#you need to step up as a grandfather or I'll swear

[fandomlockedfan]

If this request is to find out who your son is partnering with and how the two of them had a child, and also wanting to meet them so you can play with your granddaughter... Then fine I can accept that. BUT IF YOU SO EVER HURT THEM I WILL FIND WAYS TO MURDER YOU

[mypearlsareclutched]

You're Just Another One of my Problems

High By The Beach | Chapter Nine

Modern!Aegon II x Original Female Character, Modern!Aemond x Original Female Character

Viserys Targaryen is dead. His death brings unlikely people together, and drives others apart. Mila is unsure about her place amongst the Targaryen clan, her feelings are complicated. Does she stick by brother she fell for first, or the one she fell for harder?

RIP Vizzy T you're serving Targaryen realness in the afterlife (and grooming minors too, probs). I kept going ham with this chapter and it ended up being 8k words so I split it up and now it's 5k and the next one is going to be 5k+ so y'all will be eating good bbgs x

Song inspiration | High By The Beach, Lana Del Rey

CW//TW: Family death, funerals, reunited at last, Targaryen daddy issues, major angst, captain love triangles, Aemond's 'I can fix this' ass, toxicity, mourning, also Morning the dragon but she's a chihuahua, canon character death, colourful language, Daemon, Otto, no-one is happy.

Word count | 5.1k

previous chapter // next chapter

Mila decides to travel with Aemond and Aegon back to King's Landing for Viserys' funeral.

After Aemond went to bed the night of the Targaryen patriarchs death, Mila sought out Aegon. She found him sitting on the floor of their shared bedroom, looking lost. Unsure of... everything, she simply joined his side, letting him rest his head against hers as they sat in silence.

Aegon was unsure of leaving the beach house. The morning after thr news of Viserys' assing, as Aemond threw various items into his SUV and waited outside for the other two to join him, Aegon stood outside, watching the waves with a blank expression. Mila watches him from the kitchen window, a crease forming between her brows.

Joining his side, she comforts him as she too peers at the ocean beyond. "We'll come back."

"You promise?" Aegon asks, voice uncharacteristically quiet and somber.

"I promise." 

He brushes the back of his hand against hers, the feeling of his soft skin comforting both of them. They share a look, words spoken silently before they turn and head off to join Aemond.

Opting to leave Aegon's battered and ancient car, the three pile into Aemond's car. The long, two day drive was painfully silent, no Cocteau Twins playing, no idle conversation, no Aegon swearing at passing drivers. Aegon slept in the back seat, Aemond taking Mila's hand into his own as he drove wordlessly. 

When they arrived back in Kings Landing, Mila felt an overwhelming feeling of dread. Like she wasn't supposed to be here, like she left herself back in Old Town. Aegon had paled during the drive, his smile vanished and his eyes haunted, and Mila knew he felt the same.

Aemond took a call from Otto, nodding along with his grandfather as he told him the plans for the funeral. He and Aegon were expected at the Targaryen estate, to prepare for the formalities. Aemond sighs as he ends the call, absentmindedly holding Mila's hands in his own as he looked out at the city scape. 

"I'm going to head to my brothers." Mila says, looking down at their enclasped hands, "I need to talk to him. I've been AWOL since Weirwood and we haven't spoken."

Aemond regards her silently, nodding. He pokes his tongue into his cheek, choosing his words wisely.

"Alright." He finally says, though his hand remains clutching hers, "The funeral is the day after tomorrow. Do you want me to pick you up from Cregan's?"

"Probably not a good idea to show your face there." Mila muses softly, pressing her lips together as she remembers Cregan's rage at Aemond for his actions that led to her overdose. Cringing almost noticeably, Aemond nods. "I'll be at the house at seven."

"I'll see you then." He leans down to press a kiss to her temple, his lips lingering. Mila presses her eyes closed, pulling back. Aemond's eyes flicker with disappointment, but Mila pretends not to notice as she takes a step back.

"See you then." 

She turns and looks to Aegon, who stares straight ahead, trying to not look at the interaction between his brother and the woman he loves. He pulls out his battered back of cigarettes, lighting one up and taking a drag. His eyes never meet hers. With an internal sigh, Mila leaves them both.

Knocking on Cregan's door, she braced herself for whatever kind of explosion that would be waiting for her.

The front door opens, and a familiar yet unexpected face greet s her. Rhaena gasps, flinching like a phantom was standing on the doorstep.

"Mila? Mila!" She exclaims, jumping and wrapping her arms around her, "Oh my fucking gods I can't believe you're here! You're okay! Oh my gods, Mila!"

"Mila?!" Cregan's voice yells from inside the flat, and his heavy footsteps echo down the hallway. Rhaena barely lets go of her friend before Mila is snatched up by her brother. His immense height and strength means he grabs her like she weighed nothing, pulling her off her feet and crushing her to his chest.

Mila laugh breathlessly, pressing her cheek to her brothers chest, the beating of his erratic heart could be heard through the old, white t-shirt he wore.

Cregan lets go of her, putting his hands on her shoulders to look down at her with wide eyes, "Where the fuck were you? Oh my gods, Mila, I was so fucking worried!"

"I called you." She tries to explain, placing her hands on his own.

"I broke his phone." Rhaena sighs guiltily, "I bought him a new one! But you... don't have his new number." She looks between them, looking crestfallen at the notion that she was the reason Cregan did not receive any of Mila's calls.

"Don't beat yourself up, sweetheart." Mila chuckles, taking Rhaena's hand in her own, "Next time I'll send a raven."

A huffed laugh escapes Cregan's lips, as he runs his hand over his face. Mila's mind finally kicks into gear, and she looks between her friend and her brother with furrowed eyebrows.

"Why are you here?" She asks the pale haired woman. Rhaena's eyes widen, and she gives her a shy smile. Cregan crosses his arms as he leans against the apartment door, nudging Rhaena to explain. Yet she remains silent, pressing her lips together as she nudges him back for him to explain to his sister.

"You two...?" Mila looks between them, "No fucking way, are you back together?!"

Rhaena blushes, smiling up at Cregan, "Kind of...?"

"Gods if I had known disappearing would bring you two back together I would have done it ages ago!"

"Not funny. Ridiculously unfunny" Cregan sighs, flicking her nose, his expression turning grim once again, "Why did you leave the clinic?"

Mila bites her lip, face darkening as she looks around the empty corridor where they linger, "Can we talk inside?"

"Oh my gods, of course!" Rhaena grabs her wrist, pulling her into the flat, "Come in, come in!" Momentarily forgetting about the owner of the flat, she shuts the door on Cregan's face as he stands outside.

"My apartment." Cregan grumbles with a sigh, though his voice is soft with affection for the Targaryen girl. He opens the door again, glaring half-heartedly at Rhaena's back as she drags Mila towards the kitchen. Cregan's apartment, bought with his giant footballer's paycheck, is completely open plan. The centre of the flat is the living room, with a conversation pit in the middle. The kitchen curves around one side, with the bedroom on the other side, an ensuite bathroom attached. Mila tries to not notice various items of Rhaena's clothes scattered across the floor.

"Tea? Tea." Rhaena drops Mila's wrist to flit around the kitchen, turning on the kettle and grabbing mugs as quick as a whippet.

"Rhaena, please, you're giving me whiplash." Cregan groans, wrapping an arm around her waist to halt her erratic movements and putting her down in the middle of the kitchen.

"Sorry, sorry." She laughs, running a hand over her locks. Her eyes follow Cregan's slower movements, her blush deepening.

"Great, I'm nineteen again." Mila groans, and Rhaena averts her eyes.

"Speaking of being nineteen again." Cregan grumbles as he leans against the counter next to the boiling kettle, raising an eyebrow at his sister, "Where did you go? I thought your vanishing into thin air days were over?"

"They are." Mila sighs, sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, "It's... well, it's a long story."

"Start at the beginning."

"It's the best place to start." Mila murmurs, accepting a cup of steaming tea from her brother, "So... I sort of freakout out and spiralled at the clinic-"

"Why?" Rhaena asks conversationally.

Because I almost kissed my ex-boyfriends older brother. "I started overthinking everything with Aemond, about what he said and how I felt like a disappointment for relapsing. I just... needed to escape."

Rhaena nods, her eyes sympathetic. Beside her, Cregan busies himself with stirring his tea, his jaw clenched as he listened to her tell her story.

"So I left. I hitchhiked back to Kings Landing, went to Alysanne Martells and joined the old gang at Madame Sylvie's. I got drunk and high and stupid. But it was all ok until I got into some trouble. With Jason Lannister..."

"I heard something happened with him." Cregan nods, "His brother Tyland snatched him up after he had a weird meltdown about the Targaryens, no-one's seen him since. What happened, Mila?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"Did he try to hurt you?" Cregan asks, his voice low and dangerous.

Cregan knew about what Jason was like a few years ago. He was notorious for dealing drugs to famous folk, and for taking advantage of women who were in dire need of a hit. Mila had fallen victim of him a few times when she was a teenager, and Jason gained a few broken bones from Cregan's rage subsequently. But Jason never learned, and Mila could tell Cregan was worried about what he did that night.

"Aegon saved me." Mila states simply, "That's all that matters."

"Is it true he broke Jason's nose?" Rhaena asks, eyes wide, "Floris said she saw him and it was all bent outta shape like a tree root."

"Sounds accurate." Mila chuckles, shaking her head.

Cregan watches Mila, his face pensive as he thinks about what she's said.

"So where did you go with Aegon? It can't have been anywhere in King's Landing, I looked everywhere."

"Everywhere?"

"Everywhere."

"He took me to Old Town. His families beach house." A small , "I got better. Mentally, emotionally. Started to feel normal again. Like I wasn't some... freak let down."

"it's hard to feel like you've hit rock bottom when you're standing next to Aegon Targaryen." Rhaena muses. "Nothing against my cousin... well, everything against my cousin. He's a lost cause."

"No he's not." Mila said assuredly, finding herself quick to defend him, "He's doing much better. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him"

"So, a few weeks at the beach, you're better and you're besties with Aegon 'the Mattress' Targaryen?" Cregan chuckles mirthlessly, suspecting there is more to the story than she let on.

"You sure you didn't get high by the beach?" Rhaena asks, chuckling at her own joke.

"What's funny."

Mila jumps as someone else groans, looking around to spot the .

"Jace?" She laughs, spotting a head of fluffy dark hair popping up from the conversation pit. He looks around blearily, blinking at her. He waves slightly, before clutching his head and falling back onto the red couches.

"What was the joke?" He calls out.

"High By The Beach, by Lana Del Rey?" Rhaena laughs, before her face falls and she looks at Cregan, "How long has he been here?"

"...I have absolutely no idea." Cregan groans, walking over to the pit, "Jace, get the fuck out of my flat." He grabs a couch cushion and smacks Jace with it.

Mila stayed at Cregan's that night. The urge to go back to her own apartment never came, and the thought of being alone made her feel stomach twist into knots. Not after spending weeks with Aegon always at her side...

Ignoring her insistence that she could sleep in the conversation pit (once Rhaena had dragged Jace out of the flat by the scruff of his neck), Cregan had further insisted that she sleep in his bed. Before the conversation was over, Cregan had sprawled all six foot four inches of himself across the red cushions of the retro pit and conked out, leaving Mila to unceremoniously collapse onto his fur covered bed.

Rhaena had come back the next morning with a spare black outfit for Mila to wear to the funeral, something that she was immensely grateful for. She and Baela had turned up bright and early, rising before the sun.

They turned up with their dogs, Moondancer and Morning, at their heels. Moondancer, a dalmation with the prettiest, most judgmental eyes, had greeted Mila with a nudge of her head and a few barks that sounded way too reprimanding. While Morning, a baby chihuahua, had crawled onto Cregan's sleeping form in the pit and fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Baela stares at Mila with wide eyes after she confesses everything that happened. Since Viserys' birthday a month ago, to his funeral tonight. Including all the gory details of drugs, the beach house in Old Town, big Tesco and fucking both the Targaryen brothers. A detail she would have preferred not to hear about her two cousins.

"Gods wept, Mila, this is bad." She groans, holding a chipped mug in a well manicured hand.

"Thanks! I'll be sleeping on the highway tonight." Mila sighs.

"You need to talk to Aegon."

"You think?" The Stark says sarcastically, pouring more expensive coffee into her and Baela's mugs.

"Yeah." Baela smiles, patiently ignoring the other woman's sass, "I'm not the biggest fan of my cousin, but from what you've said, he's changing. Or at least trying to. And that's more than I've ever seen of him. He must know you're special."

"Stop it bae." Mila sighs as she puts the mugs down, running a hand over her face. Baela stands up from the table, walking around Mila to wrap her arms around her from behind, resting her head on her shoulder. Mila sighs into her, resting her temple against the other woman's head.

"It'll be okay, Mimi."

"Y'all have the worst nicknames for me." Mila laughs.

"That's because we love you."

"Love you too, Baebae."

"Ugh." Baela groans, nipping Mila's shoulder, "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be." Mila sighs as she follows her friend towards the front door.

As they slipped on their heels and finished their appropriately somber makeup, Rhaena sat next to Cregan and kissed his nose.

"Can the dogs stay here during the funeral?" She asks him softly, though he was barely awake.

"Sure." He grumbles, glaring at Morning on his shoulder. Rhaena beams and kisses him lightly on the lips, joining her sister and Mila at the door as Moondancer replaces her on the bed, sneezing over Cregan.

The last thing they heard from the flat was Cregan's murmured "fucks sake..." as the dogs got comfortable on his bed.

Once they got to street level, Mila was already feeling anxious about the day ahead. Emotions would come to surface at the sure to be extravagant funeral for the head of the Targaryen dynasty, and the Stark did not know if she was ready for that yet. Baela held her hand as they headed towards their car,

Laena Targaryen, her married name remained due to the recentness of her divorce, was leaning against the sleek black car. She smiled warmly at the three as they appeared, kissing Mila's forehead quickly before they all climbed into the car.

At the Targaryen estate, Mila finds her movements are slow and sluggish as she gets out the car, her body and soul unwilling to face the Targaryen's now, in their state of

"You're not coming in, mum?" Baela asks her mother, fluffing out her hair as she sneers at the building ahead.

"If I have to see your father, he'll be spooning his brother in his grave before the day is up." Laena smiles from inside the car, kissing Baela's forehead as she leans in.

"If you need anything, please let me know. Baela and Rhaena really love you, so I have no choice but to love you too. You have my number, anything happens, you call me."

"Thank you, Laena." Mila smiles.

"Say 'hi' to Rhaenyra for me." She says finally, before sliding back into the car. Ah, yes, another one of the Realm's Delights many ex's, Mila thought to herself with a chuckle. No wonder Daemon and Laena's relationship ended badly, he probably could never compare.

"Ew, mom." Baela blanches, rolling her eyes at the retreating car. The two Dragon Sisters begin walking towards the estate, heels clicking against the cobblestone. Up ahead, more and more cars unloaded black-clad mourners, surrounding the already darkened Targaryen mansion with a sea of night.

Mila tries to bite back the dread inside her as she joins her friends' sides.

Spotting Rhaenyra and her children greeting mourners across the courtyard, the group head her way. Jace's face brightens immediately, a wild grin on his face as he practically sprints over.

"Finally! Gods this is already such a drag, I'm so glad you guys are here." He grins, grabbing Mila's hand.

"That's so inappropriate, Jace." Baela smacks the back of his head, "Your grandfather is dead, dumbass, act sad."

"I've been acting sad all morning." Jace rolls his eyes, throwing his arm over Mila's shoulder, jostling her, "My favourite Stark is back."

"You saw me last night, moron." Mila says affectionately, "And I won't tell my brother you said that."

"No, go ahead." Jace wiggles his eyebrows, "He shags better when he's mad."

"Gross. His girlfriend is right here."

"His mistress, you mean." Jace sticks his tongue out at Rhaena, who elbows him with a roll of his eye. He and Baela begin bickering, while Rhaena

Rhaenyra smiles sadly at Mila approaches, reaching out and taking her hands in her own.

"How are you feeling?" Nyra asks.

"I should be asking you that." Mila sighs, noting the aura of sadness around Rhaenyra. She was always her father's favourite, knowing him during his peak, when he was a formidable philanthropist and model father. Doting, proud, everything a father should be. Everything his other children never got.

At a time, Viserys Targaryen was known as a family man. Husband to a beautiful wife, father to the perfect daughter. Then his wife died in childbirth, their second child never once opening his eyes, and Otto Hightower got his claws into Viserys. Married a young, beautiful woman, had four more children, continued on with life. But Viserys Targaryen was bitter until he died, crippled and as cancerous as the disease that took him.

"I am... well, I will be alright." Rhaenyra sighs, looking over at the rest of the funeral goers.

The main door opens, and Aemond strides out. Despite herself, Mila's breath catches in her throat. He's dressed in a full black suit, perfectly tailored and hugging his lithe frame. A green tie clip, as well. Of course he would get a new, expensive suit for his father's funeral. If Mila didn't know any better, she would say he straightened his hair. It falls perfectly around him like a blanket of bright gold, his skin pale and flawless.

It's a shame he's so beautiful, it would be easier for Mila to hate him if her heart didn't flutter whenever she saw him

His lone eye lands on her, pale blue iris and dark pupil scanning over her. With a nod, Aemond extends his hand out. Even across the courtyard, with a hundred people between them, he watches only her.

Rhaenyra's hand grips Mila's harder, her eyes hardening as she looks at her half-brother.

"I should go over to him." Mila sighs, nodding her head resolutely. Giving her a cautious look, Rhaenyra keeps her hand in hers, giving her a reason to stay by her side.

"You don't have to." The older woman says softly.

"I do." The Stark replies, squeezing Rhaenyra's hand and kissing her cheek, before leaving her.

A hundred people milling about in waves of black might as well not be there, as Mila walks through like towards Aemond Targaryen. His hand remains out, palm up as he offers it for her to take. And as she meets him at the bottom of the steps, she does. Instinct wins again.

"Come on, the rest of my family is already inside." Aemond says, squeezing her hand as he turns and leads her inside the mansion.

There are less people inside. Mila recognises a few, like Borros Baratheon and Jason Lannister, and members of Viserys' advisory board like Jasper Wylde and a man named Orwylle. All of them offer murmured condolences to Aemond, eyebrows raised in intrigue as they lay eyes on the She Wolf beside him.

It's hard not to feel like a spectacle, Mila notes as she lets Aemond lead her towards the parlour.

The rest of the Targaryen's mill about. Alicent is recognisable despite her veil as she stands beside her father. She lets out a gasp as she sees Mila, rushing over to her to grab her into a tight hug.

"Sweet girl, you're alright...."

"I am." Mila squeezes the Targaryen matriarch back, before holding her at arms length to give her a somber look, "I'm so sorry, Alicent."

The older woman nods, face barely vible under her veil. Over her shoulder, Otto Hightower watches Mila like a hawk. Almost like he was summoned, Aemond returns to Mila's side, taking her hand again. As if to prove a point to his grandfather.

As gently as she could, Mila gently lets go of Aemond's hand, moving over to the other Targaryen siblings. Daeron brightens as he sees her, immediately rushing over and crushing her into a hug. Mila smiles as she smooths her hands over his back, feeling him sniff as he lays his head against her shoulder.

"How are you feeling, Dare?" She asks softly, leaning back to look at him as she holds his elbows. He sniffs again, looking around with glassy eyes.

"I don't know, Mila. Me and dad weren't close or anything, but... he was still my dad, y'know?" 

"I know, sweetie. I'm so sorry." Daeron holds her hands, squeezing them gratefully before he leaves room for Halaena to join their side.

"Hey Hel-" Mila starts, before she is cut off by Halaena hugging her. The second daughter of Viserys was never one for physical contact, even with her family, so Mila carefully wrapped her arms around the other woman, hand cupping the back of her head as Halaena sank into her, "It's okay, lovely."

"Missed you." Halaena murmurs, voice muffled by Mila's coat.

"Missed you too, bug." 

Mila keeps her arm around her as they seperate. Helaena leans into her, cheek against her covered shoulder as she stares out into the distance. The Stark's hand holds the Targaryen up, sensing her mind is elsewhere in this moment.

Across the room, another pair of blue eyes watches Mila closely. She tries not to make it obvious when she looks over at Aegon, who sits sprawled out on one of the sofas. He seems calm at first glance, and perhaps his anguish would only be noticed by those closest to him. Mila looks at him for a long moment, watching his somber face and twitchy eyes.

She wants nothing more than to go over to him. To sit at his side, hold him to her like she did in Old Town. To press a kiss to every inch of his skin until he felt right again. But under the watchful eye of Aemond and Otto Hightower, she couldn't.

Someone clears their throat, and all eyes turn to Criston Cole as he stands in the doorway, looking ever the dutiful servant as he stands with his hands crossed in front of him. He nods to Otto, a grim look on his face.

"It's time."

Finally, after many years of illness and waiting, Viserys Targaryen is laid to rest. Inside a black coffin, he is lowered into the ground in the family lot, his ancestors surrounding him.

Mila stands at Aemond's side as the septon delivers a eulogy, harmonised by rolling thunder above. Small drops of rainfall around them. Though looking around the mourners, the drops of rain would be the only water falling down their faces.

Aemond watches with a stoic face, his eyepatch dripping, seeing eye dry. He stares at the descending coffin with disdain, with relief. His hand cradles Mila's waist, holding her close to him as the rain slowly drenches them both. Whether he holds her for comfort, for warmth, or for possession, she does not know.

Alicent is pale beneath her veil, brow furrowed as if she is confused about how she should feel. Her eyes keep flicking to her father, who barely spares the coffin a glance as he continuously looks at those around him. Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, Daeron, Rhaenyra, Daemon, Mila. All of them are merely here to be observed.

Helaena stands between Baela and Rhaena, the Dragon Sister's forming a protective barrier for their favoured cousin. Daeron stands with Jace and Luke, near Rhaenyra. The only child of Viserys who cries over his grave.

Daemon stands away from the large group, simply watching his brother being lowered into the ground from across the way. His arms are crossed, in a show of boredom, that Mila can only read as protectiveness. A younger sibling watching his elder leave this world forever.

As Mila looks around at those witnessing Viserys' burial, her eyes finally travel to Aegon.

His eyes were already on her.

Her breath hitches when she catches him watching her. The soft blue of his eyes is perfectly visible to her, a soothing colour reminding her of the waves on the shore of Old Town.

Eyes moving down to rest on Aemond's protective grip on her, his gaze hardens. His eyebrows furrow, his face pales.

Mila shakes her head, trying wordlessly to tell him everything is okay. To tell him that nothing has changed. That it should be his side she stands at right now, his hand she holds as they bury his father.

Aegon mouths something to her, and Mila's heart flutters.

"I love you."

AN// Apology video with tears coming tomorrow after I post the next chapter... Thank you guys again for all of your likes and comments and reblogs y'all r crazy like me and I love you all <<33

Lula x

[nyx-is-missing]

SUNSET PART 1

Or early summer!

Clarisse La Rue x Cassandra De Young (oc! Apollo's kid)

Summary: When Cassandra gets involved in a scandal early in the day, she goes to camp early.

Warnings: men....thats all i could think of actualy.

First read this!

Part 2 is here!

Cassandra De Young

Im fucked.

That's it, that's all i can say.

I knew it as soon as my hand reached his face and stinged, as soon as i heard a camera's flash, and as soon as i stepped into my mom's apartment.

Let's just rewind a bit, okay?

My family own a big business, that you already know by now, the thing is, when they reeaally want to do business with someone they go extreme, the most common technique is to get on the good side of everyone in the family, everyone.

They research, pretend to have things in common, to like the same things, to have the same views of life, and to make it more believable they always go for the person who is closest in age with them.

Usually i dont get involved in this situations because im younger than everyone else, the only teen in the family.

The thing is, this family also had someone around my age.

A 18 year old guy.....eighteen.

Let me tell you, i really wasn't going for trouble today, i tought he may be a normal guy, just with a little money, someone i could have a conversation with, drink some coffe, laugh and go back home and think "hey, not so bad"

He.was.not.

All he could talk about is how much money his family had, where he went for winter break, his pure blood horse, that only ate (attention to this one) IMPORTED GRASS.

Overall a huge dick.

But that i could handle, i've met people like this, i could handle a shitty talk for some hours, what i could not handle was having to go through all this with his hand on my knee bellow the table.

And here i was, spending one of my last days of spring being tortured by the fates.

"You're not paying much attention to the conversation are you?" He said, and gods that accent was almost making me want to jump out of a cliff, or push him out of a cliff, both would work.

"Oh sorry i was-"

"No need to apologize, people get bored i know" Not that he did something criminal by not letting me finish my sentence but, my gods every action coming from him its making me want to die right now "Its okay, i could find some way to make you focus"

Okay, im done

"Im gonna need you to stop saying odd shit" I looked him dead in the eye with a bothered look, and by the surprised look he gave me back i was 100% sure nobody ever told him to shut up when he was saying nonsense.

"C'mon, dont be like that-" he said trying to get his hand a little but upwards, and i only realized i slapped him when i felt my hand burning.

"Oh my gods im sorry i-" And then i heard the camera flashes.

Im going to need you to imagine the scene, my hand was still up, his hand was till on his cheek, and he had a scared look in his face, as did most of the people at the fancy coffe shop.

Do i smile now? Strike a pose? This one is definetly getting front pages at every place.

I chose the safest choice, got out of that straight to my house.

No..i did not payed the bill.

The whole way home i was trying really hard to think of something to say that was not going to make my family mad, especially my grandfather, but considering whe has always mad with something, that felt like a impossible mission.

First thing i saw when i opened the door of the penthouse was my mom, standing in front of the television, and sure enough, my face was on it.

She turned to me, but before she could even say something i started to explain myself.

"Its not what it looks like mom, i swear, i didn't do it on pourpose, let me explain please-" i couldnt actually read the look on her face, but she didnt say anything, so  i took that as a go ahead.

When i explained her what happened her face relaxed a bit, but not completely, and she had a look that said your grandpa is getting in my nerves because of this.

"I'll talk to your grandfather about this, but you need to know that the way you acted wasn't appropriate, there is cameras all around and you need to be careful...lets just thank the gods you didnt pulled out a dagger right?" She walked closer to me, and i knew she was trying to comfort me, its a pitty actually, i knew she didnt wanted kids when she had me, i knew how grandpa treated her when he found out, to me, it was enough that she at least tried to love me enough.  "You already have your things packed to camp right? I know you have some more days of school but ill call them and tell them you are sick, its best for you to leave earlier this year, then your grandfather wont talk your ears out...you okay with that?"

"Yes mama, ill just finish packing some small things...do i leave today?" I felt her hands on my shoulders, and heard a silent im sorry.

"Yes, but dont be like that, think that you at least wont have to see the news talking about you..youll just be there, with your siblings, eating strawberies and..whatever else demigods do daily, right?"

Like i said, it is enough to me that she tries, even when she isnt great all the time, i know people who dont even have this.

I nodded and went to my room, making sure not to accidentally hit a new sculpture, placed in the corridor.

I didnt wait for her when i finished packing.

I knew she wouldnt be the one to take me there, she never is, she has things to do with the family business, its what ive always heard.

So when i got to the underground garage with my bags i automatically searched for one of the family drivers, sure enough, he was there.

He was a nice guy, but quiet, i knew that he probably had orders not to talk to the family members unless spoken to, grandpa did this with all of them, i also knew he never actually knows where hes been taking me, he takes me there almos every year, but always stops at the road in front of the forest, maybe this sad look he has on his face its because he thinks he is taking me to one of those crazy wilderness therapies as a punishment.

Granpa would absolutely do that if he hadnt had to live with a great public appearence.

"Miss? We are here" He looked at me in the rearview mirror, i only realized i had doze of when my eyes met his and i blinked. "Hold on tight, im going to help you with your luggage okay?"

"Oh..thank you mr bell" He opened the trunk, and then the back door for me, extending his hand to help me get out of the car "thank you, again"

"Sure miss, just let me take your bags out and we are all set okay?-"

Another car dor noise made us both look to the right, to find Clarisse La rue, closing a taxi door, with just one big suitcase in hand.

Now, my story with Clarisse is kind of complicated, i've met her when he were, eight i guess, her family bought some shares in the family business and we saw each other very regulaly, and ever since then everything everyone told me about her is that she is a troublesome girl, that i should stay far.

But she was the one who realized i was a demigodess, and took me straight to camp when a monster found me, and she was the one who, many times when we were little, comforted me when my family made me cry.

It seems like she forgot all of that because she never even looks at me.

If you ask her, she has never even met me at all actually.

"Clarisse, you're early"

"Cassandra, you too-"

"Cass actually, i prefer cass" i corrected her, to wich she just rolled her eyes and muffled a whatever. "Thats all you are taking? One suitcase?"

"And you are taking all that? How do you plan on walking the whole way with all that? Im assuming he wont go with you" she said looking at mr bell, and its true, he could not walk the whole way with me, and i could not walk with all that alone...fuck

"....you could help m-"

"No, dont even think about it"

"C'mon Clarisse!" She didnt even answered me this time actually. "Arent you a Ares-" i looked at the driver taking the suitcases out. "A ares...type of kid? You will pass on the oportunity to demonstrate your muscles or whatever?"

She started to walk away with a bored look, did i already said fuck?

"C'mon ill do whatever! I- i dont know.. 20 dracmas!, no?, ill help you with the cleaning duty you'll eventually have when you fuck it up? I..ill do that AND ill cure you anytime you want, everyday, no matter the time!"

She stopped walking.

Yes! I knew it, one of the many problems clarisse had its that she likes to go out at night to train alone, and when she gets hurt she cant ask anyone to help her, because she would get caught

"Give me those suitcases already and shut up-" she was interrupted by a very happy me hugging her.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouclarisse!"

I felt her hands on my arms and realized she was going to push me away, so i took a step back

"Geez Clarisse, you could've just told me to back off, dont be like that... just take these and ill take those"

I said pointing to the suitcases, and saying goodbye to mr bell.

Can i already welcome summer and his crazy energy? No? Okay.

[f4iry-bell]

Grayson with fem!pregnant reader? 🫣

grayson hawthorne x pregnant!reader

hii, i hope you like it. if you have any other specific scenario in mind you can req!!

warning: mention of tobias, panick attack, feeling unworthy, abandonment issue if you squint.

The volume of her voice was slowly disappearing to Grayson. He could feel the sweat on head and palms as his heart was beating faster than it should. This cannot be happening. No, he's young even if he wasn't this can't happen. Even if it is with her. 

“Grayson!” Her voice raised, the way her chest was rising up and down showed him that she's just as afraid as him. Grayson was not mentally prepared for this situation. This situation never occurred in his mind ever. “Say something.” She pleaded.

He exhaled through his mouth and said “I-I need a moment.” 

“Wait!” He didn't hear anything else as he stormed out of the room grabbing his key from her apartment.

He drove back to the Hawthorne House. He prayed no one would be there as he went straight to the pool. With just his boxers Grayson dived into the pool, he stayed down for more than usual.

Images of his own biological father and his words came to his mind. Words of his grandfather, how he raised Grayson and his brothers, how he has damaged them. Grayson doesn't know any other way, he was under his grandfather's wing, he was raised to be perfect and extraordinary. And yet he was the most damaged Hawthorne. By heavens he found her and she has accepted him for him. But a child? How will it accept a broken father who knows nothing about raising children other than the way his grandfather had.

All he could think was how disappointed his grandfather would be in him if he was here, how he would point out Grayson’s irresponsible action. How he would have ‘handled’ the situation like he handled his mother’s. 

When he finally stopped swimming his life out he checked his phone expecting her to call him but he found none. Zero calls and texts from her. He immediately grabbed his clothes and walked as fast as he could to his car to drive to her apartment.

He hated himself right then for how selfish he has been. He didn't think about her, who is actually carrying their child. He let his emotions and personal issues get all over. He will never forgive himself for how he left her there.

When he reached her apartment he knocked hastily. He was scared, she'll be mad and won't let him in. She will raise their child alone rather than let it be raised by someone like him. Someone who couldn't even process important news like an adult. Someone broken as him, unworthy of being a father. Maybe the baby will be better off without him. 

He stopped knocking and was about to leave when the door opened. He expected her to ask him to leave but instead her face relaxed, in relief to see him and stepped forward to hug him. 

He whispered her name. 

“I thought you weren't going to come back.” She cried in his arms. “I thought you were leaving me. Leaving us.”

“You're not mad?” He asked, surprised.

“I was, I thought you needed time to process. But it was getting late, Gray. I thought you did not want us.” She pulled back to see him, her eyes were pooled with tears.

“I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have just taken off like that. Please forgive me. I swear you'll never not see me after this moment. I'll be by your side all the time. You can move to my House, or I could move here. Or we could get a new house, bigger. All three of us cannot live in this apartment, if you don't want to come to Hawthorne House.” He would have kept going on about how he would handle this if she didn't stop him.

“Grayson.” She chuckled. “We do not have to get a new house, the baby isn't coming out anytime soon.”

“Right.” He was relieved that she stopped crying.

“I do not forgive you for leaving me like that for a while without a word.” She reminded him.

“I know. And I'll do everything to make it up to you.”

“I know you will. And I do not want to bother your family by moving there.”

“You won't, they won't even notice you've moved. They'd be happy to be honest. And you must see The Hawthorne Nursery.”

“I will. We'll decide where we will be after the baby when the baby is born. We have plenty of time.”

_

Hawthorne Gc

Jameson: Grayson is PREGNANT.

_

5 months later the baby bump was showing and Grayson couldn't be more content. He had his moments where he didn't feel worthy enough to be a father but after he told her why he stormed off she understood him and assured him he will be wonderful. He has brought multiple books on parenting and looked up videos. His love for his girlfriend only seemed to be growing more than it ever did. He barely let her walk, even in the house.

“This sucks.” She said after swallowing the food. He has also been patient with her mood swings.

“You used to love this, my love.” He reminded her.

“It sucks now.” But she ate anyway.

She suddenly stood up. “What is it?”

“I have to pee.” She has also grown to accept and love his pampering. She let him help her to the bathroom, sometimes he even used to carry her from room to room. He spoonfed her most of the time. He reads to her and after she falls asleep he reads a children's book to the baby bump or tells some stories about its mother and how much he loves him or her. The fear he had five months ago vanished completely, he couldn't wait to become a father, to hold his baby and raise it with her.

[anonnikulaphon]

the third-wheel

Timeline: 2024 October 4th, Friday afternoon Location: Red's studio, Bangkok Mood: Quiet, hesitant, apprehensive Attire: See this post With: @reddevildaeng & @savagexgarden Music: Stupid Heart - Sorana

Non stares out the window of the car, sitting in the back-seat while the driver made their way to Red's photography studio. The young heir was a little unsettled - this would be the first time he and Red would be spending time alone since the engagement, which had ended in disaster. He was a little apprehensive to see his fiancée, wondering if there would be a repeat of the last time they were together, which Non hadn't stopped thinking about it. He could still feel Red's grip on his arm, pulling him forward forcefully while telling him how much he hated him. Nobody had touched Non like that, let alone threatened him too. If it were any other person Non would swear to make their lives a living hell - but this was Red. Red. The person he had been pining over for almost a decade. And even if it wasn't, this was the man he had promised to marry, and Non wasn't going to go back on his word.

Sighing, Non rubbed his temple as the driver pulled into a spot right beside the studio, announcing their arrival. "Thank you," Non told him as the man opened the door for him. He stepped out, glancing at his watch. He was right on time, he just hoped that Red would be ready to go and wouldn't give him a hard time. "I'll go get P'Red, please wait in the car for us. We'll be out shortly."

"Yes, Khun." The driver nodded. Every time Non needed a driver, this was who he'd call. The man was employed by his grandfather to chauffeur Non around the city whenever he needed it, and was paid well to do so. It was also the same driver who saw what Red and Non got up to in the back seat of the very same car, a couple of weeks ago. Non would have been embarrassed if it were anyone else, but he supposed it was fine since Red was his fiancée. At the very least, it supported the stories he told the public that the two couldn't get enough of each other.

Opening the door to the studio, Non was only expecting to see Red - instead, his eyes widened at a very peculiar sight. Red was there, but so was another person - a very pretty person who Non recognised as the famous actor Sing, who was currently attached to Red's arm with his teeth.

What the fuck?

The hesitancy that Non felt earlier was gone. He didn't know what was going on, only that he was starting to stir with jealousy. He cleared his throat loudly, letting the door shut behind him before crossing his arms in front of him. "Hello, P'Red," He said with a forced smile, not taking his eyes off of the actor. "And hello to... your friend?"

[thenationaltreasuregazette]

The 2003 Script, Act 2b

Act 1 | Act 2a

We're breaking down The 2003 Script act by act!

In Act 2a, Ben stole the Declaration with less tension and more shenanigans, the henchmen are being picked off one by one, and Abigail is significantly less on board with this whole treasure hunt plan than in the final film. The news is reporting on an FBI manhunt for Ben & Riley, and on to Philadelphia we must go!

The FBI come to Patrick’s house and:

SADUSKY Your son's in a lot of trouble, Mr. Gates. He's stolen a National Treasure.

→ I don’t have any affection for Cinema Sins but…Role credits!

Also, Patrick repeats Ben’s line about needing to do something wrong in order to do something right, which is a sweet callback and suggests they both got the line from the same place. Ben’s grandfather? One of the Founding Fathers?

Philadelphia

The setup of this sequence is similar to the movie, with the following exceptions:

This whole sequence is framed by a reenactment battle taking place outside of Independence Hall.

Ben and Abigail have already changed clothes, and are waiting here while Riley gets the next clue. (They bond by pointing out inaccuracies in the reenactment.)

The schoolboy is one of several people Riley employs to decode the cypher. The next person he sends is a prostitute.

The FBI, not Ian, stop and question the prostitute when Riley solves the last piece of the clue and disappears.

Said clue is still “Pass and Stow” but the full riddle is:

“The trove unfolds for he who tolls Pass and…”

↳ lame.

Ben and Abigail aren’t wow’d by Riley figuring out that the clue leads to the Liberty Bell, but he makes no further attempt to impress them (i.e. the daylight saving time bit, which is one of my favorite parts of the movie.)

Both the FBI and Ian are on Ben’s tail throughout this sequence.

→ In the previous parts we talked about differentiation, and this is another place where that occurs between this script and the film. Rather than having both Ian and the FBI going at Ben and the gang, as written here, we get to deal exclusively with Ian until he gets the Declaration, then the FBI steps in to become Ben’s next problem. It might seem like having two antagonists would be better than one, but this is a case of less is more. By focusing on one antagonist, then the other, we get to explore the unique problems each pose for our heroes. (Like, the FBI isn’t going to kill Ben, and Ian can’t arrest him.) In this version, they blur together and neither one gets to shine. In fact, they start to feel like they’re almost working together to thwart Ben.

Abigail pulls Ben in for a Captain America: The Winter Solder-style fake-out kiss when they spot Ian and Shaw in the crowd. It means nothing, she swears.

Up in the bell tower, the clue isn’t a shadow, it’s a plaque commemorating the person who rang the bell when the Declaration was signed.

Abigail both knows about this guy and his plaque off the top of her head, which Ben doesn’t, and knows that the Liberty Bell rang E Flat. Damn girl.

→ I do like that this version gives Abigail and her historical knowledge more time to shine. However, as we will soon see, that comes with a price.

Ben pries the plaque up with the bayonet of a musket (that I think he took from the reenactors, but this part is unclear to me. Did you have better luck understanding it?)

The glasses are under the plaque. Riley is very unimpressed with this as a clue.

The Declaration was hidden in the musket barrel.

↳ clever, I'll grant them.

They unroll it, and Ben, then Abigail look at it through the glasses.

It shows a 3D rendering of a church and cemetery, with an X-marks-the-spot among the graves.

Riley has been griping that there is no X-marks-the-spot on any of the clues for the entire treasure hunt. He’s very excited that there is one here.

→ Overall, this script is much more genre-aware than the finished film. Once again, I think the film made the right choice. The script seems to be trying to lampshade all the places where someone could conceivably go “Hey, I’ve seen that in another treasure hunt.” It seems like it’s trying to defend itself against being derivative, but it’s those very mentions that feel most derivative of other stories. The final film just enjoys—and let’s us enjoy—the fact that it is a new entry in the Action-Adventure Treasure Hunt sub-genre without comparing itself (and thereby asking us to compare it) with previous movies.

Ian and crew catch them in the bell tower.

Ben and Abigail climb onto the belfry while Riley tap dances around gunfire as Powell shoots through the trapdoor.

Outside, Ben and Abigail are looking at a 20 foot drop onto the roof. Ben holds the Declaration while she jumps, then throws it down to her and jumps after.

Powell bursts through the trapdoor and starts shooting at them on the roof.

Riley “KIPS DOWN from outside the Belfry’s archway and…KICKS POWELL in the FACE!”

→ Because that’s a thing your tech nerd can usually do. Pretty cool though.

Outside, the Declaration falls, Ben and Abigail dive to save it, and they wind up with Abigail hanging off the building by the gutter, with Ben stopped on the edge of the roof. It’s a three-story drop to the ground, and Powell is coming. (He kicked Riley back through the trapdoor).

→ It is this moment, dear readers, that drove me to search my cupboards for alcohol during my first read of this script a few years ago. It was this moment that had me hysterical with gratitude that this is not the final version of National Treasure, and flabbergasted and appalled that this could have been National Treasure.

Ben, he um…

…he shoves the Declaration of Independence down Abigail’s bra, then stomps on the gutter so it starts to tear away from the building, leaving her to ride the thing down.

For what it’s worth, she is “aghast.”

There’s a whole lot more action now.

Ben tackles Powell to keep him from using the access stairs to get to Abigail, but

Ian and Shaw grab Abigail and throw her into a Corvette.

Ben, and Riley, now back from the belfry, run along the roof in the direction of the car.

There’s a huge gap between Independence Hall and its adjoining building, Congress Hall.

Ben jumps and makes it.

Powell jumps, misses, and fucking dies.

→ Again, we are picking off the henchmen like flies in this version

Riley watches Powell fall, looks away, and decides to take the stairs.

→ This is funnier if you don’t kill a guy to make the joke maybe?

Anyway, Ben jumps onto a tree, which lands him on a moving truck.

→ Why yes, we are doing another car chase.

In the Corvette, Abigail’s in the passenger seat, and Shaw’s behind her with a gun to her head. She tries to stop Ian from taking the document out from between her tits but she can’t.

→ Btw, the script is going with “bosom” to describe this all. As in

…And SHOVES it down into Abigail's bosom. She's aghast.

Not as aghast as I am though.

Ben jumps onto the roof of the Corvette and dodges some bullets, until Sadusky sees the situation and runs after them.

Sadusky has a shot at Ben and can’t bring himself to take it.

His finger tightens on the trigger…but…he…just…can't…do…it.

→ That’s interesting! It's a shade of the mutual respect Ben and Sadusky also develop in the final film, but much more dramatic. Clearly Sadusky sees something in Ben. Himself? A Purpose™? Stories he also grew up with?

Ian crashes into the reenactors. Ben reaches through the window and grabs the Declaration. Ian tries to stop him but Abigail bites him.

HOWEVER, Ian turns the wheel, Ben and the Declaration go flying. The reenactment horses stomp all over the thing, which is just in a plastic sleeve by the way, not a hard case.

Ben dives into the stampede but something something, Ian drives up and swipes the document.

Abigail ELBOWS HIM IN THE FACE, and Ben pulls her to safety right before Ian can find the last letter of “bitch.”

IAN You little bitc—

Then, Ben jumps on one of the reenactor’s horses, ready to chase after Ian and the Declaration...

...until Sadusky stops him at gunpoint.

Both Abigail and Ben are taken into custody.

→ Framing this sequence with the reenactment battle is a cool idea actually! It lets Ben literally live out the yankees vs redcoats battle for American independence. Is it a bit on the nose? Sure. But Ben stealing a (fake) British Officer's horse to chase down the Declaration is pretty badass so 'rule of cool' might win here. That said I don't this I miss this in the final film. I love how much more intimate they made this entire sequence.

FBI Interrogation

Sadusky questions Ben, and the call from Ian comes in off screen. For ever hour they don’t comply, Ian will cut off a piece of the Declaration and send it to them.

Agent Johnson believes Ben and Ian have been in on it together the whole time.

Ian calls again and we only hear Ben’s side of the phone call as Ian directs him to the Intrepid.

The Intrepid

Cue our requisite sexy shirtless scene of Ben getting wired by the FBI. (Remember, Ben’s in his 20s in this version)

The chopper is still a decoy, but it’s because they already think Ian is coming in it. Much less dramatic than the final version of the scene.

Instead of saying he found Door Number 3, before he jumps Ben tells Sadusky that Abigail had nothing to do with this.

→ This is unfortunately true. Abigail has more sass but less agency overall in this version, I would say.

A diver pops out of the water…and it’s RILEY.

Riley then does a BRITISH ACCENT because HE’S THE ONE who was calling the FBI while IMPERSONATING IAN.

→ I get that this is fun, but I really like that Ben and Ian are forced to work together, and I like that Abigail is the one making the plans to set up the escape.

Back at the FBI, Sadusky let’s Abigail out of her cell because he believes Ben that she wan’t involved.

→ ?? I mean that feels a little too easy but whatever.

And thus we move into ACT 3!

With any luck there will not be a six month wait between parts this time.

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 19

"So how's the shop doing?" Dad asks as we eat lunch.

"Uh, it's pretty good. Yeah, we get a lot of regulars. It's kind of become a little family."

"Sometimes we have music nights and Momma has lots of fun. But then she makes me leave once people get too excited," Syd cuts in.

"Music nights, huh? Is that really an appropriate environment for a five year old?" my dad asks, side eyeing me.

"It's perfectly appropriate for her. And you have no right to question my parenting so stay out of it," I reply coldly.

He clears his throat and forces a quiet apology.

My phone dings and I check it under the table as Syd and my father start up a small conversation.

Flo: I just landed. Ugh, why is it so hot?? How's it going with your dad?

Me: Oh shut up and enjoy the weather. It's tense but at least he and Syd are getting along.

Flo: Remember that you don't have to keep him around just because of Syd. Your feelings matter just as much.

I bite the inside of my cheek as I read her message again. What if she's right? What if it would be better to just cut him out of my life? But what if that hurts Syd and-

"Momma, are you okay? Did you get a text from Florence?"

"I'm fine, baby. Yeah, her flight just landed."

"Who's Florence?" my father asks curiously.

"Just a friend of ours," I say vaguely.

"Right."

The remainder of lunch is spent drowning in thick silence.

-

"Ash, he's here. My dad is here. I can't fucking stand this," I whisper in the phone, hiding out in my bedroom.

"What? Why is that douchebag here? I'll kill him. I swear to god, I'll come over and kick his ass right now."

"No, Ash, you can't kill him. He's still Syd's grandfather, which is the only reason I told him he could come visit."

She's silent for a moment. "Are you okay? I know it can be a lot," she says gently.

"I'm fine, I guess. I just want to get this over with already. He's not leaving until Saturday."

"He'll be gone before you know it, okay? And I swear to god, Y/N, if he says anything to you about Mark, you better tell me so I can kill him," Ash says in a dangerously low voice.

"You'll be my first call," I promise.

- A sharp knock echoes through the apartment, awaking me from my sleep. It's the middle of the night? Who the hell is at my apartment?

I tiptoe through the living room and pull open the front door. "Flo? What are you doing here? I thought you were in LA."

"I came back. I needed to talk to you. Y/N, I know we've been dancing around this but I can't stop thinking about you." Her eyes are glimmering with hope and her face is lit up with passion as she speaks. "I know it's late but I couldn't wait until morning. I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to hold you and love you and kiss you. So will you please let me kiss you?"

"I..." I don't know what to say, so I just nod dumbly. She takes two confident steps forward and grabs the collar of my shirt, pulling my lips into hers. Her lips are cold but soon warm up against my own. She grabs my waist and spins me around, pinning me up against the wall. Her tongue slips into my mouth and I moan quietly.

"Fuck, Y/N. You have no idea how long I've wanted this," she mumbles against my lips.

"Stop talking and kiss me," I demand. She grabs the underside of my thighs and hoists me up, holding my legs around her waist.

"God, I can't wait to make you-"

She's cut off by faint yelling and my eyes flutter open. "Momma, get up! I want pancakes!"

"What?" I mumble in confusion, sitting up and looking around my bedroom. It was a dream. It was a fucking dream.

"Can we have pancakes please?" Syd asks again.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Just let me take a quick shower first."

"Okay fine. I'll get the stuff out." She skips into the kitchen and I sigh into the empty bedroom. I stumble into the bathroom and flick on the light. Noticing the bright red flush coating my cheeks, I flip off my reflection and mumble "Get it together."

When I come out of the bathroom, Syd and my father are talking in the kitchen.

"Grandpa, tell me more about my dad please."

"Well, his name is Mark, and he used to play football. He was the best quarterback in the state." Anger quickly boils up in my chest at their conversation. Why the fuck is he talking about him? "And I'm not sure how your mother knew him, but I'm glad she did because-"

"Dad," I cut him off. "What are you doing?"

"I was just telling Syd about her dad. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? You know exactly what's wrong. Syd, can you go play in your room for a minute, please?"

"But I don't wanna," she grumbles.

"Syd, go." She sighs, but trudges to her room.

"You have no right. You have no right to talk to her about her father or anything, for that matter. It is up to me, her mother, what I tell her and I've chosen to not tell her about that poor excuse for a human. So either learn to shut up, or leave. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry. I just don't get why you don't want to tell her about him. He's a good guy, Y/N. I thought we were over all this nonsense."

My heart nearly stops in my chest. I scoff, letting out a breathy laugh of anger. Seeing his face, looking the same as it did when he threw me out, I give up. I give up on him. "Get out," I tell him.

"What?"

"Get the fuck out. I don't want you around my kid."

[tehri]

For the OC ask meme: Wound and Midnight for both Linoth and Ial'Qureth!

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

This one is a little tricky to answer, honestly. For Linoth, much like the lyrics of a certain song, he gets knocked down but he gets up again - at least in regards to physical wounds. He has the unfortunate tendency of not quitting until he passes out, so he's a tenacious little bastard. In regards to mental/emotional wounds, however, that's the main part of his baggage. He tends to bottle things up a lot, even when things affect him very deeply, and he doesn't like to feel like he's a burden to others. Whiiiiich kind of leads to him overthinking and, fairly often, doing very stupid shit (such as, you know, swearing a certain oath), because what he's thinking and feeling has to go somewhere even if he doesn't talk about it. As for the worst wound he has ever experienced... Well, that's a mental one, and it's a little thing called "saw his grandfather commit suicide", and that's all I'll say about that :)

On Ial'Qureth's end... He has far more mental/emotional wounds. He's a pretty direct person who doesn't like to beat around the bush, but his position does mean that he doesn't have much of a choice in some aspects. He doesn't normally tend towards bottling things up, but he kind of thinks that he needs to do so in order to avoid having his emotional/mental state affect his duties or his family. He struggles with it and doesn't really have anyone to talk to in order to get it out of his own head, which leads to him isolating himself a lot. So he kind of needs a reminder of sorts of how to actually open up to someone - it's been a while since he did so, after all.

midnight: What keeps your OC up at night? Do they have nightmares? Fears? Anxieties? What do they do in the small hours of the morning when they should be sleeping?

Ial'Qureth is absolutely the person who is kept up at night by that good old anxiety thought-spiral. He already stays up very late because of his duties (this man needs to learn the beauty of delegating tasks like he needs air to breathe), but once he does go to bed to try to sleep, it can be very difficult for him to convince his brain to shut down. He often ends up thinking about the state of the empire and what he can or cannot fix before his death. Most of all, he thinks about his nephews, and what manner of world will be left behind for them. Below those anxieties hides a deep fear that he'll die from an illness like his brother and sister-in-law did, thus leaving his elder nephew to pretty much walk to his death and his younger nephew to rule. If he cannot sleep, he often ends up stepping outside to watch the stars and the moon.

For Linoth, it's mostly nightmares that keep him up if he's kept up at all, often born from overthinking and stress. He gets restless easily, so if he can't find rest, he takes to wandering. Impromptu inspections of the night watch is a relief sometimes; it gives him something to focus on and a routine to settle him. On occasion, though, those wanderings tend to take him to the wall surrounding the gardens, where he can look up towards a certain someone's balcony to see if he's still awake or if he's gone to bed.

[chronicangel]

Through Gold and Gloom

Link to this fic on AO3. Words: 4906 Date posted: April 30, 2019

Summary: "I just want her to have a perfect wedding," he sighs, hoping nobody calls him out for the sappiness of it.

"As long as she's marrying you, it'll feel perfect. I suppose you'll just have to make your best man fight off any potential suitors who have come to your wedding to steal your bride away 16th century style."

It's an hour before her wedding ceremony and Jade Harley has never wanted a drink before but God does she want one right now.

If her grandfather were still alive she thinks he'd have given her a glass of whiskey to steel her nerves and some speech about how proud he was of her for finally reaching this day. As it stands, the man died in a hunting accident eighteen years ago and she is stuck simply sitting still on the verge of tears while Kanaya pulls her mess of curls into something resembling an up-do and Rose frantically runs between the room where she is getting ready and the room where Dave is getting ready trying to make sure that everything is set for them to get married and holy shit, she's getting married.

"Are you alright? You look like you're... panicking, a little bit," Kanaya says when she steps in front of her to check her work only to see the tears beading up in the corners of Jade's eyes. She doesn't know how to explain that her answer is both I've never felt better in my life and I'd rather throw myself out that window than walk out that door. She's so, so excited to marry Dave, but at the same time every time she thinks about just what they are all here to do she just wants to burst into tears because it's all just a little too much to think about right now.

"Obviously she's overwhelmed," Nepeta says with a dismissive wave of her hand, and she wonders if that's all it is. Am I just overwhelmed? Is there just too much happening? Do I just need to take a step away from my thoughts and take a deep breath and then I'll feel better? Or what if I'm having second thoughts about this and I don't actually want to marry Dave? Is that even possible after everything? It's the last thing that leads her to scold herself because she has never wanted basically anything more than she wants to marry Dave Strider today. "Wouldn't you be?"

Finally she lets out a sob and buries her face in her hands and she's gonna mess up her make-up and Roxy's gonna have to completely redo it and she's gonna be so mad.

Rose slides into the room right after that and freezes, eyes going wide. She looks almost as panicked as Jade does. "Woah, woah, why is the bride crying? You're not having doubts about this, are you?" Jade sniffles and shakes her head, rubbing at her eyes. She swears she can actually feel her eyeliner smearing across her skin. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

She doesn't know how to voice her anxieties in a way that doesn't sound totally childish and dumb. She doesn't really know how to voice her anxieties at all, actually. "What if he decides he doesn't wanna marry me?" She eventually whispers, which she supposes is a concern but she doesn't think it's what's really wrong.

"Jade, he's been with you for six years. He plotted with my brother for three months on how to properly propose to you in a way that would, 'Make her heart melt, but not stress her out, you know?' He gushed in my DMs at three in the morning my time just three weeks ago because he woke up and you were cuddled up to him and he was debating calling into work because you were too cute to get out of bed. He's not going to change his mind about this," Nepeta tries to reassure.

She shakes her head and sobs again. "But he's too good. What if I'm locking him down for the rest of his life when he could be with somebody ten times as good as me?" And that, she suspects, is much closer to her actual insecurity. She has worried several times in the six years that she has been with Dave that he would regret choosing her of all the people he could have been with.

This time it is Rose who speaks up, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Are you actually stupid?" She snaps, and Jade looks up in surprise in time to catch the scolding look Kanaya sends her way. "No, she needs to hear it. I'm his twin sister, so I like to think I know him pretty well. And I remember when we were fourteen years old and he told me about how he'd just met John's little sister and he wasn't sure he'd ever seen someone so beautiful. He actually waxed poetic about how green your eyes were for a minute. I was almost proud. He used to call me at four in the morning my time when you two were in college because you were crying over how you were going to get a bad grade on your paper and you'd be forced to drop out of college and you couldn't live with the shame, and he was trying to proofread your papers for you but he couldn't understand a word of it because you were too smart for him. And he said that so many times that I would have punched him if I could have reached Texas from New York with some sort of mutant noodle arms.

"I think in Dave's mind, you're the most beautiful, intelligent, talented person in the entire world. Since we were 19, he's spent almost every day finding new ways to tell me about how in love with you he is. He's not going to change his mind, Jade."

She stares with wide eyes at Rose.

She remembers that day when she met Dave. He and John had been best friends since they were twelve, but she always hid out in her room when John had friends over or else was at her own friends' houses (Nepeta, in particular, was a frequent host when she felt too overwhelmed to deal with teenage boys). She had been getting ready to leave, and they'd been playing video games in the living room, and as she walked out of her room the two of them made eye contact and she felt her heart stutter in her chest. Foolishly, she'd thought to herself, I wanna marry that boy some day. And now, terrifyingly and amusingly, she really is.

It's an hour before his wedding ceremony and Dave Strider has never been so horrified by the idea of drinking.

"Dude, you're freaking out, just have one glass," Terezi says, holding out a glass to him again, and he swears to God if she offers him alcohol one more time he is going to take it and throw the thing across the room and he'll just deal with the consequences later. John, for his part, holds up a hand as though to silently signal to Terezi that she should stop, except she's completely blind so that's actually pretty fucking useless, Egbert. Still, a valiant effort. Karkat, apparently the only useful person in his entire wedding party, takes the glass from her hand, sets it on the nearest table, and rests his hands on her shoulders.

"I don't want a drink. I just need some fresh air or somethin'," he dismisses, though he knows this is not wholly accurate. Still, John immediately scoots over to the one window in the room that he is meant to be getting ready in and slides it open, and Dave promptly sticks his head out the thing and takes deep breaths of the cold air. It's surprisingly chilly for April, which kind of sucks since their actual wedding ceremony will be taking place in the garden outside, but it's great for right now.

"Are you... having doubts?" John asks, slowly, and Dave immediately snaps his head up to glare at him because what the fuck, no, of course he's not having doubts. John holds his hands up as though in surrender. "Okay, okay. Yeah, that was stupid. But... okay, I can't fix your problem unless you tell me what it is." Pretty sure you can't fix my problem either way.

There's a knock at the door and he straightens anxiously so fast he hits his head against the fucking window frame and he's rubbing the back of his head when Karkat says everybody's decent (technically Terezi says it first, little asshole that she is, but the door doesn't open until Karkat says it) and Rose slides into the room. "Little brother, what are you getting up to in here?" He wants to point out that not only are they twins, but he's the older twin, and he's almost an entire damn foot taller than her. Instead he just huffs and bends over to show her the top of his head without answering.

"Your wife is basically having a panic attack in the other room," she says in a tone like she is letting him in on a secret he isn't supposed to know about. Oh God, is she having doubts? "She says she's worried you're going to realize you could get better."

"That's ridiculous," he scoffs immediately. "Jade's the best it gets." And yet, he can still understand the anxiety. After all, he worries the same thing when it comes to her almost every day that they're together even though she has never shown any signs of regret or, in fact, anything other than love and affection for him in the years that they have been together. It can just be hard to believe that someone so amazing would choose you, and though he disagrees with her opinion on the matter on several grounds, he supposes he can see where she would be anxious about it.

"I told her you think that and she's breathing easier now, but I suspect she's still a little panicked about it." She hums after a moment and pushes him away to stand straight again. He rubs at his head and pouts even as she says, "No blood, no bump. Mom would have offered you a shot and then sent you off to play." Then she adds, "So, tell me what you're panicking about."

"I'm not panicking," he dismisses, glaring.

She just gives him a skeptical look, crossing her arms over her chest and raising a brow at him. It feels like she is staring deep into his soul with a challenging look. I'm starting to think that "twins are psychic" theory people have is true, and it's pretty fuckin' one-sided. "I'm just nervous that this is gonna go wrong somehow, I guess. I dunno how I'd even do it but what if I fuck it up?"

"Like you'll forget your vows or something?" She offers, and he stares at her in horror for a second because fuck, he didn't even think of that. He and Jade opted to write their own vows and he already struggled so much with just that. He ended up completely rewriting them four times before today, which is impressive being that he only proposed to her like five months ago. (140 days ago, actually, not that he's been counting down to this or anything.)

He's already scrambling to find a napkin or something now to write them down on again just to double check he has them memorized before she stops him with a cool hand on his shoulder. "Dave." He swallows and slowly turns to be facing her again. The groomsmen around him are all conveniently quiet for once in their lives. "Calm down. You're not going to ruin it. Even if you're a stuttering mess through improvised vows because you forgot what you actually wrote, Jade is still going to be in love with you and you're still going to be in love with her. That's all that matters." Then, after a moment, she adds, "Plus, it'll be more like the two of you that way."

He takes a shuddering deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. He'd be nervous about messing it up, except it's not like he's actually done that much with his hair for his wedding other than brushing it out for once. He just got a haircut for it a few days ago, but like every other haircut he's had in his life, it's not that easy to mess up. (Jade likes to run her hands through his hair when they're cuddling, though, and she somehow always manages to make it a total mess.) "I just want her to have a perfect wedding," he sighs, hoping nobody calls him out for the sappiness of it.

"As long as she's marrying you, it'll feel perfect. I suppose you'll just have to make your best man fight off any potential suitors who have come to your wedding to steal your bride away 16th century style." He laughs a little, his expression soft. Rose moves her hand from his shoulder to his cheek and he's so much taller than her it's almost comical. (Somehow, Jade is still shorter than her. He thinks it's sort of endearing, though.) "Your wedding is going to be perfect, Dave. You'll get up there and she'll come out and you'll see."

Dave is generally pretty anti-taking people's word for it (even Rose, who is right most of the time anyway, not that he would ever tell her that because it would go straight to her head), but he chooses just this once to believe that without asking for further proof.

Roxy finishes up her make-up again and grins at her. "You're so pretty," she says, cupping her cheeks to tilt her head at several angles to examine her work and then giving a satisfied little nod. Then she kisses her forehead right at the hairline, a dangerous game of lipstick versus very delicately done hair and make-up, and adds, "I wonder if Dave's gonna cry more or less than me when you're walking down that aisle." I don't think either of you can possibly cry more than I'm going to, she thinks, but she just laughs a little bit, breathy and wet as she almost starts to tear up again, though this time with happiness more than nerves. Just like she was hoping she would be crying on her wedding day. (Or rather, her preference if she absolutely has to cry on her wedding day.)

"It's a good thing that we've got waterproof mascara on, huh?" She says, sniffing, and Roxy laughs and nods a bit, hugging her one last time before going out to join the steadily growing crowd of people that are pushing to make sure everything is going smoothly and people are all about ready to head outside for the ceremony proper. Jade feels her nerves surge again at the thought that she's getting married in fifteen minutes but tries to tamp it down.

"The clouds are starting to clear up," Nepeta says from where she sits staring out the one window in the room. Jade walks over, careful not to trip over herself (she knew high heels were a bad idea when she's so clumsy), and then looks out.

She's right. The sun is starting to shine directly on the gazebo they're getting married in, and through the window she can see the very first people beginning to head outside and find seats along the little aisle down the middle that she's going to be walking down in practically no time at all. She and Dave had been worried it might be cold on their wedding day even though she'd wanted more than anything to do it outside. She smiles softly.

There's a knock on the door, and Kanaya steps inside. There's no Rose in sight which must mean that she's either still dealing with something with the boys (she wonders what they could possibly be struggling with that they're still holding her maid of honor hostage and she hopes it's nothing serious) or else is the one corralling people outside with Roxy. Can you corral something outside? She wonders.

"I have been told to give you a ten minute warning." She says it delicately, like she's worried it might set her off, and instead she just nods a little bit while her stomach does a little flip flop. There's only ten minutes before she's married. Ten minutes before she is supposed to make a commitment that will last the rest of her life. She is both excited and terrified. It feels stupid, since she basically already decided she was going to make this commitment when she was seventeen (and really, she made that commitment when she was eleven and saw him playing video games on her couch, but that wasn't real like the rest of this is-- like the rest of this has been for a long while now).

She continues to simply stare out the window as the people continue to go outside for the next eight minutes before there's another soft knock on the door and Rose enters the room, leading her uncle Jude behind her.

Jade looks over her shoulder at the both of them. Rose, for all of her wise words today, looks like she might be just as panicked as Jade was earlier (if she does hide it a little better). She has her hands folded and she's clenching her own fingers so tightly her knuckles are white. The part of Jade that always latches onto other peoples' negative emotions wants to panic and ask what's wrong. The part of her that knows she needs to walk down the aisle takes a deep breath and hooks her arm with her uncle's.

She walks down the aisle to Allegretto, which Dave knows as "That One Classical Song From X-Men: Apocalypse," but he can't even laugh about it because he's too busy just staring at her. God, she's so beautiful.

He's always thought the tradition that the groom isn't allowed to see the bride in her wedding dress until their wedding day was stupid, but now it is their wedding day and it's his first time seeing her in the dress and he wonders if the photographer will be able to capture just how enamored by her he is right now. How enamored by her he will be for the rest of their lives. (It is most striking because she is wearing a dress of white and gold and her hair is in an elaborate braid spiraling around a bun atop her head and she's wearing more makeup than she's probably ever worn before yet he thinks she looks just as lovely now as when she wakes up in the morning and her hair is a mess and there's a little bit of dried drool on her mouth and her eyes are all bleary and she's wearing only one of his t-shirts. The difference is everyone else would agree right now.)

He wants to take off his shades to see her better and curses his albinism because even though they're under the shade of a gazebo in her favorite little garden to help protect his skin, the sun is still too bright for his photosensitive eyes. (And, on a level, he still has a childish insecurity about all of the guests at his wedding seeing their unnatural pigment.) Still, it's not so dark through the lenses that he can't see her at all. He can even make out some of the detail work on her skirt, though he's sure once they're in the hotel room for their honeymoon and it's dark enough that he can take them off he'll be able to see it much better for as long as she's still wearing it.

All of the bridesmaids and groomsmen are lined up alongside him, with the girls behind the empty spot that she will be filling once she reaches the end of the aisle and his party lined up behind him. John is his best man and is thus positioned closest to him (after all, her wedding ring is in his pocket for when Dave is to slide it onto her finger) and he thinks he can hear his best man tearing up, which he's so going to make fun of him for later. (And so what if Dave is tearing up a little bit, too, it's not like anybody else can see that.)

When she reaches the end of the aisle, he can't even focus on what the officiant is saying to the two of them because everything in the world other than her is so completely unimportant when she's standing across from him at their wedding.

He only knows it's his time to say his vows when the white noise disappears and he blinks in surprise but it's fine because nobody can see his eyes. He feels like it's been hours that they've been up here, but he knows that it's only been minutes. Still, it feels like even more hours pass where he's just staring at her and her beautiful smile before he's finally able to open his mouth and speak.

"Jade," he starts, and it already feels so incredibly cheesy. "The day that I saw you for the first time when I was thirteen years old, I knew that you were the prettiest girl in the entire world." She laughs a little. It's silent, but he can see it in the way her smile grows and her eyes squeeze shut. "You weren't model pretty or actress pretty like the other guys my age were always talking about at lunch. You were real person pretty, which I think is a much harder standard to meet.

"Still, when I think of that day, it feels totally superficial. I could have talked for hours about how pretty your eyes were or how I wouldn't mind getting my fingers tangled up in your curls. Actually, if you ask Rose, I probably did talk for hours about those things." He pauses for a moment to let the people seated around them give a collective chuckle. "But I don't think that was the day I fell in love with you. How could it have been? I didn't even know how smart or kind or funny you were yet. I didn't know about the way your eyes light up any time you see someone walking their dog in public, or about how actually terrible you are at making coffee, or about how you love gardening so much you sneak hanging potted plants into our apartment when I'm at work like I won't notice the flowers when I get home."

She brings up a hand to her face to wipe at her tears quickly, as though if she moves fast enough nobody will see that she did it. He's always hated seeing her cry, but this one time, he supposes it's okay. "It's crazy to think we've been together for six years now. Six years of putting up with my rap. Six years of trying to understand a word that comes out of your mouth when you tell me about your papers or about how work was. Six years of taking turns making little choices like what we should have for dinner or what music we should play in the car.

"Vows are supposed to be promises. It was hard to think of what I could promise you that would be good enough. You deserve the world, and I can't give you that. But, I promise to try. I promise to spend every day of the rest of my life showing you the world. I promise to run out to get you coffee every morning because you can't make a cup to save your life. I promise to walk your hellbeast when you're too tired, and to walk the fifteen other hellbeasts you'll adopt over the course of the rest of our lives.

"I promise to love you. And I promise to tell you every single day, until we're old and grey and we're still being all mushy in public and embarrassing our grandkids. I love you. I can't wait to be married."

She's crying. It's embarrassing and she told herself that she wouldn't do this but even when she first said it she knew she was lying to herself and God, how can she not when he just listed every reason she's been in love with him for years in one go?

She can only take solace in the fact that she's not the only one crying. She can hear Nepeta sniffing behind her, trying not to cry dramatically and draw attention away from their wedding, and can see John's goofy face he makes when he's holding back tears, and when she looks out after his vows are done at all of the people watching them she can see her uncle nodding his approval and wiping at the tears streaming down his cheeks. She supposes her whole family has always been full of criers.

She only has time for one shaky deep breath and to turn back to look at Dave before she is being told to say her own vows.

"Even as I was writing my vows, I knew that I wouldn't be able to put everything that I felt for you and everything that I wanted to say to you properly into words. I almost commissioned Rose to write them for me just because I knew it would come out better but then I was scared that if I didn't write them myself I wouldn't be able to remember them and I'd come up here and just look like an idiot." She laughs a little at herself and their friends and family laugh a little bit with her. She's hardly twenty seconds into her vows and she's already got tears running down her face.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I decided right away that I wanted to keep these short." She swallows. Her stomach twists with nerves. That was basically just the disclaimer-- the content warning before the real show-- and now she has to say her real vows and his were so beautiful and she knows that she's going to mess it up somehow and-- alright, Jade, stop. Deep breaths.

She lets out a shaky breath and starts again after a pause that probably lasted much shorter in the real world than it felt like in her head. "I can actually remember the moment that I realized that I loved you. I mean, really loved you and not just the 'I'm gonna marry him some day' crush of an eleven-year-old girl on her older brother's best friend.

"I was in college, and you'd just graduated a few months earlier. It was four in the morning and I'd just wrapped up a paper that was supposed to be turned in nine hours later and I had class in three and a half hours so I knew I couldn't get any real amount of sleep but I still wanted to lay down with you. To just be in bed with you. And I felt so ridiculous, like if I was going to be in bed then I should at least try to sleep. But I crawled into bed and you rolled over in your sleep and slung your arm over me and you smooshed your cheek against my shoulder and I thought, 'I could lay like this with him forever.' And now, in a way, I'm going to.

"I've been a notoriously heavy sleeper my whole life and yet I just stayed awake watching you. And I felt a little creepy about it, yeah." She laughs again, wiping at her eyes. "But then you woke up, and you asked me how long I'd been in bed. And I told you that it hadn't been very long, maybe an hour. And you apologized for not waking up sooner, and you always stayed up so late back then-- you still do if I let you-- so you couldn't have had more than five hours of sleep. But you stayed up for the rest of the night to talk to me about... all sorts of nonsense, really. You told me about this recurring dream you used to have of a giant purple city with a tower in the center, and when you looked up you could see the stars. And I remember, you told me you wished you could show me. And I just thought of how desperate I was to see it with you.

"You've shown me so many things since then. I'm sure you'll show me so many more. So, I promise to see the world with you." They hadn't discussed what was going in their vows before the wedding. How perfectly they go together makes her want to cry harder, but she has to at least stay composed until she's finished. "I promise to make you go to sleep before one in the morning. I promise to climb into bed with you every night even when neither of us are gonna get any sleep. I promise to have late night talks with you and remember what you said four years later even though you'll surely have forgotten by then. I promise to spend every night with you, and to cherish those nights forever, as your wife." And in just a few moments, they'll begin their first night as husband and wife. The first night to cherish.

[skythesnake]

Song of the Farmer

hey, uh- I don't know how to format this, is my first time

I don't think there's any trigger warnings, I try to keep it pretty chill. There's some swearing and it will pick up as the story does, but shouldn't be too bad.

Sam/Farmer - Penny/Maru - Emily/Shane

Pat breathed in the crisp mountain air as he got off the bus. The ride had been bumpy and he was horrified to notice smoke coming from the bus' front end. He stepped away quickly and turned at the sound of a clearing throat

"Ah, hello. You must be… Patr-"

"Just Pat. Please." I interrupted. The last thing I needed was my terrible name following me here. The old man standing in front of me smiled

"Alright. You must be Pat. I'm Lewis, the mayor?" That's right. He and my grandpa had been good friends back in the day. He and I had been communicating via email ever since I opened the letter my grandpa had given me.

"Right. It's nice to make your acquaintance." What else and I meant to say here? Something about my grandfather? A man I'd never met except on his deathbed?

"Well, I should show you to you to Hyacinth Farms" This wasn't another reference to Greek Mythology was it? A reference to Hyacinthus, a boy who was killed and turned into a flower as a result of Apollo and Zephros fighting over him. It probably was. I nodded and gestured down the path.The farm was a damn wreck. Weeds, large rocks, and fallen logs covered nearly every inch of the place. And trees were scattered around as if someone had sprinkled seeds around from above and hoped for the best. Worst was the house. It looked worn down and there were holes in the floor of the front porch. A woman with rust red hair stood next to it, a hammer in hand and toolkit sitting next to her. She saw us and waved

"Hey Lewis! And the new farmer! I fixed up the house for the most part, although you might want to get an upgrade from me in the near future." She laughed and Lewis shook his head

"The farmhouse is just fine!" He insisted. Something was clearly between them and I didn't want to get in the middle of it.

"Thank you… uh…" The woman smiled

"Robin"

"Thank you Robin for fixing the house up. It looks great for starting out, it's not like I need anything fancy." She smiled and the two of them left me to settle into my new home. I had all sorts of ideas to start clearing out the farm, but the second I got inside I crashed onto the bed.

Two days later, I'd gotten a good chunk of the clutter cleared out and some parsnips planted. I'd gone into town, but noped out when I noticed a group of people my age chatting in front of the store. I'd gone back later and bought a bunch of other seeds. Making friend's was easy for me, but all three people were *cute* and I didn't trust myself not to say something stupid. Today I was headed through town to go to Robin's. I wanted to follow up on the upgrade. How much was it going to cost me?

"Hey farmer!" I turned to see one of the people I'd seen before, his bright smile was infectious.

"Hello. I'm Pat, and you are?" Start off simple. Don't say anything stupid.

"I'm Sam! It's nice to meet ya Pat!" I smiled at him, unsure of what to say now.

"Do you skate?" He asked, gesturing to the skateboard tucked under his arm. I shook my head slightly

"Nope. Every time I try I fall flat on my face." Nice going, admitting that. I berated myself. He laughed loudly, but I didn't feel judged.

"Yeah, it's kinda difficult at first. Where are you headed?" He asked, curious. I threw my thumb over my shoulder, forcing myself not to stare at him

"Just up the mountain. Robin mentioned a house upgrade and the farmhouse has definitely seen better days." Sam nodded

"I'll walk ya up there. Sebastian lives there too, Robin's his mom. I was headed up to visit him actually." I smiled

"Sure. Is Sebastian an emo kid by chance?" That was the other boy I'd seen standing with Sam in front of the store the other day. I wondered who the girl was. Sam nodded as we started walking

"Yup, that's him! Have you met him?" Oops

"No, I just..." How do I finish this sentence? I saw you with him and a girl and then ran away because you were all too pretty?

"I've seen you and him around, figured I had a pretty good guess."

"What, and you didn't come say hi?" He teased.

"Nah, y'all looked too sketch for me." Oh shoot. Damnit Pat. This is why you don't think without speaking. Sam didn't seem hurt though. He laughed, damn that was a nice sound. We walked the rest of the trail in comfortable silence.

"Welp, this is where our paths divide. Looks like Sebastian is standing over there." I said, pointing to a goth looking kid standing by the waters edge of a lake nearby. Sam waved at me as he walked over to Sebastian. He was nicer than I'd expected for a skater boy hanging out with his goth friends. I walked inside and Robin looked up from the desk

"Hi! Pat, right?" She asked. I nodded and asked about the house upgrade. I nearly choked on air when she told me how much it would be and that I would also need to provide a whole lot of logs.

"Uh, that'll be a while coming. Thanks Robin." She smiled and waved as I headed out the door. I'd have to do a *lot* of farming if I wanted to achieve that amount of money.

[gnabnahc317cb97]

Poppy's Dream

Lee Minho x Thick female reader

Word count: 4.5k

Synopsis: A sequel to Teasing Poppy. Some big news comes up and you're unsure how to tell Minho. Luckily you get some sound advice from an unexpected visitor.

Warnings: MDNI 18+ONLY! Cursing/swearing, vomiting, oral (f receiving), fingering, unprotected piv sex (use condoms folks), cream pie, cum play (a little), squirting, mentions of a breeding kink. There is some warnings omitted (nothing violent or graphic) to keep the element of surprise in the story, so please keep that in mind when reading. 🖤 I think that's it for this one, if I missed anything please let me know and I'll add it to the warnings asap!

You sat at the dinner table with Minho stirring your dinner around in your bowl grimacing. Just the sight and smell of it made you nauseas, although you typically liked Indian food. He laughed a little at the face you were making.

"What is this again?" You asked. You usually like Minhos's cooking, clearly, that night's dinner, was not a win. 

“It's dal makhani, its usually one of your favorite when we go out. It's the first time I've made it, you don’t like it?” He smirked and you put your spoon down. 

“I don’t know, I haven’t tried it yet. I’m sure it’s good I just...” Before you could finish your sentence, you slapped your hand over your mouth and ran to the bathroom. Minho was right behind you making sure you were alright. Just as you got to the toilet everything in your stomach came out. Minho took a step back when you started puking. 

“Uh... are you okay?” You looked at him irritated by the obvious answer to his question. 

“Oh, yeaa Minho I’m great I’m just down here checking the wax seal on the toilet.” He chuckled a little at your sarcasm. He always thought you were cute when you were sassy like that. 

“Alright yea dumb question, do you need anything?” You sighed and laid your head on the seat of the toilet. 

“A water maybe?” Minho nodded and left to get you some water. You started puking again wondering if maybe something you ate that day didn’t agree with you. When everything had evacuated your stomach and you drank some water you felt a lot better. 

“It had to have been something from lunch.” Minho nodded agreeing. The next day while he was off at work and you were doing some work from home, a wave of nausea hit you again. You ran quickly from your computer to the toilet and everything, which wasn’t much, came up again. What the hell, you thought you’d gotten this out of your system. You didn’t say anything to Minho that night when he got home. You felt better again and you didn’t want him to worry but in the middle of the night you sprang up from bed, scaring the life out of him as you dashed to the bathroom again.  

“Hey, are you still not feeling well?” He asked as he made his way into the bathroom behind you rubbing the sleep from his eyes. You shook your head. 

“I thought I was better, but I guess not. I’ll make a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” He nodded, yawning and helped you up so you both could get back to bed. The next day you made that appointment, just as soon as you were done throwing up your breakfast. They luckily had a cancelation, and they were able to get you in that day. You called Minho and told him you were going to the doctor, then got washed up and ready to leave. 

For some reason as you sat in the waiting room of the doctor’s office you started to feel a bit nervous. You couldn’t put your finger on why and the anxiety didn’t help the nausea you were already feeling again. A nurse came from the back and called your name. She escorted you to a room and handed you a gown. 

“Go ahead and put this on and another nurse will be in shortly for vitals.” You nodded and took the robe. You always hated the smell of hospitals. You liked the smell of dirt and flowers, and hospitals smelled the total opposite, like antiseptic and sanitizer you hated it. It also reminded you of the time you spent in the hospital with your grandfather while he was sick, which wasn’t the best time in your life. You still thought of him every day. The next nurse came in, took your vitals, and asked a few routine questions. 

“Allergies to any medication?” You shook your head no. 

“Feelings of hurting yourself or others?” You shook your head no again. 

“Do you feel safe at home?” You scoffed and she looked at you. 

“Yes. I’m safe at home.” The nurse nodded. 

“Are you sexually active.” Your face turned red and you nodded. 

“Any chance you could be pregnant?” You were getting ready to shake your head no again and stopped. 

“Uh, I don’t think so...” She pulled out a little plastic cup and handed it to you.  

“Go ahead into that bathroom and pee in this cup for me.” You took the cup and did as she said. When you came back out, she took the cup and left you, saying the doctor would be in shortly. You sat there picking at your cuticles and racking your brain. Could you be pregnant? It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility obviously. You and Minho had a healthy and particularly active sex life. You didn’t use condoms anymore because you were on birth control, but you were a little careless sometimes and missed one here and there. When was your last period? You counted in your head and then the doctor knocked and came in. 

“Ms. y/l/n! I think we’ve figured out the source of your nausea.” You were on the edge of the table waiting to hear what he said next. 

“It looks like congratulations are in order. You’re pregnant! I’d say probably between eight to ten weeks, but we can find out for sure at your first prenatal appointment I’m going to send some prenatal vitamin’s home with you and I want you to start taking them first thing tomorrow.” You were absolutely gob smacked. Pregnant. You and Minho had never discussed having kids. How would he react? Would he be upset with you? You were scared. Scared to tell Minho, scared to be pregnant, scared to give birth, scared to have to care for a living thing that could not care for itself. You didn’t know how you would tell him, but you had time to think. You were still in your first trimester; you wouldn’t start showing for a few more months. You had time to figure it out. When you got home Minho was already there. He met you at the door and took your coat. 

“Well? What did the doctor say?” You should tell him. You needed to tell him. You HAD to tell him. 

“Just a stomach bug he thinks, everything is good.” You internally cursed yourself for being such a coward. Minho looked confused. You cupped his face and kissed him sweetly. 

“I’m okay Min, really.” He nodded, taking your word for it. He knew if it were serious, you would tell him. The next week was pretty much the same for you. The sudden urge to puke any given time morning noon and night. You were hiding your vitamins and taking them every day like the doctor said, but they seemed to be making the nausea worse. Minho was starting to worry, if this was a stomach bug shouldn’t it have worked its way out of your system by now? You hated that you made him worry but you were still terrified that he might be upset with you when he found out.  

That next week, you couldn’t take it anymore. You called your doctor and left a message explaining that your prenatals were making you sicker and asked if there was anything he could do to help. As you were hanging up the phone Minho walked up behind you wrapping his arms around you from behind. You hadn’t heard him, and it made you jump and squeak. 

“Sorry baby I didn’t mean to scare you.” You shook your head. 

“No, you’re fine Min, I just didn’t hear you come in. I didn’t think you’d be home until later this afternoon?” He rested his chin on your shoulder and hummed. 

“I wanted to come check on my girl.” He kissed your cheek. 

“Who were you on the phone with?” You thought quickly. If you said the doctor he would only worry more. 

“Mom, she was calling to check up on me too.” Minho smiled and squeezed you a little tighter. 

“How you feeling?” You shrugged. 

“So so, I’m thinking about taking a nap. I’m just really exhausted for some reason.” Minho turned you towards him and examined your face. He put the back of his hand to your forehead, then his lips. 

“Okay baby get some rest. I’ll make something light for dinner a little later.” You nodded, kissed Minho and went off to nap in your room. About an hour after you had fallen asleep Minho started to clean the kitchen before getting dinner ready. Just as he started the dishwasher the phone rang. He hurried over to answer it, so it didn’t wake you. He wanted you to at least get a couple hours of rest. He was worried about your condition. You were always sick and seemed to be getting weaker for no reason. Minho pushed those thoughts aside and answered the telephone. 

“Hello?” An older man’s voice came over the line. 

“Yes is Ms. y/l/n available? This is Dr. Reed calling her back.” Minho was surprised. He didn’t know you had called your doctor again. You must still be feeling really sick. 

“Oh, uh well she’s resting, she hasn’t been feeling well. I’m her boyfriend, is everything okay?” The doctor hummed. 

“Oh yes. I just wanted to let her know that I called in the prescription for her prenatal vitamins, these should be easier on her stomach, but I want her to take an extra for folic acid. If the new ones I prescribe make her sick too she can do Flintstone vitamins she just has to take two and I will call her in a calcium supplement to add to the folic acid.” Minho stood there speechless. 

“You get all that son?” Minho nodded as if the doctor would see and found his voice again. 

“Yes sir, prenatal and folic acid, Flintstones, and calcium if they make her sick.” The doctor hummed in approval. 

“Good, if she needs anything else just have her call the PA and leave a message and one of us will call her back as soon as possible.” Minho thanked the doctor and hung up. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d held in and ran his hands through his hair. Prenatal vitamins? As in prenatal prenatal, as in pregnancy? You were pregnant?! How long had you known? Why hadn’t you told him yet? If you were taking the vitamins surely you intended on keeping the baby. Maybe you didn’t want kids. The two of you had never discussed it. You had been together a year and a half and only moved in together a few months before so marriage, babies, hadn’t really been a big discussion between you yet. Minho’s thoughts swirled like a cyclone in his head. He went back to cleaning the kitchen and getting stuff ready for dinner as the questions piled up. 

You were walking through your grandfather’s greenhouse, the sun shining through the panes of glass warming your skin. You ran your fingers along one of the flower beds taking in the scent of all the freshly bloomed plants. It was peaceful there, it always was. You needed a little peace right then. When you heard his voice, it didn’t startle you at all. It was as if you expected him. It’s where you would always find him, so you weren’t surprised he was there now. 

“Poppy plant?” You turned and there was your grandfather. You ran up to him and threw yourself at him, hugging him, crying. He still smelled like mint and earth just like he always did. 

“Pop! Pop, I miss you so much!” You sobbed into the apron he always wore, and he smoothed your hair down comforting you. 

“Shhh, now Poppy, don’t cry. There’s far too much to be celebrating right now.” You backed up and looked up at him confused. 

“Wha-” He scrunched his nose smiling and booped your belly. 

“I’m gonna be a great pop!” Your jaw dropped. How on earth did he know? Before you could even ask, he spoke again. 

“I like the boy. He treats you well and has a good heart, a bit of a smart ass but... he would never hurt you.” You stood there speechless. 

“Why haven’t you told him Poppy?” You snapped out of it realizing he’d asked you a question. 

“I... I... I’m scared. What if he doesn’t want kids, what if he’s upset with me? What if... What if he leaves me and I have to raise a child alone?” Your grandfather pulled you in and hugged you tightly. 

“That boy would never do that. You’re a part of his heart now and that little girl will be too.” You pulled away again and gasped at the information your grandfather just revealed. Your hands held your belly that still wasn’t showing yet as tears continued to fill your eyes. He nodded.  

“You’re going to be such a wonderful mother and you made a wise choice in your partner. You are going to be so happy for a long time Poppy and my heart soars because that’s all I've ever wanted for you sweetie.” You hugged your grandfather tightly. You felt like he was going again, like you were losing him all over again.” You held him. 

“Now y/n, you listen up, go tell that boy he’s gonna be a dad. I love you. I have to go now.” You cried harder, squeezed harder. 

“No, you can’t! You can’t go again! I can’t do this without you!” Your grandfather cupped your face in his big, calloused hand as tears cascaded down your face. 

“Oh, Poppy you never will, I’ll always be with you.” You squeezed him tighter, but it wouldn’t stop the inevitable. 

“Goodbye Poppy plant, goodbye sweetie.” 

You woke up hysterical. Minho heard you from the kitchen and went rushing into your bedroom panicked, worried something might be wrong with you, something might be wrong with the baby. 

“Y/N! Baby baby! What’s wrong?! He sat on the bed in front of you and you threw your arms around him and squeezed him as tightly as you had your grandfather in your dream, terrified Minho may disappear too. Words that were barely discernable were coming out between choked frantic sobs. 

“I’m pregnant Minho! I... I’m pregnant. I’ve known for almost two weeks. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was so scared Minho. I was scared you would hate me; I was scared you would leave.” You pulled away looking into his eyes, yours were wild and filled with panic. 

“We’ve never talked about children; I don’t even know if you want to be a dad. I’m so sorry I’m sorry please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me too!” Minho struggled to take everything you were saying in but managed to get all of it. 

“y/n, Poppy, baby... It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. Take some deep breaths, it’s not good for the baby for you to be so upset, please try and calm down.” You took some deep breaths. It helped that Minho was so calm. After a few breaths, you weren’t quite as frantic, but tears still streaked your face. 

“Are you upset with me?” Minho shook his head immediately. 

“No baby no! I know we didn’t talk about kids but anything that’s a piece of me and you is a good thing, okay? Please don’t worry. I will never leave you. I love you y/n, you are a part of my heart, and now this baby is too.” You could not control the tears coming from your eyes and wondered if you would ever run out. Your grandfather had told you that very thing. 

“I love you Minho, I love you so much.” He kissed you and you wrapped your arms around his neck, threading your fingers through his hair. Minho deepened the kiss and his tongue slid into your mouth, teasing yours. You climbed onto his lap and his hands slid up your thick thighs and squeezed your ass.  

“Want you, need you, please. Make love to me Minho, please.” You begged for him in between heated kisses filled with teeth and tongue. Minho would never deny you. He turned and laid you back on the bed, running his hands down your plush skin. When he got to your tummy he stopped and traced a heart around your navel, and you thought yours might burst. Minho kissed right below it and continued his trail of kisses down to your panties. He looped his fingers through the sides and pulled them down. You lifted your ass assisting him in their removal. 

“I don’t think we’ll be needing these tonight kitten.” He threw them, landing god knows where, and you laughed. You laughed until Minho’s tongue drug through your folds. He teased your clit with the tip of his tongue, then gently sucked. He went back and forth between those two maneuvers until you thought you would lose your mind. 

“Fingers, please Min fin-fingers.” You were dripping now so Minho’s two fingers slid inside you easily. 

“God yes Minho yes!” He started moving them in and out of you just a little, curling them and reaching your g spot expertly.  

“Cum for me baby, melt on my tongue.” Minho started sucking on your clit again, when he felt your walls starting to flutter around his fingers, he knew you were close and hummed in delight, sending you teetering over the edge of the cliff you had been standing on. His strong veiny hands held your thick thighs down on the bed as he licked and cleaned every bit of your cum from your pussy. 

“So good, such a good kitty, so fucking tasty.” He gave it another broad lick with his tongue and then climbed over you. He was looking down at you while you tried to get your bearings again. Minho couldn’t believe his dumb luck. He moved into a new place, met the love of his life and soon to be the mother of his child. He felt tears pricking his eyes at the thought. 

“You’re so beautiful y/n. I’m so happy with you, I’m so happy that you’re having our baby.” He kissed you and unlike the heated ones before this one was tender, this one made you want to cry you were so happy. Minho sat up on his knees and unbuttoned his shirt tossing it aside before laying back on his back and removing his pants and underwear with minor difficulty before kicking them away. You sat up a little and giggled at him as he sat back up on his knees and cocked his eyebrow at you. 

“Something funny kitten?” You bit your bottom lip, smiling and shook your head no.  

“Mmhmm...why don’t you give me this shirt.” You sat up the rest of the way and lifted your arms as Minho pulled your shirt up and over your head, leaving you completely naked in front of him. Minho took in every inch, every curve, your full breasts, that pooch your tummy got when you sat, he loved every bit of you, every single inch of your body but your heart was what he loved most. He looked so lost in thought as he took you in. You cupped his cheek, and he snapped out of it. His eyes, pools of black ink that you lost yourself in when he looked at you like that. 

“I love you y/n.” Then just like that his lips were on you, and he laid you back on the bed again, grabbing one of your breasts and teasing your nipple until it perked. He started sucking on it while he teased and pinched the other making you arch up into his touch. He nibbled and licked at your other nipple and then peppered kisses up your chest and neck before passionately claiming your lips again. Minho lined up his cock with your entrance and slowly pushed his length inside you. When he was buried in you, you felt so full, so full of Minho, so full of love. He slowly pulled and pushed back in deep, rolling his hips and hitting a spot inside you that made your toes numb. 

“R-right there Minho, r-right th-there.” He pulled out and pushed his cock back into you giving you that same roll of his hips. You grabbed his ass; you urged him to move faster, and he did. Everything Minho did when he made love to you was calculated. He knew your tells, the signs he was doing well and to keep going. You chewed at your lips as Minho fucked you faster, the sight of him rolling his body as he fucked you was divine. You were staring at where the two of you met, watching his hips continue to roll into yours. 

“You like what you see kitten?” You blushed as you realized you were busted ogling his cock while it was inside you. 

“Cute.” He gripped your squishy hips, digging his fingers into your soft skin and fucked you harder. Sweat was beading on his forehead and chest as he tried to hold off coming. 

“I-I don’t think I’ll last much longer baby...” You pulled him back down on top of you and kissed him. 

“I’m close Minho please, cum with me, cum with me Min.” Minho groaned and kissed you again as he chased towards both of your orgasms. Minho felt your pussy squeeze his cock as your back arched off the bed again, he started rubbing your clit driving you full on into your climax and making you squirt on him. 

“FUCK Y/N FUCKFUCK so sexy! I’m fucking coming kitten!” Minho painted your insides with his seed and fucked it deep into you, still gently massaging your clit. 

“God yes take it kitten, fuck! Hold it in beautiful.” When you were back in your body after that orgasm and you both had somewhat caught your breath Minho pulled out and watched as some of his cum started to drip from your hole. He took two fingers swiped it up and pushed them in along with his cum. You moaned and then giggled. 

“You can’t get me more pregnant Min.” He pumped his fingers inside you making you moan again. 

“Yea but now I get to see my cum inside you all the time.” You laughed again and ran your fingers through his hair as he laid down beside you. 

“New kink discovered? Minho and his breeding kink.” Minho smirked and cocked his eyebrow at you again. 

“I mean it’s not really a kink if I actually bred you though, is it?” He kissed your neck. You blushed and clenched at his words and could feel his cum dripping out of you again. He pecked your lips and started to get up. 

“Where you going?” You asked as you yawned. Minho smiled at you warmly. 

“To get our shower ready.” You and Minho both got washed up, changed the sheets and got into bed. You laid your head on his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat lull you to sleep. 

“Babe, I have a confession to make...” You sat up quickly worried. 

“No no, not like that I just... I knew you were pregnant already when you told me.” Your jaw dropped and you felt bad that you didn’t tell him, that he hadn’t heard it from you first. 

“How?” He pushed your hair away from your face. 

“Your doctor called you back about your prenatal vitamins.” You rolled your eyes at yourself. 

“I’m so sorry Min, I was gonna tell you I just didn’t know how, I’m sor-” Minho leaned up and kissed you. 

“Don’t be, okay? It’s alright.” You nodded and kissed him again before settling back and resting against his chest again. He did wonder though...  

“What made you change your mind and tell me so suddenly?” You sighed and nuzzled into him more, his arm coming around and holding you close to him. 

“My Pop told me to...” Minho looked at you with a quirked eyebrow. You explained your dream, seeing your grandfather and everything he told you, about how he liked Minho and said you were having a girl. After you both talked for a while longer, you telling Minho that your grandfather said he was a smart ass, and bouncing around some baby names, you both drifted off to sleep. Neither of you had any idea what you were doing or what came next, but you knew as long as you were together you could do anything. 

You were tending to your plants in the greenhouse Minho had built you two years before. You were just getting around to Blue when your daughter came running in. She ran up to you and threw her arms around your waist, squeezing and burying her face in your dirty apron. 

“You’re gonna get dirty sweetie.” She snuggled in more. 

“I don’t mind mommy you always smell like flowers and the garden.” Your heart swelled at how sweet your daughter was. When she looked up, she saw Blue and smiled. 

“Tell me the story about my Great Pop and when he got you the pretty blue one mommy!” You smiled and pushed her hair away from her face. She had her dad’s sharp eyes and nose, and they twinkled mischievously like her father’s as well.  

“Why do I feel like you’re up to something?” She smirked, just like her dad, and shook her head. 

“Pleaaaase mommy!” Just as you were about to give in Minho came out on the back porch and called for your daughter. 

“Lee Rose!” You looked at her and she knew she was busted. 

“What are you supposed to be doing right now?” Rose picked at her cuticles. 

“Helping dad collect the laundry.” You smiled and shook your head at your daughter. Your husband was making his way over to the greenhouse certain he’d find his daughter there. There was a smudge of dirt on Rose’s nose, you took your hanky and wiped it off gently. 

“Go finish your chore and when you’re done, I’ll tell you the story okay?” Rose nodded and ran off past Minho. 

“Hey! You bett...” You grabbed Minho’s hand and pulled him into the greenhouse with you shutting the door as your daughter ran towards the house. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and kissed him. 

“She’s supposed to be...” You finished his sentence. 

“Getting the laundry together. That’s what I just told her to go do.” He gave you the same smirk your daughter just did. 

“Why do I feel like you’re up to something?” You laughed. Just having said that to your daughter you realized, while she looked so much like Minho there was definitely you weaved in there. Minho hugged you tightly and buried his face in the crook of your neck, tickling you. 

“You better tell me...” He relented and your laughter subsided. You kissed Minho softly then your lips trailed across his cheek towards his ear. Minho’s hair started to stand on end. You pressed your lips to the shell of your husband’s ear and whispered. 

“I’m pregnant.” 

Please do not repost or translate any of my works. My blog and stories are NSFW and 18+ ONLY! Minors, ageless, and blank blogs will be blocked!

[crescentcampbell]

Royal Ravka University, Chapter 2: Aleksander Morozova

Two

Aleksander Morozova

"Those things are terrible for you," a cool, female voice said from behind him.

He stood out on the balcony of his loft, on Upper East Os Alta. If he were human, the cigarette smoke that he was breathing in would have burned his lungs. As it stood, Aleksander could not remember the last time that he had felt something. He chuckled, and turned face the speaker.

Zoya, his young assistant, had come to him when she was eighteen. A university freshman. Her blue eyes never betrayed any emotion. He liked that about her. It also helped that the Crown Prince thought her jet-black hair looked lovely in blue ribbons, and that she made him show up to class once and a while. She'd been a model in her teens. Photographers had loved her "exotic" brown skin.

She'd used the payments from her awful jobs to go to college and escape her awful family that had forced her to work so young. She was smart, too smart to be wasted as a model.

"It's darling that you think I care about terrible things," Aleksander said.

"Yes, well," she walked over and stood next to him, "revolution can't happen if you aren't alive to see it through, Morozova. I wanted to work for you because you have a plan to change things. Might I suggest a vape? They're supposed to be healthier."

He rolled his eyes. "Might I suggest you get that stick out of our ass, Nazyalensky?" He took the cigarette from his mouth, and blew smoke holes. "Why are you here? I thought you had class today."

"I did, but I wanted you to know I got word that the scholarship was accepted."

Aleksander paused. "The little orphan actually took the blood money?"

She nodded. "I have it on good authority Malyen actually encouraged her to do it."

He chuckled. "Smart boy. My Grandfather never gave his bastard much credit. He knows to take what he can get though."

"Well, he did learn that from you," said Zoya, "and you...you are certain that Mal is the right...bastard?"

"Yes. I had a DNA test done on both of them. I found the NDA Illya gave Alina's mother too, and the letter he sent to her commanding officer requesting that she be moved to the Ravkaan border."

"How did they even meet? Malyen's mother, I understand. She worked for The Foundation. But Miss Starkov's?"

"He spoke at a military seminar. He saw her there. Wanted her. And one redacted stad watch file later, Alina's mother got everything she wanted. And a happier ending than she ever would have had here."

"She died," Zoya pointed out, "Alina was orphaned."

"Yes, well," Aleksander ran a hand through his jet-black hair, "she escaped my grandfather's clutches alive. Considering the damage that he did, I would say that's a happy ending for all."

Zoya snorted. "Aren't you all about fairytales?"

"Deeply." He grinned.

Zoya stared at him. It made him want to itch. "Yes?" he glanced back at her, then tossed his cigarette to the ground. He stepped it out with his expensive, designer shoes.

"This doesn't have anything to do with your...fuck up?" Zoya said. "You're not trying to cover up something equally horrendous? Because I swear, Aleksander, after the whole Genya thing---"

He shot her a deadly glare. "I know where I come from, Zoya. That doesn't mean I'm like them."

"I'm aware of that. I wouldn't be working for you if I thought that you were. But I'm only saying what people are going to say if word gets out about what happened between you two."

"The photographs are still locked up, safe?"

"Yes, but they'd be better destroyed."

"No. No one touches them but me!" he barked. "They're mine, to do with as I please. Besides, she turned eighteen in June. It was consensual."

"Right..." Zoya sighed. "Just promise me this is about the quest for the creatures, and not about something else."

He scratched his chin. "I've read the ancient texts. I've consulted with Baghra. She's the one that we're looking for. She's the key to everything that we need. Once we are able to get an amplifier, I'll have the power I need to take down the King of Ravka and restore our people. That is my mission. It has always been my mission. I have been doing this for far longer than you've been alive, Nazyalensky. Don't forget it. I could easily take away the memories I gave you and return you to your dreary little life if you wish to not be with me on my path to glory."

She sighed. "Thousands of lives, Aleksander. Thousands. That's how many we've lived. They all end the same...with us cursed and forgotten. It's not as if I don't have reason to be...uncertain."

"Yes, well. This time I know the missing piece."

"What's that?"

"Alina," he said, "I need to make her love me. Not fear me."

Zoya snorted. "You really think you can do that? Do you even know how to love?"

"I was married, if you recall."

"A million years ago."

"Go do something useful besides irritate me, will you? You are still my intern, after all. You've got finals to grade."

Zoya rolled her eyes, then turned and left. He stared out at Os Alta. He could see shining roof of The Grand Palace. Hundreds of years of failed takeovers. Hundreds of years of faked deaths. Stuck in a saintsforsaken loop someone had put him in. This time, though...he knew what he was missing. He would make certain that when he took what he wanted, he would take it all.

Ravka would be his. So would Alina Starkov.

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

Ranch Hand: Chapter 5

Farmer!Veteran!Bucky Barnes X Teen!Reader (Small town and Farmer AU)

Series MasterList

Series summary: You ran away from your nightmare of a family, you found a small town, population 200. In this town you meet a retired army veteran turned farmer who hires you as farm hand. Only mystery will you two be able overcome your pasts together.

Chapter Summary: Bucky needs a little time, his sister is worried for him.

Series Warnings: Mentions nightmares, Child abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse, war, swearing, mentions death by cancer, mentions of alcohol and illegal substance abuse. please tell me if you see anymore!!! But do so politely please.

Chapter Warnings: PTSD

A/n: I posted it early since tomorrow's Christmas Eve😁

Divider: @skylightlantern

You were just getting back on the gator when you saw Bucky sitting on the porch steps. You were relieved to see he was okay. He looked out of it as he stared at the barn. You parked the gator walking up to the porch. Steve's truck was still parked in the driveway telling you he was still there.

"Hi Bucky."

"Hey kid... Steve is making pancakes for you." He started but didn't look at you. "Did you do the chores?"

"Yep! The horses are in the field with food, the cows are eating now I still have to go back and milk them though." You explained sitting by him.

"Alright thank you." Bucky mumbled.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Just a little out of it today go on in and get some food." He assured.

"Yes sir." You said standing up.

Bucky rested his head in his hands. Some days were easy, but days like today just drag on. He couldn't even bare to put his arm on today. So the sleeve of his shirt was just flapping, a painful reminder.

"Buck! Your sister is on the phone." Steve hollered from the front door.

"Bring it here." Bucky answered. Steve handed him the phone before walking back inside.

"Hey Bec."

"Hey! How is everything?

"Depends on the day."

"Buck... Steve texted me."

"Of course he did... Look I'll be fine this was my first nightmare in a month." A plain old lie, he has one every night just some are worse than others. Some he can wake up from and splash his face with water and act as though it didn't happen. Some, like today just don't let go even after he wakes up he's still having flashbacks.

"You're my big brother I know when you're lying. Bucky I'm coming down to visit help out a bit, I mean Gabe and Winnie would love to see their Uncle."

"I love your kids but Becky. Papa's house isn't set up for your kids, and I'm busy taking care of the farm."

"I'm not taking no as an answer. We'll be there Monday."

"Fine I'll set up our old room for the kids." Bucky sighs.

"Bye Buck!"

"Bye."

Bucky stands up and goes inside. He glares at Steve before making his way up the stairs. Steve doesn't acknowledge it he just hands you a plate of food.

"Is he okay?" You asked again, for like 5th time since going inside.

"Yeah I already told you that." Steve assured.

"But-"

"Kid, just eat up. I'll help you finish the chores." Steve changed the subject. He didn't want to talk about it. Him and Bucky are in the same boat, but he turned to woodworking to distract himself from everything. Bucky inherited his grandfather's farm years before the accident. So after the accident he moved there, his sister was already living there with here husband and their at the time 1 year old, Winnie, so she was helping him out with what she could. But she got pregnant with her second, Gabe and decided to move back to Brooklyn.

Bucky didn't care, he liked being alone. Besides he always spent holidays with them so it wasn't like he never saw them. He liked this farm it was quiet, peaceful, and held so many memories of his childhood, from when he used to visit his grandparents during the summer.

"Mr. Barnes?" You said softly. He looked up from the bunk bed toward you.

"Yeah doll?"

"Are you sure you're okay? You seemed really mad when you come inside." You stressed, scared he was mad at you for some reason.

"I'm fine kid... I had a really bad nightmare last night. Steve called my sister so her and her kids are coming for a visit next week to check on me. I was just upset at Steve, cause I don't need my baby sister worry about me." Bucky assured, helping ease your mind.

"Oh... Okay I'm gonna go finish my chores." You were ready for the day to be over, it was Friday meaning you had two days off. Which meant you were going into town to see if you could get a cheap motel room. You probably wouldn't be able to since you aren't an adult so you have a back up plan. Which is to buy yourself a "home" aka a tent with a blow up mattress so you can stop sleeping on the hard ground. It was still better than living with your mom and step dad.

"Hey kid. You mind keeping an eye on my niece and nephew next week? I'll pay you extra." Bucky asked before you could leave.

"Yeah!" You nodded.

"Alright oh and I have to drive into town to pull out your paycheck so I'll give you a ride home."

"Oh." You would have to make an excuse later.

Taglist: @rachaelswrites @killerqueenfan @lukajim @lrosenblut26 @lonely-dead-poets @worldssidechick @littleolive24 @cute2043 @skycaliforniaart @idk-whats-happend @mischiefsemimanaged @retiredfromglad @katopotato06 @xennityxen @bucky-boo-bear @thekillingjoke-haha @sunny-the-kitsune @hanainneverland @buckymydarlingangel @ducks118 @rexs-twin-dc-17-blasters @evans-stan-thirstthots @whore-4-thor @i-have-no-life-charlie @babbsissuperblij @buckysbaaee @devilslilbabysblog @amorluzymelodia @buckysdollll @red-soul667

Not super long but it's still pretty good.

[i-have-a-wonky-eye-too]

Devil in disguise... Part 5/?

Lee Bodecker x reader series

<Part 4<

Warnings: swearing, talks of blackmail, (gifs/pictures not mine credit to owners)

Lee sat comfortably in his cruiser, watching you walk in and out of each store in town. He wasn't watching you on purpose, he just happened to be there when he noticed you come out of the convenience store. You looked pretty today in your light coloured dress, but then again you always looked pretty.

There was a tap on the window startling Lee out of his day dreaming.

He rolled the window down with a frustrated sigh. "Hell, George, you scared the crap out'a me."

"Sorry, Sheriff." Your grandpa smirked. "Caught ya' day dreamin' about her again, have I?" He asked leaning on the side of the cruiser.

Lee grunted, "I ain't day dreamin' about Y/N, George." Lee defended himself.

George laughed even more, irritating Lee. "Ain't say nothin' about Y/N, Sheriff."

Lee grumbled, "What ya' want, George?"

"I need to talk to you. It's about that Bobby-Ray boy, and my grand-baby, Sheriff."

"Nothin', happened, George. I stopped it before-"

"No, I know that, Sheriff and I'm thankful." George sighed and bent down. "But, I gotta talk to ya'. Stop by this evenin', would ya'? Y/N's goin' to the movies with her friends."

Lee nodded. "Sure, George, I'll stop by."

George thanked him and straightened up as you walked towards him. "Goodbye, Sheriff." He nodded, "Get everythin', honey?"

You hummed, nodding and kept your gaze away from the Sheriff. "Yes, grandpa."

Lee felt his heart break as he watched you turn and walk away without saying a word to him.

It had been a few days since you helped out at the station and you'd been avoiding him. It was his fault, he should have kissed you, but for the first time in his life, Lee didn't know what to do. And now George wanted to talk to him. Was there something wrong that you hadn't told him about? Were you okay?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Evenin', George." Lee stepped into your house later that day. He'd been a wreck all day, trying to figure out what your grandfather wanted to talk to him about.

"Evenin', Sheriff. Grateful for ya' comin'." Your grandpa shook the Sheriff's hand. "Drink?"

"Please," Lee nodded, taking his hat off before sitting on the couch. "So, what did you want to talk abo-"

"GRANDPA!" You cried out in destress from upstairs.

Lee shot up the moment he heard you racing down the stairs. His jaw almost hit the floor and his cock nearly bust his zipper as he gaped at you.

"Grandpa, my zipper is bust, and now I can't move it up or down. Can ya' help, please?" You were panicked, trying to tug on the zip that sat in the middle of your back.

George groaned, "Ya' know I can't see those damn zippers for shit, honey." He squinted trying to look at the small zip. "Why don't ya' ask the Sheriff if he'd be kind enough to help ya'." He pointed over to where Lee stood in the living room.

"The Sheriff?" You turned around stunned to see him there. "Oh, Sheriff," You pulled your dress up higher, aware that it wasn't fastened properly and you'd probably been giving him an eyeful. You began to move back towards the stairs, "I should, hmm, go-"

"I can." Lee called out before you went upstairs. He cleared his throat, "I mean, if you need my help, I can." He smiled softly at you.

"I, hmm..." You chewed on your bottom lip in thought before you nodded, "Yes, please," You whispered.

"C'mere then, Sugar." He curled his finger, calling you over to him as he stepped around the couch. "Can't do it all the way over there." He sent you a playful wink making you blush.

You glanced over your shoulder to your grandpa to make sure he wasn't paying you any attention before you walked over to Lee. He turned his index finger in the air for you to spin, smiling softly at you as you did as he wanted.

"Let's have a look at ya'," Lee placed his fingers on the zipper and your back. He felt you breath in sharply as his fingers touched your skin. "Ah, I see..."

"Is it broken?" You asked looking over your shoulder at him.

Lee looked up and met your gaze, shaking his head slowly. "Nah, just stuck... I can, pull," He slipped his fingers down the back of your dress, flush with your hot skin until his fingertips brushed something soft and lacey. "... Fuck..." He muttered under his breath and quickly gave the zip and the material of your dress a tug. "There you go." He snatched his hands back, quickly turning his back to you so you didn't see the tent in his pants.

You muttered a thank you to him over you shoulder as you ran back upstairs.

"Sheriff," Your grandpa stood behind him holding a beer out for him. "The bathroom is at top of the stairs on the left, if you need it."

Lee frowned at him over his shoulder. "I ain't need to use it, George."

"If ya' say so," He nodded to the beer for Lee to take before he carried on. "Just thought it'd save your pants."

Lee's eyes widened as he looked down at the tent. He quickly rearrange them as he turned his back to George again, his face burning red with embarrassment. "Damn it, George, I'm-"

"Save it, son, I ain't dumb." He chuckled and sat in his chair, nodding for Lee to sit. Lee opened his mouth to say something but George held his hand up to silence him before he thumbed over his shoulder as you came racing back down. "You off, honey?" Your grandpa called out to you.

You nodded with a smile, "Do I look okay?" You asked doing a twerl to show off all of your dress.

"Mary said I had to look nicer tonight." You rolled your eyes.

Your grandpa nodded, "Always look pretty, honey. That Mary ain't know shit. Right, Sheriff?"

Lee nodded as he stood up and faced you with a gulp. "You look, beautiful, Sugar. Always do." He smiled softly at you. "You ain't meeting up with no boys, are ya'?" He teased making you blush and smile.

"I already told ya', Sheriff. I don't like boys." You smiled before clearing your throat. "I, hmm... best go, or I'll get yelled at. I'll be home late, Grandpa." You quickly pressed a kiss to your grandpa's cheek. You looked up at Lee and smiled a little at him. "Goodbye, Sheriff."

Lee nodded and watched in silence as you walk towards the front door. "Hold on, Sugar," Lee called out to you as you opened the front door, his hand in his pocket searching for something as he walked up to you. "Call me," He pulled out a candy wrapper and a pen, a light blush flushing his cheeks as you giggled at him. "If you need saving again." He winked at you before he wrote his home number down.

Your eyes widened, "Oh... no, Sheriff, I can't-" Lee gave you his famous 'Sheriff' stare making you nod and blush even more as you took the candy wrapper from him.

"Now, you best get movin', or your little friends 'ill think ya' ain't goin'." He nodded to the car outside with your friends waiting inside for you.

Lee waited until you got into the car and it began to drive away before he shut the door. He let out a slow, steady breath, thinking about how beautiful you looked tonight.

"I fucked up, Sheriff." George spoke, pulling Lee out of his head. "And I'm worried, Y/N's gonna be the one to suffer for it."

"Wha'cha on 'bout, George? You in trouble?" Lee slowly walked towards the older man.

George nodded slowly, "Had to borrow some money." He sighed as he sat back in his chair. "Got behind on bills, nothin' major, just needed a little longer to get the money together. So, I asked a friend, or who I thought was a friend, for a favour." He screwed his fist up as he thought back.

A favour? Lee's brow knitted together in thought, "You ask Mrs Riley?"

George nodded, "Told her I'd pay her back in a month's time, had the money ready to do so, but then... Then the wicked, bitch-" He shook his head with a deep sigh.

"Bobby-Ray." Lee grunted, lifting his beer and taking a long swig of it.

"I thought one damn date, and that would be it... She'd take her money and be done, but no... She expects me, to allow that no good son of hers to," George banged his fist against the arms rest in frustration. "She wants them to marry."

Lee's head shot up, "What?" He gaped at the old man in horror.

George nodded. "Over my dead body."

Silence settled between the two men as they thought, occasionally taking a sip before screwing their fists up. Each of them cursed Mrs Riley and her shit head of a son in their heads.

"You have my permission, son." George nodded and looked over to Lee.

"Permission? For what, George? Ya' ain't expecting me to marry her just so Bobby-Ray don't, are ya'?"

George rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that, bullshit. I see the look you give her. I was happily married of fifty years. I know, that look." George smirked at Lee. "All I know is, I ain't want my grand-baby, forced into a marriage she ain't want."

Lee's mouth fell open. "How'd you know she'd marry me? Why would she want to marry a... Fat shit like me, huh? She wouldn't." Lee scowled.

"She ain't baking for no one else... And she ain't helping no other man at work, is she?" George chuckled. "Son, that girl has been crazy 'bout ya' since the day ya' called her Sugar."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @acciosiriusblack @stucky-my-ship @the-girl-wh0-cries-w0lf

[mimisempai]

When you kiss me, you speak to my soul

Summary:

5 times when Loki receives an unexpected kiss and once when he gives one. (or more)

______

This story inaugurates a new series.

"Together, for all time, always"

This series is my way out in case our boys don't canonically have a happy ending.Background: After the events of the TV show, all the members of the TVA are aware of their status as variants and decide to work together on a better TVA. The main team is composed of Loki, Mobius, Sylvie and Miss Minute. The rest will come as time goes by. The stories do not necessarily follow each other.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32203465

3123 words - Rating G

1.

"Okay Loki! You know that in order to get your time travel pass, you have to prove that you know the rules perfectly."

Loki, annoyed, rolled his eyes and sighed,

"Honestly, I'm a rehabilitated variant, god of mischief, who saved the TVA from its slavery, that pass should be granted to me without going through any fucking tests!"

Miss Minutes jumped in front of Loki and pointed her little finger in the direction of Loki's nose, "Ttttt a god don't swear! And when the new TVA administration, of which you are a part, put the rules in place, you all decided to start over. With a new, admittedly less rigid, but still regulated basis that you signed up!  Come on, only two more points to validate!"

Loki grumbled, itching to send the little clock flying.

Unperturbed, Miss Minutes continued, "Tell me the basic rules of time travel? "

Loki began to recite in a bored tone, "Do not interact with yourself, do not interact with your ancestors, do not interact with historical figures. Don't interact with the big events in history even if it means not being able to save everyone. Pay attention to small details and use your time wisely.

"Perfect my little Loki!"

"Hey, a little respect Miss Mimi!"

The little clock coughed and Loki noticed a slight flush on her little cheeks.

"Well, then explain to me the three major paradoxes of time travel."

Loki, keeping the same jaded look on his face, recited again, "The Grandfather Paradox, if you go back in time to kill your grandfather, you effectively kill your father, and therefore yourself. The Predestination Paradox is simply when your past self is the very cause of your need to travel back in time. This creates an endless loop of travel, which is why it is also called a closed causal loop. Finally, the Bootstrap Paradox. It occurs when something is returned, often to the traveler himself, negating the need for its creation in the first place."

The little clock jumped all over Loki's desk, clapping!

"Yay my little Loki! You'll be allowed to get your pass validated!"

Loki, happy but irritated by the little machine, asked him, "So that means I don't need your lessons anymore, right?"

"Absolutely!"

Loki rubbed his hands together as he said, "Perfect."

He began to move his hand, thinking of a spell to cast on the annoying little clock.

A voice whispered in his ear, "Loki... what did we say about spelling those weaker than ourselves?"

Loki turned to Mobius with a pout, "but Mobiuuus, just a little spell!"

Mobius bent down and took the hand with which Loki was about to cast his spell.

He said softly, "These hands do such beautiful magic, it would be such a shame to make them cast second rate spells."

He laid a gentle kiss to the back of Loki's hand and then walked away with a quiet step.

Loki, slightly surprised, touched lightly with his other hand the place where Mobius' lips had lingered.

Then he got up quickly, knocked over his chair and ran behind him.

Miss Minute, who had witnessed the scene, raised her eyes to the sky and returned to her screen.

2.

Mobius was waiting outside the elevator.

"Mobius!"

Mobius turned around, Loki was coming towards him with a quick step. He looked at his watch and said with a slightly reproachful tone, "You'll really have to learn to be on time!"

Loki, with a cheeky grin on his face, replied, "I find I'm making progress, yesterday I was 13 minutes late and today only 11."

Mobius rolled his eyes and was about to answer him when they were interrupted by the voiceover from the elevator.

"The elevator is momentarily out of order, please use the service stairs."

Mobius walked to the door next to the elevator and held it open, waving his hand towards Loki.

"After you."

Loki walked past him and began to descend the stairs.

Almost arriving at the bottom, Mobius, on Loki's heels, put a hand on his shoulder and turned him to face him.

"What's wrong?" Loki asked him, surprised.

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine," Mobius replied softly before taking his face in his hands and leaning in to kiss him.

A few moments later, they separated to catch their breath.

Loki gasped slightly, asking Mobius, "I'm not complaining, but what was that for?"

As they finished descending the stairs Mobius replied, "It was the perfect opportunity to reverse the roles, for once I was the one who had to bend over to kiss you."

Loki was still smiling as they walked through the door.

As they passed by the elevator, the door opened to reveal the other members of their team.

"Huh? Is the elevator fixed yet? We took the stairs because they reported that the elevator was momentarily out of order, like... three minutes ago."

"What? But we got on it three minutes ago, four floors higher than you."

Loki looked back at Mobius with a little doubt.

Mobius replied, "Just because you're the god of mischief, doesn't mean you're the only one who can use it."

3.

"Argh, for crying out loud, dates, more dates, always dates!!!"

Loki rubbed his eyes trying to fight the fatigue that was overtaking him.

He stood up, took a few steps to stretch his legs before returning to his seat and continuing to flip through his files.

"Need a helping hand?"

Mobius put his hand on Loki's shoulder and gently squeezed it before sitting down across from him without waiting for an answer.

He continued, "I know this isn't your favorite part of the job, Loki, but it's part of it and I'm glad to see that despite your reluctance, you're not afraid to pitch in.

Loki grunted, "I just don't think it's fair, Sylvie never has to do this kind of work. She's always out there."

"Have you been traveling through time, through all kinds of apocalypses like her for that long?"

"Hmph!Always the voice of wisdom huh?"

Mobius snickered, "Me? No, of course not, but the wiser of the two of us, that I am."

"You prick!" muttered Loki.

"Hey, I heard that!"

They both immersed themselves in the files.

After two hours, Mobius saw Loki get up.

"I'm going to stretch my legs for two minutes."

"Okay."

Five minutes later he saw a small bowl of salad appear in front of his eyes.

Loki said to him as he sat down, "to make up for my bad mood of earlier."

Mobius put his hand on Loki's forearm, "Loki, there is nothing to forgive.  You are allowed to have mood swings. I'm not asking you to be someone else. But thank you for the consideration."

He ate the salad Loki had brought him while the god got back to work.

A little later, he was disturbed in his research by a light snore, he looked up at the familiar sight of Loki asleep, his head on his crossed arms.

He had a fond smile. He knew that this kind of work must seem tedious to someone like Loki and yet, even though he grumbled and acted like a drama queen on a regular basis, it didn't stop him from working seriously.

Looking at the time, he thought they had worked enough for today.

He stood up and whispered in his partner's ear, "Loki, wake up. It's late. We're done for the day."

As Loki slowly opened his eyes, Mobius placed a kiss on the top of his head before getting up and going to put the files away.

Loki straightened up and was stretching again when Mobius returned.

"Was I dreaming or did you kiss me on the head?"

"Unfortunately my sleeping beauty's lips weren't accessible so I had to settle for kissing the top of her head to get her to wake up."

Mobius winked at her and headed for the door.

He turned and said again, "Are we going home?"

Loki, who still hadn't gotten used to the warmth these few words provoked in him, quickened his pace to join him.

4.

When Mobius arrived at the cafeteria, he saw Loki concentrating at the dessert counter.

He joined him, placing his hand on his lower back to signal his presence.

"You look completely absorbed in the contemplation of these desserts. Do you have a favorite?"

Loki turned his head toward him and grumbled, "There's always so much to choose from. And every time there's a new kind. I don't even know what to choose. In Asgard there was fruit and... fruit."

Mobius was amused every time Loki was faced with this kind of problem. He made it an insurmountable challenge. This time, Mobius offered to help him.

"If you want we'll take several and share."

Loki nodded, " You choose, because I don't know what to take."

"Okay, go sit down, I'll pick and join you."

Mobius took a sample of several desserts, located the table Loki was sitting at and joined him.

They spent the next hour sharing the dessert plate. It was just the two of them left in the cafeteria. Loki was finishing the tiramisu while Mobius was bringing a last spoonful of chocolate mousse to his mouth.

"So, have you made your choice? What's your favorite?"

Loki licked his lips and replied, "Undoubtedly the tiramisu."

He put his spoon down and asked Mobius, "What about you?"

Mobius, who was sitting next to him, moved closer and looking at Loki's lips, murmured softly, "I'm hesitating between the chocolate mousse and the tiramisu."

He closed the distance between them and placed his lips on Loki's. Loki parted his lips and let Mobius explore his mouth with his skilled tongue. Mobius finished the fierce kiss with a light bite on Loki's lower lip, soothing him with a final lick. Then he moved back.

"I think in the end, tiramisu is my favorite."

5.

They had just returned from the mission and were in the locker room.

Loki was putting his things away in his locker. As always after a successful mission, he was so excited that he was talking non-stop.

Replaying the events in detail, and because he was Loki, he didn't hesitate to emphasize the moments when he and Mobius had been particularly good.

The rest of the team was used to it and listened with one ear.

Mobius smiled fondly.

Continuing to babble, Loki followed the rest of the team for the post-mission debriefing.

As he walked out the door, he felt himself being pulled back. Then a hand reached into his hair and pulled out the tie that held it together.

He looked back at Mobius who was putting the rubber band in his pocket.

"Mobius?"

Mobius walked over to him.

"Why did you do that?"

Mobius replied with a mischievous smile, "Because when you have your hair tied back, I can't do that."

He raised his hand, and pushed behind Loki's ear the strands of hair that fell over Loki's face, letting his hand linger on the god's neck.

" Neither this."

With his hand on the back of Loki's neck, he ran his fingers through Loki's hair to comb it before gently grabbing it and pulling his head back slightly.

Having cleared with this gesture the throat of Loki, he deposited a rain of butterfly kisses.

Loki sighed, his lips parted, "Mobius..."

Mobius moved back again leaving his hand in Loki's hair.

"Nor this."

He raised his second hand and joined it with the first on the back of Loki's neck, tangling his fingers in the long black strands before pressing gently, forcing the god to tilt his head forward. Their lips were so close that each could feel the other's breath. Mobius pressed his lips to Loki's, his fingers clutching his hair as the god's hands found his waist.

Their kiss was long and slow, and when Mobius pulled back, nipping at Loki's bottom lip, He saw that his eyes were clouded and his mouth wide open.

"That's exactly why I like you better with your hair loose."

With a smile, he kissed Loki briefly on the cheek and headed for the locker room door, the bouncy step of one who has just won a victory, oblivious to Loki's hungry stare.

+1

Loki had had enough.

Mobius obviously enjoyed starting fires with Loki and never extinguished them.

Loki was on edge.

Not that Loki didn't appreciate Mobius' spontaneous displays of affection and kisses, the man was extremely inventive and talented, but he felt like a ball of clay in his hands.

His pride as a god of mischief was at stake!

He had to regain the upper hand, just a little, just a few moments.

"Hoho miss Minutes, looks like someone needs to get laid!"

"Hey Syl! I'm just a pure little watch. I don't want to know anything about your sex lives!"

Sylvie sitting with her feet up on Loki's desk fluttered a paper cutter in the air and snickered back, " Which sex life Mimi?"

The watch returned to the screen and grumbled, "Never mind, Loki and Mobius's love life is none of my business! Hmph!"

Loki with his hands on his hips and a dark look in his eyes, muttered to Sylvie, "Don't you have a job to do instead of gossiping with that piece of junk clock?"

"Hey jerk! I heard you!" Shouted the little voice from the monitor.

"It's so much more interesting to watch you mope about your mustachioed prince."

Loki slumped into the other chair, a sulky look on his face.

"It's not so bad though?" asked Sylvie, studying him, her chin on her hand.

Loki told her everything, from the kiss on his hand to the fiery kiss in the locker room.

"And you dare to complain?!" Sylvie asked him, quite irritated, "You have a man who is completely devoted to you, and full of attention for you.  Do you realize how lucky you are?"

"Wait, Syl! It's not that I don't like it. On the contrary, but... argh" Loki tugged at his hair, "I don't know how to say it, before, the Loki before the TVA, I've always been a hedonist who enjoys the pleasures of life, who takes and throws, but now, even though I'm still a hedonist, I don't just want to consume anymore, I want to give too. And right now I feel like I'm the only one receiving."

"Aw, you're cute you know."

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!"

"But no, well just a little bit, but really Loki, the fact that you're thinking about this, shows how much you've evolved right? Have you even tried talking to Mobius about it?"

Loki shook his head, "You know me, I often talk a lot to mask my insecurities and also because I like to listen to myself talk, but anyway what I mean is that when it's serious I'm unable to express myself properly."

"And show him?"

"How?"

Sylvie rolled her eyes, "Loki, are you the god of mischief or not? You are capable of seducing anyone! Don't embarrass me!"

A few moments later, alone in his office, he thought back to this discussion.

How could he surprise Mobius?

Mobius who knew how to read all his tricks...

Of course! The answer was obvious!

What better way than a direct approach!

He waited for the right moment and went to Mobius' office, sure to find him there.

As he walked through the door, Mobius looked up, a smile blooming on his face as he saw Loki.

"Loki!" He wanted to stand up, Loki stopped him by waving his hand. With one hand he locked the office door and with the other, using a flick of his wrist, he turned Mobius's chair around before walking towards him.

Then, without warning his lover, he straddled Mobius' lap and framed his face with his hands before throwing himself on Mobius' mouth.

Mobius pushed him back slightly and managed to articulate, panting, "Wait, wait, wait Loki! What's the matter with you? Not that I'm against it, but I'm surprised, pleasantly surprised, that you'd take the initiative like this."

Loki with his forehead and lips against Mobius' replied, equally breathless, "The problem is that my lover has been teasing me all week, kissing me everywhere and at any time, and hasn't given me a chance to return the favor, so now you shut up and let me kiss you! It's my turn!"

As Loki resumed the interrupted kiss, Mobius decided, with the last fragment of coherent thought he possessed, that all he had to do was enjoy it. He just ran his hands over Loki's hips pressing him closer until there was no more space between them.

He tried to control the kiss, but Loki would not let him, and finally, after a brief struggle, he gave in to the kiss and the shivers of pleasure that ran down his spine.

He believed to be out of air when Loki moved back slightly and fixed him, the eyes shining with satisfaction, licking his lips like a cat which had just devoured a pot of cream.

They slowly caught their breath and Mobius couldn't help but gently tuck a lock of Loki's hair back behind his ear in a gesture that was becoming more and more familiar.

Loki leaned into Mobius' hand.

"Hey Loki, more seriously," Mobius told him softly, "does it bother you that I'm acting like this? Because you know you can tell me."

Loki sighed, "It doesn't bother me per se, it's just the lack of reciprocity, the fact that I'm receiving a lot and giving nothing."

Mobius shook his head with a smile, "Sweetheart," he couldn't help but notice that Loki seemed to appreciate the endearment, "that's not how it works. When you kissed me just now, did you feel pleasure?"

Loki, indignant, protested, "Yes, of course I-"

Mobius put a finger to his lips.

"It's the same for me, you know. I am aware that in your head the gears are spinning wildly non stop, but in such cases, don't think. Just enjoy it, there's nothing selfish about it."

Loki nodded, then passionately kissed his lover once more, until they were both out of breath again.

Then Loki traced a path of kisses from Mobius' chin to his ear and nibbled on his lobe before whispering, his breath making Mobius shudder, "The rest is for later my love..."

He stood up and headed for the door while swaying his hips, fully aware of the gaze that followed him.

Then before he walked through the door, he threw over his shoulder, with a mischievous smile, "I too can light a fire and make you burn for me."

_________

Not beta'd I hope you enjoyed it 🥰

[megsironthrone]

Meg's Game of Tales: Tale 10

*Familiar Characters are NOT mine! The original story of "The Frog Prince" was written by The Brothers Grimm.*

Warnings: Mentions of magic, slight angst, fluff, bittersweet. Frog Prince AU. It's a bit of a long one.

Pairings: Gendry x fem!reader

Many years ago, in a land not too far from our own, a prince disappeared. Of course, no one truly knew he was a prince outside of a few people. The prince was a bastard, born to the king out of wedlock and hidden away from the jealous queen until he was old enough to hide on his own. The prince, who spent most of his life unaware that he was royalty, found company in a band of outlaws. That was where his fate changed. That was where he met a witch.

The witch offered to help him remain hidden forever. Worried for his safety, the prince agreed. He would remain in hiding until the queen was dead. Unfortunately, his father passed first and the queen had gone a rampage trying to find the prince. So the prince accepted the witch's offer, but it came a terrible price that he would be forced to live year after year. Eventually, the queen did die, murdered, but the witch was nowhere to be found. And so the prince was forced to remain hidden in the form the witch had cursed him to. That is where our story begins.

You were enjoying your small amount of solitude when you came across a small pond you'd never seen before. Sitting on a lily pad in the pond was a lone frog. You were content to ignore it at first; it was just a frog after all, but something caught your attention. The frog's eyes were blue. In fact, those eyes looked almost…human. You'd never seen eyes like that on a frog before.

Curious, you got down onto your knees to get a closer look. Your governess would have a field day seeing a princess on the ground like that. The frog didn't move an inch as you leaned in a little closer. Unfortunately, you leaned too far and your hand slipped. You managed to prevent yourself from falling face first into the water, but your most prized possession wasn't that lucky. A golden pocket watch that you kept in your bag or around your neck at all times hit the water before you could even process what was happening.

"No!" you cried, trying to grasp the piece of jewelry before it sank too far. You weren't quick enough and the watch began floating out of sight. Tears welled up in your eyes as you sank back onto your bottom in the mud. That watch had been your grandfather's, the former king of your kingdom. He had gifted it to you when he was ill saying that it would be a gift to be passed down to any sons you had. Now it was gone forever.

A small splash caught your attention. You looked up to find that the frog was no longer on the lily pad. You sniffled. "Great, first my watch and now the frog." You pulled your knees up to your chest and cried, though your tears didn't last long. For it was only a moment later that you heard the water moving again. You glanced up. There, on the muddy bank of the pond, sat the frog. Its blue eyes bore into you as it waited for you to realize that it had rescued your precious treasure. When you finally did, your eyes widened.

"Oh! Oh, thank you!" you cried out, scooping up the frog and watch at the same time. "Oh, you are the most wonderful creature!" You knew the watch would never work again, but it had sentimental value to you. "My dear friend, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you." You did your best to dry the watch and place it back in your bag while still holding onto the frog in one hand.

"If there is anything you need, my dear frog, I swear you shall have it." You gazed into the frog's eyes as you tried to discern what a frog could possibly need from you. And then? The unexpected happened. "You could take me away from this damned pond to start with. And you could give me information about Queen Cersei."

You blinked in surprise. "D-Did you just…talk?!" The frog rolled its, or rather his, eyes. It was a sight to behold. "I did. Sorry for startling you, Princess. I was cursed by a witch and have been a frog ever since." You stared at him for a moment while your brain tried to catch up to the fact that you were, indeed, carrying on a conversation with a frog.

"I-I suppose I could bring you to my father's castle. You can rest and have all the food you could possibly eat. As for Queen Cersei, I assume you mean the Mad Queen Lion from the neighboring kingdom? She died years ago. There is no official royal on the throne of that kingdom as the king never had any legitimate heirs. There were rumors of prince that was of age when the king died, but he disappeared before he could be legitimized and given the throne."

The frog didn't respond for a moment. Then, you heard him laughing. At least you thought he was laughing. It sounded more like croaking, but what did you know? You'd never met a talking frog before. "I knew the prince," he finally said, "He disappeared because Cersei was hunting him. He was taken in by a group of outlaws and then accepted the help of a sorceress to hide him from Cersei."

You listened as you walked, intrigued by the frog's tale. He spoke to you all the way back the castle. When you entered your home, you were immediately scolded by your governess, who screamed at the sight of the amphibian in your hands. She even tried to take him from you and throw him out, but as luck would have it, your father was passing by and you explained everything to him.

"Very well, the frog shall remain with you. You will make sure he has everything he needs until you repay your debt to him." You gave your father a kiss on the cheek and the frog thanked him. Then you scurried up to your chambers with the frog in hand. After getting him set up quickly, you stepped out of his sight to change out of your muddy clothes.

*time skip*

You spent the next several days getting to know your new friend. After a couple of days, you got the feeling he was hiding something, but never questioned it. He was obviously cursed and it was probably a sore subject for him and you didn't want to pry. However, everything would soon come out.

One evening, as you were readying for bed, your new friend began croaking rather loudly. That was odd since he did have a voice, though it sometimes didn't come through clearly when he was overly amused or excited about something. Other times it was him snoring. You thought that was it until you suddenly felt him hop into your hair. You screamed, not expecting that to happen.

The doors of your chambers burst open and you heard your guards yelling for someone to halt. You peered around your changing screen in time to see someone escaping off the balcony. You reached up and gently plucked the frog from your hair. "You saved me," you whispered. Before the frog could reply, your father's voice boomed from the doorway, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Once more, you explained to your father what your friend had done for you. Your father smiled at the frog in your hands. "It seems we are in your debt once more, friend. Whatever you would ask of me, if it is within my power, you shall have it." There was not even a second of pause before the frog turned in your hands to face you and made his request.

"A kiss. That is what I wish." You blinked and nearly dropped him in surprise. "What?" The frog croaked in merriment. "I wish for a kiss. Something that would mean nothing to you but everything to me." You glanced at your father for help, but he merely shrugged. "You are indebted to him, Y/N. If a kiss is his only request, then you must honor it." You glanced down at the frog's blue eyes and nodded. "Very well."

You steeled your nerves and took a deep breath. Closing your eyes, you leaned forward with your lips puckered. It only took a moment for your lips to meet the wet skin of the amphibian and you couldn't wait to pull away. "Oh gods," your father muttered, causing you to open your eyes. Your frog friend was glowing! This time, you did indeed drop him to the floor.

The glow of the light grew brighter and brighter until everyone in the room had to shield their eyes. A few moments later, the light vanished. You looked and your jaw dropped in a very un-princess-like fashion. A tall, muscular man now stood where the frog had been. He smiled at you, his bright blue eyes twinkling with joy. It didn't take a genius to recognize the eyes you'd been staring into for days.

"It's you. Y-You're the missing prince," you said and his grew grin. "I am. Gendry, bastard prince and last remaining heir of King Robert. The story I told you the day we met was my story. I was transformed into a frog by a sorceress to protect me but then she disappeared and I've been stuck as a frog since. Thanks to you, I can return home."

"Will they believe you?" you asked and another voice spoke. "I can assure you that they will." You jumped and Gendry gently pushed you behind him, shielding you from whoever had entered your chambers without permission. It was getting be a bit crowded in there.

"You. Why did you run? You could have turned me back years ago!" The sorceress shook her head. "I could not. That was part of the curse. You could not reveal your true identity and I could not change you back. Only a kiss from a princess could do that." Gendry glanced back at you in surprise, clearly indicating that he'd had no idea.

The sorceress continued, "But now you have returned to your true form and you can assume your father's throne. With the princess by your side, of course." You popped your head from behind Gendry and uttered, "I beg your pardon?!" She smiled at you though there was no warmth in it. "The final part of the spell. The princess who kissed the frog is meant to rule by his side as his queen."

At that, Gendry turned to you and clasped your hands in his. After feeling his skin as a frog, you were surprised to feel that his hands were warm. "You do not have to do this. I will not force you. I shall travel to my kingdom with the sorceress and claim the throne. You may remain here if you wish. I would ask for permission to write to you often, as a friend. Maybe we'll become more one day, but I wouldn't dare force you. Whatever you choose, I will accept it."

He left the room with the guards, the sorceress, and your father. You vaguely heard your father offer Gendry and the sorceress rooms for the night so they would be well rested for travel the next day. Meanwhile you spent the night wracking your brain trying to decide what to do. In the end, you chose to stay. You knew you weren't ready to take on being a queen just yet. Gendry looked heartbroken when you told him, but he smiled anyway.

"Then I'll be happy to call you my friend for now. Take care, Princess." He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to your cheek before turning away and heading down to the horse that waited for him. You ran as quickly as you could up to your balcony. As he began riding away, Gendry looked back at you and waved. You blew him a kiss. Then, you waved until his horse was out of sight, knowing one day, you would see him again.