#woke up today and my wrist was honest to god Stiff i was so worried i pushed it too hard to get that done yesterday

[waroferas]

you are going to be seeing that post a lot btw. just get prepared to see that post an annoying amount . i want you to know ahead of time so you can’t get mad at me

[camillemontespan]

a kingdom divided [part twenty seven: consequences]

Part Twenty Six here if you want to catch up!

Thank you so much to  @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore for talking out a big part of this chapter with me; I was massively stuck and your clear head helped!

This one has serious stuff, fluff and more serious stuff. It’s a big chapter so maybe drink a big cup of coffee while you’re reading it. 

@jovialyouthmusic @pug-bitch @moonlightgem7 @sirbeepsalot @drakesensworld @iplaydrake @notoriouscs @dcbbw @carabeth

      **************************************************************************

Olivia woke up to the sound of a throat clearing. Her eyes slowly opened and she winced as she felt the stiffness in her body and something heavy beside her. Squinting, she looked up and saw Liam standing at the side of the hospital bed. Olivia dragged her body to sit up and it was only then that she saw that Leo was lying beside Olivia, snoring softly. His arm was slung over her body.

Olivia reddened, imagining how this just look to Liam. She quickly shoved Leo's arm off her and he made a noise of surprise, opening his eyes. He jumped when he saw Liam.

'Shit! Ah, hey brother. Um.. I was just visiting Olivia and I felt really sleepy, so uh-'

Liam raised a hand. 'Honestly, its okay. I'm not angry and even if I was, I don't have the right to be. You both seem to have this.. Thing going on and to be honest, I've accepted it after our talk Leo. So don't worry.'

Olivia and Leo both breathed sighs of relief. 'It's good to see you,' Olivia whispered. Liam smiled. 'You too. How are you feeling?'

'Tired. Sore. But alive.'

'That's what I want to talk to you about,' Liam told her. 'I'm going to see Joelle today to decide her punishment for trying to kill you. I'm also seeing the noble who accidentally shot the servant girl. But Joelle is the one I want to speak to you about.'

'You're the King, Liam. You don't need to talk to me about it,' Olivia replied, remembering their arguments whenever she had tried to offer him an opinion and he would reject her.

Liam shook his head. 'I do. I'm going to tell you the options Joelle has and you have to tell me which you agree with.'

'What are the options?'

Liam sighed. 'A) I have her exiled so she can never set foot in Cordonia again. B) I place her under house arrest. C) you take her to Lythikos and lock her up in your own cells. It really depends on how vengeful you want to be. I will just be the messenger and carry out your order. '

'But you're the king..'

'And you're Olivia Nevrakis. You are one of my best friends, the most loyal person I know. She nearly took you from me. I want to give you this power. She tried to take away your power with your own dagger - this will be you rising up and showing her that nobody tries to defeat a Nevrakis and gets away with it. I've been a shit friend to you these past few months. Consider this my apology.'

Olivia considered his words. She could still feel the pain from her wound. She thought about the past few months, how dangerous it had been, the plots against the King, the riots, the rock thrown through Drake and Camille's nursery window. Penelope being poisoned. Leo having to shoot a servant as he escaped the uprising. The servant girl Sarah who had been killed.

Everything had been torn apart.

Olivia thought about Joelle, about how her eyes had been filled with hatred and venom when she used Olivia's dagger on her. She thought about the iron like grip Joelle held on her arm as she pushed the weapon in. Olivia remembered Liam and Leo running to her aid and she remembered the pain in Leo's eyes as he begged her to stay alive for him.

Olivia looked at Liam and when their eyes met the King already knew her decision.

                         **********************************************

Liam kept his poker face on as he watched the guard bring through Joelle. The woman had been kept under lock and key in one of the palace rooms, so while she hadn't been locked up in the palace prison all this time, she had been watched over and not allowed to leave her designated room. Her jail was a gilded cage nonetheless.

Her eyes were filled with fury as she stared at him. The guard pushed her down onto a chair and her wrists were held by cuffs. Despite this, Joelle was dressed impeccably - she wore a white silk trouser suit and nude stilettos. Her hair was pulled up into a chignon and gold bracelets circled her wrists.

She did not look like a typical woman who liked to stab people. She looked like someone who enjoyed a champagne brunch.

'Your Majesty,' she greeted him, her voice laced with venom.

'Joelle. I assume you know why you're here?' Liam asked his voice like silk.

'Enlighten me.'

'Olivia Nevrakis is awake and alive.'

'What a shame,' Joelle replied sarcastically. Liam kept his voice steady, not rising to it.

'How did you find her dagger?'

She looked at him as if she had a delicious secret. 'I paid the maids to search. I had a feeling Olivia was behind it.' She gave him a smug smile. Liam wanted to wipe it off her face.

'I spoke to her today to discuss your punishment,’ Liam told her. ‘I felt it right to seek her opinion on the matter, considering you did try to kill her. After much deliberation, we have made a decision together.'

Joelle stared at him, unblinking.

'You are to be sentenced to five years at Lythikos Prison.'

'What?' Joelle shrieked, her hard exterior cracking and her smug grin gone. 'Are you insane?! That is a death sentence! Those who go inside never come back out! They are handcuffed to the bars and the snow gets in through the windows and they freeze to death! You are effectively sentencing me to death!'

Liam held up his hand, silencing her. 'You were more than willing to kill Olivia. You wanted her to die. This, quite frankly, is a gift. Olivia could have ordered for your head.'

'What I did was not treason!'

'No but you tried to commit murder! For gods sake, you tried to kill a Nevrakis! What did you expect to happen? This is only five years, Joelle. You could have been sentenced to a lot longer.'

Joelle stood up now, her entire body shaking. 'You are a tyrant,' she spat. 'You may as well marry that psychopath! The tyrant and the she wolf ruling Cordonia together! How fitting!'

'Joelle, sit down,' Liam said sharply.

'No. You have sentenced me to live for five years in that ice box. People die down there, Liam. How could you be so cold?'

'I am being a king,' Liam told her. 'and you will not question me. Accept the consequences of your actions, Joelle.'

Liam stood up and went to open the door. Joelle grabbed him by the wrist, digging her fingernails into his skin. 'Liam, please! Please don't do this!'

He cast her hands off him and nodded at the guard to take her away. Joelle screamed when the guard took her by the arm. 'No! You will pay for this Liam! You are just like your father,  he was harsh too. You are wrong to do this!'

Liam looked at her and gave her a smirk. 'Believe me, this is the one thing I'm doing right.'

                           ***********************************************

After Joelle had been dragged away kicking and screaming, Liam sighed and beckoned for his other guard to bring in his next appointment.

It was the noble who had tried to shoot one of the guards and had ended up shooting Drake and Camille’s servant girl, Sarah, instead. 

‘Your Majesty,’ he greeted him. Liam nodded and beckoned for him to sit down. He was also in cuffs and his face was pale and worn; he looked like he hadn’t slept a wink. 

Liam’s task today was to dispense justice. He knew he had to stand up and be the king, show that this sort of behaviour would not sit well at his court. He needed this to stop.

‘Lord Matthew,’ he said. He had only met Matthew a few times; he wasn’t a very prominent noble. But then, the fact that they were lesser known to the king was one of the reasons why they had started rebelling in the first place. They had wanted power, more status, rewards. 

‘You were demanding for a republic,’ Liam said. ‘When one of my guards tried to stop you from fighting, you tried to shoot him and instead, you shot a seventeen year old servant girl.’

Matthew passed a hand over his face. ‘I know Your Majesty and I’m so sorry for it. I didn’t mean to kill her, I didn’t realise she was there, if I had known a young girl was near me, I wouldn’t have lifted my gun-’

‘Please, silence,’ Liam interrupted. He sighed. ‘You had intent to kill my guard and instead of killing him, you killed a young girl instead. I don’t care that you were calling for a republic. I’m used to it now, I know that there are a lot of people who hate me. What I care about is that a young girl got caught in the crossfire and her life has been lost because of your reckless behaviour.’

Matthew’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘It’s not me you should be apologising to, it’s her family. Now, I’ve settled on what to do here in regards to your punishment; you are aware that you will have to be punished for this?’

Matthew nodded silently.

‘Good. I have actually spoken to Sarah’s family and they are content with my decision.’ 

Matthew gulped, fearing the worst. 

‘You are to spend five years in the palace prison,’ Liam told him. Matthew bent his head, accepting his fate. ‘And when you are released, you are to pay Sarah’s family reparations for the next seven years. They have lost a daughter, they are not well off and they deserve compensation. You, as a noble, can more than afford this. Do you understand the terms?’

‘Yes, Your Majesty.’ 

‘You will be going to prison for two reasons; killing an innocent girl and demanding a republic.’

‘I understand, Your Majesty.’

Liam stood up. ‘You are to go.’

Matthew stood up, shaking. But when his eyes met Liam’s, he looked calm. ‘You are not a weak king,’ Matthew told him. ‘I always thought you were but maybe I was comparing you to your father, which wasn’t fair. I see I was wrong to do that. You do care about your people, Your Majesty. I just wish you had shown your true colours sooner. I might have chosen the right side then.’ 

                             ***************************************************

Drake, Camille, Hana and Maxwell were lounging outside in the garden, the hot morning sun beating down on them. Breakfast items were on the table in front of them and Camille poured everyone a glass of fresh orange juice. Hana let out a big yawn and Maxwell stretched out his arms.

'So you guys seemed to be having a good time last night..' Camille said, giving Hana and Maxwell a wink. 'Honeymoon stage huh?'

Hana blinked. 'Wait, what? We were the ones who couldn't sleep last night because of you guys!'

Drake frowned. 'Erm, we were trying to get some sleep. There wasn't any noise coming from our room.'

The group went quiet. 'So you guys weren't having loud sex?' Maxwell asked.

Drake and Camille shook their heads. 'No.. And you guys weren't either?' Camille asked.

Hana and Maxwell shook their heads too. 'So, who...' Camille whispered.

Drake let out a strangled cry and held his head in his hands, pointing at the house. The group looked around and saw Bianca and a random man coming through the kitchen towards the garden.

'Good morning sweeties!' Bianca called out. She lead the man out with her. 'Bastien, this is my son Drake - honey, you look very green? - this is my gorgeous daughter in law Camille who's having a baby girl,  oh my God I’m so excited, and these are their friends Hana and Maxwell.'

Bastien raised a hand in greeting. ‘Good morning everyone.’

His eyes roamed over the group. Drake looked like he was going to be sick, Maxwell looked uncomfortable while both Camille and Hana were staring at Bastien with their mouths open and thirsty expressions on their faces.

Bastien was a beautiful man. Tall, muscular with salt and pepper hair, piercing blue eyes, tanned skin and laughter lines traced around his eyes. Hana cleared her throat, blushing. ‘Pleased to meet you, Bastien..’

Camille let out a giggle and clapped her hand over her mouth. Drake stared at her, his eyes narrowed.

Biance chuckled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. ‘So, Bastien, I will see you on Saturday.’

‘Absolutely. Dinner at The Ivy, my treat,’ he told her, his eyes sparkling. Bianca grinned and Bastien kissed her softly on the cheek. ‘Nice to meet you all!’ he said. 

‘Bye..’ Camille and Hana both murmured, their eyes boring into his back as he walked away from them before flicking down to his retreating ass. Bianca watched him go then laughed at the girl’s expressions. 

‘I know right?!’ she cried. 

‘Mom, you can’t just have random guys over!’ Drake burst out. Camille hit him gently on the arm. ‘Shh Drake!’

Bianca scoffed. ‘Why not, Drake? Just because I’m over forty doesn’t mean I’m not entitled to a sex life. We are all adults here..’

‘Yeah but I don’t want to see your one night stands! It’s embarrassing! It’s too much information! We heard you last night!’

‘Stop acting like a teenager, honey, it doesn’t suit you,’ Bianca said cooly. ‘ Besides, sex is healthy, it’s a freedom of expression, it helps me embrace my sexuality..’ 

Drake dry heaved. 

‘Who knows, maybe you’ll be calling him stepdad soon!’ Bianca let out a cackle.

Drake paled and Camille sniggered before looking at Bianca. ‘Well done, Bianca. He is.. wow.’

‘So wow...’ Hana murmured, looking off into the distance. Maxwell whimpered.

‘I’m glad you girls are happy for me!’ Bianca said. ‘Now, let me just put back that utensil I left upstairs.’ 

Drake let out an exasperated groan and Camille patted him on the back. ‘There, there, honey. There, there.’ 

‘So what are we doing today?’ Maxwell asked, changing the subject.

‘We’re thinking about going baby shopping!’ Camille said. Hana clapped her hands and squealed in excitement. ‘Oooh! Can we go with you?’

‘Of course! But we have a budget so nothing too expensive or crazy,’ Drake said. ‘That applies to you, Maxwell. Nothing extravagant.’

Maxwell shot him a wounded expression. ‘But extravagant is my middle name..’

                      ****************************************************

Drake drove the four of them into Austin where they reached the shopping centre. Camille look a list out of her handbag. ‘Right, we need a diaper genie, milk storage containers, baby grows, cuddly toys, anything else we see that could be useful. Oh this is exciting!’

Drake took her hand and pulled her in for a cuddle, pressing a kiss on top of her head. Camille beamed up at him.

‘To Stork & Baby!’ Maxwell crowed, pointing in the direction of the shopping centre. Drake grabbed a basket and they entered the store. ‘Oh my God, look at these baby slippers! They are adorable!’ Hana cried, picking up a pair of white furry slipper boots. Camille gasped and looked at them. ‘Her little feet will look so pretty!’

‘Camille, she doesn’t need baby slippers..’ Drake warned her, eyeing their list. ‘Stick to the list.’

‘But these are useful!’ Camille protested. ‘We will be visiting Lythikos all the time and Lily will get cold! Do you want your daughter to get cold? Do you?!’

Drake sighed. ‘Fine. Let’s get the slippers.’

Camille jumped up and down and Hana have her a celebratory high five. The slippers were placed in the basket and Drake trudged along the aisle. 

‘Oh my God, we need this furry coat! Draaake, can we get this furry coat?’ Camille called out, holding out a pink coat with white fur trim.  Clearly, the list was being abandoned and Camille had lost herself in Mom World. 

‘Camille, we live in Valtoria. It’s warm there like 98% of the time, Lily will overheat!’

‘But we’ll go to Lythikos-’

‘Honey, put the coat back,’ Drake coaxed.  Camille pouted but put the coat back on the rail. 

‘I FOUND THE DIAPER GENIE!’ Hana screamed. The group rushed to where she was and Drake nodded in approval. ‘Finally, something on our list!’ 

‘What does a diaper genie do?’ Maxwell asked. ‘Oooh does it dispense diapers if you wish for them?’ 

‘I wish, Maxwell,’ Camille said. ‘No, this bad boy stores all the used diapers.’

‘Eww.’

Drake took the diaper genie and asked a salesperson to look after it for them while they shopped. The group wandered around the store some more and Maxwell found milk storage containers. He tossed them in the basket and went in search of a sparkly outfit because apparently, babies should wear sparkly outfits.

‘Sorry for going overboard,’ Camille said to Drake when they were alone. Drake smiled. ‘It’s okay. I get it, this is exciting. The slipper boots are really pretty.’

‘They are. But still, sorry. I’ll try and think more clearly. Just had baby brain there.’

Drake stopped at a section of stuffed toys. ‘Hey, look,’ he said, picking one up. ‘A lion.’ 

‘I love how fluffy its mane is. Cute,’ Camille told him, running her fingers through its mane. Drake grinned and placed it in the basket. 

‘Ooh a unicorn!’ Camille cried, picking up a stuffed unicorn. ‘Can we?’

‘Sure, let’s make her room look magical with magical things in it.’

Camille giggled. Soon, the basket was full of stuffed toys. Drake had to admit that even he had gone overboard but he couldn’t help it, every stuffed toy was cute. 

‘Guys, what’s this?’ Maxwell asked, coming up to them with Hana. He held out a contraption. 

Camille bit her lip, holding back laughter. ‘Um, that’s a breast pump.’

Maxwell stared at her then back at the breast pump. He hastily put it on the shelf behind the stuffed toys and wiped his hands on his jeans. 

‘What have you guys got in the basket then?’ Hana asked. 

Drake looked through the contents. ‘Well, the diaper genie is being looked after, we’ve got milk storage containers, the slipper boots, a couple of babygrows including this cute one that is a narwhal onesie, I mean how amazing is that! Then we have these stuffed toys- lion, unicorn, polar bear, elephant and giraffe.’ 

‘What about this blanket?’ Hana asked, holding out a fluffy yellow blanket with a sun embroidered on it. Camille took it. ‘Ooooh it’s so soft..’ 

‘I know! She’ll be all snuggly after her baths!’ Hana cried, dancing around. 

Camille placed it in the basket. 

‘I think we’re good here!’ she decided. Drake nodded and led them back to the counter where the cashier ran up the diaper genie and everything else. 

‘That amounts to... $327.50,’ the cashier said. 

Drake blinked. ‘Um.. okay. Camille, honey, what was our budget?’

Camille gripped his hand. ‘$150...’

Maxwell handed over his credit card, a big grin on his face. ‘My treat!’

‘Maxwell, no!’ Camille and Drake both protested. Maxwell waved away their concerns. ‘It’s cool! This is important stuff! Hey, it’ll be the most important things I’ve ever spent money on! I mean, this beats the flamingos I once hired for Bertrand’s birthday. Oooh boy, he was mad....’

‘Maxwell, we really appreciate it, but honestly, this is too much money and it’s not even your baby!’ Drake told him. 

‘I know. But she is your baby and you guys are my best friends. I’m going to be her fun uncle Maxwell, I want to treat her and if that means spending money on cute baby grows and a magical diaper dispenser, then honestly, I don’t mind! Please.’

Camille bit her lip. ‘At least let us pay the $150 we have.’

Maxwell shrugged. ‘Fine. But I pay for the rest. Please guys, stop looking so worried. I want to treat Lily.’

He swiped his card and the purchases went through. ‘There. Now, I saw this really cute sparkly outfit earlier, can we go back and buy it for her?’

‘No!’

Maxwell raised his hands. ‘Fine, fine! Come on guys, let’s go! Back to the ranch!’

He moved to go but Camille stopped him. ‘Thank you, Maxwell,’ she whispered, her eyes shining. Maxwell smiled gently and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug. 

‘It’s okay Little Blossom. Now, let’s get you and Little Little Blossom home.’

         ****************************************************************************

The  two female newsreaders sat at the round desk with the green screen background of Cordonia lit up behind them. ‘So, Meghan,’ one of the newsreaders said to her co-anchor. ‘Any updates on public opinion in regards to the King?’

Meghan nodded enthusiastically. ‘Yes. I interviewed some groups earlier today, let me show you what they said.’

They turned to the other screen and a past interview appeared with Meghan talking to an old lady. ‘So, Maria, what do you think about the recent uprisings?’

‘I think it’s a disgrace,’ Maria told her bluntly. ‘The King was only trying his best and he’s had to deal with so much trouble during his short reign. I just want the kingdom to go back to being peaceful but we can’t do that when we have rioting and violence.’ 

‘Do you think the King will succeed in bringing peace?’

‘I think so. I don’t know how but I think he will.’ 

Meghan turned to a young man who looked about eighteen. ‘Luke, you used to be a republican. What has changed your mind?’

‘Honestly, the servant girl being shot,’ Luke said. ‘She’s only a year younger than me. I can’t help but think if she had been my friend, just how awful that would have been to find out about her. Nothing is worth this. I want Cordonia to be united again. Killing innocent girls is not the way forward.’ 

Meghan turned to the camera. ‘It appears that the King has now dispensed justice. The Duchess of Castelsarreillan has now been sentenced to spend five years in Lythikos Prison for the attempted murder of the Duchess of Lythikos.  As for the servant girl’s murderer, he has also been imprisoned and is said to have agreed to pay reparations to her family upon his release. Maria, Luke, what do you both think about this?’

Maria smiled. ‘I think justice has been served. Put away the violent ones and start afresh. The king is showing his power.’

‘He may be called a tyrant by some,’ Luke said thoughtfully, ‘but honestly, he can’t keep traitors in his court. He can’t let the murderers go free. He has to do something and I think he’s doing the right thing.’

Meghan grinned at the camera. ‘Thank you for your insights.’ 

     *******************************************************************************

Liam watched the news on the TV with a glass of scotch in his hand. He felt drained after his day of issuing punishments. He had just spoken to Lord Anthony, Neville’s one time friend. Anthony had been the one collecting weapons.  Neville had told Liam about him, now being loyal, and Liam had called Anthony to his study. 

He had stripped the noble of his title and placed him under house arrest. 

Anthony had screamed and shouted, telling the King that he would be ruined, but Liam let his words pass. ‘Thank you, Anthony,’ he had said calmly.

‘That is Lord Anthony to you!’ the man shouted.

‘That title no longer applies,’ Liam said. ‘Now go home and my security will deal with you there.’

Now, Liam took a deep gulp of scotch and listened to the newsreaders. It seemed as though the public were slowly supporting the king again. He felt slight relief but he knew this wasn’t over yet; it never would be. For the rest of his reign, he would be looking over his shoulder, waiting for the knife to stab him in the back. 

     **************************************************************************

Olivia was sat up in the hospital bed watching crappy daytime TV. She needed out of this place now. She was fine, she was breathing, she would live. It was only a stab wound. 

She thought about going to the palace when she was discharged. She hoped Cordonia was becoming safer now, more peaceful, but she knew not to be naive. She never trusted anybody; her parents had always taught her to view every person she met as an enemy. Everyone except Liam.

When Liam had come to her today to ask for her thoughts on what to do with Joelle, she had been shocked. For the first time, Liam had asked her for advice, for her to work with him. He valued her opinion. He wanted to punish Joelle for what she had done to Olivia. He loved Olivia as a best friend; he hadn’t wanted to lose her.

Olivia’s heart tugged. She had loved Liam before. He had been the only person she let in to her heart. While she had been a child being taught how to fight and how to kill, she had allowed herself to be open to Liam; he was her one weakness. She needed him to prove she was human. If she could let him in, she wasn’t just a cold, hard shell.

Letting him in had been a mistake. As a result, she had loved him for twenty years. She had wanted to marry him, be his Queen, rule Cordonia side by side. She had wanted his babies. 

But he had constantly rejected her. Liam had held her at arms length and she had let him. Olivia hadn’t wanted to lose Liam, to lose her one reminder that she was human; she had willingly let him treat her like shit because she couldn’t bear the idea of never being near him. She had watched as he danced with every other girl at court, then danced with her to be polite. She had watched as they all went out clubbing for his 20th birthday (secretly and also Maxwell’s idea) and Liam shoved his tongue down a drunk girl’s throat. She had watched when they sneaked back to the palace after the club and Liam was vomiting in the toilet, and Olivia rubbed his back and offered him water.  She had watched when he read her Valentines card to him when they were seven years old, sickeningly decorated with glittery hearts and gel pen ink that smelled of bubblegum, and he had politely folded it up and shoved it in his school bag, avoiding her eyes. Not even a smile or a thank you. 

Olivia’s eyes cast over to the bouquet of peonies Leo had gifted her. They were beautiful. 

Leo had been a surprise. He had been her shadow these past few months. He had followed her, wore her down, until she relented. She had hated him for the way he treated women like they were just common whores, easy to cast aside. Most of all, she hated him for abandoning Liam. 

But he had shown a side of him to her that was well hidden, well guarded. He had respected her, made her feel important, powerful, like a warrior queen. 

Olivia bit her lip. Liam, who was the kind one, the gentle one, the more loving of the two brothers.. he had rejected her constantly. He hurt her in more ways than one. He walked on the shards of her ice cold heart every day. 

So, why would Leo be any different?

Why would Leo, the lothario, the flirt, the irresponsible, reckless brother be any different to Liam?

Who was to say that Leo wouldn’t hurt her? Liam already had. 

Olivia’s mind ran rampant with all of these thoughts, screaming at her, taunting her, turning her vision white. She clutched her head in her hands and held back hot stinging tears.  She knew she was overthinking every single thing but her mind wouldn’t stop. 

Leo was Liam but a hundred times worse. Why would she be so stupid to kiss him? To accept his flowers? To let him spoon feed her chocolate mousse? 

Olivia remembered his face when he had held her close to him at the Beaumont Bash, begging her to stay alive for him. Maybe he had feelings for her. Or maybe he was just caught up in a huge tidal wave of lust and soon, cold reality would hit him. Reality always hit Leo and every time, he would run. 

What did Olivia have to gain from it? He would only leave her anyway; he had left Liam to take the throne. He had left Cordonia. Olivia would be next. Did she really need another brother to break her heart? 

Olivia jumped up from the bed and stormed over to the vase that held the peonies. She grabbed the flowers and threw them into the waste bin. Shaking, she sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and tried to breathe steady. 

She couldn’t let Leo in. She couldn’t be vulnerable. 

Liam was proof that opening up her heart was dangerous. To allow Leo that privilege was suicide.  

[guessmonsta]

nishinoya soulmate au where the first words u say to each other are written on ur wrist? can the words be negative (or rather misconstrued as such)? ha your blog is so great 👍

Now this… this is a thing… I’m not sorry…

The words you had on your wrist were supposed to make you feel hopeful about your life, give you a sense of accomplishment for the future. They were supposed to leave you with butterflies in your stomach and giddy smiles on your face. That wasn’t the case for Nishinoya Yuu, though.

Nishinoya liked to say he lived gloriously without insecurities. Evidently, he was vertically challenged, not as much as he was in high school, but that never really bothered him too much. Every problem that being short handed him could be easily solved by wearing platform high tops and moving the cereal box to the bottom shelf. He found himself to be physically attractive, a solid nine out of ten. His social life was intact, he had the best friends he could ever ask for, the best team he could ever ask for, his life was revolving in such a perfect way that insecurities just had no room in the orbit. Although, despite that, there was one that got trapped within it all. Nishinoya’s one insecurity, although he’d never admit it, was that he thought he would never be loved.

The culprit of those insecurities, “Oh, get away from me!” on his wrist.

It was a silly thought, really. He knew he was loved, just across the table at the cafe he sat at were two people who did, in fact, love him. They were bantering about the products they put in their hair, or something of the other. Nishinoya was more focused on the way one looked like he was having the time of his life, and the other looked as if he was borderline panic attack. Asahi and Tanaka undoubtedly had at least some platonic love for him, but that wasn’t enough. He wanted the romantic kind, the kind that humans yearn for. He had his fair share of girlfriends in high school, but they meant nothing. Everyone he had known had dated other people, despite them not being their soulmate. They did it to fill the emptiness in their heart, like a temporary reservation at a hotel before moving home. He thought it was funny, how humans could do so many things just for a sliver of the heaven that was love, but all jokes aside, he was caught in the web as well.

He had drifted away from the conversation minutes ago. He didn’t know why, but his head as somewhere else today. From the moment he woke up, he had felt lightheaded, which was funny, since he was honest he didn’t have anything to drink the night before. Along with that, his stomach hurt, and there was a stiffness in the muscles in his hands. He figured he must’ve been coming down with something, but that didn’t stop him from attending his friends religious Saturday morning get-together at the off brand Starbucks in college town. Although, he was starting to regret it. There were unnerving butterflies in his stomach, and all he could do was silently stir his flattened ice coffee while his friends conversation droned in the back of his head.

More minutes had passed and he felt Asahi staring at him. Tanaka with his obliviousness, hadn’t noticed that he was talking without anybody really listening. Under the table, he felt somebody kick his shin.

“Yuu, are you alright?” Nishinoya looked up at Asahi, furrow-browed and fiddling with his napkin.

“Eh.” He shrugged. He piked his head up from depressively laying on his fist, and crossed his arms across his chest. “Jus’ not feelin’ 100% today.”

“You could’ve stayed home.” Asahi was worried. Of course he was worried, Nishinoya thought. Asahi was always worried. That how he showed his love.

“Nah. I’d have to tripping to cancel a date with Jesus and The Buddha.”

This queued Tanaka’s boisterous laugh from across the table. Asahi sighed, the creases on his forehead smoothing out. Nishinoya smirked, grabbing his iced coffee before realizing it was most likely too disgusting to drink.

“Coffee go bad, bro?” Tanaka teased, leaning across the table and snatching the drink from his hand. “You should go order another one.”

“I don’t really care about-”

“No.” Tanaka shook his head. “Go order another one.”

Tanaka cocked his eyebrows and made a dramatic gesture towards the barista counter. It took Nishinoya a moment to finally comprehend what Tanaka had meant. One of the baristas, a girl, gorgeous even with seven different coffee stains across her apron, stood behind the counter with a smile on her face even if the bags under her eyes were anything but. Nishinoya grimaced, his eyes darting between the barista and Tanaka.

“I’ll pay for your coffee, and every other coffee for the entire semester, if you go hit on her right now.” Tanaka’s smile only got wider the more Nishinoya shook his head.

“No way.”

“That’s not what high school Yuu would’ve done.” Asahi chuckled. Tanaka nodded in agreement.

“Yea-ah. You gotta do it.”

“I’m not doing it,” Nishinoya shook his head. “Are you seeing her? She gorgeous.”

He found himself staring at her now, although she had barely even noticed him. Where in the hell had she come from? She wasn’t here when the trio had entered a mere thirty minutes ago; he would’ve remembered such a pretty face. That, and Tanaka would’ve definitely said something sooner. He was feeling even lighter in the head, now.

“Coffee for the rest of the semester, right?” Nishinoya peeped, suddenly. The statement caught the two off guard, eliciting a howl from Tanaka, who pumped a fist in the air victoriously.

“Yuu, one thing though.” Tanaka added, grabbing Nishinoya by the wrist before he had the chance to stand up. The devious smirk but serious eyes on his friend meant nothing but trouble. He was starting to regret agreeing to all of this.

“You gotta hit on her with a meme.”

“No way.”

“You gotta.” Tanaka insisted. 

“Do you see her, Ryuu!” Nishinoya hissed, pulling his wrist away and gesturing towards the pretty barista. As he did this, she shot him a look, but it didn’t last very long. She must’ve figured they were talking about her, this probably happens all the time. Nishinoya would honestly be surprised if it didn’t.

“She doesn’t deserve to have her time wasted by a shitty meme!”

“A shitty dead meme.” He corrected.

“Don’t do this to me, Ryuu.”

“Be a man, Noya. Go be a man.”

Nishinoya glanced over at Asahi. Normally, he’d be the one to defend him in situations like these. All he did was smile and shrug, though.

“You’re a damn traitor, Asahi Azumane.” He grimaced, sparing his last glance towards him as he stood up and walked towards the barista counter.

“It is what it is!” Asahi shouted behind him.

Nishinoya shook his head and cautiously creeped towards the line at the front of the cafe. There were three people standing in front of him; a self conscious teenage girl picking at the skin on her fingers, a mother with three toddlers, and an elderly couple who couldn’t read the menu. He had time.

While waiting Nishinoya noticed a lot of things. He noticed the, what was meant to be encouraging, glares from Tanaka and Asahi, which honestly just made his nerves worse. He noticed the way the supposedly comforting aroma of ‘fresh brewed coffee’ that diffused through the air was more sickening than pleasant. He also noticed the way the barista smiled at everyone, no matter how grouchy or annoying they may seem. Her eyes sparked and her cheeks seemed to glow, like she was straight out of  movie scene and suddenly, this whole ordeal got a lot harder.

This would’ve been so easy for him when he was seventeen. He would’ve triumphed right up to the girl and thrown the pickup line right at her. He would’ve grabbed her hand, even. Now his knees were locked, God, he was even sweating. He felt nervous, and the sudden clapping from Tanaka was definitely not helping.

Before he knew it, all three of those time consuming people had passed from in front of him. The barista merely smiled at him, figuring he needed his time, which he did. Tanaka was still clapping, the girl in front of him, now waiting for her coffee, was laughing at him. He didn’t know what to say, there was nothing to say. High school him would’ve blatantly shouted that she was pretty, but he couldn’t do that now. There was more to her than that, he knew it.

Tanaka would’ve killed him if he didn’t execute this with a meme like he promised. He had so many in mind but none seemed perfect enough. His mind was racing and his eyes started darting around the room. He just needed something, anything.

He got it. There was a small local band playing at the far end of the cafe. They were going at their trombones and saxophones like nobody’s business and-  

“Hey, ya like jazz?” He blurted suddenly, his eyes slowly moving from the band to the barista. Her smile faded, morphed into a languid head shake of disapproval, before being taken over by another smile.

“Oh, get away from me!” She started laughing, leaning her body against the counter as her body shook. Nishinoya almost started laughing, until a shock ran through his body.

Those words. Those were the words. He held his wrist up to his face and shook his head. The barista was still laughing, unaware of how frozen up he was. Tanaka was cheering him on, half standing on his chair while howling. Another employee seemed to be asking him to sit down, but Nishinoya didn’t care.

The barista regained her composure, and just like he expected, she held her wrist up to her face.

“Does your wrist say what I said?” She asked, her cheeks red but gleeful. Nishinoya nodded, and despite his embarrassment, he started smiling. Her joy was infectious.

“Yeah!”

“God, I can’t believe you’d hit on me with a meme!” She held back another fit of giggles. Now that the word ‘soulmate’ was tied along to her, she seemed more than just pretty. She was beautiful and she understood his terrible meme reference. There was no doubt in his mind that she was made for him.

“Sorry, sorry, oh my god, my friend dared me! I wish it was something else.”

“No, no. It’s al-l good. I had bragging rights to say I knew a meme before it was cool for months.”

There were so many things Nishinoya could’ve said, but didn’t. He looked down at his hands and they were shaking, but for some reason, his head felt fine.

“You probably just got here, but you wanna clock out and go get an ice cream or something and talk? Preferably not meme discourse.” Nishinoya asked, fiddling with his shaking hands.

“Ah-h, I would’ve been down if you were down for the memes.”

“I’m always down for the memes. I’m just shaking and never wanna see a bee in my life again.”

She smiled and laughed again. She hollered something over her shoulder to her co-worker, who nodded in reply.

“I’ll be around in a minute.”

Nishinoya nodded, watching her disappear behind the employee door before sprinting over to his table.

“Shes my fucking soulmate!”

Tanaka gaped up at him, starting to laugh. Asahi looked mortified, his fingers finding the bridge of his nose.

“What did you say to her, Yuu?” Asahi asked.

“Hey, ya like jazz!”

Tanaka burst out laughing, and even Asahi had to force back a smile.

“Go have fun with your Meme Queen, Yuu!” Tanaka stood up, slapping Nishinoyama back in approval.

“Yeah!”

Nishinoya saw her skitter out of the room, her hair slightly disheveled. There was still a pinkish hue on her cheeks and honestly, Nishinoya wondered if it was the meme or the soulmate factor that was getting to her more.

“So, Memelord, what’s your name?” She asked him once they left the open doors of the cafe. He smiled at her and opened his mouth, biting down on his lip for a moment.

“My name is Jeff.”

“Lovely! My name is Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoya De La Rosa Ramirez, we should get along just fine.”