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romancingromanoff · 6 months

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Second Death

Andromache the Scythian x f!reader

I decided to create a series for Andromache (my beloved). Here’s part 1, part 2, and part 3

Summary: Your first mission does not go according to plan

TW: Violence, major character death, somewhat descriptive gore, getting shot in the face, head explosions (kinda), ANGST

Words: around 3,000

A/N: Aside from being very difficult for me to write, this is probably the darkest I've ever gotten in terms of physical violence. So, uh, Happy Halloween I guess?

The plan was based off Buenos Aires 1822 (not 1922 as you had incorrectly assumed at first) which was a reference you obviously didn’t understand but was being explained to you in the most hectic way possible.

“Wait, so Nicky was decapitated-”

“Half decapitated. I didn’t actually die!”

“But you were quite light-headed for the rest of the day, my dear.” Joe feigned concern, brushing the back of his hand across his partner’s forehead and smiling like a fool.

Your leader was having none of it.

“Can we be serious please?” Immediately, the entire group’s focus shifted back to the Scythian. She certainly wasn’t going to admit it but she was apprehensive with this being your first mission. For months, you’d been doing nothing but training and begging her to let you in on the action until she was finally forced to give in. The instinct to keep you safe gnawed at Andy while it became increasingly difficult to ignore how your desire to prove your worth would only continue to grow. She recognized the same frustrations in a much younger version of herself and remembered how reckless it drove her to be.

“I’d rather we didn’t repeat that portion this time, agreed?”

You all nodded.

They laid out all the details about the traffickers and the group of people you were meant to rescue. It was an estimated 25-40 women and older girls being smuggled through for undoubtedly unpleasant purposes Andy didn’t get too detailed with. She, Joe, and Nico planned to storm the ship when it completely docked and most of the crew was on land retrieving supplies and weapons. That would leave only a few guards standing between them and the captives, who were most likely being held somewhere below deck. Once they find them, you and Booker would bring in the truck to help get everyone out. It sounded simple enough, but the fact that it was meant to go off without a hitch somehow doubled the amount of pressure you were applying to yourself. They had all done this at least once before, so if things went south then it was all because of you.

A few hours passed and you sat next to Booker in the passenger seat of the truck parked a couple of meters away from the ship and near a loading dock. With the engine off it was starting to get increasingly cold, but you didn’t even mind the chill at that point. You needed to be as alert as possible for what was to come.

Booker clearly sensed your apprehension. “It’s okay to be nervous, we’re not going to let anything bad happen to you.” He kept his voice low and his eyes glued on the dock entrance while you tried to do the same.

Your mind was wrapped up in much bigger concerns. “I’m not worried about that. What if something goes wrong because of me? If I get hurt then so be it, I just don’t want to endanger anyone else when their lives and freedom are at stake.”

“You’ll be fine. Trust your training and lean on your team if you need help. That’s what we’re here for.” He offered you an encouraging smile that you attempted to return the best you could, yet you also wished he wouldn’t look at you with so much sympathy all of the time. As much as you appreciated everything they had done for you, you longed to show the others that you were capable of carrying your own weight and didn’t need someone to hold your hand constantly.

The two of you settled into a silence that was occasionally filled with a comment or two about nothing in particular. It didn’t do much to settle your nerves. You watched as dozens of muscular men left in packs, each one armed with at least a pistol that Booker taught you how to spot. He translated some of the French he could hear them speaking, which was mostly crude, misogynistic banter that made your jaw clench up.

“Good to know that men are pigs in basically all cultures,” you murmured mostly to yourself and tried to get your jaw to relax. Surprisingly, it earned you a gratifying laugh from the Frenchman and you were relieved when he didn’t take your comment too personally.

“For the most part, I don’t disagree.”

“How will Andy and the others know when all of them have left?” You changed the subject upon the realization that the rest of the guard was hidden somewhere no one would see them, not even you. It was still difficult to imagine they had a better scouting position than the near-direct view you did.

“Don’t worry, they’ll know,” Booker assured you in a slightly amused tone. Some secrets were still too complicated for you to know about yet, you supposed.

Almost a half hour later, three heads eventually peered up through the shadows and Andy, Joe, and Nico lifted themselves up onto the ship. Perfectly lit by hues of the full moon, they danced towards their destination, the sheer coordination and skill reminding you of just how experienced they were. With Andy leading the pack, they silently began making their way up the vessel as a single unit. No words or other body gestures needed to be shared when they occupied the same hive mind. The group only came to a stop when they reached a door and huddled around it, trying to listen for anyone that might be on the other side. When you assumed everything was clear, Andy swiftly kicked it open and entered with her gun aimed and ready.

Not even a minute after all three filed in, the sound of a gunshot suddenly shook you. You immediately turned to Booker, whose face gave away the slightest look of concern at the noise. This must not have happened in Buenos Aires. No more gunshots followed, thank goodness, but there were sounds of a struggle going on below deck which had the two of you on high alert. You prayed that nobody else close by could hear the commotion.

Things began to steer away from the original plan when Joe emerged from below far before he should have, struggling to keep another figure under control as he held their arms in a twisted position behind their back while continuing to firmly push them forward. Even in the dark, you could just make out how young the kid appeared to be. He couldn’t have been older than 16 and you assumed his reason for being on the ship was because he had an older relative in the crew. You relaxed when you realized that meant how unlikely it was that he’d be trained in how to fight. Joe would definitely keep from harming him unless he absolutely had to. Stupidly, you also forgot about how reckless young boys can be.

Everything fell apart in a mere matter of seconds. As he appeared to calm down, Joe eased up on the grip he held the boy with and he it didn’t seem like he would move at first. But in an instant, the scraggly kid darted from his grasp and sprinted around a corner and out of your line of sight to the completely opposite side of the ship. Booker reached for the door handle as a precaution while the rest of his body remained seated. A bead of sweat rolled down your neck despite the chill in the air and the gradual understanding that Book might be preparing to leave you on your own stilled your body completely. All of the careful planning you had fought to carefully commit to memory melted into mush.

Your thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched whistle that rang through the air and your eyes quickly followed a bright red light travel up into the sky before it burst into a large display of lights and smoke. Time seemed to slow down and your heart sped up. Of course, if there wasn’t going to be another pistol going off, it had to be a goddamn flare gun. Yelling, alarmed Frenchmen could then be heard scrambling towards the dock and Booker cursed under his breath.

“Stay here, I’ll go help the others!” Booker leaped out of the vehicle, throwing the keys which hit your petrified figure. Part of you wanted to speak up and stop him but you could only squeak out an indecipherable sound of concern seconds after he was gone. Looking back at the ship, you caught sight of Nico peeking his head out from the door they entered through. He exited with a determined look on his face and was followed by a line of women. You itched at your sweating palms when twenty women or so had piled out and there was still no sign of Andy.

The men hurrying in from the opposite direction quickly diverted your attention. Squinting your eyes, you were able to spot a figure in the distance headed straight towards your vehicle. You nearly panicked but caught yourself, uncertain if you were dealing with the traffickers or possibly random dock workers that had been alarmed by the flare and merely wanted to check out the situation. Either way, you decided it was still too risky to start up the engine just yet. At least, you told yourself the others probably wouldn’t want you to give away your position.

That’s when you noticed a faint movement in your side mirror. A tuft of matted blonde curls belonging to a distressed woman’s face peeked over the top of one of the crates not to far behind you. She must’ve spotted something concerning, because her eyes went wider than a trapped mouse’s and she disappeared back down, ultimately causing the crates to shake. You ground your back teeth together and prayed it was only you who had seen her. But then right on cue, the blinding glow of a flashlight landed directly over the area where the woman was hiding. The man you had spotted only moments before, his flashlight lit up a devious grin on his face that urged you to hold in your breath. He even sounded like the devil when he spoke. It didn’t take a high level French skills to tell that he began goading the poor woman like it was some sadistic game to him.

He approached the crates ever so slowly, savoring the anticipation which laid before whatever unspeakable plans he had for his victim. It then occurred to you that she was most likely paralyzed with the same fear that had struck you.

And yet, she was the one currently being hunted while you were poised to sit and watch it unfold. You, protected by both your position and inexplicable gift of immortality. None of it seemed remotely fair and your body began to stir at the simple thought.

“Under no circumstances should you be engaging in combat,” Andy had firmly laid down the law several times leading up to this day. You’d never wanted to disobey anything she said so passionately before and here it felt like you scarcely had no other option but to go against something she forbade.

The adrenaline rushing through your veins threw your body into action before you could debate any further. Barely aware of the forces taking hold of you, you tumbled out of the door and landed directly behind the attacker who continued to stalk forward towards the woman’s hiding place. He slowly began to raise his gun, something with barrels much longer than your forearms, and it was like you didn’t have the time to properly assess whatever danger lie at the other end. You just didn’t want it pointing at her.

Without a hint of hesitation, you drove foot into the back of the man’s left knee and he immediately crumbled down to about a third of his height. You were ready for him with your knife once his face spun around and an overpowering sense of rage guided your arm to make a clean cut from just below his right eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose, and finally through the center of his left eye.

Something solid and heavy smacked the front of your head and you could hear the woman behind you scream in horror before everything went black.

Horrific violence was nothing if not a sheer constant to Andy. She had both experienced and caused enough to fill the oceans with blood, yet nothing made her seethe with rage more than watching yours spill from your head like a geyser. A thousand lifetimes stained with death could not have prepared her for the sight of your limp body hitting the ground, to which there was no question as to whether or not you were dead. Even if you had been wearing some type of protective head gear, a shotgun firing within five inches of your face would have been fatal.

She was usually a pro at keeping her emotions under control until the mission was completed and never steered away from the plan without first calculating the absolute best course of action. The other teammates she had and the terrified group of women she was meant to protect called upon her to uphold her position as the leader, a task she had shouldered over a million times before despite whatever her personal feelings demanded. Absolutely none of that mattered now. Getting to you, killing that bastard, and wrapping you up in your arms became the only course of action she was capable of taking.

Her first priority was taking out the son of a bitch that dared to touch you before anyone else got hurt. She handed off the little girl she had been carrying to Nico before barreling over a crate and launching herself over the side of the ship, rolling smoothly to break her fall when she hit the the dock.

Despite how fast she ran, she seemed to move at a cursedly slow pace. She was still too quick for the man, his blood leaking from the fresh gash you had tore across his face, to notice her. He didn’t even get a chance to run before the warrior drove her labrys straight into the already-open wound. Andy could only revel in the brief taste of satisfaction for a moment before her emotions began swarming once again, the anger she had held for that man was now aimed solely at herself.

“Booker, get her into the back!” She barked at the Frenchman to take care of the hostage still hiding while rushing over to where your body collapsed. Up close, the sight was even more gruesome as blood, flesh, and bone were splattered all across what used to be your face. It would have been generous to call what was left of everything above your neck a simple stump. She knew she needed to get you out of there fast but hated to leave behind any parts of your head that might have been salvageable. Even saving something like an ear or significant chunk of your skull could aid in speeding up the healing process. She knew it would be excruciatingly painful for you to grow back yourself.

She desperately grabbed at fistful of what she hoped was your brain before scooping you up in her arms. It was the fact that you were so much lighter than usual which made her wince, though she couldn’t help but be somewhat relieved when it meant it allowed her to run faster on her feet. Cautious yet quick, Andy made a beeline for the passenger’s seat of the truck and cradled your body in her arms while you continued to bleed out. It wasn’t a sight she wanted any of the hostages to witness and it’s not like she was letting go of you anytime soon anyway.

“Drive!” One word was all she needed to command whomever was at the steering wheel to get out of there as fast as possible. It didn’t even occur to her to look up and check to see who she was sitting next to, as she immediately began trying to pick up any movement in your chest or a sign of a pulse in your wrist, anything that indicated the resurrection process was in motion.

“Please, please, come back to me,” she pleaded as your warm blood began to pool across her lap.

“Give her a second.” She realized it was Booker currently driving. “It’s only her second time and will probably take longer than expected.”

The women they had freed were now crammed together once again, only this time being in the back of a dark loading truck as it sped through the dead of night was probably far more merciful than them being forced to witness the transformation you were currently undergoing. Andy, however, couldn’t tear a single string of her attention away from you throughout the entire process.

Each noise you made followed by the eventual cries of her name from your lips, once your mouth and airways had completely reformed, tore at Andromache deeper and deeper, in ways that no physical pain she had ever endured could compare. She bit down on her tongue till it was bloody as you repetitively squeezed her hand throughout the entire process. The same ones you often used to delicately recreate precious moments on paper broke more than a few of her bones. But Andy barely noticed and didn’t have the capacity to care. All she was focused on was you.

For the first time in centuries, the Scythian invoked the words of an ancient prayer and resurrected a long dead language as she tried to soothe your pain. She stopped believing in a higher power a long time ago but couldn’t shake the truth that repeating those words made her feel anchored to something even larger than her life or her immortality. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t try if it might possibly bring you a sense of comfort, which she actually prayed may happen.

#andromache the scythian x reader #andy the scythian x reader #andromache of scythia #the old guard #one shot #andy the scythian #the old guard x reader #andy #andy x reader #andromache x reader #angst #Charlize Theron characters

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romancingromanoff · 6 months

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natasha, mumbling: it’s dark in here..

y/n: don’t worry babe, i got this!

y/n: *stomps their feet*

y/n: *skechers light up*

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romancingromanoff · 7 months

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Hi there, your stories are amazing, I really love them, I was wondering if you could do a margaery tyrell x F targaryen reader, where the reader is the sister of daenerys, and she also has a personality like her badass ancestor visenya instead of being ladylike

Sorry this took so long but I had a lot of fun with this request. It made me realize how much I miss writing for GoT and Margaery. I made our reader similar to Visenya in the sense that they share a love for combat and have tenacious spirits, but she isn't a complete carbon copy of her ancestor and lacks more of the diplomatic skill/finesse she was also known for. I hope you enjoy and thank you!

Daenerys was finally on the throne. You had already left Essos with a massive force the world had not seen in centuries with the Dothraki, the Unsullied, and three full grown dragons at your sister’s command. With the additional support from the Tyrells, the Dornish, and the Greyjoys, Cersei Lannister stood absolutely no chance. As Dany rode on Drogon and you rode Viserion, the sky over King’s Landing and the Red Keep instantly darkened.

The smallfolk and many of Cersei’s supporters had already begun to turn on her after the destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor. Luckily, Margaery Tyrell and a few others had been able to escape thanks to her sharp wits and quick thinking, while the High Sparrow and the majority of his followers had perished in the explosion. Poor King Tommen, who was under the impression that his wife had been killed, had taken his own life soon after by jumping from the Red Keep. As your army surrounded King’s Landing, the City Watch peacefully surrendered before any blood needed to be shed and your forces quickly closed in on the queen. There were a few loyal members of the Kingsguard that were willing to put down their lives for their queen, the most notable among them being the Kingslayer himself, however, they could only delay the inevitable.

Your father’s murderer was swiftly stabbed in the back by Grey Worm, killed the exact same way he had betrayed his king. Every part of you envied your friend for being the one to end the Kingslayer’s life. You were told that Cersei broke down upon watching her brother and lover die protecting her. She had poison on hand which she planned to use on herself but wasn’t quick enough to evade capture. No, she would not get a swift death. Dany had her presented to the entire city and lit her up with Drogon’s dragon fire in the tradition of your ancestors. She died screaming for mercy while the crowds cheered, the tyrant queen was finally gone.

Unfortunately, there had been very little time to celebrate your victory before a convoy from the North traveled down with news of an ancient threat that sought to wipe out all of humanity.

Neither you or Dany believed that the White Walkers actually existed until you flew north of the wall yourselves to witness the army of the dead with your own eyes. You immediately summoned dragon fire to try and destroy whatever portions of the army you could, but then Viserion and you had nearly been killed in the attack when an unimaginably deadly spear made of ice had been launched in your direction by the Night King himself. Viserion dove quickly and turned his body so that you wouldn’t be hit but part of his left wing was snagged and soon the two of you were falling out of the sky. Your dragon was able to soften the landing for you as best as he could but the impact was still extremely damaging on your body.

Being more of a fighter, you had suffered your fair share of injuries in the past. Around your sixth nameday, a special sling had to be made for your arm. You had broken it while wielding a large stick you found in the gardens of one of the many sponsors in Essos you lived with before moving onto the next. In your mind, you imagined it was the Valyrian steel sword Dark Sister that had once belonged to your great ancestor Visenya Targaryen. One jump off of the roof with your imaginary dragon had led to a nasty fall and started a series of mostly self-induced, reckless wounds.

Scars covered your body, telling the stories of every horse you’d fallen off of and time you’d wrestled a Dothraki warrior that was easily twice your size. Daenerys hated how eager you were to pick up any sword or bow you could get your hands on but understood that trying to stop you only fueled the fire in your veins. When she had entered the funeral pyre and given birth to her three dragons, the only thing you could talk about from then on out was when they’d be large enough to ride. Not once did you worry about the possibility of falling out of the sky.

It took an entire week before you finally awoke, your first action trying to scramble out of bed despite the maesterscolding you for breaking several of your stitches. You had to know if your sister and friends were safe. Dany soon informed you that you were back in King’s Landing where Viserion was also healing. It was truly a relief to find out that he would be okay. Then your sister informed you of her plan to return to the north and aid in the fight against the dead at Winterfell while you were ordered to stay and rest in the capital.

“Dany, please!” You protested with every ounce of energy you had, causing a sharp pain to rip through your shoulder. “Let me go with you. I won’t let you do this alone!”

“You are in no shape to fight, sister, and neither is your dragon. As your queen, I order you to stay here. I still have not been crowned and I need someone I can trust to guard the iron throne.”

It was a fight you knew you could not win, yet you dreaded being left alone in this strange city. “We have no allies here. I have no friends. Please, let me at least go with you to Winterfell and I won’t fight, I give you my word.” The thought of not being able to participate in the battle pained you but you at least wanted to be there for support.

Your sister adamantly shook her head. “No, I will not gamble with your life. You are my heir and the only other person I trust to enact our mission. That is my final decision. Missandei and a few of the Unsullied will stay here with you. You should take the opportunity to get to know the people here, learn about the culture and make more allies. Many in Westeros still view us as foreigners and I need to know who I can truly trust to fully support my reign.”

“Dany, you know I’m hopeless when it comes to this stuff,” you sighed and could already tell your head would be hurting for weeks if you were forced to sit and make pleasantries with strangers. Between you and your sister, she had always been more naturally gifted in the ways of diplomacy and charming others to listen to her words. You, on the other hand, were more inclined to laugh at the absolute worst moment of a conversation or trip over your own words and accidentally curse in a way completely unfit for a highborn lady. “If it’s seven kingdoms you wish to rule then you’ll ensure I’m not able to make a fool of myself in front of the most powerful families in Westeros.”

There was no convincing her. Your eyes stung stung for hours when your sister left you behind. In the following days, more agonizing than your wounds was the dreadful feeling of not knowing whether or not your friends were alive or dead. Being bedridden you felt completely helpless as the days came and went with no ravens delivering news of any sort of outcome yet. After a few days, you were finally given permission to try and walk again and took every opportunity to explore the castle. Missandei eventually tried to force you to rest and it took a great deal of effort to ditch her. Trying to shuffle as quickly as you could through several smaller corridors resulted in you being completely lost.

That was where you first met Margaery Tyrell. Somehow, she managed to sneak up on you the third time you realized you had walked past the same statue. “Your grace,” she performed a small curtsy in front of you. “I’m glad to see you have progressed tremendously from your injuries. I’m Margaery of the House Tyrell, truly, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“I…“ Oh gods, you weren’t prepared for this at all. It was like you instantly had forgotten how to speak. Many had said that Margaery was the most beautiful woman in all of Westeros. And although you had seen very little of the seven kingdoms thus far, you were inclined to agree. She was utterly breathtaking, with honeyed hair and hypnotic eyes. You cursed at yourself for leaving Missandei, the only person that might have been able to save you in this current situation. You needed her to say absolutely anything else in literally any of the several languages she spoke. Even gibberish would have been better than you just standing there gaping at the poor lady.

She went ahead and continued speaking after you failed to respond with anything more than a wordless stare. “May I assist you in any way? I know how daunting finding your way around the castle can be. During my first two weeks of living here I got lost on my way to the Great Hall and found myself in a sunken courtyard where two men conversed with one another in a foreign language I didn’t recognize and ignored my presence when I tried to ask for help in Common Tongue. I had to wait for a cook to come rescue me and that was only because he was chasing a pigeon that had stolen his spoon from the kitchen!”

It was unclear whether or not you were meant to laugh at her anecdote and you didn’t want to risk doing the wrong thing. But then Margaery herself began chuckling at her previous misfortune and you felt relaxed enough to lift your lips into a small smile. Her energy was contagious and frankly, so was the sound of her laughter. You immediately wished to hear more of it.

“Yes, well… It’s, uh, strange never having been here myself but knowing my family has walked these halls for generations. I asked a servant if the rumors that dead Targaryens haunt the corridors were true and she nearly fainted. I suppose that answered my question. Honestly, it would be nice if their ghosts could offer me any directions.”

You worried that you might have overshared, although you had only been trying to follow Margaery’s lead. But the charming woman in front of you suddenly burst into the most melodic laughter you’d ever heard and a strange warmth rushed into your face.

“That would be helpful, wouldn’t it, if those from the past could offer their wisdom to us before we make the exact same mistakes they did?”

“Yes, exactly!” The fact that the two of you are on the same page has you giggling with complete elation. “Do you ever think about your dead family?”

As soon as the words left your mouth you only realized what you just said. Oh gods, why did you have to phrase it like that? How foolish did you have to be to forget that her own brother, Loras Tyrell, had been unable to escape the Great Sept not even two moons ago?

Margaery blinked twice, staring at you mildly stunned. It was the same look you see on your sister’s face whenever tries to hold in a cringe and realizes she’ll have to offer up an explanation for your infantile behavior.

“I-I must apologize, my lady, I didn’t mean to say it like that.” You took several steps back from the woman, unsure if she wanted to turn and leave so you were prepared to excuse yourself first. “I understand if you want me to leave.”

“It’s alright. Please, stay.” You felt her hand reach for your wrist and although her touch was nothing but gentle it startled you. Your eyebrows immediately shot up like she had frozen you by some strange magic. “You’ve done nothing to offend me. I suppose I was simply surprised by your choice of words.”

You released a breath you’d been holding. “That tends to be a regular occurrence I’m afraid. My lady, I truly am sorry about the loss of your brother. My own was rather cruel and I feared him since I was a small child, yet his death unsettled me greatly even though he deserved it. I understand you were very close with yours and no one deserves that sort of fate. You and your family have my deepest condolences.”

“Thank you,” Margaery spoke more softly before with a new contemplative look in her eyes. “Loras was deeply misunderstood and unfortunately people weren’t very accepting of his differences. I wish he had been able to freely live as himself without judgment.”

It sounded all too familiar. Recently, people you knew had spoken about the youngest Tyrell son’s… sexual preferences… But you always tried to avert your attention from such conversations when you came across them, even if the participants didn’t seem hostile with their judgment. You were no longer in Essos where people like yourself were generally more accepted in society. And although the High Sparrow and his fanatics were gone, members of the Faith of the Seven continued to persecute others like you.

“I understand the feeling. My sister and I hope to build a new Westeros where everyone is free to make their own decisions. A place that’s free of judgment and everyone can decide their own future, so long as it is done fairly. The weak and the poor will no longer break their backs for greedy men that would abuse them for a few coins.”

“I should be quite fortunate to witness it,” she gave you a bright smile and offered you her arm, which you hesitated to take at first. A part of you knew even the slightest bit of her touch would be addicting for you, which turned out to be correct. She guided you throughout the rest of the castle and you decided that you’d let her lead you anywhere.

You found it strange when only a fortnight had passed and surprisingly you felt as if you’d been friends with MargaeryTyrell much longer. Whether you were struggling to find the proper words to use or going off on one of your many animated tangents, the southern lady never judged nor criticized you. It quickly became evident that she was a master at socializing and had no problem carrying the conversation on her own when you internally fussed over what to say. However, she was also eager to listen when you finally let one of your passionate ramblings pour from your heart. Even subjects that were positively unladylike, which you had first assumed would be of no interest to your new companion, became effortlessly easy to talk about with her.

“Valyrian steel is objectively the best material to use if you ever needed an amputation. It cuts clean through skin, flesh, and bone, unlike more blunt blades which would be more likely to cause even greater injury. I’ve seen some medics have to practically saw their tools back and forth through limbs in order to get them to detach. It’s completely gruesome!”

“And Dark Sister, that was the one you used to pretend to have?” Margaery’s eyes shimmered like she was completely enthralled in your story. Never once did you think she’d call you a freak or too violent to be considered a lady.

You nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. It was Visenya’s during Aegon’s conquests. I’ve always wanted to be a warrior like her for as long as I can remember. Of course Viserys only ever saw me and Daenerys as pawns easy enough to use, as was his right he said, to help take back his throne.”

“What he did was cruel and how I wish you had been treated better. Had a better childhood surrounded by your loved ones and a proper place to call home. I’m sure we would have met sooner, perhaps here at court. Except then you’d be the one showing me around and rescuing me from becoming lost!”

There’s nothing you could do to stop the blush from filling your cheeks as you imagined this rewritten version of history and who you might have been had things been different. The past wasn’t something you liked to dwell on too often as you knew there was no point in trying to change things, but one other thing had become incredibly clear about your future. You couldn’t imagine it without Margaery in your life.

Daenerys was finally due to come back tomorrow and while you were certainly eager to see her and have her introduced to Margaery, many other mixed emotions came with the letter she had most recently sent you. She’d mentioned several losses over the series of battles that had taken place up north. You knew victory would never have been easily won, but feared finding out which friends’ faces had been permanently taken from your life. Thankfully, Margaery was there to listen to you express your anxieties.

“I have this horrible feeling that Jorah is dead. As complicated as his past was, I never doubted that he would lay down his own life to save me or my sister. He once promised me that he would never leave us and yet somehow, I know he’s gone and done just that.”

“I will be here for you every step of the way,” Margaery assured you, grabbing your hands and softly rubbing her thumbs upon the tops of them. “You don’t have to go through this alone. I may not know any of your friends but I will not leave you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Do you promise?” You squeezed her hands tighter, gazing up into her wide eyes and looking for any sign of uncertainty. There were so few people in this world that you’d let get to know the real you, and even fewer that had stayed and accepted it.

Her eyes softened, and in a way of almost sealing her promise she slowly lowered herself to her knees in front of you. You were a princess as your sister was the queen and people were regularly brought to bow before you just the same. Still, the way Margaery executed it without ever breaking eye contact made her particular act feel incredibly intimate, like she was pledging her loyalty not only to your blood or titles, but simply because it was you.

“I promise, my little dragon. Where you go, I go.” It was whenever she made statements like this that you almost believed she might have felt the same way as you did about her.

A snarky smile crept across your face. “Does that mean you’ll finally ride Viserion with me?” You’d recently been begging the woman you were infatuated with for a chance to impress her with the one experience you knew she would not have had. Or could find anywhere else.

She let out a nervous laugh. “You forget, my dear, that I am a rose and am meant to be firmly planted into the ground. And while I’m sure Viserion has no qualms with you riding him, he’s surely to be mistrustful of a stranger like me. There are no dragon riders in my family’s history, I’m afraid.”

“Maybe you’re a stranger to him as of now but we can remedy that! I am bonded to him more deeply than humans can be with normal animals, which means he should inherently trust you as much as I do. He’s going to love you, I know it. Margaery, you must know I would never put you into danger like that.”

There was a substantial amount of hesitance which began to fade from her eyes. You tried to show her what you believed was your most empathetic look and you watched as your words caused the last few threads of doubt to come undone.

“I trust you as well. But I shall have to ask for something small in return, if you’d agree to it.”

She could’ve asked you for the world and you knew you would give it to her. The two of you then struck a deal and made your way to dragon pit.

Viserion was already in protective mode as you approached him, making sure he had at least one eye on Margeary at all times. You started to speak to him in High Valyrian, explaining that you had brought a special friend and your comfort around her appeared to ease him. The golden rose tried to remain calm throughout the whole ordeal as well, though you sensed that she was dealing with a reasonable amount of nerves deep down. Her hand timidly reached out for yours, in a way that was surprisingly bashful for the normally confident woman, and you immediately accepted her touch.

Three circles around King’s Landing was all it took to change Margaery’s mind about flying. A perfectly blue and cloudless sky made for the perfect views. The few screams she attempted to stifle had turned into pure uninhibited laughter by the second lap, and you only landed shortly after to be certain you weren’t overworking Viserion so soon after his injury.

As much joy spending time with Margaery brought you, there was a voice from your past softly whispering in your ear, telling you not to get too attached. You were a dragon but you had been burned before. Dany was the only other person that truly knew how complicated your relationship with Doreah had been. Completely smitten with her from the start, it was easy enough for her to win over your innocent heart with a few stolen kisses and flirtatious words. She made you believe you were her favorite and even more special than your sister. It eventually drew a wedge between you and Danythat gave Doreah the opportunity to betray the both of you. Worst of all, you couldn’t prove it but you knew she had killed Irri too.

“Now do you see why I told you not to trust her?” Both your sister’s embrace and her words were firm as she had turned from the vault where Doreah and Xaro Xhoan Daxos were sealed inside. Your body was still shaking but Daenerys was determined for you to remember every detail of that exact moment. “As Targaryens, people will always envy our power and try not only to take it but to have us give it to them if they can.”

“I won’t ever let us feel like that again, sister, I swear it,” you had promised with the utmost sincerity.

You never let yourself fall for another again until you invited Margaery Targaryen to accompany you on Viserion and it made you feel alive again. The realization began to set in when your feet landed back on the ground, with a heaviness in both your heart and your knees suddenly overtaking you. Margaery naturally caught sight of the grimace on your face and asked if everything was alright. Honestly, you didn’t even know what the truth was.

“Margaery,” the gravity in your voice made even Viserion shift uncomfortably. You knew you had to be honest to receive honesty in return. “I will grant whatever favor you request of me as I am a woman and princess of my word. I only ask that you be sincere with me. Getting to know you recently has felt like a breath of fresh air, but I have been used and toyed with for my name and my power since I was born. You are a woman of noble birth with the duty of uplifting your family and house. I can respect that. It is also evident that you are more than capable of securing your own means of influence. You have been wed to three men that have called themselves ‘King’. It would be foolish of you not to try and befriend me, but I must know, what is it that you really want?”

Margaery sighed and momentarily averted her gaze from you. You’d never seen her that reserved before. Having her be the one too nervous to open up to you was a strange switch in the roles you’d mostly settled in over the past few weeks. It made you eager to demonstrate the lack of judgment you held on your part. You ached to be someone she could trust and every second of silence that passed had you sitting in bitter anticipation.

When she finally spoke, it was with a solemn sense of conviction. “I have wanted to be Queen for so long. You’re not wrong to assume it has completely consumed my life. These past few years have been especially driven by my obsession, which might have started as a seed planted by my family but became fully grown and sustained by my own ambition a long time ago.”

She paused after that, clearly unaccustomed to the position she had found herself in. There was also something else about her demeanor that you couldn’t clearly define. Shame, regret, possibly even indignation? You slowly leaned in closer, careful to make sure you weren’t overstepping, but wanting to show that you were there for her.

“I was always maintaining a specific persona, trying to play the role of a voice for the poor when I only cared about how the publicity could serve my own interests. I was not like you or your sister. Truthfully, I made very little effort to help anyone aside from myself and my family and never sacrificed more than a few comforts or dresses I dirtied. Even when I was officially the queen, all the power that came with the crown wasn’t enough to save my brother from the animosity and unfairness which runs so deeply in the establishments that uphold our society. Things that I didn’t spare a second thought for until they came to hurt the ones I love and it was too late to do anything.

“Margaery,” you shook your head and bravely reached for her hands. “None of what happened is your fault. You’re only one person and shouldn’t put the pressure to change history and customs by yourself. We’re all human.”

She squeezed your hands tightly, pulling you closer to her so that only a few inches separated your faces. Gods, being near her affected you like a powerful drug. She smelled of roses and fresh morning dew in the early spring as you expected from a lady of Highgarden. There was something in her presence that seemed to transport you there. And though you had never actually been, it strangely felt like home.

“Yes, you are human, dragon rider, and more,” she smiled and came to run the back of her fingers softly down your cheek. Your legs would have given out had you not been so determined to keep looking up into her enchanting eyes. “And yet when all odds were against you, you and your sister freed thousands and bettered the lives of countless others with nothing expected in return. That is true selflessness and deserves the right to rule, as I am certain you shall do fairly as these kingdoms desperately need. You will bring forth the future where people like me and Loras could have lived freely. A place I never even imagined until I met you.”

Nothing in her words or demeanor felt dishonest but something told you the request she had yet to make would reveal the ultimate truth. If she believed in you and your sister’s mission then would it be so outlandish to think she’d ask for your friendship above additional power? Your heart was beating frantically and you strained your voice to get out your next few words.

“Margaery, what is it that you want from me?” Despite knowing that she had the power to end you right then and there, you chose to cling onto hope and held onto her one hand and lean into the touch of the other which now rested on the opposite side of your face. Doreah had been gentle with you at times but not in a way quite like this. Her affections had always been calculated and she gave you just enough to leave you wanting more. Teasing and playing games with you where you were only awarded by granting her favors. Margaery held you like she never wanted to let you go, even if it burned her skin in the process.

“If you wouldn’t be opposed to it, I’d like to kiss you, little dragon.”

Your heart must’ve stopped and all you could do was nod. Then as soon as Margaery’s lips met your own it began to beat once more, complete with new life she breathed into you. Her kiss was soft at first, careful to ensure the continued contact was alright with you before you deepened it. She tasted of vanilla and sweets and you eagerly chased to explore into her mouth further with her tongue. Your enthusiasm must’ve surprised the other woman, though she gave off a pleased chuckle before shortly taking back the lead and her other hand found your waist.

“Kostilus,” you moaned as she pressed your bodies even closer together. Everything else you wanted to say you put into your movements. Margaery smiled once again and her chest vibrated when you went to wrap your arms around her neck and continued to interrupt your dance with brief pronunciations of Valyrian words. She didn’t need to speak the language to understand what you were pleading for, and it pleased her greatly in many ways.

The two of you instantly separated when Viserion let out a deep cry that vibrated the ground around you. He twisted his neck up towards the sky where a dark mass grew faster and faster in its descent. Drogon answered his brother’s call and you realized Dany must be home. You grabbed Margaery’s hand, the biggest grin painted across your face. Getting to kiss Margaery and reunite with your sister had you so giddy that it didn’t occur to you how Margaery had never met Drogonbefore, who was much larger and intimidating than your sweet Viserion.

But all you could think about was how relieved you were to see your sister and her dragon both safe and unharmed. You raced to Dany when she began to dismount and dragged Margaery along with you. You felt as if you could burst with joy in that very moment, although your sister’s face did not show the same excitement or relief as you would have expected. No, this wasn’t Dany excited to greet you after an easy victory. This was Queen Daenerys already fueled on anger and glaring daggers at the woman next to you.

To her credit, Margaery stood firmly next to you in the face of the Mother of Dragons and her fiercest son.

“Who is she?”

#margaery tyrell #margaery tyrell x reader #game of thrones #margery tyrell imagines #game of thrones insert #wlw #Natalie dormer characters

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romancingromanoff · 9 months

Text

Secrets & Sketches

Andromache the Scythian x f!reader

I decided to create a series of loosely related one shots for Andromache (my beloved). Here’s part 1 and part 2

Summary: You were always staring at her, not knowing she was staring back.

TW: None?

Word count: +5,100

Author's Note: Hi y'all. Here's some slightly domestic fluff before the action happens and the stakes skyrocket through the roof.

Despite never having lived with four strangers before, it turned out that your new situation offered you far more privacy than you had ever experienced while living with your mother.

The woman had a compulsive need to control every aspect of your life, from what you wore to what you ate. You were barely even safe in the bathroom. The years had taught you to lie with your words and carefully crafted smiles. Knowing what she wanted to hear from you and how you could appease her temper was like mastering a second language. Your skills in the craft became more and more refined throughout the years and your confidence ultimately grew. But you underestimated your mother and made the greatest mistake of them all.

“I know you’re lying to me! What are you trying to hide from me, you ungrateful whore?”

A picture frame nearly collided with your head, chipping the door frame instead of scratching your face. The glass shattered on the floor and your body jumped twice, once at the sound and another time when your eyes settled on the damage and found that your favorite childhood photo with your grandmother was destroyed.

“Whatever you did, I will find out! You cannot lie to me, I am your mother!”

It was one afternoon you had wanted all to yourself to go see the movie Roman Holiday after school. The charismatic Audrey Hepburn, riding on a Vespa with the largest smile you had ever seen, caused strange feelings to stir in your stomach when you had first watched the trailer. She was a princess masquerading as a commoner in order to freely experience the wonders of the Eternal City. Oh, how you envied her character. Your mother, however, could only focus on how short her hair was. The shortest your hair had ever been was when you were a fresh newborn. Once it grew past your upper back, you were never allowed to cut it, despite all the other girls you knew being able to short styles.

“How disappointing.” She scoffed when a clip of her getting her haircut played. “Such a beautiful young woman and she wants to make herself look like a man? I really don’t understand your generation, you’re all confused.”

When you arrived home late that evening, she refused to believe the lie you had produced about giving some tutoring lessons after school. It was only two days later that she found the proof she wanted. While snooping through your journal she came across the movie ticket you had pasted next to your latest entry. She burned the entire thing as only one portion of your punishment.

How your mother could predict your actions, anticipate your every move, and see through every single one of your lies you did not know. It was like she knew you and how your mind functioned but could never truly understand how suffocated you felt by the twisted ways she expressed her “love” for you. She was your mother, the closest kin you had left after your grandmother’s passing and the woman that had known you for your entire existence. The fact that she birthed you was one she’d never let you forget, yet you knew she would spend your entire life trying to mold you into something you weren’t if she could. If she could never accept you then how could anybody else?

Then you met Andy, who always seemed to be in tune with whatever you were thinking. Hell, she could practically guess your thoughts word for word without even really trying, yet not once did it ever feel like she was violating your mind as your mother had. You were almost completely certain that she was fully aware of the times when you were drawing her. It was impossible not to see the art in her movements. She’d be doing something mundane yet slightly active such as washing the dishes and you’d pull your sketchbook out. The moment you put pencil to paper she would slow down ever-so-slightly. A plate that needed maybe two wipes suddenly took four or more to clean. She must have known what she was doing to you, softly smirking as she folded laundry

But did she know what it was doing to you? How intensely you felt about her and as more than just an art subject, more than someone you merely admired. Pages full of sketches, varying in detail and design, became dedicated to capturing the alluring domestic side of the ancient warrior. Every angle, every shadow was carefully reconstructed (to the best of your ability anyway) as if to preserve each moment and time so that your eyes may never forget what she looked like chopping onions on a rainy Tuesday evening. A brief moment that might be incredibly insignificant for a being that has walked the earth for thousands of years, but one that was still so precious to you. The time you spent together, even the moments everyone else might consider to be dull, were filled with color all because of her.

Why she allowed you to draw her so frequently was something you couldn’t quite figure out. This rather untraditional dance the two of you engaged in was never spoken about in words. There was no doubt that Andy would have said something much earlier had she been uncomfortable being drawn by you. A part of you enjoyed entertaining the idea that, perhaps in some small way, Andy might actually return your feelings. But at the same time, you didn’t want to be wrong and come off as an artistic creep trying to invade her privacy.

The good thing was you never had to worry about any of the others looking through your sketchbook. The one time Joe had asked if he could take a peek it hadn’t even crossed your mind that you could have said ‘no’ to him. But the smallest bit of hesitance that he had seen in your eyes as you prepared to hand over your most personal and sacred treasure immediately stopped him.

“Y/N, you don’t actually have to show me anything if you don’t want to. I was merely curious but no part of me would be offended if you want to keep your art to yourself. I will always respect your privacy first.”

His words were almost foreign to you, like ones you had only ever read on pages and later discovered were pronounced completely differently when you finally heard them spoken out loud. Still, you knew Joe meant everything he said. Though all of your new companions were certainly capable of it, none of them had ever once tried to deceive you or keep you hidden from the truth. Previously living with a pathological liar had taught you all the signs you needed to know and not once had you found a single one since joining the old guard.

It was a bit startling how safe you already felt with these few strangers you had only met a few short weeks ago. You could talk to all of them about (almost) anything, although you did worry that your endless amount of questions might annoy any one of the unnaturally older beings. Sometimes you nearly cringed at the thought of how ignorant and stupid you must have appeared in their eyes. It mostly motivated you to contribute where you could. Cooking and cleaning were not tasks you necessarily enjoyed, but it felt nice to make some type of contribution to the team. Still, you longed to prove yourself as something more, to help save lives and make Andy, Booker, Joe, and Nico proud. And maybe, just maybe, if you became worthy enough of someone like your rescuer, she might look at you differently.

┊ ┊┊

It was nearing morning hours and your endless thoughts hadn’t allowed you to sleep yet. There was a buzzing in your body, making it impossible to fully relax, even though you knew you had a busy day of training ahead of you and you needed the rest. You tried to conjure up the comforting sound of Andy’s steady heartbeat as you imagined her lying next to you, only to grow even more anxious when you began feeling guilty for indulging in such thoughts.

Did she even like women the way you did? You certainly had your suspicions and noticed the way her heart seemed to break anytime there was a mention of Quynh. The necklace that never left her neck also appeared to hold a great amount of pain and significance to her. But even if you were right, Andy had never brought up any details regarding her love life and you were determined to respect that undiscussed boundary. The tossing and turning was just an unfortunate side effect that eventually had you cave in and get up to grab a drink from the kitchen.

“Can’t sleep?” The voice of the very person you had been thinking of came from behind you as soon as you had turned on a small lamp. You let out a nervous laugh and kept a steady hand on your chest when you caught her smiling directly at you. It made you take some extra time while getting your glass of water so that your heartbeat had a chance to settle.

Andy sat at the bar sipping on a mug of coffee. Even with the light being so dim, you didn’t need it to tell her beverage was completely black.

“I still don’t know how you’re able to drink that. Every time I try it it’s like trying to swallow hot liquid dirt.”

“Really?” The Scythian chuckled and you prayed the darkness would hide your melted expression. “That’s surprising considering how you drown yours in milk and sugar.”

“Hey, we can’t all be as tough as you.”

“No one said you had to be. No one said you weren’t already.” You supposed you were tough in the context of being able to override death itself, but besides that, it wasn’t a character trait you ever considered yourself to have. Even the immortality thing was basically a fluke.

The dark haired woman gestured for you to sit down and you awkwardly lowered yourself into the chair across from her. Your glass of water looked silly standing next to her more refined drink. “Yeah, that’s me. I got tough hands covered in paper cuts and callouses from drawing.”

“Art is tough for a lot of people. It’s tough for me. I could never quite get the emotional vulnerability part down and I feel like all the best art pulls from that. I would say you could probably teach me a thing or two about drawing but you have something more inborn than that. It can’t be taught.”

“But you’ve never seen my work?” Had she? You didn’t think she’d go through your things without your permission but there was definiteness in her tone that told you her words were true.

“No,” she shrugged. Nothing in her seemed to waver. “I don’t need to. There’s this look you get in your eyes when you’re completely focused on drawing that seems to transport you to this different world. I always wonder where you go but don’t want to tear you away when you’re clearly inspired.”

You had been staring at her for so long believing that she was merely tolerating your strange behavior. You assumed she simply felt unbothered. The idea that she might have been secretly staring back never once crossed your mind.

“You… You watch me?” A beat passed and your brain short circuited, unsure of what kind of answer you even hoped to hear. If she did then was it with the same unspoken desire you held in your heart that you could be worthy of her one day? No, it had to be something far from that. Your awkward, uncoordinated behavior could only be considered entertaining at best if Andy didn’t find you pitiable. You imagined it was like watching your neighbor’s beagle after they arrived home from a medical procedure at the vet. The poor thing was so loopy yet unaware that he couldn’t walk in a straight line. Every few steps he took he’d also crumble to the floor before eagerly trying to get back up and making another attempt with the same results. That’s what she must see whenever she saw you trip over your own feet. Or how silly you looked the other day when Booker tried to show you how to hold a pistol and you shook so hard that it fumbled out of your hands.

Even with all the time in the world, it was a struggle to see yourself ever truly earning your place among the rest of the guard one day. You not only lacked combat experience but had been thoroughly sheltered from the world by your mother. She hadn’t allowed you to participate in any sports, not even the more feminine ones like dance or golf. The result was barely being able to do a push-up and having the wind knocked out of your lungs after only a brief jog.

The others had started you off with some basic self defense techniques, which caused you to wake up with sore muscles you hadn’t even known existed. Everyone was extremely patient with you, stressing the importance of slowly building up your strength and reminding you that there was no rush to suddenly reach their skill level when they’d been fighting for longer than some of the strongest empires had lasted. But then you’d watch them training together or listen to one of them recount several of the missions they completed while you were stuck waiting in the safe house. They were out there saving lives, as well as literally sacrificing their own, while you could only hope to one day do the same.

In the back of your head you could hear your mother berating you for having such ridiculous dreams. If she could see you struggling to learn a pull up she would certainly laugh at your miserable attempts. But Andy didn’t look at you like you were “perfectly pathetic” as your mother often described. No, she seemed to stare at you softly, which made you feel like you were the only person she was thinking about.

“I find you interesting. More specifically, it’s been a pleasure to watch you grow into yourself these past few weeks. You look much more relaxed.”

You were fairly relaxed, aside from the fact that your heart was currently threatening to jump out of your chest. Or if physicists could somehow harness its energy then it could power the entire world. She had just admitted to finding you interesting and you were supposed to answer back in words. You took a painfully slow drink.

“Well, it has been nice being able to make my own decisions and not have someone constantly looking over my shoulder.” You think back to an instance where you were recently baking a lemon glaze cake for the team and some icing stuck to your fingers. Immediately, you went to wash your hands as your mother would have insisted upon when it occurred to you that she no longer had control over you. Licking your fingers after that had never felt so satisfying. “Even the little choices I’m able to make now are kind of exciting. Is that strange to say?”

“Not at all.” Andy shook her head. “It’s a beautiful thing, seeing how far you’ve come in such a short amount of time. Not to mention how glad I am that you feel safe enough around us to be yourself.”

A pang of guilt ran through you. What must she think of you if you were keeping cryptic drawings of her a secret? “I really do, which is why I don’t want you to believe I’m trying to hide things from you! Not forever, at least. I trust you, and perhaps it’s more than I’ve ever trusted anyone else. But with my drawings… I suppose it’s rather complicated and I’ve never willingly shown them to anyone before. They’re nothing inappropriate, though! I would never do anything like that.”

Before you could completely melt into a puddle of despair, Andy reached for your forearm, anchoring the two of you together while helping to calm you down. Her hand was warmed from holding her hot mug.

“Hey, it’s alright, I trust you too. You don’t need to explain yourself to me. I’m flattered about the drawings and it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I can wait until you’re ready to show them to me when you feel comfortable doing so.”

It was completely vexatious how patient Andy could be with you, or how she always seemed to know the right thing to say to make you feel better. She possessed the ability to soothe the fears you understood intimately along with the others which you had tried to suppress and nearly forgotten about. You simply weren’t used to being treated in such a way.

“How are you so patient with me all the time?” Your question came off more irritated than you intended, making you cringe inwardly. You weren’t even sure what you were really asking about.

In the few moments it took Andy to start processing the question, your thoughts finally began to come together and spill out all at once.

“I’m deeply appreciative of how understanding you’ve been, don’t get me wrong, but when I imagine myself in your position, it must be frustrating. You do so much for me, all four of you do, but you especially. I’m always needing your help with countless things even though I have nothing of use to offer in return. You’re all incredibly worldly people, capable of doing more than I ever have even before your first deaths. I’ve been kept sheltered my entire life and probably wouldn’t last a day on my own. Having me join the team probably feels a lot more like babysitting than anything else, yet you never complain about it.”

Even though you knew it wasn’t in her nature, sometimes you wished she would allow herself to be angry with you. Or if she even expressed the slightest bit of irritation then that might make you feel better somehow. You waited for Andy to tell you that you sounded ridiculous, or to make another comment about your tendency to overthink things. Nothing like that ever came.

In one swift, breathtaking movement, her hand carefully tilted your chin up towards her face so that you were caught in her stare. The skin of her thumb was rough and her green-blue eyes bore into your own, tender yet determined as they searched for something deep in your soul. Though her touch was completely innocent, it was also intensely intimate from your perspective at least. You wanted to bear your entire being to her, consciously preparing your mind and body to take in whatever words she was about to say.

“Y/N, listen to me. There is nothing you owe me. Relationships aren’t transactional and I enjoy being able to help you. You also didn’t choose this life and I can’t hold what you don’t know against you. I won’t lie and say patience comes to me easily. Truthfully, when you get to my age everything is frustrating. I’ve seen… far too much in my life aside from any type of explanation for it all and it has made me bitter. But you don’t deserve any of that and I don’t want to be that type of person anymore. I don’t ever want to turn my back on people I care about again.”

Her eyes glossed over with the hue of a haunting memory, something from her past clearly bothering her. She let go of you in the crest of the emotion and you nearly whimpered when you lost her touch, but found the rare opportunity to offer Andy the comfort she needed.

“I may not know much in the grand scheme of things, but I know you’re not bitter. Truly bitter people try to tear down everyone around them because there’s nothing misery loves more than company. You’re nothing like my mother, she wanted to control me and keep me trapped in a life where I could never have my own happiness. You set me free. Anyway, it would be hard to live as long as you have, see the things that you’ve seen, and not become discouraged with all of the wickedness that has happened throughout history. What matters is that you’ve continued to fight for others that wouldn’t normally stand a chance on their own. If you were actually as bitter as you think, you could turn your back on everyone without a single care in the world. I see how much you care for others, Andy. Bitter people only care about themselves and I don’t see how you can believe you’re one of them.”

The fact that you were so young was partially why Andy felt the need to hold herself back and take things slow with you. Although your life would never be normal, she wanted to give you the chance to choose your own path and chase whatever dreams you fancied. Right now, it was crucial to prepare you for the world and to teach you how to keep your shared secret safe. But she knew you’d want to adventure out on your own at some point, and that you’d probably want to experiment with other partners closer to your age. Andy was aware of the baggage she carried, as well as the fact that the nature of your relationship meant she held a type of influence over you. She would never allow herself to take advantage of you like that.

But one thing she couldn’t let you do was downplay yourself, not when your words touched her in ways she hadn’t felt in thousands of years.

“Do you really believe you’re of no use at all and have nothing to offer? Y/N, I’ve traveled to every corner of the world and met the wisest individuals that still led directionless and unfulfilled lives. They thought of themselves too highly, pushed others away, and in the end their knowledge meant nothing when they were unable to make meaningful connections. You have all the time you need to perfect your knowledge and learn every skill that exists or will develop in the future.”

Your head tilted in perplexity.

“What? You think we had phones or electricity back when I was growing up? I didn’t learn how to drive a car until late last century. It was really like the blind leading the blind in those early days.”

Imagining a Victorian era Andy accidentally crashing a motorized carriage or angrily shaking her fist at experimental drivers from atop of her horse was certainly entertaining. You wondered if the two of you would ever share a similar experience together.

Temporarily distracted by your smile, Andy nearly forgot the importance of the message she was trying to convey to you.

“Y/N, you’re right that you’ve never really been given the chance to grow before all of this. None of that was your fault. The wonderful thing now is that you’re on your way to becoming smarter, like anybody else can when given the right tools. What you already have, your emotional strength and intelligence, is far more rare and valuable in my eyes. You teach me to look at things from a different perspective even when I’ve felt stuck in my ways for hundreds of years. Don’t overlook how much of an impact you can make or how much we all appreciate you.”

“Andy… I… Thank you.” You try not to cry, though you know she wouldn’t judge you if you did. Viewing your emotions as a strength is something that you never considered before. They were always a weakness back when you experienced nothing but misery, and now everything couldn’t be more different. Your new life was full of evenings spent getting tipsy and laughing at the stories your friends told you of places and times that sounded unreal. It was wanting the taste of more, the promise of the adventures that lay before you and the people you would get to share them with. It was a life you could hardly believe was real and you got to spend every single day with a woman that made your heart race with a single smile. Even if she never felt the same way about you, there was no chance that you’d trade your time with Andy for anything or anyone else. “Thank you for everything. I’m glad I get to experience all of this with you.”

She almost let her resolve crumble upon hearing your words. The grip around her drink tightened, heating up her flesh to a tender sting but she persevered through it. She knew that if she touched you again then it would all be over. There would be no way she could let go.

“As exciting as everything can be, I can’t help but feel nervous for what’s to come. I worry that no matter how hard I train I won’t be prepared. No matter how much I learn, there is bound to be something I overlook.”

How right you were.

“One thing I can tell you is that there are some things you’re never ready for, even if you spend centuries preparing. People, history, and almost everything I’ve encountered follow some type of pattern maybe 99% of the time. But all it takes is that 1% chance of randomness to make life unpredictable. Even the most meticulous of plans can end up going sideways. At the end of the day, I always ask myself why I’m here or why certain things happen and I’ve never been very close to an answer. There are questions I’ve carried with me for even longer than I can remember.”

It would have been quite terrifying to hear those words from anyone else besides Andy. If she still struggled to figure things out then you were practically cursed to be clueless for the rest of your existence. Although strangely enough, it was actually comforting to hear that she shared a similar sense of existential questioning. Both of you were human even if your lifespans or biology no longer were.

“Okay, but you must have a guess for when we’ll see flying cars at least. Or do you believe people will really be able to walk on Mars one day?”

A smooth attempt to cover up her broadening smile by lifting her coffee up to her mouth might have gone unnoticed if you hadn’t been so enamored by each one of Andy’s actions. She had a harder time hiding her eyes, which playfully rolled at your question.

“Sure, I suppose it’s possible. Hey, maybe you’ll be the first one and you can tell us all about it.”

“While the prospect of accomplishing something you’ve never done is intriguing, I wouldn’t want to do it without you.”

The words left your mouth, leaving only your pair of eyes holding hers throughout a deep silence. It wasn’t often that Andy looked like she was at a loss for words but this was definitely one of those times.

Quickly, you tried to cover up your confession with a stupid excuse. “I mean if there really are man-eating martians up there they’ll want to eat you first. You have way more muscle.”

“Right,” Andy laughed in agreement. “I guess that’s all I’m good for besides being a model for your artwork. Are you fast enough to draw me up there in time before I get turned into alien food?”

“Maybe.” You blushed and tried to go for Andy’s move to cover your face with your cup, only to realize that it was practically useless when it was made of glass.

“I, uh, really wanted to get some sleep tonight before waking up for early training but I guess I’m not doing a very good job at that.”

“Sleep in, you deserve the break. You’ve been pushing yourself really hard and should get to sleep in for once. There’s no need to overexert yourself.”

“Wait, aren’t you leaving for your mission around sunrise?” Andy was planning to look for some intel in the city and you knew she might be gone for up to a few days. “Wake me up before you go so I can say goodbye.”

For a moment, all the Scythian can do is try to memorize the look on your face, wishing that she could permanently sketch the vision on paper like you could. You gazed up at her with such innocence and devotion in your eyes, as if she was simply running to get milk from the grocery store the next morning. The team had actually glossed over the more important details about Andy’s assignment and what it would entail. It wasn’t that you were unaware of Andy’s brutal past and countless killings, but you still had yet to witness such violence. She couldn’t help but worry that witnessing that side of her would not only change how you saw her, but also influence your own self perception when the time came to take another life yourself. It was painful to imagine the countless amount of years you might spend plagued by inner turmoil, hating the person you would become even if it was inevitable. She’d die in a million more excruciating ways if it would shield you from such a curse.

“Andy, are you alright?” Your voice of concern brought her back to the present. There was a slight look of worry between your furrowed eyebrows that she wished to smooth out herself, but she practiced self restraint.

“Sorry, I guess I’m a little tired too. If you want me to wake you before I leave then I will.”

With a satisfied smile on your face, you nodded and rose from your seat. The urge to ask Andy if she might join you tugged at your heart. You always slept more soundly when it was in her arms. Your nightmares were much more infrequent by now and it had been some time since you had been able to fall asleep while breathing in her scent, snuggling deep into her chest. The temptation to voice your request was almost impossible to resist, save for the fear of jeopardizing your friendship and making her uncomfortable by revealing your feelings.

Eventually, you found yourself back in bed alone and replaying your conversation. One specific realization you couldn’t get over was that Andy had undoubtedly expressed some type of interest in the art you made of her. Sure, it’s possible that it might have been in a completely platonic sense, but you held onto the fantasy of it meaning something more and decided you’d keep it to yourself, for now.

#Andromache the Scythian x reader #andromache x reader #Andromache the scythian #the old guard #joe x nicky #booker #yusuf x nicolo #nicolo di genova #yusuf al kaysani #sebastien le livre #andy the scythian x reader #andromache the scythian x reader #immortal lesbians #Charlize Theron character

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romancingromanoff · 10 months

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Nat: do you have any russian in you?

Y/n: uhm... no?

Nat: would you like some?

Y/n: *face immediately turns red*

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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the marvels is gonna save the mcu from irrelevancy i’m so serious

LOOK AT THEM LIKE they are the it girls of the mcu idc

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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Y/N: I want an avenger girlfriend.

Kate: I volunteer as tribute :)

Y/N: I meant, I want an avenger girlfriend with red hair.

Natasha: Here I am :)

Y/N: I meant, I want an avenger girlfriend with red hair who can actually levitate.

Carol: Red is not my style but I can dye it for you ;)

Y/N all frantic: DAMN IT I MEANT I WANT AN AVENGER GIRLFRIEND WITH RED HAIR WHO CAN LEVITATE AND SO HAPPENS TO BE CALLED WANDA MAXIMOFF AKA THE SCARLET WITCH.

Wanda: You could have started with the end.

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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Carol: What’s Peter to you?

Natasha and Y/N: The reason we wake up every morning.

Wanda: That’s adorable!

Peter, their son, earlier that morning, banging pots together: WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!

(Bonus)

Peter, still banging pots together: I DEMAND ATTENTION!

Y/N: THERE’S NO WAY WE CAN GIVE YOU ANYTHING ELSE, RIGHT NOW!

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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Night Terrors

Andromache the Scythian x f!reader

I decided to create a series of loosely related one shots for Andromache (my beloved). Here’s part 1

Summary: A revisit to your past and you learn about an old member

TW: Mentions of child abuse, torture, choking, drowning

Word count: 2,437

After a long day of training you were completely spent. Already feeling the soreness start to settle in while you ate dinner with the team, you went straight to bed after that. It hadn’t taken very long for you to drift off into the realm of dreams.

Nicky and Joe were the first to notice you thrashing in your sleep. The two were trying to inconspicuously sneak back inside the safe house late at night when they heard some concerning noises coming from the corner where your mattress was.

You took a deep gasp of air as you were pulled up to a sitting position, a firm hand supporting your upper back. Could it be her? It was too dark to register anything besides the lingering sense of danger that wafted around you.

“Stop! Don’t touch me!” Desperately trying to get away from your assailant, you threw yourself out of bed and painfully landed on your left shoulder.

“Y/N, it’s us, Nicky and Joe. You’re safe, kid. It was just a bad dream.”

Once you were able to recognize the two pairs of eyes nervously staring at you the panic began to subside. You were awake and it was only a nightmare.

“Let me help you up.” Joe reached out for your hand but both of yours immediately grabbed at your own throat. It still felt like she was suffocating you. Nicky turned the lights on causing you to shield your eyes from their brightness.

“Is everything okay?” Your head shot up right as Andy burst in on the scene, the right side of her head had a few hairs sticking up and her eyes looked slightly groggy. They seemed to widen when she caught sight of you on the floor. “Y/N! What happened?”

“I-I…”

“Is everyone alright?” Booker nearly tripped into the room but caught himself and leaned on the back of the couch. “If it’s another spider I really don’t want to deal with it. I had to kill the last one.”

“Y/N was having a nightmare,” Joe explained and the Frenchman’s expression seemed to change.

“What did you see, kid?”

The clashing realities began to slowly fade with every breath you took. Still, the muffled voice of the strange woman rang in your ear. Andy whispered something soft and comforting in your other one. It was a language you didn’t recognize.

Andy, oh sweet Andy. Your ruthless leader. Only a few hours ago she shared a story about the time she took out a dozen assassins with just a leather belt and some duct tape. Now here she was rubbing small circles against your back and holding your hand to stop you from hurting yourself any further. You glanced at each of your other team members and noticed how silent it had become, yet none of them pushed you to talk. All they offered you was unwavering patience and understanding. Wiping the tears from your face, you eventually spoke as your grasp on reality strengthened.

“My mother. She choked me for so long once when I was seventeen that I nearly died. It felt so real though.”

There’s a shift from each of your teammates at your confession, each one slightly different with how they react. Joe shakes his head in disgust and his lips form a thin flat line. Booker’s face breaks and he gazes at you with pity. Nicky sighs deeply, you think he might try to reach out to you at that moment but he holds himself back. By now they know how easily triggered you are by touch even if you trust them.

Andy was the one to rest her hand on your shoulder. Only she was allowed right now. You could tell it was hers before she even made full contact. When you faced her, it reminded you of the first time you had met and she had promised to protect you. She looked more determined now than ever.

She squeezed your shoulder ever so gently and you knew you were safe.

“I could’ve sworn I was back there reliving that exact moment and then… it switched.”

In your dream, you began to lose consciousness as your mother continued to grip at your life force and dark patches blurred your vision. But instead of the light returning as oxygen once again filled your lungs like it had in the moment, the darkness became all encompassing. You weren’t simply imagining it was there, you could feel that nothing but pitch black blanket stretched on for miles in every direction. And though you’d never swam in the sea, you knew exactly where you were.

“I saw a woman trapped in a giant metal coffin at the bottom of the ocean. She kept drowning and coming back, drowning and coming back all alone in the darkness. It was like I could feel her anger, her rage.”

The other immortals exchanged knowing glances which made you worried. A thick silence hung in the air, allowing the nerves to creep back up your spine.

“Did I… Did I say something wrong?”

“No, of course not,” Joe assured you while Book and Nicky quickly joined in. “We’re glad you told us, Y/N.”

But Andy suddenly seemed a million miles away.

They tell you all about Quynh and the events that transpired during the witch trials, the decades they spent searching for anyone who might know where she was, only for all of their efforts to end with the same results. The mere thought of having to endure such never-ending suffering with no hope of escaping the cycle makes purgatory itself seem merciful and brief.

“It’s why we fear capture,” Nicky says. “It’s also why Andy blames herself after all of these years.”

“Why do you blame yourself?”

“I lost a soldier,” Andy’s voice pools with guilt and it stings you to see her torment herself in such a way. “My job is to protect everyone on the team and I couldn’t do that.” There’s a bitterness in her expression you tell yourself not to take personally. With everything she’s been through and all the stories she’s told, this one is laced with the most regret.

This time it’s you who reaches out and grabs her hand. “I would never presume to understand exactly how you feel but we’re immortal, Andy. That doesn’t mean we’re all-powerful or perfect. You tried harder than anyone else could have ever done.”

You don’t know if your words make any real difference but you are glad to have spoken your truth. While Andy and the three guys exchanged some short comments, you began to struggle to keep your eyes open as the realm of sleep tried to drag you back under. The Scythian cooed something in your ear, bringing you closer to her, and you quickly gave in.

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

Things had finally settled down as you slept soundly in Andy’s arms, a warm smile graced her face as she thoughtlessly stroked your hair. None of the guys had ever expected to see her as domestic as she looked while watching over you.

“Was I the only one that was hesitant about her at first?” Booker asked, although it was more likely he was simply thinking out loud. “I mean about her being one of us despite not being a fighter in a traditional sense?”

“I was worried too,” Joe admitted as he intertwined his fingers with Nicky’s. “I feel terrible about it now since it’s clear how much we need her in the group.”

Andy, only half paying attention to the conversation up until that point, curiously weighed the words Joe subtly tried to direct at her.

“Just don’t make her wait too long to tell her how you feel,” Joe smiled, bringing up the back of Nicky’s hand to his mouth so he could kiss it. His eyes knowingly sparkled at Andy the entire time. “I have no doubt she’s the type that’s quite perceptive until it comes to someone else having feelings for her.”

“I believe Andy should simply follow her heart. As should Y/N,” Booker chimes in. “They’ll come together at the right time if it’s meant to be.”

“That’s a rather romantic way of looking at it!” Nicky was thoroughly impressed.

Booker simply shrugged. “I may not get as much practice as you and Joe but I’d like to think I’m not as rusty as this one over here.”

All three of them turned to look at Andy as their leader tried to remain still and unbothered. She did have to admit that it was difficult for her to get angry when you were resting against her.

“Are you actually calling me old, Book?” There was an edge of warning in her voice without any actual concrete threat. She was more than aware of how long it had been since she’d had feelings for someone and it was somewhat intimidating to face. Nothing had been confessed and yet she was already terrified of losing you.

“Of course I don’t mean it like that, capitaine. But I agree with Joe. Sweet and subtle will most likely fly straight over her head.”

“Not really all that straight.” Nicky murmured under his breath before chuckling at his own joke.

“Still, you should do whatever you feel is right,” Booker continued but shot the Italian a quick glance. “Don’t do something because you think Joe, or Nicky, or even I might do it in your position. She already likes you so all you have to do is be yourself.”

It was more than just a little cliche. She hated how oftentimes the best advice usually was.

“If I say I won’t wait more than a hundred years then could we please end this discussion? She’s finally sleeping, no thanks to your conversation, and I’d like for her to get as much rest as possible.”

None of them looked fully satisfied with her answer but they could all at least agree that it was best to let you sleep.

“Whatever you say, boss.”

“Good night.”

“Sweet dreams.”

The lights were turned off and Andy carefully tried to settle down with you. She planned to stay awake, to make sure that you were properly guarded and could sleep peacefully. But the steady sounds of your breathing and beating of your heart eventually lulled her to sleep as well.

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

“Good morning.” You gradually opened your eyes to the sight of Andy sitting up next to you in bed. The smell of eggs wafted in the air from the next room over. “We let you sleep in for a little bit but didn’t want you to get a cold breakfast. The food should be ready soon. I trust you got some better sleep?”

You nodded, sitting up and feeling a bit awkward that Andy was still in your bed. Had she been there the rest of the night? “Yeah, I had a nice dream actually. I was on a white sand beach that was surrounded by cliffs with all sorts of tropical flowers growing around them. Have you ever been to a place like that?” You purposefully left out the details regarding Andy kissing you as the sun set. That was one thing she didn’t need to know about.

“Yes,” she nodded as a pleasant memory appeared to pass through her mind. Still, there was also a speck of sadness that shone in her eyes. “There are some that perfectly match that description in Greece, Thailand, Brazil. I’ve visited my fair share and the views never disappoint. Add some good company and it makes the trip all the better.”

You wondered who she was thinking about; what memories they might have shared together.

“I’ve actually never seen the ocean,” you confessed. “My mother is terrified of the water because a boy she went to school with in her childhood drowned in a lake one summer. She forbade me from ever going near it, even though I’ve wanted to learn how to swim since I first learned about mermaids.”

“You would still want to go? After your nightmare and seeing what happened to Quynh you’re not feeling hesitant at all about the ocean?”

“No, I don’t think so,” you admitted and pondered at the question. “That was terrifying, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a good and bad side to everything, right? Besides, I don’t want fear to control me anymore. Not like how I was with my mother.”

Andy studied you with such intensity, giving you the perfect opportunity to get lost in her eyes once more. You knew that you could stare at her forever. But what could she possibly be thinking about while gazing at you so intently? You honestly had no clue and when you were so ordinary. The only thing you were certain of was that she looked at you like you meant something. And to mean something to her was the best feeling in the world.

She looked like she wanted to say something but ultimately decided against it.

Instead, she cleared her throat, bringing the both of you back to the moment. “Alright, it’s decided then. I’ll teach you how to swim then. It should really be a part of your training anyway and after you’ve got it down I’ll take you to the beach from your dream.”

She sounded completely serious yet it took you by surprise. “Do you mean that?”

“Of course. I promise it will have everything you imagine aside from mermaids.”

“Aw, I mean I understand but it’s still somewhat disappointing. I was really looking forward to being serenaded by a siren that may or may not try to kill me.”

The Scythian chuckled. “I can already tell you that you don’t want to hear me try to sing.”

You raised an eyebrow at that. “Actually, that only makes me more curious. After having 6,000 years to practice you cannot possibly be that bad!”

“I’m afraid I sound so bad that it makes all the dogs bark.”

“One day, I’ll get you to sing,” you shoot Andy a look showing that you’re nothing but serious. “You can’t say ‘no’ to me forever. You’ll cave in eventually, I promise.”

“Breakfast is ready!” You could hear Booker exclaim from the kitchen.

As you turned to leave and grab some food, you didn’t notice the soft pair of green eyes following you or how Andy couldn’t seem to move after hearing what you said. There had been nothing but truth to your words and she knew if you asked her to sing or throw herself off a mountain she would do either if it could make you happy.

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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Y/N: So Steve, when did you and Bucky first meet each other?

Steve: Back in 1930. We were still kids then and he saved me from a pack of older bullies

Y/N: First fight?

Steve: Not too long after that. He accidentally spilled a drink all over one of my sketch pads when he was goofing around

Y/N: First time you cried in front of him?

Steve: At my mom’s funeral

Y/N: First kiss?

Steve: After he told me he wanted to enlist. I remember it was a rainy Tuesday afternoo- WAIT!

Y/N *exiting the room not even trying to control their laughter: HA! TOO EASY!! I got you old man!

Bucky: I wouldn’t be too worried about it. They’ll probably forget what you said in ten minutes

Natasha: I give it five. But I definitely won’t forget

Steve: I wish I could

#avengers #the avengers #incorrect avengers #avengers incorrect quotes #marvel incorrect quotes #bucky barnes #steve rogers #natasha romanoff #stucky #imagines #avengers imagines #avengers x reader

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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What I Feel For You

Thena xf!reader

It’s 400 AD and the height of the Gupta Empire. Over 5,000 years have passed since you first gazed upon Thena and you haven’t stopped looking at her since.

A/N: This has been on my mind since I rewatched the film November and I’ve always felt that Eternals has been one of the more underrated movies of phase 4. Angelina Jolie is also brilliant as Thena obviously and since she’s bisexual in real life then her character has to be queer too. I don’t make the rules.

Word count: 2655

You supposed that stranger pairs had existed. As you gazed upon Sersi and Ikaris while they partook in their bonding ceremony, you couldn’t help but think about how different the two of them were. While Sersi was pure warmth that seemed to extend to every single person she met, Ikaris remained tactical and slightly removed from everything else that happened with the humans around them. But then you remembered how Sersi had softened him and the days of Babylon where he seemed to grow an entirely new perspective. He began learning the humans’ languages, became more involved in their development and culture, and allowed Sersi to lead him into something he would have otherwise left unfamiliar.

The problem was that you couldn’t change for Thena even though you longed to desperately. For her you would remake yourself from the dirt and clay you stood on, mold a new person with your own tears. Back in Babylon, she said that she didn’t come to Earth to cower behind walls, but that’s exactly what you did. On that day you had watched her fight deviants with cosmic weaponry and both the grace and strength of a thousand winds. You were behind the city walls, of course, for what else would you have been able to do?

Similar to Druig, your special ability was mostly psychological and didn’t serve much purpose on the battlefield. Communicating with animals had allowed you to assist the humans in their domestication but not much else when it came to fighting the deviants. In fact, you spent most of your time in the company of four-legged, scaly, or winged creatures and admiring your Thena from afar.

A few decades ago, the two of you had shared a dance during the humans’ celebration of solstice that Druig and Phastos sneakily planned. You remembered feeling more alive than ever with her arms around that night. A stupid joke that you told her actually made her smile the biggest you had ever seen and suddenly you were about to confess all the feelings that had been kept hidden over the course of thousands of years. But then in an instant, the entire party erupted into a swarm of chaos when a band of horns sounded out the spotting of some lurking deviants.

“Stay here, little one,” she had quickly told you before placing a brief kiss on your forehead and running off as a sword materialized into her hands. But you were certain that she had only been concerned about you as a friend would and quickly convinced yourself that she wasn’t interested.

And there was also Gilgamesh. Admittedly, there was a time earlier on into your mission that you wanted to resent him completely. He was strong, a natural protector, and capable of giving Thena that life of adventure you knew she longed for. The way that the two worked in sync when they fought was almost like an intricate dance you knew only two people with a deep personal connection could choreograph. You couldn’t help but covet what he had but being the giant teddy bear that he was it eventually softened you. Now, you tried to be happy for them both from the sidelines.

After the bonding ceremony you retreated to a nearby herd of elephants that you were growing pretty close with. You were languidly brushing the oldest female and leader of the herd when Ajak stumbled upon you.

“I’m sure these majestic creatures make wonderful company but a little bird told me that you’re avoiding someone in particular,” she approached you and the herd slowly. Ajak was always careful around animals and behaved much more respectfully than others like Kingo. Near Mount Erymanthos he had once tried to ride a giant wild boar on a dare from Sprite which had ended awfully for all parties involved. “Care to talk to old me about it?”

You knew that Ajak wasn’t a threat to the elephants so you silently directed them to let her through as you replied, “Birds are terrible gossips, you can’t trust them all the time.” That one made her chuckle a bit but then she became serious once again.

“Why don’t you talk to Thena? She cares about you, you know? We all do and just want to see you happy.”

“She doesn’t care about me the way that I care about her,” you sigh right before another elephant steals the brush from your hand and holds it up out of your reach with its trunk. “Hey, what the heck?”

“See? Even they know you’re being ridiculous. Why do you assume that she feels that way when you haven’t spoken about it?”

“Ajak, look at me,” you step back so that now all of the elephants tower over you like trees. Besides Sprite, you’re the shortest of the eternals and quite insecure about it. And while you weren’t bad looking by any means, Sersi and Makkari were certainly more beautiful than you were. You had always had an easier time blending into a crowd. “What can I give her that Gilgamesh can’t? She deserves someone like him who won’t hold her back. My life isn’t exciting and full of danger like hers. I would just bore her.”

That’s when Ajak gives you a stern, foreboding look and you know that you’ve upset her. “Careful there, I don’t want to hear you say things like that about yourself. You may not be a fighter like her but neither of you are just one single thing. You bring out a different side of her that no one else can and she has feelings for you too.”

That’s what makes your head shoot up at attention. “She... she told you that?” You can hardly believe what Ajak is telling you but suddenly your heart is bursting with hope.

“Actually, Gilgamesh and I were just discussing it.” That is... surprising. “But Thena has her own insecurities and isn’t certain how to talk to you either.”

“Why... why is that? She’s Thena! She’s the most incredible person I’ve ever known. She isn’t scared of anything.”

Ajak simply shrugs but gives you a suggestive look. “Sometime our judgment becomes clouded when we’re in love. Maybe it’s something you should think about.” With a smile, she gracefully turns on her heels and begins walking away.

The elephant hands you your brush back but by now you’re too distracted to continue brushing them. There’s an idea forming in your head and you need their opinion on something.

-~-

A few days later when everything is set up, you’re going over the plan one last time with Gilgamesh while Thena is out training.

“Do you think she’ll like it?” You’re certain that by now he must be sick of dealing with you but he simply laughs and gives you a nod.

“Relax, she’s going to love it! Just be yourself and she won’t be able to resist you.” You curse yourself for ever holding a grudge against Gilgamesh. He’s been nothing but sweet and supportive this entire time and you hope to someday repay him back. He pulls you into a warm hug before his eyes catch something and he becomes much quieter. “She’s right over there, good luck.”

When you turn to look at Thena, it’s like emerging from freezing cold waters and feeling the warmth of the sun on your face for the first time. Everything about her is mesmerizing and bright and it makes you feel like an entirely new being just discovering the wonders of the world. She looks at you with some understandable curiosity after seeing you and Gilgamesh innocently embrace and begins to walk towards you, her eyes never leaving yours. You’re determined not to break eye contact with her but a smile uncontrollably takes over your entire face until she’s only a few feet in front of you and finally speaks.

“Did I miss something?” She asks with a hint of playfulness in her tone and you quickly shake your head.

“No, you’re actually right on time,” this causes her to raise an eyebrow at you and you plead with yourself to stay strong. “I was hoping that you would join me for a ride, if you wanted to that is.”

Her surprised smile causes tingles to spread throughout your entire body. “I would be honored, sweet one, but what would we be riding?” You’re probably grinning like a child at this point but you just continue to stand there cheekily as the answer reveals itself. Out from the jungle, an elephant slowly saunters its way over towards the two of you and Thena’s eyes light up even more than usual. “She’s ethereal,” you hear her whisper before the elephant gives a reply.

“Her name is Aaloka and she says thank you,” you translate. “She also said she agrees with me.”

“Agrees with you on what?”

Be brave. “That you are very beautiful,” your words surprise her and a blush begins to cover her cheeks. It’s all so much to take in that you start to feel your heart race. The only other times it does that is when you’re fearful, but she’s the only one that makes it beat this way. It’s like it beats for her.

Aaloka kneels and Thena assists you on top first before gracefully leaping up behind you. You start to feel a bit overwhelmed by how high up you are with nothing to hold onto until she wraps your arms around your waist and instantly freeze. No one has ever held you like this before. Eventually, you allow yourself to relax your body and sink softly back into hers. It’s an unfamiliar feeling, but a welcome one.

“Are we just going to sit here or do you plan on taking me somewhere?” She asks playfully and it shakes you from your spell.

“Um, yes! Let’s go!”

Aaloka already knows which path to follow and it doesn’t take as long as you had expected for you to arrive at the spring. In the close distance is a waterfall that reflects the vibrant pinks, yellows, and oranges of the sky all around you. Thena lets go of you, which leaves you feeling somewhat empty, and is the first to dismount before you awkwardly try to slide your way down. At the very last second, the elephant moves one of her feet so that you trip forward and lose your balance. Thena immediately catches you in her arms with a soft laugh and brushes away some of your hair that’s been slightly tussled.

“Hey, that wasn’t very nice!” You scold the elephant which has no sense of guilt whatsoever. “She did that in purpose you know.” Thena chuckles once again with a look of amusement in her eyes.

“I think she knows that I like keeping you in my arms, sweet one,” Thena huskily breaths into your ear and it causes a gasp to escape from your mouth. Looking up into her giant hypnotizing orbs stops time itself. How did you become so lucky to be here with her? Doubt starts to settle in and you unconsciously cling to her harder.

“I just don’t know what I’ve done to deserve your affections. I’m not strong like you or fast like Makkari. Everyone on the team has a myth or a legend named after them except for me. Thena, they named a goddess and a city after you! But me? I’m nothing extraordinary.” The confession brings a frown on her face that instantly confuses you. What did you say that upset her?

“Do you really not see how incredible you are? You’re the most amazing person I know.” Thena looks at you with such admiration that it’s almost impossible for you not to believe her words. “If they name something else after Kingo I think his ego might cause his head to explode. But you, my darling, are too quick to discredit yourself for all the good you have helped put into this world. Things you have done from the pureness of your own heart even if you were scared, unsure of how to show the humans and animals how they must work together. Respect each other.”

“It’s my job,” you brush it off with a shrug, unsure of what she’s getting at. Nothing that you’ve done could ever compare to when she saved an entire city full of people. “You deserve someone just as strong as you are. A fighter that can protect you.”

“You think I can’t protect myself?” She raises an eyebrow at you and you realize how stupid you must have sounded.

“No, that’s not what I meant! Of course you’re… I meant to say that I wouldn’t want to… because I’m not-“

All the air dissipates from your lungs when her hand comes to rest at your cheek. Softly laughing, she drops the fake act of frustration in order to soothe you.

“Shhh, I was only joking, my dear. For the record, I’m not interested in a partner that can spar with me or deals with all their problems like Ikaris by blasting through everything. I only want you. You’ve taught me that there’s so much more to life than fighting. That there can be different ways of looking at the world.”

It’s at that same moment that the universe seems to send you a message in the form of thousands of green lights which begin to float up towards the sky. The synchronous dancing of the fireflies wasn’t something you had planned and you find it difficult to resist the smile that grows on your face. Standing together in the glowing green light, it feels nothing short of a truly magical moment.

“Y/N,” Thena softly whispers and you are brought back to the face of the most beautiful woman in the world looking at you with so much warmth. “I would never lie to you. So please believe me when I say I have never loved anyone else the way I love you.”

You’re sure your own heart is glowing within your chest brighter than all the fireflies in the world.

“You… You love me?” All of a sudden it feels as if you might float away. As long as she goes with you you’d be fine.

“Yes, darling. I love you and I’d be honored to be yours.”

“I love you too!” You throw your arms around her neck while Thena giggles, instinctively pulling your bodies closer together.

“May I kiss you, little one?” She breaths in your ear, sending shivers of anticipation across every inch of your skin.

“Please do,” you answer with a smile before your lips finally meet.

Your kiss is exactly like all the wonderful things you love about Thena. She’s gentle yet passionate, pouring all of her desire for you into the kiss while still being incredibly soft and responsive. In all your years of living you’ve never kissed anyone before. You’ve secretly observed human couples of all types share countless kisses throughout history. You feel like you’ve been forced to sit through even more between Sersi and Ikaris in the past century alone. Every time you’ve wondered what It must be like to experience something so magical. With Thena, you’re certain you finally understand what all of the fuss was about. Nothing else has ever felt so right.

The two of you eventually separate when you’re both startled by the sound of Aaloka triumphantly cheering. Thena pulls you closer to her as you laugh, smiling directly into the crook of her neck.

“What did she say?” Thena asks.

“Something along the lines of ‘It was about time already!’”

“Well I have been waiting to kiss you for only a few thousand years!”

Feeling bold, you reach up to take Thena’s face into your hands. “Maybe we should make up for the lost time?”

“Definitely,” she agrees before swooping down to bring your lips together once again.

#thena x reader #reader insert #eternals #thena #thena eternals #ajak #ajak eternals #sersi #sersi eternals #ikaris #ikaris eternals #marvel #marvel imagines #MCU #mcu phase four #eternals imagines

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

Text

Natasha: Pack your shit. We’re needed for a mission in Austr-

Yelena: Uh that might be a problem because I’m banned from Australia

Y/N: Wow how embarrassing. Couldn’t be me

Natasha: Actually we’re going to Austria so it doesn’t matter

Y/N: Wait but I’m kinda banned from Austria

Yelena: Wait what did you do to get banned from Austria?

Y/N: What did you do to get banned from AUSTRALIA????

Natasha: I hate you both

#natasha romanoff x reader #incorrect avengers #reader insert #yelena belova #natasha romanoff #black widow

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romancingromanoff · 1 year

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This is a Life

Andy of Scythia x f!reader

Summary: You end up escaping an arranged marriage set up by your abusive mother in a strange way.

TW: Verbal/physical child abuse (child is now over 18 but it is implied that it has been going on for some time), arranged/forced marriage, 1950′s typical homophobia, somewhat graphic death/injuries, accidental suicide?

Words: 4225

A/N: Hello I am alive! I’ve been wanting to get back into writing recently and I’ve been disappointed by the lack of Andy x reader content on here so here’s my contribution. More marvel stuff is in the works starting with Thena from Eternals!

“It’s my life!”

“And you are my daughter! You will do this if you wish to remain a part of this family!”

“I told you I won’t marry him!”

A cold hand hits your left cheek.

You were fighting with your mother yet again as the two of you had constantly done for the past 23 years, which was way too long for you to still be living under her roof according to societal standards. While you were inclined to agree, being forced to marry a man in six weeks was not how you wanted to escape.

On paper, you supposed Nicholas Turner was the perfect match, basically everything you could ever ask for in a husband. His wealth certainly appealed to your mother, though he was also kind and considerate with a pleasant looking face others might find attractive.

Unlike those that had briefly tried to court you in the past, what really set Nicholas apart was that he seemed to truly care for you and respect your opinions. There certainly weren’t very many men like him in the 1950’s who didn’t immediately insult your intelligence or worth as a member of the lesser sex.

Not too far into your relationship was when you were finally forced to come to terms with a fear that had been looming over you since your teenage years. It had been easy to tell yourself you were still normal when all the suitors you rejected were immature little boys with stunted emotional development and only seemed to be interested in your body. You could tell yourself that no woman would ever settle for such disrespect in a lifelong partner.

However, you knew there was no denying that Nick was everything you should ever want in a man. You waited for those butterflies you had heard about from your friends to fill you whenever he asked to hold your hand or guide you by the arm for a stroll. But those bubbling feelings of love never came no matter how much you tried to force them. And if they couldn’t show up for Nick, you knew that no man could summon them at all.

The only person that had ever excited you in that way was another girl a few grades above you in school. She tutored you in math for two summers and lived just down the street. You had never felt so drawn to anyone else before.

“I have three brothers so it’s nice that we can spend some time together, just us girls,” she had said. You couldn’t agree more.

As your friendship grew, rumors about her older brother being a… sexual degenerate spread throughout the neighborhood and your mother quickly forbade you from ever speaking to anyone in her family again. The last time you’d heard about your friend was when her parents had thrown her brother out of the house and cut all contact with him.

No part of you wanted to believe that your friend had agreed with their actions but what if she had? What would she say if she were to ever find out about your true feelings for her? She would surely be just as disgusted as your mother.

“Yes. You. Will. You think this is your life? Well I gave it to you and I can just as easily take it away!”

You weren’t too certain about that after the strange events that took place the day before. Another argument with your mother turned violent and she started throwing some of her empty bottles at you. Although none of them hit their target, one flew through the back window and caused glass to shatter everywhere.

After cleaning up inside the house, you made your way outside to assess whatever damage certainly awaited you there. What you hadn’t been expecting to find was that one of the bottles hit a poor baby bunny not too far from the window. Falling on your knees in front of it, it pained you to watch as its small body twitched only a few times before ultimately turning as still as stone. The thought of leaving it there for other animals to pick on or carelessly throwing it in the trash didn’t seem right to you, so with a sigh you decided to find a shovel and dig it a small grave. It’s not like you were in a rush to face your mother so soon anyway.

The shed with the gardening tools hadn’t been organized since the warmer months. Coughing at the cloud of dust that immediately filled your lungs as the door squeaked open, you blindly staggered in the direction of the shovel, trying to feel for it with your hands, when your foot found a rake that was lying on the ground. The wooden pole smacked you dead in the middle of your face, forcing you to fly back like in one of those children’s cartoons that often played before the main films at the cinema. It sounded like a tornado was tearing through the shed.

All you could feel was pain spreading throughout your body. There was no doubt that your skull had cracked open as a gooey warmth began to soak your hair and pool down your neck. A sharp object also seemed to be lodged in your middle area and it quickly became difficult to breath or even remember what life was like before this agony.

You almost tried to call for help, hoping that your mother might at least be decent enough not to wish for your death, but something about that idea stopped you. What would she even be saving you from exactly? You knew you were dying as a strange numbness began to take over all your senses, yet a part of you seemed to be at peace with what was to come.

Lying about who you were for the rest of your life was worse than a death sentence in its own way. Maybe this could be your mercy if happiness was never attainable for someone like you. Maybe this was for the best.

There was absolute darkness and a sense of peace that seemed to stretch on forever. Suddenly, all of that shattered as oxygen forcefully filled your lungs. Something inexplicable had brought you back.

While your body still ached, a quick assessment helped you conclude that your injuries had healed almost miraculously. Your skull was awfully bloody but definitely smooth and in one piece. Slowly sitting up, you discovered that a long pair of garden shears is what had impaled your abdomen where you were certain a few of your vital organs must have been torn.

You were covered in both dried blood and newly formed skin with no idea how any of it was possible. The only thing you could think of doing was running back into the house to wash yourself off.

Darkness had covered the sky by then and you knew your mother must have been asleep by that point. Initially that made you feel relieved that you could dodge any questions she had until morning. However, as you scrubbed the leftover blood and sweat from your body, the fact that she must not have been concerned at all dawned on you. You had died out in the shed and where had she been?

“No, you don’t get to hurt me anymore!” You shook your head and stood your ground with a newfound sense of power only coming back from the dead could have given you. “You don’t get to control me like I’m your puppet! I’m not going to marry him or anyone else you try to push on me either. I’ve known this for a long time and I think you have too. But I can’t because I’m–”

“NO! No, I will not hear this nonsense again! I have things from the store I need to pick up and I expect all of this sudden change in attitude to be over when I get back. Or I will be beating you everyday until it’s your husband’s problem!”

Somehow her words managed to hurt you more than any physical attack could. You tried your best to hold in your tears as she gathered her purse and keys before slamming the front door behind her, but your eyes began stinging just as you retreated to your bedroom. This time, your instincts were successfully able to guide you on where to step.

You don’t know how long you stood there, disassociating and losing track of the time as you urged yourself not to cry.

A hand landed on your shoulder and caused an instinctive shudder to roll through your body. “Please, don’t!” You whimpered at the contact which you expected came from your mother.

“I’m not here to hurt you. But I need you to trust me.”

You turned and your eyes shot up. The speaker of the voice was unlike any other person you had ever seen. Her hair was cut extremely short, like the style Audrey Hepburn was known for, but with no makeup or bold lip color she appeared more boyish. She was also very tall for a woman, about as tall as some men you knew, though it didn’t scare you to stand beside her like it would with them. It was subtle, but sometimes you felt like they relied on their height advantage to make sure you were on a lower peg than them.

This woman was different with the way she assessed you with a lack of judgment. Something told you that she was worried about scaring you, not wanting to come off like she was sizing you up. You could see it in her eyes and god were they gorgeous. They were a mesmerizing shade that made you believe you were seeing the color for the very first time. You would gladly let the woman hypnotize you with those glowing pools of green.

“Who are you?” Your voice shook even though you could sense she didn’t wish to harm you.

She kept her voice calm and steady. “My name is Andromache of Scythia. But you can call me Andy.”

Andy? Andy. Hearing the name caused something to resurface in your mind. Not quite a song or a memory but something you had definitely heard recently. A man had been screaming that name as you felt him die.

“I’ve seen you before. I dreamed you were trying to save a man. A friend. Two other people were there as well. You were all surrounded. You were dying.”

“There are five of us now, including you, and we all do the same thing. We die and come back. And I know you probably have a lot of questions, which I promise I can answer, but you need to pack some clothes and come with me now.”

“Go with you? Where?”

You had been on a rollercoaster once as a child. It was a tall wooden one with a large loop that initially made you change your mind about riding it. That was before your mother informed you she had already bought your tickets and wasn’t about to let the money go to waste. The fear rose within your stomach with every inch the giant wooden coffin you rode in crept higher and higher into the domain of the clouds and birds. Every voice in your head screamed that you weren’t supposed to be here. A part of you was so terrified that you considered reaching for your mother’s hand. As if she would comfort you.

But then you finally made it to the top. All you could think about as you saw the sun setting on the horizon was how badly you wished you could chase it. And then you did. The ride dropped and your fears dissipated as laughter escaped from your body instead. For the first time ever, you could taste a sense of freedom.

That’s what it felt like when Andy reached for your chin and gently brushed the back of two of her other fingers against the cheek most recently marked by your mother. You weren’t entirely sure what the future looked like with her, yet you were eager to find out and explore all the possibilities opening up before you. No one had ever held you with such tenderness and care while also making you feel protected and safe. You watched as the woman’s eyes flickered from your cheek to your slightly parted lips before she withdrew her touch. It left you feeling empty.

“The woman that hurts you will be coming back any minute now,” she announces quickly before she starts darting around your room. She pulls out a suitcase from your closet and stares at you expectantly, like she needed you to move as if the house was on fire. “We need to leave before that happens.”

“My mother? She’s done terrible things but she’s still my mother. I can’t just leave without letting her know.”

“What’s your name?” Andy asks you. You tell her.

“Y/N, please listen to me,” she sets the suitcase down on your bed before taking your hands into hers. A part of your soul leaves your body right then and there. “Individuals like your mother have hurt you your entire life when you should have been protected. I’m so sorry no one stood up for you before. You didn’t deserve any of that. But now even more people that want to harm you are going to be on our trail as soon as they find out who and what you are. Now that I’ve found you, I can protect you. Me and the other three guys on our team. So please, come with me so that I can keep you safe.”

“Y/N?! Come help me!” Your mother’s shrill voice rings through the house.

“Pack quickly, I’ll hold her off,” Andy urgently reaches for something in her pocket which is when you realize she’s had a knife on her this whole time. Your eyes go wide.

“Wait! Please don’t hurt her! I’ll go with you but you can’t hurt her. That’s my only condition, I swear.”

You haven’t known her for long. You wish you could spend the next hundred years studying her face and getting to know everything there is to know about her. But somehow, you can still tell that something breaks inside her because of your pleading. She holds your gaze for the shortest eternity before nodding back at you.

“Okay,” she promises. You can tell she’s going to be true to her word. “But you have to follow my lead. When I say we need to leave, we leave.”

“Okay.”

You scramble to pack the most important things that come to your mind. A family picture of you, your mother, and your sister. The bracelet that your grandmother gave you. Your drawing notepad. It’s not too difficult to decide what clothes you bring as you have no real attachment to any specific pieces.

Echoes of your mother marching down the hall cause you to freeze up instantly. There’s one last thing you need to grab and of course it has to be in the trickiest place to get to.

“There’s a box of letters under the rug and the floorboard right here. Can you please get it? I’ll talk to her.” Andy nods before you dart out a small crack in your door and quickly close it behind you. It brings you face to face with your warden and the only obstacle that stands in your way of escape.

“What are you doing in there? I expect you to help me bring in my bags from the car. Are you going deaf or do I need to slap some more sense into you?”

“I’m leaving,” you manage to blurt out before fear stops you from changing your mind.

“You’re what?”

“I’m leaving. I’m not marrying Nicholas. I can’t and I won’t.”

“This again? How much longer will you insist on acting like a petulant child? I demand you stop this nonsense at once!”

“No. I’m leaving and you won’t get to control my life anymore.”

A look that you can only describe as amused appears on the woman’s face as she gives you a scoff. “Oh really? And where do you think you’ll go with no car or money to your name? I know you’re nervous about the wedding but-”

“I will never marry him or any other man either!” This was the first time you had ever raised your voice this loud and it was having quite the effect on both of you. The woman in front of you was completely stunned at your change in demeanor, her eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

“I’m not like you! And I’m tired of pretending to be someone I’m not. For so long, I’ve tried to feel the way I know I’m supposed to feel about boys but I simply can’t. And I think a part of me has always known that I’m-”

The swift sound of a crack silences you, though you don’t exactly register the pain straight away like normal. You bring a finger to your lower lip and it comes black with a droplet of blood. A second later, you touch the same spot and it’s completely healed.

“Silence! You’ll shut your mouth right this instant if you know what’s good for you. These ideas of… of perverse behavior aren’t you. You’re obviously ill and need to see a doctor immediately.”

“No mother, I-” You’re interrupted once again, although this time as your bedroom door swings open you aren’t scared of being struck or hurt. Andy’s presence alone means you are protected.

“Your items are secure. We need to leave now,” she takes a firm hold of your waist and pulls you closer to her body. From the threatening look she’s throwing at your mother you can tell that your presence is the only thing keeping the much taller and stronger woman from breaking out into a fight. Although, calling it that felt entirely wrong as it implied your mother would be able to stand a chance at winning.

“Excuse me?” The older woman spat like she had nearly swallowed a fly. “Who is-... Who do you think you are and how dare you come into my house!”

“Lady, all you need to know is that I’m the one that’s going to be doing what you’ve failed to do and actually protect your daughter from now on. Unless you want this to get violent, I would suggest stepping out of our way.”

No one had ever spoken to your mother that way and had anyone but Andy been foolish enough to yell at her, you would be worrying for their safety. But even after five minutes of knowing her, it was clear that Andy wasn’t easily swayed by a few empty threats.

“I–... Oh, now I understand everything completely. You must be the one that has corrupted my daughter with these wicked thoughts! Y/N, you can’t possibly believe this… this stranger intends to do anything but manipulate you! Whatever feelings you think you may have for her are wrong and can be corrected. I don’t want you to end up like this disgusting degenerate!”

“Don’t you dare call her that!” Your anger spikes hearing the venom in her words. Andy may or may not be immune to them but that doesn’t mean you can’t be offended on her behalf. “She actually respects me and treats me like a human being!”

“So what? Your plan is to run away together and go where? Do what? You are nothing without me and you know it! Since you were born-”

An involuntary scream leaves your body as the taller woman moves like a flash of light. Before she can even process anything, your mother falls to the floor into an unconscious slump at your feet.

“Oh my God.” It seems almost impossible to tear your eyes away from the sight before you. You’ve never seen someone so… still. Then it dawns on you that she might be…

“She’s just unconscious,” Andy cups your face in her hands and you’re forced to look at her, ”I promise. She’ll be fine but we have to go now.”

Nodding, the two of you set off like there’s still someone on your trail. For a few seconds you’re able to look back at your mother one last time. The woman that gave birth to you. Raised you. Hit you. Broke you. She’ll never be able to hurt you again.

You breathe a barely audible “goodbye” to her, wondering where you’ll be by the time she wakes up. There’s the tiniest twinge of guilt at the thought of her actually missing you when she does, yet with every step you make towards your new future you yearn to speed up.

Andy guides you straight to the front door and outside into the rain. The two of you don’t stop until you reach a car around the corner that she unlocks for you. Your body is cold and numb, which the other woman immediately notices and she tries to drape your body with a thin blanket from the backseat after she starts the engine. You doubted that this car had any heating but couldn’t care too much about that.

“Thank you,” you’re able to mutter. “I’m sorry she… about those things she said.”

“Y/N, you have nothing to apologize for. You are in no way responsible for her actions.”

You could get used to hearing Andy say your name like that. She had a way of saying it that reminded you how it was your very own. How you were your own person.

“No, I do, Andy. At least let me say this for my own peace. You got dragged into something that should have stayed between us and she made some wrongful assumptions about you. You are completely right to feel offended or upset with me. And now that you know that I’m… Well, it seems you know more about me than almost anyone else. What I mean to say is that I understand if you’re disgusted by me.”

Much to your surprise, the brunette calmy pulled the car over to stop on the side of the road so that she could better face you. Fear that she might ask you to get out flickered in your heart for a second, but then she carefully took your hand into her own, holding it so tenderly.

“Y/N, everything that I said in there still stands. I care about you and I want to protect you. And for the record, not that anyone else’s opinion but your own matters, I see nothing wrong with you. You love the way you love, that’s nothing to be ashamed about. You deserve all the happiness the world can give you, which is what I’m willing to fight for.”

The buildup of emotions from the past 24 hours combined with the softness in her words is enough to strip you of your very last defenses. Your vision blurs, though the slight stinging in your eyes is admittedly therapeutic. Andy, however, only grows more concerned for you based on the look on her face.

“No, no, I’m okay,” you promise her and crack a smile. “It’s just strange to have someone that cares about me. The real me, I mean. There must be some way I can repay you for everything.”

She analyzed you with such curiosity that it’s impossible to tell what sort of thoughts are running through her head. Her other hand slowly moves to move a stray hair from your face. You doubt she meant for the contact to feel so intimate, yet you relish in the tiny sprinkles of touch she gives you.

Andy releases a deep sigh. “You don’t have to repay me for anything. We’re a team now and that means we take care of each other.”

Of course you had forgotten there was a team, meaning there were more of you she must have been referencing aside from yourself. It felt stupid to think she could have felt differently about you after knowing each other for less than a day. And what were the chances she would even see you in that way?

“Right,” you struggle to wipe the tears from your face. “I guess I should learn about the others then. When will we be introduced?”

“Soon, I promise.” Andy goes to restart the car and you notice her chuckle as she begins to speed up to get back on the road. “I think you’ll really like them, actually. We all have a lot in common so there’s no chance they won’t immediately like you like I do.”

You swear that you almost died for a second time from a heart attack.

“You mean besides being able to come back from the dead?” You tried to play it cool, hoping she wouldn’t notice how nervous you suddenly were.

“Actually, yes. It’s about a three hour drive from here so you can get some sleep if you want. I know you must be exhausted.”

You can’t really protest when a yawn immediately escapes after the mere mention of a nap. So you drift away, driving off toward your new life, with Andy’s hand safely cradling yours.

#andromache the scythian x reader #andy the scythian x reader #andromache of scythia #the old guard #one shot #andy the scythian #the old guard x reader #fluff #andy #charlize theron #andy x reader #andromache x reader

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romancingromanoff · 2 years

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A Little Bit of Guidance (Alcina Dimitrescu x femme!reader) pt. 2

Part 1

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you, all for all of the positive support and feedback on my first chapter! I'm really glad that so many of you are enjoying the MC and Maia and their Asian identities.

CW: homophobia, suggested homophobic language

You were certain that the two of you were going to crash.

“Holy shit!”

“Please, please calm down.”

“Alcina Dimitrescu asked you out on a date and you said WHAT?!?!”

“Maia, it’s not a date. At least… I don’t think it is? I don’t know, you’re the one that said she’s not serious about dating and I’m not sure I could handle something so quick and casual. I’m not looking to intentionally hurt myself.”

“So you do like her?”

The light turns yellow and you come to a stop at an intersection where you take the opportunity to close your eyes for five seconds, your lips pressing against each other like you’re trying to get rid of a headache.

“Does it really matter? She probably just feels bad for everything that happened.”

“Ughhhh, you’re impossible,” your friend groans and lightly bangs her head on the back of the passenger seat headrest. A minute or two later she stirs with a wide look in her eyes. “What would you say if one of your students came to you asking about the same situation?”

You can’t help but laugh. “What would I do if a 13 year old kid told me a fully grown adult woman offered to take them to dinner? Probably call a child predator hotline and report it to the authorities.”

“That’s not what I meant! Fine, what if they said that another student they were interested in asked them to Chuck E. Cheese or something-”

“I am 95% sure that kids today aren’t hanging out at Chuck E. Cheese.”

“I said ‘or something’ didn’t I? Just say they got asked to see a movie with someone but thought it was only because the other person felt bad for them. What do you tell them?”

You release a sigh. She definitely had you there and you both knew it too. “I’d remind them of how awesome they are and how much they deserve to be happy. And if they kept pushing back I’d say even if the other person was really just doing it out of pity then it only reflects on how poor their own character is. It would also be unfortunate on their part for being unable to recognize how great you are and anyone else would be lucky to spend that time with you.”

Maia wears a familiar devilish grin on her face but doesn’t press you much harder. “Just think about extending the same compassion to yourself. And don’t keep her waiting too long. But wow, who knew my best friend could be such a tease?”

“That’s enough,” you can’t help but smile though as she teases you. From the corner of your eye you can also see that she’s beginning to drift off and let sleep take over. “But thank you, Maia. I appreciate it.”

-~-

At your new job time flies by without giving you a second to catch your breath. Being a guidance counselor wasn’t exactly new to you but the type of school you were working at now certainly was. You had only worked in the public school system beforehand and knew that there were bound to be at least a few differences at the private preparatory school you were starting at, but nothing could have prepared you for the change. Dealing with high schoolers hadn’t been smooth sailing by any means but it had given you a purpose you took a lot of pride in. Some of the students that you’d worked with had been ready to drop out for a variety of different reasons but were able to push through with a bit of help, graduate, and continue to carry on very positive lives. You had mediated all types of conflicts from petty disagreements to much more serious physical fights and could immediately recognize when something was escalating way too quickly. Something most people didn’t know was that as violent boys could get in their fights it was actually the girls that scared you the most. They seemed to operate on an entirely different plane where no rules applied and no mercy was shown. So far for you, private school antics might have been a bit more tame in some ways but the stress levels you were dealing with now seemed to have no limits.

At least a dozen times before noon you’d get calls from parents wanting to dictate the most minute details of their children’s lives. These weren’t the typical over-involved parents either, they were tiger moms and dads, helicopter parents, lawnmower parents, BULLDOZER PARENTS, and even worse.

“My son needs to be in both Arabic and Chinese! It’s important that he’s quadrilingual by the time he’s applying for colleges.”

“Taylor’s private history tutor already covered half of what’s on this semester’s syllabus. I believe she should be exempt from that period to pursue her independent study and receive an automatic A.”

“Here’s my email address and I expect weekly updates on my daughter every Friday before 5pm. That means if she visits your office to discuss anything at all I need to hear about it in extreme detail.”

“They keep putting my son in group projects which is 100% unacceptable! For the amount of money I pay for him to attend this school he shouldn’t be working with the other kids. He has way too much potential and I don’t want him to be influenced by those of a lower intelligence.”

Many of the requests you got were so ludicrous that it made you want to pull your hair out. Luckily, today was surprisingly better in terms of your workload and you’d been able to respond to your many emails and calls a good hour before school let out. A quick glance at your calendar and suddenly you made a realization that practically slapped you in the face. It had been nearly two weeks since the incident at Dimitrescu. Two weeks since Lady Dimitrescu herself had asked you to dinner and you’d given the most pathetic excuse of a response possible and felt like an idiot ever since.

There were still so many things that worried you about saying ‘yes’ and taking a chance on a woman that was way out of your league but yet you couldn’t find it in yourself to say ‘no’ either. You wanted to have hope.

“How many people do you think she’s asked out to dinner before? Because I’ve never heard of it,” Maia had asked you the night before as you two were lounging on your couch watching the end credits of a movie roll by.

“That doesn’t mean this dinner is going to lead to anything else. Sometimes dinner is just that. Dinner.”

“And a hook up,” your friend cheekily suggests with a grin.

“I’m not sleeping with her, Maia. Even if by some chance she wanted to, I’m not ready. Not after everything that happened last time.”

“And I don’t blame you at all. She was a real shitty person with an even shittier sense of humor. I don’t think she ever laughed at a single one of my jokes, which I must say is a huge red flag for me as your best friend. But Lady Dimitrescu is definitely not your sleazy ex-girlfriend.”

You shoved your face into a nearby pillow and let out a groan. “The thing is I know that! I know they’re not the same but I’m terrified that she’ll have one idea of what she wants to happen and then mine will be totally different.”

“So then get on the same page!” Maia irritatingly throws a handful of popcorn at you as soon as you start to re-emerge from your pillow so you rush to pick it back up and defend yourself. “Your whole thing is stressing healthy communication so that misunderstandings don’t happen but you’re too afraid to talk to this woman who is clearly interested in you? Just explain that you have a complicated dating history and wanna take things slow. If she can’t agree to those terms then she’s just not the one. We’ll cry about it over some dairy-free ice cream, leave a couple of bad reviews on her website, and get through it together.”

Even if you weren’t yet 100% ready to say yes, you knew that discussing your expectations and wishes with Lady Dimitrescu could at least help you make a more informed decision. Wanting to be brave, you then decided that you were going to call her as soon as you got off work to talk about what “dinner” was exactly and what it meant to the both of you. You reached for your bag and began to look.

Holy shit.

There was no way this was happening.

“No, no, please, no,” you plead under your breath and begin to dump everything out from your wallet, desperate to find the business card with her personal number written on the back. Credit cards, your school I.D., driver’s license, other random things, and exactly four loyalty cards for the same coffee shop with only one or two stamps on each fall out. But what you’re looking for isn’t there and it looks like it never existed in the first place.

A knock on your door makes you jump up from your seat. After scrambling to put everything back in its place you reach for the handle and open it swiftly. Standing in front of you is the principal of the school who is clearly unhappy with the student she has with her. She appears to be on the younger side with her red hair lightly tossed.

“This is Daniela from the sixth grade,” the principal explains and you immediately give the student an encouraging smile although she’s visibly in distress. You wonder what could have made her so upset but assume you’re about to find out. “She slapped one of her classmates but this was her first offense so we’ve already given her three days of in-school suspension. We were hoping you could talk her down.”

“Of course, please, come in,” you gesture for the young girl to take a seat in the chair across from your desk and watch her carefully as she settles in. While you expected her to be angry, you can tell that she’s deeply hurt underneath her surface which raises a lot of concern. The approach you take has to be very careful and come from some area of understanding. “You don’t look like the type that slaps people for no reason, so can I ask what this other person did that made you so upset?”

Daniela wipes at the corner of her eyes and doesn’t look at you at first but she speaks. “The teacher was out of the classroom so I was talking to my girlfriend Hannah. She sits behind me so I was kinda turned around and we were holding hands. That’s when Darren started pointing at us calling us ‘ugly lesbians’ and then another word that I… I’ve heard it once before but I was told never to say it.” She’s so quiet you decidedly get up and maneuver yourself from behind your desk to kneel in front of her so that you’re just about at eye-level. Her arms are still crossed in her lap and she’s solely focused on the floor. The fact that she’s trying to hide her tears breaks your heart and while you wish you could reach out to her you’re not sure if she’d be comfortable with that yet.

“Did this word start with the letter D?” You try to ask her carefully and Daniela looks up at you and slowly nods. Something drops in your throat but you remember that this is about calming her down, not getting angry. You’ll have to deal with that later.

“Then he said of course I’m one of those because my mom is too. Hannah was squeezing my hand so hard but I was just so angry at him. He was just laughing at us and I wanted him to stop. So with my other hand I got up and slapped him.” There was no possible way that you could let this student know you were secretly rooting for them. Looking back on your grade school memories, you would’ve given anything to serve those racists and homophobes who had called you every slur in the book a piece of your mind. The pain of your past still stung immensely, but nothing you had experienced came close to being told that your sexuality was something determined by your parents. Whoever this Darren was, you hoped that his slap had stung more than just a little bit.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that, Daniela. He never should have said any of that. It was beyond homophobic and offensive and I can understand why you felt so outraged hearing it.”

Almost instantly, her mood changes and she unleashes a cry of fury. “But he didn’t even get in trouble! He lied to our teacher and nobody except me and Hannah said anything else!”

Okay, excuse me WHAT?!

“What do you mean he didn’t get in trouble?” Despite keeping your voice composed, on the inside you’re simply infuriated.

“He didn’t get into trouble. Not with our teacher, not with our principal. He never does because he gets away with everything!”

“Well, I can assure you that I’ll discuss this with both of them personally afterwards.” The idea of this kid getting off the hook after saying something so homophobic was not going to slide by you.

“It doesn’t matter,” Daniela’s reddened face is completely covered in tears now from her full on sobbing. “His dad is like the number one donor to this school. Even if you told them everything it wouldn’t make a difference.”

So these were the politics you were dealing with at this school. The realization almost makes you physically grimace and you suddenly feel powerless in your new position. Knowing that there’s practically nothing you can do to protect Daniela and other students from trust fund kids like Darren is quite literally sickening. One thing that stops you from marching straight out of your office is the pain in Daniela’s voice as she speaks almost incoherently. “Please, you have to understand,” you hear between sniffles and automatically catch her in your arms as her limp body falls forward. “I know I shouldn’t have slapped him *sniff* but it’s not fair!”

“Shhh,” you gently rub circles on her back in an attempt to comfort her as she continues to shake. “You’re absolutely right, Daniela, but I promise you I’ll figure this out. He’ll be facing the consequences.” You continue to gently rock her in your arms for the next few minutes as she gradually begins to come down from her emotional high. When she’s able to speak in uninterrupted sentences again she tries to apologize but you abruptly dismiss her.

“There’s no need to apologize to me, Daniela,” you assure her while offering up a tissue that she gladly takes. “I’m here to help you process your emotions in a healthy way. I know that can be really scary doing it with someone you’ve just met but I’m glad that you trusted me enough to open up and tell me what happened. Just know that I have your back. People like us have to stick together.”

Her eyes widen when she connects the dots and you simply give her a smile of confirmation. “Does it ever get easier to deal with?” Daniela seems so nervous about asking you her question and you immediately share her sense of hesitancy. The last thing you want to do is lie to her but you also feel the need to give her some hope.

“Can I tell you something that I wish I knew at your age?” Daniela silently nods, curious to know what it is you’re going to say. “Being queer is so beautiful and you should always embrace your true self. There was a long time that I was afraid to do just that because of what people like Darren kept telling me, so I forced myself to live a lie. It’s something that I deeply regret. Those types of people want you to be miserable. It’s not that you’re not allowed to be hurt or upset when stuff like this happens but the best way to get back up is by refusing to give them what they want. Joy and happiness are some of the greatest forms of resistance that we have and I encourage you to fight back with your own.’

Just as she’s about to say something else a loud noise announces the presence of another person entering.

“Daniela, I had to leave in the middle of a meeting for this, now could you-” Your office is all but torn open and for the second time in less than two weeks you’re caught in the presence of the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen. Only this time she’s just as surprised as you and she’s left clueless at how this situation could have possibly unfolded.

“Hi,” you manage to get out somehow without puking all over the floor. “You must be Daniela’s mother. I’m the new school guidance counselor. We were just discussing how the boy she slapped initially harassed her with homophobic insults and called her a slur. That’s why she was so distressed.”

“It’s you,” she stares you down with the intensity of something you can’t quite pinpoint but then quickly blinks and tries to compose herself. “Forgive me I… I didn’t realize you worked here.”

“Oh my God, you two know each other?” Daniela looks back and forth between the two of you and her face goes completely sour. “Mother, please don’t tell me it’s because you slept with her for fun and then never called her back.”

What was HAPPENING!?

“DANIELA! Please go wait in the car and I’ll be there shortly,” the lady is the reddest you’ve ever seen anyone before but you’re way too stunned to speak.

“Yes mother,” the girl says in disappointment and quickly walks heads for the door. She turns and offers you a half smile while mouthing ‘thank you’ right before closing the door. Once again, it just leaves the two of you...

“Lady Dimitrescu, I-”

“I must apologize-”

You each end up stumbling over your words which creates an even bigger mess that you both end up nervously laughing at. “Would you like to sit down?” Shy as ever you motion to where Daniela was just sitting and try to find your way back to your spot without tripping. The weight of her eyes trailing your body certainly does not go unnoticed and you’re relieved that she can’t see you fiddling with your hands behind your desk. Once you’re both settled in she speaks.

“I’m sorry for Daniela’s behaviour today. The principal already informed me about the situation in class but I can’t begin to explain what’s gotten into her.”

“No, I think I understand. Daniela seems like a really good kid but she was just caught up in a tough situation. It’s my job to deal with these types of conflicts but only after understanding both sides of the story.”

“So the Pearson boy goaded her then?”

“Oh, you mean Darren? Yeah he said some really cruel things from my understanding. Daniela was so heartbroken recounting the whole event. It made me pissed to hear he got away with it too. I don’t know him personally but I’m honestly dreading having to meet him or his father.” The laugh Lady Dimitrescu releases when she sees how you scrunch up your face in a very cute frustration takes you by surprise. You really shouldn’t have said that. “Please don’t tell anyone I said that!”

“Not to worry, my dear, though I’d say your intuition is correct. Lawrence Pearson is the definition of an insipid man thing but unfortunately he has the entire city at the mercy of his bank account,” she practically spits in disgust and now it’s your turn to laugh at how strangely adorable she looks.

“I’m sorry I… I’m just really glad I got to see you. Not that I’m glad about what transpired with Daniela and her classmate but the timing just seems so coincidental. Right before she came in I was searching for your card but somehow I’ve lost it like the clumsy person I am.”

The chuckle she lets out takes you by surprise. You’re not sure how you expected her to react to that but the pure look of amusement in her eyes is simply confusing.“I think I might have an idea of where that card ended up, my dear.”

“Really?”

“Yes, this morning I actually received a call from your friend Maia and she had quite a lot to say on your behalf.”

“Oh,” your heart nearly stops to flip upside down in your chest. Of course it was Maia! She must’ve grabbed it from your bag last night when you weren’t looking and holy crap you were seriously going to kill her.

“Please, you have nothing to worry about. It was a very endearing gesture on her behalf. She simply pointed out that my offer for dinner was causing you a bit of anxiety because I hadn’t been completely clear with my words. That’s an error on my account. And I know I certainly have a reputation that precedes me.” There’s something that vaguely resembles regret written across her face which makes you worry that she must’ve thought you were judging her. With the end of her last sentence you see her nervously press her lips together and skillfully avoids your gaze. This was exactly the opposite of what you wanted.

“I would love to have dinner with you,” you suddenly blurt out with all the enthusiasm you’d been holding in since the moment you first saw her. “The idea of simply getting to know you better excites me more than I can say. I was honestly in shock when you asked me to have dinner with you but… I just worried that maybe my feelings were one-sided.”

The soft look of elatedness on her face is almost enough to soothe your racing heart. But you’re still hanging on to every word as if the next might make or break you. “I know the circumstances under which we’ve run into each other twice now haven’t been very orthodox and I feel partially responsible for both times somehow. But I must admit that I’ve simply been charmed by you in a way that no one else has done before. When I first asked you to dinner I did want to use that opportunity to correctly apologize but that wasn’t all. As your friend Maia largely put it, I’d feel regretful if I let you get away so easily. Now if I may?” Feeling absolutely flustered by her confession it takes a moment longer for you to realize that she’s now holding out her hand for you across your desk and you take it expectantly. Just like the first time you’re suddenly rendered incapable of thinking about anything else besides how right it feels to have your smaller hand cradled in hers.

“Ah, I meant to grab your phone,” she clarifies with an amused look on her face and suddenly you feel like a complete idiot. Trying to pull your hand away, she stops you with her firm grip and instead brings it up to her perfectly painted red lips to plant a light kiss on the top. The contact of skin on skin feels overwhelming in the best way possible and you can’t do anything except smile. When she lets it go you dazedly reach for your phone and unlock it so that she can insert her contact information. She looks up from her typing with a raised eyebrow and asks, “Would this Saturday evening be agreeable for you?”

Your eager nodding brings out a satisfied smile on her face before your verbal confirmation. “Yes, Saturday would be very agreeable.”

A/N: I don't know whether or not I wanna yell at Daniela or Maia more 😳 But I guess these two are going on a date so whatever they did worked out? Again, I’m MCULesbian on AO3 and chapters 1-5 are already up on there! Stay safe y'all.

#Lady Dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu #alcina x reader #alcina x oc #resident evil #resident evil village #Village

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