#he showed so much of it and so much warmth and...kinda felt being chosen by her | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jcbbby · 1 year

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oooooh buddy. yikes yikes yikes. okay, this is my first just straight up smut fic. this is NOT my usual thing at all, so like…this may be absolute garbage??? I’m sorry in advance lmaoooo. this is also like, SO LONG I feel like, because I just literally don’t know how to get the fuck to the point and I just keep writing? lol side note, this is for those who have ever needed to get railed in a sun dress. ;)

If you’re not comfortable with this type of fic, please don’t read! I still love you either way! <3

Warnings: 18+ only MINORS LOOK AWAY, rpf but in an alternate universe, age gap (reader is like 19, Jamie is 34), p in v sex, unprotected sex (do not try at home, kids), oral (female receiving), obvious major power dynamic issue lol, kinda a slow burn? Idk what I’m doing

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It was a warm and humid late May Friday afternoon. You walked through the courtyard, tossing your hair up into a loose bun to get it off your neck in this heat. You dressed for the temperature, wearing a short yellow sun dress with spaghetti straps, complete with strappy sandals showing off your pedicured toes. You were ready for your week-long stay in the Florida Keys, a cliché but nevertheless exciting college summer vacation. Your first year of college was ending, and the only thing that stood in your way of you and your friends’ trip was your final exam for Professor Bower’s class.

Truth be told, you were a little disappointed to be finishing his class, even though it was just a standard required English literature course. You often found yourself absentmindedly staring up at him as he sat on the edge of his desk, a pen tucked with soft blonde locks behind his ear, leading a group discussion on the assigned reading. His high cheek bones, chiseled jaw, pale blue eyes, the wrinkles that would form in the corner of his eyes as he smiled at wonderfully thought-out opinions and analyses from the students, his charming British accent.

There was that one time he leaned in close at your desk to look over your work, feeling the warmth of his body radiate against you, his cologne lingering for a few moments after walking away. How he said your name when calling on you to answer a question. How you would drift off into a daydream wondering how your name would sound leaving his lips in a much more intimate setting… You spent the whole semester in his class feeling a yearning deep in your core. You were going to milk today’s time in his classroom as long as you could. Perhaps you had also worn the outfit you had chosen for more than just the heat wave, hoping to catch his attention just once before parting ways.

The campus was quieter than usual, with many students having already finished their exams and left for the summer. You had some time before your exam and decided to stop by the café on campus for a coffee and last minute study session. After being handed your drink, you went to take a seat on one of the couches and took out your notebook, scanning over the pages of notes.

“Ah, a little cramming session?” A familiar voice said in front of you.

You looked up from being buried in the pages to see him, Professor Bower. He was dressed much more casual than usual. In a pair of black jeans with a white t-shirt and a black blazer over it.

You smiled. “Oh…well, you know. Couldn’t hurt, right?” He looked incredible; you loved this more laid back look on him. Not that he didn’t look great in a tie as well. “You look like you’re ready for summer vacation.”

He looked down at his outfit and back up to you with a chuckle. “Yeah, I figured I’d tone it down for this last day, maybe help everyone relax for the exam… you look like you’re in summer vacation mode as well. You look…very nice.” He looked you up and down, lingering a little longer than you expected somewhere below your eyeline.

You blushed and felt butterflies in your abdomen. “Oh um…thank you. I-I’m heading south after this.” You cursed yourself in your head for saying it like an innuendo.

“You don’t say, how fun.” He grinned. “Well, I better go get everything printed. I’ll see you in class. Good luck on the exam, Y/N.”

You nodded with a meek smile as he turned and headed off in the other direction. All you could think about were his eyes on you, how you would have loved to see what his hands would have done, and how tightly your thighs were squeezing together.

****

The classroom was dead silent during the exam, except for the scribbling of pens and pencils across pages. Jamie was sitting at his desk at the front of the room, glancing over his macbook every so often at the room. You found it hard to focus after your encounter earlier, looking up frequently to gaze at him. On a few occasions, he caught you, your eyes meeting for a brief second before you frantically and embarrassingly looked back down at the exam. He would smirk to himself as you felt your cheeks grow hot. You’re blowing it, you thought to yourself.

One by one, each of your classmates brought their finished exams up to the front, with Jamie quietly telling each of them to have a good summer.

“30 minutes left, guys.” He announced to the few of you remaining.

He looked directly at you, holding your gaze for what felt like an eternity before going back to his work on his laptop. You looked back down at your exam, now furiously writing, worried that you wouldn’t finish because of your distracted mind. Not only were you embarrassing yourself in front of the hot professor, but you would also fail his class. Before you knew it, it was just you and Jamie left in the classroom. You glanced to the clock, swallowing hard.

“Time’s up, love.” He said from his desk.

You sighed, gathering your belongings and making your way to the front. You handed your packet to him. “I uh…I didn’t finish. I’m sorry…”

Jamie tutted as he reached for the papers. “Even with that last minute study session?”

“I guess I was…a little distracted…” You shifted on your feet.

“Distracted?” Jamie leaned back in his chair. “Anything you’d want to talk about?” The look in his eyes felt ravenous, like they were reeling you in as prey.

“I don’t know…” You started as he stood up and began walking around to the front of the desk. You felt your breathing get heavier and a sudden wave of confidence washed over you. ��I-I uh…kept thinking about how good you look in that blazer…”

Jamie let out a soft chuckle as he came to sit on the front of his desk like usual. “Is that so?”

You turned slightly to face him. “And…how good you’ve looked all semester...how I’ve been hoping you’d notice me…” Your entire body was electrified, being this close to him, desperately wanting his hands on you.

Jamie smirked, taking your arm and guiding you in between his slightly spread legs. Your breath hitched. His hands rested at your hips, sending aching pulses straight to your pussy.

“Darling, I’ve noticed. You always wearing those short skirts, twirling your pen in your mouth in class, not even knowing you’re driving me wild…but we both know I can’t get involved like that with a student…as much as I want to…” His voice was low, you felt his hands start to caress your hips and move towards your ass.

“But I’m technically not your student anymore…the exam is over, I’m done with your class.” You put your hands on his chest, leaning into him, feeling his chest rise and fall with more force. You craned your neck up at him.

He snorted a laugh. “You know I meant as a university student here in general…fuck, you look so good in this dress though.” His hand now resides firmly on your ass.

You began tracing circles with your finger on his chest, looking up at him with your best doe eyes. “I won’t tell if you don’t tell…” You whispered, pressing yourself into him, feeling him harden beneath you.

Jamie groaned quietly with a slight chuckle. “Oh, you’re gonna be the death of me....fuck it.”

He hungrily pressed his lips into yours, both of you immediately softly moaning into the other’s mouth, overwhelmed with want. You move your hands from his chest, wrapping them around his neck. His tongue greedily asked for entrance at your lips, which you wasted no time allowing it in, twirling yours with his. A semester’s worth of desire was erupting inside you, finally coming to fruition.

As you both clumsily tried to get more of each other’s mouths, Jamie’s hands planted firmly on the underside of your thighs, lifting you up against him. Your legs instantly wrapped around his waist as he spun around, sitting you down on his desk, never once breaking contact. He slid the blazer off over his shoulders, tossing it on to his chair behind the desk. You didn’t know he had tattoos. He had always worn blazers or long sleeve button ups. It was a welcomed surprise, you always had a weak spot for tattoos.

You pulled back from him, allowing you both to catch your breath. “You wanna fuck me right here on your desk?” You asked playfully.

“I’ve wanted to fuck you on this desk from day one.” He smirked, placing another kiss on your cheek before turning away.

He slipped over to the door, twisting the lock with a click. You were already so wet with anticipation, but you were still relatively new to sex, and suddenly felt a pang of apprehension creep in. You weren’t a virgin, but you weren’t exactly experienced. Aside from a less than notable prom night at a motel, you hadn’t seen much action. But this was a man, a probably very experienced man, and you were worried about impressing him.

Turning back from the door, he paused just for a moment, taking note of your changed body language. “Hey, you okay? You know, we can stop here if you want.” He walked back to you, standing between your legs, placing a hand on your outer thigh.

“No, no I’m fine. I want this. I want you…I just…I’ve only had sex once.” You looked away, embarrassed.

Jamie chuckled. “Oh, darling…” He cooed as he brought his hand to your cheek. “You can trust me. I can go as easy as you want.” His gentle care turned you on even more.

You brought your hand to his on your cheek and pulled it down, pressing it to your aching heat between your thighs, looking up at him with glassy eyes. “What if…I don’t want you to go easy.” You whispered. “How about you teach me something new, professor…”

His eyes went from where you placed his hand, and back up to your eyes. “Shit…you’re so wet.” He breathed; you felt his fingers lightly moving against your clothed cunt. “You sure you want this?”

“Mhm...god, I want you.” You nodded, staring at his lips, hoping his fingers would find their way under the barrier separating them from where you needed them.

Jamie crashed his lips into yours, as you clamored your hands over his shoulders and arms, hoping to pull him closer. His hand remained between your legs, teasing you with pressure that just wasn’t enough. You brought one hand down to his emerging bulge, caressing him through his jeans. A soft moan came from his throat as he rocked his hips slightly, before pulling away from you and taking your hand off of him. You looked confused.

“No, no. Your hands stay above both our waists, got it? Now, lie back.” He smirked.

You did as he said, slowly lowering yourself back on to the desk, keeping eye contact with Jamie. He remained between your legs, a hand on either thigh. He slowly pushed his hands up toward your hips, bringing the bottom hem of your dress up with them, exposing your light blue panties that were splotched with your excitement. He smiled to himself seeing how turned on you were for him. He glanced up at you, just scanning one more time for any sense of hesitation, before hooking his fingers around the band of them, and sliding them down your legs.

He tucked them into his back pocket, bending over you, meeting your lips again. He nipped at your bottom lip, as he reached back down, tracing a finger lightly over your slit. Your hips bucked upward, begging for more stimulation. Jamie smirked against your lips as he took his finger to your clit and began tracing tight circles. He moved his lips from yours down to your neck, biting and suckling, no doubt leaving marks that would take a few days to fade. You squirmed under his touch, aching for even more.

“Professor Bower…” you moaned.

“Call me Jamie, love.” He said against your neck.

“Jaaamiee…” You moaned again.

“Fuck, I love the sound of that.” He groaned, removing his finger from your bundle of nerves, a whimper leaving your mouth at the loss of contact.

He pushed you slightly backward, giving him the right angle now to place a delicate kiss on your thigh. He smirked up at you briefly before then moving planting his mouth on to your eager cunt. His tongue worked euphoric circles on your clit, not wasting any time also plunging a finger inside you. You gasped, grinding your hips down into his face, tensing yourself, your hands automatically tangling themselves up in his hair. Suddenly, he stopped.

“Hey. What did I say? Hands above the waist, or I won’t touch you anymore.” He said sharply.

“But…it feels so good…I can’t.” You say, catching your breath.

“Well then I guess we’re done here.” He started to stand up.

“No! Please…please keep touching me. I’ll be good.” You bit your lip.

Jamie smiled devilishly as he sank back down to his position. “That’s my good girl.”

He returned to working on you with his tongue, pumping in and out with his finger. You tried to stifle your increasing moans, not wanting to draw attention to yourselves. Jamie moaned into your pulsating heat, causing vibration, and sending shockwaves through your core. You gripped the edges of the desk, trying to follow Jamie’s rule, writhing under him. You bucked your hips up as he slipped in a second finger, pumping rhythmically as he swirled his tongue.

“Shit…shit I-..” You breathed.

“You’re doing so well, baby. That’s it. I’ve got you.” Jamie pressed a hand to your lower abdomen, increasing the growing pressure in your belly.

Without thinking, you grabbed his hand, gripping it tightly as you squirmed, feeling your release building. He smiled against you at this innocent and intimate gesture, intertwining his fingers with yours, still suckling your sensitive bud. He curled his fingers upward inside you in a beckoning motion.

“Jamie, fuck, I-…I’m gonna…”

"Yes, love. Go on, cum for me. Cum just for me." Jamie kissed and nibbled on your inner thigh.

You felt your orgasm crash over you. Your legs quivered as your head fell back in ecstasy. He caressed your hand in his with his thumb as he kept rubbing your clit with his other, helping you ride out your high. He came back up to your lips as you came down in a haze, tasting yourself as he kissed you.

“You still with me, love?” He asked chuckling, pulling you to sit upward again.

“Yeah…no one’s ever gone down on me before. You’ve set the bar really high, though.” You panted, buzzing all over.

“Good.” He smirked, leaning into kiss you again.

You couldn’t wait any longer, you needed him. All of him. Right then. You brought your hands up to his belt, eagerly undoing it as he smiled against your lips. He assisted in removing the belt and pushing his jeans down, his cock springing out over the band of his boxers as he pulled them down. He spit into his hand and wrapped around his cock, stroking himself a few times as he stared at you, taking you all in with his eyes before he had his way.

"I need you...I need you right now, Jamie. Please." The words poured out of your mouth, dripping in lust.

Jamie chuckled. "So desperate for me...you're so good for me."

He lined himself up with your waiting cunt, still seated on the edge of the desk. Slowly, he pushed himself in. Your breath hitching as his width stretched your walls, and he let out a moan as he bottomed out. He kissed and bit at your lips as he paused a moment for you to adjust to him, before starting an even and pace of slow, deep thrusting.

“God, I’ve thought of this while I’ve fucked my hand so many times…shit. You feel so good around me, baby.” He said in a gruff voice before burying his face into your neck, his teeth looking to leave more bruises.

“Me too.” You whispered. “Mmm, fuck me, Jamie.”

“Mmm, say that again, love. Say my fucking name.” He groaned, thrusting deeper.

“Mmmm, oh god, please fuck me, Jamie.” You moaned into his ear, your hands sliding through his hair, gripping his blonde hair tight as your eyes closed.

In a swift motion, Jamie pushed you down on your back again, pulling your legs up into his arms. His pace quickened, thrusting hard and fast into you from this angle. With your legs open and held up like this, he was hitting exactly where you needed it. He was fucking you like he wanted you to never forget it, and you knew you never would; you could never after this.

“You’re my fucking girl.” He grunted. “Say it.” He delivered a hard smack to the side of your ass cheek, with your legs still on either side of him. You let out a yelp as his large hand made contact with your soft skin.

“I’m your girl.” You panted. “I’m your girl, Jamie.”

He continued pounding into you. Both of you had long since given up trying to stifle yourselves. You reached down to your clit, circling it with your fingers, looking Jamie directly in the eye. He smiled wickedly with a chuckle as he watched you touch yourself while he fucked you. You felt him twitch inside you, being driven wild at the sight before him.

“Fuck, baby...that’s so sexy…I don’t think I can last much longer.” He gripped your thighs tight in his hands. “Where do you want it?” He asked.

“Inside.” You moaned. “I have an IUD. I want to feel you cum in me.” You arched your back, feeling a second high approaching.

“Okay. Fuuuck. I-…I’m-“

He reached his released, throwing his head back with a string of expletives. You felt his warm, thick seed spill into you, sending you over the edge at the sensation. You clenched around his cock, your body quivering with pleasure. As you both came down from the euphoria, Jamie’s pumping stopped and he stayed still, not yet pulling out of you. He let your legs fall and pulled you back up towards him, his hand sliding up into your hair, while his other hand rested on the small of your back. He placed a delicate kiss on your lips, pulling back as your sweaty foreheads rested together while you both caught your breath.

“Well, I think you passed the exam.” Jamie chuckled.

You laughed. “I’ve always been a bit of a teacher’s pet, hm?”

He slowly pulled out of you, reaching over to a roll of paper towels kept near the whiteboard to help with cleanup of the mess you had both made of yourselves and the desk.

“So… I’m teaching a poetry class next semester.” Jamie began as you finished straightening yourselves and the room up. “If you’re interested in any further extracurricular activities...” He winked.

“You know, I just might switch to being an English major. I suddenly really love literature classes.”

#jamie campbell bower x reader #jamie bower x reader #jamie campbell bower smut #jamie bower smut #jamie campbell bower x y/n #jamie campbell bower imagine #jamie campbell bower fanfic #jamie bower fanfic

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princesssmars · 2 years

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i think im gonna like it here

a headcanon about marinette and adrien meeting reader for the first time.

contains : fluff, adrien and marinette being kinda whipped

a/n : this is how i cope with not liking this show anymore enjoy

from the first time they saw you, adrien and marinette knew they wanted you to know more about you.

you were a new student at collège drançoise dupont, trasnfering from a different country.

you had told the principal that you didnt know much about paris, only having visited when you were really young. and so he suggested 2 of his best students show you around.

they were lucky they were chosen and it wasnt up to who their teacher picked at will, because as soon as you walked into the room they could tell everyone was intrested in you.

the tour was just walking around and showing you parts of the school, giving them some periods off, making marinette rejoice that she had science off and adrien smiling at her.

as they walked you around campus, you introduced yourself and talked more about yourself, giving them your name (which they both thought was pretty)

after deeming them both alright, you told them more about your situation, how your parents were pretty wealthy and moved to a different country every few months, so you didnt really try to make new friends anymore.

they both understood, adrien even more so because of the pressures of his father.

after the campus tour finished, the pair asked if you wanted an actual tour around paris, and who could pass up two cute people willing to show you around a beautiful city?

adrien convinced the gorilla to drive you all to the places they wanted to show you, the first stop being mari's bakery for some snacks.

when you called one of the pastries the best you ever tasted, marinette blushed and became shy, saying it was a new recipe that she made.

her parents were in the kitchen and at the register, introducing themselves and asking you questions leading to mari rushing your little group of the cafe.

after this they take you to more spots around the city, some popular and some they reserved just for them.

the tour ended with them scaling a building, leaving you wondering 1. whay you were doing and 2. how these 2 were so strong ????

at the top, they both helped you onto the roof, maris hand giving you a pleastant chill and adriens a soothing warmth.

once you turned around you couldnt help but let out a breath at the signt of the gorgeous sunset and the skyline, the eiffel tower standing out amongst everything

for a while you sat in silence, until you felt a hand on your shoulder and a soft voice from your right asking, "i hope the silence means you like it, this is me and adriens favorite spot."

you reassure mari that the spot and the sight is beautiful, grateful that they brought you up here.

adrien nudges your shoulder, laying back with his arms propping him up,"dont forget it was my idea to being her here to cheer her up. hey, maybe you'll even start to like the city and convince your parents to stay."

"i think my pastries convinced her, thank you very much."

as the blonde and the bluette playfully bantered back and forth and the city of paris looked back at you, you found yourself with a feeeling of bliss you hadnt felt in a long time.

yeah, i think im gonna like it here.

i wrote this in like 2 hours crazy how if you just tell urself to write itll just happen !?!?! but anyway i hope you guys enjoyed this little thing since i wanted to write more about them after the poly miraculous ideas. i have a ladynoir x reader thing in my drafts that'll hopefully be finished soon <3

#adrien agreste #marinette dupen chang x reader #adrien agreste x reader #poly adrienette #adrienette x reader #miraculous ladybug x reader #miraculous ladybug #marinette dupen chang

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th3worstinm3 · 9 months

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Hi! This almost feels like a silly ask, but I’m currently a vet student and kinda need some motivation to keep going so can I request something soft and fluffy with jolly? Thank you so much for your hard work. Your stories are amazing :)

Hii!! Not silly at all, I love receiving requests!! Also vet student? That's so freaking cool don't give up friend you got this!!! And thank you for the kind words love, they mean so much to me :( <3

First time writing for Jolly, let's see how this goes 👀

Jolly x Reader :3 (not proofread soz)

RPF -> Don't like it? Don't read

you groaned as you leaned back in your chair. you still had a lot to do. studying, cleaning, studying and more studying. it's so exhausting. yes, this is what it takes to be a vet and help those little creatures you loved the most, but sometimes, just sometimes, you feel like you had chosen the wrong career.

you heard the door open behind you and the wood creaking as the sound of steps grew closer. you felt a hand on your shoulder. you turned your head up, glancing at the face on top of you. jolly smiled.

he leaned down, and his recently dyed black hair tickled your cheeks and neck. his hand found its way on your head, moving strands of your hair back, and then he left a kiss on your forehead. you smiled at him, but it quickly turned into a frown as you looked back at your desk. leaning down, you tried to focus on your studies.

gently, jolly's hands started massaging your shoulders. you sighed, now clearly frustrated and leaned back again. you felt him move, his head at the same level as yours now. "you've been working nonstop for the past two hours," he wrapped his hands around your shoulders. "i think it's time for a break. let's watch a movie, or cuddle, or something," he rose one of his hands, his index finger landing on your temple. "get your mind off college, and then you can continue later. what do you think, hm?"

you looked down, fidgeting with the pen in your hands and having an internal argument. a side of you screamed to just accept and tackle him into the bed, but a quieter, smaller side demanded you to keep on studying.

"watcha thinking?" he whispered. it startled you. "nothing, really." it came out in a murmur, and he hummed.

fuck it.

you stood up and wrapped your arms around his torso. you being shorter than him lead to your head a little higher than his chest, almost on his shoulder. he chuckled, amused, and hugged you back. his hand creeped up to your hair, scratching your scalp, and making you close your eyes with a content sigh.

"c'mere, lets lay down," he guided you both to your bed. he sat down, back leaning on the headboard. you curled up in his chest sitting between his legs, pulling your hoodie sleeves up to your hands so they wrapped around them. his hand rubbed your back comfortingly. his smell around you, his hand on your back and the warmth of his body made your frustrations leave your head, and you closed your eyes.

you felt him move, but you were too tired to try to figure out what he was doing. you didn't even notice he turned on the tv and put on some random show, too lost in him.

he kissed the top of your head, and the hand on your back never once stopped tracing your clothed skin. before you realized, you were drifting off, breath slowing down and studies long forgotten, tv playing quietly in the background and weighed down on your loved one.

#bad omens fanfiction #what else #idk how to tag this #soft n fluffy?#Ye

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sasaranomiya · 1 year

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Koukyuu no Karasu Volume 2 Chapter 4 - The Sweetheart Incense (Part 3)

Ngl this last part kinda messed me up when I read it for the first time...but anyways this is the end of Volume 2! I don’t know when I’ll start on Volume 3 since I have a lot of other translations going on, but hopefully some time soon!

Here’s my Ko-fi if anyone is feeling generous

Previous || Index || Next

With one shoulder exposed, Koushun’s injured arm was being bandaged by Ei Sei. Jusetsu watched them out of the corner of her eye as she gathered the owl feathers.

“It isn’t a serious injury. It’ll heal quickly. I’ve had worse injuries.”

After the treatment was over, Koushun put his sleeve back on and said indifferently. Indeed, she had caught glimpses of old wounds on his body. But he had to be in pain after being injured.

“…I’m sorry. Thank you.”

After saying those few words reticently, Koushun and Ei Sei looked at each other.

Jusetsu silently stuffed the feathers into a sack. She wasn’t sure if she should leave these feathers here or not. She decided to collect them for the time being and keep them in Yamei Palace. Onkei helped her, but Jusetsu continued her work without exchanging much words with him. She felt ashamed of herself for not being able to do anything against Shougetsu, and she didn’t have the energy to speak. If Xingxing hadn’t appeared, she wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

Harara, Shougetsu had called Xingxing.

Was that Xingxing’s real name?

There were many things she didn’t know.

Jusetsu pressed my hand against her stomach. Gyoei’s words echoed in her mind. “A monster will be born from within you.”

Will I become a monster?

“You are already halfway to becoming the Raven. You were given life in this world as yourself, but it is being taken from you without you realizing it. What a horrible thing Koushou had done—”

Did Koushou not think that far? Or did she know that, and still offered up the Raven Consort as a vessel? Did Reijou and the previous Raven Consorts know about this? What about the Winter Minister?

The Raven Consort was imprisoned in the inner palace. Moreover—moreover, even her mind and body didn’t belong to her.

Something crumbled and became lost from within Jusetsu.

She hid herself as a survivor of the Ran clan, her mother was killed, she was chosen as the Raven Consort, and lived her life in the midst of many things over which she had no control, but she still believed that she had to stand on her own two feet and survive. She thought that her own self was the only thing no one could step into and take away from her. With that—not as something she needed to believe in, but as a matter of course—as her core, Jusetsu stood tall.

Is who I am now really me?

How much of me is me and how much is the Raven? Will the Raven take everything away one day? Or had it already done it?

Her vision became blurry.

I can’t bear it, she thought.

“Lady Jusetsu.”

Onkei called out. Jusetsu raised her head.

“Jiujiu and the others will be waiting for you at Yamei Palace. I’m sure you must be feeling chilled from the night air, so I’ll have them prepare a cup of warm tea for you,” Onkei squeezed the mouth of the sack closed, hung it from his sash, and held out his hand toward Jusetsu. “Can you walk, Lady Jusetsu?”

Jusetsu stared at the hand offered to her, and then slowly reached out her hand. Onkei’s hand was warm. Her cold fingertips finally felt warmth. It was a warmth that seemed to seep into her.

Onkei took her hand and stood up. Xingxing had disappeared at some point. It might have returned to Yamei Palace immediately.

Jusetsu, Koushun called, and she turned around to see him walking towards her, searching for something in his pocket.

“What is it, sweets?” Jusetsu asked. It had become a given that anything he was hiding in his pocket was usually sweets.

“No,” It seemed that this time was different. Koushun took one look at what he had pulled out of his pocket and furrowed his brows. He then put it back in his pocket.

“What is that?”

“I’ll give it to you next time.”

“What, you can’t show it to me? Now I’m curious.”

Koushun reluctantly pulled his hand out of his pocket. He took Jusetsu’s hand and placed the object on it. It was a fish-shaped ornament. It was carved out of wood, down to the finest scales, and the tail fin looked like it was about to move at any minute.

“You made it already?”

When she said that she was afraid of losing the glass ornament, Koushun had said that he would make one for her out of wood. That conversation had happened today.

“I can make something like this quickly. I visited Yamei Palace to deliver it to you.”

There, he had run into Jusetsu, who had just left the palace.

“But I was careless. I must have chipped it when I fell down.”

Jusetsu looked closely at the fish and saw that the fish’s dorsal fin was slightly chipped. She thought that it was just the shape. She wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been told about it.

“I’ll make a new one.”

Koushun held out his hand. It seemed that he wanted it back. Jusetsu gazed at the fish and said, “I don’t need a new one.” The fish had a pale red cord tied to it. Jusetsu put it through her sash and tied it. The fish hung from her sash. It swayed every time she moved, resembling a fish jumping.

“It’s better if it’s chipped a little. Otherwise, it would start swimming away.”

“——Is that so?”

Jusetsu swung the fish hanging from her waist with her fingertips. Koushun smiled slightly when he saw that.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

Jusetsu glanced up at him and then looked away. She turned on her heel and walked toward Yamei Palace.

“I did like it. …Thank you.”

Without looking back at Koushun, Jusetsu sped up her pace. Onkei was before her, keeping an eye on their surroundings as they walked. The moon was bright.

The warmth, which was both a heavy chain and a poison that bound Jusetsu, was now pulling on her hand and keeping her from falling.

This might be a mistake, something that broke her promise to Reijou. But even so——.

“Ei Sei.”

On the way back to the inner court, Koushun called to Ei Sei. Ei Sei, who was holding a candle and walking in the front, slipped closer to him. Surrounding them were the eunuchs of the rokuboushi.

“There are a few things that need to be investigated.”

“This is regarding Shougetsu, yes?”

Ei Sei was perceptive. Koushun nodded.

There were a number of questions. Questions from before, such as who was he.

In the first place, how was Shougetsu allowed into the inner palace as a eunuch? Not only that, but how was he hired by a consort’s palace? How did he get travel papers?

“…He has a collaborator.”

His murmur melted into the darkness of the night.

After passing through the gate of Seiu Temple, Koushun headed straight for the rear building. He hadn’t announced his visit ahead of time, so when the acolytes saw him, they rushed out of the building and dropped to their knees. When he asked them if Gyoei was there, he was led to their usual room. Gyoei arrived immediately. It was as if he had been waiting for Koushun.

“I heard you were injured the other day, Your Majesty. How are you feeling?”

“You’re very well-informed. It’s not serious. Just a scratch.”

Gyoei nodded, seemingly relieved by those words and Koushun’s usual demeanor.

“I’m very glad to hear that.”

“You’re relieved?”

“Well, of course.”

“I see.”

Koushun closed his mouth and turned his face towards the latticed window. The sunlight was dazzling, causing him to squint. He had been thinking about how he should broach the topic even before he came here.

“The one who wounded me was a eunuch named Hou Shougetsu. He is a new chi’er.”

Have you heard about that as well, he asked.

Gyoei stared at his face intently. As if trying to guess his true intentions.

“I have.”

“Shougetsu enticed the Magpie Consort, caused the death of a palace lady and brought disorder to the inner palace. Naturally, his origins were investigated in detail. On his travel papers, it was written that Shougetsu is the nephew of a man named Hou, but I know that person doesn’t have a nephew or anything of the sort. In other words, the papers were forged. Who arranged those papers? One more thing. Shougetsu wasn’t a eunuch who the vulture stewards bought from a broker. He was allowed to enter the inner palace based on the recommendation of an official. That was why Jakusou Palace trusted him and employed him. Who was the recommender? The person who did both those things was Shuku Kou, the general secretary of the Ministry of Personnel.”

Koushun stared at Gyoei’s face, but his complexion didn’t change at all.

“You know Shuku Kou very well, I think. He used to be an acolyte here. He was one of the people you trained. Apparently, they all remembered your kindness and still love you dearly. Why did you involve someone like that?”

Only when Koushun said so did Gyoei’s lips quiver. He bit his lip.

“Shuku Kou didn’t confess what you asked him to do until the very end. But there were people who saw and heard that you visited him. Even a secret meeting in the shadows of the night isn’t something that can be concealed.”

“Did you torture him?”

“You made it happen.”

Koushun said quietly, but authoritatively. Gyoei held his tongue.

“Why?” Koushun asked another question. “Why did you send Shougetsu to the inner palace? What is the relationship between you and him?”

He choked on his words and continued talking as though to spit them out.

“Did you do all this knowing that Shougetsu came here to kill Jusetsu?”

Gyoei didn’t avert his gaze. Koushun felt pain, as if he was the one being cross-examined.

“I knew.”

Gyoei answered calmly without looking away.

“I didn’t know about Shougetsu at first. Hou Ichigyou was an old friend of mine. I haven’t seen him for a long time, but I received a letter from him for the first time in a while. He wanted travel papers to be prepared, so I asked Shuku Kou for help. At the time, I thought I was just doing a small favor for an old friend. To my surprise, they came to visit me and asked me to help Shougetsu enter the inner palace as a eunuch. Since there are many people who become eunuchs because they were destitute, such requests weren’t unusual. It is better to have a recommendation, so you would be treated well once you entered the inner palace. However, Shougetsu didn’t seem to be struggling financially, and I didn’t understand why he wanted to become a eunuch. He was a strange man. No, he wasn’t a man. It wasn’t necessary for him to go to a plucking house, as he was neither a man nor a woman. More to the point, he didn’t even seem like a human.”

Gyoei took a breath and moistened his lips with tea.

“Shougetsu answered when I asked him. He said, I want to go to the Raven Consort. When I asked why, he said he had to kill her. I didn’t hear anything more. On top of not being a normal human being, he had some sort of duty to bear. I also asked Shuku Kou to send him to the inner palace.”

“Why?” Koushun’s voice had unusually lost its composure and became agitated. “By doing that, it would be no different than if you had sent an assassin to kill the Raven Consort.”

“That was precisely what I did.”

Koushun was speechless at Gyoei’s response.

“I decided that if Shougetsu wasn’t a normal human, then I mustn’t stop the course of events. Whether she is killed by Shougetsu, or she turns the tables on him, it is not up to me to decide. That is destiny. Even if it kills the Raven Consort—Lady Jusetsu.”

“Are you saying you don’t care what happens to her? Even though she’s so fond of you?”

Jusetsu had visited this place many times. She was listening attentively to Gyoei’s stories about Reijou. Even Gyoei had to have known that.

Gyoei’s eyebrows twitched and his eyes shook. He looked down.

“…Your Majesty, you’re always sympathizing with Lady Jusetsu in that way.”

“What?”

“I have admonished you many times. I have repeatedly told you not to be too close with the Raven Consort. But you didn’t listen to me.”

“That’s—”

“The Raven Consort is a solitary existence. She does not desire anything, she keeps herself away from others, and she spends her life alone in Yamei Palace. Your Majesty, you asked me Why, why, but I would like to ask you the same question. Why did you think I was receiving Lady Jusetsu with kindness? I cannot help but find it strange that you think so.”

Koushun stared at Gyoei in astonishment.

“Lady Jusetsu has a eunuch and palace ladies who serve her. She even has you. Lady Jusetsu is blessed. Unlike you, I don’t pity her. Ever since Your Majesty came here out of concern for her, I have never once thought that way. Lady Jusetsu is surrounded by people. Even the emperor cares about her. Never once did the emperor care for Lady Reijou in that way. None of the emperors before you gave the slightest thought to her. Lady Reijou was alone. She was always alone, all by herself!”

Gyoei’s hoarse and bloody shouts echoed in the room.

“Did anyone save her? Did anyone exert themselves for the sake of Lady Reijou? Why Lady Jusetsu? If only Lady Reijou had an emperor who cared about her—”

Gyoei pounded the table with his fist. The tea cups overturned, and tea spilled onto the floor. The sounds of dripping tea were unusually loud. It sounded like tears falling.

Gyoei’s fist was trembling. Koushun stared at it.

“—She had Jusetsu,” Koushun said. Gyoei looked up.

“Reijou would have had Jusetsu. It was she who taught Jusetsu how to read and write, showed her the way of things, and loved her. Anyone can tell just by looking at Jusetsu how much love and care Reijou poured into her. Jusetsu’s existence was that great to her. Was that not Reijou’s salvation?”

Gyoei looked at Koushun silently.

“That is the girl you tried to kill.”

Koushun’s voice was quiet. Gyoei’s moustache twitched, but no words came out.

Koushun recalled the sarcastic tone of the aloof and easygoing Gyoei, the look on his face when he was caught off-guard, and the crease between his eyebrows when he was playing Go. Jusetsu wasn’t the only one who frequented this place.

For Koushun, the time he spent here were brief moments of relaxation.

They were lost and would never return. Never again.

Koushun stood from his chair.

“You said you wanted to retire. I’ll allow it. Leave this place without a word to anyone.”

He had no intention of publicly punishing Gyoei. At a time when the empress dowager had just died, he didn’t want to cause a stir about another reprehensible scheme.

Gyoei bowed. “I am grateful for your kindness, Your Majesty.”

Koushun left the room without saying anything. He hadn’t known anything about the anger and sadness that Gyoei had hidden in his heart. He couldn’t see any of it. Gyoei sometimes hid his face to avoid having his expression read. He wasn’t aware of its significance. No, he was aware of it, but unconsciously avoided pursuing it deeply.

Many things slipped through the gaps between his fingers, scattering into the darkness. In the end, there would surely be nothing left. It was like a dim and cold shadow was approaching him from behind.

Gyoei left Seiu Temple that same day and, as he had said before, went to live with his younger brother in the castle town. It was several days later that Koushun learned the news that Gyoei had committed suicide.

In a corner of the imperial palace, there was a place called Koshi Palace. It was a private residence of the emperor, but it was small and not very luxurious. It was a sort of a retreat for spending time quietly. A messenger with a palanquin came to Jusetsu to ask her to go there. Of course, it was an invitation from Koushun.

After stepping out of the uncomfortable palanquin, she saw a plaque that read “Koshi Palace” hanging from the tile-roofed gate. She passed through the gate and walked down the stone-paved path to find only one small building. There wasn’t even a garden. The view was good, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of forlornness. The pillars of the palace weren’t painted red, and the wood was left bare. On the edge of the roof, there were decorative tiles of an old man riding a giant turtle, and cast-iron lanterns hanging from the eaves.

When the eunuch opened the doors, a light rustling sound was heard. She wondered where it came from, but then noticed that the copper-plate banners around the room were fluttering and rubbing against each other. It was a strange room. At her feet, she saw the whole surface of the stone floor was inlaid with gold. Connections of circles and lines. They apparently depicted stars. As she walked while gazing at it, she found a couch at the back of the room and Koushun sitting there leisurely.

“What do you want from me?”

That was the first thing that came out of her mouth. Koushun motioned with his hand for her to sit down next to him. There were no other chairs there, so Jusetsu had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the couch. By all rights, no one was allowed to sit next to the emperor, but Koushun kept his promise to treat her as the Winter King whenever they were alone together.

“The Winter Minister has changed. He wants to introduce himself to you, so I told him to come here.”

“Did Gyoei retire?” Jusetsu felt somewhat dejected. He had said for quite a while now that he was going to retire, but she hadn’t expected him to do it before she knew it.

“Yes.” Koushun’s answer was brief.

She wished they had informed her before Gyoei retired, but neither he nor Koushun had any obligation to tell her. However, she felt a little sad.

“He told me his brother and his wife are living in the castle town. Is he living with them?”

“Yes.”

“Then I won’t be able to see him anymore.”

Jusetsu couldn’t leave the imperial palace. Unless Gyoei came here, she would never be able to see him again.

Koushun didn’t say anything, only staring at the stars on the floor.

“Who is this new Winter Minister? Have I met him before?”

“I don’t think so. He has been working in the back of the temple until now. He is the one who has been running Seiu Temple with a scanty budget and staff. He’s still young. I believe he is just over forty.”

Jusetsu learned that he was the person who Gyoei had named as his successor for some time.

“Since he’s the Winter Minister—he knows what the Raven Consort is, does he?”

“Yes.” Koushun’s reply was short.

“…How much do Winter Ministers know?”

Jusetsu suddenly murmured. Until now, she assumed that the secrets known to the Winter Minister and the Raven Consort were the same. However, Gyoei had suggested that there was a monster—Wulian Niangniang—within Jusetsu. That was something she hadn’t known. There were probably more things she didn’t know, but did the Winter Minister know everything?

“Dajia.”

Ei Sei walked into the palace and went before Koushun with quiet, gliding steps.

“The Winter Minister is here,” he announced. A man arrived, escorted by another eunuch. He was a tall, thin man dressed in bluish-black robes and a dark gray futou with a pintail duck’s feather tucked in it. He was a tall, thin man. His cheeks were hollow and pale, and his eyes were piercing. He looked like a sick man.

The man came to Koushun and Jusetsu and knelt down.

“I have just been granted the role of Winter Minister. My name is Tou Ken, and my courtesy name is Senri.”

His voice was low, but unexpectedly amicable and soft. At first glance, he seemed like a high-strung and fussy man, but that surprisingly might not be the case.

“I have always been prone to illness, and I’m not a considerably robust person. However, I want to fulfill my role for the sake of Master Gyoei, who has supported me until this point.”

Senri said with downcast eyes. This softened the sharp impression of his eyes.

“Is Gyoei doing well in retirement?”

Jusetsu asked. Senri looked at Koushun for a moment. He quickly returned his gaze and answered, “Yes. I hear that he’s doing well.”

“I see.”

She wondered if he was playing Go with his younger brother.

“I would have liked to play Go with Gyoei once. I am not a strong player, but I think he’s weaker than Koushun.”

Koushun smiled a somewhat melancholic smile. He, too, seemed to be lonely now that Gyoei had retired.

“If it is Go, then I can play a little as well,” Senri said. “If you’re fine with me as your opponent, I’m always available.”

“You must be strong. You have that sort of face. And so, people like you say, ‘I can play a little.’”

When she frowned, Senri laughed. She was surprised by his unguarded smile. Perhaps he was more cheerful than he seemed.

“Master Gyoei has been researching the Raven Consort for a long time,” Senri said, a faint smile still on his face. “Perhaps you’ve noticed that successive generations of White Smoke…Winter Ministers also didn’t know many things.”

“Many things?”

“For example, the fact that Wulian Niangniang is sealed within the Raven Consort.”

Reflexively, Jusetsu looked at Senri’s face. He nodded lightly.

“The one who succeeds the Winter Minister are given the Soutsuten—the other Soutsuten. The Raven Consort has it as well. We inherit nothing else. Therefore, the successive Winter Ministers only know what is written in the Soutsuten. However, Master Gyoei seemed to have done his own research beyond that. I say ‘seemed,’ because I learned about this from the many notes left behind by him. I haven’t sorted through all of them yet, but Master Gyoei seemed to have been researching very diligently. Apparently, he stopped after the death of the previous Raven Consort…”

Oh, I see.

Jusetsu understood. He must have been doing all this research in order to save Reijou.

But he couldn’t help her. He couldn’t set Reijou free.

“First, I would like to organizing all of Master Gyoei’s findings. After that, I intend to follow in his footsteps and continue his research. I’ve always been good at such things.”

“Would it not be quicker to ask Gyoei himself about his research?”

“He would scold me with, ‘Is this something you have to ask a retired old man to understand’?”

He would say that with plenty of sarcasm, Senri said with a smile. “I would also be outraged about that. I believe this is a task left to me by Master Gyoei.”

Jusetsu could imagine Gyoei’s sarcastic words easily. The smile carved into Senri’s hollow cheeks was a mixture of nostalgia and affection. It was clear that Gyoei and Senri had trusted each other deeply.

“If it would help you in any way, Lady Jusetsu, then I would have done my duty as the Winter Minister who succeeded Master Gyoei.”

Senri said, choosing his words carefully. Jusetsu tilted her head a little. Why would helping her be a fulfillment of his duty?”

“I believe that the Winter Minister was originally supposed to be a helper to the Raven Consort.”

“Really…?”

“At the very least, I want to help you, Lady Jusetsu.”

Jusetsu stared at Senri’s face. Senri was pale and thin and looked like he was about to collapse at any minute, but she felt a strange sense of security with him that made her feel as though she could entrust herself to him. If I had a father, perhaps he would be like this, Jusetsu thought.

With that, Senri bid them farewell and left. The Winter Ministry seemed to be in good hands.

“As expected, Gyoei has a trained a good successor.”

“It seems like it.” Koushun was of few words today. Jusetsu turned to him.

“Does your wound hurt?”

Koushun looked puzzled. “No, why do you ask?”

“You look like it.” She said the same thing she had said to Senri.

Koushun let out a small laugh. “Do I?”

“If you’re tired, you should go back and rest.”

“You’re right,” he said, but made no move to stand up. “…I believe I’ve slept in your bed once before.”

“You did. It caused me a great deal of trouble.”

“I had the most peaceful sleep I ever had at that time. I feel like I had a good dream.”

He said, ignoring the “trouble” part.

“That’s my bed, not yours. I won’t let you use it again.”

“Maybe it would be better if you were with me.”

“I am not your bed.”

“Well, that’s true,” Koushun said, and then stood up. “I’ve said something foolish. Forget it.”

Jusetsu looked up at Koushun’s face.

“You can’t sleep?”

Koushun looked down at her.

“…Somewhat.”

Jusetsu gestured to the spot next to her and pressed him to sit down. It was an imitation of what he did earlier. Koushun obediently sat down again. She took his hand.

“You’re freezing. Even though it’s summer. Are you eating well?”

“I’m eating.”

“Not being able to eat is bad, but it is also unwise to force yourself to eat. It would only put a strain on your stomach. I hope you aren’t only eating cold food because it’s hot. It’s good to eat rice porridge with green onions and ginger. It warms the body. Also, eat some lychees. It improves the circulation of the qi,” Jusetsu said as she rubbed Koushun’s hand. “Also—”

As she was thinking about what he should eat, she sensed Koushun smiling. “What?” she asked.

“It’s nothing… Did you learn that from Reijou as well?”

“From Keishi. She’s the servant at Yamei Palace. Keishi is fastidious about food. When I came to Yamei Palace, I was like a withered branch, so she took care of me.”

She learned the rubbing hand trick from Reijou. Whenever Jusetsu dreamed of her mother’s exposed head and jumped out of bed, Reijou would warm her hands so she would sleep well.

She told him this and said, “When you can’t sleep, have someone rub your hand like this.”

“I see…” Koushun leaned back on the couch and seemed to be relaxing.

“The Magpie Consort has died,” he murmured. Jusetsu stopped her hands and looked up at him. “I didn’t want her to die.”

“That’s quite natural.”

“I’m not simply mourning her. Considering who her father is, she had to live.”

“The Magpie Consort’s father…he is in the cold faction…and the assistant minister of the Palace Secretariat, yes?”

“Yes. He must hold a grudge against me.”

“I—don’t think he would. You had nothing to do with what she did. That blame is misplaced.”

“No, that’s the way it is. If only she hadn’t entered the inner palace, if only I had returned her to her parents’ house earlier. Even if I suppress such reproaches with reason, they will continue to smolder from the bottom of my heart. And the flames of these feelings will eventually lead to a great fire.”

Just as I can’t forgive the empress dowager, he said.

“If it weren’t for my mother and Tei Ran, I don’t know if I would have been fixated on the throne. It was emotion that moved my heart.”

Jusetsu started massaging Koushun’s hand again. His hand was getting warmer, but she knew that this couldn’t warm his heart.

“I’m also disgusted with myself for not being able to simply mourn the Magpie Consort’s death from the bottom of my heart,” Koushun said matter-of-factly, but to Jusetsu, it seemed like a cry from his creaking heart.

“…Burn a silk feather.”

“A silk feather?” he asked back.

“Take a moment to mourn for the Magpie Consort yourself. Only then will you be dedicating yourself to solely grieving for her.”

Koushun stared closely at her face.

“Okay. I’ll do that.”

“I will burn one as well. So that the Magpie Consort will not be lost on her journey across the sea.”

So that Koushun would also not be lost.

This was the first time that Jusetsu prayed for Koushun.

When she returned to Yamei Palace, Jusetsu took out a silk feather from the cupboard, wrote the Magpie Consort’s name on it, and burned it. Watching the pale red bird fly away, Jusetsu thought of Koushun. For the first time, she wondered what she could do for him. It wasn’t to repay Koushun protecting her and getting injured or for offering her help. It was just something she suddenly thought of.

She could no longer see the bird. In the sky that was so blue that it seemed like it would dye your hand azure if you dipped it in, kneaded white clouds formed puffy mountains. The sky itself was dazzlingly bright. Jusetsu, staring at it with squinting eyes, turned back inside the palace. She headed for her cupboard and took out a piece of paper. With the inkstone and brush still out, she placed the paper on the table and sat down. After thinking for a little bit, she picked up the brush.

On that day, Jusetsu sent a letter addressed to a certain government official.

After Koushun took off his outer robe, Ei Sei removed the bandages around his arm. The wound was already closed, and there was no longer pain. However, Ei Sei’s brows were furrowed as he looked at the scar.

“Dajia—”

The scar was only a faint line. It healed rather quickly. However, strangely, a bruise resembling a striped pattern had emerged next to the scar. It wasn’t a bruise from being hit. It was a brown bruise. It looked like owl feathers—.

“It’s nothing unusual.”

Koushun fixed his clothing. In fact, even with the bruise, nothing changed. Besides, the bruise seemed to be fading. It would disappear soon.

“If anything unusual happens, you must let me know.”

Koushun left the room after saying this to Ei Sei, whose worried look didn’t leave his face. He headed for an outer palace from the inner court. He walked through a walkway and came out to a corner of the lotus pond. There was a large palace in front of him, but he stopped without going in there. The buzzing of insects came from here and there, and it was so hot that one would break out into a sweat as soon one stepped out into the sun. Even so, the wind that glided over the pond reached him, and the shaded walkway was cool.

As he gazed at the lotus buds that had already closed, a eunuch announced the arrival of a retainer. He knelt down in front of Koushun and bowed. Koushun had Ei Sei and the other eunuchs withdraw and called out to the retainer.

“Come next to me, Koukei.”

Yes, Koukei stood up and walked to Koushun’s side. Kin Koukei—the Magpie Consort’s father. He was a good-looking man in his fifties. But now, he was care-worn and a shadow of his former self. His hair, which until recently was quite dark for his age, was now gray.

He had resigned from his position of assistant minister and it was decided that he was leaving the imperial court. Officially, the Magpie Consort died of illness and the palace lady was bitten by a wild dog. However, he, the father, wasn’t blamed.

“I can offer no sufficient apologies to you, Your Majesty.”

Koukei was battered by grief. How must it feel for a father to lose his son, his daughter, and then have to apologize to others? It was beyond the scope of Koushun’s imagination.

“There is no need for you to apologize to me. You should mourn your children and take care of your wife.”

“Hah…” Koukei’s expression broke down and he gritted his teeth, as if unable to bear it any longer. Tears welled up in his eyes and overflowed. “My, my apolo…” Unable to speak, he wiped his cheek with a handkerchief.

He was an honest man, trusted by other officials, and did excellent work. It would be a great blow to Koushun to lose him.

“From a young age, they were the closest of siblings, complementing each other…”

Wiping away his tears and regaining his composure, Koukei began to speak haltingly.

“It was my wife who said that they were a little too close. Embarrassingly, I’ve never noticed such things… I discussed with my wife that it would be best to marry Keiyou off before an indiscretion is committed, but I knew that we couldn’t sever their relationship by simply marrying her off into another family. I thought that if she was in the inner palace, they would no longer be able to see each other, and so they would have no choice but to give up on each other, or their feelings would naturally drift apart. It was an exceedingly insolent reason to put her in the inner palace. That was our crime. That is why Keiyou had done what she did. I never…never expected that she would do such a dreadful—”

Koukei clutched his handkerchief. No amount of regret would be enough. Koushun patted his arm lightly, silently telling him not to be too hard on himself. Tears welled up in Koukei’s eyes again, and he hurriedly pressed his handkerchief over them.

“Truly…I couldn’t have been happier if Keiyou was also able to adore a kind person like you, Your Majesty…”

I am in no way kind, Koushun thought. He had been thinking that by letting Keiyou die, he would lose Keiyou and be hated by him.

Though Koukei couldn’t have read his inner thoughts from his expressionless face, he smiled faintly.

“I know you are a kind man, Your Majesty. You burned a silk feather for Keiyou, did you not?”

Koushun was shocked. He had never told anyone about this. The only person who knew that he secretly burned a silk feather would be Ei Sei. And he would never tell anyone about it.

“How—”

“I’ve received a letter from the Raven Consort.”

“From the Raven Consort?”

Now he was even more shocked. Jusetsu sent a letter to Koukei?

“She said that she burned a silk feather so that Keiyou’s soul would not be lost. She said that you also did the same thing, Your Majesty. That was what she wrote. I never expected to receive a letter from the Raven Consort, and I was astonished. I had received a compassionate letter from a being deep in the inner palace, who may or may not exist, who may be a human or a ghost, who to me is like a ghost story… I could keenly feel her condolences for Keiyou in her letter. The Raven Consort is a kind person, isn’t she. And so are you, Your Majesty.”

Koushun was speechless. He never expected Jusetsu to do such a thing. Moreover, this was most likely—for Koushun’s sake.

He had thought it was strange that he didn’t feel any deep-seated resentment from Koukei to him. He wondered if Koukei was good at hiding it or if he had always been like that.

Jusetsu’s letter comforted his heart.

Koushun didn’t know why, but at this moment, he felt the urge to cry.

As the cold, dim shadows were constantly chasing him, he suddenly remembered how to breathe. That was how it felt.

He had always wanted to save Jusetsu. There was also a sense of guilt because he had silently chosen the path of binding that girl to the inner palace. He also knew that what Shougetsu had told her would hurt her even more.

Jusetsu should have been wounded all over. Even if her body wasn’t injured, her heart was probably deeply wounded. So how, Koushun wondered, did she have the time to think carefully about him? Him, of all people. The Summer King who imprisoned the Winter King.

It was only then that Koushun realized that he had underestimated Jusetsu. As he realized his own hubris, his stiffened heart, frightened of the shadows, slowly began to loosen.

He could breathe.

It was salvation. It was the salvation he had been seeking while giving up on the idea that he would ever obtain it.

“Your Majesty,” Koukei said in surprise. “Your Majesty…are you crying for Keiyou’s sake?”

No, that’s not why. Unable to utter a word to clear up the misunderstanding, Koushun simply stood there in silence.

The wind that blew across the surface of the pond lightly caressed the tear that ran down Koushun’s cheek.

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#koukyuu no karasu #koukyuu no karasu 2 #shirakawa kouko #translations

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staygolddindjarin · 3 years

Text

Grief

Chapter One: History

Din Djarin x Reader x a bunch of other star wars characters

Series Summary: Raised on Mandalore, born into a bloodline of warriors, no one ever expected for the daughter of a Clan leader to go rogue. Leaving the life of security and making the journey to fight in the war against the empire meant many things... giving up the way of the Mandalore, and giving up a solid future. A future that involves an arranged marriage to a foundling from another clan.

Chapter Warnings: Oof this ones kinda angsty right off the bat- ⚠️ attempted suicide?? Kinda?? Age gap (reader is underage, but don't worry it's just for the sake of backstory and also there's no spicy, so...) mentions of death and afterlife, fluff if you like squint really hard

A/n: hello there... I'm sorry to inflict tumblr with this atrocity, but wattpad had to deal with it so tumblr can too. I wrote a different version of this on my wp with an OC name, but I know that not everyone cares for that so this won't include that. Also this series will be such a slow burn... prepare yourself ahead of time because it's going to be agonizing

Words: 6.3k+

SERIES MASTERLIST UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Part 1/?

"Pehea gar mar'eyir ni...."

How did you find me....

He came and sat beside me, the sound of metal scraping agaisnt the ground when he knelt first.

"Gar cuyir te shi solus tion'ad comes olar jii. Ni kar'taylir gar jate'shya gar mirdir Ni vaabir," He responded.

You are the only one who comes here now. I know you better than you think I do.

I heaved a deep breath before letting it out in an exhausted sigh. Speaking in my native tongue was something I always appreciated, but now sitting here it felt nearly uncomfortable, but there was a reason for that.

"I wanted to be alone," The words from my mouth were no longer in my language, and he shifted beside me, trying to convey his confusion without a word.

"Care to elaborate?" He suggested, his asking tone was harsh... but then so was everything else about him.

I didn't really feel like explaning my feelings at the moment. I didn't want to focus on the very thing he was asking about. Even though he wasn't absolutely sure of what he was asking.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you," I trailed off.

"Try me." His voice wasn't any softer, but the sincerity he rarely showed had seeped into his tone.

"I really don't think it's a good idea. You really won't understand, and for all I know you could make things worse off for me than they already are," I didn't like it when he let his guard down around me. I didn't like getting closer to him, even though I was supposed to.

"I can't force you. Whatever it is, I wouldn't get myself too worked up," He sounded hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it was by my words. He was too strong to be wounded by such trivial things.

He moved in his seat, beginning to stand, and for some reason the thought of being alone like I had originally intended seemed like a horrible idea.

I reached out to grip his arm. I kept my gaze forward, knowing that even if I looked at him I could not see his eyes.

"Stay."

He didn't hesitate. He sat down again, and I no longer felt guilt for the hurt in his voice a moment prior.

We sat for a moment in silence, just looking over the cliffside, into the deep canyons that wove in between settlements and encampments of our tribes and clans.

"I don't want this life," I whispered. I had only half hoped he would be paying enough attention to hear me. My voice was soft enough that he might not have.

"What do you mean?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, regretting the choice to even say what I did. I felt a shiver go down my arms, and I felt the wind come into the old open cavern, making the air around me chill. My arms were exposed, for I didn't expect the cold tonight. I didn't expect to be here this long.

"I'll turn sixteen in four days. I will either take the creed, or deny everything I've ever been taught. I'd leave if I do that," I finally gave a glance in his direction. He looked back at me, or at least the beskar did. I could never tell where his eyes were.

"You want to leave?" That pained tone of his voice had returned. The one I felt guilty for without actually believing I had done anything to cause it.

I did. I wanted to get off this planet. Away from the responsibility of becoming what everyone expected of me.

"I have to. It's the only way I will ever be at peace, but I'm not sure if I truly have the strength to stand in front of my family and deny the creed."

I could run away. I had some friends who were planning to jump a transport and join the rebellion against the empire.

They had offered me to be apart of this, but I had refused, believing that I would follow in my ancestors footsteps and take the creed. My father had already provided the beskar for my helmet to be made. It was already in the armourer's possession. All that was left was for me to come of age.

"Where did you go, just now?" He noticed my lack of attentiveness to my current reality, and brought me back to where I was. On the drafty cliffside, with my legs hanging over the end.

"Nowhere. I was just thinking about the future," I had admitted. Though I felt the need to stay emotionally distant from him, and not let myself develop a closeness, I knew I could trust him with my life, which is why I even revealed these things to him in the first place.

"What do you think your future will look like?" The tone that brought me guilt had again left his voice, but was replaced by something else... was it fear? I could not even think of theorizing that he could ever be scared. He was one of the bravest in his clan. Never had he shown an ounce of fear to anyone or anything. How stupid of me to even wonder.

"Merc and his crew are gonna stow away on a crate transport tomorrow. He has contact with the rebellion. He said that I could go with them if I was up for it," I looked down, almost embarrassed at admitting a plan of escape to someone so loyal to this place. Even though he wasn't born on this planet, and even though he wasn't a blood member of any tribe, the foundling was more of a mandalorian than I could ever be.

"You've agreed?"

"No. Not yet," I shook my head. I didn't feel like my reasons were valid. Having him sit beside me, and ask me these things made me realize that I needed to explain myself further.

"Din, I want to be free. I don't want to spend the rest of my life under a code that is so restricting to me, binding my every decision. Everything I'd do would have to be following after the creed."

He didn't respond, and even though his features were shrouded under the reflective surface of his beskar, I could tell he was thinking of something.

"I'm not yet sixteen, but when I am... I don't want to be locked down under a piece of metal. I don't want to have to be bound to this planet or a clan. I want to go some place far away and be something that is different than what everyone expects of me. I want to fight battles against the empire, I want to make my own rules. I want to be free to marry who I love, and not be betrothed to whoever my father chooses for me," I finished off my speech about freedom, but realized the last sentence too late. I should have chosen a better set of words.

Din's head hung down, looking at the wrist guards he wore. He shook his head back and forth and before I could interject, he began speaking.

"So that's why...." he trailed off. I was honestly too scared to say anything now. Why must I speak so bluntly and hurtfully honest to people? Perhaps it is because I had never gotten close to him that now I had no fear in what I said to his face.

"If the reason you plan to leave your family is because of me, then-"

"No," I said harshly, catching him off guard. I was usually snippy with others, but I had never before shown a tendency to be angry or intense with my speech. "Believe me, this has nothing to do with you."

"You have always shown enthusiasm towards coming of age. It's only now, when we are arranged, that you show any difference," He brought on certainty in his voice that I nearly couldn't deny, but the truth was... it really wasn't about him. "I can converse with your father, the rest of the clan... I will find a way to break it off if it will make you stay."

"Din, I don't want you to do that. If you don't believe me when I tell you that you are not the cause of this, then so be it, but I will not have you ruining your good name in my favor, when it won't even stop me," The heat of the moment provided actual, physical warmth for me in the time I was running my mouth off, but now that I had finished, and begun to calm down, I felt the freezing air on my arms again, wrapping them around myself and drawing my legs closer to generate more body heat.

"Are you cold?" He changed the subject, needing something- anything else to say.

"Its not exactly warm up here," My voice was low and sarcastic, but at hearing my words, Din stood up and stepped behind me. Before I even had a chance to ask him what he was doing, I felt his thick woolen cape being draped around my shoulders.

I smiled softly, not even a real, full smile. More of just a small tug from the side of my lips. My real smile was saved for later.

"Thank you."

He nodded as he sat back down, letting his legs fall over the cliffside.

"So you're gonna leave with them, aren't you?" His head turned to face me, but I couldn't dare try and stare at the beskar while thinking of what I would do. This choice was the beginning of the rest of my life.

"I think so," I didn't think. Thinking was what I had been doing too much of. Now I was certain. This was my choice. I was going to start new, and become something different. I may have been born on mandalore, but I was definitely not a mandalorian.

I had a rush of confidence come through me until I remembered what this meant. It all hit me like a dropship coming out of hyperspace. What was I thinking?

"No," I whispered. Din didn't understand my sudden discouragement, but he would soon.

"Merc and his friends already denied the creed. He's a foundling. They all are," I started to tear up as I realized what would happen to my family. The loss of a child in a clan is bad enough, but my family hadn't done anything to dessrve this. They were caring. They had shown me love. They had given me the best life I could ask for on a planet with such a religion.

"Second thoughts?" He asked genuinely, scooting closer beside me as to maybe get more information from my body language, or even my breathing.

"I can't do this. My family would be ruined. If I ran away, they would be punished for it," I felt tears coming up in my eyes. My clan was good to me. The people were kind, and I found solace there. Even if I had always dreamt about something bigger, I couldn't bear to let ruin come upon my family name. It wasn't fair to let that happen, especially when the only thing in the way was my own selfishness. "I can't leave my family."

I let the tears stream down my face, not even bothering to wipe them away. The contrast of the cold wind on my hot, tear streaked face had helped to calm me down a little.

"If you plan on staying, you understand that I am apart of your future here, don't you?"

"Din, I already told you before... you are not the reason I want to leave," I tried my best to keep myself together, but with my wet cheeks and red, puffy eyes, I didn't see how that could be an option.

What if there was another way to freedom?

I sat, trying to think of some stories that the other clan members would talk about.

"Din?"

He hummed in response, keeping his gaze on me.

"Has anyone in your clan ever mentioned afterlife?" I maybe should have taken a different approach to this. He seemed to be rendered speechless by my topic of conversation, but I had to ask.

"You mean after death?" He asked me and I nodded.

"I've heard some stories."

I thought about how it had been described to me. A paradise, with never-ending happiness, and unlimted freedom. Freedom.

"After you die, you appear in the world as another life. You can do whatever you want and no one has consequences for any of it. It's like a world without chaos. Everything is perfect," I remember every word as it comes out of my mouth. The words that were spoken to me, more like taught to me when I was a bit younger by the elders who had retired from their days of battle.

"It sounds too easy." He said, ripping me out of my fantasy.

"That's the point. You don't have to worry about anything or anyone, because you can do as you please, and everything will still be the same. All you have to do is die...."

"Like being reborn into a different world."

"Exactly."

I hesitated to take my safety blaster from it's holster under my hip, and when I did, I looked at it before pointing it out in the distance and testing the trigger. It shot a blast of lazer energy out into the air, landing somewhere beneath us in the canyon.

I decided that this was not an act to pursue at the moment, for Din was sitting right beside me, and the sight of watching a young girl pull the trigger against her own head might be an unpleasant one. Even for him, though he has seen worse.

I put the blaster back in it's holster and stand up from the rocky ground. Din follows suit, looking down at me with quiet concern. I wouldn't have known it until now, but I wondered if he had come to care for me at all during these last few weeks we had been betrothed.

I'd known him the majority of my life anyways, so I knew he must have felt some sort of attachment to me, but in what form, I hadn't ever cared to ask.

He kept breathing heavily as he looked down at me for a few moments, and it almost sounded like he wanted to ask me something. The question was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to utter the words.

"Here's your cape back," I slid the material off my shoulders, trying to hand it back to him, but he pushed it back towards me.

"You should keep it for now. The sun is nearly down, it will only grow colder."

He reached his gloved hand up to my face, and I could swear I felt the warmth of his hand beneath the coarse leather.

I only nodded, and leaned forward, trying to lean my head into him, but he carefully stopped me, his hands on my shoulders. Instead he rested his helmet against my forhead, and the cold beskar wasn't such a bad feeling as it rested there.

"I won't let you down. I promise." He said, clueless of my plans for later tonight, after the tribes were asleep, and no one would be at the cliffside.

"I know you won't. You're a good man, Din Djarin." I paused, trying to gather better words. "A true Mandalorian if there ever was one."

The moment didn't last any longer because of how frigid the air was becoming. It was warmer back with the tribes, they always had a fire burning.

Without another word, we both left the old artillery cavern and hiked down the side of the canyon to get back to our own clan territory.

Once I was at the edge of mine, I turned around to utter a simple goodbye, and found that he was very close behind me. His hand came up and rested on my shoulder, lightly squeezing it.

Maybe this was the last time we would see each other. Tonight I would envoke my plan to freedom, to rebirth. Perhaps we would meet in another life. Perhaps I would have just enough memory of this life to try and find him in the next one. One where I will have freedom.

Tonight I had gotten closer to the metal clad Mandalorian than I ever had before. I didn't regret it. He listened to what I had to say, and there were few who ever did.

His hand fell from it's place on my shoulder, but I didn't let him walk away yet. I pulled him into an embrace, feeling him tense up for a moment before reciprocating. It took him a few seconds to let out the breath he was holding in, but when he did, he found himself relaxing into the comfort.

"Goodbye, Din," My voice wasn't sad, or overly sensitive in any way. I figured it actually sounded quite optimistic.

"You know I'll see you tomorrow." He said, reminding me of the clan meetings. Once a month the clans would gather and each tribe would go over the agenda for whatever was to happen soon. Battles were normally discussed, but tomorrow, me and a few of the others in the other clans would be talked about. Our ceremonial coming of age where we would take the creed.

"Yeah... right. Don't come looking for me, I don't plan on showing up," I said quietly, careful in anyone was to hear me.

He pulled me back at arms length and looked at me, but his black blast shield hid his features and I could not tell if he thought I was crazy or not.

"How come?" His voice was also quiet, as we noticed some of my clan passing by to get to the fire.

"Don't worry about it. You'll still see me tomorrow," I lied. Or did I? Everyone within the five neighboring tribes would probably see me tomorrow.

He nodded, pulling us all the way apart and stepping back.

"Good."

He didn't look like he was gonna walk away until I had gone into the hub of my clan's small village. I turned around and walked towards the large fire, seeing my mother. Her helmet was unmistakable. The pattern of the strill engraved into the side of the beskar. It was her signet. A worthy kill of her days in battle. I would never have one. I walked towards her when she noticed me.

Her modulated voice let out a small chuckle, before I stepped beside her.

"It is well to see you spending time with Din Djarin. Me and your father were afraid you may not have been fond of him," She kept her gaze on the fire, speaking only loud enough for me to hear her, given that the other mandalorians of our village were also gathering around the fire, conversing with each other the same way we were.

"I am fond of him, why would I not be?" I was unsure of what she meant. Sure, I had been keeping a distance between us since my father had arranged our marriage, but I never had shown that I wasn't fond of him. I was polite, and gave him attention when it was asked of me.

"Whenever I or your father bring up the discussion of your eighteenth birthday, you always seem to act like it's the plague," She was smirking under her helmet, and I could tell. I could always tell what face she made underneath her metal covering.

"Maybe it's the fact that I dread getting married at all. I'm not opposed to Din, though," I convinced her. I wouldn't have to try and do that again after tonight.

"Whatever it is, your father will be pleased to know you and him were in each other's company. Although I will stray from telling him you two were alone... you were alone, weren't you?" She turned her metal covered head, trying to figure out from the look on my face.

"Yes," I answered truthfully, knowing there was no point in lying. No damage could be done at this point, except for maybe towards Din.

"And what were you both doing?" She tilted her head, and I let mine drop. I would tell her the truth, because nothing bad could come from it. Or could it.

"We were just talking... about the future," I answered.

"Your marriage..." She suggested, and I nodded, knowing that it did come up in the conversation.

"Yes."

"I shudder to ask if consummating was apart of this conversation," She looked back at the fire, knowing how red my cheeks would turn and how embarrassed I would be.

"No, nothing like that. I can promise you," I shivered at the thought. Din was a good man, but I didn't necessarily need to be letting thoughts like that intrude my mind.

Everyone else around the fire seemed to be distracted by the glowing flames, and my mother was soon the same, so I suggested my absense.

"I'm going to go in for the night, get some rest. Big meeting tomorrow..." I said before reaching out and squeezing her hand tightly.

She nodded to me, and I took my leave, walking towards our living quarters on the opposite side of camp.

I wasn't looking where I was going, and brushed my shoulder against Merc, who was with Gander and Shyloh.

"Sorry, didn't see you coming," I told him, but he shook his head, optiing ti ask me a question instead.

"Don't worry about it, I was looking for you anyway... Did you think about the offer? We leave at sunrise on the north delivery tarmac," He informed me, but I didn't have an answer. I wasn't staying here, but I wasn't leaving either.

"You'll know if I show up," I gave him a smirk, partially just because I was glad to see someone's actual face tonight, and not just a metal facade.

"We can't wait up for you, just know that."

I nodded, letting them get by. Maybe I could go with them. Live this life freely without starting another one.

No.

My family will not be able to handle that. It's better off if I'm dead. At least they won't go on to believe that I betrayed them, turning my back on all loyalty they had ever taught me. They would nevwr wonder if I ever loved them or planned on keeping their wishes.

I could start fresh. They wouldn't have to worry about me anymore. And I wouldn't have to worry anymore either. Rebirth.

I went straight to bed, clutching the woolen blanket beside me close to my chest.

For some reason I felt a pang of guilt in my chest. Something that made the sting of salty tears swell in my eyes. I knew that what I was doing was best, but yet I started having a hard time justifying something so drastic. They would get on fine without me, wouldn't they? They would go on living by the creed. This is the way. They will find a way to go on without me, like they did before I was born. Din will be arranged with another girl as soon as I'm gone. Everything will be alright.

The wetness that spilled over my eyes and down my face lasted hours, even though my mind kept telling itself that it was at peace.

It was in the dead of night, when I gathered a few of my belongings into a knapsack, throwing it over my shoulder before leaving out the tattered window of my private space.

I ventured to the canyon, with the moons lighting my way. The planet was never truly dark, due to the brightness and the number of shinning moons, all the color silver.

I set my knapsack down on the edge beside me. By the end of this, I would be at the bottom, waiting to be found the next day. I just hoped it wouldn't be anyone I knew. Of course, the number of people who ever came out here was only two. Me, and Din Djarin.

I hoped he wouldn't find me. I hoped it would be someone from another tribe that was flying over, and happened to spot something at the base of the cliffside.

I pulled my flask to my mouth, taking a large drink. A bit spilled onto my chin, and I wiped it off, feeling the breeze on my face. It was much colder now than earlier tonight. I wasn't sure if I should pull the blanket from my belongings and wrap it around myself, or skip the process of making myself comfortable and just get this over with.

I leaned over, looking straight at the ground, hundreds of feet below me. My heart started racing, and I got scared. Why shouldn't I be? I have every right to be absolutely terrified. I closed my eyes, trying to scoot myself over the edge inch by inch, seeing if I would just drop.

I nearly panicked when my bottom hit a crack in the ground and I thought I was going over. My breath hitched in my throat and I instantly pulled myself back.

"This isn't as easy as I thought it would be," I murmered, beginning to feel the emotional side of everything rise to the surface again. It didn't help that with the absolute silence that circled around me, I couldn't have any single thing to distract me.

I stood to my feet, wrapping my arms around myself to ease the goosebumps rising on my skin from the frigid air.

I stood right on the edge, lifting a foot over and leaning forward, but before I could fall, I again caught myself, the adrenaline working overtime in my system and beginning to heat me up.

That wasn't going to work either. If I could, I would put a blaster to my temple and pull the trigger, but then it wouldn't look like an accident.

I paced around back and forth a few times, trying to calm myself down, to stop the whimpering and to make my tears cease. It wasn't working. I just needed to get this over and done with. A new life, with endless possibilities was waiting for me on the other side. Freedom was on the other side.

I wiped my face, even though it didn't stop me from crying, but it helped me to see clearer. I backed up, into the cavern, all the way inside until my back hit the wall of the ex artillery carvern. This was it. A new beginning. Rebirth. New life. Freedom.

I ran as fast as I could toward the edge, my eyes closed. I could feel the wind blowing against me even harder with my speed, and I could tell the edge was drawing near. Every step I took, I felt as though it was my last one.

I finally felt my foot hit the edge, but then I never fell. Instead, I was tackled to the ground. Whoever landed on top of me was heavy enough to hold me down, because half of me was hanging off the edge of the cliff.

I didn't dare even open my eyes. This was a sign. Someone stopped me.

I clinged onto whoever it was, and knew almost instantly who was laid over me when I heard him groan.

I cried even harder, my head buried in his armor clad chest, and my arms around his neck and his torso.

He was holding me tightly, one hand cradled my head into his neck, and the other firmly gripped my waist. He rolled us both over and I swear I felt him shaking.

"What were you thinking?" He stressed, his grip on me tightening as if he was scared to let go. I was scared too. I didn't want him to let go.

"You have to talk to me..."

I heaved a deep breath, deep enough to steady my voice so my whimpering didn't interfere with my words.

"I want out. I need to get out," I cracked in the middle of saying so few words, but they conveyed the message I was trying to get through.

"I can get you out, I promise.... But please don't ever try that again," His voice was full of worry, and as I suspected, he was trembling in fear.

"I'm sorry..." I cried some more, realizing that what I had done was now the biggest mistake I ever made, even if I was saved.

"It's okay. You're okay. I've got you," He spoke to me, my voice quieting down as my sobbing came to a slow halt.

I lifted my face from where I had burrowed it into his neck, looking up at him. I didn't know what his expression was, but something told me it was fearful, and worrysome.

"I have to get out of here," I repeated again. The last day or so it became my mantra, and would leave my lips often, even just to myself. Mostly just to myself.

"You're going to. You're going with Merc... when are they leaving?" He asked, his arms still around me like mine were for him.

"At sunrise. They're gonna jump a delivery ship on the north tarmac," I explained, my voice was now hoarse and thick, due to not only all the crying I had done, but also the cold night air that had entered my lungs.

"Sunrise isn't for a few hours..." he let me know, and I nodded, knowing we shouldn't probably leave yet, for the walk to the north tarmac wasn't very long from here.

"Din, if I leave, my family is going to get the fire for my decision. I can't let that happen," I told him, my voice had become more firm, and I needed to convey the importance of how much this meant to me.

"I give you my word, that as long as I live, nothing will happen to your family," He swore, and I could just feel his eyes staring into mine. So much so that for the first time since he put that helmet on, I knew where his eyes were.

"I trust you. And I know that you'll always keep your word," I nodded, a small smile finally forming on my face.

Since it got fairly quiet, and we were still entangled together, I scooted off of Din and opted instead to take the seat beside him.

"I should tell you some things before I go. I just don't want to leave anything unresolved," I admitted, and he stayed silent, waiting for me to continue.

"I know this might sound horrible, but I hated the idea of getting too close to you. It was like if I had formed an emotional bond with you, I wouldn't be able to leave anymore. And the last thing on my mind had been to stay. I've wanted freedom for a while now, I was just always too scared to say anything. And when my father told me that you and him had come to an agreement for arranging a marriage.... it's like it all became more real to me. My freedom would be taken in just days. The creed of mandalore is sacred, and it's truly an amazing thing... but it isn't for everyone."

He sat and took everything in. All the words that just spewed from my mouth like I had been holding them in for ages went against everything I had ever learned. Everything that had ever been put into my mind was the opposite of what I wanted.

"You're young. You want more than what the creed can offer you. I think you'll be able to find what you want wherever you're going," He said, I knew there was more, for he didn't even mention anything that I had said about not wanting to be close to him, but when he stayed silent, I knew he was finished, and that I still had more to say.

"Din, I wanted to tell you that if I had to be married, I wouldn't have minded it being you," I admitted. I would leave no stone unturned before I was to just pick up and leave forever... maybe not forever, maybe someday I would return to my family, to Din.

"I can't say I don't feel the same," He seemed to become stiff next to me, but I soon found the reason when he suddenly reached for my hand with his gloved one.

I took it proudly, intertwining our finhers together.

"You know, I was only an eight year old kid when you took the creed. I have so many memories of you yourself, but whenever I recall them... I can't see your face. I've completely forgotten what you look like," I laughed a bit, though it was quite a sad thing actually. I could not remember him in a way that wasn't covered in metal. I remembered that he was a boy once, and that he would play with all the younger children in the clan set next to his. He played with me and the kids I lived next to. He was a lively, energetic boy. Always doing something... sometimes causing mischievous acts. He was so different now. But the change wasn't bad. Since he'd taken the creed he has been the most noble, fearsome, and trustworthy member of his clan. Completely honorable in every sense of the word.

"I don't look like I used to. It wouldn't do you any good to remember anyways," He chuckled under his helmet, and it brought a smile to hear the melodic sound.

"Well, if I'd stayed long enough to marry you I would find out for myself," I leaned my head on his shoulder, feeling comfort by his presence. If I had made the absolute decision to leave this planet earlier, I could have let myself grow a relationship with him. Romantic or not, he was easy to talk to, and I trusted him. He was a friend to me, and I never imagined more, but now his presence was just something that put me at such ease.

"Do you think you'll ever come back?" He pondered, seeing as just the tiniest moonrays shown down into the canyon ahead.

"Someday. I'll comeback and repay you."

"For what?"

"Saving my life," I replied. My attempt to throw my own life away had been pushed away but I had to bring it up. I owed him my life.

"Anyone would have done the same if they had seen," He insisted, and I shook my head.

"How did you even know I was out here?" My curiosity got the better of me, and I asked for an explanation.

"I couldn't sleep, I took a walk through Ronion until I found myself here. I saw you across from the mesa on the south side... I saw you lift your foot over the edge, I knew what you were trying to do," He said, his grip on my hand got tighter almost instantly.

"Thank you. If you hadn't been there, I would be at the bottm of this canyon." I let so much seriousness onto my voice, and it didn't sound like me.

"Don't thank me yet... not until I get you on the tarmac,"

We sat in silence after that, just looking out over the horizon. When the slightest bit of light hit the edge of the planet, we stood to our feet, gathering my knapsack and begining the journey to the north delivery tarmac.

We were there in no time, and before I could even look for them, Merc and his crew were in sight. They were all sitting with their backs against some cargo imports, waiting for the transport to arrive.

"Well, well, well... look at what the shriek hawk dragged in," Shyloh said, gesturing to me and Din.

"Djarin, I didn't expect to see you here," Merc raised an eyebrow at the sight.

"I'm just here to make sure she gets onto the transport safely," He assured them. I looked out of the corner of my eye, and in the brighter horizon I was able to see a cargo ship coming into the landing area.

"Our rides here," I said, and they all jumped up. Since the ships were automatically run, and don't even require droids, it was often very easy to hop aboard and be carried to another destination. Of course, there were only a few who ever wanted to leave.

I myself hadn't ever left Mandalore, neither had I traveled much even on the planet. Only a few trips to visit the the markets with my father. I never even went into the city, for it was told that in the city lived Mandalorians who did not keep the creed. The tribes were convinced that they hadn't actually ever taken the oath, and just wore the armor for the sake of doing it.

The ship's doors opened, pulling me out of my thoughts, and a conveyer belt folded down to let the cargo units be carried out onto the tarmac for later pickup.

"Alright, it's time to head out," Gander said, slinging his knapsack over his shoulder and boarding the transport.

The rest followed after him, but I still had one thing left to do.

Din looked at me, waiting for me to join the others, but I came close to him one last time.

"You promise my family will be taken care of?" I asked, to which he simply answered with a firm nod. However the look on my face gave him reason to believe that his answer wasn't good enough, so he spoke instead.

"I give you my word. If they are not taken care of, I will let you strike me dead where I stand."

That was good enough for me. He truly meant it. He was a man of his word.

I pulled his head toward mine, resting ny forehead against his in a traditional mandalorian kiss. I pulled back when I heard my name being called from the transport.

"Goodbye, Din Djarin," I told him.

He didn't respond, he just let me go, watching intently as I boarded the ship before the doors closed.

The cargo transports were always on schedule, so as soon as the doors closed, it began lifting into the air. I looked out through the transparent view finder on the side, watching him stand as we began moving out of sight.

"You gonna miss him?" Shyloh asked, his brows furrowing as if he were sorry for me.

"Yes, I suppose I will."

I lost sight of Din, and realized we were leaving the atmosphere most likely preparing for a jump to hyperspace.

"But I'll see him again."

Tags are open ig...

A/n: please don't get too caught up in the age gap y'all it's just for backstory purposes because this story is eventually going to follow canon events.... (also i know that this doesn't really portray Mandalore correctly, but let's pretend it does because i had this idea)

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin smut #din djarin x oc #din djarin x jedi!reader #cassian andor #luke skywalker #the mandolorian x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian smut #rough day #din djarin series #din djarin imagine #din djarin fluff #din djarin angst

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lustbile · 3 years

Text

To Provoke

Incubus!HaechanxReader

Word Count: 4.4K

Warning: dom-ish haechan, semi public (alley way), oral&fingering, biting, blood consumption, & can maybe be interpreted as degrading but not really

notes: a resounding thank you to whoever gave haechan curls and horns im in love with you nct stylist person. I wrote this all today and it made me stupid so I will try to go through and do more editing. Also not that I think anyone would, but I made the edit for this, horns and all, and im asking politely no one repost it, i know it’s not the most extravagant edit but im asking u pls.

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You were trying to provoke him.

You were always trying to provoke him.

Everything you did, every move, blink, sigh, and turn was an attempt to pull him from the shadows.

To admit you’re addicted to him is embarrassing, degrading even, especially with the way it fills his chest and wild eyes with hunger and pride. His ego was one thing that never needed to grow, big enough to fill every nook and cranny of the universe, but something about the way your pretty eyes would glitter at him in awe pushed it over the edge in free fall.

The outfit you chose to wear was maybe a bit too revealing for the weather, the nipping cold dancing along your shoulders and thighs in a way that makes your stomach clench and your teeth chatter. But it was the same outfit you had worn on the night you had met him, the outfit that his greedy fingers tugged and pulled on to get access to your skin, and it still had the smallest of tears in the seem from his impatience that night.

But it got you attention, and that's what mattered in the end.

He had always had a jealous streak, something he’d deny sharply if you had the nerve to accuse him, but that didn’t change the fact that some of your best nights with him were spent after he showed up to remind you that your body and skin were for him only. And that jealousy was the exact thing you needed to get him to show his face again.

It had been far too long since you had felt him last. You had no clue where he could have possibly ran off to for such a long time, but that didn’t stop the fire that was building in your belly. And no matter how many times you tried, your own wandering hands were never enough to quench your body’s thirst like he could.

The man you spoke to at the club meant less than nothing to you, even when you felt his growing excitement pressing against your back when you agreed to dance with him. The sloppy kisses you allowed him to press against the skin of your neck felt no different than just air as your mind was too distracted by the man that had taken ownership of your heart and soul so long ago, regardless of his absence.

It didn’t feel long before the lights became too bright, the alcohol that sloshed in your cup too bitter for your tongue, and the smell of the strange man too stale and unfamiliar. But when you pushed away from his chest and checked the time on your phone, while you ignored his grumbled complaints of you being a tease, you saw that it was only a handful of minutes past midnight.

You had stayed out much longer than that before, much later in fact and with glee, but something in your chest, a heavy and daunting weight, was pulling you towards the entrance on unsteady feet and a taunting disappointment on your shoulders.

Your mind still felt muggy even after you broke away from the stuffy environment of the building, but you brushed it off as a combination of the minimal alcohol you’d consumed and the angry unsatisfied monster that had made home in your gut.

You had enough of a head on your shoulders to scan your purse for your pepper spray and pocket knife before you decided that maybe the short walk home would help clear your mind and disappointment. It was still cold, your icy fingertips begging for a uber or cab instead, but you were hoping the biting chill would help calm down whatever lustful beast you had become because of a man you couldn't even contact.

Your legs felt too heavy to carry with every step you took, your neck feeling like your necklaces were made from tons of lead instead of whatever cheap metal the random online store you had ordered them from used. You were grateful that the only company you had on the back streets you had chosen to take were the flickering street lamps and the skittering rats you could hear in each alley you passed.

You could almost taste the relief of the cheap bottles of wine you had stashed in your kitchen paired with a trashy netflix horror film when you turned onto your street, your apartment building somehow looking inviting with its old brick and foggy windows as it sat on the corner. The only thing stopping you from kicking off your heels and making a run for it being the memory of one of your less than polite neighbors dropping a large glass vase and not feeling any need to pick up the broken pieces before leaving for the day.

Instead you grit your teeth to help bear the pinching of your shoes, and break into a quick and awkward jog down the desolate stretch of sidewalk. Your eyes watering as you're met with icy air.

Peace and warmth and cheap familiar alcohol is only a few strides away when you hear it. To anyone else in the city it would have been no different than the sounds of an everyday creature scavenging in the trash for food, but you had lived here long enough to know what's a rat or raccoon or, in this case, a cat.

It was a stray you had befriended long ago, one that could climb and duck into your conveniently opened balcony door for a bowl of food and a scratch behind the ears. It was just a sweet little boy that was grey and covered with scratches and scars, but due to a no pet policy had to be kept labeled as a stray and a secret to your landlord.

You huff in frustration, assuming he would have been curled up on your couch when you returned home and not chasing rats in the alley next to your building, but he had always been mischievous from the day you met him. So with the hope that you could block his image from the security cameras, you turn and head into the dim light of the small alley.

You had lovingly dubbed him Oscar when you came home more than once to your trash can tipped over and learned he had a special love for garbage, and that name along with some weird chattering cooing left you mouth as you tried to coax him from whatever trash can he was creating chaos within.

Your teeth were already gritted and you back stiff as the playful feline found enjoyment in jumping out and scaring you in times like this and you assumed this time would be no different as his evilness seemed to only raise as it got deeper and deeper into the night. So you were already mentally prepared for an attack from an overly excited ball of fur, what you weren’t prepared for was a voice.

“What are you doing out so late?” the voice was gruff and slightly accusatory and made you all but jump completely out of your skin. And as you whip around in circles to try to find the face that the words feel from, you see your love and joy Oscar jump from the tallest trash can and scale the fire escape up to scramble back into your home like a guilty teenager that was caught by their mother.

“I asked you a question,” this time the words were followed by strong hands gripping your shoulders and a shrill yelp escaping your throat.

Your hand was pushing into your purse for at least one of your weapons as you squat to get out of the person's hold and turn to see their face, the grinning and prideful boy behind you washes you with a wave of relief before stabbing at you with annoyance.

“Haechan, what the fuck,” you whisper harshly as you pull your hand from your purse and stand up straight, your now free hand now moving to jab a rough finger into the dip of his chest, “how many times? How many times have I told you to not fucking sneak up on me like that. I know the pepper spray can’t hurt you and a stab wound would heal in like five minutes but that doesn’t mean I want to stab you, idiot.”

“Why not?” his head jerks back as if you said something dumb like the sky wasn’t actually blue or he wasn’t really the sexiest man to live, something that just has no logic behind it in the slightest, “like you said it would heal so maybe we could try, might be kinda hot.”

He punctuates his words by grabbing you roughly by the waist, his other hand wrapping gently around your neck before he pushes you against the rough brick behind you, the permanent evil glimmer in his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Do you ever get tired of being an absolute freak?” you thinly veiled insult doesn’t pack as much of a punch as you had maybe hoped, but when he begins to mouth at the skin of your jaw and cheek you can’t really find it within yourself to care.

“Well isn’t that why you like me?” he asks rhetorically as he starts to nip light bruises in the spots that blur your vision, “freaky me must be your favorite, because otherwise you wouldn’t be dressed the way you are.”

He’s no wrong, not even in the slightest, but the confident way in which he says it is enough to make you want to lie, “wanting you and liking you are two different things, no one ever said I liked you.”

“Oh but you want me,” the way in which he takes everything you say in strides without even batting an eye is bit infuriating, but the way his fingers tighten against your neck and push into your jugular is enough to make you melt against him, “that’s what you said so for once that’s not me putting words into your pretty little mouth. But don’t say you don’t like me, that’s a dirty lie and we both know it.”

“You don’t like when I lie?” you pout at him, trying to pull more and more reactions from him, “but some of your favorite things I say are lies, like how big you are and how well you fuc-“

“Alright that’s enough of you,” he interrupts, his fist tightening that much more and his other slipping from your waist to reach under the hem of your dress, a satisfied growl and his tongue pressing into the inside of his cheek being his reaction when he realizes the underwear he was grabbing for wasn’t there, “I’ve had to watch you prance around all night, letting a low down dog of a man touch you. And for what? My attention? Baby, you already have my attention.”

Your words stutter violently, the only sounds coming from your throat are whines and gasps as his fingers slip between your thighs and glide against the dampened skin, never staying on your clit long enough to give you the pleasure you need but enough to make you squirm.

“You were watching me?” you finally gasp out, before it clicks in your brain how dumb of a question it was. He told you a long time ago that he always will keep an eye on you, and knowing what he is and the things he can do, you had no reason to not believe him.

“I always am my pretty baby,” he coos before pressing teasing kisses to your open mouth, seemingly tasting and feeding off of every little noise that slips out, “and it hurts to see you let such a nasty man touch you where only I should. You didn’t even notice him following you out of that trashy club did you, silly thing?”

You jerk back as much as you can with the way he holds you, eyes widening at the news that you were apparently being followed without your knowledge. Every emotion that swims in your brain feels like its fighting for dominance, but with the way he chooses to dip his middle and ring fingers just barely past your entrance you’re struggling to cling to just one.

“God, you are so lucky to have me aren’t you? Who else would take care of creeps and make you feel good hm?” he tilts his head as he speaks, his breath warm against the side of your face before his tongue dips to lick at the shell of your ear, “no one can make you feel the way I do can they?”

“No,” you finally answer after a moment, the word coming out as an airy breath as his fingers finally sink in all the way. He wastes no time before curling them and pressing at the spot that makes your knees buckle, “please Haechan, need you so bad.”

“Oh is that one of those infamous lies of yours you were talking about?” he pulls away slightly, but shows no interest in slowing the motions of his hand, “well it can’t be can it? I can always tell you know? Can hear the way your heart picks up when you lie, much different than the way it does when you’re about to come for me.”

His wrist starts to move faster, the heel of his hand finally pressing and rubbing against your clit as the muscles of his forearm start to strain. The telling signs of your orgasm feel too sudden, too fast, and with his hand still constricting the blood that tries to flow to your head all you can do is let your eyes roll as your breathing comes out as small puffs.

“But since you’ve asked so nicely,” you can only let out a pathetic cry when he pulls his hand away from you suddenly, your lack of oxygen being the only thing stopping you from letting out a scream loud enough for the whole block to hear as he denies you of any stimulation. All you can do is let out incoherent babbling and whines as your hands reach up to dig your nails into the leather jacket protecting his forearms.

He releases your neck, your skin burning from the friction and the sudden amount of oxygen and blood returning to your head making you dizzy. And while your eyes roll as they try to refocus and your heart rate begins to slow to normal, he grabs your wrists and pushes your weakened form to be flush against the wall thats scrapes against your exposed skin.

“You are by far the best thing ive ever tasted,” he mutters, not concerned with whether you heard him or not, before his mouth latches to the side of your neck. He seems to find the most interest in the finger prints he left behind, as he pulls the tender skin between his sharp teeth and works to create a bruise that won’t leave you for another week.

Regardless of denying you a proper release, he considers himself to still be a generous guy. As his tongue lays flat against the burning skin of your neck, he starts to kick at your feet until your clumsy legs are falling apart wide enough for him to press his thigh against your skin, and in the exact way he predicted, you can’t help but to begin grinding helplessly against him.

One of the main reasons the dress that you currently wear is one of his favorites, is the neckline. Low enough to show the expanse of your chest and just enough of your cleavage to make him salivate. He’s as transparent as glass with this love, especially as he mouth travels down between your collarbones and sternum.

You can hear a quiet pop in the fabric of the neckline when he bites down and begins to pull it with him as he sinks down to the floor, the huff you let out being both in frustration from him further ruining a nice dress and your impatience.

The straps dig harshly into the skin of your shoulders before they give and fall, the sudden lack of support making it easier for Haechan to take the fabric and expose your chest to the cold air.

The look in his eyes when you look down is mean and predatory, you fear one day he’ll snap and consume you whole, but for today he settles for wrapping his swollen lips around your nipple and sucking harshly.

Your hips quicken involuntary, broken moans filling the empty alley as you twitch and squirm in his hold. He seems to grow irritated at your impatience as he shoves your wrists back harshly, his knuckles audibly scraping against the brick.

“You can never be patient to save your life,” his head tilts forward and he presses his forehead against your sternum with a huff before he’s leaning back up to press a sloppy kiss against your panting mouth, “you’re lucky I missed you so much or otherwise you’d be in for a lot longer of a night.”

He keeps your wrists trapped in his hold as he moves to kneel on the ground, the rough and dirtied pavement doing nothing to help the tears that already litter his jeans.

You feel your face flush when he lets go of one wrist and uses his newly freed hand to shove the hem of your dress up and around your hips, and the burning beneath your skin only worsens when he leans forward and breathes deeply with his nose pressed against your pubic bone.

He leans back for a moment, his hand wrapping around the bend of your knee to pull your leg to rest on his shoulder and you feel your shoulder sting from the wall cutting into your skin from him moving you like a doll.

“Haechan,” you whisper his name out with a pout that you hope will get you exactly what you want, but you can only huff and petulantly twitch when he begins nipping and licking at the skin on the insides of your thighs.

His teeth are sharper than most, and he usually airs on the side of caution because he’s aware of this. His bites are gentle for the most part, but when you begin to peak in your feelings of impatience, you can’t help the way your hips begin jerking forwards in search of his tongue.

His palm pushing against your hip is his first warning, a generous one in his opinion, but when the warning seems to fly completely over your pretty little head he has no other choice but to lean forward and sink his teeth into delicate skin at the bend of your thigh.

You cry out for a second before you’re tucking your lip between your teeth. It stings terribly, the skin breaking around his teeth burns but you can’t stop the way you revel in the sharp pain. And at the exact same moment you taste the metallic ting of the blood falling from your bitten lip, you feel the same warm thick liquid drip from the wounds he’s created and straight into his grinning mouth.

More blood falls freely when he pulls his teeth from your flesh, his warm tongue flattening against the injury immediately to catch as much of the liquid as possible.

He laps at it for a moment, savoring as much of the taste of your life source as possible, before he starts at the bottom of the bite mark and drags slowly up.

Once his tongue moves off the wound, he continues across your skin. The moment he hits your labia, you let out a gasp and jerk against him again, your mind completely erasing the fact that the bite was meant to be a punishment for that exact thing.

He seems to have forgotten him wanting you to remain still, as he doesn’t hesitate in the slightest until his licking across your stil swollen bundle of nerves.

He moans as the flavor of your arousal mixes with the still lingering taste of your blood, the vibrations shooting straight up your spine and making you shiver.

He tilts his head up to smile at you, his eyes shining as he grabs your hands and moving them to thread into his curled hair.

“Why are you shivering?” he asks with a faux concern, his right hand smoothing over your thigh before pushing between your legs to return his fingers to their spot inside of you, immediately pumping and curling them slowly, “are you cold or something? Maybe it’s because you’re in such a skimpy little dress?”

You groan out in annoyance at his playful act, your eyes rolling back but for once not in pleasure. It’s not until he starts to proudly giggle to himself do you exploit the hold you have on the back of his head to push him back to your body.

You fear that being shoved around may be the exact thing Haechan would have wanted, when he happily moans before latching his lips to your clit again, but the pleasure that melts your muscles erases any need to call him out on his deviousness and perverted enjoyment.

He seems happy with your moving hips when they start to move against his waiting face. Your fingers mindlessly and desperately tug at his scalp as your head tilts back and thumps against the wall.

The hand that isn’t pressed deeply inside you slides across your hip, his callused fingers making goosebumps run up your arms as they push into your lower belly.

You can feel yourself fluttering around his fingers as the curl and push apart, your thighs tensing around his bobbing head as he licks and bites gently at your clit. It feels like it’s harder to catch your breath and you know you’re only moments from orgasm.

“Please, please,” you start to stutter the word over and over, praying both that he lets you come and that you’re neighbors are deep enough in sleep to not hear the noises you know will escape you.

You almost cry in relief when you feel his shoulders shift, his face and fingers both pressing deeper from the movement in a way that tells you he has no intention on letting up on your shivering body.

His blunt nails start to scratch into your skin and you can feel his heavy panting breath against your skin every time he begins to lap at you desperately. You can feel your muscles lose even more strength, and your head becoming heavier and dazed as he coaxed you closer and closer to your finish.

Your shoulders twitch up towards your ears and you feel your stomach clench as your back curves, small whines and whimpers leave you as the heel of your foot thumps against the space between his shoulder blades.

You gasp out when you feel it, them. They start as small bumps beneath your palms, and you feel your chest tighten when it clicks what they are.

He’s always had a good hold on controlling them, keeping them hidden so he can wreak havoc without being clocked as something inhuman. They had peaked out a few times, usually in moments like this, but it’s such a rarity that you can’t stop the way your heart begins to thump in your chest.

Out of everything about him, you were obsessed with all of him, but you loved his horns the most. They were small and sharp at the side of his head and the way he looks when they’re poking out amongst his curled hair, and especially when he was grumpy or mad, made you want to jump on him and kiss him all over.

You were so caught up and distracted by them growing to full size directly under your hands you forgot how sharp they were at their tapered ends. The reminder you get is when they sharply down push into your palms like thorns.

You gasp sharply, but the way they curl makes you afraid to pull away. It makes you tremble and flush with embarrassment, but the pain bleeding into your hands is the last straw on your nerves. All you can do is wrap your now bleeding hands around the horns and cry out into the cold air as your erratic hips move across his face.

He groans deeply against you as your nails scrape at the skin that surrounds the base of his horns, the feeling of his and his still moving tongue pushes you through and past your gasping orgasm.

You sign in relief when he finally detaches from your body, his mouth moving up to press your hip and across the space of your stomach the dress reveals. He puts your leg down slowly and he creeps back up your torso, now hyper aware of your wounded hands still stuck on his horns.

“Sorry my love, they’re kinda sharp aren’t they?” he rhetorically asks with a soft but guilty grin. He stays ducked down enough that your hands don’t go too high that they start to slip, and he follows with his own to help you detach them.

“I just keep making my mark on you tonight huh?” he sighs as he stands at full height and brings your still bleeding hands to his face. You grit your teeth and scrunch your nose when he gives you a knowing look that says ‘we both know what I have to do.’

He is quick and gentle when he swipes his tongue across the deep cuts in your hands, not wanting it to sting more than necessary.

A teasing grin fills his face when he looks up to see the tired pout on your face, “just like the one on your leg, there won’t be anything left than a bruise if you just wait like an hour,” he’s sincere in his words, and you know it works, but you still feel all wounded and tired.

“Take me home,” you demand, wrapping your slowly healing hands around his shoulders and leaning until your head rests against his shoulder.

“Hey now,” he contradicts his tone by wrapping his arm around your waist and helping guide you walk to your apartment, “you still have to feed Oscar, and take a shower, and I’m not even full yet so you have to let me play with you until I wear you out.”

His tone is far too genuine and loving for the words he says, and you swat weakly at his chest in annoyance, but all he does in response is a laugh.

#nct smut #haechan smut #nct imagine #nct oneshot #haechan oneshot #haechan imagine #nct 127 smut #nct dream smut #kpop smut #nct fic #nct fanfic

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cutiequokka · 3 years

Text

Please (Minbin)

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 820

Warnings: *Omorashi*, public sexual behavior kinda, it's kinda fluffy at the end, Felix is here but he's just being a sweetie

Summary: It had been Changbin's idea originally, but boy was he starting to doubt his decision when Minho eagerly made him gulp down yet another drink by the poolside.

A/N: I am a slut for omorashi, so if you don't like it that's totally fine, but I just wanted to write something up for my own enjoyment.

“Minho, fuck, I can’t do this much longer.”

Changbin groaned as the water lapped around his waist, Minho smirking down at him from his perch on the swim floaty. “Aww, we still have to film for a long while baby, guess you’ll just have to hold it like a good boy.”

Changbin glanced over at Felix, who was quickly running back towards the pool with an innocent smile plastered on his face. Changbin had tried to sneak out for a bit when the staff called for a 15 minute break, but Minho had promptly reached down and pressed his hand so hard against the aching bulge of his bladder it caused Binnie to double over at the pressure.

“You’re not going anywhere baby, you stay right here in this water and make your pathetic bladder feel every last drop, got it?” He had said, voice sharp and laced with the threat of punishment. Changbin whimpered, his dick twitching despite the humiliation of it all, because as much as he hated to admit it, he had actually been the one to suggest this new adventure for their relationship. Minho had practically drooled at the idea, and now Changbin was beginning to wonder if he was even more into it than he was.

After having gulped down glass after glass after glass of liquid, time felt like it was slowed down, the boy’s poor muscles growing weaker and weaker with every passing minute. They had to continue recording in soon, and Changbin felt so full and desperate he couldn’t possibly think of anything else but his desire to simply let go. Felix kept asking if he was ok, noting his member’s vacant expression, and Changbin silently thanked the glare of the water for hiding the way his hand was tightly squeezing his crotch as to not leak.

At one point, Minho simply stated that he was feeling hot and that a cool drink would help relax him. Changbin’s eyes grew wide, gaze pleading silently to please, please not make him do that. But Minho ignored him, his heart as cold as the ice cubes floating in the lemonade cup sitting by the poolside.

“Go on Binnie, hydration is important,” he smirked, watching as every muscle in the younger boy’s body screamed as he pushed him gently towards the stairs.

“Minho, Min, I can’t- please, I need- please Min!” Changbin hissed, eyes pricking with tears as a warm leak forced its way past his clenched hand. Felix looked concerned, quickly running into the house looking for an ice pack to cool the seemingly overheating member down, as well as alert the staff members who had headed inside for the break. Minho’s eyes never lost their teasing glint, and he pulled Changbin over to the stairs by his swim shorts, hand clamped over the bulge of his half-hard dick twitching in his pants.

“You’re going to sit on the edge, right there on the concrete, and piss yourself, understand?”

Changbin nodded frantically, desperate beyond belief, steady trickles and spurts weakening his bladder even further. Finally, he pushed away from Minho’s grip, hobbled over to the side, and collapsed onto his knees, the pain barely even registering as the hiss of his pee finally being let go made him moan in ecstasy.

Fuck, it felt so good. The relief, the warmth, the weakness that came over his tired muscles, the dark puddle growing underneath him. He now understood why Minho had chosen this specific position, the concrete showing off the wet liquid perfectly as it then trickled down into the clear pool. God, it felt like heaven to Binnie, his mind practically melting as he realized he was for sure going to have to talk Minho into doing this again.

Not that he suspected Minho would need much convincing.

“Good boy, Binnie, such a good boy for hyung, making a mess out of yourself.” The older rubbed his back soothingly, watching with strange affection as the boy was completely drained of his energy, grinning lazily up at him. After he was finally done and looking practically fucked out, Minho chuckled, pulling his face up to meet his own.

“Come back to me baby, we have to film more now.” Changbin nodded hazily, the smile still plastered on his face.

“Hyung?”

“Yes?”

“Can we maybe do that kind of thing in private next time, please?”

Minho smirked, eyeing the erection pressed against the strain of Changbin’s swim trunks. “Of course baby, it would be my pleasure.”

At that moment, Felix came rushing back out of the house, carrying a fan, a frozen bag of peas, and a towel. Minho laughed, thanking the boy as he threw the towel onto Changbin’s lap to cover his bulge, but at that moment, Changbin couldn’t care less. Despite thanking Felix too and patting his head affectionately, his was mind already swirling with the thoughts of him and Minho’s next wet adventure...

#stray kids smut #skz smut #changbin smut #minho smut #lee know smut #minbin smut #omorashi #kpop omorashi #stray kids omorashi

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waitimcomingtoo · 4 years

Text

fine line - p.p

chapter 4

pairing: Peter Parker x Stark!Reader

Synopsis: there’s a fine line between love and hate and you and Peter dance it on a regular basis

Series Masterlist and Regular Masterlist

“Would you stay with me?” You asked timidly, assuming the answer would be a definite no.

“Of course.” Peter nodded, making you recall the time your dad told you he would surprise you. Peter sat down next to you, giving you your space but still close enough to comfort you. You heard him chuckle after a beat of silence and looked at him curiously.

“You know, that’s the first time you ever called me Peter.” He commented, looking at you with a half smile.

“I’ve called you Peter before.” You insisted in your hoarse voice.

“No. I would’ve remembered if you did.” He chuckled. “You always call me Parker.”

“Oh. I guess I do.” You realized as Peter reached forward and wiped your tear with his thumb. You held eye contact with his and he dragged his thumb down your cheek, letting his warmth assuage your pain.

“Thanks.” You mumbled, giving him a weak smile.

“No problem.” Peter said sincerely. “This is the longest we’ve been in a room together without yelled at each other. It’s also the closest you’ve ever let me near you.”

“Sorry.” You said as you got ready to move. “I can move over-“

“No, it’s okay.” Peter stopped you by placing a hand on your arm. “I want you close.”

You pulled your bottom lip between your teeth to hide how happy his sentence made you. Despite how awful you treated him, he was always kind to you. Usually his generosity made you even angrier, but you didn’t have the strength to hate him tonight.

“You shouldn’t be nice to me. I’ve never been nice to you.” You shook your head and look down at the box of tissues in shame.

“I believe in treating people how you’d like to be treated. You’re also letting me be nice to you, which is a nice change.” Peter cracked a smile as he brushed your wilting curls out of your face. You leaned into his hand for a moment, closing your eyes as you finally felt peace.

“I don’t hate you.” You said suddenly, making Peter raise his eyebrows. “You said I hated you before. I don’t, really. I’m sorry I made you think I did.”

“I’m sorry too. I know this hasn’t been easy for you. I didn’t even want to move in. Mr. Stark insisted, he thought I’d be able to keep you company.” Peter laughed slightly, feeling the irony of his statement.

“Then why did you?” You wondered. You always thought it had been Peters idea to move in as a way to reap the full benefits of being an Avenger, but it turned out you were wrong.

“My aunt just got this job at a charity and she absolutely loves it, it just takes up all her time.” Peter explained. “It’s the first time I’ve seen her happy since my uncle passed and I didn’t want her to chose between her job and taking care of me, so I moved in here. I…I didn’t know Mr. Stark was gonna take me on all the missions and stuff.” Peter said softly. “I never meant to take your place.”

You opened your mouth and quickly shut it, feeling incredibly stupid and guilty for how you’d been treating him.

“I didn’t know that. Any of that, I didn’t...I didn’t know.” You said quietly as your eyes filled with regret.

“You and I don’t talk much.” Peter shrugged sadly. You tilted your head to the side, looking at him sympathetically in an entirely new light.

“You were right before, you know.” You told him. “I am jealous of you for being my dads favorite.”

“Y/n, I was just saying that.” Peter apologized. “That’s not how I really feel and it’s definitely not true.”

You looked straight ahead at your deep blue bedroom walls and let out a sigh, knowing the impending conversation wouldn’t be easy.

“He wanted a boy.” You said after a beat of silence, busying yourself with your fingernails so you wouldn’t have to look at him.

“What?”

“When he adopted me. He wanted a boy.” You explained further, feeling a blush of embarrassment cover your face and neck.

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Peter shook his head as he shifted a little closer.

“Yes it is.” You smiled sadly. “They did all these family matching events at my foster home when I was a kid and he would always stop by. I always saw him talking to the boys. He never signed any papers though, I think he was just browsing.” You chuckled, and Peter did too.

“You don’t have to tell me if it’s difficult to talk about.” Peter said kindly as he rested a hand on your knee.

“I want to tell you so you can understand.” You insisted, feeling like this was your best shot at an apology.

“Okay. I’m listening.”

“I never got picked.” You came outright with it. “I would show up to these events in my best dress and biggest smile and watch all my friends get taken home by some family, even if it was just for a test run, but nobody ever picked me. It gets to you after a while.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” Peter sympathetically squeezed your knee.

“No, it’s okay. If some other family had wanted me, I wouldn’t have ended up with my dad.”

“You’re really strong for being able to see the bright side of all this. I don’t know what I would’ve done.” Peter shook his head as he got a look into your history.

“I appreciate that.” You smiled softly at him, letting him know you were no longer upset.

“How did you end up with Mr. Stark?” Peter wondered.

“He came pretty late one day, after an event had been going on for a while. He had Pepper with him that time, I guess he finally convinced her to come. By the time he arrived, all the boys had already been taken, and I could just see the disappointment in his face. Then he made eye contact with me.” You smiled to yourself. “I had seen him there so many times, but this was the first time we interacted. I had on this fluffy pink princess dress to make myself look more presentable. He saw me and laughed.”

“Princess. That’s why he calls you princess.” Peter made the connection.

“So you’re not as dumb as I thought.” You teased him, playfully this time, as you nudged him. “He bent down in front of me and asked if I’d like to live in his castle for the week, and I said yes. After the week was up, he brought a suitcase to my foster home. He said my suitcase matched his because we were a family now. It was the first thing that had ever been mine, you know? Not a hand me down or anything. It was mine. Those suitcases are all worn out now, but we still use them for every mission. At least, we used to.”

“Thats why you were upset he threw his out. Y/n, I’m sorry. I didn’t know any of this. You never - - You don’t talk to me.” Peter’s voice was pained as he got the full picture of why the fight had upset you as much as you did.

“I know. And I’m sorry for that. I know this doesn’t justify why I treat you the way I do, but I hope it explains it a little.” You looked at him apologetically. “It’s dumb but I always saw those suitcases as a symbol of our family. And then he goes and throws them out to buy one for you. Not that I would need one anyway since he stopped bringing me on missions and I just, I don’t know, I felt replaced.”

“That’s not dumb.” Peter insisted. “Mr. Stark likes having me around but I could never replace you. You’re his daughter. I know he spends a lot of time with me but that doesn’t mean he wanted a boy.”

“That’s not the only thing, though.” You continued. “When I got to his house for the first time, before the tower was even built, he already had a room set up. Blue walls and little shirts with sports slogans on them told me what I already knew. He wanted a boy. He wanted you.”

“Bold of you to assume I’d ever wear a shirt with a sports slogan on it.” Peter slipped a joke in, making you chuckle softly.

“Yeah, well. You check all his other boxes.” You reminded him. “You’re smarter than me, better at technology than I am, and you’re a freaking superhero for crying out loud. I can’t do half the things you can and he knows it. And when you guys save the world together or build these amazing inventions, it’s like you’re rubbing in all the things I could never do with him. It just reminds me that you’re what he wanted.”

“So are you. He loves you.”

“I don’t doubt he loves me. I just doubt I’d be his first choice.” You shrugged sadly. “You and I are both orphans and if you hadn’t had your aunt and uncle to take care of you, you would’ve ended up in the same place as me. And if you had been there that day at the event…”

“You think Mr. Stark would’ve chosen me, not you.” Peter finished your sentence, and everything made sense to him at once.

“Yeah.” You whispered as tears filled your red rimmed eyes once again. “I’m sorry I don’t call you by your name. I’m sorry I’m mean to you and push you away. But you have to understand, you’re not someone I ever wanted to know. And when you say things like him preferring you, I believe you.”

“I never should’ve said that. I wish we had this conversation when I first moved in.” Peter sighed heavily. “I would’ve understood you so much better. And I…I wanted to understand you.”

“You did?” You jerked your head back in surprise at his statement.

“Yeah. It was kinda a bummer when I realized my mentors extremely beautiful and intelligent daughter hated me.” Peter chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “He talked so highly of you, I wish you could’ve heard it. He’s this world famous billionaire inventor and superhero and his greatest accomplishment is his daughter. It made me really excited to meet you. And then…”

“And then I made your life hell.” You squeezed your eyes shut in embarrassment as you finished his sentence. “I’m sorry, Peter.”

“It’s okay. I still liked you, even if you were mean to me.” He smiled sheepishly. “I could tell you were funny and nice from when I heard you talking to other people. I just didn’t understand why you didn’t like me.”

“I feel like we could’ve been really good friends by now if I hadn’t been so quick to judge you.” You pouted as you looked at him. “I thought you were taking advantage of my dads money of something. You’re actually a really good guy. I should’ve listened the first 50 times me dad told me that.”

“We can still be friends. I think I’ll be around a while.” He teased your usual hatred of him being around as he bumped his shoulders against yours. You laughed as you moved together, feeling grateful for the second chance he was giving you. Something he had said clung to the back of your mind and in the name of being honest, you brought it up.

“Do you…do you really think I’m beautiful?” You asked curiously as you looked at him. A blush spread from Peters nose bridge all the way to the tips of his ears when he realized you caught his subtle compliment.

“Um, don’t you?” He shrugged, answering your question with a question to put the ball back in your court. Your lips twitched into a smile before you looked away, feeling flustered in place of your usual disdain.

“To answer your question from before, my date was lame.” You shrugged. “Harry was on his phone the whole time, something about fantasy football? I don’t know, I wasn’t listening. Rich people are like, super boring.”

“I thought you liked him? Last I heard, you wanted to be his girlfriend.” Peter couldn’t help from rolling his eyes as he spoke.

“Oof.” You clicked your tongue. “If you haven’t figured out by now that I played up my feelings for Harry to make you jealous, then maybe you’re not smarter than me.”

“You wanted to make me jealous?” Peter repeated for confirmation. “It worked, but why?”

“Do you want to know the number one thing that annoyed me about you?” You asked him, the fight a distant memory now.

“I don’t know. Do I?” Peter chuckled as he rested his head in his hands to look at you.

“No matter how much I disliked you,” you shook your head and shrugged slightly, “I always liked you more.”

“I thought you said you would never like me.” Peter recalled, a hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

“Yeah, well,” you moved closer to him, sitting on his thigh and resting your hand on his shoulder, “I guess I had a change of heart.”

“Well.” Peter looked up at you with a fire in his eyes. “What ever am I going to do about that?” He said slowly as he drummed his fingers on your leg.

“Yeah. What are you gonna do about it, Parker?” You brought back his old nickname to really push him.

“I have a few ideas, Princess.” Peter mumbled before crashing his lips to yours. Your hands immediately went to his hair, tugging it for all the times he made you stressfully tug at yours.

“You drive me crazy with all your eye rolling.” Peter said between kisses as he pushed you down on the bed. “Nobody is that annoyed all the time.”

“Every time I saw you in the lab I hoped you’d burn your hand on the benson burner.” You confessed as you trailed kisses on his jawline.

“I hate when you leave your cereal bowls out. Do you know how disgusting almond milk looks when it’s left out? Ugh it made me so mad.” Peter groaned as he pinned you to the bed.

“I hate when you’re in the kitchen when I’m baking. You’re so annoying.” You whined, tilting your head up to kiss him.

“You’re so annoying.” He shot back as he pulled you closer.

“I cannot stand you.” You shook your head before kissing him again. “At all.”

“That makes two of us, princess.” Peter gave you a cocky smirk as his hand traveled up your leg.

“I told you not to call me that, daddy.” You shot back, making Peter gulp. You laughed wickedly and propped yourself up on your elbows. “Thats what I thought. You’re all talk.”

“That wasn’t fair.” He growled, teeth grazing your earlobe now.

“You just can’t handle it.” You teased him.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Peter said simply as he pulled his shirt over his head.

“Same.” You laughed at the irony. “Now shut up and kiss me.”

Tag List 🏷

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#peter parker x reader #peter parker x you #peter parker x stark!daughter #peter parker x stark!reader #peter parker enemies to lovers #peter parker jealous #peter parker x y/n #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #marvel #spiderman

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ms-indifferwnt · 3 years

Text

I’m Cold

“I'm cold"

"And?"

"Can't you give me your jacket or something?"

"Can't you accept my proposal and marry me already?"

In which Prince Donghyuck's parents are forcing him to get married and he decided to propose to the first girl he sees to shut his parents up

Genre: Prince!Lee Donghyuck x Maid!Reader, Angst, Fluff, Arranged Marriage (kinda), Slowburn

Warnings: Curse words, Suggestive (I'll add more if there are)

Notes: Chapter 5 of Im Cold. Sorry this one took longer, hope you guys enjoy

WORD COUNT: 2.4k

Prev / Chapter 5 / Next

"We'll take it" The Prince starts and Y/n looks at him in shock

"My Prince, er Donghyuck we don't have to," She starts and looks at herself in the mirror "This isn't necessary"

He raises an eyebrow and shakes his head while he readjusted his sitting position "I promised you we'd go shopping so we're going shopping" he eyes her and shakes his head "I don't like that," he looks to the sales lady "Get me a darker color of that exact dress"

"Donghyuck!"

He smiles and playfully copies her tone "Y/n" He crosses his arms "Let me spoil you, besides didn't I tell you to take advantage of me?" He asks

"You're the prince"

"Which is exactly why you have to do so, I would be very disappointed otherwise" He looks to the side and bowed his head at the sales lady with the different colored dress "Try this one" he hands it off to her and she furrows her eyebrows not taking the dress "Put this on willingly or I help you put it on?"

You blinked "You're kidding" you dared and stood your place

"Alright," He says moving to lead you inside the changing room "I'll help you change"

Only for you to yelp and grab the dress "I'll change, I'll change, stop it" walking inside the changing room, wearing the dress he has given her, it was a maroon colored wrap dress, with sleeves that reach her wrists an a skirt a couple of inches higher than her knees.

She walked out, showing the prince the latest dress he has picked out for her and received a shocked reaction from the prince. He knows that the wrap dress would look beautiful on her since he has seen her wear that dress and he has asked for a darker color but, Oh My God, she looked beautiful, the dress was absolutely perfect for her, he trailed his eyes down her body, and then nods

"We'll take it" He says to the sales lady and points at it "that is my favorite dress, wear it for tonight"

She raises an eyebrow in confusion "What's gonna happen tonight?"

He smiles and shakes his head "Nothing, now change back then lets go get jewelry"

"Your highness-" She started and stayed in place

"Go, Y/n" He ushers and smiles "then we can get ice cream"

"You're highness you're not allowed with too much sweets"

"Then I won't eat, you will, besides I love sweets"

Arriving back at the palace Y/n and the prince (mostly Y/n) was exhausted and excited to just lie in bed and be on her phone and just be by herself, today was too eventful for her liking

"Then I decided to bathe my pink turtle-" He replies when he notices the the female wasn't paying attention to him anymore and was proven right when she nodded

He rolls his eyes ,"Y/n" He calls and snaps his fingers infront of her face "Wakey-wakey?"

She blinks and bows in apology once the prince was able to hold her down to reality "Sorry, I was thinking"

He nods "its fine, I tired you out didn't I?" He chuckles "You should rest, you're gonna need it for the days to come. I'll wake you myself for dinner, so don't worry about it" He leads her to her room, assuring her as he holds her hand.

Once the Prince leaves her room she picks out a change of comfortable clothes and collapsed on the bed. She has been a maid for quite a while but today has left her exhausted, she feels absolutely drained, she was thankful for the rest she was about to have

She couldn't help but think about the Prince and the early encounters, was he always that protective? She shifts and hugs one pillow, remembering that moment when the Prince was furious that he almost did something he might regret, If she wasn't there, something must've happened

"Lets go get Ice-cream"

She blinks and smiles, He did nothing today but buy her cake, clothes, jewelry, and Ice cream. The Prince made sure she was comfortable and not left out, he would be a wonderful King, She sighs and closes her eyes, her thoughts and dreams being plagued by the beautiful sun kissed boy "And when the two weeks are over, we go our separate ways"

She doesn't know why, or what makes this feeling so strong but all of a sudden she hates herself

Donghyuck sat crossed legged in the tea room as his parents spoke to him about his day and his chosen benefactors, it was boring and he barely listened, his hands moved to play with his watch, a habit he has developed after Prince Chenle gave him a watch on his thirteenth birthday, speaking of that, Chenle's birthday is coming up, Donghyuck should really think of a present for the guy. Come to think of it, he doesn't know about Y/n's birthday, he should ask her, yeah he'll ask her

"Donghyuck" His mom brought him out of his day dream "are you even listening to me?"

He nods, he wasn't, "I was, and I can say yes, its possible" His dad raises his eyebrow and Donghyuck slyly and carefully waved his hand to ask for help from him who distracted his wife, sparing the prince from an earful

Donghyuck leans back, calling over his one of the stand ins there Yuta, who was also one of his friends "What were we talking about? I wasn't listening"

He smiles amused by the Prince "Being in love does that too you," He teases "I honestly thought I'll never see the day-"

"Shut up and tell me Hyung" Donghyuck mumbles

"The queen asked if Lady Y/n would join dinner and you replied with a quote 'yes, its possible'"

Donghyuck groaned as Yuta teases him. He can't believe he just agreed to something on her behalf by accident. There's nothing he could do now, right? I mean the choices were wake Y/n up and probably get the stink eye (she just seems like the person who gets cranky when you wake them. Every morning Y/n would wake up on her own, so its not impossible) or decline his mom's offer and get yelled at.

"I'll wake you myself for dinner, so don't worry about it"

The Prince nods at the memory, right He can wake her and have dinner. He stands and and smiles at his Parents "I'll go wake her" He informs and leaves the room, walking slowly to her, thinking of what to say, on how to wake her "Oh, and for dessert get something sweet" he smiles and bows

The King and the Queen stared at their sons leaving figure "he doesn't like sweets...?" The Queen starts

Yuta grins at the leaving figure before bowing "It isn't for him, your Grace"

Once he entered her room, he smiles at the sight, she changed into a loose tee and shorts, he had half a mind to tuck her in and let her sleep, but he was hungry, and he didn't want to get yelled at

"Y/n" he whispered and pets her hair, sitting down on the bed beside her "Wake up, sleepy head, lets eat dinner"

Y/n roused from her dreamless sleep by the sound of his voice, at first she thought it was just her imagination but his voice kept whispering and almost lulled her to sleep until she heard his voice tell her to eat. She slowly woke up, opening her eyes to be greeted by the handsome Prince running his fingers through her locks. She didn't mean it, leaning into his touch, neither noticed until she felt the warmth of the prince's hand on her cheek and she gasps, sitting up, making the prince stand up

"um," He says, his cheeks slightly pink as Y/n refuses to look at him "Its dinner time, lets go" He stands and clears his throat standing to look through her wardrobe to not look at her in the eye

He places his hand on his chest, willing his heart to stop thumping against his ribcage, he placed his other hand (the one he was holding her with) infront of him and he blinked grabbing one of the dresses there and turning to look at her who smiled softly at the prince, she looked unaffected, he didn't like it.

Y/n's heart was still beating at an irregular pace, she smiles softly once the prince looks at her "I'm sorry but why should I wear something so fancy?"

He looks at her and smiles, placing the dress on the bed "Because, my parents wanna eat dinner with you, would you rather wear that?"

He teases and points at her tee and she instinctively covered up using the blanket and he looked away "Um, sorry" He blushed again, God this room was getting stuffy "Change into this, or would you rather a different one?"

She shakes he head, as Hana walks in bowing at the Prince and Female on the bed, "I'll change into that, thankyou"

Hana takes the dress and smiles as she leads Y/n inside the bathroom, Hana was giggling as she helped her out of her current clothes "I hope I'm not stepping out of line, but you and the Prince have a cute chemistry"

Y/n couldn't help but raise her eyebrows "We were just speaking" She points out as Hana helps he into the dress, a red mid-thigh length, sleeves up until the elbow, the edge of the dress, the skirt part was adorned with a golden design, it sparkled with her movement, she would never admit it but the prince had a wonderful taste in clothes

"Well you were," Hana smiles and and adjusts the skirt so that it doesn't folded inward "But you and the Prince still have that, shy aura around, not many couples posses that now a days, My lady"

Maybe because we're not dating. Y/n hums and looks at the mirror "They don't?"

Hana nods "I assure you, MiLady, They Don't"

Arriving at the dining hall, with The Prince's and Y/n's armed linked together, you can tell from a far that she would be the perfect bride, The Prince was mischievous and everyone can tell, he had something up his sleeve, He helped her to her seat first, and usually the Prince would be teasing or joking around but for tonight, The King and The Queen watched as their son gave Y/n a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze, a silent promise that she'll be alright

"Y/n" The Queen calls and Y/n bows along with the Prince "Please, no need to bow, you'll be family" She looks at The Prince at her words and He squeezes her hand again before helping her sit "Donghyuck is so proper with you, such a nice change of pace" She starts and laughs as The prince looked at her in shock

"I am Proper!" He raises his voice

"Donghyuck" Y/n calls and looks at him warningly, you do not raise your voice at the Queen, he looks at her and closes his mouth, sitting down with a small huff when she tugs on his sleeve

The King laughs at the display infront of him, "Donghyuck, you're fiance is right, don't raise your voice at your mother" He smiles and looks at her bowing his head "Its nice to finally meet you, Y/n"

She bows her head "Its my pleasure, Your Grace"

"Please, no need to be so formal" He smiles and assures "We're thankful to have you, Donghyuck needed someone who could control him" He teases

The Queen nods and smiles at Y/n "besides the point, we know you might be a little scared, but please don't be, We're happy to have you in our life, especially Donghyuck"

Donghyuck was focused on Y/n through out the conversation on the way she spoke and acted and how she would bow her head at every word, he looked at how she fidgeted whenever his parents spoke directly at her and he reaches out to push the hair behind her ear, making her look and he smiles "you're doing great" He praises, both implied as a don't worry and acting as his fiance

The King and Queen smiled at how affectionate their son was.

Once Dinner was served everybody started eating, Y/n joining the conversation from time to time until the King stood up "Donghyuck, I need to show you something, come with me"

Donghyuck looks at Y/n "you gonna-" he earned a small laugh from her, effectively cutting him off

"I'll be fine, besides, the King is more important then me"

Donghyuck shrugs and stands up "Well, not exactly"

Y/n blinks "What-?"

He winks teasingly and followed his father

Once they left the Queen stands, making Y/n to aswell "Lets go for a walk in the garden while they ready dessert?" She asks and Y/n nods

The queen leads her out into the hallway and into the garden, Y/n was amazed at how beautiful the flowers looked at night which made the Queen laugh "You've never seen the garden at night?"

"No, My Queen" She answers and stands, no longer kneeling to be face to face with the Iris Flowers "I was one of the maids in charge of keeping the rooms of the palace spotless, I'm usually cleaning at night"

The Queen nods and leads her at one of the garden chairs, letting her sit "Please, don't be so formal, We'll be family soon, its only fair to call me normally" She smiles at her teasingly "I wouldn't mind being called Mother by you either"

Y/n blushes, "I-" she starts out as the redness crawls up her neck making the Queen laugh more

She stops with a wave of her hand, while some maids place the tea and desserts on the table in front of them "Actually, Y/n, I would like to properly thank you", Y/n opens her mouth to speak but the Queen beat her to it "Thank you for returning Donghyuck's feelings and staying by his side, His Father and I have been worried, all we ever wanted is for him to be happy, and being with you does that to him" She smiles and reaches out to hold her hand "Thank you"

I’m Cold Taglist:

@staysstrays @tyongf-sunflower99 @jackyeonglli @rebel-lious-alien

If you wanna be added, leave a comment♡♡

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anika-ann · 3 years

Text

3+1 (Un)Wanted Mistletoe Encounters

Type: One-shot, Reader Insert Word count: 4200

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: Kissing under the mistletoe is one of the most famous Christmas traditions; so obviously, it is not Christmas without it at the Tower.

Unfortunately for the occupants, you are not fond of the tradition – at all.

...or are you?

Warnings: cliché trope, pushy Pietro, discussion of dub-con I guess, language, fluff

A/N: Idea born from this video where John Mulaney says: “If any decoration needs to be MeToo’ed…” and goes on.

Beatiful divider by firefly-graphics

You were no Grinch.

In fact, you actually liked Christmas and the Holiday season, you enjoyed both giving and receiving and you appreciated when people found time to spend it together, whether in their own family circle or with their chosen one.

But. There was one significant ‘but’.

And with this being your first Christmas with the Avengers, Sam Wilson was about to learn about the said but first-hand, because that sweet kind-hearted dumbass with a sass streak walked right into it.

Quite literally.

December 23th, you woke up well-rested, got breakfast, wrapped several presents and were on your way to hunt down a lunch in the communal kitchen, when a voice stopped you in the doorway, where you nearly ran into Sam. Nearly.

“Ah-oh,” he hummed, a shit-eating grin spreading on his handsome face and you stopped dead in your tracks, frowning at the ominous sound.

“What?”

And then came the fateful words: “You’re standing under a mistletoe.”

You see, here was a thing; the tradition of hanging a mistletoe and meeting people under it by chance as an excuse to get a kiss from someone was… stupid. Downright idiotic. Pushing people into something they didn’t have a chance to back out from. Forced affection.

Yeah, that was not happening even if Sam was a real swell guy and you did find a newly hung mistletoe above your heads indeed as you briefly looked up to check if his words were true.

“Okay. And?”

His eyebrows rose in surprise, his tone turning slightly wavering.

“…And so am I?”

“And?” you continued, crossing your arms on your chest defensively, already preparing a rant that would hopefully spread like wildfire and ended this dumb tradition altogether. Or well, at least spread around the Tower so no one would ever try to corner you again.

“Really?” Sam deadpanned and you stared right back at him, your face probably displaying precisely how you felt; unimpressed.

“Yes, really,” you emphasized and pointed up at the offensive plant for a good measure. “This is a stupid concept, objectifying people, women especially. It’s about people being forced into showing affection they might not even feel. It’s bordering on a damn dub-con if not non-con.”

Sam blinked a few times, instinctively retreating as he felt you heating up. He raised his hands in a no-harm gesture to show he got your point.

But you were already on roll and you glimpsed Tony in the kitchen, so you thought that there was no harm in him hearing your speech too, just to make sure that the smug loveable bastard of a billionaire got the message as well.

“It’s like all those poor kids being asked why don’t you give your granny a hug before we go and a kiss to your granddad— well, it’s because I don’t want to and it’s my choice to give affection to someone! And now this thing, this is the tip of the iceberg, really, the last fucking drop- it needs to be Me Too’ed, I swear.”

You found yourself panting as you finished, your hands on your hips now – not that you realized you had put them there – and your belly hot and angry for some inexplicable reason; maybe it was the fact that it was Sam, amazing, friendly and understanding Sam Wilson, who had to go and point this stupid poisonous plant out for you; and have the audacity to ask for a kiss.

Dammit!

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” he apologized sincerely, voice kind and without any hint of hurt or mockery. “It won’t happen again. I see that you might have a point in this.”

All the fight instantly left your body, replaced by warmth of friendship, mingling with a shiver of shame for your quick judgement and outburst. You sighed, easing your posture and offering and apologetic smile in return.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make a big deal of that-“

“No, it’s fine. Like I said, you’re kinda right.”

“Damn right I am,” you hummed, feeling the corners of your lips rise automatically as Sam chuckled and shook his head at your antics.

But hey – you were right. You were not sorry for that.

Still snickering to himself, Sam sidestepped you in the door and patted your shoulder.

As you continued your path as well, you would swear you heard Tony mutter under his breath that you were a Grinch.

Jerk.

“Hey! Don’t I get a kiss?” Clint called out a complaint as you met both stepped into that damn doorway at the same time.

As he pointed up, all you could do was to sigh, close your eyes and count to ten.

It had only been like four hours maybe; perhaps the word hadn’t gotten to him yet that you were not a fan of making out with random people – even if they were family – just because it was Christmas; or as Tony had put it, that you were a Grinch.

Personally, you thought that his insult had been inaccurate; you had given it a thought. Maybe you were more of a Scrooge. Perhaps you should tell him next time you saw him, just to see his face; Tony did pride in his ability to come up with witty nicknames.

You almost spitted out Bah, humbug now, just because.

“No, you don’t,” you said flatly instead, causing Clint’s jaw to quite literally drop as he looked at you with indignation and horror in his eyes.

“But--- but- mistletoe!” he stuttered and you sighed, deciding to explain it to him too – patiently.

“Why should some stupid plant tell me when someone is worth my affection? Someone who allegedly deserved it by simply standing under the same plant as me, no less? Get. Out. Not happening.”

You winced a bit as you registered the snappy tone you used.

Well. Half of the task of explaining it to him patiently went right, you’d call that a success, you supposed.

The poor archer just blinked, staring at you dumbfounded and mildly hurt; as if you had just told him that Santa Claus was nothing but a trick. Phew, as if you were that heartless…

Just-- logic. In fact, you had given this tradition a generous amount of thought since your last encounter under it and you figured out where it came from, historical inaccuracy be damned.

“I mean, where did the idea even come from? I bet it was just because some dude saw another guy mouth-to-mouth a girl, who happened to eat some of this poisonous parasite, may I add, and she was dying, so he gave her rescue breaths before continuing CPR. And the dude thought, that’s a great idea! Let’s make this a habit, just without the poisoning! Yeah, no. You’re not getting a kiss, Clinton,” you finished, satisfied with yourself as you managed to sound calmer this time.

Also, you were kinda proud of yourself for coming up with this story; it seemed very likely.

“That’s, uhm… an interesting take on history,” Clint hummed, watching you with uncertainty and hesitance and your heart stumbled in your chest as you guessed he was about to say something… cheeky, and outraging, in his cute brotherly way. “I need a hug at least tho.”

There we go.

“Nice try.”

You smirked and sidestepped him to be on your way and almost bumped into Steve, quickly shooting him a smile and disappearing out of sight before a silly idea about him and the stupid plant could form in your head – that would be bad and highly inappropriate, as was your crush on him, not to even mention your feelings—bah -!

“What did you do to her?” you heard the sweet supersoldier ask, a hint of accusation in his voice. Your smile widened, heat rising to your cheeks. Always so chivalrous; your heart could fucking melt.

“I asked for a hug after she refused to give me a kiss under a mistletoe,” Clint ratted you out, still hurt and honestly confused.

You stopped in your tracks as you rounded a corner, chewing on your lip guiltily.

Poor Clint; perhaps you had gone too hard on him… he couldn’t have known. You had to be kinder about it next time – after all, you might have been with them for almost a year now and they made you feel like you fit despite being so-so late to the Avengers party, but all of you still had things to learn about each other.

“Ah, you haven’t heard from Sam. Sorry,” Steve’s voice reached your ear, a notch kinder than before, compassionate even.

Compassion; another quality of Steve’s that you loved-

Bah, HUMBUG, that is not that, the L word is a bit much, that is not what’s happening-

“Wait, you knew- oh… Yeah, a heads-up would be nice,” Clint grumbled and made a pregnant pause, the sign of another prefect line coming. You held your breath in anticipation. “So are you gonna give me a hug or should I just get coffee, aka the hug in a cup-“

You held back laugher and swallowed the fondness for the good-natured archer before you could rush back and give him the damn hug.

“Coffee’s always a safe choice,” Steve replied and you thought you heard a chuckle and a grunt, unable to supress a giggle as you jogged away before they could notice you were still within hearing range.

Clint’s following monologue faded away as you walked.

“Nobody likes me. Nobody. I’m gonna die alone, surrounded by people who are too emotionally constipated to give a man a damn hug…”

Yeah, maybe you should give him a hug next time you saw him… no mistletoe though.

You truly believed that that would be the end of it; after all, a day had passed since the first incident, the incident that was left without a kiss, and you doubted anyone was out of the loop at this point.

That was stupid of you. Naïve even. You jinxed it.

You were just after light breakfast, ready to get a little work out in – complete with tacky remixes of Christmas songs prepared to cheer you up – when the supposedly fastest man in the Tower, and possibly the whole world, pretty much bumped into you.

And he had to bump into you just as you were walking through that fucking doorway with that fucking plant which you were supposed to put down right after the encounter with Sam, dammit.

But no, you didn’t want to ruin everyone else’s fun; in fact, Clint had taken it his personal mission to meet as many people as he could under the mistletoe to get a kiss… or a hug. Wanda hapilly shared affection with others, either kissing their cheek of hugging them. People were having fun.

So, obviously, you let it be, confident everyone knew better than to corner you.

No good deed ever went unpunished, especially in the Holiday season.

Pietro grinned as he spotted you, downright delighted, and spread his arms almost as if creating a cage around you, leaving very little room to escape.

You did not like that.

“A kiss for a guy who caught you under a mistletoe?” he hummed warmly with a sprinkle of cheek and despite his cheery demeanour, you couldn’t help yourself and rolled your eyes.

“In your dreams, Maximoff,” you huffed, trying to duck under his arm, only for him to move it so quickly it was only a blur to you.

Quick to move, slow to take a hint. Yep, that kind of behaviour had Pietro written all over it… Okay, now you were being mean, but he was being an ass, grinning wider and adding a wink to the mix, so it was only fair.

“How did you know? I thought it was just my sister who was telepathic?”

“Pietro, leave her alone,” Wanda spoke as if on cue, eyeing her brother with a frown from her spot behind the counter where she was trying to figure out a recipe for a special Christmas pastry from her old country.

A hint of a pout appeared on Pietro’s lips as he reciprocated Wanda’s gaze; unfortunately for you, he was still aware enough of you attempting to escape his cage, so far without using force; though you were inclined to violence should it be necessary.

“What?! It’s tradition! I thought Americans loved that!”

“Well, not all of us, so-“ you explained with a sigh, catching a glimpse of Steve as he now looked up from his spot on the couch where he had been nestled with a sketchbook for the past twenty minutes.

“I could kiss you before you even notice,” Pietro argued smugly, his expression earning a wolf-like edge as you glared back at him.

Well, it seemed your workout was just about to start, you thought, as you balled your hand into a fist, subtly testing the readiness of the muscles of your leg, prepared to kick the damn man-child to his shin or worse.

“She said no.”

Both your and Pietro’s heads snapped to Steve, who was watching the other man with intense displeasure, all complete with the mildly adorable wrinkle on his forehead – a sign of disappointment and irritation – and a voice that carried the gravity of a Captain’s order.

Which in this situation stirred something in your belly, warmth swelling in your chest as he rushed to your rescue; one not needed, but still appreciated. You didn’t react to Steve’s words aside from giving him a quick grateful smile and shooting Pietro a childish told-you-so look.

“She doesn’t have to do things just because it’s considered a tradition. Leave her be, Pietro,” Steve added, less snappy and simply requesting from the speedster to have a tiny bit of respect for your wishes.

Pietro was most definitely pouting now, but he dropped his arms and released you, still blocking the doorway.

“This is ridiculous,” Pietro muttered under his breath, only for you to hear and you gritted your teeth, irritation spiking again.

“You are being ridiculous. Now move or I swear I’ll slap you.”

“I’d like to see you try, Eagle.”

Oh, we’re doing nicknames now? He could use your title earned by being fast and occasionally deadly all he wanted, flattery would get him nowhere at this point.

“Wouldn’t even see it coming, Speedyboy,” you challenged, chin raised in defiance.

It was ironic, really, how much everyone seemed to insist on following this stupid tradition, even with you. At this point, it was practically everyone but Steve; everyone but the one person you’d be willing to kiss – mistletoe or not, though the plant would at least give you an excuse.

But nope, you just had to get stuck in the doorway with this moron instead.

“Ooookay, you two,” Natasha sing-sang, as she was approaching you from the corridor; you completely missed her arriving, that was how much Pietro irritated you. “Maximoff, move, you’re blocking the doorway. And if you corner her like this again, I’ll kill you in your sleep and you’ll never see that coming,” she promised, voice icily serious despite the twinkle in her eye.

You had no doubt she would deliver just what she promised.

Which was exactly why you leaned over to kiss her cheek, earning a brilliant smile from her and a light brush of her lips against your own cheek.

“Thanks, kotenok,” she hummed just as Pietro gaped and complained.

“That’s so unfair.”

You smirked at him, throwing the smugness he had treated you with right back at him as you went to walk away.

“I give affection to whoever I want and whenever I want. Let your super quick brain process that. Happy Holidays.”

You completely missed the slow smile that spread on Wanda’s face at one point of the whole exchange.

You decided to stop walking through that damn doorway altogether – just in case.

But at the moment, no one was around, so you made an exception since you considered yourself safe. Though main part of the feeling of security was that you didn’t think there was anyone left of the Tower tenants (who didn’t pay rent at all, somehow) who wasn’t aware of your opinion on the dumb tradition. No one who would be stupid enough to try.

Yet, when you glimpsed a large figure about to walk through the doorway just as you were few feet from it, you halted in your steps, letting them pass first.

And then there was a gust of wind, a warning coming a second too late and a harsh push to your shoulder from behind.

“Running through!”

You, the newest addition to the Earth’s mightiest heroes, Eagle, known for her quick reactions and not losing her cool easily, only managed to yelp in fright as you were knocked over, unable to hold onto anything and falling straight to the ground.

Two strong hands caught you and pulled you back up before you could hit the floor and you gasped, head spinning from the swift movements-- only to blink your eyes open to meet the prettiest pair of eyes you had ever seen; determined, kind, compassionate, loveable. And so damn blue despite the drop of green in their irises.

Your heart was trying to beat its way out of your ribcage as Steve instinctively pressed his chest against yours, holding you close and secure, grasp firm but careful.

Your gaze couldn’t but wander all over his face as you found yourself in such close quarters with him, his own eyes and his lips – gosh, those lips – working as magnets, always alluring your gaze to linger.

“You okay?”

Mesmerized, you watched those lips to move, barely comprehending what he was asking. His voice was warm; honey sweet and rich in spice, delicious, causing your stomach to flip pleasantly, your heart stammer.

It might have taken you a while to stutter out a reply, but no one ever needed to know about that.

“Uhm… yeah. Thanks-- thanks to you… thank you.”

Steve graced you with a small but no less meaningful smile. “Of course.”

Torturously slowly – as if he didn’t want to let you go any more than you wanted him to – he helped you stand straight and let go of your arms.

The moment you lost his touch, you lost your sanity too. You must have.

Before you could change your mind – or to think anything through – you leaned back to him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. And perhaps on instinct, you kinda aimed more for the corner of his mouth than the cheek.

He felt warm now too – the tips of his ears turned red in an instant and you, with horror, finally realized what you had done; and just how good it felt to finally show at least a little of what you had been trying to ignore and hide for so long.

Despite his apparent surprise and mild embarrassment, his smile widened a fraction, turning pleased.

“What was that for?” he asked lowly, gaze intense as he studied your face, a hint of a glow in his eyes, something brighter than hadn’t been there before. Hope, maybe?

You certainly hoped. Because you just made an ass of yourself, having acted without thought… and it never felt so good and so awkward at the same time.

Your brain had never been so quick and dumb to come up with a poor excuse either.

“We’re…. we’re under a mistletoe?” you offered reluctantly, your lips still burning after the brief contact with his, head once again nearly spinning due to the proximity – was it just the dizziness or was he leaning in closer?

“I thought you didn’t follow that tradition,” Steve hummed with a grin slowly spreading on his face and through the fog of lovesickness, it finally dawned to you.

You had done exactly what you scolded Sam, Clint and Pietro for – you just went and kissed Steve, no questions asked, no consideration of his possible discomfort.

God, you were such an idiot!

See, that’s why you have banned yourself for as much as imagining kissing Steve and meeting him under the mistletoe! Because when your brain went down that road, it stopped working altogether!

You swiftly retreated a few inches, horrified.

“I—I don’t. I mean. I-- I-I’m so sorry!” you blurted out, words spilling from your lips as the panic rose in your chest. And yet, there was warmth, a pleasant feeling coiling in your belly, breaths coming out short as Steve seemed to erase the distance you had created, his gaze studying you, landing on your mouth. “I shouldn’t have done that! What was I thinking—gosh, I didn’t want to make you-“

You stopped as Steve’s lips kept erasing the distance and ended up a breath from touching yours, tempting, his eyes shining bright with a simple unspoken question. You instinctively licked your lips, heart stumbling in your ribcage.

“---uncomfortable. Yes, please-“

And then he was kissing you, a little smile playing on his lips as they danced with yours, sweet and soft, hand moving to your nape, thumb caressing the side crook of your neck, drawing a content sigh from you as your eyes fluttered shut, letting you sink into the kiss you had been craving for almost a year.

Your hands sought out his shoulders as he cradled your face, gentle and guiding so he could take more and all you wanted was to give it to him, give him everything he asked for and take it from him too.

Your toes definitely curled in the thick fluffy socks you wore when his fingers squeezed your nape briefly before he withdrew – as if he once again didn’t want to let go for something so boring as oxygen. You wholeheartedly agreed with that sentiment, dizzy from the blissful turn of events.

As you inhaled nevertheless, you were grateful that Steve stayed close enough for you to breathe in him, relieved and delighted smile on your face as you licked your lips, savouring the sensation.

When you met his gaze, you saw nothing but fondness; and your heart could melt.

Steve liked you too. Steve kissed you like he meant it. Now you could die a happy woman but you rather not. You’d rather kiss him again if he was willing.

“Still sorry I did it without asking first,” you whispered an apology even though you were not sorry at all since it led to this.

“It’s okay. I just hope it wasn’t just the tradition that pushed you into kissing back.”

You chuckled and then chewed on your lower lip when thinking of a propriate retort, not missing that his eyes followed the action. Oh, he definitely liked to back, okay. Why had you never kissed before, again?

“I only give affection to whoever I want, whenever I want,” you threw back at him, the words that had a whole new meaning in contrast to when being told to Pietro; not a turn-down, quite the opposite in fact.

And you leaned in, greedy for at least one more kiss, Steve just watched you with a smile, eyes flickering to your lips.

“That’s good to know.”

He didn’t sound like he complained at being at the receiving end of your affection whatsoever.

Maybe, mistletoe wasn’t so stupid after all…

Three rooms over, the red-haired witch was smiling widely as she, thanks to her mental powers, caught a glimpse of what was happening in the kitchen doorway.

“It worked,” she announced, blinking to fully return herself to the present. “Nice work this time, brat moy.”

Pietro scowled at Wanda and couldn’t but wonder about the plan she had orchestrated and asked him to execute.

“How did you know, sestra?”

Wanda just shrugged.

“I had my suspicions before. But when you ran into her the last time, I checked her mind to see just how uncomfortable you made her,” she explained, giving one more scolding glare for his inappropriate behaviour. But well, it led to this and he helped now, so… he was good. “She literally thought she wouldn’t mind being under the mistletoe with the Captain.”

“Lucky bastard,” Pietro muttered, expression only half-sour.

“Shush. Be happy for your teammates. You just flirt anyway.”

The speedster pouted, but didn’t protest; he in fact was happy for the two members of the extended family him and his sister had found. And he indeed was only flirting, enjoying your reactions, talking back and teasing. It was all good fun and he did wish you and the Captain well…

But.

“Well, yeah, but now I won’t be able to do that or to look at her twice. Not without Captain having my head,” he grumbled and Wanda nodded with a grin, not feeling all that bad for him.

It wasn’t like he had his heart broken – more like had his ego tickled; and he had been needing some of that for a while.

“That’s true. Looks like you gotta be faster with the next girl you get your eye on, brat.”

The speedster gasped, shocked at her audacity. “I’ll show you fast-!”

Wanda laughed as she used her powers to freeze him on spot to get a head start.

Now, the Holidays felt truly happy indeed.

S.R. Masterlist

Thank you for reading!

If this fic feels like it’s written differently, then I guess that’s fair… I tried to make the style more drabble-like and failed epically, because I just cannot write short and without too many feelings :D

Anyway.

Happy Holidays to you all! May you be given love and affection!

204 notes · View notes

thenovelartist · 3 years

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Burned Beginnings, Chapter 6

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16. Sunrise

Warm. That’s all that registered in Adrien’s mind as consciousness slowly came back to him. He groaned, snuggling his pillow tighter to cling to that warmth and comfort. He didn’t want to get up.

However, as his mind continued booting up, something began to strike him as odd. Something was off, but the last thing he wanted to do was open his eyes to figure out what that was.

However, that feeling grew too strong to ignore and—oh…

He wasn’t cuddling a pillow.

Feeling like he’d just been splashed with ice water, Adrien was awake now, and his mind was in overdrive as he recalled last night. Marinette had been crying, and Adrien just didn’t want to leave her alone, even when her tears had stopped. So he’d encouraged her to settle beside him on the bed while he pulled up a light and sweet anime to enjoy. He figured she’d like this one with a sassy and spunky main girl, and Marinette had.

For the two episodes she’d managed to stay awake for.

Adrien had considered moving her, but it was a little more difficult when she was practically laying on top of him. That, and he hadn’t really wanted to move her.

Call him selfish, but he’d chosen to settle down beside her and hold her close. Her eyes had cracked open, but Adrien could see the haze of sleep clouding them.

“Do you want me to go?” he’d asked.

She’d closed her eyes and grabbed his shirt. “Stay.”

He was such a goner.

In the end, Adrien found it all too easy to fall asleep next to her. Which was how he found himself in this position now.

It wasn’t a bad position, he thought, but maybe it was time to move. Marinette trusted him, and he may have taken advantage of that last night by using any excuse he could find to stay by her instead of doing the responsible thing of waking her or moving her to her room. Or maybe it would have been better to let her stay in his bed while dug around for her room key and went to sleep in her hotel room.

But it was too late to think of that now. Instead, he tried his best to disentangle himself from Marinette, who also had her arms wrapped around him as he had had his around her.

Halfway out of her embrace, Marinette whined and stirred. Adrien froze, hoping she’d just go back to sleep. Her parents had made an off comment that she was a heavy sleeper, so he was banking on that. And thankfully, she seemed to relax again.

Carefully, he began to pull her arms away from his waist.

“Adrien?”

He grimaced. Apparently, he had woken her. “Sorry,” he said. “Go back to sleep.”

She settled back into her bed, tucking her arms close. “I fell asleep?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh,” she murmured. She reached up to rub her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Um…” Adrien looked at the dim clock on the night stand. He had to blink a couple times to get his blurry vision to focus, and only then did he realize that the lingering soreness in his eyes were because he’d fallen asleep in his contact lenes. “Morning, sometime,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “I can’t see the clock at the moment.”

At that, Marinette took her hands away from her eyes. “What?”

“My contact lenes get all dry if I sleep in them,” he said, already making his way to the bathroom. “Give me a second to get my glasses.”

After relieving the pain by taking out his lenses and replacing them with glasses, Adrien walked out of the bathroom to see Marinette was already up and had opened the window. The gray morning light of early dawn was beginning to hang over the city.

“Sorry,” Marinette said, not moving her gaze from the window.

“For what?”

“Falling asleep in your bed.”

“You were exhausted and had a long day,” Adrien dismissed. “It was my fault for not waking you up or moving to go sleep in your room instead.”

“It’s fine,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “Honestly I… I liked having you there with me. Last night.” She turned to him, the faintest glow of pink already highlighting her lovely face as she smiled at him. “Thanks for indulging me.”

He gave her a smile in return and hoped it didn’t show all the feelings he held in his heart towards her. “You’re my best friend, Marinette,” he said. “If you ever need anything, I’ll be there for you.”

For a moment, they just stood side by side and watched the sunrise. It was nice, this quiet time with her. And while he of course enjoyed their banter, he cherished this quiet time with her, too. She was an amazing lady, and he was always glad to spend time with her, no matter in what capacity.

“Hey,” Marinette began, reaching out to gently elbow him in the side. “What do you want to do today?”

Adrien’s brow furrowed as he frowned. “Aren’t we going to the convention?”

“No,” she dismissed with an easy smile and shake of her head. “I… I know you set up this trip for me, so of course I want to make the most of it. But you’re miserable, and don’t try to tell me otherwise.”

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry. I didn’t know I was making it obvious.”

“You weren’t. In fact, you’re really good at hiding it. I just know you too well, by now.”

He felt a warm feeling wash over him. He tried to think of the last time anyone had ever called him out on his acting skills and couldn’t think of anything recent. Maybe people noticed but never commented, but Marinette was different. Because of course she was. No one could reach the level of importance that Marinette had reached, which made her all the more valuable to him. “But don’t you want to enjoy the rest of the week as much as you can? This is kinda a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

She shook her head. “If this trip really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, then I won’t be able to enjoy it to the fullest if you are nothing but miserable the whole time. So forget fashion week. I’ve already gotten my fill of it. What do you want to do, Adrien?”

Adrien looked at her, taking in the way her eyes glittered in the increasingly strong orange glow radiating through the window. Once again, Adrien was reminded why he loved this woman. She was wicked sharp and smoking hot and a total tease, but once you got past that, she was the most earnest, loyal, and caring person he’d ever known in his life. And knowing she didn’t give those parts of herself out lightly meant all the more to him.

“Honestly,” he finally admitted, not looking away from her gaze. “I’m good with anything you want to do.”

She deflated frustratedly. “That doesn’t help.”

An easy smile picked up the edges of his lips as he shrugged. “Honest truth. I’ve been here enough times to not care about the city personally. But I care about being with you if I’m going to be here.”

With a breath, he bolstered up his courage. If she could make a solid decision about her future, then he could stop being such a coward. “Honestly, doesn’t matter where we are,” he said, the words pouring from his venerable heart. “Been all around the world, and the place I feel most comfortable is at your side. So to me, it really doesn’t matter to me where we go, long as we go together.”

He could feel the tension that suddenly sparked between them. It was only after he said that that he realized maybe he should have waited until after the trip. Because now, if she said no—

“Adrien.”

Damn it, here it comes. Stay strong. “Yeah?”

“Remember how you owe me a dare?”

He nodded, hoping he hid his grimace. “Yeah, I remember. Doubt you’d ever let me forget.”

“I’d like to cash it in now.”

Adrien raised a brow, his heart beating nervously. “Do I get a moment to prepare for it?” he asked, teasing lit to his tone as he gave her a nervous grin.

She chuckled, giving him a smirk that didn’t have half the devilishness in it as it usually did. “What fun would that be?”

He did his best to play it off with a sigh. “Fine. Dare.”

Marinette took a breath, almost like she was steadying herself. “I dare you,” she began, her expression a fragile mask of strength. “To confess to the girl you like.”

Adrien’s heart plummeted in his chest, knocking the air right out of him, and his guts tightened into more knots than he’d ever felt before. But that immense panic only lasted for a moment as his mind started working. The girl he liked. Did… did she…?

A little bud of hope blooming in his chest, he took a step forward. “Marinette.” His voice was shaking, along with his hands.

She never once took her eyes off him, and because of that, he could see her fragile mask shake. She was scared. And he was, too.

But she’d made the first move, and he wasn’t going to let her fall without catching her.

“I love you.”

She gasped, her eyes widening slightly for a second.

Emboldened, Adrien reached out to wrap his arms loosely around her waist. “You are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. You’re a spitfire and a tease and so strong and sharp and beautiful, and I really enjoy all the time we’re together. And I’d like that to continue for… for what I hope is a very long time.” He paused, taking a moment to collect his breath so he could finish. “So, Marinette, I love you. Would you please be my girlfriend?”

The joy that lit up her expression brighter than the sunrise outside already gave him her answer. And he felt like he could fly over the moon with the energy that gave him.

She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. It only took a millisecond for Adrien to return the favor, pulling her so close that he lifted her feet off the ground.

“I love you, too,” Marinette whispered back. “Yes, I will be your girlfriend.”

The smile on Adrien’s face could not possibly stretch any wider. All words failed him at that moment, so he settled for continuing to hold her, slowly setting her feet back on the ground.

As their embrace loosened, Marinette seemed to pause before she got too far away, placing her face just inches from his. The heady feeling that washed over Adrien was either from the proximity or his rapid breath. Maybe both. But instead of deciding which was the most likely option, he leaned in, his nose brushing against hers and sending sparks flying through him.

She didn’t move away. If anything, she responded by leaning closer, her nose now rubbing his cheek. And that was all the invitation Adrien needed to finish what he’d started and press his lips to hers.

Over and over and over again.

17. Text Messages

To say Marinette was over the moon might be an understatement.

She just felt all fluttery, and she didn’t know how much of it was from Adrien’s confession and how much of it was from the menagerie of kisses he’d given her that left her reeling.

Either way, she was happy. Thankful, and happy. Adrien was an amazing man who could easily toss back any teasing, make her smile, take her mind off her worries, and bring her peace. And just like he’d expressed, she also just loved being with him, whether that be running a bakery shift together, watching anime, or walking around New York. It didn’t matter to her.

At the moment, she was getting ready for their outing. She found herself wanting to put a little extra effort into her appearance today. It wasn’t like she was unconfident in her appearance around him—after all, they worked together in a bakery and were often covered in food and sweat and occasionally soot if they were cleaning out the oven or if it was running extra hot, and never once did she worry her about either of their appearances—but today marked their first day as a couple, and she wanted to look nice for him.

As she was putting on her eyeliner, her phone dinged with a text. Once she finished with the make-up in her hand, she reached for her phone, thinking it was her parents checking in. They hadn’t yesterday or today and was wondering when they’d contact her.

But it wasn’t them. It was Adrien.

I don’t know what to wear on my first date with this amazing girl! Help me!

She scoffed, unable to keep the smile of her face. This dork. Clown shoes. She texted back. You gotta warn her who you are way ahead of time ;)

Oh, I’m hurt! He responded. For the record she loves my jokes.

She sniggered. That’s debatable.

It’s true! You should see the smile she gets. Cutest thing ever and she thinks I don’t catch it when she hides it.

She bit her lip before remembering she didn’t want to smudge her lipstick. You’re seeing things.

If you mean I’m seeing this smoking hot young lady, then yes, I am. I’m one lucky guy. ;)

Grinning like an idiot, she was rendered speechless for a moment, racking her brain for a retort. Well, the lucky lady in question can’t complete her make-up if her date continues texting her.

Why bother? I’m planning on ruining it anyway ;)

She let out a squeak as she dropped her phone. Her eyes met her reflection in the mirror, proving that while she was now red, she was grinning incredulously at her idiot boyfriend.

Her phone dinged again. See? Just helped you with your blush ;)

She as going to dump his sorry butt by the day’s end if he kept this up.

And then probably regret it tomorrow and kiss him until he got back together with her, but she ignored that for now.

Her phone dinged again. Princess?

She ignored the incoming text messages as she finished her make-up, then put her hair into a half-updo that he might just ruin later along with her make-up, but she was completely okay with that.

When she finished, she noticed Adrien had sent her a couple more messages of Did I go too far? before ending with a I’m going to assume you really are just finishing your make-up, but please text when you’re finished.

She sighed, small smile on her lips. She should really just go put that poor boy out of his misery.

She opened the door, only to spot Adrien exiting his room as well.

“I’m not mad at you,” she assured. “That was kinda funny, actually.”

He visibly relaxed, and Marinette could ease up, too, assured that he knew he hadn’t crossed the unspoken teasing line. It was amazing how much facial expressions and tone made a difference in a conversation.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Guess I’m a bit wound up.”

“Why? It’s just me.”

Adrien huffed. “Marinette, I don’t know if you know this, but ‘just you’ is a pretty stellar person. I count myself a really lucky guy, so the last thing I want to do is screw this up.”

Marinette grinned. “Well, it’s ‘just you’, so I know you won’t. Because ‘just you’ is a pretty stellar person, too.”

18. First Date

Kissing his best friend was not at all how he expected to start his day. But it was a pretty amazing way to kick off a morning.

And now, his best friend was his girlfriend and he had the honor of playing tour guide around New York City. They hit all the tacky tourist spots, took plenty of photos, had great food, and bought souvenirs. For a first date, it wasn’t too bad.

Oh, who was he kidding? It was amazing. But it had nothing to do with the setting and everything to do with the fact he was with her. Being around Marinette was his greatest joy in life. She grounded him and brightened his day and supported him in ways that no one else had been able to do before. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but he could already see standing by her side for the rest of their lives.

“You look better today,” Marinette spoke up from his side.

He looked down at her, a little confused. “What do you mean?” he asked, shooting her a smirk and wink. “I always look good.”

She giggled. “Not what I meant. I meant that you don’t look miserable today. Like you’re actually enjoying yourself.”

Those words helped him relax a bit, and he tightened the grip he had on her hand. “I’m just really, really happy.”

Marinette squeezed his hand back, giving him a smile that was going to knock him to his knees. Geez, he had to be careful around this woman. “I am, too,” she whispered back.

He was shocked he didn’t trip because his heart sure did.

“I noticed this a while ago,” she eventually said, “But you’re not wearing your earrings anymore.”

“Oh, yeah. That.” He shrugged. “I guess I just got tired of them. Before we came on this trip, I looked at them again and realized that I only got them to piss off my dad. I didn’t care one way or another. And I guess… I was tired of wearing something that only reminded me that my dad was an asshole. Why? Did you like them?”

She shrugged. “You look good either way. But if that’s your reason, then I also like you better without them, then.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Because I like the Adrien that can reflect on himself and decide to not let others shape his appearance. Maturity is more attractive than any physical attributes, in my opinion.”

Adrien would forever blame a crack in the pavement for the way he stumbled, nearly pulling Marinette to the ground with him.

“You okay?” she asked once he’d regained his balance.

No, he was not okay. He was certain his face was red, and his heart was going a hundred kilometers an hour. “Um… yeah.”

She didn’t look convinced but didn’t argue.

A comfortable silence slipped between them as they walked back to the hotel, the sun sinking lower in the sky as the day came to an end.

“Hey,” Adrien eventually said, giving voice to the thought that wouldn’t leave his head. “Did… did you really mean what you said about liking maturity over my looks?”

Marinette looked up at him, meeting his gaze. She gave him a soft smile. “Yeah. I’ve never really got caught up in people’s looks. I never understood the teenage girl games of ‘is he hot or not’ or whatever that was. And while I can say that I do think you’re handsome, your looks didn’t play any role in my falling for you.”

“O-oh?” He inwardly kicked himself. He couldn’t even string together a full sentence. How intelligent.

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. “What? I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Right? You’ve got plenty of amazing attributes that have nothing to do with how you so happen to look.”

Adrien stopped, tugging her hand and causing her to spin her around to face him. “Actually, it is a big deal,” he began, watching her grow nervous. He gently squeezed her hand taking a step forward to get closer. “Because as a model for many years, I’ve been surrounded by people who only care about my appearance. And suddenly, I’m with my dream girl, and I find out that the one thing I was valued for for so long doesn’t matter to her. And… and it’s weird because it feels great to know you like me for other reasons, but I also somehow feel gypped a little bit.”

Marinette relaxed, and a sympathetic smile came across her lips. “For the record, I do think you’re handsome,” she assured. “But I also think you’re hard-working and reliable and trustworthy and kind. And I like being with you as a person. I can trust you. I feel safe with you. And that means the world to me.”

Adrien could feel his heart melting. He loved this woman so much that this was only their first date and he was already a total goner. However, if he was being honest with himself, he’d fallen for her long ago. He counted himself so very lucky for that.

He also counted himself lucky that he seemed to be just what she needed, just as she was what he needed. If he had his way, he was going to be with this woman forever. And he was determined to make that happen.

#AdrinetteApril2021 #adrienette #miraculous ladybug #fanfiction #fluff #just straight up fluff #and comfort #These two are so precious

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urmyonly-vision · 3 years

Text

Tolerate it

Description: This series is very loosely based on Taylor Swifts ‘Tolerate it’. The lyrics and imagery in this song are amazing and thought this pairing would go perfectly. Unrequited love is a bitch amirite :’) Anyway, if this doesn't mention Brock as much, its because I want the focus to be on Steve and the reader. They both deserve each other wowowow.

Pairing: Brock x female reader, then Steve Rogers x female reader.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, self esteem issues.

Words: 1.5k

The dismal and misty rain poured outside the window of the dimly lit cafe. Every so often, the awning would shudder and rhythmically release the collected rain on the path below. Everyone outside seemed to be in a rush going somewhere and anywhere to avoid being drenched.

You began to feel more grateful that you were inside, warm and dry with your hands wrapped around your hot cup of coffee. Fiddling with the sugar cubes on the saucer, you heard the bell above the door tinkle. A rush of cold air swept through the cafe and you shivered, starting to rethink the booth you had chosen to sit in.

‘You do know that's the worst seat in this place’ a familiar voice said.

You looked up to see a tall man with blonde hair chuckling and shaking his head as he walked towards you.

‘Steve!’ you exclaimed with a smile.

You shuffled across the long seat and quickly stood to give your friend a hug. Steve smiled as he returned the gesture, pulling you close and wrapping his warm hands around your frame, inhaling your perfume. Unfortunately, drops of rain from his jacket had now sunk into the thin cardigan that you were wearing, leaving you with cold patches of rain water on your torso.

You made a soft gasp at the chill saying ‘Nooo, Steve! You made me wet!’’ You grimaced, wiping yourself as you sat back down.

Steve burst out laughing at your poor choice of phrasing as he said, ‘Aw doll, I’m sorry! But it’s not every day that I get to spend good time with my favourite!’.

As he began to shrug his jacket off, you thawed at the sound of his words. Steve had always said that you were his ‘favourite’. You remembered the first time he had said it and you scoffed playfully, saying, ‘you don't mean that’.

But his sincere face looking down at you suggested he meant the exact word he chose.

Everything about Steve was earnest and calm. You watched him as he patiently waited for the waitress to come by your table and take his order. You didn't know how, but even the way he asked for his coffee was deliberate but sweet. In the 5 years you had known him, you were convinced that he was a better person each time you saw him.

Steve turned around to catch you staring at him.

‘What’s going on with you, you seem like you have a lot to say y’ know’. He asked, narrowing his eyes playfully with a tilt of his head.

Taking a sip of your coffee, you smiled warmly, ‘Nothing… just reminiscing’.

You both fell into an easy conversation, taking time to ask him about his day and if he had crossed anything off his list of things to discover this week. He began to show you several memes he had thought you'd find funny, laughing more because you snorted into your coffee, leaving a foamy mess on the table.

‘Oh God, Steve, you’re getting better than me, where are you sourcing these from?’ you laughed.

‘C’mon, I’m Captain America, I have to know everything about everything’. He joked back with a wink.

You rolled your eyes in humour, saying ‘Alright hotshot’.

You loved the comfort you had with Steve. Everything was easy and calm. You didn't even have to explain yourself to him. Only sometimes when he looked at you like that. The ‘cap look’ you called it. How could someone so good be so beautiful as well? It seemed unfair. Regardless, you were more than grateful that you were friends. And close ones at that.

‘Anyway’, Steve interrupted your thoughts. ‘You would never ask me to meet you in this kinda weather unless there's something exciting going on’. He continued. ‘Wait… did you finally find the company papers that Brock hid?’

Meeting his gaze, you said, ‘Nah,... I just wanted to see you properly. I only ever see you at work.’

Steve’s heart leapt a little at the thought of you just wanting to see him. How easy would it be for him to have the choice to just see you all the time if you were together.

Reading your downcast eyes, Steve drew a breath in, muttering ‘Where’s Brock these days anyway?’

You looked up at Steve, sighing at his quiet persistence in his blue eyes. Pulling your hands into your sleeves, you said, ‘‘If I knew the answer to that I’d tell you’

Whether you believed it or not, Steve knew you very well. From the way you blew into your coffee subconsciously though it wasn't hot, to the way you bounced your knee when you were nervous.

‘Y/N, c’mon, you know you can tell me.’ He frowned with persistence, not knowing that you really did mean, that you had no clue. Steve continued. ‘Wait, are you serious? Didn't he do this last month?’

‘I dunno’ you replied, staring at the white foam in your cup. ‘He hasn’t been home since last Thursday.’ It was now Saturday.

Steve patiently waited, egging you on as he reached for your hand on the other side of the table.

A few moments passed and with a rush of sudden emotion, you started.

You began to explain how you weren't even sure if Brock was in the city, back from his work meeting in Chicago. It’s as if you knew that he liked to spend more time in the office than he did with you. God knows why someone would choose to live in the office. Despite him being the executive of the start-up company you had helped him create, nothing much kept him there for long.You guessed it was an active avoidance on his part. Or rather… someone was keeping him there. You thought you were going crazy.

….’Every time I’ve tried to call his phone, it gets redirected to his secretary Sharon’. You started to sob, saying ‘I feel so stupid… he treats me like a child and not his partner… and I’ve tried everything but it’s like I'm waiting for the worst...and Steve, I swear I can feel it coming and I don’t know what I should do... I know I heard Sharon stifle her laugh when I called again yesterday’. Tears were now streaming down your face and with a quiet whisper, you finished ‘It’s like everyone is laughing at me’.

Steve immediately frowned, responding ‘No, Y/N, they're not. I’m not laughing at you’. He began to stroke circles into your palm as an attempt to soothe you. ‘I could never’. ‘Unless you’re having a brilliant stroke of luck with your awful jokes’.

With a sobbing inhale, you countered; ‘My jokes are so good and you know that’.

As you exhaled, you began to shiver, not knowing whether it was because the rain had settled on your skin or because the sadness had buried itself in you.

Noticing your shaking shoulders, Steve picked up his jacket on the side, stood and shuffled to your side of the booth. As he placed his jacket over your shivering shoulders, you met his calm blue eyes with yours, quietly murmuring a ‘thanks’.

As Steve snaked his arm around your shoulders, you shuffled closer to his warmth, discreetly inhaling his fresh laundry powder and sandalwood scent. Suddenly, you felt so self aware, heat growing in your face as you realised you had perhaps crossed a boundary. You were still with Brock after all and in that moment, you truly wished you had with him an ounce of what you had with Steve. Maybe if the timing had been right with Steve you could’ve…

Drawing yourself out of your thoughts, you looked up at Steve, as he sipped his coffee, staring through the misted windows

You softly poked his side, asking ‘What’s America’s finest thinking about in there?’

Steve had been secretly seething at the mention of Brock’s name, yet again being the centre of your topics. Not because he was being selfish but because he thought you deserved better… dare he say even him.

For the longest time Steve had desperately wanted you for himself. You understood him and he felt truly seen with you. Something that he struggled with other people when they ‘reduced’ him to just ’Captain America’. Despite his herculean physique and good looks, more often than not, he still felt like the small guy he had tried to shake off all his life.

Whenever he imagined his future, it was impossible to not see you in it. You were what he needed and wanted. He felt he had missed the timing and he wished he had more confidence 4 years ago but then Brock came along and...

Steve snapped his eyes, focusing his gaze as he whispered ‘Nothing, doll… just, thinking’.

‘Oh yeah? What about?’

‘Well… I guess I was just… I was wondering if you’d want to spend the day with me tomorrow? Just me and you?’

Feeling warmer, you replied into the crook of his arm ‘Yeah.. why not. Let’s do it’.

Steve had a plan.

1/3

cont.. very soon

Once again. thanks for making it this far if you have! Let me know if you like what I've written so far / if you'd like to see anything else! Thanks :)

#steve x reader #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x black!reader #Steve x you #mcu x reader #captain america fluff #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers series #steve rogers x poc!reader #brock rumlow #taylor swift #tolerate it #steve rogers x fluff #steve rogers x angst

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heartless-symphony · 3 years

Text

Meant to be yours

Summary : You get your dream role and Spencer gets a bit jealous

Pairing : Spencer Reid x fem!reader

Category : fluff

Warnings : some curse words, semi-nudity kinda ??

Word count : 3,329 (even I am surprised)

Proof reader : @alideetoo (thank u !)

A/N : i'm probably gonna make a serie out of this. Reader will get a new role and their love story will advance ar the same time ! Hope you like it !!

MASTERLIST

From the minute you had walked in, Spencer knew something was wrong. Dark bags under your eyes showed you hadn't slept much - maybe even not at all -and the huge cup of coffee in your hands showed how tired you were. You hated coffee. You always laughed at Spencer for his addiction to coffee, but your relationship with hot chocolate wasn't much better. You always had a cup of hot cocoa in hand, but not today. He recognized the cup from the nearest coffee shop, and he knew that their hot cocoa cups were different. What was in your hands was definitely coffee, and that made him frown. You always found coffee too bitter, too strong, no matter what you put in, and only drank some when you had a really rough night - nightmares, a full night of research or something like that. However, nightmares never made you this fidgety, and there had been no rough case - almost no case, even - in the last days. For once, Spencer couldn't figure out what on Earth could have kept you from sleeping all night. He thought about a one-night stand for a minute, then he remembered who he was talking about and put the idea aside. You never did one night stands, and were more of a "not before the fifth date" kind of girl. As far as he knew - and he knew a lot - you hadn't been dating for a while.

Spence always tried to be discreet about his feelings for you, but he worked with profilers after all. Everybody knew that he liked you - except you,apparently. Morgan and JJ liked to keep him updated on your dating life, trying to push him to finally ask you out. After years of working together, years of pining after you, he should have been able to simply talk to you. But he never had the chance, never had the courage. So he watched you from afar, became your friend but, sadly, nothing more. He got to know you well, and that's how he knew something was wrong.

You walked to your desk, the one in front of Spencer’s, glancing at your phone more often than normal. You sat down and let out a yawn, and it looked like you would fall asleep on your desk if it wasn't for the coffee. Your eyes fell on the pile of case files on the side of your desk, and you let out a loud growl before grabbing the one on the top of the pile.

"You okay ?"

You looked up, only to meet Spencer's worried eyes. You nodded slowly, sighing. "Yea, just fine.. I-" A phone rang and you stumbled around, almost turning over your entire desk to find your phone - which wasn't the one ringing. You let out a disappointed sigh and put your phone down, trying to ignore Spencer's big, worried eyes. He had never seen you act like, and he was actually scared. Scared of you, scared for you. You seemed on edge, more than you've ever been, and he had no idea why. He leaned forward, scanning you, trying to profile you. Spencer knew profiling his friend wasn't a good idea, especially when that friend was the girl he liked. But he was so worried for you, so scared that something was wrong and he just wanted to help.

A phone rang again, shaking him out of his thoughts, because it was your ringtone this time, and you shot up to run out of the room, hand fumbling with your phone. He kept his eyes on you, following your every steps. He rose, almost ready to run after you, to make sure you were okay. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized you didn't seem scared, worried or even sad, but simply excited, happy even. He watched as your mouth fell open and he could almost hear your happy squeal, one he'd heard a few times before. As soon as you hung up, you did this adorable little dance, making his heart melt. You rushed back into the room, happy tears rolling down your cheeks, and threw yourself onto him, hugging him tightly.

"I got Veronica ! I got the role !" Your eyes were so wide, full of happiness, and you were so close, holding him so tight, that Spencer couldn't stop himself from smiling, even though he had no idea what you were talking about. He knew you did musical theater, he knew you had been trying to get a role - and apparently got it-, but he didn't know exactly what or who this Veronica was. When you pulled away to wipe away your tears, he almost -almost!- let out a sigh, already missing your natural warmth. Your eyes met and you let out a little 'sorry', with your adorable, tiny, cute voice, and he smiled even more. He could feel the excitation going through your body, and that was all that mattered to him at this point. You seemed to quickly understand his confusion -you were a profiler, after all- and you blushed, shyly playing with your hair.

"From Heathers ! I got the main role ! I-I just.. I can't believe it, Spence ! I got the role !" He nodded and smiled happily, even though he still had no precise idea of what you were talking about. He had a brief idea, but that was all. He just knew you got the main role because you had just said it, and he couldn't wait to finally see you on stage.

You had been talking about musicals ever since you two had started being friends, you had even made him watch Hamilton - which you almost immediately regretted, because Spender liked to set things right and spent around two hours teaching you what really happened at that time. He loved to hear you talk about music and musicals just as much as you loved his spontaneous facts and hours of teaching you new stuff, and he remembered everything you ever told him. He was just a bit confused by how excited you were, but he didn't mind. The smile on your lips was all that mattered to him.

You smoothed down your high school costume, taking a deep breath, andglanced around from the side of the stage, attempting to scan the crowd. You found your friends seated towards the center, and as soon as you saw Garcia's colorful outfit, a smile grew on your lips. Spencer wasn't far, as close to the middle as possible, where he would have the best view. He was shifting around uncomfortably, obviously overwhelmed by the crowd, but knowing that he was here, overcoming his fear and hatred of crowds, just for you. It made you so proud, so excited. He was here for you. It made you even more worried, but the energy coursing through your veins was just as scary as it was calming.

"You ready?" You turned around to see Jacob, who had been the chosen one to play J.D. The funny thing was that his actual name was Jacob Dullstorm, and you had all decided to simply call him JD. Compared to his role, Jacob was a really nice guy, who you had learned to get along with pretty well. You two immediately liked each other when you met, and it was a very, very good thing, knowing how close your two characters were. You nodded at him, taking a deep breath, holding close against your chest the simple, black diary. You glanced at the crowd again, and J.D. left to get ready. You closed your eyes and stepped on stage, still in the shadow. When the lights turned on, wrapping you in a soft light, you were more than ready. You looked up and smiled. I was your time to shine.

“December 1st, 1981.”

From the second you had started the show, Spencer couldn’t take his eyes off you. He tried to look at the others, he really did. But you just looked so pretty in that outfit, so calm, so at ease. It felt like it was a second nature to you, to be on stage. You owned it. You were Veronica. He loved the show, he really did. However, the second you took your shirt off in the middle of Dead Girl Walking, his cheeks turned red, his eyes widened, but his fists clenched in anger. He had no right to be jealous, you weren’t exactly his, but still. Seeing you half naked for the first time, in the middle of a stage, while you were making out with some other guy, that made him really, really angry. As the show kept going, he couldn’t focus anymore. He had never seen you like that, this confident, this flirty. Each of your movements, of your lines, made his heart grow. You were made for the stage. However, all he could see was the strange relationship Veronica and J.D. had, his jaw clenching everytime they kissed and, when you weren't on stage, when he wasn’t here, his brain immediately reminded him of your shirtless body, of the way the black bra you wore was holding your breasts, and he wished the hands touching you were his.

When the show ended, it took him a second to realize it. He got up and clapped, his eyes focused on you. When the curtain opened again and you all stepped forward, he almost saw red. You and your co star were so close, you were leaning on him like he was some kind of lifeline and it pissed Spencer off so, so badly. He suddenly wished he was this guy, suddenly imagined you leaning against him, taking his hand in yours. It’s not like you had never done it before, holding Spencer’s hand as you walked back from movie night with the team, but seeing you do it with someone else simply made him jealous.

The entire team waited outside for you when the show ended, ready to personally congratulate you or such an awesome performance. Garcia, JJ, Morgan and Emily kept talking about their favorite songs, about your acting, their favorite characters. Rossi and Hotch were simply smiling, sometimes jumping in the conversation to say something. Spencer was silent, playing the show in his head over and over again, your voice replaying in his mind. He looked up as soon as he heard the door open and your oh so beautiful laugh came to his ears. You were back in your everyday clothes, looking as beautiful as ever. Beside you was standing J.D, making Spencer frown. As soon as she saw you, Penelope ran to hug you, letting out happy squeals that sounded a lot like congratulations. You laughed again, glancing at your friends with a huge smile. They all came to congratulate you, Spencer being the last. He sent you a smile and didn’t say much more, but it was all you needed. You soon pulled away from the group, pulling your friend close.

“Everyone meet J, J, meet the team.” Said J smiled, waving around. His composure was very different from his character’s, and he seemed way nicer, but seeing him so close to you still made Spencer’s blood boil il jealousy. He nodded at the guy, before looking away.

Not noticing his shift in attitude, you grinned. “I’m so glad you all came ! What did you think of the show ?”

Penelope was about to go on one of her famous rants, when Rossi stepped in, raising his hand. “Why don’t we talk about it over dinner ? You must be hungry, Y/N. I’m buying” You nodded, smiling thankfully. You were starving.

The group started walking, debating on where to eat, but you stayed behind a little. Rossi looked back, seeing you talking with Jacob, and he smiled. “Do you want to come eat with us, J ? Any friend of my friend is a friend of mine.”

Spencer almost saw red when Jacob nodded and you smiled, taking his hand. Hands in his pockets, the genius clenched his fists. Here he was thinking he would be able to spend some time with you and the team, like you usually would, but he was wrong and that made him angry. He just wanted to spend time with you, forget those memories of you in someone else’s arms. But apparently, it wasn’t the moment.

During dinner, you felt something was wrong. Spencer almost didn’t say anything, acting really cold and almost pushing you away. It hurt a bit, you had hoped for a bit more, coming from him. You thought he would seem happier for you, but he was cold, almost mean. You guessed it probably wasn’t against you, it might be something personal and he didn’t want to ruin your evening with bad news. Still, you felt a bit sad that he didn’t talk to you, almost avoiding your eyes all along. Once you had all finished eating and started walking away, you waited. Usually, Spencer walked you home, since he didn’t live far and didn’t like to let you walk alone in the dark, but with how he was acting, you weren’t sure he wanted to. You said goodbye to your friends, waved happily as Jacob got in a cab, and turned around, almost scared to see that Spencer had left without you. But he was still here, hands in his pockets, waiting for you, looking down. You smiled softly, happy that he wasn’t too angry at you to leave you like that. You hoped he wanted to talk.

You walked in silence for almost half of the way, you wanted him to start the conversation. You didn’t want to force him to talk to you, it wasn’t fair of you to do so, but you also really wanted to know what was wrong. You were next to each other, both of you looking down, and you almost didn’t hear him when he spoke. “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” You froze and stumbled on your feet. You were definitely not ready for that. You had no idea what he was talking about. You were as single as could be - you could never like anyone the way you liked Spencer. You didn’t even want a boyfriend, unless it was Spencer. You didn’t understand.

“What are you talking about ?”

He looked up to you and your eyes met, and you both saw the pain in each other’s eyes. He sighed and looked away again, running a hand through his hair. “You and Jacob. You two seem really close.” You frowned even more. Of course, you were close. He was your co star, your friend too. But then, it hit you. He wasn’t talking about friend kind of close, but more. You let out a little laugh.

“Jacob ? Spencer, he’s gay ! His boyfriend is away on business, that’s why he couldn’t be here tonight but- Wait. Is this what it’s about ?” he looked away again, and you gently took his arm, turning him around so he would face you. “Are you.. Jealous, Spencer ?”

You watched as his cheeks went red and you almost jumped in joy. You shouldn’t be happy about the pain he felt, but he was jealous. Of someone he didn’t even know, because he thought you were dating. Maybe, just maybe, he felt for you the same way you felt for him. The idea alone made you want to hop around in joy, but you stopped yourself and looked at him. He sighed, fumbling with his hands, and you gave him time to gather his thoughts, to know what to say.

“I-I might be. I like you. I think i do, at least. I know love, or whatever it is, is a simple hormone thing, the release of what we call the happy hormones, but i-i actually feel it, Y/N, and i haven’t felt this way since Maeve and i just- i don’t really get it. But when i saw you with him.. I just, i wanted to take his place, you know ? i wanted to be as close to you as he was, and i just.. Yea, i’m jealous. I’m sorry, i didn’t mean to ruin our friendship like that but i hoped you wouldn’t realize..”

You bit your lip, trying to contain your joy, and gently called his name. He looked up at you and your eyes met, and it took a second for him to realise that you weren’t mocking him, or hated him, or whatever other horrible things he thought would happen. You took a second to take your hand gel out of your pocket, quickly washing your hands, before gently taking his hand in yours. “I like you too, Spence. I really do.”

His confused frown made you laugh softly, squeezing his hand. He didn't pull away, and it made your heart flutter. You were used to holding hands- you always hand gel with you, just in case one of you needed to feel the other close. Still, this felt different. The secret feelings you had been hiding for years were finally out there, and the air felt lighter, easier to breathe. It made both of you smile, before breaking into soft laughs. You tugged on his hand.

"Will you please walk me home ? Like you usually would ?"

He smiled softly and nodded. He could definitely do that. When he admitted his feelings, he had worried about two things: the first one was, obviously, ruining your friendship, which was so important to him, scaring you away. He didn't want to lose it all just because of some dumb brain chemistry. The second thing that scared him was how fast you wanted to go. He knew you would never force him to do anything, but he also knew you might want to kiss him, which he wasn't sure to be ready for. He liked you, but kissing was so.. Unsafe. He knew his germophobia was considered insane by most people, and he knew you weren't one of those judgmental people, but still.

But you hadn't asked him to kiss you. It's like you were waiting for him to be ready, and it made his heart glow. You both started walking again, holding hands. A comfortable conversation started, and he started asking you more questions about the show, paying you more attention, burying you in compliments, in adoration.

When you arrived at your apartment, you felt a familiar tug at your heart. You hated it when you had to go your own way, and he felt the same. None of you knew what to do or say, you weren't sure if he was ready to kiss you yet, and you weren't sure you were ready either. Your friendship was way too important for the both of you, so you waved goodbye awkwardly and started to walk up the stairs to the door of your apartment.

You felt his hand wrap around yours, gently tugging you back toward him, and turned around to face him, blushing shyly. He gave you a worried smile, taking a step forward. You almost pulled away as you felt his breath against your skin, worried of what could happen. But his lips never touched you. You opened your eyes, that you had closed without even knowing, and a soft smile grew on your lips. His forehead was resting against yours and his eyes were closed. It was the closest you two had ever been, and it felt like a huge step for the both of you. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open, and they met yours. He blushed softly and was about to pull away, but you moved just enough to gently kiss his cheek. You took a step back, trying to fight the red growing on your cheeks.

No words were needed as you waved to him, walking into your building, knowing he was watching you go. Your heart was glowing happily. He liked you. It's all that mattered.

#criminal minds #spencer reid #criminal minds reid #spencer reid x fem!reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x y/n #spencer x reader #spencer reid fluff #spencer #reader is a theater kid #there's heathers references #spencer is baby #I dont know how to tag

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amiramorozova · 3 years

Text

Dual Summoner x the darkling pt. 18

I walked for a while till I came to the lake, it was nice and quiet as the sun was bright above but I just needed to clear my head of everything. I was just looking at the lake and how well it seemed to be together, but then I saw snow starting to fall. I put a hand out to catch it seeing the first snowflakes. I hadn't even realized we were going into winter yet until now but I smiled at the cool air.

"The Winter Fete will be happening." I said

I started realizing that the winter fete was going to be different for me this year, last year I just performed with the tidemakers. I heard someone approaching and looked back to see Genya. I felt a bit of relief. I wasn't sure I was going to be ready to see Aleksander yet as she walked over and put her hand out. I put my hand in hers and she helped me up as she looked at me concerned.

"Are you alright? You haven't returned to your room." Genya said

"I have a lot on my mind." I admitted

"If you want to talk I am willing to listen." Genya said as she started to lead me away and like everyone else she noticed the necklace. "I see your week away was good. The little palace hasn't been the same since you left."

"It's complicated." I said and I heard her mention my week away was good as I looked at the necklace "Sort of. He gave me the necklace last night."

I wish I could talk to someone besides Baghra about this arrangement. How could she do this to me? Then again Father was adamant about avoiding him as long as possible. I thought

"Well I think it's safe to say Zoya is replaced." Genya said

I laughed a bit as we were walking and we walked into the little palace yet I wasn't sure. Genya was leading as we took the stairs up to the room. I was ready to just change out of these clothes and get a bath. When we made it to the top of the stairs we started talking over things. I told her about Nico and what happened, to which she gave comforting words. We were almost to my room when I stopped noticing black. Looking I could see Zoya talking with Aleksander and I merely watched knowing what I knew now. Zoya was getting a little too close for my comfort with him and she even leaned in to kiss him while I looked away and just went ahead to my room.

"Amira." Genya said following me

In my moment of taking the situation as it was before seeing if he would reject her I removed the necklace throwing it on the bed and walked to the bathroom. I closed the door to the bathroom as I discarded my clothes and prepared the bath before getting in. The door opened and Genya walked in sitting in the chair while I washed up seeing I was upset.

"You're upset." Genya said

"It's as I thought, when we're here we are nothing but his soldiers...he manipulates us into doing what he says draws us in." I said

"You didn't really watch you ran the moment Zoya was trying to kiss him. He stopped her saying that he has a commitment to keep." Genya said

I washed my hair as I looked at her knowing she had never lied to me before. Still part of me kinda wanted to think otherwise, he had so many lovers probably in the little palace. I didn't know if I was being smart at the moment knowing everything I knew. Everything Baghra had said to me was still there in my mind.

"Genya, if someone told you that they made a deal with one of your parents to be with their son, would you tell that person?" I asked

"Depends on who it is. Why are you supposed to be with someone's son?" Genya asked

"Sort of, General Kirigan's mom found me earlier." I lied to cover for Baghra but this was the only way I could do this. "She said she made a deal with my father that if he had a daughter, that daughter would marry General Kirigan."

Genya seemed shocked at my words and she seemed to wonder if he knew at all. Still, I questioned how much of our conversation got back to him as I was finishing up. I was glad to get this over with and feel clean after a week away from here. Genya went and got my robe as she handed it to me with her back to me as I got out drying off and then put the robe around myself. Genya hadn't really said anything so I wondered what was on her mind at this moment.

"If what you say is true, I think you would be a lucky girl. A dual summoner and a darkling getting married in the little palace." Genya said as she turned to me once I was in the robe and she was smiling. "I would love to be the tailor to help you when that day comes."

"It might not." I said, "I am not a prize and as long as he does not know I won't persist with it."

Genya walked me over as she prepared me for dinner while she had me sit. She got in her kit looking at me, my mood was a bit sour with seeing Zoya. Zoya had not seen my necklace and I knew I had the advantage with it. He'd chosen me to wear it so why did Zoya still bother me so much when she was around him.

"Close your eyes, relax your eyebrows and try to not think about what you saw." Genya said as I did as she asked.

The cool feeling I always got when she did my makeup was there as I waited patiently. I only opened my eyes when she was done as I looked in the mirror seeing she put black mascara on my eyelashes and some light black eyeshadow on my eyelids. The whole thing of black made my blue eyes stand out.

"You look so pretty, I hope things work out for you and General Kirigan. I think after so much war he needs some light in his life." Genya said

"I don't know if I want to fully pursue this." I said being hesitant

"The heartrenders said your heart beats fast when you think about General Kirigan." Genya said

"I.." I wanted to deny it but I knew that last night he made me feel like I could do anything. I could be anything and he'd given me the necklace to prove it. I felt special last night as we laid side by side and I used the light to help us with warmth before he'd turned and held me close to preserve the warmth.

He's still wearing that part on him that represents me. I thought

When there was a knock on the door I wasn't in the mood to really do much. Genya walked over, opening it as some of her ladies brought in a box. I didn't understand why a sudden box when she placed it down and opened it pulled out a dress.

"Is that a dress?" I asked knowing I hadn't been allowed to wear one in a long time.

Genya looked at the note inside and she smiled as she walked over for me to get a better look. I took a good look at it. It was black silk with the design through it and it could have passed for a formal Kefta in my eyes. It was still going with the 2nd army attire but something I could have worn under the Kefta.

"General Kirigan wants you to wear this for dinner." Genya said

"It's a little different from the Kefta." I said

"Well you can wear it under your Kefta or we could have another dress made so you don't have to wear pants under your Kefta." Genya said as she helped me get into it.

I was patient with her as we waited and when I looked in the mirror I blushed slightly. I could feel the claim he was trying to make with me present. Even without the necklace on I knew he was trying to show all the other male summoners I was his. Genya soon came over and she placed the necklace back around my neck as we both looked in the mirror.

"You look great. I think he will appreciate how you look and you get to have dinner with him tonight." Genya said

Is this how it is now? Dinner with him and away from other summoners? I thought

Genya seemed happy and she led me out after getting shoes on. I pulled back right away as she turned to head to his doors. Genya looked at me and once again I hesitated.

"I don't know if I can do this." I said

Genya walked around behind me as if insisting as I was now in front of his door. My heart raced a bit knowing I could go in here.

"Go on, best not to keep the general waiting." Genya said

Why am I hesitating? Is it because I never wore a dress in front of someone else before. I thought

Genya must have noticed my hesitation cause I heard her walk back to my room and she put my Kefta on me. I didn't close it but I felt more confident with it on my shoulders.

Alright here I go. I thought

I knocked on the doors as they opened where he stood there without his Kefta. He offered his hand to me and I put my hand in his as he led me inside. Closing the door behind us and he seemed to notice that I had the Kefta too.

"You wore your Kefta." Aleksander said

"I feel a bit more comfortable with it out there." I said

"May I then?" Aleksander asked

I nodded as he got behind me and removed the Kefta revealing the dress.Still a bit self conscious about the attention and everything else going on. He walked back around to take in my appearance of how I look.

"You look lovely." Aleksander said

#general kirigan #darkling x reader #team darkling #darkling #the darkling #aleksander morovoza #shadow and bone #grishaverse #fanfic

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