memory had slapped him.

“I had no choice.” They aren’t losing their cool, they have their emotions under control. “I wouldn’t have been able to go away if I…” They shake their head, move to the counter flap and lift it just a bit before checking for Jonny’s reaction. He has stepped away from the counter, standing straighter. He’s eying them warily but that’s it. Newman lifts the flap all the way and steps closer to Jonny. “I missed you.” He blinks, and they take another step, and then another one.

Once they are in front of Jonny, he finally speaks. “You hurt me. I shouldn’t…”

“I will make it up to you,” Newman says holding his gaze. “It doesn’t matter how much time it takes me to make it right; I want to be with you, Jonny. I want you.” Sheepishly they take his face between their hands and slowly close the gap between them. Jonny's muscles are tense, but he doesn’t pull away, and after a few seconds he kisses Newman back. When Newman hugs him tight, he finally relaxes, practically melting against them.

---

It had taken them almost four years, but Newman finally caught up with them. Their sneaky companion is sat at the bar. They don’t look anything like the Roach that swaggered their way all those years ago, but they have no doubt it’s them sitting there, sipping a drink that looks radioactive under the blacklight of the club.

It’s surreal. As Newman heads toward them, that’s the only thought in their head. This whole thing is surreal. And then Roach is twirling around on the metal stool, and fixing them with a stare, and suddenly the dreamlike sensation crashes on them with a vengeance.

It really is like staring into a mirror, a mirror that’s four years younger than them, but still. The son of a bitch really stole their face.

“Look at that,” Roach says in Newman’s voice and a sly tilt to the words. “Fancy meeting you here.” They follow Newman with their (Newman’s) eyes until they take a seat next to them. “This is a bad omen, by the way,” Roach continues before taking a sip of their fluorescent cocktail. “Only horrible things happen to those that come across their doppelganger.”

“Even if said doppelganger is fake?”

Roach’s smile turns sharp but they don’t reply, they just empty their glass and set it on the bar. “Alright, tell me everything. I want to know how you realized.”

Newman can feel their mouth pursing at the memory of the first time somebody got overly familiar with them just outside of a gas station restroom. “They called me ‘Roach’.”

“There has to be more than that!” Roach says with a laugh. “You are unforgettable.” They wink at Newman with sadistic glee.

“Ugh… look, Roach. I’m sorry, ok?” Better to get this over with. “Things happened, things that were hard to explain, things I couldn’t drag you through.”

Roach hums distracted, then flags the bartender.

“I want us to fix what we had, I want—“

“Another one,” Roach says with a seductive smile while pushing the empty glass toward the bartender. Then they point at Newman, “And one for my… twin here. I’m planning to get wasted tonight, and they are paying, so keep them coming, hunk.” Then they look at Newman. “The night is young and we have all the time in the world. If you can make me remember why I cared in the first place, then maybe, I’ll think about it, what do you say?”

---

“You’re trespassing private property,” Horizon tells Newman as they see them approach. “Ranch 48 isn’t open to the public.”

Newman comes to a stop in front of their ex-partner and, ok, maybe they weren’t expecting to be welcomed with a kiss but the coldness in those gray eyes feel like stalactites hanging over Newman’s head. They raise their hands. “Horizon, please let me explain.”

“There’s nothing to explain, and I have a very busy schedule. Please, leave.” Their voice is polite, but those eyes… if looks could freeze.

“I have no right to ask anything from you, I know, but you have to give me a chance to explain. Everything that happened was a mistake…”

“’Everything that happened’?” Horizon frowns at them. “You have no idea about what happened. You—“ realizing they are raising their voice, they stop, close their eyes and take a deep breath. Next time they open their eyes, the calm and collected coldness has returned. “You hurt me deeply, I mourned what we had… poorly… but I came out of it stronger, better.” They stand straighter. “I respect myself too much to sacrifice all that over a few excuses.”

“I respect you too!”

Horizon’s mouth twists with skepticism. “If you did, you wouldn’t have come here in the hopes of disturbing whatever little peace I could’ve garnered in the last six months.” They sniff. “Now go before Velour sees us talking. And don’t come back. You aren’t welcome here.”

[moldisgoodforyou]

reunion (i)

warnings: smut !!! 

wordcount: 3.2k lmfao why is it always longer when it’s sexual 

_____

When he finally came to visit - the longest three months of her life, Sophie thought - she saw him from a distance and picked up her pace, heart pounding in her chest, feeling a weird mix of nerves and anticipation. He was clearly lost and glancing around at all the Spanish signs with a confused look, trying to decipher where he should go, until he collided chest-to-face with something - no, someone. 

“Shit, sorry - er -” He racked his brain for the Spanish word she had taught him but came up short once he realized it was Sophie herself, purposely bumping into him. “Sophie!”

She slipped her arms around his waist without hesitation, laughing. “Hi! You’re here!”

And god, if that laughter wasn’t the prettiest thing he’d ever heard. Rafe wrapped both arms securely around her, pressing her to his chest, and inhaled. She had changed some, hair highlighted from the sun and tanned skin all around with some new freckles dusted across her nose, but she still smelled like the lemon and lavender perfume he always loved and her smile was exactly the same, making him feel warm inside almost instantly. 

"God, I missed you so fucking much." He mumbled against her hair.

“Missed you too.” She lifted her head and kissed him, for much shorter than he liked, and he nearly whined when she pulled away. 

"That's all I get after three whole months?" He teased and she grinned, slipping her hand in his back pocket to retrieve his phone and playfully squeezed his butt as she did. 

"You can get more when we're not in the airport, you look like a prime pickpocket target right now." She flicked the collar of his polo - a pale blue, her favorite color on him - with a teasing smile. "C'mon, we have to catch the train. Was your flight okay?"

“Yeah, easy.” His hand found his way to hers like a magnet, not wanting to let her go for a second. “You look incredible.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself. Summer looks good on you.” She grinned, squeezing his hand as they wove their way through the busy airport. Nothing compared to the feeling of being back with his girl.

Rafe refused to let her take his backpack or suitcase, shouldering everything himself. He had left his suitcase half empty, expecting to take home some of her clothes and souvenirs after she had nervously told him she wasn’t sure if she could afford to check another bag. When she showed him some of her favorite things she was going to have to leave behind, over FaceTime with a pout - a unique silk dress and that damned leather jacket - it was easy for him to sacrifice his own space. 

Once they got on the train to get to the city’s center, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to press a kiss to her temple. “I’m never letting you leave me for that long again.”

She furrowed her brow, peering up at him. “What if I wanted to travel?”

“Then I’ll go too, if I can.” He declared with a grin. “I don’t think I’m a fan of not having you around.”

She blushed, ducking her head down with a shy smile. “I can’t believe you’re actually here and not just on my phone screen.”

He nudged her chin up with one knuckle, giving her a short kiss. “All real. What are our plans today?”

Sophie brightened, eager to tell him. “We’re meeting my friends for brunch later, but we have time to drop by my apartment and you can shower, if you want. That okay?”

“Yeah. You’re not gonna let me nap, I assume?” He hid a yawn behind his fist. 

She checked her hip against his with a grin. “No sir. We’re doing brunch, then the beach, then I thought we could go to the market and get things for dinner, I’ll cook. Deal?”

He beamed, ruffling her hair affectionately. “Deal. I wanna hear your Spanish skills too, I’ve only heard it when you’re drunk so far.”

She laughed, tucking her head closer into his chest. “That can be arranged.”

_____

After navigating the metro successfully, they made it to Sophie’s apartment that she shared with her three roommates. Rafe scowled when she presented him with his three-day metro card, already paid for. “How much was this?” 

“No te importa.” She told him with a grin. 

“English, please?” He was already swiping for the Venmo app on his phone but she plucked it out of his hand, shaking her head. “None of your business. I don’t want a reimbursement.” 

“C’mon, I’ve missed out on three whole months of not paying for you. I gotta catch up.” He protested, taking his phone back. 

“No. Too bad.” She unlocked the door to her apartment and swung it wide open, smiling. “Welcome to mi casa.” 

He’d already seen the majority of it on FaceTime, but it was nice to be re-oriented. “I love it, Soph. Very cool, it’s very you.” 

“Thank you, thank you.” Sophie then showed him into her room - and immediately cringed at the state of disarray. She’d been attempting to pack before he came and there was a pile of dirty clothes in one corner, her shoes scattered around and some photos and posters piled up to take home. “Shoot, um, sorry. Let me just get this real quick.” She excused herself, flitting around the room to pick things up as he watched, amused, and took a seat on the unmade bed.

“Didn’t think you were the type to have a messy room.”

“Yes, well, I’m much cleaner with roommates around, and you've never seen my room at home.” She replied, satisfied as she tossed her laundry into the hamper. “Oh, can’t forget that -” She walked past him to try and grab a spare water glass on her nightstand, but he grabbed her around the waist, stopping her in her tracks. “Sophie.”

“Yeah?” She had to remind herself to breathe, not used to him being so damn close - and seriously, how the hell did he smell so good after that long of a flight?

“It’s been an hour.” He trailed one hand down to rest along the small of her back, tracing one finger down her spine along the way.

“An hour...?” She bit her lip, looking up at him through her eyelashes.

“It’s been a whole hour since we’ve been back together and you haven’t properly kissed me yet.” He declared, a wide grin spreading across his face, and her cheeks tinged pink. “Is that so?”

Rafe laughed at her embarrassment, resting one large hand on the side of her face to cup her cheek and pull her in. “C’mere, angel.”

She felt her stomach flutter as she kissed him, shortly, then pulled away with a smirk. “Will that do?”

“Absolutely not.” He leaned back onto the bed, pulling her on top of him abruptly and laughed when she let out a surprised squeal. When he rolled them over, kissing her hard, she promptly hooked an ankle around his legs to draw him closer. “Fuck, I missed you.” She mumbled against his lips, tugging at the hem of his shirt.

“I love you so damn much.” He murmured breathlessly, pulling away only for a second to yank his shirt over his head and toss it aside. Hers followed shortly after, along with her bra. When he started working at the drawstring of her shorts, she grabbed his hand abruptly. “Wait, no - I said we’d meet my roommates at brunch -”

“Fuck brunch.” Rafe stated, placing hot, rushed kisses along her throat.

Sophie moaned, scratching lightly along his back. “Rafe.”

“We can be late.” He bartered, reaching down and rubbing two fingers across her through her shorts. She bit her lip hard, trying her best to think of an argument. “I...I told them...”

“I’ll be quick.” He promised, pushing her up the bed and grinned up at her from between her legs. “Judging by the look of you, you will too.”

She huffed, indignant, but it quickly turned into another moan as he nipped along her inner thigh. “Rafe Cameron.”

“Sophie Flint.” He tugged her shorts down along with her underwear in one fell swoop, then licked a wide strip up her entrance. She yelped in surprise, fisting her fingers in his hair. “Jesus Christ.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay, you can just call me Rafe. Cameron works too. Too fast?” He lifted his head, both hands gripping her thighs, but she practically pushed him back down, scowling. “Shut the fuck up - no, no, more. Just not used to it.” She pleaded, moaning again when he got to work.

“Be good.” He flicked her inner thigh when she nearly clamped her legs around his head. “Fucking - sorry -” She barely got out before she was whimpering, trying her best to keep quiet. If her neighbors heard her, both apartments with students in her program, she’d never hear the end of it.

“Wanna hear you.” He mumbled against her, sliding a finger into her entrance and groaning when she clenched around him. “So fucking tight.”

She whined, tugging at his hair. “Need you. Please.”

“M’ right here. Not letting you go again.” He soothed, teasing with small kisses everywhere but where she wanted it as his fingers worked at her core.

“Rafe, please.” She practically begged, trying her best to pull him back up the bed while her brain was going into overdrive.

“Patience, angel.” He admonished, slowing his pace.

“We’re going to be late.” She argued, pressing her hips up into him. “Need you, now.”

“Use your words, angel.” He grinned, loving the way she twisted and whined under him.

“Don’t make me say it - oh, fuck, right there -”

He withdrew his fingers immediately before she could come, smirking as she cried out in frustration.  Rafe then sucked them both into his mouth, down to the knuckle, and she just watched with wide eyes, until she came back to her senses.

Sophie pulled him up the bed and flipped him over so he was flat on his back, her knees on either side of his hips. She worked at his shorts quickly and unbuttoned them, shoving them down his legs just enough so she could pull out his cock. He hissed at the contact, jerking into her hand, and she grinned at him. “Eager, aren’t we?”

“Soph - I’m gonna cum in like, two seconds if you keep moving like that.” He bit out, watching as she slid her thumb gently back and forth over the head of his cock.

When she nodded and knelt down, tongue darting out to wet her lips, Rafe shook his head quickly and nudged her back up. “Not gonna last.”

“Oh. Oh.” She grinned, proud she was still able to work him up so easily. “Fuck, I don’t have any -”

“In my backpack.” He hurriedly interrupted her. “At the bottom, there’s a strip of them.”

“Prepared.” She commented with a smirk, then crawled off him to grab a condom, running her hands down his thighs as she went. He sat up on his elbows to watch her bend over, grinning sheepishly as she caught him when she turned back around, gold foil in hand. “Quit staring.”

“I can’t. I haven’t seen you in this high definition in ages.” He joked, hands automatically going to her hips as she crawled back on him. She took care of rolling on the condom, making him let out a strained groan, before rocking her hips against his. “Alright?”

“Yes, let me - oh, fuck -” He breathed out as she sank down on him, his grip tightening on her hips. She winced, lifting up a little with her hands braced on his abdomen. “Okay, angel?” He asked with concern, reaching up to tug the end of her hair a little.

“Yeah, just, one second.” She sat down on him, slower, and her eyes fluttered shut as the feeling went from a pinch of pain to pleasure. 

“There you go. Good girl.” He murmured as she started rolling her hips against his, slowly picking up the pace.

“Fucking hell.” She mumbled - she’d never quite expressed how much good girl turned her on, but he had seemed to pick up on it over time. He kept a firm grip on her hips or just under her ass, nearly bruising the skin as he helped her ride him, but she didn’t mind one bit. “So full, fuck.”

“Yeah? Doing so good for me, Soph. So good at riding me.” He praised, one hand going up to toy with her nipple while the other went south to her clit, making her gasp when he rubbed steady circles across it.

“Baby, I’m - I can’t -” she started, her pace becoming a little more frenzied.

He was struggling to hold it too, nodding. “I know. Come for me, angel, show me how good you can be.”

His words were enough to push her over the edge and she whined, letting her head drop back as she came, digging her nails a little into his chest. As she clenched around him it triggered his own release, and he groaned, breathing heavy. “Fuck, Soph.” 

They both lay there in silence for a few moments, her head nuzzled into his neck and their pants filling the air. When she moved a little, attempting to get off him, he grabbed her hips suddenly, hissing - and she paused, a little incredulous. “Are - are you seriously still hard?”

He gave her a slow, cocky grin. “Maybe.”

“Oh my god.” She giggled, pressing a kiss to the column of his throat and her phone chimed, making her wince. “God damnit. What time is it?”

Rafe was willing himself to make the erection go away - a difficult task when he was literally still halfway inside her, and she kept shifting on top of him. “No idea. Do I need to take care of this...or...?”

“Um.” She carefully crawled off him and reached for her phone on the nightstand. Sophie bit back a grin and glanced at her phone, shaking her head. “Okay. If we leave in eight minutes, we can make it to the metro stop and get to brunch only fifteen minutes late - Rafe!”

He had gotten up and scooped her off the bed in a bridal carry, then kicked open the door and paused. “Where’s the shower?”

She squirmed, fighting his grip until he put her down, then pushed open a door. “Here. But we can’t go together, it’s tiny. I’ll go first, but I’ll be quick -”

“You’re never quick.” He nudged her from behind, pushing her into the bathroom and followed her in, locking the door. She flicked on the shower then turned around, eyeing him over as she waited for it to get warm, arms crossed over her chest.

“You’re staring.” He accused, smirking.

“I can’t believe you’re still hard.” She mumbled, taking a mental picture.

“Well, I - can you blame me!” He blushed as he gestured at her body, hand going to wrap around his cock. “I’ll get rid of it, just let me -”

Sophie watched with her mouth slightly parted for a moment, acutely aware of the tiny bathroom beginning to fog up and the sight in front of her, unsure if she was lightheaded because she hadn’t eaten yet or - well - because of him. “Let me.”

He looked up at her with darkened eyes and a teasing smile, still slowly stroking himself. “Think you can handle it?”

She sunk to her knees in front of him, sliding her hands up his thighs. “Shut up or I’ll bite,” she threatened.

He laughed, but it turned into a choked groan when she took him completely in her mouth, not wasting any time. “Soph - fuck, I’m seriously not going to -”

She bobbed up and down on him, steadily increasing her pace as her hand worked at the base of his cock, the other hand digging her nails into the back of his thigh. “S’okay.”

“I can - d’you want to -” he struggled to think of a complete sentence, wrapping his hand in her hair and tucking it aside.

“Hm?” She pulled off him to ask, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Don’t wanna - your mouth -” Rafe panted out, leaning back against the bathroom counter for some stability, weak-kneed.

“Oh.” She put her mouth all the way down on him, holding him for a second before pulling away with a shy grin. “Um...you can cum on me. If you want.”

“Fucking - you’re serious?” His eyes went as wide as saucers and she could tell he was seconds away from the edge as she nodded, trying not to look too eager to please. “Gonna shower anyway.”

“Angel. Fucking angel.” He muttered, only pumping himself a few times before coming on her chest, groaning probably a little too loud. She grinned at the way he went slack and reached to pull her up and bring her close immediately, always cuddly post-orgasm.

Sophie dipped her finger in the mess across her skin and licked it with a smirk, holding back a laugh as his jaw nearly dropped open. “Mm. Breakfast.”

“Oh my god.” He leaned down and kissed her, hard. “Careful, or I’ll have an issue again.”

She laughed and shoved him away, pulling back the shower curtain. “We’re so fucked. So late.”

“I am.” He agreed, trying to step in behind her and wedge himself into the tight space. When she poured soap into her hands and began to wash her chest, he shook his head quickly and stepped back, snapping the shower curtain shut. “I’m gonna wait.”

“Rafe, we can just hurry - I’ll wash your hair -” She protested, reaching her soapy hand out for him. 

“No, you’re the problem here.” He laughed, a little strained. “Do your thing and I’ll hop in after, you’ll have to get clothes and whatever anyways. Pull something out of my suitcase for me to wear?”

“You can’t get your mind off sex for three minutes to shower?” She teased.

“I’ve literally been waiting three months for this again. No I cannot.” He smirked, leaning back against the bathroom wall with his arms crossed as he waited.

“I’ve done just fine.” She told him, as if to prove a point. He scoffed. “I think you’re forgetting about when drunk you left me a voicemail about how you missed me so bad, then a separate one - and I repeat - for my dick, because you missed it too.”

“Shut up.” She finished her shower and stepped out, dripping wet, and Rafe had to shut his eyes while he got in, making a show out of looking away. “Tease.”

“Would never tease. Ever.” She grinned and pulled the curtain back just enough to stick her head in, and maybe ogle for a few seconds. “You have two minutes.”

By the time they were out of the shower, dressed, on the metro and walking into the restaurant, it was obvious what they had gotten up to as she met up with a big group of her friends. Luckily, as per the Spanish way, half of them were just as late as Rafe and Sophie and a few didn’t even show til after they arrived.

One of Sophie’s roommates, Isobel, grinned knowingly as Sophie slid into the seat next to her, Rafe in tow. “Metro on strike?”

Sophie suppressed a grin, squeezing Rafe’s hand under the table. “You know it.”

 taglist: @whoeveniskendall @kkmaybank @karsinner @outerbanksbro @outerbankspreferences @randomficsandshit @sunshineitsfine44 @jailcalledlife @tovvaa @moniamaybank @illbesafeforyou @dontjinx-it @freddymaybank @jjmaybankzz @g4bster @oopsiedoopsie23 @babygal-babygal @thecuthoney

[the-pale-goddess]

Ethan & Tiffany: Endgame (HC)

A quick reminder: I've rejected canon Third Year completely, so mind that none of OHTY bs happens in my E&T canon timeline.

A/N: I tried my best to write every major fact down - hopefully the final product isn’t too messy or too boring, I’m new to the headcanon business and this isn’t even written in the headcanon form because I’m a rebel lol

Huge thanks to the lovely Anon who requested this HC and every single one of you still interested in E&T’s shenanigans, your support is the greatest gift I could ever receive! If you have some more specific questions about these two, feel free to hit my askbox anytime 💕

Now let’s check what’s in store for Tiffany and Ethan!

Children

Neither of them planned children in their lives; they were perfectly comfortable in the relationship they had—living together, advancing their glittering careers while supporting each other, slaying the game as the ultimate power couple.

But life has its ways, of course, and a week prior to their third anniversary Tiffany found out she was pregnant. The news sparked blind panic in the 30-year-old doctor; she thought her whole world fell like dominoes. Tiffany wouldn't intentionally start a family: she'd just started turning her dreams and plans into reality and she didn't even consider herself fit to be a mother (even though deep down she craved it).

She'd spent an entire week full of doubts, listing all her options, before she finally shared the news with Ethan. His reaction was surprisingly calm, considering his stance on having children. Based on the evidence gathered throughout the week, he'd already suspected pregnancy and did some calculations on his own.

They both agreed it wasn’t the best time—their busy schedules didn’t allow them to even reconsider the concept of starting a family. Nevertheless, the baby was coming, and their hearts filled with strange excitement. Having a baby on board seemed surreal at first, but after the dust had settled they felt oddly content about the unforseen circumstances.

E&T's world turned upside down the second their son was born. Raising a child happened to be the greatest challenge these two brilliant doctors had encountered. Luckily, they both relish a good challenge. Guided by the unexpected overflow of affection, they quickly settled into the alien routine of parenthood.

Nathaniel Jonah (also known as NJ, Nate) turned out to be a perfect blend of his parents' most prominent features & traits: Ethan's ocean eyes and stubbornness mixed with Tiffany's smile and warm heart.

Three years later, another surprise awaited. The most shocking thing about the second pregnancy was that it didn't happen sooner (they'd been exceptionally careless). Nicolette „Letty”, a spitting image of her mother, stole Ethan's heart from the start, bringing even more joy to their controlled chaos.

The fancy condo was too small for a family of four, so The Ramdams were forced to find a new home. They moved to a dreamy house in the Boston suburbs merely a month before their daughter was born.

The third one (for a change) received a proper invitation to this world. Tiffany wasn't the biggest fan of the idea of having another baby, but her window was closing (she was 38) and Ethan's palpable excitement tipped the scales. Everyone jokes Aine must be adopted because she's the most unproblematic angel, unlike her parents.

The family wouldn't be full without pets: Nettie (British Shorthair cat) & Hopper (English bulldog).

Marriage

Marriage was never on their agenda. Neither of them felt the need to make their relationship formal, it wouldn't change anything between them—they were already acting like a married couple. Both Tiffany and Ethan think there are more valuable symbols of love than some paper signed in the presence of everyone they know. Partnership they were in seemed like the most comfortable and obvious choice.

The topic resurfaced with the pregnancy news. Our good guy Ethan, our Mr Must-Do-What’s-Right, proposed to Tiffany on their third anniversary dinner, right after they discovered they were expecting. He did it because it made sense. Because it was convenient. Because it was a decent thing to do.

But guess what...Tiffany rejected the proposal. She didn’t want to marry out of obligation. If they were really going to jump into marriage, she wanted it to matter. Ethan understood her point of view, though it didn't stop him from jokingly annoying her on every given occasion that she rejected him.

He waited two years before popping the question again. This time she said yes.

Dr. Grumpsey was willing to agree on a lavish wedding if Tiffany would insist. Lucky for him, his woman hates big, conventional weddings and all that unnecessary attention around the reception. They're both very private people, so they planned the wedding they were actually excited about.

They eloped to Miami where it all started, exchanging vows to the accompaniment of the ocean waves, with little NJ by their side. The wedding reception was just three people enjoying their day at the beach.

As you may suspect, their friends and family flew into a rage when they found out the wedding took place behind their backs. Jackie's death threats were particularly disturbing, so E&T decided to throw an afterparty for their loved ones only.

Career

Tiffany saw her future in diagnostics and followed that path, balancing her personal goals with striving for improvement in patient care. The word about her accomplishments with one of the best diagnostics teams spread fast; shortly after her challenging yet successful residency, Doctor Addams quickly proved to be one of the most valuable and respected diagnosticians—not only at Edenbrook, but also statewide, and later nationwide. She cracked some of the toughest, most hopeless cases, saving lives of many patients considered lost causes.

During her first pregnancy, her career was already on high speed and the situation made her even more determined to keep it that way. She didn't want to sacrifice her newly established position and Ethan did everything he could to support her and her career development.

She remained a vital part of Edenbrook's Diagnostics Team under Ethan's leadership for a few years. Their minds combined gave spectacular results and above it all they truly enjoyed working together. However, when Letty was born sharing responsibilities at home and managing the time got significantly harder. With minimal hesitation, Ethan decided it was his cue to leave.

He'd been thinking about the change for much longer than he was willing to admit: over the years he'd accomplished everything he could dream of and Edenbrook had become more of a duty than a challenge. So he quit, leaving the team in the most capable hands of Doctor Addams-Ramsey.

For a year and a half The Ethan Ramsey was a stay-at-home dad, juggling family, research for his second book and setting up his clinic with none other than Tobias Carrick.

Ethan wasn't 100% convinced if starting the practice with Tobias would be a wise move, but the clinic exceeded his expectations. Apart from the great sense of accomplishment, he finally gained full independence at work. And there were no bloody interns to babysit anymore.

When little Ramdams got older, he approached Tiffany with a job offer; the best diagnostician in the country was the last missing link in his clinic. She let it marinate for a few years and accepted the offer at the launch of her second book, soon after Letty's 18th birthday.

____

If there’s a typo or a mistake somewhere...No, there isn’t kgjdkgjdk

Thanks for reading 🥰 I have a few exciting fics in the making (both AUs & canon) and I hope I’ll be able to finish them soon!