#we really don't want tones of stones on our heads

[msue0027]

It's a miracle Merlin's never moved anything load-bearing with his luckily falling stones at very convenient moments

[rosesareredrosa]

One More Chance

Mattheo Riddle x fem reader

Summary: Y/n stumbles upon Mattheo while going to the library after they broke up but Mattheo wants One More Chance in their relationship

w/c: 832

The dimly lit corridors of Hogwarts were quiet, the echo of footsteps bouncing off the ancient stone walls as Y/N made her way towards the library. The evening was drawing in, the golden light from the setting sun filtering through the narrow windows and casting long shadows. She pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders, more out of habit than need—after all, it was late autumn, and the chill had only just started to creep in.

As she turned the corner, she nearly bumped into someone. Y/N took a step back, her breath catching when she recognized who it was.

"Mattheo," she greeted, her voice coming out steadier than she felt. She hadn't expected to run into him, not here, not now. Her pulse quickened, memories she had tried so hard to bury threatening to resurface.

Mattheo Riddle stood there, hands shoved into the pockets of his robe, his dark eyes watching her intently. There was a glimmer of something—mischief, perhaps?—that danced behind his gaze, something that had always drawn her in. His tousled curls and easy smirk were as infuriatingly attractive as ever.

"Y/N," he replied, his voice smooth, carrying a hint of surprise that he didn't bother to mask. "Fancy running into you here."

She stiffened slightly, unwilling to let herself be swayed by the familiar charm in his tone. She had built walls around her heart since they had parted ways, and she wasn't about to let him chip away at them again.

"I was just heading to the library," she said coolly, sidestepping him. "Excuse me."

But Mattheo moved too, blocking her path. "In a hurry?"

Y/N sighed, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "What do you want, Mattheo?"

He tilted his head, studying her as if trying to unravel a mystery. "I just wanted to talk."

"We have nothing to talk about," she retorted, keeping her tone brisk, despite the way her heart thudded in her chest.

"Is that so?" Mattheo mused, not moving an inch. "You don't still have feelings for me, do you?"

The question caught her off guard. Heat rose to her cheeks, but she forced herself to meet his gaze with a sharp glare. "Oh, why would I? We broke it off for a reason, didn't we?"

Mattheo's smirk faltered, replaced by a more serious expression. His eyes softened slightly, and for a moment, the bravado dropped. "We did. But it doesn't mean it was easy. Or that it didn't matter."

Y/N felt her resolve wavering, memories of late-night conversations, shared secrets, and stolen kisses flooding her mind. She had convinced herself that ending things was for the best, that they were too different, that he was too reckless and she too cautious. But the truth was that she had never really let go of him.

She shook her head, determined to keep her emotions in check. "It doesn't matter anymore, Mattheo. We made our choices."

He sighed, his posture relaxing as he leaned back against the wall. "Maybe. But I can't help but wonder…if we made the right ones."

Her heart clenched at his words, but she forced herself to stay firm. "You can't change the past."

"Maybe not," he conceded, "but the future? That's still up for grabs."

Y/N bit her lip, torn between the desire to walk away and the pull of what could be. The chemistry between them had always been undeniable, a spark that never quite fizzled out, even after they parted ways.

"Why are you saying this now?" she asked, her voice softer, almost vulnerable. "What's changed?"

Mattheo looked at her with a seriousness she hadn't seen before. "I realized that letting you go was a mistake. I've been thinking about it a lot, and I can't shake the feeling that we gave up too easily."

She stared at him, unsure of what to say. Part of her had hoped he would say something like this, while the other part was terrified of reopening old wounds. "Mattheo…"

He stepped closer, his voice low, earnest. "I'm not asking for everything to go back to the way it was. But I am asking for a second chance. To see if we can figure this out, together."

Y/N's heart pounded in her chest as she looked up into his eyes. She saw sincerity there, a glimmer of the boy she had fallen for mixed with the man he was becoming. The future was uncertain, but as she stood there, she realized that maybe, just maybe, it was worth taking the risk.

"Alright," she whispered, barely believing her own words. "One more chance."

A slow, genuine smile spread across Mattheo's face, one that made her heart skip a beat. "One more chance," he echoed, his voice filled with promise.

And as they stood there, in the quiet corridor of Hogwarts, it felt like the beginning of something new—something that had been left unfinished, but was now ready to be written.

[anniebass]

baby don't be mad

1.3k word actverse ficlet under the jump rating: M tags: dialogue-heavy, beginning of the relationship, the boys are arguinggg, old man eddie's being a clueless slut, and also a dweeb, and steve's being... a person that rly needs therapy lol

Rapid catchups, they name it, though it doesn’t really need a name, it’s basically just talking. Early on Eddie realizes he doesn’t know all that much about his sexy old-but-new long distance serious boyfriend, that he possesses a fuckton of outdated information, that, duh, people change, especially in the long-ass time they spent apart. That the habits and opinions of a twenty-year-old shithead don’t necessarily last until someone’s forties.

That evening, they do the rapid catchups, starting off easy, prompted by the takeout dinner they have at Steve’s: best Asian food, go, at which without a second thought Steve says Chinese, while Eddie goes with Japanese, love me some sushi, yum. Later, when they’re full of kung pao and mapo tofu, lazily digesting on the couch, half-watching an old movie where Sharon Stone saunters across the screen and smolders at bad men, Steve says: you have to sleep with a woman, any woman in the world, dead or alive, go.

Eddie groans and slides down the couch, throws his hands up: dude, I don’t know! Uh, like maybe— Cleopatra? Or maybe one of those amazonian greek warriors with one boobie?

So, no one you actually know the face of? he says, with a little smirk.

Man, I don’t— I mean, there are some beautiful women walking this earth, like stunning stunning women I can’t get enough of, but that don’t mean I want to fuck them! My willy shrinks at the thought, he explains meekly, and shrugs, clicking his tongue: I dunno, maybe Eartha Kitt? She seems very fun.

Good choice, mutters Steve, and to Eddie’s your turn he tilts his head, scratches his nose: I don’t know if that question really applies to me. But if I had to have a sex list, it would be… Linda Evangelista? Or Sharon, she’s hot. Or— yeah, Monica Belucci, Jesus. Her, definitely. If not her then Cleopatra, that’s actually a great answer, she must have been good for all that shit to go down around her, he says with a smile, and Eddie sighs dreamily, oh, I’d love to watch. From the closet, imagine myself in her place. In a little egyptian wig, he adds, to which Steve snorts, rolling his eyes.

Alright, my turn. Best casual sex you’ve ever had, go, says Eddie, and Steve hums at that, leans back on the couch, rubbing his chin, mumbling under his breath, until he sighs and says: I actually didn’t have that much of it beyond my teens, and what I had back then was very… teenaged, y’know. And in that short gap between my first and second wife I slept with just three people, two dudes and one woman, and neither of those was mind-blowing. The guys were kinda disappointing, I thought after so many years of straight sex I’d be blown away, but it was just… okay. Actually—, he adds, shaking his head: it sucked. I was drunk, they were drunk, I don’t remember much of it. Or don’t want to. I remember stinky balls. So, I dunno—, he says, and sighs, and glances at him: am I a big loser if I say the best one was when we reconnected? Could say it was still casual back then, right? When we fucked in the church, or by the pool, or—, yeah, there was a lot of it, on that trip.

It really was magical, agrees Eddie, smiling at him.

So, uh, your turn, says Steve. Best you've ever had, go.

Oh, man, mutters Eddie. I know my answer to that. Japan, in the mid-nineties. We were on tour and stayed for a few nights in Tokyo, and I got to explore the city, research shit with the help of a very discreet translator, and finally, on our last night there, I ended up in a gay bar. Very hush-hush, a basement place hidden away in some grimy back alley, he says, lowering his voice into sultry tones of gossip. Met a guy there, this… slightly chubby middle-aged businessman type, suit and tie and briefcase, wedding ring on his finger, very regular looking guy, and we drank sake through the night, sang some karaoke, and ended up in some seedy by-the-hour love hotel. He didn’t know who I was, didn’t speak a lick of English, I was obviously drunk, but I still remember that night like it was yesterday. God, just— the way that guy fucked me, the way he seemed to know every inch of my body without having seen it before, the way he just knew what I wanted without any language, it was insane. We did it a few times that one night, practically without stopping, and never saw each other again. I actually jerk off to that memory to this day.

To this, Steve lets out a small hm, purses his lips and leans back, crossing his arms, and Eddie clicks his tongue, leaning closer, touching his shoulder: aw, don’t be jealous. That was casual, but out of all people, of course you are my number one, no contest. I just— remember that one time in Japan, because it worked so well without language, and that’s always kinda hot. Language of love, all that cheesy stuff. Up to that point and following it, it'd mostly happen with some hot Brazilians.

Okay, he says.

Eddie sighs, watching his face: Steve, you know that’s what my life was like back then, this neverending barrage of hookups. And most of those weren’t even that good, like, you talk of stinky balls? I met dozens, slobbered over them anyway like they were fucking Ferrero Rocher!, he says to a small groan in return, then sighs, speaks softer: being with you is a completely different quality from that, even from my previous relationships. It’s way different. With Marcell, we both slept around, there wasn’t much that we had in common beyond, like, incredible attraction at the beginning, and the fact that we work in the same industry, could endlessly talk about that. And with Zu, we— we really loved each other, but we weren’t a good fit. It was this weird thing where she needed someone more masc, but also I needed someone more masc, he says with an amused scoff. We were two bottoms in love, and it’s hard to make it work in the long term, without fucking other people. We’re way better off as friends. And the other dudes I dated, it was just— me being a drunken asshole, most of the time. I was a very shitty boyfriend for a looong-ass time.

There’s a stretch of silence, and Steve slides down the couch, still frowning: man… I just wonder why you asked that question in the first place. Because it seems to me like you wanted to brag a little about this incredible hookup you had in fucking… Japan. Do you miss fucking other people, Eddie?

He sighs, rakes a hand through his hair: Steve, I literally just told you I don’t. I might romanticize it, the— the way I might romanticize being on drugs, but I don’t want to go back to that. I asked because I want to know everything about you! I dunno, I— I guess I like Japan. It’s such a weird place, I really want to go back there, he says and inches closer, placing a calm hand on his thigh: come with me. Like, for two weeks or something. We’d take the girls with us, go in the summer or for the spring break. Would be cool to just wander around, shop, sing karaoke, eat tons of good food. Go to Kyoto, see the geishas, tea ceremony. Go to hot springs. Japan’s truly like no place you’ve ever been to.

I didn't know you liked it that much. A trip does sound nice, says Steve, with a small smile. Emily would go crazy, she loves those cartoons. Chels would like it too, I think.

Eddie smiles and squeezes his leg: sounds like a plan. Also, just to— get it out of the way: from the moment you first kissed me, I stopped thinking of us as casual. I was, like, fully fully back in love with you in point two seconds. Even before that, to be honest. If I ever for a single moment considered that a hookup, it’d totally blow that businessman out of the water. If you want, I could show you, uh, how I blew him out of the— fucking—, he falters, then snorts: sorry, failed metaphor. But you catch my drift.

Yes, please, says Steve.

[serverusslaype]

Shameless, pt. 10

Severus Snape x professor!reader fic

Shameless Masterpost

it's ya girl, back again...! 😼

hello, hi, how are you all? :) hope you are doing well! i'm feeling a lot better, i'm just congested now fml </3

this chapter is shorter, but not too short. as in it's not as long as the previous ones - they were like 6,000 words+, this is only 4,000-5,000 i think. The main reason is because it didn't really make sense to me to have it longer. so i hope you guys enjoy it!

thank you for all the likes, reblogs and most importantly the replies you left on the last chapter, they had me fucking dying oh my lord. 😭 you guys are so funny honestly. please keep leaving stuff like that it truly makes me laugh and makes my day 🌟🩷

Also guys what the fuck since when could you attach songs????? IM ABOUT TO GO BACK AND ADD SOME ON THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS BECAUSE WHATTT MIND BLOWN

without further ado......

You trailed behind McGonagall and Snape, keeping your eyes glued to the floor in front of you as your body was still on fire from your encounter with Severus.

"How on Earth did Black manage to slip into the castle?" Snape hissed, briefly looking at McGonagall who was striding beside him, her brows laced together with worry. A shiver slid down your spine as Snape's stern voice bounced off of the stone corridor, creating a rather dramatic echo. Only moments ago were you about to kiss the man, totally disregarding the fact that you were seeing Ben. What a fucking mess.

Then again, you thought, how could anyone not get lost in his eyes? Gods, you were such a pathetic excuse for a woman as of right now.

Severus's eyes were distracting, almost magnetic-like, as they beckoned you to look further within them, silently persuading you to forget about anything and everything that mattered to you. You were sure he didn't intend to do such a thing, or maybe that's what you were telling yourself, but in that intimate moment with him, you couldn't help but feel inclined to kiss him. Whether it was the heat of the moment or not, you were sure he wanted to kiss you too.

"We're not sure," McGonagall replied, sighing in a distressed manner as she ripped you from your self-destructive thoughts. "Even Albus is baffled as to how he eluded our defences." You flicked your eyes up to glance at Minerva. You sort of felt like you shouldn't be here, it's not like you'd be much help if Black appeared in front of you right this second - your knowledge and skill in combat was nowhere near the level of McGonagall and Snape, you were certain that you'd probably be a burden. The thought of slipping away down a corridor poked at your brain, taunting you.

"Y/N?" Minerva's worrisome voice once again pulled you from your thoughts. You looked up, face flushing as you met Severus's curious eyes. Quickly glancing away, you focused your attention on the Gryffindor Head of House, afraid of the outcome if you stared any longer at him.

"Yes?" You cleared your throat, ignoring the way Severus was side-eyeing you from behind Minerva.

"Would you mind going to check the greenhouses?" She asked. Severus snapped his head at Minerva, clearly in disagreement with her proposal. You frowned slightly at his quick reaction, a tad offended.

"Minerva, I don't think that's a wise idea." Severus said rather sternly, glancing at you for a brief moment. Your face felt hot again.

"Y/N is more than capable of handling herself, Severus." Minerva replied, matching his stern tone. Severus's jaw ticked as he huffed quietly, looking away from the the older witch, silently feuding with her decision. She turned to you and offered a reassuring smile. You appreciated the faith that she had in you, but you weren't sure it was... correctly placed, to put it lightly. You pursed your lips, slightly awkward, stuck between staring at Severus's doubtful eyes and Minerva's confident ones. As you met Snape's eyes, he looked away, his brows furrowing. Your stomach somersaulted, but you weren't sure it was in the positive way you wanted. "Severus, check the dungeons." Minerva ordered, and he obliged with a curt nod, leaving almost immediately without a blink at you.

You shut your eyes briefly, fighting the urge to scream. Fuck, did you just make it extremely awkward between you two? Or was that just him being his naturally dismissive self? Was he just saving face because the two of you were in the presence of McGonagall? Did he actually lean in to kiss you as well or... did you imagine that?

"Y/N?" Minerva called, once again pulling you from your thoughts.

"Hm?" You blinked, eyes widening quickly as you realised you had a job to do. "Sorry, I was just-"

The older witch gently touched your forearm, causing you to look up at her with twinkling eyes. "What's going on with you and Severus?" Minerva questioned you, keeping her voice low but curious. As you looked at her, hesitantly, you saw sadness in her eyes, or perhaps... pity? "I know what I saw." She added rather glumly. You were a little confused at her tone, why did she seem so... sad about this?

"I don't know what you're talking about." You choked out awkwardly. Her brows knitted together as she leant her head back slightly, almost like she was disappointed in you.

"Don't make me sound like a fool, Y/N." She said. That was the same tone she had taken with you when you were a student. You immediately tore your eyes away.

"I..." Your mouth stayed open for a moment, unsure of what to say. "It's... complicated."

"It always is with Severus." Minerva sighed through her nose, a little agitated. You looked back and tilted your head at her, confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Severus is a complicated man, Y/N. I'm not sure you're aware of just how far his... trauma... goes." She said quietly, her tone switching back to it's usual soft one. You broke your gaze from Minerva's and shifted it to the ground thoughtfully.

"Nothing will come of it," You shook your head as the image of Ben flooded your mind. You winced. "It was a mistake, I shouldn't have done that, it was just a spur of the... moment... sort of thing." You shrugged, trying to ignore the pain that was currently blossoming in your chest at the sound of your own words. "I'm, err, seeing someone, anyway."

"Oh?" Minerva quirked a brow at you. This must sound so disorderly to her. You're seeing someone, but she had walked in on you almost kissing Severus? She probably thinks you're some kind of harlot that can't keep her legs closed now. Jesus. Nice one.

"Um, Benjamin- Benjamin Bluewater, I'm sure you're familiar with that name..." You trailed off, shrinking as you awaited her answer. You knew he wasn't a fond topic amongst the teachers at Hogwarts back in the day, so you were always preparing yourself for a scolding or some sort of judgemental remark.

"Oh, yes, I remember Mr Bluewater." Minerva hummed thoughtfully, staring at you with her inquisitive eyes. You felt as if you had to explain yourself.

"In regards to the... thing you saw- Severus and I, it's complicated, like I said, there's this weird... tension between us-" You were rambling now, and you couldn't stop yourself. Merlin, someone stop you, please. "I can't really explain it, I mean I have feelings for him, but he didn't feel the same, then I-I met Ben, and then today happened, and... it's just a whole... mess, Minerva, I don't know what to do." You huffed, clearly distressed with the situation. You looked down at the floor, your cheeks flushing with embarrassment, too worked up to even look your colleague and former-professor in the eye. "I'm sorry, I know there's another situtation at hand and I shouldn't be bothering you with such... trivial things but..." As you looked up, a soft smile had made it's way onto her face. You were rather shocked to see that. You'd expected another disappointed frown.

"Y/N," Minerva said soothingly, placing a calming hand upon your frantic ones, "as much as I respect and admire Severus, I think you should focus on Benjamin." She sighed softly. "Save your heart. Severus will only break it." A sad smile crossed her features, almost like she knew how you felt. Your mouth was parted - mainly from shock. Perhaps you should listen to Minerva, she'd known Severus for much, much longer than you have. You didn't know what to say, so you only nodded, closing your mouth slowly. "Now, I have to find Albus. Will you make sure the greenhouses are safe?"

"Of course." You swallowed, a feeling of uncertainty settling upon you.

"Lumos." You muttered, aiming your wand in the darkened room, the reflections of your wand glittering against the mossy windows. Your eyes darted around the greenhouse, searching for any sign of Black having been inside or nearby.

Everything seemed to be as you'd left it. All of your assignments were in the correct place, no plants nor pots had been knocked over and broken... no signs of forced entry... A sigh of relief slipped out of you, your tense body relaxing. Though, before you got too comfortable, the sound of a twig snapping behind you reversed all indications of your relief.

"Jesus!" You cried out, whirling around like a bullet, your frightened eyes softening a tad as they fell upon a tall, cloaked figure - none other than Severus Snape. "Please, can you not do that?!" You sighed, a hand flying to your chest in a feeble attempt to settle your racing heart as your cheeks painted themselves pink.

An amused smirk tugged at Snape's lips as his hands were clasped behind his back, staring down at you. "And not witness the terrified look upon your face?" Severus quipped, clearly relishing in your entertaining reaction. "I must disagree."

"At least let me know you're there, I could have hurt you." You replied with a glare, looking up to see an incredulous brow cocked up on Severus's face. You rolled your eyes at him. "Okay, I wouldn't have hurt you, but still, just... tell me next time." You huffed, rather exhaustedly. "Why are you here anyway? Aren't you meant to be checking the dungeons?" 

"I did." Severus nodded, allowing his eyes to study your still-petrified, yet red face. You swallowed, feeling rather vulnerable under his gaze. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, debating whether to speak again. "I just wanted to make sure you were... alright."

"Oh," You choked, feeling like someone had just winded you. Did he really just say that? "I'm okay." You said, placing your wand back inside the pocket of your forest-green robes.

"I can see that." Severus muttered, blinking slowly at you. McGonagall's words uttered in your mind as you felt yourself becoming lost in his dark, black eyes once more.

'Save your heart. Severus will only break it.'

"We should head back." You cleared your throat as your soft voice pierced the blanket of silence that had fallen upon the two of you. "The greenhouses are clear. I doubt Black would choose to hide out here, it's not exactly... erm, tidy." An embarrassed grimace twisted your features as you glanced around the room.

"I don't suppose it helps when one is bombarded with... gifts." Severus said, spitting the last word out like it was poison. You glanced up at him, frowning.

"And what's wrong with that?" You folded your arms against your chest rather defensively.

"In my humble opinion," Severus gave a curt sigh through his nostrils, evidently disapproving of Ben's tendency to send you a copius amount of flowers amongst other things. "Few small, meaningful gifts are far more superior than a prolific amount of materialistic gifts." He finished, sneering slightly at the wilting flowers that were dotted around your greenhouse, all adorned with different handwritten notes. Inside, you agreed with Snape, and you wished that that was the case with Ben, but he just seemed to think that throwing gold and flowers at you would keep you interested. Of course, you didn't mind him sending you such things, you were grateful, but it was getting a little tiresome. 

"Just because you don't get any." You teased, trying to hide the cheeky smile that tugged at your lips. Severus's head snapped to yours, an icy glare piercing your soul. You shivered slightly, a little sheepish as his sharp eyes dug into yours.

"I don't need gifts to satisfy my ego." He quipped, turning his nose up at you. Clearly, he didn't appreciate your light-hearted joke.

"Right, because talking down on people does that for you." You retorted, narrowing your eyes at Severus. Your patience was thin today, obviously.

"You seem to have grown a backbone, Y/N." Severus stepped towards you.

"I need one with you." You huffed, turning away from him. Severus watched curiously as you stepped away from him, his eyes trailing down your back, silently admiring your robes. He couldn't help but notice how pretty you looked in green. He thought it suited you better than your usual yellow and black. Perhaps he was just being selfish, imagining you in his House colour.

"Are you quite done?" Severus voiced. You cast a confused glance at him.

"With?" You frowned, cocking a brow expectantly.

"Having a tantrum." He replied, infamously cocking his brow at you.

"You're joking, right?" You scoffed at him, taking the bait like a fool. You turned yourself around to face him. "I made a lighthearted joke and you took it personally." The corners of his lips tugged upwards slightly in amusement. At this point it was too easy for him to wind you up. "What are you smiling about?" You stepped towards him, challenging him. He was getting underneath your skin.

"It's a pity that big mouth of yours doesn't match up with your brain." Severus said languidly, his deep voice sending a shockwave through your body. You had to swallow to compose yourself as your stomach began to tingle. He stood motionless in front of you, his hands still clasped behind his back, though you were blind to the fact that he was currently squeezing them harder the closer you got.

"Big mouth?" A gasp fell from your lips as you stared up at Severus, your eyes narrowing into a glare. "That's rich coming from you." You retorted, feeling your cheeks grow hot as you held his gaze. His lips twisted into a smirk as he closed the space between you with another step, that familiar smell of him overwhelming you.

"Is it?" Severus challenged you, silently enjoying your vain show of determination. He set his shoulders back as he stared down at you with scrutinising eyes, studying every inch of your pinkening face. He was getting a reaction out of you, and he was loving it.

"Yes." You panted. At this point, you were so worked up and distracted by his words and luscious scent that you hadn't noticed how unravelled you'd become. Your chest was heaving, breaths quiet and deep, your cheeks flushed unashamedly. You were a breathless mess. Your body was begging for Severus at this point. You were desperate for him to touch it, to even just lay a finger on it- anything. You had to relieve this ache.

"Please, enlighten me, Y/N." Severus whispered, leaning in towards you. A growl bubbled in your throat as you glared at him, your irked eyes boring into his. You were so tense and wound up that you couldn't talk. Your words were so jumbled together that you just couldn't form a coherent sentence without embarrassing yourself. "Hmm," Severus hummed, tilting his head at you, as if he was analysing you like an equation. "Didn't think so." He added smugly, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards.

"You're such an arsehole." You exhaled, shoving him with a flat palm. He didn't budge. Instead, his hand flew to your wrist, gripping it like an iron vice. Your eyes widened as Severus's once-smirking lips fell into a serious, flat line, his eyes burning.

"Weren't you taught that you mustn't... touch... what... isn't... yours?" Severus tutted, articulating each syllable with a hint of venom. You wished that wasn't the case, but in this world, you rarely get what you want. 

You clenched your jaw at Severus, tugging at your wrist in a vain attempt to free it. His grasp tightened, and you balled your fist. "Let go." You whispered as he tugged you towards him, just mere milimeters separating your bodies. Severus's eyes burned into yours, your body betraying you as it erupted into goosebumps; his face dangerously close to yours once more.

"Where are your manners?" Severus whispered back harshly, his hot breath dancing across your face once more, teasing you. You let your eyes flick between his, hesitating as they dropped down his face, eyeing his lips.

"Perhaps you need to teach me some." You taunted, breathless, your mind jaded. Not one appropriate thought was racing through your mind right now. Severus's brow quirked at your reply, quite obviously taken aback.

"An insufferable brat like you is unteachable." Severus spat back, baring his teeth. The insult didn't do it's job of hurting you, rather, it... aroused you. Your bodies were grazing against one another now, and the way his chest was scraping against yours was sending you into overdrive.

"You wanna bet?" You growled as he released your wrist after one more relentless tug from you. Severus kept his arm raised for a moment, his palm splayed as he glared down at you, your noses almost as close as they were just hours ago. Silence encased the two of you again, only your irregular, ragged breathing being the one thing that the two of you could hear. He was the first to break it.

Gods, you were so close. At this very moment, you had no care left inside of you. You were shameless for him. You couldn't hold yourself back anymore.

After several insufferable seconds, you threw your lips against his; the electric jolt that shot through you almost unbearable as a stifled moan slipped from your lips. A muffled grunt growled at the back of Severus's throat as his hands flew to your hips, kissing you back with such thirst and force you were worried he'd leave bruises around your mouth. His long, slender fingers dug into your clothed flesh like the desperation of a starved man as he pulled you taut against him, his left hand gliding down your arm to grasp messily at your hands, guiding them to sit around his neck. You allowed your fingers to comb through his thick, raven locks; nails grating at his scalp, prompting a delectable, throaty groan from him. Your legs tingled at the sultry noise. The rough, black buttons of his frock dug into your bared chest as he hauled you closer with greedy hands, the coarse texture scraping against your skin, bound to leave thin red scratches across your breast. A strangled cry fell from your lips as Severus teethed your bottom lip, playfully pulling at it. He released it and pressed another heated, sloppy kiss against your swollen mouth, your lids fluttering as you felt yourself melt into his addictive touch.

Severus pulled away from you, a begging whine falling from your lips. "So needy." He teased, breath hot and dangerous.

"Shut up." You muttered through gritted teeth, pulling him back onto you, your body igniting once more his lips met yours.

Pressing your aching body against his, Severus's cold hand slipped up to the back of your hot neck and brought your face impossibly closer to his; your spine aflame as delicious chills shot down it. With burning lungs, you parted your lips, darting your wet tongue into his mouth. Severus let out a heavenly whimper as your tongue licked against his, sending a rush of blazing heat through his shuddering body. Suddenly, he was pushing you backwards, lips still locked in a ferocious fight as the backs of your thighs hit the edge of your desk. Severus's hands swiftly slid from your waist and hooked themselves beneath your bum, inducing a breathy gasp to fall out of you as he lifted you up onto the wooden desk, the two of you disregarding everything that lay upon it. Including handwritten notes from Ben. You felt him smirk against your quivering mouth at the sensual noise that left you, clearly proud at what a panting, desperate mess he'd made you.

As he shuffled you onto the desk, your back knocked over a silver candle holder.

"Careful." You whispered against him, your eyes opening to shoot him a warning glare, though a hint of playfulness was hidden within your lustful voice.

"Shut up." Severus demanded, ultimately silencing you as he forced his mouth on yours, drowning you with his devilish tongue.

Your hands snaked down from the smooth skin of his neck, heading towards his chest, fingers clamping around the edges of his black cloak. Tugging him closer, you laid back on your desk with interlocked lips and Severus gladly obliged, leaning over you, planting a steadying hand beside your head. His other hand caressed your waist in a back-and-forth manner, feeling you, sending your body into a frenzy. Your wet, bruised lips fought against his, noses pressing into each other's cheeks. He pulled another moan from you as he gently brushed his hand against the side of your breast, teasing you.

Before Severus could trace his fingers down your middle, the crack of a branch in the distance ripped the two of you from your intense, sweaty encounter. Immediately, you and Severus pulled away from each other's faces with an audible, wet smooch, the both of you glancing to the source of the noise; breaths still heavy, hands still glued to one another's bodies intimately.

"What was that?" You whispered, fingers tightening around the silky material of his cloak. Instinctively, Severus's hand tensed around you protectively as he let his eyes search the dark; foggy mind racing.

"I don't know," He whispered back, turning back to look at you underneath him after he deemed it safe. You looked ethereal. Your hair was messily splayed-out behind your head, parts of it drooping over the opposite edge of the desk he was leant over. Your cheeks were red and flushed, lips swollen and pink, almost bruised from how harshly Severus had attacked them. After several seconds of admiring his work, he spoke. "Look at you," he hummed, a dangerous smirk painting his face, "what a beautiful mess." He let his eyes rake over your shuddering body, lingering on the red marks that scattered your bare chest. If possible, you blushed harder, your hands reluctantly flying up to fold against you, framing your breasts almost perfectly. Severus bit back a groan. "We should head back, I wouldn't want the others to think Black had had his way with you."

You rolled your eyes at him, a little irked. He'd learned perfectly well how to get under your skin. "What, you don't think I can hold my own against him?"

"Certainly not." Severus answered simply, stepping back from you and offering a hand to help you up. You wanted to protest against his answer, however, you knew he was right. There was no way you could fend off Sirius Black of all wizards. You'd just become another statistic to him. As you took Severus's hand and slipped off of the desk in one swoop, his eyes fell on the notes from Ben that you'd been laid upon. He let out a disapproving hum. You frowned and followed his eyes. Your stomach dropped and your body ran cold at the now slightly damaged notes.

"Shit." You exhaled as you stared down awkwardly at the ripped parchment.

"Shit, indeed." Severus repeated, side-eyeing you with a cocked brow. You glared at him. "Who would have thought, committing adultery with another professor at Hogwarts could be such an interesting feat?" He teased, stepping towards you, intentionally brushing his shoulder against yours.

You swallowed thickly, trying to ignore how close Severus was to you. "It's not like it was serious," You sighed curtly, running a stressed hand through your hair. "I mean, we've only been seeing each other for like, almost... four... months..." You trailed off, your shoulders feeling rather heavy as a strong wave of guilt flooded you. Were you really trying to justify your actions?

"Four months?" Severus sounded impressed.

"...Yes." You replied, avoiding his amused eyes. "You can wipe that smirk off your face right now." You scolded, casting a daring glance his way. For a moment, you admired how he looked - his hair was a little scruffy from where you'd had your hands buried in it, lips partially reddened from how you'd kissed him only moments ago. A hot blush took to your cheeks as you stared at him, your mind reeling back to how he'd grabbed you and pulled you so close against him, like he was scared you'd disappear into thin air.

"We can decide what to do later." Severus stated, slipped his wand from his sleeve and casting Lumos, illuminating the once-darkened greenhouse. "For now, let's return. I'm sure Minerva is wondering where we've disappeared to."

We? Did you hear him correctly?

Before you could question him, he already had his hand pressed against the small of your back, ushering you out of the greenhouse and back towards the castle entrance.

"I've searched the Astronomy Tower and the owlery, sir, but there's nothing there." Filch's decrepid-like voice came from in front of you as Severus escorted you into the Great Hall, his hand falling from your back as you neared Dumbledore and the other staff. You felt a little bummed at the loss of contact, but you didn't exactly want to out yourselves immediately. Speaking of that, you weren't even sure if anything was going to happen between you and Severus, maybe he'd change his mind again like he did last Christmas...

As you glanced around, you noticed every single student was asleep in the Hall, gentle snores slipping from their peaceful faces. You felt a little relieved that they were all safe and sound.

"Yes, the third floor is clear too, sir." Professor Flitwick said to Dumbledore, his beady eyes peering at the old man through his glasses. As the sound of yours and Severus's footsteps began to echo in the large hall, Flitwick turned, staring at the two of you. Clasping his hands together, he watched you and Severus stroll towards him.

"The greenhouses are empty as well, sir." You spoke, offering a polite smile to Flitwick. He happily returned it, averting his attention back to Dumbledore.

"Very good, thank you." Dumbledore acknowledged you with a small smile as you reached him. You stopped just beside Flitwick, your stomach flipping as Severus continued passed you. His addicting scent glided along with him, a pink tinge staining your cheeks as you inhaled. You turned away from Flitwick, afraid he'd notice your poorly-hidden reaction.

Severus was next to speak as he halted himself beside Dumbledore. "And I've done the dungeons, Headmaster, no sign of Black, nor anywhere else in the castle." He said, his deep baritone ruffling your feathers. You cleared your throat, quietly, glancing away from him. You could hardly control yourself right now. That moment in your greenhouse had really messed with your self-control. Severus glanced at you sideways, a tiny smirk picking at his lips. He must have noticed your crumbling composure.

Flitwick eyed the two of you, a perplexed expression crossing his features.

"I didn't really expect him to linger." Dumbledore replied, hooking Severus's attention from you. Flitwick used this moment to slip away to keep a watchful eye over the slumberous students.

"Remarkable feat, don't you think? To enter Hogwarts on one's own... completely undetected?" The Potions Master drawled as he and Dumbledore began to slowly walk forwards. You caught up to them and settled yourself beside Severus, sheepishly glancing up at him, your hands settling in front of your hips. He glimpsed at you, cocking a brow questioningly, a tingling sensation building in your stomach as you stared up at him.

"Quite remarkable, yes." The Headmaster agreed, his hands floating behind his back, subsiding as they intertwined themselves. The three of you continued walking between the rows upon rows of sleeping students, your shoulders brushing against Severus's now and again.

"Any ideas on how he might've managed it?" You asked quietly, your voice curious but concerned. Dumbledore glanced at you with his wise eyes, rather surprised at you. When the older wizard was around, you tended you keep quiet. However, with Severus beside you, a newfound confidence had arisen within you.

"Many. Each as unlikely as the next." He replied, turning back to focus on the path in front of him.

Severus spoke again, his voice rattling you. It felt as if someone had let off a grand show of fireworks in your chest. "You may recall, prior to the start of term I did express concerns about your appointment of Professor Lupin-"

Dumbledore quickly interrupted him, his voice strict and unforgiving. "Not a single professor inside this castle would help Sirius Black to enter it," he said, looking to Severus, "no, I'm quite convinced this castle is safe, and I'm more than willing to send the students back to their houses." You glanced away for a moment, zoning out as you glazed over the large stained window that had the crest of all four houses set within it. Your eyes lingered on Slytherin and Hufflepuff, flicking between them thoughtfully. Could a Slytherin and Hufflepuff truly work together?

As you'd stopped to admire the window, Dumbledore and Severus had continued on forwards. You stood still, your eyes falling onto Severus's tall, black cloaked figure, a deep sigh leaving your nostrils. Was this a good idea? Crossing the line with a colleague? Or was this a recipe for disaster? You wanted it to work out, but you had your doubts. Minerva's words were etched deep into your mind, and they slowly slithered out of the woodworks, chanting in your head tauntingly.

'I'm not sure you're aware of just how far his trauma goes.'

'Save your heart. Severus will only break it.'

'Focus on Benjamin.'

Oh, Merlin, Ben.

What were you going to do about him...? Do you tell him you kissed Severus? Do you just break it off silently? No, he deserves to know. You needed to be an adult and admit to your wrongs, whether it made you look like a sack of shit or not. You'd made your bed, and now you had to lie in it.

Just as you were going to return to Severus's side, a familiar voice called your name.

"Y/N!"

You turned around, your head snapping towards the voice like a bolt of lightning. All colour had drained from your face as your widened eyes became glued onto the one person you did not want to see right now.

Ben jogged towards you, a worried expression twisting his features.

No, please, no, not right now. This could not be happening right now...

talk about perfect timing, hey?

sorry this was such a short chapter!! i wanted to make it longer, but what better than to keep you in suspense? i hope you have partly forgiven me for this chapter... </3

let me know what you thought!! your replies on the previous chapter had me rolling omfg.

daily reminder that i love you all and to make sure you are taking care of yourselves!! thank you all so much for your continued support, it really means a lot to me, and i hope i am doing this story justice, i have- well, had a plan, but it's sort of gone a different way... however, i’m liking it. :) i hope you are too!

Part 11!

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[little-emerald-snake]

Blackmail - Ominis Gaunt X F!MC

🔥 NSFW 🔞 MDNI

scene is f!mc during the shadow of friendship quest where she needs to talk Ominis out of telling on Sebastian to be committed to Azkaban BUT instead of the soft reaction we get in-game what if Ominis has actually harbored deep desires for the mc until now and since he's aware that she has feelings for Sebastian instead, uses this opportunity to "blackmail" the mc into convincing him to not put Sebastian away. so really a non-con scene of dark!ominis x f!mc if you will requested by @moongurl95 via dms

Genuinely so sorry this took me like three weeks but my life is in shambles literally setting this up to post while sheltering from a tornado 💀 but don’t worry I’m fine. Anyway I hope this is what you’re looking for 🫶🏻

Warnings: blackmail, threats, dirty talk, non-con, Dominis, stolen virginity, unprotected sex, creampie

2.4k words

She stood beside Sebastian who paced the stone floor beside his blonde companion. The air in the undercroft hung heavier than ever around them. Ominis was being brutally honest, telling Sebastian that his twin, Anne, couldn’t bear the thought of turning him in. Sebastian was a bit shocked, pacing back and forth while trying to defend himself before Ominis finally gave a sigh, saying he’d give Sebastian some time to think.

As he walked away Sebastian resumed his nervous pacing and she approached him, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t believe he’s gone. How did things go so wrong? I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean to-“ He shook his head in dismay. “Oh Anne. I was only trying to help. I can’t leave now. Anne needs me more than ever.”

She nodded, her head felt full of confusion and worry but she’d grown to care for Sebastian and couldn’t imagine that he’d truly wanted to hurt anyone. She knew the lengths he was willing to go for Anne. That kind of love and devotion spoke to her. “Don't worry Sebastian. I shall speak with Ominis.”

Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You’re a real friend, truly. No matter what happens from here, I’m glad we met.” With that he turned and walked to the exit of the Undercroft. She waited till the doors chimed and she heard him exit before she turned with a sigh toward Ominis.

She could practically sense the dark cloud looming over the other side of the undercroft and a sort of unease rolled over her. This wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. Ominis had sensed her approach and decided to tell her what had happened after they’d spoken last. He’d run back to Hogwarts and before he’d been able to speak to the headmaster Anne had contacted him. He’d rushed to Feldcroft and found Anne with Solomon’s body. How deeply stricken with grief she was. “I don’t want to lose Sebastian but I don’t think we have a choice.”

She chewed her bottom lip with a worried expression. “Ominis…we do have a choice. What good would it do now to turn him in? He clearly regrets everything. He’s not going to do anything like this again.”

Ominis’ eyes darkened. “What makes you so sure? You’ve said that about nearly everything else thus far? You said letting him into the scriptorium wasn’t going to end badly yet he casted Crucio on you without a moment's hesitation. You promised the relic wouldn't cause harm yet he was ready to throw our entire friendship away just to take it with him.”

She looked down. He was right. Everything he’d said had been true. Yet she had grown fond of Sebastian both as a friend and maybe more over the span of their year. “Ominis I know how this seems but Sebastian isn’t like this. He made a mistake…it was for Anne’s life.”

Ominis’ tone turned angry, the same scowl that first day she’d come from the Undercroft painted his features as he took a step toward her. “He’s got you wrapped around his finger…he used you…and you don’t even seem to care?! You’d rather blindly ignore the damage he’d caused to make him the hero in your book because you’ve begun to harbor feelings for him haven’t you?”

She was about to deny it but what was the point? Ominis had so clearly seen through everything and while she hated to admit it, he wasn’t wrong. “I…suppose I have. I just want the best for him and Anne…it makes no sense to send him away now when Anne will be needing her brother the most.”

Ominis’ scowl darkened. “I see. So are you willing to accept the punishment for his actions? You’re an accomplice to murder if you choose to continue down this path. If he continues on the way he is I will not hesitate to turn you both in for these crimes.”

She blinked, honestly shocked about what he’d said. But she truly believed that Sebastian was good deep down. He just let this get away from him. “Yes. I understand. I promise. He won’t cause anymore trouble. Just don’t take him from Anne.”

He agreed begrudgingly, taking another step forward. She backed up a step, bumping into a stack of crates with a gasp. His voice came out dark and low. “So you are the kind of girl who falls for the villain then?”

Her eyes widened in surprise as her head whipped back around, his tone dark and a bit husky. His palm came up to rest on the crate right beside her face, his body pushing closer. “What are you willing to give up to ensure I don’t turn you and Sebastian in? What price would you pay for a life that’s already been stained in blood?”

The knot in her throat solidified and it felt like she had mouthfuls of sawdust she had to swallow in order to form words. “Ominis, w-what are you talking about…we don’t have to give up anything…we just don’t tell anyone…”

Ominis chuckled darkly, shaking his head. “I’m well aware darling. I asked what you were willing to give up in order to keep me quiet. This deal has nothing in it for me. You and Sebastian get away with murder and I’m stuck holding the truth for nothing while you both run off and fall in love. Hardly fair if you ask me.”

Her eyes widened and she suddenly understood what was happening. She moved to run but his hand, much stronger than she’d imagined, came up to hold her wrist, wrenching and pinning it above her head, shortly joined by her other. “Now now, no running away from your problems anymore. You need to come up with a solution I’ll accept or you won’t be leaving here. You better get thinking before I decide for you.”

Her mind reeled over what she could offer him. What did he want? She thought and thought but nothing came to mind. He grinned darkly. “My choice then. I can work with that.”

He moved quickly, spinning her and bending her over a crate. She gasped, surprised by the suddenness as the wood bit into her hip bones. His surprisingly strong body pinned her down with ease, one hand holding her wrists above her head while the other worked at pulling up her school skirts. “Tell me darling, are you currently taking contraceptive potions?”

Her heart pounded in her chest. Her body had the choice of fight or flight and for some bloody reason it had chosen to freeze. “I-I no…why would I-?”

He’d laughed, cutting her off while pulling her underwear to the side. “Well you better start my dear. Because if you manage to conceive I’ll ruin your pathetic life. As a Gaunt I refuse to carry forward the bloodline.”

She listened to the sound of his belt being undone and blood whooshed in her ears. She knew the time to speak up was now but she was still at a loss for words. She couldn’t very well deny him after he’d made the threat to turn her and Sebastian in. She had to stay quiet and take it, if not for herself and Sebastian’s innocence than for Anne still having a relative to care for her.

She pressed her face to the crate, tears welling in her eyes. “O-okay. I-I won’t let that happen.” She listened to him as he hummed in satisfaction and she listened to the shuffle of his pants as he pushed them down. She felt the blunt tip of him at her opening and she sniffled, stiffening up with nerves wound tight.

Ominis huffed, trying to push forward but her tense body wouldn’t allow his entrance. “For Merlin’s sake you need to relax. Just imagine it’s Sebastian like always and it’ll be over before you know it.”

She sniffled again as he released her hands and they immediately went to the edge of the crate, gripping so tightly her knuckles turned white. “S-Sebastian has never…I’ve never…”

His eyes widened in recognition and he pulled back, voice coming a bit softer this time. “You’ve never…not once?”

She nodded and his hand came to swipe away the tears, his other hand coming to slide her hair behind her ear. “It feels good after the initial bit you know…if you could survive the pain of Crucio you can make it through this and it’ll start to feel good. You don’t even have to imagine it’s me...”

She sniffled and nodded carefully, he brushed her cheek and his other hand dipped between them to rub the blunt tip up and down between her slit. The sensations were all new but the feel of him stimulating that bundle of nerves between her legs had small spikes of pleasure shooting up through her. She hated it.

She tried to fight it, her body may be wanting this but he was good at pushing the right buttons. She didn’t want Ominis. She was still stuck, she had to do this for Anne and Sebastian to be a family. She sucked in a shaky breath that turned into a whimper as he slid over her clit again.

His warm breath ghosted over her neck. His chest, which was pressed against her back, rumbled. “That’s right dear. Relax and let your body take over. Turn that brilliant brain off for a bit and put yourself somewhere happy. It’ll be over soon.”

He notched himself at her entrance and she let another few tears slip, rolling down her cheeks. She tried to imagine that this was Sebastian above her, that it was after the ball and he’d asked her to go somewhere private. Just then, slim fingers slid between her folds and rubbed small circles around that bundle of nerves.

She moaned out softly and his hips slid forward, his tip kissing that barrier within her that she knew would end this pleasure. She pushed the thought away, trying to imagine those fingers a bit thicker and rougher against her body. She tried to imagine what breathy sounds he’d make or what encouragement he’d whisper against her skin.

A moan from between her lips and Ominis’ body sank forward, pushing past that barrier and sending spikes of discomfort through her body. But as quickly as the discomfort started his fingers redoubled with the pleasurable circles and she was arching into it and whimpering in pleasure. His breath came gently across the back of her neck as he slid her hair out of the way. “That’s right Darling, just like that.”

She moaned low as he praised her, his hips slowly moving back and forth inside of her but he focused most of his intentions on her clit. She was at the very least thankful he didn’t want her to be in pain.

She tried to force herself to think about Sebastian again but the way Ominis’ breathing picked up and his slender body slid against hers as he began to thrust deeper dragged her out of the daydream. She hated how her body reacted, her stomach flipping and swirling and tightening as she listened to the small puffs of air and panting that left his lips.

The pinching discomfort between her legs slowly morphed into hot pleasure that rippled through her in waves. She gripped the crate tighter and his thrusts grew longer and deeper. “Great Merlin you’re so fucking tight, I’ve never had a witch who was a sweet little virgin. I don’t think I can go back after this. Or if this is all just you we may have to convince Sebastian to share your brilliant little body.”

His words sent shocks of pleasure through her and she moaned, pushing her hips back. This felt so good, she struggled to maintain her fantasy of Sebastian ravaging her when Ominis was the one here making her feel so incredible. Pleasure swirled deep in her stomach and she tightened, forcing him to groan behind her. “You better be careful squeezing around me like that. Might just get the idea you actually like this with me or something.”

She whimpered, unable to hold another ripple of pleasure from surging through her. His fingers moved faster, making her arch into his touch for more. “Fuck yes, darling. That’s it. Make me cum, pretty girl.”

His hips slammed deeper till their bodies had no space between, his thrusts growing faster. Her poor hips were going to be bruised and sore from being slammed forward into the crate. The head of him nudged against a spot inside of her that had her seeing stars. She hadn’t even realized how loudly she’d cried out.

He chuckled darkly, angling her hips so he’d hit that spot with every single thrust. “That’s it, come on love, you know you want to cum all over my cock after I took your sweet innocence.”

She made a pitiful sound, the pleasure was too much and the emotions swirling inside of her caused tears to form in the corner of her eyes. His fingers rolling deft circles and him nudging into that spot was all too much for her.

She heard him groan in what sounded like sweet agony as her body stilled, her traitorous body tightening around him. He tensed, holding onto her hips for deer life as he pumped into her. She grew slick and sticky between her legs and she pressed her forehead against the crate, letting her tears fall as she composed her breathing.

Instead of staying to comfort her, he pulled out, casting a cleansing charm on himself before tucking himself away and fixing his attire. She stayed there, quietly crying as his seed and her blood mixed and dripped down her thighs.

He cleared his throat and she finally stood up, not bothering with a cleaning charm and just righting her clothing. She wouldn’t feel clean till she soaked in a boiling hot bath for several hours. But she turned to find him standing there as if nothing had ever happened. “I’ll take this into consideration when I talk to Anne about how best to break the news to the Headmaster. For now you can tell Sebastian I’ve chosen not to turn you both in. But this only lasts as long as you both stay away from the Dark Arts. Understood?”

She nodded, quickly feeling like an idiot before giving him a shaky verbal response. She wouldn’t let her sacrifice be for nothing. She’d make sure the fluffy haired brunette would stay in line no matter the cost.

[tales-of-wocdes]

How would Harvard and Lexia react if MC dropped something and said either f*ck or sh*t in the most innocent voice ever, all cause little innocent MC saw one of the other adults drop something and cursed lol?

(I absolutely love your game, it just sucked me in and I was so engrossed in the story ❤️ can't wait for the next update!)

Thank you! Happy to hear you liked it.

Let's go with sh*t (let's assume MC missed the word in C2). Lets call this one a celebration for a ~100 blog posts.

Thank you for all the interaction :D

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

The book drops from your hands and smacks against the white stone underneath.

"Shit." You heard one of the Silver Protectors say it just the other day when they dropped their gauntlet during lunch. You figured it was the thing to say when dropping something.

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

Havard:

Havard is there in an instant, picking up the book and kneeling in front of you. He peers into your eyes, and gives a little smile.

"MC, do you remember our talk about bad words?" He asks calmly.

You stare at him. You recall the conversation. What does that have to do with anything? Still, you should probably nod. So you do.

Havard stares at you, as if searching for something. "You have no idea why I am asking about that, do you?" He asks, and you think there is a hint of mirth in his tone.

"No." You say tilting your head. You really have no idea.

Havard smiles at you, just like he always smiles.

"Well, the word you used is one of the bad words. You should not use it." He says.

It is? Why? Bad words are so confusing. What makes a word bad? How are you supposed to know which words are bad?

Havard must see your confusion.

"Don't worry about it. I am sure you will learn in time."

You sure hope so.

"Now please tell me where you heard that word." He is still smiling at you, but it feels a little... scary. You have a feeling that if you tell him, the Silver Protector you heard using the word will be in trouble.

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

Lexia:

Lexia saunters over and picks up the book. "Good word kid, but you do know Havard would not like you using it." She says, grinning a bit.

He wouldn't? Why not?

"It's one of those bad words kid. Remember?"

You stare at her. Bad words?.... Oh. You recall the conversation.

"Yeah. So avoid using it, especially in front of Havard. And Ethel. And Alessa." She winks and then frowns a bit. "Uh... kid? You did not learn that word from me did you?"

No it was not her. You did learn a lot of other words from her. Like f*ck! Still, you shake your head.

"Oh good. I don't want another lecture." She beams at you. "Do tell me who you did learn if from?"

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

Havard and Lexia:

Havard and Lexia both turn to look at you. Havard glances at Lexia.

"Hey, it wasn't me this time!" She raises her arms. "I think." Havard sighs and comes over to you. He picks up the book and kneels in front of you.

[Pretty much the same as Havard one]

"So... were you telling the truth about where you learned the word from? Come on, tell me." Lexia whispers as Havard leaves the room. "And we should totally follow him. I want to see this. For once his glower is not directed at me!" She sounds gleeful.

Life is so complicated.

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

What conversation are they talking about? C3 might have something related to profanity.

[wandamaximoffsbadgirl]

Let's Talk About That

Usually I keep it casual (2)

Psychiatrist!Avenger!fem!reader x Wanda Maximoff

Summary: The compound has been built, and training has begun. With the two of you living together now stolen moments are bound to happen.

Word count: 2.7K

Warnings: legal age gap r is 19 and w is 25, talks of depression, bit of angst, bit of fluff, talk of vo*it (once towards the end)

A/N: The moment between R and W is taken from the moment in WandaVision where they go through Wanda's memories so R is taking the place of Vision and says his lines in that moment.

June 21st 2015

The new Compound was finally built and all of the Avengers moved there to live and to train. You got a new office looking similar to your old one and before you could start moving your things in it was time to start training the new recruits.

Captain America and Black Widow prepare to train the new roster of Avengers, consisting of Falcon, Wanda, War Machine, and Vision.

You stand just off to the side of Cap and Tasha. "You ready to finally show off your powers?" Cap asks you as you smirk, cracking your neck to either side. 

"Oh Cap, you know I was born ready.” you tell him as your eyes glow purple. 

"Alright, line up!" You call out. The new recruits line up. "I have a simple task for you four, move me from this spot." You tell them and you hear Sam chuckle. 

"You deal with our emotions, how hard could it be to move you?" He asks. 

"Thank you for volunteering to be my first victim Sam!" You smile. "Please front and center. The other watch as Sam tries to move you in any way, but can't. Even using his wings he can't. Then Rhodey tries and still nothing, Vision attempts and you don't budge. You look at Wanda. "Well?" You ask, quirking an eyebrow up at her. She has this soft look in her eyes almost like a baby deer.

"I don't want to hurt you." Wanda says her being the only magic user besides you currently on the team. 

"Oh sweetie. You could never hurt me. Go on, hit me with your best shot." You tell her, her eyes and hands glow red as she unleashes attacks on you as you swipe your hand up, a purple force field looking much like Wanda's own magic comes to protect you. They all look at you in shock. 

"Oh did we forget to mention something?" You hear Natasha's condescending tone ring out behind you making you chuckle, catching the attention of the newest members. 

"I think we did Tasha." You say pulling the collar of your shirt down, showing off the glowing purple stone in your chest, looking similar to the mind stone in Vision's head. "I have the power stone in my chest. Really I'm the best of both worlds. Brains and brawns. The stone gives me psychic energy manipulation, force field generation, disintegration of objects I touch, energy absorption, magic empowerment, and of course superhuman strength and durability.

The new Avengers stood in awe as you revealed the Power Stone embedded in your chest, their expressions a mix of shock and admiration. You could feel the weight of their gaze on you, but you stood tall, unyielding, a smirk playing on your lips.

"Wow," Sam exclaimed, breaking the silence. "That's... impressive."

You chuckled, feeling a surge of pride at their reaction. "Thank you, Sam. But let's not get too distracted. We have work to do."

With that, you motioned for them to regroup, eager to put their newfound knowledge to the test. "Alright, let's try this again," you announced, positioning yourself in the center of the training area. "This time, I want you to work together to try and move me."

The recruits exchanged glances before nodding in determination. Sam and Rhodey took to the skies, while Vision and Wanda focused their powers, creating a coordinated assault.

As they unleashed their combined efforts, you could feel the energy swirling around you, pushing against the force field generated by the Power Stone. But despite their best efforts, you remained rooted to the spot, a testament to the strength of the stone's power.

"Keep going!" You encouraged them, a grin spreading across your face as you felt the thrill of the challenge. "You're doing great!"

For several minutes, they continued their assault, each attack more powerful than the last. But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't overcome the barrier protecting you.

Finally, with a triumphant shout, they ceased their assault, panting and exhausted but exhilarated by the challenge. "I... I can't believe it," Sam gasped, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Believe it," you replied, your voice tinged with pride. "With teamwork and determination, there's nothing we can't overcome. You guys are new to being a team. I'm sure you'll be able to take me on properly soon."

As the others caught their breath, you couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement for the future. With this new team of Avengers and the power of the Stone at your disposal, there was no telling what this new team could accomplish together. And as you looked around at your teammates, you knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you would face them head-on, united as one.

===========================================================

The Next Day June 22nd 2015

It's late evening after you had roused yourself to get a snack you notice Wanda's door cracked slightly as you forgo getting a snack and decide to knock on her door. "Open." She says similar to you when the two of you first met. You open the door fully and smile at her, but she doesn't have a smile to give you back. 

She has Malcom in the Middle playing as she is sat on her bed, a grey tank top, mostly covered by a black sweater hanging off her shoulder and tight black leggings. She's sitting with her legs crossed, a pillow in her lap that's she's leaning on. "If now isn't a good time I can..." you trail off. She pats the bed next to her, still no smile, but you can read her well enough that she wants company, she just doesn't always know how to ask for it. 

She looks away, pulling her sleeves over her hands and even though they're covered she still keeps tugging at them with anxiety. You sit next to her mimicking her posture as you grab one of her pillows from behind us and crossing your legs. She finally attempts a smile at you for half a second once you've settled. Then turns her attention back to the TV where Hal gets hurt and you chuckle. 

"I only watched Malcom in the Middle when it was on TV, but I tended to find Full House, Fresh Prince, and The Nanny playing when I'd go looking for late night TV." You tell her. 

"You like sitcoms?" She asks and you look at her with a warm smile. 

"Yeah I do. Never got the chance to tell you though." A smile creeps onto her lips without her knowledge. You unconsciously lick your lips as you stare at hers. She always somehow managed to look perfect and maybe it's the repressed emo girl that you used to be, but her in all black, and her black nail polish she just so happened to be your type. 

"Y/N?" You're pulled back to reality by her voice.

"Hmm?" You ask. 

"I asked what's your favorite sitcom?" She repeats and you think a moment, you end up letting yourself fall back against her bed, staring at her ceiling.

"That's honestly hard for me to answer. I'm not good with picking favorites." You look over at her. "I always feel bad when I pick a favorite anything as if the others aren't good enough or something." You confess to Wanda. 

"What about like top 3 or top 5?"

"Hmmm…” You think for a few moments, going through the list of sitcoms you've grown up with, contemplating about each for no more than a moment. “Full House, That 70s Show, Seinfeld, Friends, Golden Girls, and The Office is probably my newest obsession." She smiles before letting a laugh pass her lips. You smile, biting your bottom lip as you do so because she's just so, "Beautiful." I end up saying out loud. She stops and you can see her face redden. You scramble up off her bed. "Shit sorry if that made you uncomfortable. I'm sorry I'll leave!" You ramble and as you turn to run you feel her grip on your wrist. You look back at her, eyes glowing. 

"If we're being honest with each other Doctor I'd like to let you know I think you're quiet beautiful yourself." She admits to you and something about her calling you doctor sends your brain into a frenzy and you can tell she's hearing every thought going through your head and you can't find yourself to even be mad about it right now as you step back to her, grabbing her face and kissing her.

The moment your lips met, it was as if time stood still. All the worries, the doubts, the fears melted away, leaving only the warmth of her touch and the sweet taste of her lips against yours. In that fleeting moment, there was nothing else in the world but the two of you, lost in the intensity of the connection we shared.

As the kiss deepened, you felt a surge of emotions coursing through you, a mixture of desire, longing, and something deeper, something you couldn't quite put into words. It was as if your souls were reaching out to each other, seeking solace and understanding in the midst of chaos.

When you finally pulled away, breathless and flushed, you found yourself gazing into Wanda's eyes, searching for any sign of regret or hesitation. But all you saw was warmth and affection, mirrored in her gaze.

"I'm sorry," you murmured, your voice barely above a whisper. "I shouldn't have—"

But before you could finish your sentence, Wanda silenced you with a gentle touch of her finger against your lips. "Don't apologize," she said softly, her eyes sparkling with emotion. "That was... unexpected, but not unwelcome."

You felt a rush of relief flood through you at her words, a weight lifted from your shoulders. For the first time in a long time, you allowed yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, there was hope for something more between the two of you.

As we sat there in silence, the glow of the TV casting flickering shadows across the room, you realized that this was just the beginning of your journey together. There would be challenges ahead, obstacles to overcome, but as long as you faced them together, you knew the two of you could conquer anything.

With a smile, you reached out and took Wanda's hand in yours, intertwining your fingers as if to seal the unspoken promise between the two of you. As the two of you sat there, bathed in the soft light of the TV, you knew that no matter what the future held, you would face it together, side by side, as partners, as friends, and perhaps, if we were lucky, as something more.

Wanda pulls you onto her lap after moving the pillow away. She pulls you into a tight hug and whispers, "I've been so tired recently. It's just...it's like this wave washing over me again and again. It knocks me down and when I try to stand up it just comes for me again and I can't-" you hear her voice cracking, her emotion shifting along with her aura as you rub her back. "It's just going to drown me." She confesses.

"No...no it's not..." you tell her.

"Yeah..." She lets out a dry chuckle and you pull back, letting your hands find her cheeks again. You stare into those deep green eyes full of sorrow and hope there comes a point where you can see them full of joy. You’ve only gotten small glimpses of happiness from Wanda and all you wanted was for those glimpses to last longer until there was no sorrow left. 

"No it won't, I won't let it. Not now. Not ever. Do you hear me Wanda?" You're searching her tear filled eyes to see if on any level she believes you because you could only hope that your words offered some solace to her feelings. All you wanted to do was take some of it away, even just a little so she wasn’t drowning anymore.

"How do you know?" Her voice is cracking and soft, it breaks you to hear her like this.

"Well it can't all be sorrow, can it?" She's searching your Y/E/C eyes now, your thoughts even. "Tell me. What is grief if not love persevering?" You ask, a small tilt to your head. Her dam finally breaks as she cries and you shush her, helping her through it. "I've got you Wanda. Always. I'll hold you above the waves. I'd let myself drown before I let it take you." You tell her softly. “I can help take some of it away, would you like that?” You ask her, her tear filled eyes looking up at you and nods ever so slightly, but still asks,

“Will it hurt?” Her voice cracks as you rub her cheeks with your thumbs, wiping the tears away.

“No darling it won’t it’ll make you feel lighter. I don’t do it often. Bad emotions are disgusting. I have to take them out of you and eat them which I’m sure sounds weird and I guess in a way it is, but for you I’ll do it.” She nods once again, clinging to you as you move your hand to her back, rubbing a gentle circle. You can feel the physical manifestation of the emotions pulling them apart from one another, only taking out the pain and grief, not all just enough. 

A black oobleck is pulled out threatening to slip through your fingers as Wanda pulls back to look. You use both your hands to keep it contained as you bring it to your mouth. You open your mouth as wide as you can, tongue sticking out as you let the gooey orb fall into your mouth and swallow. Your face contorts and a shiver goes through your body like when you take medicine you can’t stand. It tastes like vomit in the worst way possible and the main reason you tended not to do this. 

You feel Wanda cup your cheeks and murmur, “You’re okay.” and “Thank you.” As much as you hated it, you knew you’d do it as much as she needed. You lean in, placing your forehead against her own, nuzzling your faces together as you feel your cheeks dampen from her tears. 

“No more tears darling.” You whisper, feeling her smile against you. 

The two of you eventually make it up her bed, laying against her pillows, small soft kisses are peppered in between things. There are no more tears from Wanda through the night as the show continues playing as she falls asleep on your chest. 

As Wanda rested against you, her breathing steady and her grip on you relaxed, you couldn't help but feel a sense of peace wash over you. Despite the turmoil and uncertainty that surrounded you two, in this moment, all that mattered was the warmth of her body pressed against yours, the rhythm of her breaths lulling you into a state of calm.

You gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face, marveling at the serenity that seemed to radiate from her even in sleep. She had been through so much, faced unimaginable challenges and losses, yet here she was, still fighting, still clinging to hope.

And in that moment, you made a silent vow to yourself, to always be there for her, to be her anchor in the storm, to hold her above the waves no matter how fierce they may rage. Because Wanda was more than just a teammate or a friend—she was someone you cared deeply for, someone you would do anything to protect.

As the soft glow of the TV bathed the room in a gentle light, you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to drift off to sleep, knowing that no matter what tomorrow may bring, the two of you would face it together, united in our strength and our love. And as you held Wanda in your arms, you knew that as long as the two of you had each other, you could weather any storm that came your way.

[vaulthistorian]

With You Nearby.

Summary: Spending a nice evening by the fire with Joshua, and things get a little out of hand.

CW: Really none, readers gender/identity is not specified. No NSFW, but alluded to.

~~~

The stars in the sky reminded you of the path you were on. The glimmering light that freckled the dark blanket of the vast expanse beyond made you feel less alone on these colder nights. The Mojave rarely got cold, but the odd times you'd hit a dead zone in radiation the temperature would drop.

You were glad for your cloak and armor, it weighed you down and added some warmth to your body.

Of course you'd not come alone, as was evident by the shuffling on the rock across from you. But oftentimes the warmth of another couldn't stop you from feeling singled out by the horrors of the world that persist to taunt you. They exist for no other reason than to cause you pain.

"Falling asleep on me?" The near baritone voice of your favorite Mormon survivalist. His tone was scratchy, the lack of water from Zion left him quieter than usual, as he had less strength to cast his voice.

You tilted your head, catching him in your view as you lay on the cool rock ground, a hint of a smile gracing your lips.

"Thinking."

He hummed in response, gripping two stones between his hands and striking them together. The crashing rocks sending sparks toward a small pile of sticks and grass that you'd accumulated over the course of your journey.

He exhaled shortly when the sparks caught on some dried patches of grass, little flickers of warmth rising up from the heart and catching on.

"We'll be warm tonight." He said as he sat, his eyes looking across the fire at you. In the darkness you couldn't see his eye color, on the flames that rose and danced within the snare of his intense gaze.

Although you still liked to think of the sea blue gaze that you'd catch along the dusty roads back to a place you'd dared to call home.

Joshua was alright to follow you, he didn't protest when you brought him from Zion, and when you saw to it that his people made a sayve journey back to their refuge. Then he decided he'd follow, wherever you led he would not hesitate. Not like he used to. He was no coward.

"Get closer." Joshua broke the silence again when he noticed your shivers in the warm glow the fire cast over the pale light.

You couldn't help thinking if he meant for you to get closer to the fire or him. In any sense, he meant the fire.

You shuffled a bit closer, bringing your feet toward the lapping flames and they selflessly warmed your flesh.

"It should only be a little longer, then we can get off our feet and rest in proper beds." You said to Joshua, your hands locking around your knees in a curled position.

"As long as we make pace." Joshua relaxed with the fire going, taking out his bible from the rucksack he'd come to carry for you. Despite it having gone through a lot, it held on, allowing Joshua to hold the leather in his hands once more.

He was peaceful when he read, the atmosphere was not too tough, but not too loose. You were content with him.

The sounds of critters rummaging in the night had you shifting, crawling to the right of Joshua, the other side of the rucksack. His gaze flicked from his book to you as you drew closer. He didn't say anything, but opened an arm invitingly so that you may come closer.

"What are you reading?" You asked him softly. You didn't always care, and yet you knew he enjoyed sharing from time to time.

"Job 1:20 forward." He replied simply, feeling you press into his side, your body seeking out his warmth. Joshua wrapped his arm around your shoulder, keeping his hand curled loosely so it did not touch you.

"Would you like me to read it to you?" He asked softly, tilting his head a bit and showing you the passage.

You shuffled and brought your hand to his chest. "Mm, no thanks, I'd rather just watch you." You teased, your finger lightly guiding his head toward you.

"Oh, would you? Don't want a late night bible story?" He asked back as your fingers came up to his jaw, running the pad of your thumb over the warm bandages.

"You could... Say some other things to me, but I don't know if the bible is the right thing." You teased and stroked his chin, and he discarded the book gently down onto the Mojave dune. His arms wrapped around you, dipping you down against the ground and leaning against your ear.

"You know how I'd love to do that..." He pressed his mouth right beside your ear, situating himself between your hips.

You situated yourself and pulled your duster off, teasing your fingers under his vest, against his bandages. "Who else is gonna sleep with you out here? I'm sure the big man upstairs wouldn't mind." You teased, feeling his hands drag you a smidge closer to his hips.

Joshua bristled with a sense of excitement, and he willed himself to believe you were right. He kissed your cheek, then your mouth, and brought your hips into his lap to undo your belt.

"Let's hope you're right..."

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 63)

Trigger Warning: Heavily Implied Abortion. IT'S NOT UZI, DON'T PANIC.

“N, I need ya for something.” Hal walked by N's desk, two more weeks had gone by without either him or Uzi telling a soul about her pregnancy, and it was beginning to get to him, he understood why they had to keep it to themselves… with what was happening to her being unique. But… he was still so excited.

“What's up?”

“Need you to help me perform a wellness check on a… Miss Walker. Her employer said he hadn't seen her for a couple days.” Hal tangled his fingers in his beard as he read through a file, before turning back to N.

“Sure, now?”

“Now.”

N stood up immediately, following in behind Hal as they left through the office door and made their way through the hallways, it was still early, so the halls weren't filled with people yet, only a few making their way to their early morning jobs.

“How's Uzi?” Hal asked, his tone friendly, though clearly only making small talk for the sake of it.

“She's fine, why wouldn't she be?” N replied a little too quickly. Talking about Uzi made him think about the baby which made him want to scream it to every person passing by. So he tried to avoid talking about her at all while at work… which was nearly impossible, because he was always talking about a show they watched together, or how Tera was doing, or… everything to do with his family, really.

“You've been really quiet about her lately… you're not having issues are you?” Hal was still slightly in front of him, so he couldn't see the man's face, but he got the impression that Hal was at least somewhat genuinely worried.

“No! Nothing like that. We're perfect, never been better, really.” N quickly assured, though he wasn't sure how convincing he sounded, though it was the truth. Every night they spent together, weather it be watching a movie, playing a game or just… talking, had been magical.

“I heard she went to a mothers group. That seems… unlike her.” Hal mentioned, making N's visor fill with sweat as he realized how obvious that was. He was right, Uzi wouldn't just suddenly decide to go to something as sappy and cliché as a mother's group for no reason.

“I convinced her to, Tera doesn't spend a lot of time around kids her age, and we thought it would be good to start socializing her.” The half-lie left his mouth almost instantly, his time with Uzi had definitely made him a more convincing liar, but even still it wasn't entirely untruthful, they had talked about socializing Tera. Though it was more about preparing her for a little sibling.

“Ah… so it was your idea. That does make more sense.”

“How'd you know about that anyway?” N asked, cocking his head as they both rounded a corner, Hal raised an eyebrow at him.

“My sister was there, came to me ecstatic about a new member. Figured out it was Uzi by her description.”

“Oh.” N blinked, well that was good information to have.

“We're here, I'll let ya do the honors this time.” Hal stepped back from the steel door as N stepped forward, nodding as he lifted his fist and knocked on the door heavily, the sound echoed around them for a few seconds.

There was no response.

So he tried again, announcing himself this time.

“This is Officer N and Officer Stone here on a wellness check, we're just here to see if you're okay.” He shouted firmly into the closed door as he knocked again, once again there was no answer.

“What now?” He asked Hal, who pondered the question for a moment.

“We don't have a warrant, we can't just barge in without probable cause.” He explained and N nodded, pressing the side of his face into the door to try and hear what was going on inside.

There was a light scraping noise coming from the other side, like something sharp against tile. It was muffled heavily by the door, but it was audible to his enhanced hearing.

“Well there's something behind this door, I hear scraping.”

“H-Help…” Came faintly from behind the door, and N lept back in surprise, looking at his superior with a dreadful look.

“Someone just called for help!”

Hal didn't seem to hear the cry for help, but he did seem to trust N, as he took a device from his pocket and held it over the access panel for the door, there was a pause, then the device beeped twice as the door swished open.

“Hello probable cause.”

“Miss Walker? Are you alright?” N Called out into the seemingly empty apartment, nothing was out of place, the kitchen was clean, the living room empty, but N could still pick up gentle scraping from… somewhere.

He moved through the Apartment, Hal in behind him as he followed his senses into the apartments bedroom, where he stood at the doorway in shock for a moment.

There was a young woman, only half dressed with her grey tank top shredded down to ribbons, one of her purple eyelights were closed in pain as the other looked at him with a mixture of fear and relief. She was leaning against the bed, sitting on the floor clutching her core, her breath coming out in distressed, shallow huffs.

“Miss, are you alright? What happened?” N immediately crouched down beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder as he looked around, there was a small trail of oil leading from the bathroom into the bedroom.

“I'll check it out, see if you can get anything out of her.” Hal said as he moved into the bathroom, N turned his attention back to the girl.

She was still in shock, her long brown hair tousled and unkempt, she was whimpering softly, looking between him and the hand on her core.

“Hey… I'm N. I'm a WDF member. What's your name?” He started softly, easing her in with something simple as she looked like she was in a panic.

“M-Mary.” She replied, her voice small and weak, muffled by static. N tilted his head slightly, he could smell oil, and she seemed to be in pain, but nothing was visually wrong with her.

“Okay Mary, what happened? Are you hurt?” She leaned into the bed further, every ambient light on her body flickered at once and she winced, clutching her core tighter.

“Where are you hurt?” He changed his question and she gave him an answer by looking down at her core, and everything clicked for him, his eyes turned soft.

“May I see?”

He reached forward and slowly touched her hand, giving her time to respond. She nodded warily before N pulled her hand away and gasped as the smell and sight hit him.

The glass covering over her core had been punctured, by what, he didn't know, but the drones full cylindrical core was now exposed to the open air, oil drooled out of the opening profusely, and was all over Mary's hand from where she'd held it. Strangly, her core was glowing a different color then the rest of her, blue, instead of purple.

It was strange… seeing a working core just… exposed like that. But with the way it was flickering, it wouldn't be working for much longer.

He placed her hand back over it and met her eyelights, they had tears in them, one of her hands was gripping his knee like he was a lifeline, he tried to ignore how much her eyelights reminded him of Uzi.

“What happened? Who did this to you?”

Hal came out of the bathroom a moment later, a screwdriver covered in oil in his hands.

“Found this, no sign of any struggle.”

“Mary?” N asked softly, and the young woman buried herself into his shoulder as she sobbed, he caught a few words that made his oil freeze in his tubing.

“I'm sorry… I'm so sorry. I wasn't ready… I wasn't ready…” N blinked up at his boss, who looked like he'd just eaten a rock, N looked back down at her injury.

“You… did this to yourself?” The girl only sobbed harder as she nodded, and N felt himself gulp as, on autopilot, he scooped her up. Having no more questions.

‘Let's get you patched up okay? Can't have you going offline on us.”

The journey to the medical bay was both incredibly fast, and incredibly, torturously slow. Hal was right in front of him the whole time, sprinting as fast as he could go and N was the same, cradling the woman in his arms to protect her the best he could.

Why had she done this to herself? What wasn't she ready for?

The medical staff were waiting for them and whisked off the young woman in a gurney, leaving himself and Hal standing in the waiting room.

N was confused, but he also felt nauseous and the tips of his fingers felt like ice. Context was an informative bitch, even if he didn't have all the information, he could guess, but he didn't want to guess, he wanted to be wrong.

“Hal, why was her core a different color?” He asked, voice slightly shaky as he continued to stare foreward into the doors Mary had been taken through.

“Late Pregnancy.” Hal muttered simply, also staring at those cursed doors.

With that, N felt a dam snap and then crumble into a thousand tiny peices, tears sprung into his visor as the peices clicked into place. Oh God, oh robo-god.

“Woah, N are you-?”

N struggled to keep himself standing as he imagined those purple eyelights driving the screwdriver into her core, for the express purpose of… of killing.

“Uzi's pregnant.” Hal gasped out, holding onto N's shoulder as he tried to supress a complete meltdown. Hal pushed N into a waiting chair as N himself buried his head in his hands.

“Yeah… She is…” N croaked back, trying to expunge the horrible image of Uzi doing this to herself from his processors. Or of her going offline, killed by Doll, killed by… by carrying their baby and it having nowhere to go but through her.

“Does Khan know?”

“No. N-Nobody does.” He grunted, gripping his own hair as all the unpleasant emotions that had been building up and that he'd been repressing, for Uzi's sake and for Tera's sake, and for the sake that he just… didn't want to think about all the ways this could go wrong.

“No wonder you've been so quiet… that's been eating at ya for almost a month.” Hal tried to inject humor but N didn't even laugh, he just made a pathetic whine and looked at the ceiling.

Did Uzi feel this way too? Like she wasn't ready? Or was N unintentionally pressuring her into something that… she didn't want?

He didn't know.

[rewh0re]

—968 words, angst, death, deep talks about life, cemeteries. yea ig that's it. yea also wrote this at 3 am guys i am mighty sleep deprived

a/n; atp I'm doing everything BUT studying or writing my gojo fic :D (gojo fic someday you'll see the light till then this megumi angst has to compensate for it) REBLOGS + FEEDBACKS ARE APPRECIATED!!

megumi can never truly forget that memory.

he remembers clear blue skies and the occasional chirping of birds along with the flapping of their wings. white clouds slowly drifting in the air and dragonflies hovering over the grass. the trees were green and lush, the leaves gently rustling due to the cool breeze which could mean one thing alone—the advent of spring. there was a silence that washed his body with a strange type of peace, a peace he had never quite known, that he had just allowed himself to feel. and there was a presence—you—standing beside him, looking at the unknown grave, head tilted slightly and hands deep in your pockets.

he couldn't help but think—there was so much life bursting amidst a place that housed the dead.

megumi never liked cemeteries. they made him sad, unhappy, gloomy in a way. but you found a certain peace in them. to walk in silence, looking at the many graves—you had said it calmed one's soul. made one think. made one feel grateful for their life.

"it's almost amusing, don't you think?" you had asked, breaking your silence.

"dead people amuse you now?" megumi looked over at you to find you still looking at the grave. how could it ever be amusing to look at a stranger's grave? he swore that sometimes even you didn't understand what you were saying.

"no idiot," you shook your head, a little chuckle bursting out of your throat as your eyes locked with his.

"what i mean is," you sighed "that these people, they were people, like you and me. they had dreams and hopes and aspirations. they worked hard for their passions and hoped to achieve so much through their efforts. isn't it awful how many of these people might never have reached their dreams? their lives cut short as they were snatched away from their own loved ones?"

you ruffled your hair before crossing your arms, "i find it unfair. isn't it unfair? how you never know what will happen? how you, me—all of us—will just become another memory to be forgotten? how we'll just become dust, become one with the earth? our names, just some carvings on some stones and even then—everything will just go on as it is. life will go on. we're just lone stars burning out in the massive universe."

megumi could only look at you. you had that effect on him, rendering him speechless through your words alone. a few seconds passed before he finally found his voice again.

"well," he began, tone laced with a certain gentleness that only showed itself in your presence. "i see it more like the beauty of life. we're here and then we're not. we live and we love and we thrive and we falter. it's the way of life, or the rule of life, whatever you call it. i think that's why we have to make sure we make the most of it. life is unpredictable and that's what makes it so thrilling."

"i think you're right—well—in a way at least. i've learnt to cherish my life. i think with you by my side, i can stand strong and proud and i can live. i'm glad you found me and i found you and i'm glad that we're always by each other's side," you smiled up at him, nudging his shoulder.

"always?"

"always."

wasn't that the promise you made?

it was like looking through a glass window, so vividly was that day's image imprinted on his mind. he wanted to break that glass and take a hold of that memory and relive it again and again and again if it meant he could have you by his side. he definitely would do that if he could.

life is not really beautiful he learnt after he started visiting the cemetery more often. it was cruel, it was ruthless, it filled one with agony and suffering and pain. oh, so much pain.

he never looked at random graves anymore like he did before with you. no, he looked at just one. the name etched on the stone with a few leaves scattered at the base—l/n y/n.

it hurt, it truly did. through you, megumi learnt love and loss, he learnt heartbreak and grief and what it felt like to cry in the middle of the night wishing for you to hold him close and whisper i'm here. you never were though, you wouldn't be there anymore, you wouldn't cradle him and card your fingers softly through his hair or wipe his tears or kiss his worries away. you wouldn't and that was reality and he had to live with that reality.

megumi learnt through you how promises were only made to be broken—knowingly or unknowingly.

but you taught him how to love and to be loved, how to find beauty and peace in the mundane, how to dream big and how to care, to be kind.

he loved you but he had to let you go. alas, you wouldn't want him to be stuck, frozen in a place where darkness loomed and nothing but sheer heartache reigned supreme. maybe it was true that a part of him was gone. maybe it was true that he would never feel truly and completely whole again. but he could swear your ghost would curse at him if he didn't at least try to move forward.

so he laid a bouquet of white carnation at the base of your grave, uttering a silent prayer.

"always." he brought his index and middle finger to his lips and then placed it on the top of the headstone before standing up, burying his hands deep in his coat pockets.

"always." he whispered, letting his words get carried by the air before turning around to walk away.

[shoot-the-oneshot]

Crimson Cage 3

thank you guys for being so patient

Rafe Cameron x Reader Outer Banks Masterlist

Closing your eyes, breathing in the sea air, waves crashing was the only noise surrounding you, if you tried hard enough you could imagine you were at the chateau, home.

The crisp blue waters and white sand beaches of the Caribbean are only a stones throw away. Almost any time of day you could be found here, on the balcony, hot tea in hand the breeze blowing through your hair, you were used to the feeling but the surrounding luxuries that accompanied it were new. Lush white furniture, the flawless railing you could run your hand across a thousand times and never get a splinter.

You weren’t used to these luxuries but you also weren’t used to being a Cameron.

“Marry me” Rafe spoke, the softness In his tone making the question almost sound like a real proposal, stealing a glance at the shiny band on your left hand, you suppose it was.

“Do you think I’ll get a ring like that one day?” Wheezie asked from her spot next to you when she saw you looking at it, "If you want one" You nodded your head.

“If Rafe doesn’t scare everyone off.” She mumbled, her lips pushing out in a pout when you laughed agreeing with her, thinking back to all the times he scared tourons and pouges away from you in your teen years. “He is really good at that.”

“Well if it isn’t my two favorite girls.” You both turned to see Rafe leaning against the open door, the easy smile he's had on his face since you got here still on his face as he walked closer, pulling you both under his arms. Ruffling her hair making her squirm. You liked this version of him, softer less murdery. While Wheezie struggled to get out of her brothers' playful grasp, you leaned further in.

“And how's the beautiful Mrs Cameron doing?” He asked pulling your left hand to his lips. After the wedding, he called you that for a week straight, it was the first time you saw him happy in a long time.

“Oh, you know soaking in the rays like every day.” It was true despite your cage getting an upgrade and having more freedom than you did, it still wasn't home.

Rafe perused his lips, pressing a kiss to your forehead staying there as he spoke. “I have to leave for a bit.” You jerked back eyes wide at the sudden news.

“you’re what!”

“That French guy found a buyer for the cross, I'm taking the boat down there and once I'm back we can do whatever we want.” His voice lowered “Think about what we could do with all that money.” You could finally get away from Ward, you thought to yourself. Rafe hands continued on their paths up and down your arms, hoping you wouldn’t fight too much.

"Can I go with you?" You knew it was a long shot but in your mind, anything was better than staying here with Rose and a bedridden Ward, unsurprisingly he shook his head, dipping his chin to meet your eyes.

"Baby I got this, trust me. You just stay here with Whez and I'll take care of everything, okay?"

“Excuse me?” Rafe turned hearing a new voice, rolling his eyes at the newcomer.

“What are you doing here?” Kiara demanded. “What am I doing here? Why are you here!”

“I was wondering if the reunion would cause sparks you know.” The man's voice cut off the two bickering. “Who are you?” Rafe asked. “My name is Carlos Singh Mr Cameron,” he turned to Kiara. “Miss Carrera.”

“So you know our names is this about the cross or not?” Rafe deflected his intimidation tactic. “This is about the cross Mr Cameron and something much more than that,” Singh spoke of some diary his words going in one ear and out the other until he got fed up.

“Alright I'm done with this, tell her all about your little book.” He exclaimed walking out of the room facing an armed guard. Rafe huffed out turning back to Singe.

“Do you think I’m a fool, Mr Cameron? You have the cross, she and her friends had it at one point. If you truly don't know where the diary is it’s in your best interest to convince Miss Carrera to change her mind. You have one day to decide.”

After he finished they were escorted to a bedroom upstairs that was locked by one of the armed men. "Look out the window if you would like a demonstration of just how serious I am," Singh said before they were taken away. creeping to the window keeping clear of each other they watched a man that Rafe had never seen dragged away before a single gunshot.

"What, Who was that?" Rafe asked, seeing Kiara back away from the window.

"Jimmy Portus, he tried to help me." her voice cracked. Rafes mind ran overtime, rubbing his hands over his buzzed head. "Okay, this diary do you know where it is?"

"Have you forgotten what you did!"

"Which part?" Rafe being the smartass he was replied.

"Killing Peterkin, shooting your sister, stealing the gold and the cross from us beating up Pope!" Kiara shouted. Rafe groaned pacing the length of the room before turning back with his eyes glossy.

"I know you all think of me as some kind of monster I get it and I feel bad about what I did to Sarah, but I'm a victim too. Don't look at me like that, I am, okay!" Rafe paced in front of the window as Kiarra watched silently, waiting for him to explode again

“Listen listen I know you don't trust me or like me honestly I don't care.” He spoke raising his hands to point at his chest. “But you care about Y/N.”

The girls brows furrowed. “You mean my friend that you kidnapped."

Rafe rolled his eyes "She was my girlfriend I saved her from a suicide mission, but that's not the point."

His tone dropped stepping forward, Kiara matching with one of her own backwards until she hit the bed frame.

"She married me." raising his left hand showcasing the gold band on his finger. At the sight, she took a deep breath no doubt about to start yelling.

"Everyone thinks my dad is dead, which means the business the money the gold, it went to me and now Y/n." his voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned closer.

"Rose can't touch her when I'm there but if I die she gets everything. what do you think Rose would do with all the power and money right there for the taking?"

"You might not want to help me get out of here fine, but do you really want whatever happens to her on your head?" Rafe cocked his head watching her resolve crumble and her teeth grind.

"Fine, I have an idea."

Rafe crept through the house, it had to be around midnight with how dark it was keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible he pushed the bedroom door open, seeing the silhouette on the bed. who sensing his presence flipped over and gasped.

"Rafe!" quickly moving he knelt on the bed his hand going to her neck.

"shh baby you're okay, it's me I'm back" his thumb rubbed back and forth soothing her back to laying down now on his chest. god how he missed this, the feeling of her pressed against him, her breath fanning across his neck as every inhale filled with the smell of her shampoo.

"Did you sell the cross," you whispered. feeling his arms tighten around you.

"Don't worry about that, but I did some thinking while I was gone." he sighed into your hair. "I think it's time we go home." you shot up a hand pressing against his chest not giving him a chance to escape, not that he would go anywhere with you looking at him like that.

"We're going back to the Outer Banks?" grabbing your hand and pressing soft kisses long it as he sat up, his face illuminated by the moonlight allowing you to see his smile through the darkness. "We can leave in the morning."

Seeing the happiness glowing from the love of his life he's glad he withheld the finer details of the pouges and Singh, all that mattered was getting home.

Meanwhile, across the world, your sibling was floating back to the same island with their now alive father. who after steering the boat for a few hours joined John B down below.

“Where’s my butterfly is she still in OBX with that Cameron boy?” His father spoke sitting across from him at the table. it was still surreal to see him alive and well in front of him

“Uh, I don't know?” John B tucked his head. “What do you mean? She wasn’t with you"

“No, after Ward framed me for Peterkin, Sarah, Y/N and I were going to run on JJs dads boat, but she never showed up.” He watched as the information sunk into his dad as he slowly sunk into the chair his full attention on his oldest child.

"Sarah was with you on the run?"

"uh yeah." John B rubbed the back of his neck. "We're married, Dad." his foot tapped nervously waiting for his father's response.

"You married Sarah Cameron? Ward's daughter Sarah?"

"Are you mad?" he asked, trying the read the look on his father's face, who cracked into a smile.

"That you went after the big catch? not at all son, just sorry I missed the wedding" John B released a breath of air he was holding when the room went serious.

“So where is Y/N John B?”

“Sarah told me on the island that Rafe took her thinking she was on a suicide mission following me, she was on the ship with the cross when I last saw her. She stayed behind.”

The older man was silent in thought, “So Ward tried to kill me. Rafe shot Peterkin, you got framed and went on the run while Rafe kidnapped your sister. You found her but left her and got stranded on a island and married his sister, is that right?” John B nodded mumbling “There were a few things in between but yes”

"You know his sister so tell me bird, would he hurt her?" John B has never seen his father so serious about something other than treasure.

"No, Rafe would kill just about anyone, but he wouldn't hurt her, if anything he'd do it for her in his own twisted way."

"Alright then, we get to the OBX, find the map then get your sister." the older man slapped his thigh going to stand up ready to get them home as soon as possible.

This is the life you missed, it was like nothing changed. the second you landed back in the OBX you demanded Rafe take the roof off his jeep and take you driving wanting to see everything immediately. And who was he to say no?

Left hand free played full blast through the speakers as you drove downtown. your smile widens seeing Haywards, then the beach where you and Kiara saved baby turtles that one summer.

Unable to hold in your excitement you unbuckled your seatbelt and before Rafe could stop you, you stood up holding onto the bar. "I'm home!" you yelled at the top of your lungs against the wind. you could barely hear Rafes laugh at your antics.

His hand landed on your thigh the second you sat back down against the leather. you turned to look at him, you realized how young he looked in that moment no stress on his shoulders, he looked like when you first fell in love and would drive around town just to talk all day. except now there was a shiny ring on his left hand steering the car.

"I love you." the second the words left your lips the car's brakes slammed to a stop, the only reason you didn't hit the dash from the sudden jolt was the arm holding you back.

"What did you say?" Rafe shouted, before composing himself and asking again in a quieter tone. you haven't said it since before the tarmac but also haven't felt this since then.

He watched you intently as you smiled, you grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer. "I love you Rafe." you felt his breath shudder against your lips. his hand tangled itself in your hair. "I love you so much Y/n, always have always will." his lips crashed against yours with the passion of two lovers separated for years, which in a way you were.

You could feel Rafes smile against your lips. "Take me home Rafe."

once again he did as you asked, you don't think you've ever gotten to Tannyhill so fast before. the car was barely stopped before Rafe jumped out and ran to your side.

"Rafe!" you yelped when he picked you up, "Just carrying my bride across the threshold."

The weeks you've had in the OBX have been a dream, it was back to how it was. One morning while cooking breakfast Rafe to your shock, even dropped the keys to his jeep in front of you with a kiss on the head telling you to drive safe, before leaving on his bike to wherever he went during the day.

The first place you went was the chateau, softly shutting the car door all the memories you've made here hit you. The bedtime stories your dad would tell you and John B of pirates and gold, sleepovers with the pouges, even sneaking out to meet Rafe. You thought things would be the same when you came back, but nothing was. Now you had to push away cobwebs just to get inside.

With a sigh you looked around the chateau, kicking aside one of John B.'s shoes he threw everywhere, the floors creaked as you made your way around the house the layers of dust only confirming what you thought. No one was here, you didn't know where your brother was but figured he was as far as he could get from here.

Wiping your hands of dust you decided to go back home. you never thought you would call Tannyhill home but the feeling you had in that large white house felt better than you did minutes ago. Rafe was still gone when you got home so you went to your favorite spot in the house, the master balcony. the water looked nothing like in Guadalupe but you loved it.

Rafe who snuck in behind you, silently wrapped his arms around your waist pulling your back to his chest, his breath fanning your neck as he spoke. "I missed you wifey." you jumped in shock then relaxed back into his hold recognizing his voice, returning the sentiment he turned you around thumbs rubbing your waist from where he snuck his hands under your shirt.

"I had something made for you," Rafe smirked giving one last squeeze before moving his hands one going to the back of your neck the other reaching for something in his back pocket. pulling out a necklace covered in diamonds. before you could protest he clasped it around your neck his fingertips brushing along your collarbones as he fixed it.

"Rafe," "Just say thank you, and let me treat my wife like a husband should." he sushed you still admiring the hardware. reaching up on your tiptoes you pressed your lips together. wrapping your arms around his neck pulling away you showered his face in kisses, his jaw, cheek, nose everywhere. He practically preened loving the attention you were giving.

"There's one more thing," Rafe spoke suddenly looking uncharecterlisticly sheepish, like he was afraid of your reaction. curious as to what would pull that reaction out of him you wordlessly nodded your head. "Close your eyes." doing as he said you felt him pull away and heard shuffling. "Open"

You opened your eyes finding him on one knee eyes hopeful and ring in hand. "I know we are married already but I always wanted to give you the ring you deserve and what better place than your favorite." he choked up a bit on his words his eyes glossy. "So Y/n love of my life, will you stay married to me?"

Honestly, you wanted to laugh he was right the papers were signed but with how he looked right now you couldn't dare make fun when he took it so seriously. "Yes Rafe, I'll stay married to you." you smiled as he released a heavy sigh of relief. This is how you originally imagined him proposing, here not on some boat. the second he got to his feet his hands caged your face pulling in, kissing you like it was the altar. you watched as he slid the biggest oval diamond you have ever seen on your finger. "Oh my god where did you get this its massive!"

If you were paying attention you would've seen his shoulders tense momentarily. "We are Cameron's baby." was the only answer he gave as he watched you admire the ring and the view of the ocean in the same scene. he took his spot back behind you with you held tight in his arms nuzzeling your neck.

“You know this is all ours right? Just how it was always meant to be.” He whispered looking over the backyard of Tannyhill with you.

“We’re here to sell it Rafe it's not ours.” you sighed.

“Isn’t it? My dad can’t come back here, it's all in my name. I always told you this would be ours one day.” He paused using his grip on your hips to spin you to face him.

“Today is that day.” He nuzzled his nose in your hair taking a breath as you felt excitement fill you at the possibility of being home again. Your hands went to his face pulling his eyes to yours. That easy-going smile he got when he knew he did something you'd like on his face.

“We can really stay?” You whispered hopefully as if a louder tone would ruin everything. Rafe smiled loving that happy look in your eyes once again. He nodded his nose rubbing against yours with the movement. “We’re home baby.” He spoke against your lips before before pressing more fully.

Excitedly smiling into the kiss, you wrapped your arms around his neck laughing as he spun you. maybe Rafe was right and everything that happened was for the best because this felt like where you were supposed to be.

a few days later you watched Rafe walk in, instead of joining you in the kitchen he leaned against the enteryway watching you, "Let's go for a drive there's something you need to see. his somber tone rattled you. He led you out to the jeep looking like he was fighting himself with every step. the ride was quiet your leg bounced with nerves, normally Rafe was your rock if he was calm you didn't need to worry but his hands kept flexing and shifting on the wheel.

You looked to Rafe in confusion as he pulled the truck to a stop at the chateau. He pulled your hand to his face making you caress his cheek, turning his head he kissed your palm before letting you go and turning to face the house.

“Go, I’ll be here.”

You shook your head. "There is nothing there i already looked." Rafe sighed nodding to the house again.

Not understanding but still trusting him, you pulled open your door and stepped out, looking at Rafe one more time who gave you a forced smile confusing you even more. Shaking it off you made your way to the backyard surprised to hear voices. Turning the corner you froze seeing the pouges all standing around smiling at someone who was spinning with JJ on their back it wasn’t until they turned around you saw who it was.

“Dad?”

The group froze hearing the new voice. Their eyes widened seeing you, who for all they knew was somewhere in the Bahamas under lock and key. now stood right in front of them. JJ slid off your dad's back as he straightened to full height staring right back at you, or you think he was, your vision was blurry welling up with tears.

"There's my butterfly." he choked out, opening his arms. for you to fall into, you were hit with the familiar smell of your father as you wrapped your arms around him. "We thought you were dead." you sobbed against his chest. you felt it rumble with his chuckle. "Seems like there was a lot of that around here."

He pulled back, hands cradling your face and wiping your tears like when you were little. "I missed you, kid."

"I missed you too Dad."

"I missed you too you know!" your attention turned to John B, who was quick to wrap you up in a hug. "I'm sorry I never should left you on that ship, I should've made you jump first-" you laughed cutting him off mid-rant. "It's okay, we're back now, all of us." Big John who was watching turned to the pouges.

"Well, kids I think we need some family time." Sarah hesitates leaving with the others when John B. walks back to her side and grabs her hand. "She's family to dad." Big John sighed, nodding his head. "Come on then." holding the door open you stood still as your brother and Sarah walked into the chatue.

"You guys go ahead I'll be right there." you waited until your dad shot the door behind him before jogging back to the driveway. Rafe who saw you quickly jumped out of the truck to meet you. "Are you okay?" his hands went to your jaw making you look up at him, his thumbs gently swiping under your eyes. you didn't bother telling him about your dad, figuring that's why he brought you here.

"My dad called for family time, you should be there too." Rafe smiled at your words pulling you closer to press his lips against your forehead before taking your hand, letting you lead him inside.

Everyone was sitting at the small table when you both walked in, John B. and Sarah's Eyes widened while your father looked like he almost expected it. You both sat down rafes arm slung over the back of your chair fingers brushing your upper arm. "So fill me in." Big john spoke.

We all took turns explaining our sides it was well after nightfall until everyone was done, Dad sat back in his chair with a glass of bourbon held in his hands. "never thought I'd miss both of my kids weddings." he said before emptying the glass in one go.

"I'd just like to point out we're the only ones that are legally married here, not just some sea law." Rafe pointed out pointing between you and your bother, his ring caught the light. "And we could always have another wedding here like it was supposed to be." He spoke nonchalantly, making you perk up. the Guadalupe wedding was beautiful but it was always a dream to get married here, at home.

Rafe turns back with his smug smile on his face shooting you a wink. John B disgusted by the scene in front of him speaks up. "Maybe a double wedding then huh Rafey." he mocks using your nickname for the man who doesn't even glare back just smiles. "No." your dad laughs at the two as the night comes to a close. You had everything you wanted, Rafe, your dad, and your brother back everything was perfect, until a few days later.

You had just gotten back to Tannyhill from the chateau walking up the wide white steps nothing seemed amiss. "Hello Y/N." you spun around, breath catching in your throat.

"Ward."

wooo that took forever this is truly my favorite series I have written i hope you guys liked it as much as i do leave a comment if you did (they make me smile) check out the other parts here if you'd like to be added to my OBX tag list please let me know!

taglist: @itssoweirdyoureher @scenesofobx @dopedaegus @marauderswhore

[12pt-times-new-roman]

c3e91

We open on the two teams booking it back toward the Volition hideout.

As the extraction team enters the industrial and residential circle of the city, the populace of Kreviris is in a rising panic, and soldiers are beginning to flood toward the Prime Pillar. Mystics begin to emerge as well, like bees swarming out of a hive. They form a matrix around it and the pillar lights up as a gossamer wave emanates out from it — a wave of dispelling energy breaks the extraction team's invisibility and the detonation team's illusion. They are all visible in the streets of Kreviris.

Their telepathic bond is gone too — that means that the dispel wave is at least 5th level.

Fearne spots that Zathuda appears to have survived the explosion and is riding Gloamglut in surveying circles around the pillar. As their illusion breaks, the dragon lands on the rooftops above them and looks down.

Ashton build update: While transformed by the shard of earth, Ashton's weapons have siege, which lets them deal double damage to structures (like walls). This lets him break down walls like a Looney Toons character so that they can escape the dragon (with a whole-ass building as a casualty, because siege doubles the already-doubled damage of a crit).

Meanwhile, Imogen recasts invisibility and Everoa starts to guide them out.

They tuck into a passage, but Zathuda calls out: "Fearne! It would be my own who fights against me. You really are your mother's daughter. It's a mix of pride and hate I hold for you, Fearne Zathuda! A true chaos being of cold shadow and fiery flame." Gloamglut can't quite find them.

Fearne polymorphs FCG into a slither then turns into one with wildshape, and with Ashton able to glide through the rock with the shard, they are safely burrowed underground and start heading back to where they came from.

As the extraction team gets closer to the edge of the city, walls of stone rise from the ground and encircle them in a 40-foot cage — the wisdom save that Laudna failed was most likely a scry, and they glance up to see a wind-swept, bloodied Liliana descending. Imogen is the only one visible.

When Liliana speaks, it has multiple tones, like an offset harmony as she speaks. "Did you know?" [Did I know what?] (persuasion: 31) "Then why are you here?" It's almost hard to focus on her from the pressure her presence is exerting.

Imogen takes out the locket that Relvin gave her. [You're so powerful. A better whole, mama.] "I don't want Ludinus to see how powerful you are. He'll make you the vessel instead." [Run away. Run away with me.] "I can't. As long as I'm here, I can control what happens around him. If I'm not here, there are so many others, children—" [You're hurt. Please, come with me. Please.] (persuasion: 31) "The Mind is lookin'. I have to think. I'll find you. I'll find you. Go. Go."

She drops the walls and shoots up through the ceiling of the city like a bullet. They start running. In front of them, five reiloran mystics clad in golds, platinums, gems, intricate robes — their crests with bones, runes, and chains. They are so adorned with jewelry that it's difficult to discern their age through the masks. Their outline is impressive, but their legs dangle down like straggly roots without ground. They speak: "There you are. Who are you?"

They turn to Chetney. "We've connected to your essence before..." There was a moment when the red moon seemed to look in to Chetney's soul, and he began to lose control — and it's happening again now, that same feeling. "Sweet feral child, instrument of our desire... who else joins us?"

To Laudna, or Delilah beneath: "Two spirits reside in one vessel. We can give you all that you desire."

As they look at each of them in turn, the Bells Hells' wills turn to paper. They turn to Orym, but before they can speak, he says under his breath: "Nana Morri, I need you, right now. We need to get out of here. All of us. Now."

They turn from Orym to Imogen: "You... you've come home. We're happy to have you. The rest may stay — no. They resist. They must go. Welcome home." And their illusions disappear. They keep running, and make it into a tunnel that climbs toward the top of the city.

Team detonation can see Liliana's walls going up and race toward it — they reach team extraction in time to see the Weave-Mind leave, and the Bells Hells reunite.

Imogen casts sending on Rashina: "We have Everoa. The city is unsafe. How's the safehouse? If it's not safe, we'll take her with us elsewhere." The safehouse is, unfortunately, abandoned. Too hot for us to regather. Rest. Find the allies you promised. Take her with you. Anything of import, let us know.

The Bells Hells resolve to leave the city and return to the secret passage to Exandria. They approach the top of the tunnel, and as they realize Otohan is following them, they start collapsing the tunnel behind them and preparing for battle. (I think this is the point where Matt regrets, just a little bit, giving Ashton this stone-surfing ability.)

Bormodo update: Their speed is 25.

Otohan goes around the tunnel collapse and gets ahead of them. Orym takes point to listen for her — he doesn't hear anything, but sees an echo — "then, it suddenly has color, has form. Otohan is here."

To break!

Begin combat:

Orym goes first, and opens with a hex and then two critical hits on Otohan's backpack.

Otohan takes Chetney down and kills him in one round, but expends a lot of her juice to do so — action surge is down, and so are three of her psionic dice. Matt is absolutely playing her how he should be — with a lone fighter like her, she needs to get someone down in almost every round because the action economy is so desperately stacked against her.

Chetney's last words are, "for four hundred years, I looked up at the moon. Not a bad place to go."

She looks at Imogen. "We have more than enough Ruidisborn to complete our plan. The loss of one candidate will not be impactful."

Fearne activates the spark of Rau'shan, and becomes a creature made completely of fire. While it's active, difficult terrain does not impede her movement.

God, the fact that Matt allows FCG to trade his 7th-level spell slot for preparing revivify definitely says something about how this fight is going thus far — but FCG attempts a revivify on Chetney: "Chetney, you haven't become a legend yet." Resurrection spells work, or at the very least they work on the moon! Chetney's DC goes up to 11, he's back up with 1 hit point, and FCG has no more diamonds.

Imogen's telekinesis tears the backpack off of Otohan, and she pushes it toward Ashton so he can smash it. "Oh, you bitch!" That's anger there. As it's torn off, the shadows around her vanish — she can't use any of her echo knight abilities anymore, so they were all sourced from the backpack.

Orym update: He did get the fey-touched feat, and took misty step for his 2nd level spell. He teleports, does a bait and switch with Imogen, and starts going off on this bitch — advantage for flanking and two back-to-back crits.

Laudna hits a massive blight roll and burns one of her legendary resistances, on top of three eldritch blast hits.

Fearne update: When she hits with an attack or spell, she can choose to deal additional fire damage.

Orym has rolled so many natural 20s this fight, and I can't help but feel that it's excellent poetic justice.

Otohan uses her second action surge, confirming that she's at least a 17th level fighter, but is most likely 20th.

Chetney, on 1 hit point, uses his healing potion on a downed Imogen instead.

Laudna update: The ability is actually called hunger of the shadow shard, meaning it's actually sourced from the piece of the gnarlrock that Delilah absorbed and not Delilah intrinsically. Also, she can keep using it until it works, but once it works it can't be used again. Also also, the energy that emanates from Laudna's hand as she does that is unfamiliar to Otohan, and she looks afraid.

Ashton update: Ashton's gravity rage build does not require a saving throw — it stands to reason that their other rage builds don't either, only the extra abilities do. That makes a lot of sense, actually. Also, when Ashton has the shard activated, they can choose to deal an additional 1d6 fire damage on a hit; and at some point, their chaos burst damage went up to 1d8.

Otohan update: She actually did go super-Sayan, and has an exalted rage form that has an increased AC and, presumably, an increased damage output, bonus to hit, and saves. She also regains both action surges when it happens.

Ashton rage build update: As a reaction, Ashton can use erratic defense and roll 1d4. On one of the results, Ashton takes half damage from the attack and the attacker is pushed 30 feet away.

Oddly enough, she downs Imogen again and doesn't go for a kill shot — instead, she downs Chetney again and doesn't kill anyone, which is going to allow FCG to heal everyone back up.

Otohan having resistance to all damage in this form on top of 25 AC is....... that feels like a little bit too much to me. just barely. But we'll see. (edit from future Note: this is the point where the party begins to lose hope.)

On one of Otohan's blades, when it hits a creature that's concentrating on a spell, the concentration check DC is doubled, which drops Fearne's aura of life. FCG, on their last leg, triggers their stress response. See above.

Genuinely, this is 100% the kind of situation that I would warn new or even half-seasoned GMs about — the kind of situation that you look at and say, "do not ever do this unless you are 100% certain that your group would be okay with it." And I hope, but I know many won't, that the fandom will respond to this in the way that they should, recognizing that this is a group of players who know each other so intimately that the GM can do this and have the table be not only alright but content with it.

As a hail-mary, Imogen casts sending on Liliana. "Otohan has us in the tunnels. It's about to be over. Help." The response: "I don't — I'll try to find you. I don't know how fast I can get there, I'll try to find you." Imogen takes off the circlet to help her find them.

"We might have misjudged this a tidy-bit—" Travis. Laura. what do you mean. She sought you out. There was no way to avoid this.

Matt rolling behind the screen and not having Otohan attack to kill is hopeful! But still, the sheer hopelessness here among the players is something you really should not do if you don't know your table. (At the same time, there's also a building hopelessness in Matt, which I think is what allows the following events to transpire.)

That there's no music behind this half of the fight, or at least very low-volume music, is also...... not helping, I don't think.

Man, this is a BG3-ass fight. Literally fighting until the last hit point, spending every scroll and potion you can, especially because getting someone up means they get a full round of actions.

End of combat

With 5 hit points left, FCG casts a 4th-level guiding bolt at their core. You know what this means, right? "Yes. The rage that I feel, the stress being so high, the fuel pumping through my core — it has reached a level it's never reached before, and it is so intense, that for the first time I realize that I am made of metal and wires, but I am alive. I am alive not because I was made, I'm alive because they made me alive, and it's the connections that I made with all of them. It's a feeling of joy, and I am happy to do this, because they saved my life. And I'll save theirs."

FCG pushes Otohan back so that only they are in the blast radius. They roll 20d8, for 79 damage. "FCG... how do you want to do this?"

"The last things I see are Bertrand, and Dorian, and Frida. I just feel connected to everybody. Some connections are made with wires, and some are made with blood, some are made with bone, some are made with wood, but they all matter. And they, even in this dark, dark cave, they make every day a smiley day. So I just sign off, and go."

The red in FCG's eyes turns to white, and there is a smile turned toward the rest of the Bells Hells. Otohan goes to awkwardly pull a blade, and before she gets a chance to dart away, a ball of crackling energy fills the space, rocks around her — she is incinerated, utterly. Then it stops, leaving a crater in the ground. "The sound of hundreds of small pieces of metal sprinkle across the room. The charred, lifeless body of Otohan Thull is left there."

"The thing about heroic sacrifice is it doesn't just give meaning to the person in the moment — it's an inspiration that we have to carry with us. As this moment of tragedy washes over you, in ways that maybe some of you already knew, or are realizing right now... the stakes are realer now than ever. And this loss cannot be in vain. As the silence and numbness begins to subside, you start to hear the distant sounds of shouting soldiers. People coming. You know you have to keep going."

Ashton goes to find FCG's coin — it's like a beacon guiding them to the exit. He takes it. There is still part of FCG's head and smile left — lenses cracked, jaw unhinged, but it's something. They also recover the teleportation staff.

Of Otohan, nothing is left but her backpack, which was away from the explosion, and her blades, thrown away in the blast.

"Numb and distracted, pushing ever-onward because that's what this is all about," the remainder of the Bells Hells emerges onto the wind-swept quiet of Ruidus. Liliana descends, and takes Imogen's hand. As the dust rolls by and the clouds clear, with the vision of Exandria above... the stakes are clear. Sam Riegel, you motherfucker.

[witchofthesouls]

Tbh Star Saber’s reaction is justified. Sentinel just claims this random bot as a bride (probably doesn’t even know their name too) I’d be miffed too if I was his protector. But what about said bot’s reaction? You wake up after passing out and suddenly your hitched, I’d be backing up Star Saber in the background as he yells at Sentinel.

(You're going to be busy trying to deal with alien biology to start yelling. If anything you're yelling at whatever drop-kicked you into this timeline that's the dumpster fire that makes up Bayverse.

Get ready for misunderstandings and failed negotiations:)

Consciousness doesn't gently trickle back. It kicks you in the teeth without any warning. One moment, darkness. The next moment, you're heaving up and accidentally slamming into something hard.

That something yelps.

While you have the grace of facial protection, Sentinel isn't as lucky. You still have a throbbing headache, though. It flares whenever there's the incomprehensible electronic noise of their native tongue is being spoken.

Your head pulses to an excruciating degree when suddenly it clicks. The noise becomes words.

And you don't like them.

"Look, it can't even speak. Let alone understand us." Star Saber - your HUD factually pings, rapidly scrolling all of his positions, achievements, strengths, and possible weaknesses - says like an absolute cunt.

"Oooooo. Cooon-tuh." The High Lord Protector sounds out the English your ass of a mouth that not even a supercomputer brain could leash have shot out. The Seeker is unamused, and you don't even resist the urge to stick your tongue out since you're wearing the visor and he can't see.

You have a vague sense that you're forgetting something important. The wisps of a strange dream linger in the periphery edges of your mind, but a hiccuping wail interrupts everything.

Nearby and attached to the berth (fanon terminology don't fail you now!) are the infants. You immediately pick up the crying one. The tiny face warps from the force of their distress. Something compels you to cradle it up to your chest, and they settle down to snuffly whistles.

Of course, the other one starts up when your hands are full.

Sentinel picks the second infant to maneuver them to you. You never expected this asshole to have gentle hands, but he does. At least for the babies.

"They're split-spark." He explains as both of them grab a hold of each other, whistling and chirping between a songbird and a hot kettle. "They have to remain close together until they're third in-star."

There's a moment of silence in the room, only interrupted by the newsparks' chirping babbling and fretful meeping.

"Not to be rude," you slowly test out the digital language, and Star Saber doesn't snort or move his expression, but he definitely disproves. Fucker. "But why am I here?"

"Yes, Prime," the Seeker knows how to turn a soft voice into an assassin's thread. "Why do we have such a guest here?"

The words he chose have so many insulting undertones and stresses that if you didn't have your arms full, you might as well slap him. High Lord Protector be damned.

He wants you far away, and you want to be farther than Star Saber could dream of.

Of course, neither you nor Star Saber gets those desires granted.

"You're here," Sentinel’s tone shifts. Formal. Very formal. A strange mix of anticipation and... duty? "In the privacy of my household and in the presence of my most trusted-" Star Saber's expression is set in stone and just as cold "-to declare our sparks together in front of Primus."

Unlike fanfics where Sam Witwicky has the Allspark to handily act as a translator, you only have the equivalent of a more sensible Google translate with all of the additional kinda-helpul-but-not-really dings of subharmonics and underlying glyphs to provide more context. It sounds like a marriage proposal, but the way Sentinel emphasized it is more akin to a 'Guardian seek out an equal partnership in a (business) venture.'

Thanks, Google. Great help as always. Never change.

Unless you've taken over the body of a noble with capital to buy out galaxies or some sort of daring pirate/elite assassin with that ghostly possession of hidden skills, you have no idea why he's asking you for this kind of proposition.

You need to bite the bullet because you don't know what you're walking into, and maybe you can jump out another window and speed away.

You start searching the lexicon for the right words. Hopefully.

_____________

Even with the visor eclipsing your face, you're refreshingly honest and it's something Sentinel profoundly misses ever since he's been taken from the Guiding Hand's Towers.

And right now, they know your possible intention to jump again beneath the tangle of confusion and worry.

The windows here are reinforced and capable of withstanding artillery blasts and extreme heat resistance as well.

:: The foundlings are completely attached to this one. :: Hard and unforgiving Star Saber may be, but there are a few things that soften the mech. It may be the Seekerkin-coding in him that invokes protective feelings towards the very young.

You and the newsparks have sealed a guardian/parental bond. They can't separate them from you. The strain will most likely kill them, and possibly you with your recent recklessness. You may have a powerfully dense spark -a hallmark of mecha with Primal heritage- but you're still young, barely past the ninth in-star, and still developing towards an adult frame.

Ratchet had been torn between absolute fury and begrudgingly impressed by the one that had done your frame-schematics. It's a remarkable mix of stealth modifications, hidden components, and security. Your systems had literally chewed up suppression codes and medical overrides and spat them out.

Either you have a creator that's a fiend of a weaponsmith or you have ties to the legendary War-Forged, too. Unbelievable, but no one expected any frames out in the Wastelands to be blessed by Primus, and yet here they are with not one, but two individuals.

And Sentinel is asking the mechling for a formal courtship with the intention of bonding.

"Are you-" you speak carefully, testing out the glyphs, and he wonders what kind of dialect the Wilders speak "-asking me to bond with you?"

The phrase makes logical sense. However, Sentinel can't help but choke at the subglyphs you used. Instead of 'unity of wedlock between two parties,' you attached something akin to sponsoring a courtesan for an exclusive relationship. An explicitly sexual one.

Star Saber doesn't budge. The Seeker's body langauge is impeccable and beyond reproach to stand as a witness to this mess, but Sentinel feels the icy talons of their shared bond flare to a vicious burning grip.

:: If you say any sort of agreement to that poorly worded question, Sentinel Prime. :: Star Saber's terrible words cut into Sentinel's spark. :: I will personally make the rest of your limited time on this planet a new level of Unicron's Pits. ::

Sentinel had to lock his joints to keep himself upright and not sprawled on the floor. After a long moment, he manages to grapple with the bond to sear away Star Saber's influence. :: I wasn't! ::

Slag all those that deify their partnership as the original split-sparks Prima and Megatronus, it's a slaggen mockery of a marital bond.

Sentinel gathers every scrap of his intentions to make it work with the newly found Primal-descended and throws it at Star Saber's end. It's still a raw wound. He finds it deeply discomforting to be intimately tied to the Seeker upon the confirmed demise of an unmoored Zeta Prime. Just barely after the Temple's blessings to establish suitable compatibility as a Prime and a new Protector.

(If Sentinel thinks too much about it, he will scream until he burns out and -)

Star Saber quirks a plate at his efforts and releases the onslaught. :: Look at that. Perhaps there's a warrior underneath that softness, librarian. Correct your Intended before the Wilder escapes with the newsparks. ::

During their internal spat, you pressed your back against the wall, plating closed to minimize noise. You've silenced your biosignature as well. Even the foundlings are silent -a natural defense that's driven by terror of the sudden tensions and your own reaction.

Fan-fragging-tastic.

[littlest-w01f]

Celebration

Cassian x Rheana

For @cassianappreciationweek

Cassian week 2024 Masterlist

Day 6: Birthday

Summary: Cassian's first birthday

Cw: None

Cassian woke up, in a bed he couldn't help but note, that a little more than a year ago he had nothing, but now he had a warm bed, good food and friends. The now 11-year-old sat up in his bed, looking around the room, he shared one with Rhysand, the heir asleep on his stomach, the half-breed he'd beaten bloody his first day in the Windhaven camps, who was now one of his closest friends.

The faeling got out of bed, making his way to the bathing chambers, he'd never been more thankful for a place like that, having only bathed in the flowing river before anyone else got up.

Cassian's morning routine continued as he made his way into the bath, room filled with steam and warmth that seemed almost magical compared to the cold stone baths he used to have at the grounds. He opened the door gently, careful not to wake Rhysand, whose peaceful snores were music to his ears after a year of always being on his guard for anyone who wanted to end the bastard at their camp.

He stripped off his clothes quickly, leaving them in a messy pile on the floor. He stepped into the large marble tub, letting the hot water soothe away his body. It felt divine after a night of training and bonding with his new family.

He'd kept quiet about his birthday, his birth wasn't something to be celebrated, not after the fact that he was a bastard and no one let him forget it.

And as Cassian made his way downstairs in training leathers he nearly stumbled on his own feet as Rheana jumped from the darkness, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Cassian barely had time to react before Rheana pounced, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Her laughter echoed through the dimly lit hallways, causing other sleep-deprived individuals to groan and cover their heads with pillows.

"SISTER SHUT UP!" Echoed through the halls.

Cassian sighed, but a soft smile made its way to his lips, "Well, I guess there's no escaping it then. You've got me now, don't you?"

"Yeah well, you suck at keeping your thoughts to yourself." Rheana tapped her temple, reminding Cassian of her Daemati abilities, "I could hear you screaming your thoughts all week, I'm sure Rhys could too."

"Oh, so this is your plan? To ambush me on my birthday?" Cassian chuckled, ruffling her hair affectionately despite himself. His heart swelled with unexpected happiness, birthdays hadn't been a thing for him, much less celebrated. But here, surrounded by people who cared deeply for him, Cassian found himself genuinely happy.

Rheana shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, someone's gotta do it! Besides, it's not every day we get to celebrate our friend's birthday." She grinned up.

Cassian laughed softly, leaning down to give Rheana a playful nudge in return. "You're such a pain," he said teasingly, though there was genuine warmth in his voice.

"Hey, I don't put this much effort in just no one." Rheana rolled her eyes, "And I certainly don't wake up before mama. You should feel luck,"

"I still can't believe you read my mind," Cassian admitted quietly after a moment of silence between them.

Rheana looked up at Cassian, her eyes sparkling with mischief and love. "Well it's not really mind reading if you were screaming your thoughts at me." She nudged him playfully again.

She stood on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around his neck once more in a hug. "Besides…you're almost family now." Her voice dropped to a whisper, filled with warmth and sincerity. "We remember and celebrate these things."

Rheana grinned mischievously at Cassian again, "And mother wanted to teach me to bake more so I had her teach me how to make a cake, I'm not above boasting about my desserts."

Cassian rolled his eyes playfully, "Please… Most of your 'cooking' includes using magic."

Rheana stuck out her tongue at him, "Hey! I'm learning!" She insisted, though her tone held a hint of prideful defiance.

Rheana stuck her tongue out at him, "Also that's mean!" She protested good-naturedly. "But fine, whatever. Just wait until you taste this delicious masterpiece I've created."

With a dramatic sigh, she turned on her heel and began walking towards the kitchen. "Come along lazy wings! Don't think you can just laze around today because it's your birthday."

"Come on! Rhysand and Azriel are still asleep," Cassian scoffed, "Atleast I'm better than those lazy heads."

Rheana giggled, her steps light and quick as she led the way back to the kitchen. "Oh please, they're probably just sleeping in because they're old males in young fae bodies," she teased.

Once inside, the scent of freshly baked goods filled the air, making Cassian's mouth water instantly. "See?" Rheana said proudly, pointing towards a beautifully decorated cake sitting on top of the counter. "Told ya!"

Despite himself, Cassian couldn't help but smile wider at the sight before him. It was rare for Rheana to show off her cooking skills, especially when it came to baking, and yet here she was doing just that.

"It looks amazing," he admitted honestly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Rheana flipped her hair over her shoulders, "And I have gifts for you too."

Rheana smiled enthusiastically, reaching under the counter to pull out two wrapped package tied with colourful ribbons. "Happy Birthday!" She sang dramatically.

"You didn't have to get me anything," he said softly, taking the gifts from her hands. "This is enough…"

"But where's the fun in that?" Rheana countered with an impish grin. "Now open it!"

Cassian chuckled lightly, setting aside his training leathers as he took a seat at the kitchen table. With careful fingers, he unwrapped one present carefully, revealing what appeared to be some sort of book bound in leather and adorned with intricate designs etched onto its surface.

"Is this…?" His voice trailed off as he flipped through pages written and illustrations depicting various forms of combat techniques. "It's incredible…" He then opened the second one and almost choked up, as it contained brand-new fighting leathers. "Rhea... I love this..."

"I knew you'd love it!" Rheana smiled softly, "And you better get used to this cause your birthday comes every year."

{General Taglist- @nox-ceur @lilah-asteria @paleidiot}

[himeryu]

— Love Rivalry: 28. Mistake

kaveh x reader

"An amazing defense as always," your professor compliments you and Alhaitham as he walks towards the stage with a wide grin. You smile at your professor as you mouth a thank you, whereas Alhaitham nods. You glance at your now former partner, trying to read his emotions. 

Unreadable and unpredictable, those two words are what Alhaitham is known for. Nonetheless, your time spent with him was no joke; even witnessing the stone-faced Alhaitham slip up years ago. However, it's been two years, and many things have changed, including your relationship with the man. From predicting his every word to not knowing what he would say next, the damage that has been caused would never heal a wounded heart.

"You two truly make an excellent pair," your professor continues.

Your smile immediately falls. 

--- 

"Thank God that is over," you express as you walk out of the building. 2 hours have passed since you and Alhaitham started your defense, and all you wanted to do was to rest. Alhaitham walks beside you at your right, his eyelids half-lidded as he puts on one of his Bluetooth earphones. 

"You messed up," Alhaitham exposes as he looks at you with an irritated gaze.

"Excuse me?" You raise your eyebrows as you look at him, confused.

"30 minutes in the defense, you used a trivial source that took up 25 minutes of our time," He remarked, "Because of that, we almost lost focus of our thesis and wasted some time." 

"If only you came to me on time, then maybe we wouldn't have to speed up our conclusion," he continues, extremely irritated. His gaze on you is belittling as your heart sinks— standing beside him, astonished.

You can't back down now.  

"You said you'd accept my proposal," you refute, bringing out your phone and showing your conversation. However, instead of switching his gaze to your phone, it stays locked onto you. Unwavering and intimidating are two words to describe his look at you. You hold your ground without batting an eye. However, you can't help but feel a pang in your ego. 

"If I knew your proposal would nearly give us a demerit, I wouldn't have agreed."

"So you just accepted it without prior checking? since when did you do that?"

"You don't have to know."

"Well, it doesn't matter anyway," You say with your eyes fixed on your phone— you need to text him anyway. "Our partnership ends here. I think it's best if you don't talk to me anymore."

"For my sanity as well," you mumble quietly as you text Kaveh, hoping he doesn't hear it. However, he does. 

"Why," he mutters, your breath hitch at his sudden change in tone: it's full of emotions. Slowly, you tilt your head to look at him, eyes wide open at seeing his face. 

"Why are you looking at me like that?" You ask. Alhaitham opens his mouth to answer but immediately shuts it as he looks away from your eyes. You scoff in annoyance at the audacity of this man.

"Why are you suddenly showing me this side of you?" You continue, "after the many times you pushed me away?"

You ask him, who still refuses to look you in the eye. Anger starts to take over your body. 

"I'm sorry," he says; your eyes widen in both anger and sadness— the audacity of this man for apologizing. 

"Why are you apologizing now? After two years, Alhaitham!" You yell, "why now?"

"I'm–" Alhaitham tries to reach for your wrist to hold you, yet you pull away. Tears threatened to roll down your cheeks, but you refused to cry in front of him. You swallow deeply as you try to keep your emotions from spilling. It's embarrassing, really; Why are you suddenly so emotional? Why does it have to be because of him?

Alhaitham stays quiet; His gaze is soft, yet it holds so much remorse, in contrast to your eyes filled with anger. Slowly, he opens his mouth to speak.

"[Name], I–"

"[Name]!" Kaveh calls out your name and walks toward you with a smile, interrupting Alhaitham. You turn to look at Kaveh with wide eyes; However, Alhaitham's gaze goes back to their usual cold and unreadable. 

"You're here already," you mumble as you slowly walk towards him, leaving Alhaitham and meeting Kaveh halfway.

"I'm here to pick you up," Kaveh grins, yet it falls as he looks closer into your eyes. "You..." he mumbles quietly to himself; you tilt your head slightly in confusion. 

"Me?"

"Your eyes"

"Ah–" you gasp as you quickly wipe off your tears. "Oh, this is nothing. You don't have to worry," you say.

Kaveh looks at you and then at Alhaitham. His expression immediately falls as he puts two and two together; however, it was left unnoticed by you. Dirty emotions fill his brain as he sees your situation. Your teary eyes and Alhaitham staring at you like a lost puppy trying to gain independence yet still holding attachment fills Kaveh with so much disdain. He wants to test the waters and finally understands the sickening tension between you and his roommate.

So, Kaveh leans into your ear, making you blush, but his gaze not leaving Alhaitham, hoping to see a reaction. Alhaitham glares at Kaveh, who only smiles as he whispers into your ear in a low voice, "Hey [Name]." Goosebumps spread across your body as you feel his breath hitting your ear, turning red. 

He gently grabs your wrist, caressing your palm without changing his position. You gasp at the sudden contact, "Kaveh, what are you–"

"Wanna go somewhere?" He whispers, "just the two of us?" 

Fuck.

You nod in acceptance, to which Kaveh smiles. You both start walking away with Kaveh's hold onto your wrist, your back facing Alhaitham, whom you left alone. However, a sick twist of fate plays in his hands. Instead of looking forward, you turn your head to glance at the man you left alone– Alhaitham. Kaveh's heart drops. 

main m.list | series m.list | previous | next

sorry for the late post i was recovering from a heartbreak so here's some angst!

SYNOPSIS You’ve been rejected by your academic rival, alhaitham, without even confessing or having feelings for him. You decided to go to a party to fix your damaged ego, so why are you suddenly making out with his roommate?

taglist

@dee-zbignuts @lxry-chxn @ducq @nikkicola @artssleepy @arraxthatsonjah @kunihaver @i-x4o @soohasoya @yae-raidenmyloves @aixaingela @09yyeol @nebulaera @bokutetsumu @kairxse @victoria1676 @thenightsflower @ti-lsy @alizaneth @abvolat @carnnieval @ultimate-imagines @ventisoba @skimm0nzz @slvdsjjk @succutie @empathum @saoiirsee @disa-ster @httpmitsuya @kunikuzushiit @semi-orangeapple @goodthingimsam @strawberry1894 @meep13r @leeyanyanyaaan @heart-cream @crueldinasty @justonemoreroz @boordbokee @moraxsimp69 @kkiryu @r4yyyyy @tartagli-yuh @raideneiari @kaekazuha04 @dazaiscum @mayasshitposts @kunikuzi @ruisann (taglist full)

[nessagigglebox]

Chapter 27 Xaden POV Fourth Wing Favorite Quotes

“Shit like that is why I keep my inconvenient feelings about Violet to my damned self, no matter how good she looks today or how delectable she smells sitting next to me, like some kind of citrus that makes me want to bury my face in the side of her neck and see just how pink I can get her cheeks to flush. No, if I did that, every rider in this room would look at her differently, and not in a good way. Leave it to me to fall for the one woman on the Continent I can never fucking have.”

“Still, I'd put myself right between her and Liam, ignoring his knowing little smirk, when I took the chair closest to Violet. There's nothing going on there, but he can back the fuck up when I'm around.”

“My mind runs through three other battle strategies, then stutters on a fourth as I glance in Violet's direction and catch her lips pursing in concentration. Gods, that mouth. I dream about that mouth. Fantasize about that mouth. That kiss is burned into my memory like a relic, taunting me with what will never happen again, with what I never should have tasted in the first place.”

“My chest tightens annoyingly. Whatever look Violet shot her sister, it was obviously in our defense, and damn if that doesn't hit me straight between the ribs.”

The wispy silver bond solidifies, an emotion - pride —dancing down the pathway even though Violet doesn't move a muscle. Holy shit, we really are connected. This could be —

"Dangerous? Reckless? An unaffordable distraction?" Sgaeyl snaps, and I swear I hear her teeth clash.

"Fun." There's no denying the bond between us when it's shining at me like a fucking mage light. "We can pretend I'm not here, just for the sake of the exercise." I put my figurine on the table and settle in my chair, then wrap my arm around the back of Violet's seat and enjoy the sight of Dain grinding his teeth. "Give Aetos here the position we all know he craves." His jaw flexes, and I leave my arm planted like a battle marker. The command, he can have. I'm mildly curious to see what he does with it. But that's the only position I'm ceding to the spoiled whiner.

"Don't be a dick," Violet whispers.

"You haven't even seen me start to be a dick." I send the words down the bond.

Her head whips toward mine, her lips parting as she openly gawks at me.

It worked. My heart stumbles, and I bite back a laugh. I was wrong.

This isn't just fun, it's instantly vital to my existence. I turn toward her, letting a corner of my mouth rise, and look straight into those hypnotic hazel eyes. "You're staring. It's going to get awkward in about thirty seconds if you don't stop."

"How?" She spits out the whisper like an accusation.

"The same way you talk to Sgaeyl. We're all gloriously, annoyingly linked.

This is just one of the perks. Though I'm starting to wish I'd tried it sooner.

The look on your face is priceless." I wink and turn my attention back to the seething pot of jealousy boiling over across the table.

"You're. The. Wingleader." Dain chokes out the words, and I can't help but wonder if he's submitting to my rank or accusing me of inappropriate behavior with a subordinate.

Not that I give a fuck either way. If it were safe for Violet, I'd be ecstatically guilty of inappropriate behavior. Wickedly inappropriate. In my bed. In hers. On a table in the Archives. In the bathing chamber and every room with a door to lock so no one else can see what's mine. I'd be so decadently inappropriate that her voice would turn hoarse from screaming my name every single day.

But though she'd be the best thing that ever happened to me, I'd be the worst thing that ever happened to her. The truth of it sinks like a stone in my stomach.

"Why are you even here?" Dain whines. "No offense, sir, but we weren't exactly expecting senior leadership on this trip."

"Yes, why are you here?" Sgaeyl doesn't disguise the mockery in her tone.

"You're more than aware that Sgaeyl and Tairn are mated." My voice stays respectfully level. "It was your idea to bring the daggers." I'm careful to only speak down Sgaeyl's bond.

"It seemed a prudent course of action, considering your insufferable intolerance to being separated from the general's daughter." She huffs.

"Three days?" Dain fires back, leaning in. "You couldn't make it three days?"

"Insufferable? That's a bit far."

"Where's Violet now?'" she mocks. "What is she doing? Is she thinking of me? Is she missing me? Is she getting closer to Aetos? Does she dream about that kiss? How many days until Violet's -'"

"Point fucking taken." She's going to be unbearable on the flight home.

"It has nothing to do with him." Violet slams her dragon figurine on the table. "That's up to Tairn and Sgaeyl."

And there she goes again, defending me. Fuck, I love this woman.

"You never considered that it was you I couldn't stay away from?" I ask her. She jabs the point of her elbow into my biceps, and I fight the upward curve of my mouth. I love that she isn't scared of me, that she'll call me out in a way no one else besides Sgaeyl does. Everything she does - even blatantly elbowing me in front of her squad —turns me on. I'm fucked on every level known to man when it comes to Violet Sorrengail. "Now, now, you’ll give our litte communication secret away if you can' keep from being so….violent”

Of course you rush to defend him," Dain whines yet again. "Though how you can forget that this guy wanted to kill you six months ago is beyond me."

He's not lying, but that was when i hated the idea of her, before I knew her -loved her.

Violet stiffens. "I cannot believe you went there."

The hurt in her tone sets my teeth on edge. "Good job remaining professional, Actos." I scratch the relic on my neck to remind him exactly who the fuck I am. "Really shows those leadership qualities to their best advantage."

A rider stationed here whistles. "Do you boys just want to whip it out and measure? It would be faster."

Liam stifles what's obviously a laugh, and I shoot him a sideways look.

"You want to do your job?" Violet's smile practically drips venomous sugar as she turns it on Dain. "I mean, how you can forget you're the squad leader is beyond me."

Fucking love her.

Panic skitters down the silver bond.

"Relax. I's just me." I crook a finger, and a strand of shadow solidifies to skim along Violet's cheek.

"Fuck me," a rider to the left says.

"I can surround this entire outpost, but I think that might freak some people out." I close my hands, and the shadows jolt back to their natural state, letting light pour in through the windows. Damn, that was fun. It was even worth the threat assessment I'm getting from Mira. Violet tenses like she spotted it, too. "I hope you didn't get any ideas while we were in the dark there."

She lifts her middle finger without even looking my way, and a laugh sneaks past my lips as Mira leads us through the rest of the exercise.

"Wasn't my choice." I shrug. Lying is easy, except when it comes to Violet. I haven't quite figured that one out yet.

The truth of the words stings. I might be accomplishing a very risky run, but Sgaeyl is right. We're here because I couldn’t concentrate for shit knowing that Violet was this close to the border. I chose Violet over my wing.

"And next year? When you're a brand-new lieutenant? What shit is she going to miss out on then?" Mira asks.

Yeah, fuck if I know. At this rate, they'll have to station me at Basgiath if I can't get my shit under control and get over —

"Love isn't something you get over," Sgaeyl reminds me. "Why do you think I flew you all the way out here?"

"To mock me while cavorting with your mate."

"I didn't say it was without its perks."

Fuck. What are the rules when it comes to interfering with sisters? Am I supposed to step in? Let Violet handle it? Lewellen let Liam and me beat the shit out of each other when we fought, but I'm not sure that's the right approach here. I'm also not about to infantilize Violet when her sister is doing a damned good job of it herself.

The way she's made? She's fucking perfect. Everything about her is what makes her... Violet.

Or so help me, Dunne, I will throw her over my damned shoulder right in front of everyone.

That approaching drift- and whoever is responsible for compromising the power supply tor the wards - will kill her if given the chance, and that's not something id ever let happen.

"Approaching," Sgaeyl informs me.

But damn, her courage has me tripping over my feelings for her.

"Not fast enough."

Violet isn't going to leave of her own accord; I can see it in her eyes, feel it in the tense lines of her back. I drop my shields, and her emotions hurtle down the bond. Determination. Fear-

She's going to bolt.

And there's only one way to stop her. I lift my hands from her waist to the velvet-soft skin of her cheeks, memorizing every color in her eyes as I cup the back of her neck, preparing to commit what she'll think is an unforgivable sin.

I kiss her. It's hard and raw, wild and desperate, and the way she opens for me, kissing me back with abandon, nearly takes me out at the knees.

Gods, I'll never get enough of this woman. Her mind. Her tenacity. Her mouth.

I kiss her like this might be the last time she'll let me, like this is an alternate reality and there's a chance she could love me back.

I kiss her like she's mine.

It's a stolen moment —it can never be anything more —but it's ours.

Wingbeats approach, and I ignore them, stroking my tongue against hers again and again, keeping my hands at the nape of her neck by sheer force of will, denying the urge to explore every curve, every hollow of her tight body. I've never wanted anyone the way I want her, never craved a woman's laugh as much as her touch or needed her trust more than my next breath. Only Violet.

I tear my mouth away, the steady pulses of wings undeniable as Tairn and Sgaeyl approach. Wind gusts, catching the loosened strands of her hair as I lean my forehead against hers. "Leave for me, Violet."

She stiffens, accusation filling her eyes so quickly that I know she's figured out that I just used our attraction to distract her. "I will hate you for this." Ouch.

"Yeah." I nod, accepting the consequences of my actions. "I can live With that." I can live with anything as long as she's still breathing, so I drop my hands to her arms and force them out at her sides, "Arms up. Hold tight."

"Fuck. You." She hisses out the words as a shadow falls over us, and I hit the floor, catching myself with my hands as a black claw fills the space I just occupied, hooking Violet's arms and snatching her into the sky.

"She'll never forgive me," I tell Sgaeyl as she lands on the narrow perch ahead of me. "Especially if something happens to her sister."

She tilts her head, staring at me with typical impatience as I launch to my feet and sprint down the rampart toward her. We're airborne in seconds, her wings pummeling the air before I even reach the seat. "If she can't forgive you for the least of your transgressions, then she doesn't deserve you."

"I don't think she'll see it that way." I get a good grip on her scales and settle in for the flight.

"Then you'd better start praying to your gods that her sister survives."

So pretty much the whole chapter 😍 Rebecca just pull a “Midnight Sun” already. I’m dying over here 🥹