#when i was running around the color changed if i stepped too far outside the meridian area

[robo-dino-puppy]

night in the royal maizelands

#horizon forbidden west #hfw #aloy #hfw meridian #the light here at night is pretty interesting! found this moonrise when i was exploring for the videos #since we're only supposed to see it during the day i wonder if that's why the color/fog is so intense? #idk i just don't remember seeing night this color elsewhere in the game #when i was running around the color changed if i stepped too far outside the meridian area #it lost the intense yellow and the blue around the edge of the moon #hfw out of bounds #out of bounds exploring #hfw pc

[romanoffsbish]

Sweet Nothings

Wanda Maximoff x F!R

A Torn up Masterpiece

Warnings: Self-Conscious/Deprecating R, Mean Shield Agents.

Smut: SOFT! Mommy (W), Little Dove (R), Thigh Riding (R), Fingering (R)

18+ | Minors DNI !!

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

“They said the end is coming, everyone's up to something..."

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

The clock flashing 12:00am was nothing short of taunting, it reminding you that you'd only made it through part of your day at Shield. There never used to be disdain in your heart for the agency, but that was back when you knew the agents around you, and when they knew you all the same. Natasha, Maria and Clint used to make the environment enjoyable. Now you hardly ever see them as they either moved on or up and left you to hold down the fort with the new, much younger crowd.

"Agent Y/L/N" this or "Miss Y/L/N" that, it didn't really matter how they addressed you, the words they spoke held hardly any respect, and the stares always rubbed you the wrong way when you would pass them in the halls.

"I just don't get it dude, how the hell did Agent Y/L/N bag a hottie like Wanda anyways?," you could hear the surrounding agents, they were either chuckling at your expense, or making grumbling noises in an obvious agreement., "There's nothing special about her at all, the little witch would be so much better with me, I'd show her what she's missing out on. I'd fu—.," your jaw clenched as you cut the asshole off with the clearing of your throat. Everyone of their bodies suddenly stiffened upon seeing you step out from around the corner., "Miss.."

With a dismissive wave of your hand the weak apologies died on Agent Marten's tongue., "Apologies will get you nowhere cadets, you're all wasting valuable company time gossiping in the halls, and about your superior mind you."

"With all due respect, we're level 1 agents, no longer are we cadets.," you chuckled at their attempts to defend themselves., "Oh yeah?.," he stupidly nodded—as if it wasn't rhetorical., "Well I'm a Level 8, Agent Vo, my clearance is far above yours, and let's be honest here, you're not acting like anything more than cadets."

"Quite frankly Y/N, I'm not even sorry here.," you remained stoic while staring the smug looking agent down., "You will be when I get you demoted to water boy Agent Marten—or should I say Muriel since we've lost our wits on respect around here, hm?," watching the color drain from his face was indeed satisfying as you revealed his first name to all his peers., "No, we all understand, and we're very sorry."

"Interesting change of tune there Agent, but I regret to inform you that disrespecting a commanding officer gets you a months worth of additional paperwork, and a suspension from missions—camaraderie is essential here at Shield, and if any of you were paired with me I'd feel unsafe—so take this time to reevaluate your decisions on making an enemy of me."

"Miss—."

"I'm sorry, did I ask for a debate cadets?," your hardened gaze seemed to have the desired effect as all of their shoulders collectively fell, and most reluctantly shook their head., "Good, because I much prefer not having to repeat myself. Fury and Hill will issue your formal suspensions, and I'll drop all of your additional paperwork off to you after the weekend."

As swiftly as you dismissed them they were gone, your intimidating posture fell once they were out of sight too. Words hardly ever had the power to get to you, but when your very worth is constantly a question on many others minds it's hard not to give in to all the noise.

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

"I find myself running home to your sweet nothings—Outside, they're push and shoving."

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

After dealing with the malicious agents you found yourself inside of Director Hill's office., "Long time no see Y/N/N, to what do I owe the pleasure of you slumped onto my couch, hm?," the woman laughed boisterously when she received a middle finger in response to her teasing., "Aww, I love you too pookie.," she dodged your pillow with ease as she sat down at her desk then silently observed you further. There was this obvious dullness to you that she had never seen before, and truthfully her heart broke a bit at the sight of you looking so low.

"Ria, I can't do it anymore, like I hate it here.," she nodded in understanding, she knew the cadets of today were nothing like the past sets., "I know, but I beg of you, please don't leave.," you sat up to face her with a broken smile., "You all left me first.," the raven haired woman immediately moved to sit next to you on the couch, pulling you into a side hug, and so you laid your head on her shoulder., "I'm here, and Romanoff's only a call away—I know she'd love to beat the new wave into shape—so call her."

"It's not the work Ria, they listen well enough. It's...," you take in a calming breath, deciding if the truth will set you free, or potentially harm you further., "Y/N, what did they say to you?," her eyes left no room for cowardice so with a heavy exhale you muttered the partial truth., "It wasn't to me, it was about me—behind my back but I unluckily heard it all."

Maria sat there patiently waiting for you to fill her in, and with every repeated word you were able to croak out over held back sobs she could feel her body filling with an unparalleled rage. One that she knew could only be beaten out by Wanda, the very person who you were left to questions love, all because others want her., "Wanda loves you wholly Y/N, forget the idiots that don't even know hers attempts to make you feel otherwise. That witch is all yours."

"What if they're right though? Like, what if I'm holding her back Ria? She deserves—.," Maria instantly cut your rambled fears off by burying your face into her shoulder, and moving to finish off your words., "You. She deserves you, and you my dearest friend, deserve her love.," and after she finished her arms held to you tighter as you began to quietly sob, her hold didn't relinquish either until you'd calmed.

"Go home.," you went to protest, even if some part of you came in here hoping she'd suggest just that, the other part of you didn't want to give the cadets even an ounce of pride here., "I'm not kidding Y/N, you're ahead of your work anyways, it's a forced vacation really.," you smiled at her gratefully too, hugging her tight as a silent thanks before finally leaving.

Once you left the room the woman instantly pulled out her phone., "Hey Wanda, it's Hill..."

—

When you left her office it was as if a weight was lifted off your shoulders, the pressure to be the very best agent significantly faded as you returned to your office to collect your things, but the peace was very much short lived.

"Did you hear the news?," you continued to collect your stuff, ignoring the group of giggling girls stood far too close to your office., "Turns out the Wanda Maximoff is dating the Natasha Romanoff.," one of the girls scoffed in obvious annoyance., "No, she's with Agent Y/L/N.," the original girl giggled., "For now..."

It was asinine—their claims were nothing if not unfounded, but for a brief moment you let your mind believe that there was some truth to it. Aesthetically speaking they did fit together; there's already a built in trust between them, as well as obvious love amongst one's chosen lot. Natasha and Wanda were inseparable in the field, you've even seen them work together, and you wonder if their loyalty to you hindered the potential for them to be happier together.

The need to escape was overtaking your body the more your mind gave in to the notion that Wanda was better without you, so you threw your bag over your shoulder haphazardly then made a beeline for the fire escape. No way did you intend to run into any of the people you knew here, nor did you want the cadets having the satisfaction that they were able to upset you in such ways that you couldn't finish work. Showing any sort of weakness to them would only fuel their entitlement to your peace on.

Once you stepped outside you felt a wave of relief as the fresh air traveled into your lungs. In and out, in—out; you were going to be fine. You were so out of it though that you didn't see the cruel stranger who wound up shoulder bumping you into a nearby wall. You winced harshly as your exposed skin scraped against the bricks. Looking up from the ground you saw the hustle and bustle of the New York streets, and once again you felt overwhelmed.

Your lip began to involuntarily tremble along with your hands, the need for escape had never been greater as you sprinted down the street. Ignoring the ache in your muscles the whole way as you were many miles out from yours and Wanda's shared home. There was no end in sight, your mind was running just as fast as your legs and nothing you did could stop it.

Truth be told you needed Wanda, nothing else was going to calm you down enough until you saw those beautiful green eyes of hers. They'll likely be full of concern, but if you could just see through to the love then you know your heart would settle. Sadly though, as you entered your home, falling onto the floor as your adrenaline faded and your legs gave out, you found it to be just as empty as your heart. She was at work, that much you expected, and if there's one thing you refused to do it was call her and beg her to come home to rescue you.

It took you an entire twenty minutes to crawl across the floor, then another ten to get up the stairs and finally you were in your bedroom. Reaching up you grabbed Wanda's sleep shirt from last night, you sniffed the fabric and felt relief as your body's trembling came to a stop. Your legs felt like jello when you moved to pull yourself up to your feet, staggering as you did you made your way into the bathroom where you turned the dial all the way to the left, and as soon as the water scorched your skin you broke down into a fit of unforgiving sobs.

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

"To you, I can admit that I'm just too soft for all of it...You're in the kitchen humming."

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

Stepping out of the shower was difficult, your limbs were shaky after the long time spent sobbing beneath the scalding hot streams of water. An obvious side effect of your sudden dehydration, but you managed to push through the struggle of walking as you managed to make it to and flop down onto the mattress.

Your mind was essentially fractured, broken lines of self deprecating dialogue running through it at a mile a minute with no reprieve. Still, you shut your eyes in a useless attempt to use sleep as an escape, but it too was fruitless. Thrashing about on the mattress felt more like your speed now, but just as you were about to throw said tantrum you caught a whiff of something so familiar and decadently sweet.

Wanda's triple fudge brownies...

In an instant you were on your feet, another wave of adrenaline fueled you as you quickly, but quietly made your dissent to the kitchen. The sound of soft humming was the next to reach you as you neared the bottom of the stairs, your senses were on overdrive tonight. Standing off to the side of the entryway you peered into the kitchen to see your lover with her apron on, her hair was pulled back, and a mixing bowl was expectantly sat in her hands.

"Detka, is that you?," she called out to you, her subtle way of letting you know she knew you were lurking. Her answer came in the form of you padding your way over to her, she settled her bowl down on the counter just in time to catch your distraught form in a calming hug., "Moya lyubov', you should've called me."

"Didn't want to bother you.," you mumbled into her chest, then as expected she pulled away to grip you by your shoulders., "Detka, what have I said to you countless times prior?"

"Th-that nothing comes before me, not even your Avenging, and that even if the world was burning you'd stop at nothing to get to me.," she nodded gratefully., "Exactly, you are my world Y/N, there's no point in me protecting everyone else's when yours is crumbling.," her forehead laid against yours while her hands lifted yours up to her lips for a tender kiss.

"You smell good honey.," she noted, traces of your vanilla lotion hitting her nostrils as she held your hands close to her face., "Thanks Wands...," you slowly pulled your head back, meeting her eyes full of love as you looked ahead and the sight alone was overwhelming.

"Did I smell brownies?," the witch chuckled at your silly means of deflection., "Yes, you did.," with a swift movement she dipped her finger into the batter then rose it up to your lips with a cheeky smirk, and an exaggerated wink as you swirled your tongue over the extended digit. Wanda's eyes darkened ever so slightly when you moaned, but she did her best to tamper her urges as you innocently met her gaze., "It's delicious mommy.," Fuck...

The dizzying moment only lasted for a second before the witch shifted you to sit on a stool besides the counter, then after she poured the batter into the baking pan she returned to you. Her body stood between your legs, and those oh so emotional eyes were back on you as she went to speak., "You're the best thing that ever happened to me Y/N/N, so please, I beg of you stop letting the naysayers win your mind over.," her hands shifted to cup your cheeks., "I've never loved anyone the way I have you, nor do I intend to ever love another as such."

After an intense bout of eye contact the first one to lean in was you, desperate for affection beyond the verbal, and Wanda gave you just that. Hands roamed beneath your loose fitting t-shirt in search of your perky nipples while her silky tongue delved right into your hot mouth. Whimpers of desperation reverberated from your throat, and got lost in her mouth as she continued to kiss you hard while her skilled fingers tease your sensitive nubs., "Mommy..."

Wanda nearly crumbled at how breathily you called out for her, always so desperate, but in moments like this one she forgoes teasing to the furthest degree. She's content with how worked up she got you as she slipped her thigh between your legs to find you already dripping.

"Oh my little dove, mommy's going to take such good care of you.," she promised as she slowly began to trail her lips across your flesh, her hands fell to your hips as she efficiently guided your hips movement against her thigh., "Mo-mommy please, I need more.," she flexed the muscle of her lush thigh at your pitiful request, the soft skin brushed against your clit causing your back to arch., "Mommy, oh god... I-I need to cum, please.," she bit into the skin over your racing pulse., "Let go little dove."

In an instant your head flew back as you reached that moment of unwavering ecstasy., "That's right detka.," she helped to prolong your orgasm by controlling your twitching hips., "Chase that pleasure my precious angel, you deserve to be worshipped; so beautiful."

Wanda threw her shirt that adorned your body across the kitchen when your body relaxed, then her lips found yours for a needy kiss., "Tell me what you need little dove, hm?," she gazed into your hazy eyes, a tiny smile graced your face when you could see right through her clouds of lust to the abundant wells of love., "Fingers please mommy.," she gently pecked your lips., "So well mannered detka, mommy's so proud of you for using your words too."

Wanda wrapped her arm around your waist, spinning you around until she had your upper body gently pressed into the table with your leg's widespread for her. A hoarse groan left her at the sight of your slick drenched thighs., "So pretty, you're always so perfect for me.," her nimble fingers trailed over the swell of your ass, pulling an affected moan from you when they grappled handfuls of the malleable skin on their way to their desired location—your cunt.

The woman knew you like the back of her hand, so she entered your tight hole rather roughly with two fingers, pulling them out just as fast to only slam them back in with another. She was rewarded with your wanton moans instantly, her expert fingers working you over with ease like usual, but her lips still held that tenderness you craved as they kissed over the column of your spine until stopping to place a far more firm kiss to the nape of your neck.

"Breathe moya lyubov'.," her whispers of concern didn’t go unnoticed by you as she could feel your back pressing into her as your upper body was rising rapidly, you tried to calm down, but the pleasure was immense. Wanda felt your walls fluttering around her., “M-mommy please.,” she settled a kiss to your cheek before her lips returned to marking your back up., “Let go little dove, cum for mommy.”

The timer on the oven dinged in sync with your throat scratching moans, your lover continued to work you through your orgasm, trailing kisses down your body while also using her powers to pull the brownie tray out of the oven. Tiny whimpers brought her hand to a stop, her fingers slowly slipped from within you, and she held steady eye contact with your blissed out face as she slid them in her mouth., “Divine…”

With a gentle hand she pulled you up from the table, her hands settled on your hips and in a moments time her lips were pressed to yours. There wasn’t a rush in anyone’s movements, just a hot, breathy kiss that made hearts flutter. Wanda’s arms loosely held you against her as she shared your taste with you, rewarding her with your whimpers and languid moans up until you couldn’t keep up anymore. Then while you caught your breath after she pulled back you found your lips being tapped again.

You mindlessly bit into the gooey brownie, an appreciative groan left your throat instantly., “Thanks Wands.,” she smiled softly at you., “Anything for you little dove.,” she frowned when your lip began to tremble., “Oh detka…”

Wanda’s resolve broke when your shaky hands tugged on her shirt, the moment of bliss fading as your body once again filled with sadness. She quickly snapped the fabric away, allowing you to lean into her bareness for the comfort you craved, and her strong arms held you so close so that she could sway your now crying form while humming softly into your ear.

No amount of loving you seemed to be doing the trick, Wanda's heart ached as your cruel thoughts continued to run through your mind. They were so loud, and the bulk of them made no sense, but she knows they weren't created by you, just simply adopted from the assholes who knew nothing about your relationship.

Wanda carefully carried you to the bedroom, a tray of necessities floating behind her and settling down on the bedside table as she sat down on the bed. Her jaw clenched as thoughts of yours were only increasing and infiltrating her mind, the harshness of your insecurities fully breaking her heart, and the sounds of your sobs only made her hold you tighter.

"Natasha's just a friend detka, one that adores you by the way, the woman demands updates on you every Monday—you should call her.," the witch softly began to dispel the thoughts., "I am not going anywhere; you're it for me.," her arm that was wrapped around your bare waist tightened, pulling you in even closer as if you'd disappear into thin air if she hadn't.

"I love you so much detka, with all of me, can't you see that you're everything I'll ever need?," Wanda whispered against your temple, her lips gentle as they laid soft kisses to your hairline., "I'm enough for you?," she instantly lifted your head from her shoulder., "More than enough.,” the intensity of her gaze as she spoke so softly instantly began quelling all of your fears.

A broken hum reverberated from your throat, causing the redhead to shift the both of you until your naked body laid flat atop the bed., "My goodness, those kids did a number on you my dear.," she pecked your lips gently., "Don't worry detka, I shall handle all of them myself.," you shook your head, but she only smirked., "I'm thinking I'll hang them all upside down from the ceiling by their 'tighty whities'."

The witches heart fluttered as you broke out into a hearty fit of laughter, your eyes—puffy from crying, closing as you allowed the spark of joy to completely consume you., “Wands, no.,” you choked out through your laughter and she scrunched her nose up adoringly as you tried to regain a hold on your sternness., “Y/N, yes.,” the light of your life pecked your lips a few times to spur on your giggling before she rolled off of you and propped herself up onto her side.

“I love you baby, thank you for being my rock.,” she looked to you with glossy eyes that spoke to you of her heart., “I am only being to you what you’ve been to me countless times prior Y/N.,” she settled a hand over your cheek, rubbing the damp skin lovingly., “My precious dove, you’ve brought me back from the depths of despair with your love, and you held no expectations.,” she pulled you in for a soft kiss., “It’s only fair that I extend you the same courtesy; you are not meant to hold it all in detka—let me help.”

Her thumb brushed away the reemergence of tears before she was moving to place delicate kisses all over your face, and it was when you calmed that she saw the smile on your face., “You’re all I need Wands, just you existing is enough for me.,” her eyes closed as your lips pressed into her palm, basking in the warmth that was your love before she shifted closer., “Funny, I was going to say the same to you.”

Wanda pulled your body atop of hers, your face now laying in the valley of her breasts while her hand carded through your hair., "You know.," she paused to peer down to ensure you weren't already asleep., "I used to dream of moments like these.," she smiled up as she remembered her months of silent pining., "Whenever I'd visit Shield with Natasha I'd find myself drawn to you Y/N—the most beautiful woman alive."

You snorted., "Baby, that's a bit hyperbolic.," she immediately brushed you off., "No, it's just the honest to God truth detka, you captivated me from the very start.," she smiled down at you when you shifted to your stomach, resting your chin on her abdomen as you looked up at her with curious eyes brimming with tears.

Her hands brushed the hair from your face, then the right one remained on your cheek., "And it also went way further than your looks. I'd found myself drawn to your laughter first—it was contagious, then came your kindness—goodness me Y/N/N, I'd never seen someone more considerate than you.," she sighed when she was met with disbelief in your returned gaze., "The honest point here moya lyubov', is that my dreams could never live up to the reality of what it's been like to not only love you, but to be loved back by you; this is the closest thing to paradise I'll ever get detka."

"You're too good to me Wands.," her thumb gently removed your lip from between your teeth., "No, I'm just treating you as you deserve to be treated detka. You deserve the world."

Wanda gently maneuvered your body until your face hovered hers, she pulled you down for a soft kiss that she instantly deepened, and in a moment of pure relief your mind stilled. Thoughts to the negative faded from your mind, and the witch found herself smiling into the lip lock when they phased into kinder ones, and to the ones full of giddy optimism that had her heart fluttering uncontrollably in her chest.

"I love you so much wiggly woos.," the woman then groaned as you found a way to 'ruin' the moment, but your accompanying giggling as you fell into her settled her weak annoyance., "Marry me then.," she reassured your hopes, and she chuckled when you gasped against her.

"W-Wands I—.," she allowed you a moment to stutter, then she smiled when you looked at her questioningly., "I'm serious Y/N—be my wife."

"Really?," your lip trembled as you felt her overwhelming love radiating from just the simplest of touches, and her smile., "Really.," she nodded in the affirmative., "Yes! Please!"

Wanda chuckled at your enthusiastic response, all the while her heart was beating rapidly as she hastily reached into the drawer of your bedside table and pulled out a velvet box., "This wasn't a spur of the moment decision detka, well, it kind of was but I promise it was already in the works.," she shifted you both up into sitting positions so she could showcase the diamond more efficiently, and she smirked when your eyes lit up with a bewildering shine.

"You're everything I could ever want and more detka.," she gently pecked your lips while her hands practically yanked the jewelry from the pesky box., "Now give me your pretty hand!"

The two of you shared excited high pitched giggles, rolling around the bed in all your naked glory., “We’re getting married!,” your squeals filled the little witch to the brim with joy, her nose crinkling affectionately as she watched your eyes swimming with a purity., “I’ll be right back love.,” Wanda left you with a momentary pout, coming back into the room she popped open a bottle of champagne you received from the Barton’s last Christmas with a loud agreement., “We’re getting married!!!”

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

"All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing"

—•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•~~~~~~•—

“We’re getting married.,” you tiredly cheered for what appeared to be a final time before you were succumbing to your bodies exhaustion, and so your wife to be was now covering you both up with a fuzzy red blanket, and flicking the bedrooms lights off with her red tendrils.

“Goodnight Mrs. Maximoff.,” she whispered cheekily against your puffy cheek., “I love you Y/N/N, my precious little dove; my wildest dream come true, oh how I yearned for you.,” she placed a final kiss to your pouting lips, a smile instinctively rises on your sleeping face and melts her even further if that’s possible.

“Forever will never be long enough with you.,” her hand intertwined with yours as she settled into the mattress, allowing your bubble of love to warm her soul, and send her off to sleep too.

——————————

4,644 Words

🥰 Kaitlyn 😘

#wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #wanda x y/n #wanda x fem!reader #wanda maximoff x y/n #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff x you #wanda maximoff pov #wanda maximoff oneshot #wanda maximoff fic #wanda maximoff imagine #wanda maximoff smut #wanda maximoff fluff

[bettyfrommars]

Ring of Fire

a biker Steve au

Part 2: More Than Words

masterlist playlist

18+ONLY, MDNI, longing, friends to strangers to lovers, mature themes, mention of sex work and violence, reader has secrets, so does Steve, eventual smut, dirty deeds, biker!Hopper. It's the mid 90's and Steve is in his early 30's.

word count: 4.3k

Summary: Getting to know the town of Hawkeye, including Munson's Garage and Patsy's diner. Steve has dreams of another life he never lived. Reader has dreams of Steve. Hopper spends his spare time looking out for Lorelei.

A/N: There will be references to I'm on Fire in the first part of this chapter by way of dreams, but it is not a crucial plot point to the story, just in case you are not familiar with the other series. I keep wanting to bring more of the places/people in from IoF, but every time I do, this Steve morphs into the old one, and I love the idea of exploring him this way, without the other backstory.

Morning cracked open through your blinds, a bright sun void of warmth.  Rolling to face the wall on your floor mattress, you curled the lemon-yellow comforter up over your head, only to be bludgeoned by the onslaught of birds tweeting outside your window.  

A motorcycle grumbled by on the street below and you were officially awake.  

There was a kitchenette in your apartment, but you didn’t have a coffee maker or grounds yet.  The diner opened at 6am on weekends, and that is where you planned to go. You considered throwing a coat on and shuffling over in your pajamas, but ended up pulling on a change of wardrobe that did not match and a shirt that was inside out.  

7:30 was far too early for clever dressing.  

The sky matched the color of the pavement by the time you stepped out onto the sidewalk, now that the sun had been obscured by hulking clouds.  You pulled the hood of your sweatshirt up as a soft drizzle misted your skin, waiting for a big truck to pass before making your way across the street.

One block over and two blocks down was the red and white sign for Patsy’s Diner.  You spotted it just as the rain fell unyielding, your feet picking up the pace.

There were three cars in the slant street parking out front, including a big black Chevy truck with a square body style from the early 70’s.  

You didn’t see Steve until it was too late.  Not until you locked eyes through the diner window.

—-----

Steve picked Robin up every Saturday morning to have breakfast at Patsy’s, which had been their ritual for almost a decade.  There’d been a couple exceptions, including the months Robin was locked up for voluntarily taking the fall for the weed possession for one of her girlfriends, and a few when Steve had been out of town on a run with the Coffin Kings.  Other than that, even with the worst head-splitting hangover, they never missed it. 

Robin threw her leather jacket into the booth first before she slid in wearing paint-splattered overalls over a baggy tee with the band Heart on the front.  Her warm golden hair was long, passed her shoulders, and worn in a low ponytail, exposing the “lover” tattoo inked in cursive just under her ear.

Their booth was right at the front corner of the L-shaped diner, next to the window.  Steve had even carved their initials under the table at one point with his old utility knife.  The booths were burnt sienna vinyl that were so worn at the seat that they were ripped in places, exposing the gauzy innards.  The waitress Jeanette collected steaming plates from the kitchen hatch to carry to another table while Sharon, her co-worker, brought over a steaming pot of coffee and two stout, brown mugs.

Steve rolled a toothpick around in his mouth from side to side as he held open the laminated menu to look it over, even though he could read the whole thing with his eyes closed.  

“Rough night?” Robin asked while she concentrated on stirring three spoons of sugar and a hearty dollop of cream into her coffee.

Steve didn’t look up from the menu.  “How could you tell?”

Between the raw strawberry on his knuckles and the dark purple half moons under his eyes, he knew the answer was obvious.

“Your hair looks like it’s trying to evacuate your scalp.” 

She waited for him to start combing the mess back with his fingers to give a soft chuckle.  

Steve let the menu go flat on the table and palmed the rim of his black coffee to pull it closer. “I had another one of those dreams last night.”

His best friend’s eyes snapped up, but then Jeanette was there to take their order and the conversation had to pause while Steve got his standard hotcakes with bacon, and Robin her omelet with hash browns and sourdough toast.  They exchanged a few pleasantries, since Jeanette had worked there as long as the two of them had been alive, and then Robin settled back in her seat with a weary huff.

Steve felt like he had to remind himself to blink, his eyes were so dry.  He stared out the window as he spoke. “I had a kid, a little boy.”  

Robin leaned forward to rest her forearms on the table.  “Was I his mother in this one? These dreams of  yours freak me out.  I can’t imagine being someone’s mother, like, not ever.”

“You were a really good one though,” a hesitant smile quivered on his lips.  “You helped me raise him even though he wasn’t biologically yours.  But in the dream last night I—”

Every time he woke up from those particular dreams, he mourned the loss of a child he never had. 

He cut off what he was about to say as the memory of the love he felt in his dream hit him like a wave.  “Last night I was about to get married to some woman, and we had a baby on the way.  My baby.”

She was about to crack a joke, but then thought better of it.  “I know what it feels like.  To have the kind of dreams you don’t want to wake up from.  Who in the hell would want to wake up to our lives.”

“Wayne is healthy though,” Steve nodded to himself, trying to find the positives.  “In these dreams he’s…sick or something, and I’m always worried he's not going to live much longer.”

“The apocalypse couldn’t kill Wayne,” she smiled.  “Old man will outlive all of us.”

The food came, and the topic of conversation changed, until Robin shoved a bite into her cheek.  “What was his name? Your son?”

“His name was Oliver,” Steve held a strip of bacon out, not ready to take a bite yet.

Robin bobbed her head a few times. “That’s a good name,” and then, “you want to talk about what happened last night?”

“Same old shit,” he huffed, slapping a few crumbs off his black tee while he chewed.  “Hop and I were called out to the junkyard and—”

There you were again, like another dream he was bound to wake up from.

Robin was concentrating on shoveling a particularly big bite into her mouth, so she didn’t know why he’d gone so quiet, until she followed his line of sight.  

You stepped inside, wiping the rain off your face, but you kept your hood on while you waited for a waitress to greet you.  Inside the diner was cozy, wall to wall carpeted a teddy bear brown, and smelled of cooked meats, coffee, and syrup.  It made your mouth water, and you wondered if you should splurge on something as frivolous as eating out.

Jeanette tried offering to seat you at the bar, but you were adamant that you’d take a brew and some sugars to go.  Also a toasted bagel, you added that in at the last second.

“You want egg on that, honey?” Jeanette asked, nestling her pen in the curly silver hair above her ear.

Peeking out from the side of your hood, you noticed Steve lifting up to get a better look at you from his window booth.  “No, plain is fine, thank you.”

“Who is that?” Robin asked, wiping her mouth as she turned around in her seat to get a look at you.  

“No one.  Someone I knew in middle school,” Steve mumbled, hacking into his stack of pancakes with the side of his fork. “She’s the new renter above Donna’s place.”

“Huh,” Robin turned her attention back to her plate.  “Why do you look so flustered?” 

You were standing at the door, watching the rain come down in sheets, when you felt a warm body sink in behind you.

“You need a ride back?” It was Steve with his hands in the pockets of his jeans.  “It looks pretty…wet out there.”

When you turned to face him, you brushed some forgotten crumbs off of his chest with your hand.  It was a very familiar gesture, one that neither of you thought too much about until much later that day.  

You were about to decline, but it was the integrity of your bagel that concerned you. Jeanette brought you the big to-go cup and warm bread in a paper bag.

“I don’t mind getting wet, just as long as you aren’t here on your bike.”

—------

Steve ran over to tell his companion to sit tight while he drove you the 3 blocks home.  His friend waved at you from her seat, and you gave a tentative wave back.  More like just holding your hand up in the air actually, something of a Spok greeting. 

“I don’t want to interrupt you—”

“She’s fine,” Steve assured, lifting his jacket up to hold over your head as the two of you pushed through the door and into the frey. “This will only take a minute.”

Hunkering down in your hood, you jerked the heavy metal door of his ‘78 Chevy pickup open, and then spread yourself long across the bench seat to reach over and pop the lock on his door.

Rain dripping down his face, Steve watched  your two fingers pluck the lock up, and it was a small gesture to most, but a tender one for him. Even his ex-girlfriend hadn’t afforded him that, not once. 

You weren’t his girlfriend though, you were barely a friend.  An acquaintance he’d fantasized about in his formative years.

Once you were both under shelter in the dry cab, you glanced up through the windshield and saw Robin keeping an eye on the two of  you from her place at the window.  Even through the visual distortion from the rain, you could make out a soft smile lingering, perking up her cheeks.  

The interior smelled like him: old leather, cigarettes, and the yellow, vanilla, tree-shaped freshener hanging from the volume knob on his radio.  

“Sorry if it stinks in here,” he reached down to swat the ashtray closed that was full of smoked filters. “I need to clean that out.”

“Are you familiar with the dumpsters in the alley behind Donna’s place?”

He nodded yes as he put the key in the ignition.  

“Well, they are right under my bedroom window, and I have no air conditioning.  I’m looking forward to how my place will smell in the dead of summer.”

The truck grumbled to life and he anchored his arm around the seat to turn and see where he was going as he backed up.  “You just need one of those air conditioning units that fits in the window.  I know a guy, I’ll get you one.”

You hadn’t been fishing for help but, “that’s really nice of you, thanks.” His offer made you feel small for a second.

Less than a minute later, you were at your place. He pulled in as close as he could to the awning without crashing into the cement structure.  

Not many words were exchanged as you got out, just a few mumbles of “thank you” and “good to see you”, but then you were out and slamming his heavy door shut to hurry inside.  He waited out there for a few beats, wishing he would’ve said more before coasting back to the diner. 

—---

Later that day, as the sun faded to a collage of pink orange behind the low hills, Hopper sat on his Harley in the parking lot of the Rosebud Motel.  

The amount of time spent waiting there, watching the door to room 11 might have sounded absurd to some, but he knew that no one could look after her like he could.

He’d read about a trucker in the news who was paying women for sex and then hurting them.  A few of the girls were missing, and foul play was suspected, but no one cared about the victims enough to investigate much.  Most of Lorelei’s clientele were locals; lonely hired hands and married men, but there were always transient travelers looking for some company when they passed through town.  Those were the ones he was concerned about.

The door to her room opened just as he lit a fresh cigarette.  The guy that stepped out was pushing 70, adjusting his suspenders over his shoulders.  She stayed in the doorway, covered in one of her satin robes, and kissed him on the cheek.  Her appointments weren’t always about sex.  Some were, for sure, and those he preferred not to think about, but a lot were touched starved hermits who craved conversation and a shoulder rub from a beautiful woman.  A few liked to worship her feet.  One guy preferred to feed her ice cream while they watched Cheers reruns on the bed together.  Bottom line, nothing she shared surprised him any more.  

The local customers knew that Hopper was her watchdog, and they’d be too afraid to cross a line with her, even if they wanted to.  

Hopper had not yet been intimate with Lorelei though; not even a kiss.  

For years, he’d managed to keep it platonic, ever since she hired him to be her driver and bodyguard for a date with a new customer she wasn’t yet comfortable with. He’d known that same night that he wanted to be with her, but he also knew he wasn’t special, that she saw him as a bit of a necessary evil to keep the bad man away.  

But, Hopper was a bad man who had done many bad things.  She deserved better.

He would protect her with his life at the drop of a hat.  

Ned, the guy in the suspenders, shuffled to his Chrysler LeBaron, and then Lorelei turned to smile and wave at Hopper.  

He fixed his hair, slicking it back on each side, squinting as he plucked the last of his smoke from between his lips, tossing it to the pavement before adjusting his Coffin Kings cut to wave back.  

—----

The rain was off and on all day, until the night shadows snuffed it out, allowing only a damp mist to remain. Earlier, you’d found a coffee maker at the thrift store, and when you still couldn’t sleep at midnight, you decided to caffeinate yourself to see if it counteracted your awakeness and made you sleepy.  Not much logic to it, but still, there it was. 

Deciding to go out for a walk, you zipped your jacket up and headed out, down along the dumpster alley, and out into the street that led to the park.  The playground equipment sat so ominously motionless, the empty expanse felt eerie for a moment as you made your way over to the swings, hands shoved deep into your pockets.  

You grabbed onto the chain, sitting in the teal plastic seat.  Beneath you, the ground was worn into a large divot where years of dragging feet had been.  You remember sitting on the same swig when you were a little kid and your feet couldn’t reach the dirt.

“Do you want to be alone?” His voice came out of nowhere, making your head turn so fast you almost kinked your neck.

You saw the plume of cigarette smoke before you saw him.  He was cloaked in darkness, but there was something about his shape, the way he sauntered forward.

“Steve?”

“Miss me?”

You took a deep breath, attempting to slow your heart rate. “What are you doing out here?”

“I was just wondering the same thing about you,” he came fully into view then, illuminated by the full moon through the tree boughs.  “This is my park.”

“Oh,” you looked around with mock surprise.  “You own this whole park? You did well for yourself.”

With a flick of ash from his cig, he sank down into the swing next to you, chains clinking against the aluminum bracing as he did so.  His hair curled at the base of his neck, the thick top part flopping to one side as he raked a hand through it.  He was wearing that same type of v-neck shirt under his leather jacket to give a peak of his chest hair and tattoos, as if he knew you’d be looking.  As if he’d known he’d run into you.

He smirked. “When Eddie and I were kids, we lived in that trailer park a few blocks that way,” he nodded over his shoulder. “We spent a lot of time here.  Any excuse to get out of the house.”

He extended the pack of cigarettes out to offer you one, but you declined that time.  “What were you out here doing tonight though?” You pressed.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he grumbled a laugh. “Decided to go for a ride. You?”

“Same, with the not being able to sleep thing.  In the city there is more to do but not many options here.”

“Tell me about it,” he scoffed.  

You shared a silence then, one that did not feel empty or awkward, but then he looked up at the sky that was clear and bright with stars.

“Do you wanna get out of here? Go for a ride?”

It took you a full minute to answer, but it was not a hesitance based on uncertainty.  It was hesitance based on wondering if Steve knew what he was getting himself into with a girl like you.

“Where are we going? New Mexico?”

He shrugged, making eye contact again.  “We could. If that’s what you want.”

You ran your tongue along the tips of your teeth, waiting for him to come over and take your hand to help you out of the seat.  He pulled  you up so fast, your chests crashed together, your mouths inches apart.  

“I want to show you something,” he said, brushing his lips against yours.  

—-

When you blinked awake the next morning, you realized that meeting Steve on the playground had been a dream.  You let the weight of its loss sink in as you rubbed sleep from your eyes, fumbling for the key around your neck as if you might’ve misplaced it in another dimension.  

On the other side of town, Steve revved his bike to life in the garage of the picket fence house he’d been renting from Eddie Munson. Eddie’s ex Melanie left him high and dry with a mortgage on his hands, and he was quick to offer it to his friend when he had nowhere to go.  Steve took care of the small lawn, and did any repairs with money from his own pocket.  He didn’t really care about the quaint seaside bungalow look of it—the garage was all that mattered to him.  He could keep his bike in there and fix up project cars when he had the means.  

He was running late, so he took the shortcut through the back alleyways of town.  

Or maybe he knew he’d be on time, he just wanted to cruise by your apartment and see if he could get a glimpse of you. 

Coffee was brewing in the office at Munson’s Garage when he got there and from behind the desk, Robin looked surprised.  

“You’re almost a half hour early,” she dropped her attention to the papers she was organizing.  “Did you get any sleep at all?”

“I slept great actually,” he lied, pulling a styrofoam cup off the stack to fill it with steaming brew.  “At least five hours.”

“No shit,” she returned under her breath.  “If you’re ready to clock in, Eddie has that Plymouth up on the lift for you to take a look at.  The owner wants to pick it up this afternoon.”

She stood to hand Steve a sheet of paper as she spoke.  “A few vehicles are coming in to get serviced at 9.  Eddie has to pick up a tow in Everett, so it’s just you and Hopper today.”

Through the window over Robin’s head, Steve could see the inside of the garage and Hopper leaning against a tall, red tool caddy to have a smoke.  He bucked his chin at Steve when he caught his eye. 

A few hours into the daily grind, Steve was murmuring the lyrics to the song More Than Words by Extreme while he was on the creeper under a car, thankful for Hopper’s presence since he really didn’t give a shit about the music.  Eddie though? His tastes were very particular, and they usually had to flip a coin.  When Steve won the toss, Eddie grumbled around the bay all day, rolling his eyes at Steve’s enthusiasm for Prince’s entire discography.  

Hopper kicked Steve’s foot to get his attention.

“What’s up man?” Steve grunted, continuing to work.  

“Protection run tonight with Bones and a few of the others. Are  you coming?” Hopper had on cement gray coveralls and pulled a red rag from his back pocket to wipe carburetor fluid off his hands.  

Steve stopped what he was doing and used his legs to inch out from under the Pontiac Firebird.  He’d scratched his neck several times and wiped his eye, so there were dark smudges in those spots.  A protection run was when members of the Coffin Kings went along to escort precious, most likely illegal, cargo across state lines.  

Steve didn’t answer, so Hopper continued.  “Sounds like we’ll each be getting a couple grand a head.”

A couple grand? For a few hours of work when he wouldn’t be sleeping anyway? Oh yeah, Steve was going on the protection run, no matter the risks.  

“Steve?” The voice belonged to someone else at that time.  Someone who sounded a lot like you. 

Steve sat up on the creeper and fiddled with the wrench in his hand, sure that it was only Robin and he was just hearing things.  

But, there you were, stepping into the garage from the parking lot with what appeared to be a casserole dish in your hands.

“Um, hi, you—um,” Steve got to his feet after a clumsy shuffle with the creeper, wiping his hands off as well as he could on his jeans.  

“I brought you some lunch,” flustered, you realized it was past noon and surely he’d had lunch already.  “Or dinner, whichever. As a thank you for driving me home yesterday.”

Hopper looked from Steve to you and then back to you again before excusing himself to the other side of the garage.  

Robin hurried to spy on the conversation from the air conditioned privacy in the office.

“For me?” He wasn’t trying to be obtuse, he was genuinely confused. 

“Well,” you steadied the ceramic dish in your hands, glancing around. “Or whoever else might want some.  It’s lasagna.  My mom’s recipe.  I made some for myself earlier and just thought you might…um…do you like lasagna?”

“Sure,” he reached out to take it from you. “Who doesn’t like lasagna?”

The words were there, but you couldn’t read the expression on his face.  The scowl lines in his forehead and the down-turned side of his mouth told you that he was repulsed by all of it: the lasagna, you, everything.  

Steve was speechless.  Not for lack of words, but more an abundance of them. The last time anyone had cared to make something for him was his grandmother before she passed.  Robin had made him dinner a handful of times, but that was different.  Still, all he could do was stare at the tin foil cover and wet his lips.

Your brain raced. “If it’s too much, I can take it back?”

“No,” Steve moved the dish away as if to protect it from your reaching hands. “I’ll make sure to clean the dish when I’m done and get it back to you.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you shuffled back, turning on your heel to beeline for your car as fast as you could.  

We were going to run away to New Mexico together, remember?

A few other Coffin Kings had just pulled into the parking lot, and with narrowed eyes, Steve noticed that they were all watching you walk away.

Fuckers.

He struggled to find a place to put the blue dish down, and finally settled on the concrete, so he could head off after you at a jog. 

“Hey,” he caught your arm, moving with purpose to block their leering view of you. “Is that your car? Let me walk you over there,” pointing to the yellow Dodge Omni parked under the awning.

You moved a few steps, so did he, and then you eyed him suspiciously.  “What’s going on?”

One of the Kings whistled their approval of you, and Steve gnashed his teeth.  

“Nothings going on, I just wanted to make sure you know how grateful I am.  For coming over here.  With the food. For bringing me food.”

You tried to see where the whistle had come from, but Steve darted to the side to block your view.

God, he was blowing it.  What a tool.

You wanted to tell him about the dream you had, but right then didn’t feel like a good time. 

“I have to get back to work,” you looked at your hands, and then lifted them to the heartbeat in his tan throat, and eventually up to his full lips. “See you later?”

He reached out as if he might hug you, but then put his arms down again, slapping them to his sides.  “Hey, are you busy tomorrow night?”

“I work during the day, but otherwise I’m never busy,” you swallowed, avoiding his gaze.

“Do you want to get out of here? Go for a ride?”

But then, your eyes snapped up at the familiarity of the questioning.

“There’s something I want to show you,” he added.

----

Thank you so much to my readers, I love you and love to hear what you think.

#Steve Harrington #Steve Harrington au #biker!Steve #biker Steve Harrington #biker!Hopper #Ring of Fire #Steve Harrington fic #Steve Harrington series #Steve Harrington smut #biker au

[bunnys-kisses]

the house on the hill - astarion ancunin

pairing: astarion ancunin rating: 18+ summary: It was late for you, you had been traveling all day and could barely keep yourself together. Every step felt like fifteen, all you wanted to find a place to rest. But the town you entered was dead, a ghost town of sorts. You had no choice but to stay there for the night, you didn’t want to risk yourself in the woods alone. tags: pwp, long fic, possessive behaviour, blood & bruises, biting, dark!astarion, smut, petplay, pet names, fingering, doggy style, unhealthy dynamics, astarion is not sane in this one, 4.2k

a/n: i am a sucker for vampires.

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It was late for you, you had been traveling all day and could barely keep yourself together. Every step felt like fifteen, all you wanted to find a place to rest. But the town you entered was dead, a ghost town of sorts. You had no choice but to stay there for the night, you didn’t want to risk yourself in the woods alone.

You camped out inside one of the few houses that made up the town once the sun went down. But you noticed when you peeked out the window that there was someone in the house up on top of the hill. You could see a single candlelight by the front window of what appeared to be the largest house.

You pulled together all your bravery and headed towards the house. Maybe the person inside could give details as to where the next populated town was for your travels in the morning. The trek was short and before you knew it you were knocking on the front door to the large manor.

You heard a crow call in the distance and it made a chill run up your spine. You knocked again and kept your shoulders hunched for fear of what was outside. The door opened and it revealed a man. He had pointed ears like a high elf, red eyes, he stood over six feet tall and his voice rattled in your head.

  “Hello, little one.” He said, “Are you lost?”

  “Hi.” You replied, “I need to find my way to the next town, but I am staying in one of the abandoned houses tonight.”

He titled his head to the side, “I see. Well, why don’t you stay with me? Abandoned houses offer little protection.”

  “Are you implying I can’t take care of myself?” You asked, mildly offended.

  “No, no.” He replied, “I am saying that there are entities that are much stronger than even the best. But I know this area well and I can protect you, if only for a night. Please, come in.”

You found out the man’s name was Astarion. He placed you in one of the many rooms of the manor. He told you to feel free to explore until you got tired enough to rest. His home was yours for the night. You were grateful, since starting your journey you had met many cruel people. So the man was a nice change of pace.

He was charismatic, charming even. He smiled as he showed you around. He gave you compliments and kept his hand on your lower back as he showed you all the rooms within the house. it had been very long since someone touched you outside of battle, so the man’s touch was a delight.

  “And this is the library.” He said, “My books are yours while you are staying with me.”

  “Thank you, sir.” You smiled at him before you stepped inside. Astarion followed close behind like a shadow, he watched you carefully as you reached for one of the books. He stepped in and grabbed it for you. You took the book from him carefully, “Thank you.”

  “It is no problem, I am happy to make you feel like you are at home.”

He even provided you with food, he sat with you at the large dining table as you ate. He admired you, he complimented your eyes and said the color reminded him of the beauty of the forest. Not so much in shade color, but the thrill he got when he saw mist over the forest after a heavy rainstorm.

As you finished your meal, you asked, “Do you get lonely, sir?”

The corner of his mouth turned, “At times yes, I often dream about having a wife to share this home with. I’ve been here by myself for far too long.” Those red eyes gazed at you, “Do you have someone waiting for you at home?”

You shook your head, “No, sir. It is just me.”

He smiled more, “I guess we are kindred spirits then. You’ve lifted my mood greatly, I am glad you found my home.” Then got up to serve you another helping of dinner.

You stayed in his company until you grew tired from your travels. You were grateful to find a bed to sleep in and you thanked Astarion again for his hospitality. He told you to have sweet dreams.  The bed was comfortable, more comfortable than the beds in the inns you stayed at. You felt yourself sink into the bed, the tension left your body. You sighed constantly as you fell into a deep sleep.

The sleep remained undisturbed, until you felt movement in the room. You rolled to your side and you suddenly woke up, You felt the pressure of fangs in your neck. You tried to move away but whoever was feeding from you had you in a tight hold.

You tried to scream but no noise came out. You whimpered and grasped onto the covers underneath you. You were only able to relax when the attacker slowed their feeding.

  “That is perfect, my pet. Let me feed from you, you’ll make a fine pet for me.” You head Astarion’s voice. He placed his hand on your hip and rubbed it as he slowed his feeding, “I’ve made it so you’ll yearn for the closeness of feeding. But no other means will satisfy you. You were right, I was looking for a bride, and I found her right on my doorstep.”

You groaned, “Please, no.”

He chuckled as he turned you to look at him, “No, what? You have a chance to be in a lovely home with a husband, or you can be killed in the forests north of here by some beast.” He rubbed his hand on your arms, “Don’t cry, I didn’t turn you into a vampire. No, no, little pet. I simply made you a pet.” He brushed the hair out of your face.

You tried to fight his grasp, but he had taken so much that you were weak. You couldn’t fight him off as he kissed you on the lips. His hands grabbed your breasts and he passionately made out with you. You whimpered into the kiss, and eventually melted into it.

But the kiss soon ended and very quickly Astarion was gone from the room. Which left you alone with blood oozing from your neck in a weakened state. All you could do was close your eyes and melt once more into the bed.

  “Ugh.” You said as you woke up, Your head was pounding as you cracked open your eyes to see the light streaming in. You had better movements of your body as you got out of bed. You yawned to yourself in your haze as you tried to find the vampire who bit you last night.

You felt pain in your neck as you moved about the manor.

  “There you are.” You heard behind you, it was him.

  “Astarion.” You said.

  “Yes, my pet. Come here.” He said in that low tone.

Even though he wanted to run away, his body moved on its own as he went over to the man and was embraced by him. He petted your hair and kissed the top of your head. You felt drawn to him, you had questions.

  “What am I?”

  “A pet.” He said, almost gleeful, he continued to pet your hair, “You’ll find more comfort here than out in the woods. This place is safe and you'll be safe.”

  “But my journey.”

He smiled down at you, “Pets need not to worry. I will take good care of you and that adventure will mean nothing in due time. I knew the moment you came through my door that I needed to protect you, little one. You’re far too delicate to be thrown to monsters.”

You held onto him, after he finished speaking you looked up to him. There was a pull in your chest to be closer to him. To be as close as possible to the feeling of him, as if you’d have a panic attack if you were too far away. It was scary, but thrilling.

It was as if this man had a piece of your heart and you yearned to be reconnected with it. As you stared up into those red eyes, he closed them and leaned in for a kiss. The kiss left stars behind your eyes as you held onto him tighter.

You knew you should’ve been more upset, even fought the man. But when he was near, all the fight in you was gone. Your head felt full of cotton with a deep drive to serve him. Maybe you were the perfect pet.

  “I knew you were perfect.” He said softly.

-

Your time in the manor was nice. You couldn’t really define it otherwise. Maybe having meals every day, a bath, and books to read was not terrible. It was much more cushioned than the life you tried to lead as an adventurer. The only drawback were the bites on your body.

Astarion had made a mess of your neck, littered in bruises and bites. While he enjoyed human food, he feasted on the blood of his pet. He fed you well to keep you full of blood, he made sure that you were taken care of.

But what started out as simple feeding, slowly grew into a sexual endeavor. Astarion loved when his pets were under him, his cock inside of them as he sucked their blood. He got a high from the power of it all, to know that a weak little human was under his control.

  “My pet.” He groaned as he reached over and touched your hair. You looked over and he carefully touched your face, “So beautiful. I told you this was a life worth having. You are gorgeous with my marks on your body, a sign of a well loved pet.”

You nodded and leaned over to him. Eventually he guided you into his lap. He held your thigh and rubbed it as he kissed your face.

  “Yes, sir?” You asked as you sat there as delicately as you could.

He smiled and kissed the sore spot of your neck, “By my side for the rest of your days, that's unless you want my bite.” His fangs then grazed the bruises, “Never have to worry about a thing again. Just a docile little puppy.” He squeezed your ass and chuckled, “Such a sight.”

  “Astarion.” You whimpered.

He laughed, “Maybe not now though, it seems we have other things to attend to. Your sweet voice has captivated me. That sounds you make when I press on bruises or  drink your sweet blood.”

He started to kiss you, it was almost sweet if not given for the force that he was doing it. You moaned loudly when his lips found your wrist, where he took a healthy drink of your blood.

The rush excited you, although it made you light headed as well. You held onto him with one hand while the other was in his grasp. More bruises to the collection you supposed.

  “Good girl.” He smiled devilishly. Was he your owner? Your lover? The person you were bound to for eternity? There were many questions about Astarion, but he had put into your head that you needed him to feed on you.

You felt your heart race and your breathing become heavier. You held onto him like your life depended on it. You could feel heat in your cheeks as he finished his meal.

When pulled away, he looked almost feral. As if he were a man starved for days and finally feasted. You sometimes wondered who was more addicted, you or him.

His soft lips were covered in your blood as he went to kiss the puncture wounds. Then he let you lay against him. He pulled up your shirt and got past your underwear.

You didn't wear much nowadays, usually his clothes and some skimpy undergarments. Something he could tear off of you if so need be. His longer fingers touched your clit gently.

He kept you close to him as he played with you. He could hear your heartbeat against your shoulder as he felt your body move against his. It was quite a sight to behold.

He could never imagine you with another man, the sight disgusted him. Even if you met in an unconventional way, he still cared for you. He still wants you to know that he loved his little pet.

You whimpered and moaned the more he pleasured you. He smiled against your sore neck and worked his fingers against your sex. The heat in the room felt undeniable. In a life full of sex and blood it still excited you every time he played with you.

You were his simple pet and you were thankful for all he had for you. You arched your back when he inserted a finger into you. You whimpered and he kissed the back of your neck.

  “Relax my love, I know you love the feeling.”

  “Please.”

  “Good girl, I will make you finish. A good owner always keeps his pet well taken care of.” The sultriness of his voice aroused you further.

Soon the room was filled with sounds of him pleasuring you as well as your reaction to it. In the lowlights of the home you shared. It had been such a short time but you were falling into the depths of pleasure and soon you'd have no way of getting out.

You moaned loudly and held onto his arms for support as you kept your legs open for him. He praised you on how well you were behaving for him. Letting him get his fix in two different ways.

There wasn't much you knew about vampires, but you know this one had a fetish for making his partner squirm. He also had various other fetishes that he loved to indulge in with you. And you, always the happy pet, complied and let him do what he seemed fit.

Afterall, you had to trust him.

The two of you made out once more, kissing passionately as he continued to finger you. He groaned into the kiss as his erection poked at your back. You moaned into the kiss in return.

You felt close to climax, you knew that would leave you with a blank mind. It was often euphoric, higher than any drug you could ever take. It reached a peak that sent you to dizzying heights.

  “Please, sir.” You gasped into the kiss.

He kissed you once more as he put another finger inside of you. It wasn't long before you gasped loudly into the kiss and climaxed around his fingers. The tightness of your cunt around his digits excited him as well.

You really were the perfect pet.

As you laid against him in a slumped state. He started to undress you, soon after he placed you on the floor with your hips in the air and your face against the hardwood. He admired the shape of your ass as he took off his clothes as well.

He could hear you panting, attempting to come back to reality. But he knew the depths of pleasure were pulling you in. You were like clay in his hands, you allowed him to shape you in his desired form.

But he'd care for you until the sun melted or the moon exploded. Just a little more convincing and you'd be his eternal bride. The thought made his cock twitch as he stared down at you.

His size was impressive. He knew you had spent afternoons sucking on it while he read until he finished all over your face and breasts. You were familiar with every inch of it just as you were familiar with your own body.

  “Good girl. You always have your legs open for me. I find it quite endearing. To know that the pet I found off the street has taken a liking to the hedonism of my manor.” He ran a finger down your slit.

You used your hands as cushioning as you kept your hips up for his use. You felt him grab your ass cheek and leave an almost bruising mark. You whimpered to yourself before you hissed as he slapped across your cheeks.

  “And what do we say?”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Good pet.” He said with almost affection in his tone.

He touched your cunt so more carefully. He could hear your soft moans, it was almost endearing. To hear your sweet symphony as he played with you. He was enthralled by you, he thought you were given to him as a gift from whatever deity there was.

He knew most men wouldn't have captured their lover and made them addicted to the act of drawing blood, but Astarion was unlike most men. He knew that he had to protect you, the world was much scarier than you realized.

But over two hundred years on this earth had taught him to not let a good thing go. So here you were in his home, where he'd protect you. His pet, his lover, his everything. A bruised beauty under him as they about to fuck like animals.

The thought made him run his tongue across his teeth in excitement. There would never be a woman like you ever again. His thumb grazed your clit and the noise that exited your lips made him smile more.

Beautiful.

That was all he thought before he rubbed your sore body, he pressed on the bruises on your neck and you whined. He did have a dark streak though, to see his pet in mild pain. Not enough to cause any crying, but something that made you squirm.

He toyed with you a bit longer before he grew bored. His cock was painfully hard and he needed to release some of the pleasure. He could feel the heat in your body.

  “Beautiful, girl.” He said as he aligned his cock with your entrance and with one hard thrust pushed it all the way in. You tightened and he groaned, “Fantastic.”

You gripped onto the floor, or rather attempted to as he started to move his hips back and forth against you.

  “Sir.”

  “Good girl.” He said, “You are so perfect for me. I fit just like a glove.” He grinned as he leaned over you, hands on your hips as he moved back and forth. He knew the sex would cause you a little bruising. He understood the bruises as a sign of his love for you, his dedication to his one and only pet.

While the lines between romance and pain were blurred, Astarion would always make sure that his pet was a priority.

He thrusted harder against you, encouraged by your moans as you sank deeper into pleasure once more. The manor was empty except for the two of you and under the low light of candles you fucked like it was the last time you could ever do it.

  “I will never meet a woman like you again, pet.” He purred, “Not one with such rich blood and a tight cunt.” His words left a shiver through your body. He watched your body move to keep up with his brutal pace.

You really were a sight to behold. He pressed his chest up against your back and started to fondle your breasts. He pinched your nipples which caused you to gasp loudly. Your pussy tightened around him and he did it again to the same effect.

He growled in your ear, “Such a good fuck. Who do you belong to?”

You whimpered, “You, sir. I belong to Astarion.”

He smiled against your lobe, “Good girl, I love how you say my name. Even when you’re not fully with me. But that doesn’t matter. I'll still pleasure you until you cannot form coherent words.” His tongue then glided across the bruises.

Your bodies moved together like animals in heat on the floor of the manor. You humped against one another like your life depended on it.It was accompanied by your sounds, the groans and gasps. The half form sentences you tried to say.

You were lost in a blaze of sex and felt like you weren’t in your own head. Astarion found it endearing, a sweet little adventurer now partaking in a life of rough sex. It almost made him smile.

  “Beautiful, pet.” He praised you.

You whimpered in response, your head felt full of cotton and you couldn’t focus on all the sensations on your body. You arched your back and let out a loud groan as his cock brushed past a particular sensitive spot.

  “Yes, that’s it. So perfect for me.” He remarked softly, you could feel the emotion in his voice.

You tried to find leverage on the floor but failed to do so, you moaned into the wood as he continued to thrust. You felt the heat in your cheeks and the tight grip of pleasure.

  “You’ve surpassed my expectations, by now most would’ve begged for mercy. But not you.” He kissed your neck as he gripped your hips tighter, “I love mortals when they bruise, I like to know that I’m the one doing the bruising.” He snickered against your neck.

  “Sir, please.” You whimpered.

  “I know, I know.” He said, “You want it. You want me so badly it pains you. You enjoy the bruises and the sex, you were not meant to be an adventurer, you were meant to find comfort in my bed.”

If you had half a brain left you would've denied it. But he was starting to sound right, you sucked at being a fighter. You were more meant to find comfort in soft beds. More of a lap dog than a wolf.

You arched your back and buried your face in your hands, your face stung from the heat that had risen to your cheeks.You moaned into your hands as you felt the pleasure crash into you like rough waves. An Astarion thought you were the most precious thing on the planet. A beauty he could not deny, to mark and to keep.

  “Astarion.” You whimpered.

  “Good girl.” He said quietly, “All for me.” He started to lose himself to the pleasure.

All sense of time melted away as he moved his hips. You were on the brink of orgasm. You felt the pressure in your gut, a twist at the idea of him giving you absolute pleasure. You moaned into the floor as he kept your hips up. He thrusted deep into you as you groaned.

You felt bruised all over, as was the life of a pet. You were a vampire’s most valuable treasure. The more you spent with him, the more you accepted this as your life. You found joy in the comforts of the manor as well as the comforts in his bed.

You’d give him everything without hesitation.

It made immortality seem more endearing. A century or more with him.

With a few more thrusts of his hips, you climaxed. You practically screamed into your hands as you found release. But that didn’t break his pace. He crowded your space more and thrusted as deep as he could inside of you. You clawed at the floor like an animal but your tongue could produce no words.

If you were wearing a collar, you’d seem less like a pet than you were in the state that you were in.

He grunted and growled as he thrusted up into you. He watched the back of your head as he felt close to his own climax. He sang your praises as he came so close to his own orgasm. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was possible to breed a human.

The thought made him grin and sent him over the edge. He gave one last slam of his hips and finished inside of you. Further marking you as his. He let go of your hips and rested on his heels, his cock soft between his legs.

Your hips dropped and you laid limp on the floor.

He wiped the sweat off his brow, he softly smiled, “Come here, pet. Let me get you cleaned up, you’ve done such a good job for me.” He then took you in his arms and kissed your face.  He could feel your racing heartbeat, maybe he was a little too rough on his precious pet. He held you close to him as he started to get up. But you were in no position to walk, so he carried you.

These were the moments outside the blood and sex, where Astarion tended to you. Cleaned the blood off your neck with a rag and drew you a bath. He brushed your face with the side of his finger and gazed into your eyes.

  “A perfect pet.” He said softly as he carried you towards the washroom.

You were inclined to agree as you kept nodding off. The lack of pleasure left you tired as the blood loss set in. But you trusted Astarion with your life.

You always would.

xoxo,

bunny

#bunny writes #bg3 x reader #bg3 x you #bg3 x tav #astarion #astarion ancunin #baldurs gate 3 #astarion x tav #astarion x reader #astarion x you #reader insert #bg3 #bg3 astarion #bg3 fanfiction

[imagines--galore]

||The Thread of Fate|| Part Nineteen

Summary: Soulmate AU. They say the Thread of Fate connects you to your one true love. It may tangle. It may stretch. But it will never break. Wrapped around your little finger it tightens when it feels your soulmate is close and loosens when they are far. And becomes visible with the colors of your soulmate’s Nation when you finally fall in love with them.

Pairing: Zuko x OroraOC (ATLA)

Rating || Genres || Warnings: T+ Romance. Adventure.

Previous Chapters - Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, Part Eight, Part Nine, Part Ten, Part Eleven, Part Twelve, Part Thirteen, Part Fourteen, Part Fifteen, Part Sixteen, Part Seventeen, Part Eighteen,

A/N: I think the aftermath of the last chapter is more angsty then the previous chapter : P

"I'm home!" Orora called as she stepped through the doors of the apartment above the tea shop. Iroh, who had been doing some inventory looked up and smiled.

"Welcome home Orora. I trust your little shopping excursion was a success?" She nodded, setting her bags down on the floor. "It was. And I got more then a little extra since Aang and the others will be coming over for dinner."

Iroh nodded. "Better to be prepared. Especially since that friend of yours, Sokka, tends to eat quite a lot." Orora giggled before glancing around. "Where's Zuko?" She asked.

"He just stepped outside to get some fresh air. He was pacing rather anxiously. He still doesn't like you wandering around on your own." Her Master reminded her, to which she rolled her eyes. "Well he can't follow me around our whole lives." The girl called over her shoulder as she walked towards the balcony door.

Sliding it open, she was met with the sight of Zuko glaring at her. "I can and I will." He stated, referring to the conversation she was just having with his Uncle. Laughing softly to herself, Orora shook her head and stepped out next to him, closing the door behind her as she did.

"Well that would count as extra work. And I doubt you would have time for that while also running an entire Nation." She playfully tapped him on the nose. "I'll find a way. I always find a way to come back to you don't I, My Fire Lady?" He asked, a smile on his lips, one she never got tired of seeing. Her heart swelled and Orora responded in kind. Reaching up on her tiptoes to press a quick kiss to his lips.

She moved to step away from him, her mouth opening to speak when a sudden flash of lightning had the entire scene changing.

Blue eyes blinked, trying to get rid of the temporary blindness it had caused her.

The sight that greeted her, had her eyes widening in horror and nearly caused her heart to stop.

Azula and Zuko, facing one another, with Azula's fingers smoking as it did whenever she would release a bout of lightning.

Lightning that was crackling through the air.

Aiming at Zuko's chest.

A scream tore through the air, and it took a moment for her to realize that she was the one screaming. She made to run towards him, to stop the deadly weapon, but she was too slow.

She blinked.

And she was holding Zuko in her arms. His body trembled as residue lightning crackled through his entire being. There was an ugly wound in the center of his chest.

He wasn't breathing.

"Zuko! No! Zuko! Zuko! Wake up! Wake up!" She called out to him, begged him to open his eyes. Over and over. She smacked his chest, trying to use her Healing Abilities, but to no avail.

She blinked.

Zuko had disappeared from her arms, only to be replaced by Iroh. His injuries were the same as Zuko's. His face was so pale, his breathing ragged. "Master?" She whispered, her mind racing. Hadn't she healed him? He was better now! He had gotten better. He had lived.

She blinked.

Aang, with a wound in the same place as Zuko and Iroh before. His eyes flickered, as he raised a hand feebly towards her face. Orora began to breath sporadically, her mind spinning as she watched the Avatar, a child, slowly die in her arms.

She blinked.

Katara in the same condition as the previous three. Her eyes once full of love and life, staring unseeing at the ceiling above. Orora couldn't bear it anymore. She grabbed the girl's shoulders and began to shake her, calling out to her, trying to wake her up.

She blinked.

Sokka, his eyes closed, and his chest frozen. Never to rise again with the large wound that gaped in his chest. "Sokka!' She didn't let go of his shoulders.

"Wake up! Please! You still need to teach me stuff! You need to show me how real brothers are! Please! Just open your eyes!"

She blinked.

"Katara! No please! Come back! Come back! You have to live. You have to see the world not fighting! You have to wake up! You can't leave!"

She blinked.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I couldn't heal you Master! Please! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! Master! Uncle! Father! Father, please! Father!"

She blinked.

"No! No! No! Aang! No! Don't die! People need you Aang! I need you! Wake up! You still have to show me the Air Temples! You promised! Aang! Aang!"

She blinked.

"No! You don't get to leave me! You have to live! You have to live for me! With me! Please Zuko! I beg you! Open your eyes!"

A movement from the corner of her eyes had her raising her despair filled eyes to the figure now standing next to her.

It was Zuko.

And yet, it wasn't.

This couldn't be her Zuko. He would never look at her with such hatred and venom in his amber eyes. Her arms tightened around Zuko's body as the Zuko in front of her, who was very much alive, raised a fist.

In her heart, no in her soul, she knew what was coming. Knew she should run. Defend herself.

But she didn't.

She simply sat there, cradling Zuko's body as she watched the other Zuko bring his fist down, a ball of fire raging strong and hot as he aimed at her chest.

Right where her heart was.............

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Orora shot up with a startled cry.

Her chest rose and fell as she panted. Sweat coated her entire body. Her eyes darted around the darkened room, frantic and panicked. For a moment, she didn't remember where she was.

But then, her gaze fell on the figure sleeping in the bed, with another figure beside them, holding their hand.

She was on a ship, her brain reminded her. She was on a disguised Fire Nation ship with her friends and members of her sister tribe. Aang was asleep in the bed, with Katara sitting vigil at his side, holding his hand.

As the reality sunk in, her breathing calmed and the panic left her eyes. Slowly, her heartbeat returned to normal. And yet the images of her most recent nightmare continued to play in her mind.

Shaking her head to try and dispel the thoughts, she stood to gently lay a hand on Aang's forehead, checking for a fever. Normal body temperature greeted her, prompting her to let out a sigh of relief and slowly slide away and back onto the floor where she had probably fallen asleep after staring up at the ceiling for hours.

Her mind wandered to all that had happened since they had joined Sokka and Katara's tribe.

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They had landed on the ship, the familiar structure providing her with some comfort as friendly faces surrounded them. Sokka, Toph and the Earth King and his pet had slid down, while she had helped Katara get Aang down from Appa's head.

Katara had still been near catatonic as she cradled Aang close to her. Sokka and another figure, a man, had moved forward, mouth open to question her. But she gave them no chance. Orora took charge, ordering for mats and blankets, bandages and any salve they might have for burns. Turns out, they had everything she needed. While Katara, still lost in the horrors of her mind at nearly loosing her Soulmate, Orora worked diligently, cleaning Aang's wound and after giving him a healing session of her own, which helped her determine how much of his injury had healed, she rubbed the salve along his back, before bandaging him up carefully. He would have to sleep on his stomach for awhile. There were other injuries that she had to heal. One on his shoulder, and several bruises from being smacked against stone walls by Azula. She had no idea who long she sat there, healing Aang as much as she could while Katara watched on.

Once she was sure he was comfortable, Orora turned her attention towards Katara. Resting a hand against her cheek, Orora slowly guided Katara's head so that she could look at her properly. "You don't have to say anything." The older girl said, her voice soft and gentle. "Just nod or shake your head." It took a moment, before Katara nodded.

Smiling in an encouraging manner, Orora continued. "Are you hurt anywhere?" A pause before a nod. "Where?" Katara blinked at her, before slowly pulling out her leg from underneath her and pulling up the sleeve of her pants. Orora hissed softly at the sight of the ugly bruise already marring the young girl's skin. Pulling up some water, she quickly coated her hands and pretty soon the entire bruise had faded.

That wasn't the only injury Katara had. There were bruises and cuts on her back as well, and several others on her abdomen. Thank the Spirits it wasn't as serious as Aang's injuries.

Once done, Orora stood. "Stay with Aang. I'll get you something to eat. Don't fall asleep." She could already see the girl's eyes drooping. Exiting the small tent-like room atop the ship's deck, Orora stopped short at the sight that greeted her.

Every member aboard the ship was standing in front of her, staring at her. Every single one of them had the same question in their eyes.

"What happened?!?" Sokka was the one person impatient enough to voice it. "We left you, Iroh and Aang to get Katara and Zuko." Her heart twinged painfully at the name, prompting her to lift a hand to press against her chest. "And only you came back, with Aang half-dead and Katara looking like she was dead!"

Silence followed his words. Sighing deeply, Orora nodded, her eyes closing. "I know you have questions." She said, her voice low and soft, tired sounding. "Just let me get Katara something to eat, then I'll explain everything."

A quick bowl of warm broth, which she spooned into Katara's mouth herself, and once she was sure the other girl was sleeping comfortably and that Aang was still breathing, Orora found herself sitting on one side of the fire that burned in a small square hole in the center of the ship.

Everyone stared at her, while her own gaze remained trained on the fire in front of her.

"We found them both in the catacombs." She began. "But we were ambushed, by Azula and the Dai Li Agents." Memories of what had happened rushed to the front of her mind but she continued speaking.

"The Fire Nation prince joined his sister." Another twinge in her chest, one that had a certain blind girl narrowing her eyes at. "Aang was going into the Avatar State when Azula shot lightening at him from behind." Words and cries of outrage echoed in the night, calling the Fire Nation names. Orora continued. "Katara........I think.......she's in shock. It was pretty scary, watching him fall like that."

Her voice caught in her throat, a strange emotion rising within her. One that had her suddenly blinking really fast as her eyes burned. "How did you escape?" Toph asked from where she sat, looking so small and vulnerable, with her arms wrapped around her legs.

"My Master, Iroh of the Fire Nation." Looks of utter disbelief and surprises crossed everyone's faces. "He sacrificed himself. Ordered me to grab Katara and Aang and get out of there. We got to you guys and Katara healed Aang."

A beat of silence before Toph spoke again. "She didn't heal him." She said, slowly rising to her feet to stand next to Sokka. "I can sense heartbeats, and when the three of you came." Her unseeing gaze turned to the tent where her two friends were now sleeping. "I only sensed two heartbeats."

Revulsion rose up inside her. Clapping a hand to her mouth, Orora quickly ran to the side of the ship and dry-heaved whatever was left in her stomach.

Died, the word echoed in her mind.

Azula who was a child herself, had killed Aang, who was even younger then them.

A child killing a child.

She heaved again, feeling someone come up behind her and rub her back soothingly. "You alright?" It was Toph. Wiping her mouth, Orora straightened, pushing her hair back from her face and giving a small nod. "I guess." The older girl closed her eyes briefly.

"I know we've only just met Toph, but could you pay close attention to Aang and Katara's heartbeats for the night?" She asked, looking at the younger girl. Toph was silent for a moment.

"You just saved the lives of two people I care about." The girl responded with a smile and a nod. "Its the least I could do. I'll tell you if anything changes." She promised, just as Sokka walked over to them with a bowl of soup. He held it out to Orora who took it, slowly spooning the broth to her mouth, enjoying the warmth of it.

And yet she still felt cold from the inside.

"Guess bad luck followed us into Ba Sing Se too" Sokka moved to stand on Orora's other side. "We don't have the Earth Kingdom army to back us up now for the Invasion Plan."

Orora glanced up, frowning. "The what plan?"

Sighing, Sokka began to fill in what their plan had been. Orora listened, her half-eaten bowl of broth forgotten as her eyes widened with each key point Sokka revealed about the plan.

Or rather what had been the plan.

"Now that our old plan has gone down the drain." Toph spoke up. "Whats the new plan Idea Guy?" She asked to which Sokka pursed his lip.

"I'm not sure yet, but I'm gonna work on something with my dad and the others, try and come up with something." He continued with a determined expression. "The day of the Eclipse is the only opportunity we have of stopping the Fire Nation, once and for all. We can't loose it."

Orora's mind flitted to the memory of Aang falling. Of Katara staring at her with eyes full of anguish. Of her Master ordering her to leave him. Of the Prince......betraying her.

"And we won't." Toph added, with Orora nodding beside her.

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Feeling her eyes begin to grow heavy, Orora pushed herself to stand up. Glancing at Aang and Katara, she quickly picked up a blanket to cover the girl's shoulders before exiting the room. Her soft footfalls were loud against the metal surface of the Fire Nation ship. It was still early in the night, and aside from the people keeping watch, she was sure everyone else was still asleep.

Climbing up the stairs, she emerged onto the deck and inhaled deeply as the cool night air greeted her. A Fire Nation cloak was fastened around her shoulders, to cover her clothes. She still wore the dress she had worn when going to meet the Earth King.

Albeit it was now torn in places, rumpled and was covered in a bit of blood as well. She'd lost her comb in the Catacombs, as well as her water satchel.

Truth be told, she had lost everything in that cursed place.

The two men on guard, one of whom was Sokka and Katara's father, Hakoda, looked at her as she walked to the side of the ship, eyes trained on the water beneath. Removing her cloak, as well as her shoes, the young girl gripped the edge of her dress and tore it on either side, splitting the fabric up to her waist. She wore leggings underneath, and now that the fabric was open around her legs, she could move them more freely.

Despite the tiredness that still ached in her bones, Orora began to go through different waterbending forms. The motions helped calm her racing mind and ground her.

She continued to practice, going through several new forms she had created herself and had been working on them for a long while now. The girl only stopped when her she could barely lift her arms, and her legs trembled from the exertion she had put them through.

"You know I've never felt Katara do some of those moves before." Toph's voice prompted her to look over her shoulder as the younger girl approached her. Orora shrugged. "Its just something I'm trying to develop. I figured if all other types of benders can use their feet and legs to use their bending, why can't waterbenders." She wiggled her bare toes.

Toph nodded. "I get it. You want to use your bending to the best of your ability." She came to stand beside Orora. "Its the same reason I created metalbending." She stated, the pride clear in her voice.

Orora had witnessed Toph's abilities during their small takeover of the Fire Nation ship. She had to create a hole to hide Appa in, in case passing by Fire Nation ships spotted them. Orora smiled. "That's pretty amazing for someone as young as you."

Toph chuckled. "Yeah, but not when you're the world's greatest earthbender." Orora raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She asked, a little disbelief slipping into her voice to which Toph grinned.

"I even have the belt to prove it. The other three met me at a Rumble, of which I had been champion for quite sometime." Orora couldn't help but be impressed.

"That is actually amazing. You didn't let your blindness stop you then?" She asked, curious to know how Toph's seismic sense actually worked. Toph shook her head.

"It works in my favor actually. Why a need to see, when you can sense when your opponent is about to attack." Orora nodded.

"True." A playful gleam in her eyes, the older girl quickly lifted her leg, bringing it down in a graceful arc. The moment her foot left the floor, a stream of water rose from the side of the ship, arching through the air and towards Toph.

The girl simply brought up a slate of metal to shield herself from getting wet. "Impressive." She said, grinning at Orora. "But you still need to work on the force behind your attack."

Orora nodded. "Yeah, I'm actually working on that right now. Practicing helps." Silence fell between the two. Orora glanced at Toph. She was significantly taller then the other girl, and yeah, Toph was powerful, no doubt about it, but that didn't stop a surge of protectiveness to race through her. Strange, she'd only just met Toph properly a few days ago.

Maybe some friendships just started out that way. An urge to protect someone else because........well, just because.

Taking in the air of the early morning, she held out a hand towards Toph. "Once we get ashore, we'll have a little one-on-one. You can practice your metalbending, and I can practice using my feet and legs to waterbend. Deal?"

"Sounds good." Toph agreed, raising a hand to shake hers. "I think we're gonna be good friends Orora." She smiled, as she began to walk away. "Which reminds me, I need to come up with a nickname for you. Its tradition." With that the girl walked off in search of breakfast, leaving Orora to smile after her departing figure.

It was still an hour or so before dawn, so she pulled her shoes back on, wrapped the cloak around herself, and went back downstairs. The moment she entered, she fell onto the mat she had been using. She was fast asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

And this time, she didn't dream.

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"You feeling alright Katara?" Orora asked, moving to stand beside the girl as she and Toph stood near the railing. It was the same day, the sun having set a long time ago. But throughout the day, Orora always asked Katara the same question. While it would've gotten annoying to anyone else, Katara would only smiled and reassure the girl that she was.

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It had started the day after they escaped the Catacombs. Katara had exited the small tent and Orora had approached her, voicing her concern. Though Katara had not spoken, she had responded with a small nod, then she'd hugged her father, cried in his arms before falling asleep again. It was the third day when she began to speak. She'd insisted on giving Aang a healing session herself, and also attempted to feed him the vegetable broth Orora had made.

Biting her lower lip, and hoping she wouldn't snap at her Orora asked again. "You feeling alright Katara?" The girl had paused, looking up from where she had been spooning the simple broth into Aang's mouth. They had to keep him fed somehow, and this was the best option.

Turning to look at Orora, Katara blinked. "I'm........not sure." She finally said. Her heart twinged at the look of utter devastation on Katara's face. "I have to keep reminding myself, that he's here. He's alive." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I-I nearly lost him Orora." Tears filled her eyes as she seemed to curl in on herself. "I nearly lost my Soulmate." She sobbed softly, pressing a hand to her mouth to muffle her cries.

Orora wrapped her arms around the other girl, lending her whatever comfort she could, even as her own heart lay broken in a hundred pieces. She didn't know who had it worse.

Katara who had actually seen her Soulmate die, or her, who's Soulmate did not hesitate in betraying her, turning her back to her.

As if he hadn't even cared about her.

When she had been on the verge of falling........

                                          ————————–

Presently, smiling in a reassuring manner, Katara nodded. "I feel fine, and its all thank to you. You've really been a great help Orora." The older girl shrugged.

"Just trying to be useful." She said, before turning her eyes towards the water below. "I know you'll feel even better when Aang wakes up." Toph added, arms hanging over the side of the railing. Katara's expression morphed to one of worry, while Orora sighed.

"We all will." The girl said, pushing back the white patch of hair from her face. Katara's eyes landed on it as Sokka, dressed as a Fire Nation Soldier approached.

"You never told us how you got the white hair." Katara pointed out, to which Orora shrugged. "The Moon Spirit visited me." Her response was so nonchalant, as if she were commenting on the weather, that the rest of the three in their little group stared at her, dumbstruck.

"Do Spirits make a habit of visiting you? Is that why you sound so relaxed about it?" Toph finally asked, a bemused smile on her lips. "Moon Spirit? You mean Yue?! She visited you?" Sokka asked, more like demanded to know as he pushed Katara to the side to stand in front of Orora.

His sister give him an annoyed look which he completely ignored. Orora nodded. "It was after my Master was hurt, in that small village where we all met." They all nodded. "Well I was just feeling a little lost after that, and I questioned my own decision of staying rather then go with you guys."

She lifted her head to gaze at the cloudy night sky. The moon was probably hiding behind the clouds somewhere.

"I....prayed to the Spirits. I begged them to help guide me and suddenly Princess Yue just appeared in front of me. She gave me words of advice, touched my hair right here, and then she was gone. Since then my hair has been white."

Sokka hummed. "Just like how Yue's were because she was touched by the Moon Spirit too." Orora shrugged. "Yeah, but it doesn't make me special." Toph nudged her side. "Oh please, you're working on making an entirely new form of waterbending, don't be so modest. That's pretty special in my books."

Orora smiled at the girl. "You created a whole new form of bending, Toph. Pretty impressive for a scrawny little kid like you." She ruffled Toph's hair affectionately. Her noises of protest prompted Sokka and Katara to laugh, and Orora couldn't help but feel her heart swell.

It was a good thing she had so many people around her, distracting her in the best way possible. She was sure she would have succumbed to her more dark thoughts if they hadn't been there. Despite all that had happened, they still remained optimistic. Something that Orora sorely needed after what she had gone through in the catacombs.

Suddenly a commotion near the stairs had them all turning.

"Twinkle Toes! That's got to be you!" Toph called out before they had even turned. A bright smile pulled at Orora's lips at the sight of Aang standing there.

"Aang, you're awake!" Katara called out, as they all rushed to his side.

Aang rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure? I feel like I'm dreaming." He said, his voice still a little slurry with sleep.

Katara reached him first, wrapping him in a hug. "You're not dreaming. You're finally awake." She reassured him before stepping back.

"You gave us quite the scare kid." Orora added, giving him a brief hug as well. Aang stared around, still confused. And adding to that confusion, was the sight of Sokka in his new getup.

"Aang!" He said, his voice slightly muffled. "Good to see you back with the living, buddy!"

"Sokka?" He mumbled, body swaying and head heavy.

Toph straightened. "Uh-oh, somebody catch him!" She called out. "He's going to-" She'd barely finished when Aang collapsed to the ground. The small group crowded around him, with Orora checking his pulse while, Katara checked his pupils. "He just passed out." The older girl reassured everyone watching.

Appa grumbled as he walked forward. "Give Appa some room people!" Sokka called out, pushing everyone away so that the Bison could sniff at Aang. Maybe he sensed his friend was near, but Aang slowly opened his eyes and smiled at the Bison who nuzzled his big nose against Aang.

"Hey buddy, mind telling me whats going on here?"

                                          ————————–

His eyes followed Mai as she finally walked off leaving him alone.

He knew it was his sister's doing. Trying to get Mai to distract him from what he had done to Uncle and..........Orora.

The bubble his and Mai's little outing in Ba Sing Se had created was popped the very next day when he had seen his Uncle being led away in chains. Even now he felt his heart clench in his chest. But that had been nothing compared to the image his mind had conjured the very next moment.

Orora.

Walking behind his Uncle.

Chains around her wrists and ankles.

Looking at him the way she had done in the catacombs.

It wasn't even real, and yet he had turned on his heel and marched off, sweating, panting as his heart beat wildly in his chest. It had taken him quite a while to calm down.

Now, he was standing on the ship that would take him home. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had barely heard Mai approach him. She had responded to his words with a sarcastic comment and what would have been a kiss on the lips was shifted to one on the cheek when Zuko moved his head at the last moment.

She'd told him to stop worrying, before moving off.

Not at all helpful.

"Not exactly how I would handle things." A voice said next to him.

He opened his eyes to the sight of Orora sitting on the railing of the ship. His heart jumped at the sight of her, and yet he showed no other emotion.

After all, it was all in his head.

"What would you have said?" He finally asked.

She pursed her lips in the way he remembered when she was contemplating over something. "Would it have mattered?" She responded, looking right at him.

"You wouldn't have listened to me anyway."

He opened his eyes.

She was gone.

                                         ————————–

The next morning, during breakfast, Sokka decided to sit Aang down and tell him of what he had missed since he had been hurt. Though while they waited for breakfast to be served, Aang walked over to Orora.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked. She frowned, but nodded, giving The Duke the ladle to scoop the noodles into bowls. Once they were a good ways away from the rest of the group, he turned to Orora, leaning on his staff.

"Katara told me what happened in the catacombs." Her shoulders stiffened. "And I guess its safe to assume that I'm the only one, who knows about......." He trailed off, looking at Orora. The girl sighed, closing her eyes as she did. "Yeah." She finally responded. "You're the only one. And I don't plan on telling anyone else."

Her eyes drifted to her finger where the string hung loose and limp. "I'm sorry." He said, his voice echoing with a sadness she would never associate with a boy who was always smiling. She shook her head. "It wasn't your fault. Fate only put us together as a cruel joke. What happened in Ba Sing Se has taught me that if you open your heart to someone who is your enemy, you only get stabbed in the back."

Once more, that strange lump formed in her throat, prompting her to swallow. "I'm just glad you're alright." She continued, smiling at him, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Aang smiled back. "Katara also told me how you helped with the healing session when she couldn't."

Orora shook her head. "It was the least I could do." Glancing around to make sure no one was listening, she added. "After what happened, Katara sort of shut down. She was able to save you with the water from the Spirit Oasis, but even after that for a few days she barely ate, slept or left your side."

Aang bit his lower lip, glancing in the direction of his Soulmate as she chatted away with her brother. "I always feel so guilty, putting her in situations like that. Someone is always trying to hurt me, and she's always worried about me. I hate it. I hate that I worry her so much." He said with a scowl of frustration.

A brief silence.

"Well, I guess that just means we have to win this war, so that you're not in anymore danger and she can stop worrying about you." The older girl responded, to which Aang smiled and nodded. "You're right. Thanks Orora."

"Hey you two! Breakfast is getting cold!" Katara called out from where she sat. The waterbender and Avatar smiled at one another before joining the little group where Sokka had taken charge.

"After what happened at Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chameleon Bay where we found my father and the other Water Tribe men." Orora tried really hard not to think of that night, instead focusing on eating her breakfast.

Sokka continued. "The Earth King decided he wanted to travel the world in disguise, so he set off alone." He grinned. "Well, not completely alone."

Toph chuckled. "I wander how long it will take him to start missing someone buffing his cuticles." She muttered from where she sat next to Orora, who chuckled in response.

"Soon, the bay was overrun by Fire Nation ships. Rather than fight them all, we captured a single ship and made it our disguise. Since then we've been traveling west." He opened a map, pointing out their location. "We crossed through the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've seen a few Fire Nation ships, but none have bothered us."

Aang nodded. "So what now?" He asked to which Hakoda responded. "We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan."

Katara, who had been silent till now, cut in. "It's Sokka's invasion plan."

Hakoda nodded, glancing at his daughter. "Yes, Sokka's plan. We won't be able to mount a massive invasion without the Earth King's armies, but the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire Nation vulnerable."

His son nodded before continuing. "So we're planning a smaller invasion. Just a ragtag team of our friends and allies from around the Earth Kingdom. We already ran into Pipsqueak and The Duke." Orora smiled at the sight of The Duke sitting atop Pipsqueak, slurping noodles.

"And the best part is, the eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage!" Looking a little too gleeful, Sokka lowered his voice to a whisper. "We have a secret!" He looked to both sides. "You!"

Aang blinked. "Me?"

Sokka nodded, grinning. "Yep, the whole world thinks you're dead! Isn't that great?" He added, standing up and raising his hands triumphantly in the air as if he had just won a prize. Orora, seeing the look of utter shock on Aang's face, reached out to grip Sokka's armor and yank him back down.

"Learn to read the room Sokka." She advised, as Aang began to pace around.

"The world thinks I'm dead?" He cried out. "How is that good news? That's terrible!"

Sokka, despite a warning look from Orora, stepped forward. "No, it's great! It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore! And even better, they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun!"

The news only distressed Aang further. Humphing, Orora flicked her hand forward, encasing Sokka's mouth in a small mask of ice. The boy protested in a muffled voice but she only glared at him.

"Keep it shut Sokka! I told you not to bring all of that up." Her gaze flicked to Aang, leaving Sokka to struggle with the mask. Aang had to calm down, he might aggravate his wounds if he kept the pacing up.

"No, no, no, no, no. You have no idea." He said, burying his face in his hands. "This is so messed up!"

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of another ship's horn echoed across the water. Every eye turned to the ship approaching them.

Aang straightened up. "I'll handle this." He said, trying to stand up straight and opening his glider. "The Avatar is back." But then he paused, grunting in pain as sweat lined his forehead.

Katara approached him. "Aang, wait! Remember, they don't know we're not Fire Nation!" Teeth gritted, the injured Avatar put away his glider.

Hakoda stepped forward. "Everyone just stay calm. Bato and I will take care of this." The two of them walked off while Orora helped Aang get into one of the smaller square holes in the ship's deck. It was big enough to hide all of them.

"I hate not being able to do anything." Aang grumbled.

"Hopefully, you won't need to." Toph stated as they all succumbed to silence.

For five minutes.

The moment the Fire Nation began to depart, Toph emerged from the hole. "They know!" She called out, alerting everyone around her. Orora glanced at Katara, and the two girls nodded at one another.

"Sokka, keep Aang here." Katara told her brother. "On both our order." Orora added, glaring at Aang who pursed his lips in annoyance, watching as the two waterbenders raced off.

Meanwhile, Toph had metalbended the bridge between the ships. The captain and his guards fell into the water below. Racing to the edge, both Katara and Orora stood side by side creating a large wave which separated the two ships, creating a little distance between them.

Their ship raced off, with the other one in hot pursuit.

Standing at the railing, Orora raised her arms skyward, sending a wave of water towards the ship, trying to freeze it in place. But the ship's speed was too strong, and it crashed through the ice before it could hold it in place.

The girl frowned in frustration.

"Load the Toph!" Toph called out.

Pipsqueak dropped a boulder in front of Toph who began earthbending it at the attacking ship. One of the boulders hit a catapult as another one fired.

Seeing the fireball approach the ship, Orora quickly bent a huge bubble of water and once it was frozen solid, threw it in the air with the force of her entire body behind it. Her icy ammunition struck hard and fast, flickers of fire and ice shards flying through the air. With The Duke's guidance, Toph earthbended another piece of rock and sent it to intercept another oncoming fireball.

Suddenly their ship lurched, nearly sending Orora tumbling, but she steadied herself. Katara, who had been standing at the edge, noticed the harpoon at the side of the ship. She quickly froze the water to plug the hole.

"I'm gonna give us some cover!" She said, already going through the motions of creating a fog. "Orora!' She called out, though she didn't have to. Orora was mirroring Katara's motions and between the two of them, they were able to create a fog screen.

Another fireball flew through the air, this time taking out Toph's ammunition.

The fog dissipated, their plan failing. As two more fireballs arced through the air, Orora repeated her previous move, sending a ball of ice at one of the fireballs. Both of them exploded on collision. The other one struck their ship, setting it on fire.

Which was quickly extinguished by Katara.

"How are we doing?" Toph called out, to which Sokka responded.

"Things couldn't get much worse." No sooner had he finished saying those words when a Sea Serpent rose from the water near their ship. Every eye turned to look at the towering behemoth of a creature. Orora actually felt herself gulp in fear.

"The universe just loves proving me wrong, doesn't it?" Sokka called out in despair. "You make it too easy!" Despite the danger they were in, Toph couldn't help but take a shot at Sokka.

"Now is not the time Toph." Orora called out, already running to stand in front of her, to protect the younger girl if need be.

However, the serpent was hit by a fireball from the other ship. Turning it's wrath to the other ship, it wrapped itself around it, allowing their ship to escape.

As everyone stared in surprise, Sokka grinned, throwing his arms to the sky. "Thank you, the universe!" He called out. No sooner had the words ended when he found another ice mask covering his mouth.

He glared at Orora, who glared right back.

"Do not jinx it!" She growled, to which he huffed.

                                           ————————–

This was not how he had envisioned returning to the Palace and sitting in front of the pond he had his mother had frequented for so long.

He hadn't thought he would be alone.

As he flicked some bread to the turtleducks, who fed upon it happily, a shadow enveloped him.

"You seem so downcast." His sister observed, arms crossed and that ever present cunning smile on her lips. "Has Mai gotten to you already?" The mention of the girl trying to distract him with her attention had him pursing his lips. "Though actually, Mai has been in a strangely good mood lately." She continued.

"I haven't seen Dad yet." Zuko finally revealed. "I haven't seen him in three years, since I was banished." His sister shrugged, not at all bothered. "So what?"

He looked up at her. "So, I didn't capture the Avatar."

Waving a careless hand, Azula circled around him. "Who cares? The Avatar is dead." Her statement prompted Zuko to look away. An act that Azula noticed as she frowned suspiciously. "Unless you think he somehow miraculously survived."

He remembered. He remembered the vial Katara had shown him. Water, that had special properties.

"No." He finally responded, after a rather long pause. "There's no way he could have survived." The two siblings glared at one another before Azula moved to walk away.

"Well, then I'm sure you have nothing to worry about." She said.

Suddenly she stopped. "Speaking of nothing to worry about." He did not like the tone she was using.

"Who exactly was that girl with the white hair? I don't believe she was traveling with the Avatar to be his companion." She looked over her shoulder. "Was she traveling with you and Uncle?"

A cold, dreadful feeling settled in his stomach.

She couldn't know the truth.

She didn't know the truth.

"She was.......a server from the tea shop that Uncle opened." He said, his response quick, his voice calm as it could be. He didn't even look in Azula's direction when he spoke, opting to instead throw more bread at the turtleducks.

If she couldn't see his face, then she wouldn't be able to discern the brief bout of fear he felt, at the thought of Azula finding out Orora's connection to him.

He knew his sister would not hold back in finding Orora and either throwing her in prison, or even killing her. "Nobody important."

"If you say so." Azula responded before walking off, not at all satisfied with her brother's response. She had her suspicions, had her sources of information, but she would not act on them. Not until she knew that Zuko would respond to being questioned about the girl.

Azula wanted to hurt her brother as much as she could.

Because if he had found his Soulmate before she had, then it wouldn't be fair now would it?

He couldn't have all their Mother's love and a Soulmate's love too.

Not when she had neither.

Zuko watched as his sister disappeared, heaving a sight of relief.

"Nobody important huh?" The voice prompted him to look up to see Orora standing over him. The look she wore had him on the defense. "I said what I did to protect you. I had to convince her. You don't know what she's capable of." He responded, despite the fact that he knew she was just a figment of his imagination.

Orora simply stared at him. "Who were you really trying to convince Zuko? Your sister, or yourself?"

He blinked and she was gone.

                                         ————————–

The dinner on shore had lifted their spirits. Orora was actually laughing by the time she walked the ship's plank and onto the deck. It was just her, Toph and Sokka. Katara had returned earlier with some fresh food for Aang.

"Aang's gone!"

Katara's frantic cry had the smiles wiping from their lips. She approached them, eyes wide and frantic. "We need to go after him. I suspect he's gone towards the Fire Nation to face the Fire Lord alone!"

Toph's sightless eyes widened. "Is he crazy!? He's still hurt!" Sokka quickly stepped forward. "All of you gather as many supplies as you can, we're going after him."

Despite the urgency of the situation Orora paused. "We?" She echoed as Toph and Katara raced off. Sokka, who had paused at her question gave a smile of reassurance and patted her shoulder. "You've more then earned your place on our Team Orora. Besides, we still have that spot open just for you." He grinned at her.

She knew they had to depart urgently, and yet she couldn't help it as she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank you." She spoke softly into his shoulder. Sokka returned the embrace a little before pulling away, blushing a little as he did.

"There will be time for hugs later, now go get your things." Nodding the girl raced off.

They had all clambered atop Appa within the hour and after Sokka had given last minute instructions to his father, they departed with promises to meet on the day oft he Invasion.

"How're we going to find him though? He could be anywhere!" Toph said as Appa flew through the air towards a cluster of clouds as they gathered over the horizon.

Orora's eyes darted to look at Katara, who was looking at the finger where her string was tied. While Sokka responded how they just had to follow a specific direction, she quickly slid next to the other girl.

"Its alright, you don't have to tell anyone anything." She said, trying to alleviate the guilt Katara felt at keeping such a big secret to herself. "I can find him if I guide Appa." She turned her head to look at the approaching storm with a frown of concern. "I'll be a little busy so you'll have to keep a bubble around us, to protect us from the rain."

Orora nodded in understanding.

"Leave it to me."

The storm was brutal when it hit. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed as Appa soared through the air. The waves from the sea crashing beneath them rose so high they brushed against the bison's feet.

And yet they continued onward.

With Katara on Appa's head, holding the reins. Sokka was in the back, doing his best to keep Toph and Momo from falling off. As well as all their supplies. Orora stood in the center, a rope tied around her waist that connected her to the saddle as she moved her arms in a continuous circular motion to keep the protective bubble around them. Appa was struggling to fly, the wind from the storm pushing their bubble around. But it was the only way for them to know where they were going.

After what seemed like hours, the rain finally let up and the clouds began to clear. Once only a small trickle was left, Orora stopped her bending and all but collapsed onto the saddle. She felt Sokka and Toph quickly reach her side with the former offering her a satchel of water. She gulped down the entire content of it.

"You alright Orora?" Katara called over her shoulder as moonlight began to filter through the clouds. Orora nodded as she slowly sat up.

"Yeah, I'm fine I just......." She trailed off. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open at the sight that greeted her.

"Yue." She whispered at the ethereal figure floating alongside them. The name prompted Sokka and Katara to whip around to try and look for her. "I don't see anything." Sokka finally said, to which Yue smiled sadly at him.

"He won't be able to see me." She said, her gentle voice echoing around them. "Then how can I see you?" Orora asked, prompting the other three to halt in their movements to listen to her one-sided conversation.

"Because I choose you to." The Moon Spirit responded, reaching out to gently caress Orora's white hair. Just as she had done all those months ago. "You said all I had to do was follow my heart, that it would never lead me astray." The girl suddenly burst out, to which Princess Yue smiled sadly.

"Everything happens for a reason Orora." Gently cupping the girl's face she pressed a kiss to her forehead as a sign of blessing. "Do not loose hope, dear one. Trust fate. Trust your friends. Trust your heart. Trust yourself."

Her wise eyes lifted to look at Sokka who was staring at Orora in disbelief and hope. "Tell Sokka that I'm happy that he has found his Soulmate."

She started to move away, slowly fading from view. "Look towards a new day with renewed hope Orora." Her voice faded away as the sun peaked over the horizon.

Appa continued to fly, while everyone stared at Orora in utter disbelief.

"Orora?" Katara called out, worried for her friend, who hadn't turned around yet. Suddenly Orora's shoulders stiffened and she leaned forward, nearly falling off the saddle.

"Look!" She called out, pointing towards a small island volcano. Though they were still a ways away from it, there was no denying the figure that lay on the shore.

"Its Aang!" Sokka called out as Katara changed their course. Momo had already taken off, and was the first one to reach Aang, licking his face as he did. Moments later Appa landed on the shore, with all four of the children scrambling off and running towards Aang.

"You're okay!" Katara cried, relief evident in her tone as she threw her arms around him. None of them hesitated in following suit, coming together for a group hug that had Orora briefly believing what Princess Yue had just told her.

Once they broke apart, Aang inhaled deeply. "I have so much to do." He said, sounding every bit as the thirteen year old boy he was.

Katara nodded. "I know, but you'll have our help."

Toph gently hit his shoulder. "You didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?"

Aang smiled at his friend. "What about the invasion?" He asked, turning to look at Sokka.

The boy shook his head. "We'll join up with my dad and the invasion force the day of the eclipse."

Sighing in relief, Aang smiled at Orora. "So you finally decided to take the spot huh?" Orora smiled back at him, reaching up to ruffle his new hair. "Well you need someone as bossy as Katara around don't you? I couldn't let her handle all three of you alone." The group shared a laugh.

Toph turned. "Hey! What's...." She trailed off when she realized that it was Aang's damaged staff she had felt as it washed ashore. "Oh, it's your glider." She said, handing it over to him.

Aang shook his head. "It's okay. If someone saw it, it would give away my identity." Though it burdened his heart to say so, he knew it was for the best. "It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."

He flew up with his glider one final time and stuck it in the semi-solid lava. The delicate wood instantly caught fire, but Aang did not look back as he rejoined his friends and they departed.

                                          ————————–

Zuko slammed the door behind him as he entered his room.

His mind was spinning with all that had just happened.

With all that he had just discovered.

His father was proud of him. He had his father's love again. He had his honor back. He had his title, his home, everything.

All because of a lie.

A lie his sister had told their father.

A lie that wove a story of how he, Zuko, had been the one to kill the Avatar.

"Azula always lies." He whispered to himself, as he stared around his empty room. "She always lies."

He knew she was there before he even turned.

"And yet, you believed everything she said in the catacombs." Amber eyes clashed with a familiar icy blue.

She stood in the center of his room, cool and calm, as was the norm for her. "What if the Avatar is alive?" He whispered, even though he was the only one in the room. Orora frowned. "His name is Aang and if he is, then there is still hope for the world." Her expression softened, prompting him to feel a little annoyed at her.

"Hope is for those who have nothing else to live for." He responded with venom in his voice, not at all mirroring what he really felt. She fixed him with an emotionless expression.

"People always find something to live for Zuko. Hope is what pushes them to find that something." She walked to stand in front of him, head tilted back to look at him properly.

"I found my source of hope and lost it. But I quickly found a new one."

They stared at one another.

"Have you found yours?"

He blinked and she was gone, leaving him feeling more alone then he ever had in his life.

                                          ————————–

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#zuko x reader #avatar the last airbender fanfiction #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #netflix avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar aang #avatar the last airbender imagine #zuko x oc #zuko imagine #atla zuko #fire lord zuko #prince zuko #the thread of fate

[topaz-witch-tea]

✨️Yanqing making flower crowns for everyone✨️

Hello!!!!! I am really sorry for getting to this so late!!!

This prompt is adorable so thank you for sending it to me 🥰

I am finishing this up at 1:47 AM so apologies for any grammar mistakes.

****

"Here!" A crown of red and white flowers was presented to Jingliu. She could smell the small roses and jasmine flowers woven around the green stem base, the overall product was much better compared to her nephew's early works.

She took the garland from Yanqing's hands and placed it on her head. "Thank you, Yanqing. You've gotten better at making them." A beaming smile greeted her before the boy returned to the flowers with her wife, most likely preparing another flower crown for the other attendees at the picnic. The white lion, the ever-present guardian of her beloved nephew, followed him back to the field and made sure not to step on any potential blooms for the tiara.

"His work has gotten better," Yingxing said as he refilled her cup with more peach wine.

"I agree, it suits you, Master." Jing Yuan laughed. Dan Feng nodded in agreement before turning his attention back to watching his child pluck flowers from the field.

The field was part of the Yuan family's private estate, a part of Jing Yuan's inheritance after his parent's passing. They never did agree with his choice to join the Cloud Knights nor did they agree with his decision to marry his husband over settling down with a nice girl and continuing the bloodline. However, he was their only son and ensured their comfort in old age and fulfilled his filial duties until their deaths.

They had not seen each other for quite some time and a group vacation was sorely needed. In the interest of saving money and not worrying about security detail, Jing Yuan had offered up this place. It was far away from the bustling social centers and ensured none of them would be disturbed by outside work. Today was one of the cooler days of the week and Yanqing had pleaded for a picnic outside so who were they to deny such a request?

The estate was nothing too pretentious for a wealthy, influential family but everyone had to admit it was a spectacular garden. The pavilion from where they drank tea was settled above the pond, the water dotted with a splash of pink lotuses and the golden, glimmer of koi fishes. Tall plum trees and sweeping willows were scattered across the garden, providing much-needed shade from the encroaching summer heat. Brightly colored flowers covered much of the area, leaving only a stone path for its inhabitants to navigate.

Now, those stunning flowers were plucked quickly and roughly by an excited little boy as he brought them over to his auntie to be made into flower crowns. If Jing Yuan was any less doting and perhaps more attached to his parent's memories, he may have tried to divert his child's attempt at plucking the peonies or manhandling the jasmine blossoms. Baiheng was no better, encouraging the child in his antics and weaving flower, stem, and leaves in their creation.

Baiheng presented the finished items to Yanqing, who took the garland and ran back to the pavilion. Mimi slowly trotted behind to ensure her young master did not fall into the pond like last time. A crown of small peonies and little white flowers was the design this time and Yingxing was the recipient.

"Baba! Here!" The Furnace Master lowered his head for it to be placed on before pulling Yanqing into a tight hug.

"Ahhh! Baba! That tickles!" Yanqing squirmed before breaking free. "I'm going to get the other one now."

"Watching him run is exhausting me. I don't know how he has that much energy." Jing Yuan said as he watched his child run at full speed through the garden.

"You were the same though. You had so much energy when you were young, it was quite exhausting for all us old folks." Dan Feng's eyes never leave his child, especially after the whole falling into the pond incident.

"You also woke up so early, such a change from when you are now." Yingxing chimed in, remembering how Jing Yuan would wake up at 4:00 AM to train.

Before the general could respond, Yanqing arrived with Baiheng in tow, a bright pink crown of Azalea's adorning her head. The boy ran up to Jing Yuan first, holding a crown of begonias and chrysanthemums.

"A-die! Your turn!" The boy exclaimed. Jing Yuan bowed his head so Yanqing could place his handiwork atop it.

"Thank you, Yanqing." A gentle smile crossed his face as his son smiled proudly at his work.

Yanqing ran back to Baiheng to get the last crown he made. "Here you go, Yanqing."

A crown of magnolias seemed to be the choice for Dan Feng's crown., stark white flowers to match the white flowers on his clothing. Yanqing had originally wanted lotuses but his last attempt at plucking them led to him falling into the water and scaring the koi fishes and his family to death.

"Ba, it's your turn!" Yanqing exclaimed as Dan Feng pulled the boy into his arms. Due to his horns being a bit too tall for his child, he placed the crown on his head by himself.

"Do you like it?" Yanqing looked up at his father.

Dan Feng smiled and hugged the boy tightly. "Yes, I love it very much. I'll figure out a way to prevent the flowers from dying so I can keep them forever."

Yanqing leaned into Dan Feng's embrace, "There's no need! When they die I can make more!"

The rest of them laughed at the boy's proclamation, excited to see his next set of works but also worrying about the future of the garden.

Thank you for reading!!! Please feel free to send me asks or message me to chat!!!

#yanqing #yanqing’s happy family au #jing yuan #dan feng #yingxing #honkai star rail #jingrenheng #hsr #baiheng #jingliu #jingliu x baiheng #Yanqing's happy family au asks

[cowboydisaster]

Princess

originally posted on 9 February, 2023

pairing: Dutch van der Linde x fem!reader

word count: 4k

summary: modern au; After a rough day, Dutch gives you the princess treatment. He draws you a bath, brings you some wine, and reads to you. But what you really need is him, and how could he deny his girl?

a/n: reposting because I need to get on with that, and I haven't in like a week. I feel really bad flooding the tags, so I'm just gonna tag this once and see how it does.

warnings: nsfw, 18+, minors dni (bath tub foreplay, vaginal sex, oral, fingering, overstimulation, praise kink)

[I didn't add the taglist b/c this is a repost! You guys were tagged on the first time, and I don't wanna bug ya <3]

You slam the front door shut a little harder than intended, wincing as the loud bang shatters the silence that was resting peacefully in your apartment. The door hasn’t been working properly for some time, and you usually try to be gentle with it. You don't bother to hang up your purse, instead allowing the tooled leather bag to drop onto the floor. Your cream colored cashmere coat meets the floor next, lumping pathetically on the dark hardwood floor. Your eyes remain on the ground, meaninglessly following the patterns of the wood grain as you fight back tears that are begging to be released.

 

It has been a shit day. One of the sort where everything seems to be falling apart. Your life is changing in more ways than you're comfortable with, and the only thing keeping you grounded, the only thing familiar is him.

Dutch is standing at the kitchen sink, hands deep in the cloudy, sudsy water that is holding a few more dirty dishes. His elbows rest on the granite countertop as he washes and scrubs the last of the day's dinner ware. He washes one last porcelain plate, rinsing it off twice under the warm tap water before setting it up nicely on the drying rack. 

It's then that he hears your items hit the floor. Despite the fact that his phone is on silent, that it rests in between the couch cushions in the living room, with (unbeknownst to him) one heart breaking voicemail from you, he knows something is wrong as soon as you step foot in the door.

Your hair is still tied back in a claw clip from work. It's beginning to give you a dull headache, and the office attire you're wearing suddenly feels too tight around your small frame. Your arms wrap around your torso, and you can feel when he steps into the room. 

"Oh, baby… what happened?" 

His voice is so quiet, his eyes fall when they land on you. Your own sparkling eyes slowly run up the expanse of his body, passing over his dark denim jeans, and his dark tee shirt until you meet his eyes. His dark, chocolate colored orbs soften under your gaze, and his lips part with trepidation. Just one soft stride forward and his arms are around you. 

To be enveloped by him, swaddled by his embrace, is to know comfort. He holds you like a barrier, protecting you from any outside dangers or threats. When you fall into his arms, everything else melts away. Worries and concerns muddle together somewhere far away and forgotten, just for a moment, as he holds you. His chin rests on top of your head and his arms circle around your shoulders. The heat from his chest radiates as you nuzzle your nose into him. A few of your tears drip down, darkening his shirt.

"It was a really hard day Dutch… I-" you begin, interrupted by your small hiccup. At the noise, Dutch squeezes his arms a little tighter around you. 

"Why don't I run you a bath? We can talk about it then if you want, my love." Dutch whispers against your hair. Lightly, you nod. 

---

The smell of lavender and lemongrass wafts from the open bathroom door, swirling through the air carried by warm steam from the bathtub. You can see into the adjoined bathroom from your position in the bedroom as you struggle to remove your clothes. It has been the kind of day that drains you, that makes the simplest of tasks seem impossible. 

Dutch is down on his knees, checking the temperature of the water from the tap. The water reflects off his fingers, encasing them in warm, clear liquid. He swirls the water slowly, creating a pile of bubbles that foam and pop against his hands. 

"It's done, princess. Are you ready?" Dutch asks, hands resting on his belt as he pushes himself up and steps into the bedroom. 

His eyes land on you as you struggle to unclasp your bra. Defeated, with tear streaks running down your face, you reach behind your back, unable to unclasp the plastic hooks. 

"Come on, my dear. I can do it." Dutch mumbles, motioning for you to step toward him. 

His hands are warm against your back as he expertly unclips the black lace and slides it down over your arms. The pile of mesh hits the floor with a soft thud. 

"Thank you." You mumble, looking up to Dutch with an indescribable emotion as he leads you by the small of your back towards the footed porcelain tub. You're not just talking about his help with your clothes, you're thanking him for being here, for helping you. The water is cloudy with soap, accentuated by the dim candles that Dutch has situated around the room. A light hum of music from his radio reaches your ears from the kitchen. 

"Of course." 

Dutch helps you settle down into the water, and you practically groan at the release of tension in your muscles. Lavender and lemongrass swirl up to your nose, ridding you of your headache and filling you with tranquility. The back of your head rests against the lip of the tub, and your hair falls onto the outside in order to stay dry. 

Dutch picks up a soft cotton washcloth, dipping it into the foamy water until it has soaked up enough. A small amount of wash is added to the cloth before he brings it towards your face. His touch is so gentle, lightly brushing the cloth against your skin until the makeup from the day has been washed down and mixed into the water below. The sweet scent of the bath along with Dutch’s steady breathing relaxes you into a sleepy state. It’s entirely calming, him cleaning you up. He takes his time, running the warm soapy cloth against your chest and back. He doesn’t miss the way you shudder as he washes your breasts and your thighs. In fact, the small movements, the subtle arch of your back drives him wild, but he’s a gentleman. After being rinsed, you soak down lower into the bath, smiling up at Dutch. His hands remain in the water, tracing lines across your hip. A soapy hand gently grips onto Dutch’s chin, pulling him down to kiss you. As he pulls away, you glance into his chocolate colored eyes, hoping for just one more little favor from him. 

"Will you read to me?" You ask, taking your hand out of the water to place it over Dutch's.

Dutch grabs the book from the kitchen, returning with it and a glass of red wine for you. His rings clink against the glass as he hands it down to you, settling against the tub with his book. Your eyes drift shut as you sip at your wine, waiting for Dutch to begin. 

"The real America can only be found, not in desires, but in the purity of its landscape." 

Ah, he's reading Evelyn Miller's American Inferno. Of course he is, ever the lover of philosophy, your lover. A small smile cracks through your lips as he continues. 

"Men are fixated on greed, on desire, and on the acquisition not of experiences or pleasures but the ability to acquire."

You ponder over the meaning of Miller's words for a bit. Philosophy is rather boring in your eyes, you would prefer a good romance novel over the philosophy of American greed any day. But, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what Dutch is reading because he's reading it. His voice soothes you, as does the red wine, probably a little more than what's good. 

After a while of sipping your drink and listening to Dutch, a slight buzz is thrumming through your veins, just enough to take the edge off. The water has grown a little colder, but you dare not get out and disrupt the perfection of this moment. The hand not holding your wine glass extends out of the bath to tuck a fallen piece of hair behind Dutch's ear. He's so handsome, dark hair contrasting his olive skin in the candlelight. His eyes are dark, pupils full blown as he reads. At your touch, his eyes trail over to you, stopping for just a second to look at your exposed, soapy breasts. 

"You're so beautiful." Dutch whispers. Your skin glistens in the light from the water and soap that clings to it. Your cheeks flush pink at his compliment, and your eyes travel down to the suds below you. After a few moments of admiring you, Dutch returns to the book. 

"Man is reduced to the desire for desire. Wanting is all that matters. Not loving, not being, not having, but wanting." Dutch whispers, dipping his other hand into the bathtub to trace lines down your thigh. Your breath quickens, pupils blown with lust at his touch.

"Mr. Miller is wrong on that account..." You whisper, taking Dutch's hand in your own underneath the soapy water. Your eyes are locked onto Dutch's as you continue. 

"Man can want, love, desire and need. It matters, I've seen that it does, with you." 

The hand that is holding onto Dutch's guides his fingers between your legs. His cold rings contrast greatly with the warm water, as he draws circles on your inner thigh. 

"So you're suggesting that I've managed to break the systematic fault that Mr Miller writes so unfondly of?" Dutch asks, eyebrow raised with a smirk as he pinches the soft skin of your thigh. 

"I'm saying that he knows nothing about man, about you, if he thinks that it's too far above him to desire, to love and to need." 

At your words, Dutch raises an eyebrow, tongue licking over his bottom lip and resting there as he pushes two fingers inside of you. You almost drop your wine, setting it down on the side of the tub as Dutch stretches his fingers in a scissoring motion. Your hand grips onto Dutch's forearm, hair dipping slightly into the bath as you toss your head back. 

"Even in all this water I can feel how drenched you are for me. I can feel you dripping." Dutch growls. 

He curls his fingers up, smirking with a raised eyebrow when you whimper, digging your nails into his forearm. With no warning, Dutch pulls his fingers out of you. You whimper at the loss, confused, until Dutch grabs a big, fluffy gray towel from the bathroom cupboard and extends his hand out to you. He’s warmed it in the dryer, making the cotton even more inviting. You take it, sitting up out of the water and stepping out of the porcelain bath. Immediately wrapping the towel around your shoulders. 

"Why don't I get you dried up..." Dutch says, brushing a fallen hair out of your face before leaning into your ear so close that his mustache tickles your earlobe. 

"Then I'll get you wet again, how's that sound princess?" Dutch whispers, causing your eyes to flutter shut as a wave of need pulses through your body. 

—

Now dried from your bath, you squeak when Dutch tosses you backwards onto the couch. The plush is soft against your bare skin as Dutch leans over you, meeting your lips in a hungry kiss. His lips are warm, and they taste like the scotch he’s been drinking combined with your wine. For a second he pulls away, but only to kneel on the floor before the couch, leaning in to kiss your jaw as you moan. 

"Tonight's about you. Only you, baby." Dutch whispers against your heated skin, gently nipping at your collarbone. His hands grip onto your hips, thumb rubbing circles against your hip bone while his lips trail down between your breasts, placing soft kisses to the tender skin. Oh, you love him so. If he could have it his way he would please you over and over again without a care for his own pleasure. For Dutch, the best part is watching you unfold. 

"I can't just- I have to give you something in return." You moan as Dutch's fingers ghost over your hardened nipples. 

"Nonsense." Dutch whispers, kissing down your midsection until he rests between your legs. Your stomach aches with want as you spread your knees for Dutch. 

He's gentle and slow, leaning down to kiss the inside of your right knee. Nothing can be heard but your quickening breaths as Dutch snakes his arms under your knees, pulling your hips closer towards the edge of the couch, closer to his mouth. 

"D-Dutch?" You ask, unsure of his advances, your relationship is quite new, and Dutch hasn't gone this route with you yet. His dark eyes meet your own, glancing up from between your trembling legs. 

"Oh, my dear…" Dutch whispers, hand coming up to brush his knuckles against your cheek. His golden rings are cold against your cheekbone, and a shiver runs up your spine.

"Trust me." Dutch asks of you. His eyes are deep with sincerity and you watch his tongue dart out over his lips for a second before you relax, nodding to him. All he has done for you, all he has given you, and Dutch has never once lied. The nerves that were tightening in your gut melt away. He loves you, more than anything, and you can trust him.

“Okay, I do, I trust you…”

Featherlight fingers trail down your thighs, massaging the tender skin. It sets your skin alive, just his hands on your legs. He traces the goosebumps, trailing down your knee.

"My beautiful girl…” Dutch growls. 

He lifts your knees over his shoulders, placing them on either side of his head before moving inward. Wet, needy kisses are pressed to the insides of your thighs, dripping with your wetness in the candlelight. His needy breaths are warm on your thighs as he works on a particular spot, kissing, sucking and nipping all the like. A dark purple mark makes itself evident against your skin and Dutch eyes it with pride. Your breath hitches as he runs his thumb over the mark. 

“Mine.” He growls, to which you nod. 

“Yours, all yours Dutch. P-Please no more teasing, I-” you whimper, bucking your hips up in search of any type of friction. The throbbing between your legs has grown tenfold and you can feel your pulse quickening.

Dutch glances up to you, and you look so pretty before him, face flushed and eyes squinted shut as you grip onto the tops of your thighs. Your legs are trembling on his shoulders with pure want. If you asked, he would get you the moon. How could he ever deny you? His needy girl… so beautiful.

“Sorry princess, teased too much. I’ll take care of you now, just relax for me.” Dutch whispers against your heated skin. Your head rests back against the couch cushion, and you try to steady your breathing. It hitches in your throat when two thick fingers stretch into your cunt, curling up slowly. The pressure builds right in that sweet spot. His tongue finds your clit, and he flicks over it in rhythm with his fingers. The sensations he sends through you are blinding, seizing away any type of rational thoughts from your mind. The moans start falling from your parted lips and you can’t stop them if you try. Little wisps of hair cling to your face with a mixture of sweat and bathwater, but you can't bring yourself to brush them out of your face, too wrapped up in sensations.

“Goddamnit, you taste so good for me.” Dutch whispers against your core, warm breath against your clit sending a shiver up your spine. 

Any former worries from the day fall away as Dutch takes care of you. The sight of you, spread before him just begging for his touch drives him wild. He wants for nothing more than to take you right now, over and over, watching those breathy little whimpers fall from your lips as you cum again and again, but you deserve nothing short of the princess treatment. Dutch’s mouth pulls away for a split second, and he glances up to your fluttering eyelashes with a smirk. 

“Do you like that? Like how I’m touching your cunt?” Dutch growls, fixating on the contortions of your face as he pumps his fingers. Pleased with your quick nods, Dutch chuckles as you grip his hair and push his head back down in between your legs. Almost too quickly, you can feel the waves of pleasure rolling over you, crashing waves and drowning you all the like. Your thighs clamp down on Dutch’s head, and even then he doesn’t stop, working you with his mouth and hands until your climax peaks and falls. The noises you make- God, they drive him mad. His cock is hard pressed against the foot of the couch where he kneels, from your noises alone. You release his hair from your iron grip, apologizing lightly as you bring your knees down off of his shoulders. Your clit throbs from overstimulation and you wince slightly as you readjust yourself. Really it’s not a big deal, but of course he notices. Dutch’s brows draw together at your wince and he leans up from between your knees until he’s face to face.

“Too sensitive? Need a break?” Dutch asks, brushing the wet pieces of hair behind your ears. His mustache is glistening with your slick, causing a blush to form across your cheeks. He’s naughty. 

“Just for a few minutes, I’m sorry.” You whisper, placing your hands on his chest. 

Dutch smiles crookedly, running a finger from the jut of your jaw down to your chin. 

“Oh, my dear… don’t apologize. It only gives me more time to wind you up.” 

With a deep chuckle that causes your breath to hitch, Dutch brings his hands up to your breasts. Kisses are peppered along the underside of your jaw as Dutch makes slow circles around your hardened nipples. Subconsciously, you press your torso against his hands, leaning into his touch as you moan. Both hands wrap around his neck, and you grip into him like a lifeline. He presses his ring against your nipple. Its cold, hard surface almost has you climaxing before it's pulled away and replaced with his mouth. Kisses and gentle bites are pressed against your breasts as he works on a spot, leaving behind a few deliciously dark marks. You feel ready, the ache between your legs has been replaced with another blinding wave of arousal. Signaling this, you thrust your hips up against him, moaning when his cock brushes against your folds. 

“I could touch you like this all day, hear those sweet moans, hear you crying out my name. Shit, princess.” Dutch groans as you grind against him. 

He stands up from the ground, keeping his arm outstretched to you as he sits down beside you on the couch. You’re a little confused, and the crease between your eyebrows makes itself evident until he reaches over and pulls you into his lap. You straddle his thighs, facing him and wrapping your arms around his neck. This position gives you leverage to choose your own pace, it'll also provide deeper penetration, which you’re glad for. 

You lean in to catch his lips, relishing in the taste of whiskey combined with your slick. His lips alternate between soft and greedy, like he’s trying to hold himself back. You pull away with a cocky grin, leaning up to allow him entrance. 

“Don’t hold back, Mr. van der Linde.” You chastise, sliding the whole way down onto his length.  The groan that tears through the air is nothing short of heavenly. Hell, you could climax on the spot from the sound alone. His hands hold onto your hips with an iron-like grip, leaving bruises as he lifts you up a little, only to ram back into you. His hips are vulgarly slapping against the flesh of your ass as you lean against his chest. His dark chest hair brushes against your stiffened nipples with every thrust, sending waves of pleasure through your body with every movement. 

“My pretty girl, you’re so good for me.” Dutch growls, fucking up into you. You rock your hips in motion with his, riding him as he takes you. Your nails leave little scratches from where they dig into his back and neck, but you don’t notice, head thrown back as you cry out his name. He digs his nose into your neck, kissing and nipping at your pulse point while one hand snakes between your bodies to massage your clit. 

“Yeah, I know you like that, princess. Let me hear that beautiful voice.” Dutch commands, hips thrusting erratically as you moan his name. It sounds so much more beautiful coming from your lips. He never thought the name ‘Dutch’ to be anything special, but oh to hear this? To hear you crying out his name as you ride him? Well he would do anything to stay in this moment.

Tightness pools in your gut and you feel the cliff that you’re approaching. Your legs burn from rocking against Dutch’s hips, but you can’t bring yourself to mind. You’re too drunk on pleasure to care. 

“Oh, I’m so close, Dutch- so close. Don’t stop.” You beg, digging your groin down against his fingers harder, and clenching at the friction. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it, my dear.” 

Taking the cue from your needy whines and the way you’re dragging your clit against his hand, Dutch picks up the pace. He thrusts up into you hard, driven by the divine sounds that you’re making. He uses his hands, and rings, to his advantage, stimulating your sensitive bud with the cool metal as he circles it. 

Dutch groans when he feels the clench of your thighs around his legs, the constricting of your walls around his shaft. Blinding pleasure shoots through you like a shockwave, tightening every muscle and causing you to rock against Dutch with whimpering, shuddering breaths. He works you through it, keeping a steady pace as he talks you through it. 

“My good girl, that's it. Shhh… easy, easy” Dutch coos, sliding in and out as he rubs your clit. It’s almost too much. You shudder against him, hands clamping down on his shoulders as your moans echo loudly throughout the house. If you hadn’t already woken up your neighbors, surely they’re up now. His name falls from your lips like a mantra, for a few moments you can’t form any type of coherent speech other than the words: “ohh,” “yes!” and “Dutch!”

Not that he's complaining…

As you come down from your orgasm, whimpering and whining at the overstimulation of his hips thrusting into you, he feels his own approaching. 

"Oh, baby. I'm gonna-" Dutch begins, but you interrupt him by crashing your lips against his own. Immediately you allow him access to your mouth, and he laps your taste up like a starved man. His mustache brushes along your lips as he bites the lower one, causing a little pain to shoot through it before he licks the spot and eases it. 

His thrusts grow quick, sporadic and untamed and you breath hotly as he hits your sweet spot with every movement. One last deep thrust and a guttural groan that teats through the room like a knife, he spills his spend inside of you. You lean your forehead against his own, sweat dripping down your skin as Dutch whispers. 

"Feeling better then?" 

You nod against him, not moving in order to soak up every ounce of this moment. 

"I love you…" Your voice falters for a moment, overcome with emotion from the way Dutch has taken care of you. He's heard your admissions of love before, but this time it is so raw that his heart cracks. 

"I love you too, princess… Now c'mon. Between the two of us, it appears we're gonna need to run another bath." 

#dutch van der linde x reader #dutch van der linde #dutch x reader #dutch van der linde x female reader #dutch van der linde smut #rdr2 dutch #rdr2 fanfiction

[smolghostbot]

Patchwork Melody - Summer

Part two of the four-part story, the part where Patch and Melody are forced together into their "status quo". Link to part one here. Dashes denote a POV change.

Word Count: 7.2k! I think this is the longest part, but boy it's a little bit long I'm sorry... CWs: The main "conflict" of this chapter is confronting Patch's past abuse. So. Yeah. No explicit details are given for any actions, but kidnapping, physical contact, and scars are mentioned. There's also a brief onset of a panic attack, though it doesn't progress as much as the one in Spring.

Tag list: @gt-daboss @reborrowing

=====

Part 1

Patch stared up at the human, who seemed to have a slightly different eye color (maybe a trick of the light?), but was unmistakably Melody, the human who had allegedly “accidentally” kidnapped them not two weeks prior. The human was wearing a bright yellow sundress, contrasting the somewhat dark and dingy alley… and making it frankly embarrassing that the sprite is just now noticing them. Seriously? This human is big even by their standards, how do they keep sneaking up on me like this!?

While they could try to run, should try to run, they instead felt compelled to give a single small head nod, silently giving the human a chance to say whatever they want. With their arm feeling better, and knowing their enemy this time, they'd be able to escape a bit easier if push came to shove… hopefully.

Melody started off by asking a simple question, "How, uh… I guess you're still hanging around here, huh?", which garnered a simple cautious nod from Patch.

"Oh, cool. Um, have you… been by my door at all? Not like, in a weird way, but…" Melody trailed off, as Patch nodded their head, getting a surprised reaction from Mel.

"Oh! You have! Did you, um, get any of the apples? I was wondering if I was feeding you or just the local rats, y'know…" Patch gave another simple nod, this time accompanied by a soft bow.

"Nice! I'm… glad I could help you out. Is your arm feeling better?" Patch remained still at this question, afraid of giving away their secret defense.

"That's fine, you don't have to answer. So… you don't have to answer this either, but, if you're still around here, maybe we could… meet up again? On better terms. Maybe… tomorrow evening, at sunset. By my porch? We can both sit as far apart as you want and I could maybe just, ask some questions? You don't have to agree now or anything and I totally get it if you don't want to. But I just… I feel this need to make it up to you. I know, I know, I'm acknowledging a debt, but… there is one. I'll, uh, bring snacks, too."

Patch was silent, thinking about this. The human could easily catch up to them again, why would they set a trap like this? Why even lure them back in after freeing them? To savor the betrayal? Was this some kind of long con? No. She didn't know I was here. That face was clearly one of surprise. What's the plan here?

"Okay, well… this alleyway, uh, is kind of dark and sucks, and not super safe for me to just be standing around in… so I'm just… gonna go inside now”, Melody stated, with an air of awkwardness in her tone, as if coming up with an excuse on the spot, “But just… remember what I said. Sunset, front porch."

And with that, Patch watched in curiosity as she walked away from them, again.

The next evening, against their better judgment, the sprite made their way to the apartment door they recognized from the little flower bed outside of it, where they had been abducted previously. Why am I here? I shouldn’t be here… but she did promise food, they reasoned, and food was in short supply at the moment.

Sure enough, Melody was sitting there, on the ground, wearing an outfit similar to when they first met, though the shirt had a different figure on it. Unsure how to make their presence known, Patch walked closer to the human, fear in every step as they looked around, worried not only about Melody spotting them, but any other humans as well. As usual for this area, nobody tended to walk around, which was good. After all, that's why the sprite had set up shop around this building anyways.

Patch's thoughts were interrupted as Melody called out to them, her voice soft yet projecting, "Oh, it's you! You actually showed up!"

Patch awkwardly took a few steps back, keeping well more than a human arm's length between them, which caused the human to sigh softly.

"Okay, if that's where you're comfortable. I promised snacks, so here you go, I was out of apples so I figured a pear slice might be good? To be honest, I don't know what you actually eat… maybe you could tell me, and I could bring that next time?"

Mel gently placed the pear slice as far away from themself as possible, and watched as Patch walked over and tried to drag it just a little bit farther away.

-

Patch nodded and bowed as they began to take bites of the fresh fruit, once again eating around the skin of the fruit, which Mel watched with fascination.

"So… I noticed you never eat the skin of the fruits… should I peel them for you next time? If… If there is a next time." At that, Patch nodded.

"Oh, that reminds me, sorry, um, so I don't know if this helps, but, I figured since you can't talk, we could communicate like this!" Mel said, as she picked up a notepad next to her and reached out to place it near where the pear slice was placed. Once again, Patch tried to pull it even farther out of reach, but when they failed to move the heavy notepad, Mel took the initiative and scooted themself away from the small figure slightly.

"You can draw on there, I have a pencil if you need it, I could maybe break off a piece of the lead for you?"

Immediately, Patch's eyes lit up, and they swung their backpack over their (better) shoulder, reaching into the bag and pulling out their own little piece of pencil lead.

"Oh! You just, uh… had that, huh? Okay. Well then… What does your kind eat? So I can get you more types of food, if you want to keep doing, you know, this."

Patch started drawing at once, doodling little drawings that Mel couldn't quite make out from how far away she was sitting. After the little being stopped drawing, he stepped away from the notepad, and resumed eating the pear after putting the pencil lead away. Melody took the chance to scoot forward again and grab the notepad. Looking over the drawings, she was amazed at the quality, considering how fast Patch drew the figures on the page. Several different fruits, vegetables, and grains that Mel recognized were drawn, as well as some things that she wouldn't expect, grass, flower petals, and seeds that she couldn't identify. "I see… so you eat plants… are you some kind of herbivore?"

The confusion on Patch's face was obvious, even from the distance Melody was sitting. Once again, she chuckled as his little head tilted in confusion, his large ears flopping a bit as he did. "Sorry, a herbivore is a type of animal that eats plants. Like, they don't eat other animals or bugs or anything. Is that right?

Patch nodded affirmatively as they finished eating the slice of pear. Afterwards, they cautiously began to back away, having fulfilled the deal of answering a question in exchange for food.

"Ah… okay, I guess I get one question a day, then? Fair enough, if you want to answer one question for a snack then that works. Um… I'll be here tomorrow, too, if you want more. I'll try to bring something different, too, and make sure you get lots of different foods to eat."

Melody stood up, startling Patch, who began to back up faster, before they noticed that the human was moving towards her building's door. "See you tomorrow, then?"

The sprite cautiously nodded their head yes as they turned and left.

-

For the next several weeks, this pattern continued, with Patch showing up to Melody's patio every day to answer another question in exchange for a piece of fresh food. Throughout those weeks, Melody learned much more about the little being and his people. He was an adult, yet only ten years old, apparently about the equivalent of being in his early 20s. He enjoyed drawing, and had a real talent for it. His people live around humans normally, and scavenge things that the humans don’t need in order to survive, but Patch wouldn't elaborate on why they did that. For every answered question, the curious human had three more. Even despite that, Melody had grown to appreciate these little talks, though each one was only a few minutes long at best. And, the best part to her was that Patch seemed to be slowly growing more comfortable around her, no longer quite as skittish as he had been earlier in the summer.

As Melody sat at work, looking through the notepad and reminiscing about the previous weeks, remembering each conversation based on the drawing, she was already thinking about more questions to ask her new friend. There were still a few unanswered questions that she wanted answered, but wasn’t sure how to ask. After all, she was still terrified of losing the trust she was slowly building with this tiny creature, that she still couldn’t name. Her new little friend could draw most things, but she still couldn’t decipher the writing system he used. Research at work had given no results, which was maybe to be expected when dealing with a mysterious secretive being, but still. Melody would have killed to know what her new friend was, and what their real name was.

Part 2

“Hey Patch! I wasn’t sure if you were going to show up today, with how cloudy it is. Guess I’m just that irresistible, huh?” Melody said with a wink, as Patch rolled his eyes. In truth, the sprite was counting on Melody bringing food today, they had no luck scavenging recently… not that they would tell the human that.

“I’m just kidding, don’t worry. Anyways, I wasn’t sure what to bring today, but I got some berries at the store, and figured you could bring the leftovers home with you!” At that, Melody placed a few berries near the sprite, a couple of raspberries, blueberries, and most tantalizing of all to Patch, a strawberry, almost half the size of the sprite. He wasted no time taking the berries, wrapping each one in fabric, and shoving them into his backpack, before grabbing a tiny knife out of his bag and beginning to cut into the strawberry.

“Woah, okay, berries was a good idea then. But hold on, you know the deal, now I get to ask a question. And, I was thinking today I would maybe ask a tough question, so if you don’t want to answer it just let me know and I’ll ask a backup question.”

Ah, there’s the catch, thought the sprite, who had been thinking that this was too good to be true. Still, in the spirit of not offending the human, they waited to hear out her question.

“So… you’ve told me a lot about your kind, but I want to know more about you. So… what’s your story? When we, uh… first met, you mentioned another human who was, um… not nice. What happened there?”

Patch was as still as a statue as they heard the question. The sprite had done a good job of almost forgetting about them, and now they were being asked to describe them… how to even begin to sum up that time… and in drawings, no less. They would struggle to even speak about it, if that was an option for the mute sprite.

-

An awkward moment passed between the two, with Patch frozen in deep thought, before Mel started to worry that they had offended their little friend. “Okay, okay, no worries, uhh I had the backup question, remember? New question, forget about that person. No need to bring up bad memories. Um… so… do you have a favorite animal?”

The unamused expression on Patch’s face made it clear that he caught her bluff about the question being planned in advance, but regardless, he relented and motioned for the notepad. After he finished drawing, Mel noticed Patch continuing to mark something, this time on the back of the page. She paid it no mind, figuring he would show her when he finished, but she was surprised when Patch folded the page back over as if nothing happened. Getting the idea, Melody decided to ignore it, figuring she would check it later.

“Okay, so what do we have here… Oh my gosh, is this what I think it is?” Melody cried with delight as she took in the drawing of one of Patch’s kind, distinguished by the giant ears, riding on either a rat or mouse (Melody couldn’t tell), wearing some kind of saddle and harness, as if it were a mount. “Do… do your people ride on rodents like this for real?”, she said, awe in her eyes. As Patch nodded yes, Melody began to squeal with excitement. “Oh my gosh, that’s adorable! Do you have a little mouse friend?” Patch shook his head no, but Mel continued to coo at the idea. “Oh, that would be the most precious thing ever!”

Finally, after the human calmed down, a silence overcame the both of them as Melody watched the little being eat the strawberry with fascination. Patch ate individual seeds, dipping them in the juice of the strawberry. It was fascinating to Melody, but the look they got from Patch told her that their staring was making him uncomfortable. “Oops, sorry, sorry. I just can’t help it, you’re so cute when you eat! But I’ll mind my own business, sorry.”

After eating almost half of the strawberry, and removing most of the seeds, Patch finally seemed full, putting his little knife back in his bag. As he went to leave, his ears twitched moments before the sound of thunder was heard. Melody could hardly get a farewell out before the little being ran off in a panic as a few sparse raindrops fell to the ground. As Melody went inside, she hoped that Patch got home safe.

It wasn’t until the next morning that Mel remembered the back of the notepad. Taking a glance at it, she saw what was clearly a detailed drawing of a hamster cage… with a small figure inside, distinguished by their large, pointed ears.

Mel’s stomach dropped a bit at this, as she was unsure what to make of the situation. Was this… literal? A metaphor? She made a mental note to ask Patch for a follow-up… but the next time she saw him, she couldn’t bring herself to ask, remembering how distressed he was last time. He would tell them when he was ready, they reasoned.

Part 3

A few days later, it was all over the news: A tropical storm was coming. Everybody was preparing for it, people panicking and going to the stores for supplies, taking off of work, planning safety routes. But Melody could only think of one person, that being Patch. The last she had seen him was in that alleyway. Where was he living? Would he be safe? He probably doesn’t even know about the storm, thought Melody. That afternoon, umbrella in hand to combat the rain, Mel returned to the spot where she had seen Patch earlier in the summer, and gently called out in a whisper, “Hey, Patch, are you around?”

-

Patch rolled over in their makeshift shelter, nestled between the bricks in the dark alley they had called home for several months. It was more like a nest than a proper home, made out of an assortment of discarded fabrics and materials, used to keep body heat in and the elements out. It was the middle of the day, which would normally be when Patch would go out to try and borrow, however, traveling through the rain at their size was an exercise in futility. Patch chose instead to remain at home, conserving energy and heat by taking a lazy day. It wasn’t until they heard that familiar voice calling for them that they decided to wake up and investigate.

“Listen, I don’t know where you’re hanging out, or if you can ever hear me… I might just be talking to myself… but please come by later today, okay? I really need to talk to you…” Patch was a bit concerned with the urgency in the human’s voice, as she normally spoke in a relaxed manner, except for… that one time. Putting on their backpack, and grabbing a piece of plastic to use as a makeshift umbrella, Patch left their little nest, being sure to approach the human in such a way that she wouldn’t know where they came from.

-

Mel was relieved as they saw the tiny form of Patch walking near, using a discarded yogurt lid as a little umbrella. “Oh, thank the gods, you were still here! I was worried I was talking to myself… listen, we need to talk, this is important.”

She kneeled down, cringing slightly as her knee rested on the rainy concrete, but she disregarded it quickly as she focused on delivering her message. “Listen, there’s a big storm coming, and the worst of it will be here in the next few days. I don’t… know where you’re living right now,” Mel said, as they looked around the alleyway, wondering where Patch had actually emerged from, “But… I just wanted to let you know that it’s going to be pretty bad. And… if you don’t have anywhere to stay, um… I figured you could… stay with me?”

Melody immediately saw the apprehension in Patch’s body language as he took a hesitant step back.

“Whoa, whoa, don’t run, don’t run, listen. I… uh… saw that drawing… and I want to assure you, this is nothing like that. I just… I want you to be safe. You wouldn’t be… whatever the situation was last time. You’d just be a guest, staying for a few days until the storm passes, and then you can leave, I swear it. Hell, if you want to leave during the storm, you can too, though I don’t know why. Consider it a promise, a pact, whatever you want. I just want you to be safe.” At that, the human put her free hand over her heart, before extending it towards Patch, held as if she was going in for a handshake. Melody still didn’t know if Patch was technically a fae, but they felt like treating this with that much severity was still the right thing to do.

-

Patch was torn. Melody had seen the drawing, and they clearly already had guesses based on the last time… Patch knew they meant well, but couldn’t avoid thinking of the situation. Once again, they’re being approached by a human in an alleyway, being promised safety and protection… memories flooded back of the last time this happened, of how that human acted so sickly sweet to them for all of a single evening before… could they trust that Melody wouldn’t do the same? Sprites were particularly sensitive to the weather, Patch knew that the human wasn’t lying about the approaching storm. The decision caused them to start breathing heavily, weighing two options that both seemed risky. They could chance staying outside during a natural disaster, in a shelter barely protected from wind, or risk the human showing their true colors like the last one did. Was this truly good intent, or was it the long con, spending weeks gaining the sprite’s trust just so they could be thrown into a box like some kind of prize? Patch tried to think rationally, but their thoughts began to spiral as their chest tightened, worried about making the wrong choice.

“Patch? You okay?”, the human said, pulling her hand back.

Hearing the nickname snapped them back to the present slightly, enough to assess the situation a bit more rationally. If they stay out here with that storm coming… they die. If they go with the human, Melody… even in the worst case, they’ll live. Probably.

Still panicking, chest pounding heavy, they held out a hand, mirroring Melody’s earlier gesture. As the human reached back out towards Patch, the sprite winced, only to have Mel gently poke their outstretched hand with her index finger, in a sort of facsimile of a handshake. They remained there for a moment, staring at each other, before Melody spoke.

“It’ll be different this time, I promise,” Mel said, determination in her voice. “Do you… want me to carry you to my apartment, or do you want to walk there?”

Patch took a step back, and bent down, placing their hand on the ground palm-up. Melody got the cue and mimicked the motion, waiting to see what would happen, before Patch climbed onto her hand. A small shiver ran up her arm as the sprite climbed aboard, his tiny wet footsteps moving around on her palm before he sat down, and looked up at the human, nodding his head. Very slowly, and a bit clumsily, Melody stood up, before very slowly walking towards her apartment, her guest in tow.

Part 4

“Okay, well, um, let me formally welcome you this time to my apartment. It’s not much, and it may be a bit unsafe for you to go wandering, but make yourself at home regardless,” Melody said, as she opened the door, “I could, um, put you down on the floor, if you want, but I’d feel a bit better if I could put you down on a table. So we could be more eye-to-eye, you know.”

It took a moment and a glance from the sprite before Melody realized the odd sentence structure, quickly rephrasing in a way that her mute friend could answer easily. “Sorry… Just point where you want to go, I guess.”

After a moment of deliberation, Patch pointed to Melody’s coffee table, a shorter table that they could easily climb down if need be. The human nodded and gently placed her hand palm-up on the table, letting Patch walk off, though it was more of a stumble. The human sat down on the floor in front of the couch, such that Patch was at her shoulder height. Afterwards, the two of them looked at each other with uncertainty, both anxious about what the next few days would look like.

“So…”, the human mused idly, unsure what to do now, “Um… are you, uh… hungry? Thirsty? Need anything?” Patch shook their head in a no, although truthfully, they were a little hungry, as always. However, the sight of Melody standing up from a sitting position always made Patch anxious, being such a reminder of the vast height difference between the two. Instead, the two of them sat around for a moment, before Melody broke the silence again. “Do you like games? We could play like… a board game or something. I don’t know. Honestly, I’ve never really, uh… had a guest over before. That’s pretty sad, huh?”

Patch took a moment to think, before having an idea of what to do, they just hoped Melody would understand. After doing an exaggerated confused tilt of their head, they pointed to a nearby book, hoping to start a conversation about it. “Oh, that? That’s just a book I’ve been reading through.”

After another awkward silence, Patch smacked their palm against their face and began another approach. They made mouth shapes with each hand, and began pantomiming the two hands talking to each other. It took a moment before the human seemed to realize what they were doing. “Oh! Sorry, you’re trying to start a conversation, aren’t you. Oops… Ok, um, let me try again,” With that, Melody began to speak a bit more on the book Patch had pointed to. “It’s, um, about this vampire, well, she doesn’t start the story as a vampire, but it’s not really a spoiler because it’s part of the premise, but it doesn’t happen until partway through the first book, but anyways she has to find this guy-”

Patch was desperately trying to keep up as Melody began to ramble about some kind of creature called a “vampire”, nodding their head and tilting their head when they needed clarification. This side of Melody was a far cry from the stuttery mess that Patch was speaking to just a moment ago. It wasn’t exactly the conversation Patch had in mind, but it was oddly endearing watching Melody speak so passionately about something.

“- So then by the third act of this book she has to choose whether to embrace her vampire side or side with the humans and it’s this really great story and that’s where I’m at right now… sorry, I’ve been talking for ages, ”

Patch nodded, still trying to process the conversation. The concept was interesting for sure, and in some ways, they could relate… not that they could express that to the human.

“Sorry, I get pretty excited when I talk about books sometimes, heh. But hey, look at the time, it’s about dinner time and I’m ready for some food… What about you?”

Patch’s eyes went wide as they stared at the giant red eyes of the human in front of them, and the toothy grin on her face. She’s… just teasing, right? She doesn’t mean…

-

Melody was beyond confused as her little friend suddenly seemed terrified as soon as she mentioned food, backing away from her slowly. “Are you… not hungry? What’s with the face? Where are you going? What happened? What did I say?”

After a moment, Patch seemed to turn red with embarrassment, as he bashfully scratched his head behind one of his ears. He waved his hand dismissively, before motioning to his stomach to confirm that he was indeed hungry.

Melody couldn’t even grasp what Patch had been set off by. “No, seriously, what was that? What happened, so I don’t say it again? Was there like, a specific word?”

After noticing Patch go completely still and silent, seeming lost in though, Melody decided to simply sigh and continue on. “Well, I’m just gonna… go get the food now, then. I actually made a salad yesterday, so you can have some vegetables from that if you want." The human left, and a moment later returned with two plates of greens, one containing only one or two pieces of each item in the salad. “Here you go, bon appetit!”, The human said with a flourish as she placed both plates on the table, with the smaller portion placed near Patch. The little being seemed afraid of climbing onto the plate, but after an encouraging nod from Mel, he stepped up and began to eat, using his own small utensils from his bag. Melody watched with confusion as Patch went out of his way to position himself such that he was facing away from her.

Part 5

After the meal, which was slightly awkward without any conversation, Melody tried to think of what to do next. “I guess… the next step is to figure out where you’re gonna be sleeping tonight. Not that we’re going to bed now, but just to plan, you know,” the human said, closing her eyes in thought. “I mean, the obvious choice is the couch, but what to give you for a blanket… it’s way too hot out for somebody so small to use one of my throw blankets. I don’t really have anything small and light, aside from, I don’t know, a sock or something.”

Patch shook his little head aggressively no at that, with a fervor that Mel hadn’t seen in a while from him. “Okay, yeah… I mean, I was thinking of this one soft pair I have, but I guess maybe that would be weird. I guess the only other thing I have would be a washcloth? It would be a bit of a rough texture, but it would do for a few nights, if you want.”

Melody made a square with her fingers, roughly indicating the size of the cloth. Seeing that, Patch accepted, and Melody nodded her head to match his own motion. “Got it, I’ll get one for you later. For now, um, want to sit on the couch and watch TV?”

-

Watch TV? Patch thought, confused. They thought about it, not sure if they remembered what a TV was, but decided to just accept, hoping that whatever it was would be uneventful. Truthfully, after such a comparatively big meal, the little sprite was tuckered out, and the comfort of being in a human home again rather than their shelter on the streets was a bit… intoxicating, almost. All they really wanted to do was curl up and fall asleep, but their human host seemed insistent on waiting a bit before calling it a day.

The human held out her hand again, letting Patch climb on as she sat on the couch, placing Patch on the far side of the couch. Melody pressed a button on a plastic box, causing the device across the room to spark to life with a fanfare. Ah, that’s what that was called, Patch thought, remembering the device from the first house they lived in, as a young child. At the time, it mostly showed old images in a somewhat brown tone, but this was a much more vivid display with many colors. Patch wondered if the difference was technology improving over the decade, or if it was some kind of choice. After all, they grew up in the house of a much older human than Melody, a human who was older than their parents and grandparents… the reminder of their family made the sprite sigh.

As usual, Melody broke their train of thought by asking about what they wanted to watch. “I’m not sure what types of movies you like, but I like fantasy, mostly… they really let you imagine what it would be like to live in those worlds. Here, I’ll show you one of my favorites, check this out!”

It was a fairly boring story, at least according to Patch, some quest to destroy a ring for some reason they couldn’t keep up with, but what entranced the sprite was when the image would soar over the world, showing scenes that the sprite couldn’t even imagine previously, of geographic features that must be absolutely astronomical in scale to the little sprite, as the people in the TV were already so small compared to their surroundings. It felt like only moments before the video ended, although the darkness of the room and the rain picking up outside indicated that the sun had sunk below the skyline ages ago.

“Well, I’d show you the rest of the trilogy, but it is getting really late, how about we call it a night?” Mel asked, getting a nod of approval from the sprite. The human stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with a folded-up washcloth. She set it gently near Patch on the couch as she spoke. “Here’s the washcloth, as promised. Hopefully this is comfortable enough for you.”

In truth, it would be difficult for this couch to be less comfortable than the alley nest they had been sleeping in. Even despite the sprite’s reluctance to fall asleep around a human, Melody hardly managed to turn out the lights and utter a “Good night, Patch!” before the little sprite began to drift in and out of consciousness.

Part 6

The sprite woke up in a sweat, looking around. Ah, of course I’m back here, they thought, as they stared out the bars of the cage. A dream, again, or perhaps the couch they were on was the real dream. They were never certain, but the deep blue eyes staring at them felt very real. They spoke, their tone a sickly sweet one hiding a poison underneath. “Aww, did somebody have a little nightmare? You were twisting and turning in your sleep. Well, no need to worry, you’re safe now, here with your favorite person. Why don’t you come out here and let me hold you for a minute, to calm you down?”

The sprite began to panic. As much as they hated this cage, it was a brief respite from the human. As the door to the cage opened, the human spoke again, their tone beginning to drip with frustration.

“That wasn’t a question… come here, —”

…

The sound of the human using that name, their actual name, was finally enough to shake Patch awake, convinced it was a dream. After making sure that they were, in fact, awake, they tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep. They would repeatedly nod off, have a dream about being approached by a human, either human, and jerk awake, only to repeat the process. Eventually, they simply decided to stay awake after only a few hours of sleep, spending the rest of the night looking around the room, taking in potential places to hide or escape… just in case.

-

The next day, the storm was raging outside in full force, causing the apartment to be dark aside from the artificial lighting.

Melody came out of her room to see Patch wide awake on the couch. “Hey Patch, good morning! How did you sleep?”

Patch nodded, though the bags under their eyes would have told a different story if Mel had looked closer.

Melody and Patch resumed watching more movies, with Mel explaining details as she noticed her friend’s confusion with the medium. Patch spent the morning drawing on the notepad, making little sketches of some of the wide landscape shots and even some of the fantastic creatures, though Mel was quick to inform him that they were fictional… probably. “After all, I would have said the same thing about a little fae with big adorable ears too, if you asked me a month ago.”

However, one thing that was bothering Melody was just how timid their friend was. It felt like every movement of hers spurred an intense fear reaction from her little guest, who still seemed skeptical of her intentions. Finally, Mel paused the movie that was on, and decided to confront him about it.

“Listen, if you don’t want to, I won’t force you, but… I want to understand what’s got you so jumpy. I feel like everything I do is upsetting you, and I don’t understand why. I want to help. Because, well, I don’t know if you feel the same, but I think of you as a friend,” the human pleaded. “Is this about… that other human?”

After receiving a small, but hesitant nod from Patch, Mel continued. “Can you… try to explain what happened? What they did? What you did? Anything would help me know how to be a better friend, please.”

Patch sighed. They knew from when Melody had originally asked that she would inevitably ask again, this human was curious if nothing else. But, maybe, just maybe, explaining to somebody what that human did would help. Patch made a motion for the notepad they had been writing in, and Mel took the initiative and flipped the page. “Would it help if I do something else for a bit and come back? Less pressure?”

After thinking on it, Patch accepted that offer, and Melody stood up, walking into her bedroom and closing the door. Patch could hear the distant sound of running water coming from inside the room as they solemnly began to draw. About a half-hour later, the human returned, and after asking permission, took a look at the thoughts that had plagued Patch for years.

-

… Horror was the reaction Melody had, seeing the drawings in front of her. She had suspected something bad when Patch drew the hamster cage, but this… this stranger has treated Patch like… she struggled to believe this was real. After the first drawing, an innocent one of Patch taking the human’s hand, the other drawings depicted a story of Patch being captured, threatened… tormented. Patch kept in a cage, the human’s fingers around the tiny thing’s neck, Patch being held above a grinning mouth, and other drawings that Melody couldn’t even bring herself to describe. Mel shuddered at the idea that somebody like this lived so close to her, somewhere in the same city block, even. What kind of sick person would treat any living being like this?

“Patch...” Was all Melody could say, her blood simultaneously running cold and burning with hatred towards his abuser as the images swirled in her mind. Patch wasn’t just captured, he was treated like a plaything, some kind of toy for a complete monster of a human. “Fuck.”

Melody noticed her little friend staring at her, anxiety in his eyes and his ears pulled apprehensively against the side of his head as his hands fidgeted with the scarf around his neck. “No, no… I’m not mad at you, how could I be? I just… what they did to you… how long did this go on for? How long were you their…”, She couldn’t bring herself to say the word she was thinking. “How long were you there?”

Patch shyly held up two fingers. “Two? Two what? Days? Weeks? … Months?” Melody questioned, getting more worried as Patch stayed silent. Finally, she quietly said “... Years?” garnering a small tearful nod. Melody had to stop herself, remembering Patch’s age. The poor thing had spent the start of his young adult life like that. Melody noticed Patch fidgeting awkwardly with his scarf again… the scarf he was wearing during the middle of the summer. As he fidgeted, loosening the scarf, Melody could just barely make out a deep mark across his neck now that she was looking out for anything unusual. Patch could only look everywhere except Melody’s eyes, tears welling up in his face.

“Patch… take off your scarf”, Melody said, somewhere between a question and a demand. Patch nervously complied, keeping the scarf in his hand as he anxiously fidgeted with it, while Melody took a close look at the scar on his neck. It wasn’t directly where his vocal chords would be… but it was close.

Melody wasn’t known for being a particularly quick to anger person, but she had to do some impromptu deep breathing to calm down, lest her anger scare her timid friend. “Fuck. Is that why you can’t…?” She asked, terrified of what the response would be, but Patch shook his head in a no, to the human’s relief.

“Either way, I need you to know… I’m sorry. For what that… that monster did to you. I swear to you, I would never… I’d like to think nobody would act like that, but I especially would never… ugh, no wonder you were so terrified!”

There was a long, painful silence that followed as the both of them looked at each other, pain in Patch’s eyes and fury in Mel’s. After another deep breath, and choosing her next words carefully, Melody decided to break the silence. “I know I’m not perfect… but mark my words, as long as I’m here, you’ll never have to fear them again. I promise.”

Patch made a beckoning motion, breaking Melody out of her rage. She saw him holding out his hand, and gently moved her hand closer to match, expecting a simple touch, but was caught off-guard when her little friend wrapped her finger in an embrace. Melody held her hand deathly still, as Patch began to cry enough tears to match the storm raging on outside.

The rest of the day was uneventful. The two of them watched TV, with Melody eventually noticing her little guest’s fascination for the wide shots and switching to nature documentaries after the movie ended. Before long, Patch fell soundly asleep on the couch, right next to Melody, who dared not move, not wanting to wake him up.

Part 7

“So… now that the storm is over, I guess you want to leave, huh?”

It had been about a day since the rain stopped, and the flooding outside had receded to a point where Patch could safely leave, if he wanted. Back to… living in an alley, raiding trash cans and plant pots for food…

Patch sighed, knowing that what they were about to do was stupid. If Patch wasn’t way past “Don’t interact with humans”, they would be judged so heavily for what they were about to ask. But despite that, and despite their own fear, they had to try.

-

Patch motioned for the notepad, and Mel diligently grabbed it for them, even though she was confused. Was he just saying goodbye or something?

It took a moment for her to recognize what Patch was drawing. It was a simplified version of Melody’s apartment, with a figure representing Melody standing inside it. In the space between “outside” and “inside”, there was a small figure, clearly representing Patch. Finally, there was a strange spiked figure on the outside which Mel deduced was the little fae’s way of drawing the sun. Melody tried to decipher what he was saying using their limited knowledge of Patch’s culture.

“The storm is over, and you’re… inside the wall? What… oh! Your people, you mentioned they live in human houses without being noticed… stop me if I’m assuming too much, but… you want to, um… move into my walls instead of leaving?”

Patch nodded, and Melody seemed conflicted. “Well… I can’t just pretend you don’t exist, Patch. We hung out, we watched movies, we bonded! How am I supposed to just… ignore you sneaking around and taking things?”

Patch’s expression dropped, as he went to put on his backpack, only to be interrupted. “Hey, hey… I didn’t say I was kicking you out, I said you couldn’t sneak around here. If you want to stay, it wouldn’t be like this”, she said, motioning to the notepad. “If you want to stay… I’d love to have you. But as a roommate, or a friend, not a stranger who steals my things. That’s fair, right?”

Patch wanted to argue that it was borrowing, not stealing, but considering the language barrier between them, arguing semantics seemed stupid. They considered the deal Melody had made. For the last few days, she had treated them nicely, and her disgust at their past had made Patch trust her much more… Hesitantly, he nodded, and the deal was made.

“Really? Oh my gosh, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting you to agree, but I’m honored! From now on, I’ll be the absolute best human roommate possible! You won’t regret this, I promise! Okay, let me think, we’ll need to get some strings for you to get around… I’ll need to make you your own room somewhere… obviously not with a box or anything…”

Melody’s expression darkened a bit as she thought to clarify something for Patch. “Oh, and Patch? Just to be clear… you can still leave, whenever you want, just say the word. Or, uh, draw it. You’re a friend, not… you’re not trapped here. Anyways…”

As the human began to ramble again, making a list of things her new roommate would need to feel at home, Patch felt an emotion that they hadn’t felt in years… a small, skeptical glimmer of hope.

#hhhh nerves nerves nerves maybe by Fall i'll not panic every time i post an update to this (lying) #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t writing #g/t ocs #oc tag: patch #oc tag: mel #patchwork melody

[lablim64]

Yes I re-desgin monster too, because yes-

Name: monster

Age: unknown (in both inside and outside world)

Gender: female

But this time, I wrote her story too✨

Enjoy~

Story:

The sister of lim, even tho the actings been seem like a blood sibling, monster is lim's half-sister(not in blood) ever since lim is 9-10 monster stuck up with him due to the poorly treatment he got from his step-families, monster is the only half-sibling that lim have more touches with, the other half and step siblings of lim are either left or in another country, even tho monster didn't got adopted by dragon (lim's last step-dad) she still deciding to stay on the same house with him for lim, monster was the only person in the family that believing lim is still out there somewhere after his death, after dragon's force of leaving to his hometown for an emergency, monster left in the house alone and out all night looking for her brother, until one day in a dark street what she found were only tab behind her with a baseball bat, monster were kidnapped by tab and used as their next experiment, monster after the shots and tests, her body began to leak all black and her arms start to go strengy like lastick, her body color go black and white and when she opened her eyes, she was in shock, the cult around her talking and then monster sees a piece of clothing hanging on the door, it was belong to one of the cult members but monster knew lim used to have the same one, she thought this cult done something to him and that got monster so mad, due to body change and her original workout, monster were a lot stronger and good at fights, she grabbed tab by the neck strangle him while the other members try to help him, monster threatens tab and commending him to take her to her brother, but sadly tab have no idea about lim and he tells that, monster being pissed just throw tab through the wall and left, no calls, no reports, she just wants to finds her brother and get him home where he belongs, ofc this took her so long due to lim keep traveling around and meeting new people, but one day things go as monster wanted, she founds lim but failed to approach, lim were so happy with people he met and the new life he created and monster don't want to ruin that, she only wants her brother to be happy, so she start watching him from the far, protection him behind till one day she become ready to face lim, monster find out lim run away after death because he never wanted to go back to that hell of a place where he had horrible experiences and trauma, so monster let him live wherever he likes as long as monster knows that he's safe and sound, ofc monster order him to introduce her to every friend he met for protection, and I can tell that...one of the friends will make monster not happy.

That's all :3

(Ps, I didn't draw her human self because I were lazy lol)

#incredibox #orin ayo #breakthrough #tragibox #incredibox breakthrough #incredibox e.v.a.c.u.a.t.e #incredibox orin ayo #incredibox fanart #incredibox oc #wekiddy

[amournoir]

𝐠𝐫𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬

pairing(s): niklaus x reader

count: 5.6k 

warning(s): none, just fluff. 

author’s note: just wanna say hi to all the new followers & thanks so so much for the feedback on all my works. i tried something different this time that isn’t really my scene, it was all fluff, so idk how well it’ll come across. lmk what you think please. happy reading! ♡

It had been weeks since any new news. Y/N had been waiting for her brothers to send word once it was done but nothing yet. Impatiently, she decided to check for herself. 

The fall season had just begun if the trees changing colors and the wind blowing leaves were any indication. With her fall attire on: a long beige coat, cream turtleneck, black pants, and black stiletto boots, she was ready to go. 

Y/N closed her apartment door and stuffed the keys and her phone in the coat pockets. It was cold outside but it wasn’t unbearable…yet. 

She had texted him several times, well only thrice, but that was far too many according to her. She figured she’d get a head start but right before she could enter the beaten path that led to the woods, she saw him. He was wearing that signature smirk of his. 

“Leaving without me?” He asked, raising one brow. 

“You were taking too long. You didn’t respond,” Y/N replied as she kept on walking, not even slowing down for him. 

“You only texted twice.” He slightly jogged to keep up, as if he wasn’t capable of running circles around her. 

“Thrice.” 

“Ah..thrice.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye with a small smile. 

“Stop that. We need to go.” She could always feel him looking at her though despite what she’d say, it didn’t bother her. 

“It’s creepy when you do that and that’s something coming from me.” 

She huffed and sped forward, her heels further destroying the already ruined path. She pulled her coat closer and cursed under her breath for not getting a scarf as well. All that could be heard was the sound of the leaves crunching under her and the scraping of her heels. 

Almost ten minutes of walking in silence, they found the wooden homes. Some were left open, others were shut and then there were those that were interesting. They had blood all over their front porches and doors. 

Her brothers were meant to have gotten their people safe. Witches were wreaking havoc on everyone that wasn’t their blood, no one was safe. It was up to Y/N and others to look after their own kind. 

This is why she sent her brothers deep into the bayou to warn the wolves weeks ago. They were supposed to call and let her know everyone was safe but they never did. She gave it a week and now, she was currently traipsing inches deep in mud looking for her kin. 

She checked each home, she knew precisely which ones housed her family but if there were some wolves that were stranded, she’d help them to safety as well. Family or not. Currently they were on their eighth house and still nothing. 

At least the houses she had checked weren’t coated in blood. Y/N was about to look into another home when she noticed the little girl by the window. Strange. 

Who would leave their child? Maybe there’s still people here. She thought to herself. 

Y/N made her way to the front door, holding eye contact with the girl but the loud noise of a branch breaking scared her. The child jumped off the window seat and ran to some other part of the house. Y/N looked back at him and shot a warning glance, he lifted his hands up in mock surrender. 

She rolled her eyes and glanced back at the house. As Y/N got closer to it, she could hear little feet pattering about. Before she even had a chance to step on the first step of the front porch, the child charged outside with a wooden spoon. Y/N was quick to move out of the way but he didn’t see the girl so he was met with all the rage a girl, not older than 5, could muster. 

Y/N couldn’t help the laugh that fell from her lips. The child was hitting him with a wooden spoon all over but due to her height, she could only reach as high as his knees. He stared at her in amusement and with little to no effort, he lifted the child up by her wrist, the spoon hanging from her other hand. 

“Well, what do we have here?” He asked her, her tiny lower body hanging mid air. 

She tried to get out of his grasp, wriggling around and said, “No! You can’t steal mister! I’ll make sure!” 

“Really? How so?” He quirked a brow, genuinely curious to hear the child’s plan of defense. 

“I’ll beat you to a pulp.” She answered matter-of-factly. 

“My my, such violence from a tiny thing like you.” He smirked, now fully enjoying their banter. 

“I’m not tiny. Put me down, you’ll see.” 

“Will you hit me again?” 

“Duh.” 

“Well in that case I think I’ll wait until that rage is gone.”

The little girl tried to wriggle some more in his hold, trying to twist her way out. She squinted her eyes at him, presumably trying to glare, but it didn’t seem to affect him instead his lips curved upwards into a small smile. In a few minutes she gave up and dropped her spoon on the dirt, huffing with as much sass as possible. 

“Ok fine.” 

“I accept your defeat.” He smirked and leaned over, placing her down gently. 

“Hiyyyahhh!” With a loud thwack, she had picked up her spoon the instant her feet touched the ground and hit him over the head with it. 

Y/N let out a loud laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, soothing the sting. She quickly stepped in between both of them and placed her hand out to the girl. 

“As much as I’d enjoy watching you beat him to a pulp, let’s stop for now. Please?” Y/N slightly bent to the girl’s height. 

“But he can’t steal. I’ll be in trouble.” She whined, looking at her. 

“He won’t, I promise.” 

“Pinky promise?” 

“Pinky promise. Now…” Y/N extended her hand out, palm facing up, to the girl. “...the spoon?” 

“Do I win?” 

Y/N looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, you won. He’s defeated.”

The little girl handed over her deadly weapon with a beaming smile and walked towards the house. She didn’t go inside though, instead she sat on the front steps. She pulled her legs close together and rested her elbows on her knees, her palms holding her cheeks up. 

“Where are your parents?” Y/N asked her. 

She shrugged, “I dunno.” 

“Did they leave a while ago?” 

Again, another shrug. “Mom’s gone for good.” 

“Who told you that?” 

She hesitated to answer that. Refusing to look directly at Y/N, she replied in a soft voice as she stared at the steps below her, “Dad did, he said I’m too much work.” 

Y/N’s heart felt like it would break. The poor child was left alone to fend for herself. It now made sense to her why she didn’t want anything stolen— it’s because that’s all she had. Y/N walked over and sat beside her, mirroring her exact position. 

“Are you out here alone?” 

“Yeah but times I hear them make noise at night.” She raised her head and pointed at the woods. 

“Hear who?” 

“The doggies. They’re big and fluffy.”

Wolves. She’s seen the wolves. Y/N thought to herself. What else has she seen or heard out here? 

Y/N quickly casted a glance at him and their eyes met, they both were thinking the same thing. Without thinking it completely through, she asked the next thing. 

“Would you like to come with us?” Y/N noticed the look of fear mixed with shock on her face and added, “It’s just for tonight, so that I know you’re safe. I’ll bring you back tomorrow if you’d like.” 

The little girl bit her lip, thinking it through for a few moments then nodded her head. “Okay.” She stood up from her seat on the steps and looked at Y/N, waiting. 

“Alright, go inside and get your things.” 

This made her scrunch her face and asked, “What things?” 

“Well, things like clothes or a toy.” Y/N tried to explain. She honestly didn’t know what the child should bring. 

“I– I don’t.”

“Nothing at all?” 

The girl shook her head and looked down at her bare feet, rocking back and forth on her heels. Y/N could feel her anger slowly bubbling inside her, aimed at whoever her parents were. What sort of life was this for a child?

The little girl’s dress was covered in dried mud, dirt, and small pieces of leaves. Her leggings, that were once white or maybe grey, now looked closer to black and they were torn. Her fingers and toes were filled with dirt underneath and cut short. Her hair was unkempt, to say the least, it quite literally looked like she rolled around in it. Y/N was sure if the child were vigorously shaken about, a cloud of dust would be present. 

She sighed, from her seated position, she extended her hand to the child. There was no way in hell she’d just leave the little girl by herself. She would never forgive herself if anything were to happen. 

The child stepped into Y/N’s arms and asked, “What is your name?” 

“My name is Y/N. And yours?” 

“I’m Claudia,” she responded in a soft voice. 

“It’s very nice to meet you Claudia.” 

“What is his name?” Claudia questioned quietly, pointing at the man. 

“Go ask him.” Y/N wrapped her arms around the girl and lifted her up. In two steps, she lowered her down at the bottom of the small staircase, gently urging her forward. 

Claudia walked ahead but right before reaching the man, she turned around and looked at Y/N as if to ask permission. Y/N nodded her head and offered a gentle smile.

Tugging on his black pants, she looked up at him and asked, “Hey mister, what’s your name?” 

He grinned and lowered himself down to her level, holding out his hand and said, “I’m Niklaus.” 

“Laus?” Her nose scrunched and brows furrowed, “That’s funny.” 

“Niklaus.” 

“Still funny but okay Laus.” Claudia shrugged and placed her hand in his then smiled. His hand practically swallowed hers whole, her tiny fingers disappearing in his palm. 

Y/N walked over to them, doing her best to hide her chuckle. She enjoyed watching the banter between the two, it was silly and childish. 

“Can I carry you? The woods aren’t safe and it’s getting dark.” Y/N asked her. 

The child was unsure, she had never been treated so gently. It was foreign to her and the thought of being a problem isn’t one she liked. She contemplated it but eventually said, “Okay but if I’m heavy, I’ll walk.” 

Y/N reached down and lifted Claudia up, setting her on her left hip, tucking one hand underneath for more security. They walked in silence through the woods, Claudia sparking a conversation with Laus— sorry Niklaus, here and there. Eventually they made it to the French Quarter and soon after, they were in the Compound. 

Rebekah was the first to see them, Kol was next and Elijah walked in with Gia. Y/N kept walking until she reached the living room, there she put the girl down on the couch. 

“And who might this be?” Rebekah inquired.

“Our overnight guest, Claudia.” Niklaus spoke, sitting next to her. 

“Why?” It was now Kol’s turn to ask. 

“Because she needed our help. You will all be on your best behavior.” Klaus glared at his younger brother. 

Elijah stood there silently studying him, eyes flickering between the girl and his brother. He looked over at Y/N for further explanation but she was turned around on her phone. 

At last, Y/N’s brothers had texted her. They had let her know that everyone was safe and across the state or in other states. Y/N asked them about a little girl who may have been left behind but neither knew anything about it. No parent reported their child missing but they promised to ask discreetly. Y/N sighed and wished them a goodnight then joined back to the conversation. 

“Nik is right. You will each treat her well but I will not force any of you to care for her.” With that, Y/N walked out of the room, heading towards her bedroom.

The silence dragged on for what felt like hours but Rebekah broke it. She glanced at the girl and said, “Hello, I’m Rebekah, his sister.” 

The little girl didn’t respond so Rebekah tried again and this time asked, “Have you eaten yet?” 

Claudia shook her head and kept her fingers busy by playing with her dress. 

Rebekah noticed this and hunched over to her height, gently saying, “I haven’t either, would you like to join me?” 

Claudia stopped and slowly peered over at Niklaus but he stared at her in confusion then quickly understood her silent question. He nodded and lifted her off of the seat then placed her down on the ground to face his sister. 

“Go with her sweetheart.” With his hand on her back, he urged her on. “It’s okay.” 

Claudia smiled and held her hand out to Rebekah who took it. The little girl had already felt safe with Y/N and Niklaus, she didn’t know why but her heart was calm around them. She assumed that since Klaus had agreed then Rebekah was not a bad person. She wasn’t trusting of people but she felt something for the hybrid. As they walked towards the hallway that would lead to the kitchen, she introduced herself to the woman. 

Gia, Elijah, and Kol stood watching as the little girl walked away hand in hand with Rebekah. Klaus too observed and then he rose up from his seat and turned the opposite way, heading upstairs to find Y/N. 

He knocked on the door gently but entered before she could respond. He found Y/N looking through her closet for something.

“Cleaning this late?” He asked. 

She poked her head out from the closet door and sighed, “No, I was looking for clothes for Claudia.” 

“What for?” 

“What do you mean ‘what for?’, she’s in dirty clothes and it’s cold. She needs clean ones and a warm bath.” 

“I don’t think anyone’s here would fit her.” 

Y/N groaned in frustration, running one hand through her hair. “There must be something.” 

In a few long strides, Klaus had made his way over to her. He turned her around so that she was facing him, pushing her hair out of her face and asked, “Tell me what’s wrong love. Why are you upset?” 

He knew her too well. Without uttering a word, he could tell her mood from the huffs and puffs of her breathing. 

“I just feel useless. The poor girl would be in that cold empty house by herself listening to the wolves outside that she thinks are cute enough to touch. It’s a miracle she hasn’t been harmed yet. And here she is with us, and yet I can’t even find proper clothing for her!” Y/N threw her hands in the air, heaving out an exasperated breath. 

“Well I’d like to think I’m cute enough to touch.” He pondered out loud, trying to lighten her mood. 

“Nik.” Y/N groaned. 

“What? I figured you’d agree love.” He smirked at her and added, “You enjoy touching me.” 

“Niklaus.” 

He chuckled and pulled her closer to his chest, gently rubbing her back. “Okay, how about we get her some new clothes tomorrow?” 

“And what about tonight?” 

“She can wear a sweater or something while her clothes get washed.” 

Y/N smiled slowly and rested her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around him. “Thank you.” 

“Of course.” Klaus smiled to himself, pressing a kiss in between Y/N’s neck and shoulder. Suddenly, he nipped at her neck playfully which made Y/N jump back slightly. 

“Nik!” She tried glaring at him but failed as her lips curled into a small smile. 

He grinned at her and said, “You love it darling.” 

After finding a suitable sweater, some fuzzy socks, and starting a hot bath, Y/N and Klaus made their way to the kitchen. Claudia was sitting in the dining room between Kol and Rebekah, Elijah was across from them. Gia had left for the night.

“Ooh what happened?” Claudia asked excitedly. 

“He fell! Face into the mud!” Rebekah replied with a laugh. 

“Oh no!” She exclaimed, her eyes wide looking at Kol. “Do you have a boo-boo?” 

“Not anymore darling.” Kol told her and showed her his forearm for proof. “It’s healed now.”

“Okay, that’s good.” She patted his arm gently with a smile. 

Elijah had been quietly listening and observing his siblings interact with the little girl, a soft smile was etched on his face. He couldn’t express the amount of joy he felt seeing them act so…human. This child would be a blessing, he thought to himself. 

Y/N and Klaus stood at the doorway watching. They all behaved as though they had known her for ages, it was surreal. Claudia looked back at her plate and then noticed Y/N. With a wide grin, she shuffled ungracefully from her seat then hopped off and scampered off to her. Y/N crouched down and embraced her in a hug. 

“Hi! Did you eat?” 

“Yes, Bex let me have anything!” Claudia nodded enthusiastically. 

“Bex?” 

Claudia quickly looked down and mumbled a ‘sorry’. 

“Honey, what’s wrong?” 

“I don’t want you to be upset with me. I won’t call her that again, I promise.” 

Y/N was a bit confused so she knelt in front of the girl and shook her head. “Sweetheart, I’m not upset at all. I’m glad you ate with Bex. Can you tell me why you’re sorry?” 

“Dad gets upset with me all the time so I thought you were too.” Claudia explained but she kept her eyes down on her hands. 

“I’m not upset. If that’s what you want to call her and she’s ok with it, that’s alright with me.” Y/N placed her hands on top of the little girl’s and added, “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“Promise you’re not upset?” Claudia asked, finally looking up at Y/N. 

“I pinky promise.” Y/N offered a smile and raised one of her hands with her pinky finger lifted up. Claudia mirrored her and linked their pinkies together then kissed her thumb. 

“Okay.” The little girl smiled again and wrapped her arms around Y/N. 

“Love, are you done eating or would you like more?” Klaus looked down at her. 

“I’m done but Kol said we can have serts!” Claudia’s smile widened, repeating the promise. 

“What the bloody hell is a sert?” Klaus muttered to himself as he looked over at his brother who shrugged. 

“Niklaus language.” Elijah warned his brother whilst looking at Claudia. Klaus quickly placed a hand over his mouth, dramatizing the action as he hid a smirk. 

“Do you mean dessert darling?” Kol asks her. 

She turned around but remained in Y/N’s arms and answered, “You said sert.”

“I did not.” Kol argued. 

“Did too.” Claudia sassed back. 

Rebekah scoffed, “Kol are you really bickering with a child?” 

“Am not.” He exhaled dramatically and gestured at the girl, “Anyways she started it.”

Y/N leaned forward and tried to ignore them. She asked Claudia, “What would you like to have?” 

She lifted and dropped her shoulders, blinking at Y/N. “I dunno, never had serts before.” 

“Well you’re in for a treat darling!” Kol exclaimed, the miniscule argument already forgotten. He pushed himself out of his seat and made his way towards her. He bent down and made grabby hands at her, Claudia giggled and rushed out of Y/N’s arms and into his. He beamed as he lifted her up. 

“Wait, a bath first or the water will get cold.” Y/N saw the look on the girl’s face and promised, “You can have dessert afterwards.” Claudia looked out past the dining room to the window in the kitchen and said, “Oh okay but it’s dark outside.” 

“No sweet girl, the bath is inside where it’s warm and there’s light.” Rebekah explained as she too left her seat and stood up. “Would you like me to come with you?” 

“Yes please.” Claudia replied and Kol lowered her. She took Rebekah’s hand and they made their way up the stairs. Claudia hopped on each step one at a time. She was showing Rebekah that she was a bunny rabbit and this made the Original chuckle. 

Y/N watched them until they were out of her sight and then turned to the brothers. Elijah was still seated, he didn’t want to intervene, aside from the quick scold, and felt no need to so he watched. 

“What do you think she meant when she said her father gets upset with her?” Elijah asked, looking up at Y/N. 

“Yes I’d like to know as well.” Klaus agreed and headed for the table, reaching for a glass. “I’d hate to assume otherwise.”

“Now could you shed some light on who she is?” Elijah asked. 

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Y/N answered him then looked over at Klaus, “They said they don’t know her, no one does.” 

“You think they left her?” Klaus swirled the liquid around the glass then downed it. 

“Maybe, I’m not sure.” 

Elijah and Kol quickly glanced at each other, completely out of the loop. Y/N took a seat as did Kol then she explained the entire day to them. By the end of it, everyone was now on the same page. They had all agreed that the girl would stay with them until there was confirmation of a missing child or they found the parents. 

Rebekah and Claudia were having a blast, figuratively and literally, during the bath. Claudia had never seen such a huge room and her eyes practically fell out of their sockets when she saw the huge tub. Y/N had thrown in a pink sparkle bath bomb to make up for the lack of bath toys.

Claudia splashed about, giggling throughout and Rebekah couldn’t help smiling. The girl was nothing if not joyous despite her life. While she bathed, Rebekah took the liberty to place her clothes in the washer and threw the sweater in the dryer so it was warm for her. 

Once they were done, she carried her out of the tub and placed her on the bed. Rebekah left her to oil herself as she went to switch the clothes out. She returned and helped Claudia get dressed but they stayed in the room. She wanted to wait until her clothes were fully dry and warm so the girl could wear them before going back downstairs. 

With her tights on — that now had their color back — and fuzzy socks plus a huge warm sweater that practically swallowed her, they made their way back to where everyone was. 

“We’re back!” Rebekah announced as they walked in, carrying the little girl. 

“You look so cozy.” Y/N smiled. 

“I am! Bex and I played with the water. It went splish splash!” Claudia happily demonstrated using her body to sway side to side. 

“Oh that sounds fun! How do you feel?” 

“Warm and ready for serts!” She peeped at Kol who grinned at her. 

Everyone had left the dining room and found themselves a seat on the couches in the living room. The heat was turned on and the fireplace was already going. There was a small tray of marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers. Kol grabbed the tray and walked over to the fireplace, sitting in front of it. 

“Yes you are ready. Come join me darling.” He looked over at Claudia and patted the seat next to him. 

This time she didn’t look at Y/N or Klaus for permission, she hesitated for a second but then wandered over. She sat next to him and waited to see what he would do. 

“You poke the marshmallow with the stick then hold it over the fire. Not too close or it’ll burn.” He instructed her gently and demonstrated before helping her with it. 

“It looks like a fluffy pillow.” She noted, eyes twinkling in awe as she stared at the marshmallow. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” He watched her momentarily then handed the stick to her. “It tastes even better.” 

The first try went surprisingly well. Kol showed her how to put the cooked fluffy pillow on the bed of chocolate and crackers. He blew it for her so it wasn’t too hot to burn her mouth. She took one bite and she was sold. They kept doing this until they each had 4 s’mores at the very least.

Eventually they included everyone else but Claudia wanted to make it for them. So that’s exactly what she and Kol did, they made more for his siblings. After her sixth s’more she shook her head, not wanting any more. 

Claudia was now seated next to Klaus, her head laid on his arm. At first he tensed at the action but then relaxed. He lifted his arm up, letting her rest her on his side as his arm engulfed her. Her eyes kept fluttering close but she kept insisting that she wasn’t tired yet. Less than ten minutes after that statement and she was gone. Claudia was sandwiched between Klaus and Y/N but she was hidden away in his arms, curled into a little ball. Y/N looked at her sleeping figure and chuckled. She was in the process of standing up to take her to bed but Klaus shook his head at her. He wanted to instead. 

Claudia stirred when he shifted and lifted her up. She couldn’t muster the strength to open her eyes so she kept them closed and said, “Bye bye everyone.” Even her sleepy voice was cute.

They all responded with a chorus of ‘goodnight’ and with that Niklaus took her to a guest room that was next to his and Y/N’s. The bed had been made ready for her. He decided that tomorrow he’d go out with Y/N to get the little girl some things. 

The night went smoothly. Y/N had thought something would go wrong and was worried the entire time but Klaus offered to stay up. 

During the late hours of the night, Klaus heard something. The sound was muffled but as he concentrated on the sound, it became clearer. It was Claudia and it sounded like crying. 

He sat upright from his seat by the fireplace and headed towards the bedroom door, he turned to briefly glance over at Y/N then continued on. Claudia’s room was next door though the lights were off and he didn’t wish to wake her. 

Expertly, he turned the knob and the door cracked open slowly. He saw she was still in bed and there was nothing in the room. Still, he heard the same sounds. 

He fully stepped into the room, cautious not to wake her, and walked over to the bed. He stood next to her, listening intently. She was crying in her sleep but the tears rolling down were visible. He wasn’t sure what to do. A part of him wanted to wake Y/N up and ask her but he also wanted to figure it out for himself. 

Klaus extended his arm across and gently shook her. He had to do it two more times but still nothing so he decided to try another way. He placed his hands on the sides of her head and closed his eyes, in seconds he entered her mind. Even there, he could hear the sniffling. It didn't take him long to find her, the noises acted like a guide for him. 

He saw her seated on the ground, back pressed against the tree and her legs were raised to her chest, hiding her face between her knees. She hadn’t yet noticed him. 

“Claudia?” He called out softly, hoping she didn’t get startled. 

Her head lifted and twisted quickly in his direction, completely surprised by his presence. She didn’t know how he was there. She didn’t say anything though instead she stared at him with wide eyes. 

“Are you hurt love?” 

She may not have wanted to speak but she could still respond in other ways so she shook her head. He inched closer and closer to her, slowly making his way over without scaring her. Before he could reach her, he heard it behind him. A low growl. A noise that he was all too familiar with. Klaus had to make a choice now, either he sped over to her or chased the beast away from the child. Seeing the look of terror written on her face, eyes glossed in tears, he raced over to her and picked her up. 

The moment he touched her, she jolted up awake and sobbed on his chest. He lowered his hands from her face and wrapped them around her figure instead, tightly pressing her against him. They stayed that way until her cries turned into sniffles. Only he could understand her fear, he too was a child when he saw his first wolf but unlike her experience his was real and had severe consequences. 

Y/N had been awoken by the crying so she went to find its source. She was going to walk into the room and help but after seeing how Klaus had handled it, she stood at the doorway instead. She watched them in silence until her eyes met with Klaus’ and she smiled sadly. Y/N gestured with her head to their room and left; soon after Klaus followed with Claudia in his arms. Y/N was sat on their shared bed, duvet pulled back for easy access. 

“Would you like to stay here for the rest of the night?” Y/N asked the little girl once Klaus had placed her down on the bed. 

“You will allow that?” Claudia carefully asked. 

“Of course sweetheart. Come here.” 

She shuffled over to Y/N until there was no room between them. Y/N tossed the blanket over both of them and hugged the girl, pressing a soft kiss on top of her head. Klaus stood and watched them, a sweet smile on his face. He walked to the other side of the bed to Y/N, leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. She sighed softly and held onto his arm. 

Claudia peeked over at Klaus and patted the top of the covers. “It’s very warm.” 

“Hmm, is it?” He let out a wistful sigh, “I wouldn’t know, I’ve been left out here in the cold.”

Y/N and Claudia exchanged a glance and snorted a laugh. They dove under the covers, throwing it over their heads, and whispered underneath in secret. 

Klaus continued on, “Oh how I’d love to be warm. I’m all alone.” 

This only made the girls giggle even more, their whispers increasing in volume. Claudia lifted her head and grinned at him, “Ok grumpy pants, you can join.” 

“Really? Wait—” He paused after he had thought it through and asked, “Grumpy pants?” 

“Mmhm.” She nodded her head and before he could say anything, she was back under the covers. 

Klaus smirked at the plan he had concocted in his head. In a flash he was back on the other side of the bed when he reached his hands out and searched for the little girl. She squealed when he touched her and then wiggled away. He looked for her again, this time around he tickled her until she emerged. 

“Wait– hahah…ple–please…” Claudia could barely get a word out throughout her laughing fit. 

Y/N pulled her head out of the covers and chuckled. Seeing the girl this happy made her heart swell with joy. It was a stark comparison to the girl they found the day before. Claudia and Klaus played for a little longer until the girl was tired. Soon, she was laying on Klaus’ chest completely knocked out. 

Y/N scooted closer to them, resting comfortably at his side. He lowered his arm on her shoulder to keep her close to him; she reached for his hand and entwined it with her own. Raising her head up to his, she gently kissed his lips and shut her eyes. He smiled through it and returned the affection, lingering just a bit longer. 

They soon pulled away and she said, “My grumpy pants.” He chuckled at that but the rumbling of his chest made the sleeping child on his chest stir. 

“I will be unless you admit that I am cute enough to touch.” He said. 

Y/N snickered and raised a brow, “Still on that?” 

He lowered his head down a bit as though he wanted to whisper something but instead nipped at her shoulder and smirked, “You know I am love.” 

“You are cute and I enjoy touching you,” Y/N started then continued, “But you’re also a grumpy pants.” 

“If only there wasn’t a child present, I’d show you just how grumpy I can be.” He smugly smiled down at her. 

Y/N sucked in her bottom lip as she gazed up at him, “If only.” 

🏷️ taglist:

⤷ @mrs-maximoff-kenner @thatfanficstuff @elijahmikaelsontrash @firebirdsalvatore @mxacegrey @thatfictionalwh0re @catmikaelson20 @loverswillowed @duhitzdae @sweetwrathoflilith @panic-at-the-fiction @iiskittles16ii @original-siphon @hellotvshowtrash @onlyfreds @imgoingtofreakoutnow @slinthoex @mikaelsonsdeservedbetter @i-love-nora @multiversediaries @decoffinated-vamps @livsterriblesecret @hopester08 @aloneatpeace

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#aurora.r fics #klaus mikaelson x reader #elijah mikaelson x reader #rebekah mikaelson x reader #kol mikaelson x reader #freya mikaelson x reader #the originals #the mikaelsons #klaus mikaelson #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #kol mikaelson #fluff #tvdu

[boxanimal]

Tutorial: editing manga raws

Disclaimer: This is a tutorial for beginners with no experience using Photoshop for editing manga raws. It is not comprehensive, nor does it detail the only reliable method for achieving a good result. This is just a walkthrough of the method I find to have the best ratio of effort to result quality, according to my own tastes.

Open the file in Photoshop: If you do not own PS, see notes at the end of this post.

Click "open" on the PS startup menu or under "File" on the top bar of the window.

Click "File" on the top bar of the window, click "Save As" and save in your desired location as a Photoshop Document (.psd).

Regularly save the file with File > Save or with the shortcut CTRL+S/CMD+S while editing so you don't lose your work.

Change image mode: If your file name has "(Index)" after it, you will need to change the image mode to edit it properly.

Click "Image" on the top bar, then "Mode". Select "Grayscale" if you are working in B/W, or "RGB" if you plan on working with color. You can change this later, although it can sometimes affect your image in unexpected ways.

Crop (optional): You may want to crop your file down to what you want your final edit to include. You can also do this later if you prefer.

Click the crop icon on the left toolbar and click and drag over the area you want to work with. You can adjust by hovering over the edges of the selection and dragging when the arrows appear. You can rotate the crop by doing this at the corners as well.

Click the check mark on the options bar to confirm.

Be aware of the icon on the options bar which, when selected, permanently deletes the pixels outside of your crop. It is best not to have it on so you can adjust the crop later, but if your computer struggles with running PS, it may be worth using.

Surface blur (optional): Surface blur helps limit the amount of manual cleaning you will have to do by evening out some of the texture of the paper fiber you can see in raw manga.

(Extra optional) resize the image to 2X its current size. Go to "Image" on the top bar, then click "Image Size". Change the width or height to 2X the original value, making sure the "constrain aspect ratio" icon is checked. Hit OK.

Go to "Filter" on the top bar, then "Blur", then "Surface Blur".

Adjust the values on the box that comes up to balance between limiting the amount of texture in flat black and white area with not blurring details together. It will not be the same for every image, but will likely be similar. You can check and uncheck the preview button to compare your adjustment to the original. Hit OK when done.

If you resized the image, repeat the process, this time returning it to its original size.

Leveling

Click the "Layers" panel button on the right of the screen to open it.

On the bottom of the layers panel, click the button that looks like a half-white, half-black circle. Under that menu, click "Levels".

The levels adjustment panel should open, and you should see something that looks like a graph. As you drag the right and left slider on the graph inward, you will notice the blacks and whites getting more intense, respectively. Adjust these too your taste, but be aware that dragging them too far towards the middle can mess with gradation and midtones if they are present. You can adjust the middle slider as well. Play around until you get a look you like.

Sharpening (optional): Sharpening increases the definition of the edges of an image. I personally don't do this a lot of the time because I'm not crazy about the look, but it is a common step for many people, so it is worth knowing about since you may prefer the sharpened look.

Go back to the "Layers" panel. Make sure the layer that has the image on it is selected.

Go to "Filter" on the top bar, then "Sharpen".

There are a variety of sharpening options underneath sharpen. Try them and see what appeals to you. You can use all of these on one image, and apply them multiple times. If you sharpen too much, just use the CTRL+z/CMD+z shortcut to undo your previous actions.

Spot cleaning: If there's still some visible "dirt" on the image, I quickly clean it up with the brush tool.

On the bottom of the layer panel, click the "+" icon to create a new layer. Make sure you have it selected.

Click the brush tool in the left tool panel.

Size of the brush can be adjusted on the options panel, and the color can be adjusted on the side toolbar.

Just click over spots with a black/white brush to cover them up. You can use the eraser tool in the left panel, or CTRL+z/CMD+z, if you mess up. The eraser won't effect the image itself because your touch-ups are on a separate layer.

Export: When you're all done with a basic manga edit, you can either keep editing if you want to do something more elaborate (not covered in this tutorial) or export your file to a type you can upload on the web.

Click "File" on the top bar of the window, then "Export", then "Export As".

You have the option to change the final file type in this window. I recommend a PNG for high quality or a JPG if you want to limit file size. You can also change the size of the exported image here; it is up to you and your needs if you do this.

Click the blue export button and choose where you want to export the final edit.

Additional Notes: Software

Photoshop: I recommend Photoshop for editing, and it is what this tutorial is based around. However, I don't recommend paying for it. Here is how you can get if for free.

(Highly recommended) Enable your VPN if you have one.

Go here.

Type "photoshop" into the search bar on the top right of the screen, and look for the result with the highest "S" value (green text).

Click on the magnet icon next to the file size to torrent the file.

If you don't know how to torrent, here is an external tutorial.

Install the program according to the instructions in the information file and you will be set.

Photopea:

If you aren't comfortable downloading pirated files onto your computer, Photopea has a lot of the same functionality as Photoshop, but in-browser.

I'm not sure how it handles large files, but in terms of functionality it should be able to do anything you would need for edits.

Additional Notes: Space

Raws can take up a lot of space, because ideally they are both large and lossless (meaning they don't lose quality as the files are uploaded, downloaded, etc). Additionally, having few GBs free on your computer can hinder Photoshop's performance when editing said raws. If you don't have a lot of computer space, these are my recommendations:

The cheapest solution is knowing what you want to edit and what volume it is in, so you can download only what you need. This may not work for all raws, because they might all be grouped together in one massive upload, but mine are posted by volume.

The best solution is to buy an external hard drive. I would not encourage you to get one just for this, but this is a useful tool for anyone. Besides helping you free up a ton of storage space, it blows your piracy game wide open, and you can save a crazy amount of your favorite media in a place no one can take it from you. They are not super cheap, but they are well worth the price if you use them. Be sure to get the most out of it. I have this one and it works great.

You can also make use of cloud storage, though I don't really recommend it.

#khr scan project

[axtrr]

Character Intro: Delan Strangeweiss

☆ nsfw after the drawing and cut ☆

summary: A vampire living deep in the woods to cope with an unusually high prey drive even among other vampires, Delan isn't well acquainted with the outside world. His lack of socialization outside of prowling on the outskirts of a nearby city to lure people back into the woods makes him especially adoring of a his partner.

This, however, is a double edged sword. Because he is so secluded, he’s prone to extreme obsession and jealousy. Once he’s got you, he’s not letting go. He’ll treat you like royalty, and he’ll defend you ferociously like a wolf to its kill.

sfw:

☆ he towers over you. just fucking looms ominously until one of you starts talking. when he found you, lost and deep enough in the woods for him to sense you from his home, you thought for sure that you were going to die. in fact, the only thing that saved you from meeting the same grisly fate as his usual victims is the fact that he’d stepped on a railroad spike while chasing you. he could have ripped it out himself, but he sort of froze on the spot when he saw that you weren’t running anymore— that you were actually coming closer. that small act of kindness sparked his infatuation with you. it also made it apparent to him that while you might not have had a full-on death wish, you wouldn’t survive for a second without him by your side, so he stole you away.

☆ this man treats you like a stuffed animal when you’re cuddling. if you’re laying down, he’s got his arms wrapped around you, holding you against his chest.

☆ seeing as he’s, y’know, a vampire, he couldn’t really cook human meals when you first met. you’ll have to make your own— eventually, after watching you, he tried to make something for you for breakfast and you woke up the the smell of smoke and burnt toast. After that, you taught him a couple of basic recipes and he’s not half-bad now! unfortunately, now that you’ve gotten him interested in cooking and he can’t eat what he cooks, you’ve become the go-to taste tester for a lot of eccentric dishes.

☆ he absolutely refuses to bite you when you start dating, no matter how much you ask. you’d seen firsthand that his prey drive is no joke, and with how absolutely in love he is with you, he is terrified of scaring you away or, god forbid, losing control and draining you. eventually, after a lot of discussion and a lot of reassurance that no, you weren’t going to run, and yes, you would stop him if it hurt too much, he experimented with giving you little love bites. he rarely breaks skin, though, and when he does, he’s hellbent on getting your permission first. if he does it on accident, he’ll apologize so profusely you’d think he’d have broken your leg or something, even though your wound only amounts to a little trickle of blood on your neck.

☆ Delan loves taking you out into the forest. during the daytime, he’ll take an umbrella to protect himself from the sunlight and show you the best places to hide to watch the animals go about their lives. you’d never seen so many animals up close like that. at night, he takes you stargazing. being so far away from the city and the lights that come with it means that you can see the stars in full. he mentions at some point that sometimes, very rarely, you can see shooting stars, and that every once in a while the moon changes color. when you show him that you can track meteorological events on your phone, he loses his fucking mind. now, he asks you to check the calendar all the time, and when an event was scheduled to happen, you grab your tent (also an insane tool to Delan, by the way) and the two of you lay together and watch the sky until you fall asleep. (though, sometimes you two aren’t focused on the event or sleeping, which he is completely fine with.)

nsfw:

☆ you’re damn lucky he’s careful with you. when i say he could maim you without even breaking a sweat, that’s not hyperbole. there’s a reason vampires are regarded at apex predators, and he’ll remind you of that every time you get frustrated about him treating you like you’re made of glass. if he wasn’t so aware of his own strength or so scared of hurting you, you would never walk again.

☆ he might be soft with you, he might shower you with praise and affection, but he is mean in bed. he’ll make you cum with his mouth and his fingers over and over again without even getting undressed and your pleading for him to just fuck you already only encourages his sadistic kick. by the time he finally decides to give you want you’ve been begging for, you're so sensitive that you’re crying and trembling underneath him, which he'll tease you for. after all, you're the one who wanted this.

"what's wrong, pet? is it too sensitive here? oh, but i'd hate to neglect you after you begged so nicely~"

☆ he likes having you on a leash, either with a harness or collar depending on how mean he feels like being. the leash is a pretty decent length, but he'll pull you right to him without warning just to watch how flustered you get. he jokes that the reason he keeps you bound is that it's the only way to keep you tame, but you both know that if either of you needs taming, it's him.

#clover’s ocs: delan #monster x reader #monster x human #my fic #asks open #monster fucker #monster lover #monster x you #vampire x reader #vampire oc #my art #my writing #oc drawing #exophilia #terato #nsft fic #gender neutral reader

[yuqiyu]

New Girl (Eddie Munson x F!Reader)

♡ CHAPTER 1: New School, New You

Summary: January 1986. You just moved to Hawkins, Indiana, with your family in the middle of your junior year of high school. You don't expect to make friends right away, but what can you do when you are unwillingly ushered into your new school's Satanic club?

Word Count: 1.3k

Tags: no use of y/n, slight angst (in relation to moving)

A/N: For those who followed me from my Guitar Lessons fic, I want to apologize in advance for the change in writing style. I'm trying something new! Hope you like it :)

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Hawkins, Indiana is a little town tucked away in the suburbs. It’s smaller than what you’re used to, and the foreign smell pierces through your nose. It’s a far cry from the comforting aroma of your hometown. There’s no sweet scent of the sticky, melted ice cream on the benches outside the parlor you’d pass by every so often. No sign of the mustiness that would hang around the abandoned buildings off of the corner of your house. You almost don’t even remember what it feels like anymore.

When you enter your new home, the floorboards creak with each step of your converse. The laces glide against the wood; the soles leaving a trail of soil from the unpaved road.

The blank white walls are accented with brown chair rails covering the perimeter of the living room. Soft sunlight beams through one of the open windows. You peer outside, head craning towards the half-overcast sky. The universe doesn’t mock you today. Instead, it empathizes with you. 

An arm wraps around your shoulder and squeezes you in close. “It might not feel like it now, but we can turn this into our home.” You breathe in the familiar warmth of your mother. 

“I miss them.”

“I know, honey. I’m sorry.”

You wonder if she’s really that sorry. But you remember—she had to say goodbye to her family and friends, too. It’s no one’s fault that your father received a promotion under the condition that he moves with the company. There was no way to convince him to stay; he’d argue that the new paychecks could give everyone a more comfortable life and afford new luxuries, even. 

You were happy without new luxuries, though. Everything in your life was a fixer-upper, but that was all you ever needed.

So you conclude that she is sorry, to an extent at least. Because the possibility that she understood how you feel and could still easily take everything away without remorse feels much worse.

The warmth disappears as quickly as it came. You’re left with stacks of cardboard boxes filled to the brim with little trinkets and birthday cards, along with the labor of pushing them to your newly assigned bedroom. 

The air is suffocating. It swallows you whole and each stride echoes, bouncing off the walls in an infinite loop. The color is perfect; it’s the same shade you were used to waking up to every morning. But there are no old paint cracks running along the windowsills. There isn’t a thin layer of dust covering it, and the windows aren’t stained by the changing seasons.

You want to hold onto your childhood so badly that it haunts you.

Life has a funny way of keeping track of memories. It reminds you through the small gifts friends give in passing, the way you feel looking at the ticket stub of your very first concert, and the scar you got from a fall once. 

Even when you don’t want to remember, because it hurts so bad, you do. You carry the memories of your loved ones from back home with you, secretly hidden away in a safe compartment in your mind. 

They stalk you as you unload the boxes. A picture frame with all of your friends, a friendship bracelet, a diary in which only one page was scribbled in, a handful of scrunchies. 

You find your backpack crushed under some books. There are a handful of tiny rips and patches from when you tried sewing them back anew. Pencils and sticky notes are squashed in the smaller pocket. Worksheets, from the few days before you left, are scattered haphazardly within your notebook, half-finished. 

You had landed in the eye of the storm, halfway through the semester of junior year. Time stops for no one, and you curse it for that very reason. 

They say high school is the best four years of your life. In the three and a half years you were there, imagining a worse place was unfathomable.

You had watched kids being thrown against lockers, boys snaking a hand down girls’ collars, and favoritism, all of which could happen on the same day. You’d lost count of how many times your friends had come crying, searching for sympathy and comfort. 

Most importantly of all, you had seen what they do to new kids. Would Hawkins be so different?

You dread lunch the most. Your lost gaze and trembling legs turn you into a walking target. You recall some of the worst ways to be tortured by a senior, then think about the way a poor boy had pleaded with you through his eyes to help, to call for help, or anything at all. But you had stayed motionless, trapped by the unshakable fear of being next.

You realize this must be your punishment.

Yet, when you slowly walk through the aisles of the cafeteria, no one so much as bats an eye at you. 

Every single table is conveniently filled with their respective groups. It isn’t as cliché as the way they make it seem to be in movies, but the differences in fashion and personalities among each are enough to be discernible.

When you reach the end of one row, you stand face-to-face with a boy proudly donning a shirt that read HELLFIRE CLUB. He’s small; his brown curly locks are squashed by his baseball cap as he awkwardly moves to the side and sits down next to his friends.

The rest of the group, when huddling closely and laughing so hysterically, look like a strange assortment of candy tossed sloppily in a trick-or-treat bag. It’s almost endearing, watching the way their uniforms wrinkle as they carefully listen to who you assume to be their ringleader.

Today, you decide, is a good day to not eat in a random corner, on the floor, of the cafeteria.

You spot an open seat—two, actually, facing each other.

They fall quiet.

Their leader looks at you curiously, tilting his head ever so subtly to the side as he looks you up and down. “Hi there.” 

He smiles, though his eyes ponder: Who are you, and why are you here? 

“I—uh, I was wondering…” 

He arches a brow. 

Even though he’s standing a couple of feet away, his menacing height gives the illusion that he’s towering over you. His presence is strong and alluring. His gaze penetrates through your skin like a freshly sharpened spear. He knows how to command a room.

The fear returns tenfold, and you wonder if you had made the mistake of asking the king of bullies. Your eyes dart back to the seats and quickly change your mind. 

He notices, and there’s now a crooked grin plastered on his face. New prey.

You begin to shake your head and back away, maybe drop a few apologies, and hope he spares you. But he puts a hand up, gesturing for you to come closer. 

“Don’t be shy.”

You think about making a run for it. How fast you could go, how far your ripped shoes could take you—before he eventually finds you in this tiny school. It would only be stalling the inevitable.

Your feet drag against the ground slowly, and you swear they can hear the sound of your heart beating over the little squeaks your sneakers make. 

You finally stand before him, shoulders tense and white-knuckling the lunch tray. You expect a spit in the face, a kick to your shins, or if you’re lucky, some insults about your unbrushed hair or puffy eyes.

Instead, he looks over to one of the kids and politely asks them to move down. They begin to protest, but it’s stopped with just a single look. 

You are sure now, that this is how you caused the beginning of your downfall for the rest of your high school career.

#stranger things x reader #stranger things x you #stranger things x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x reader

[justkending]

Finding Memories. Chapter 15.

Series Summary: Waking up with little to no memory of her past, and being saved by a group of individuals who call themselves heroes, sends a long time captive for a whirlwind trying to find some form of grounding in this world she quickly learns runs on chaos. But she’s not the only one trying to figure out her forgotten backstory. Bucky Barnes, along with the other Avengers, can’t help but sense that there is a lot more to the whole situation than a diagnosis of amnesia. Her background slowly starts to come forward in pieces of her past and hidden information discovered. Who is she? And why was she in the room they were meant to destroy?

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced Reader 

Word Count: 4400+

A/N: For those of you who have been patient with this story, I would like to say that your reward is here! Meaning, we are finally going to get some answers friends;) I hope you enjoy and I’m excited to see what all you think! Happy Valentines Day loves! Here is my gift to you!!

TW: Torture, cussing, and blood. 

Chapter 15:

The next morning, Bucky found himself awakened just as Y/N was about to walk out the door. Either she had been extremely quiet in her morning routine, so much so not to wake the light sleeper spy, or he had really been that far gone in REM. 

But when he saw her gathering a few small items before leaving, he sat up from the couch and rubbed his eyes, letting out a raspy voice still riddled with sleep. 

“Hey,” he cleared his throat. “Where are you headed off to?” 

She looked up from where she was fixing her shoe and stood up adjusting her jacket. 

“Oh, hey,” she smiled at him kindly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Given who you’re talking to, I’m shocked to say that you didn’t wake me up,” he chuckled, throwing his legs over the side of the couch and stretching in the new position. “I must have just woke up perfect timing.” 

She grinned softly, happy to see that he had gotten some much-needed sleep. He seemed worn out most of yesterday but happened to do a really good job masking it. 

“I’m going to go for a walk. I checked the weather this morning, and it’s actually really nice outside for once,” she answered his first question. “Would you want to come with-”

“I’ll tag along,” he stood up promptly. 

Her question and his answer overlapped and they chuckled it off. Bucky quickly got dressed and the two began walking downstairs. 

His main concern was her going out on her own. Considering Wanda was on a mission and couldn’t join her like normal, he figured she was finally getting comfortable enough in the environment to go on adventures on her own. 

A walk around the compound was a simple step in that direction as she had already become familiar with the paths and trails that were mapped out along the property. 

The first couple minutes of the walk was in silence as they basked in the rare day of warmth on a fall morning. It was still cold enough for a jacket and comfortable pants, but much less layering than normal. 

“Did you see any of the show last night before you fell back asleep?” he asked. 

“Yeah actually,” she smiled, hands in her pocket and eyes on the ground as she admired the color-changing leaves at their feet. “I think I was fighting sleep because of how invested I was.”

“I hate to give him credit, but Sam was the one who introduced me to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Was kind of a stepping stone into the modern world of Brooklyn where I grew up. From a comedic and exaggerated standpoint, but setting-wise, it was a fun way to research, if you want to call it that,” he chuckled, looking down at her kicking a few more leaves with her feet.

“So you’re from Brooklyn?” 

“Born and raised,” he nodded. “Steve too.”

“Wow,” she grinned at the thought. A fleeting intrusive thought came and went, wondering where her hometown was. “What was it like back then?”

“Given the time, very technologically advanced. Or at least working its way to that. I never really saw anything between 1944 to 2012 really. I revisited it shortly when I was on the run,” he answered. 

He had told her a little of his time when the world thought he had killed the King of Wakanda and before when he tried to unalive Steve, so she knew what he was hinting at. 

“Have you visited since then?” she asked. 

“A few times. But sometimes it’s hard not seeing it the way I remember it. Overwhelming to a point,” he was honest. “I’ve learned to like the quiet of being out of city limits. A younger and less life-experience version of me would probably argue that, but I’ve gone through some things that changed my senses. It can be chaotic and hard to hear my own thoughts in what used to lull me to sleep as a kid.”

“Crazy how the world can change you,” she replied, a piece of her knowing she was a victim of that as well. 

A few more minutes passed of silence as they took in the morning chirps of birds and wind rustling the leaves that had yet to be shed. Bucky also keeping an awareness of any surprises.

A question was poking and prodding at him, waiting for an answer to the mysteries that were presenting themselves recently. 

“Can I ask you a question?” His tone showed he wasn’t sure if he would be pushing a boundary, but also showed that he had things he was curious about her as well. 

“Sure,” she nodded, still looking down at the leaves.

He worried his question would sound intrusive when in reality he was trying to figure out what all had been going on with Nat and Wanda. 

“How has training been going?” He kept it simple to start out. 

She noticeably locked up some at that, and he took it as if he had pushed too far. When in reality, the weight of not being a hundred percent honest about their findings was nagging at her recently. 

“Remember, when you’re ready to tell others, that’s your choice. We’ll help you figure it out until you’re ready for more people to know,” Wanda’s voice echoed in her thoughts. 

She never hesitated in trusting Bucky since he proved to be protective at the museum. Before that, she truthfully had found he was one of the few people in this world she had a genuine and natural trust toward. She had felt awful about keeping their discoveries about herself from him, but she had done it in fear of not truly knowing what all she was capable of. 

But after opening up to each other and the last few days spending quality time with each other, made keeping the secret hard and unnerving. 

Yet here he had created the space, to be honest finally and she was ready to let him in on it all. 

She stopped in her walk and when Bucky noticed, only one step ahead, he stopped and turned back to her with concerned eyes. 

“I haven’t been ready to share with anyone really what all came of that night at the museum, but it’s only because I didn’t understand it for myself and I wanted to talk to another girl about it,” she started, he took a soft step forward. “I just was worried you would be scared of what I did that night, but I didn’t even know for sure what I did.”

He lowered himself some to see her eyes where she was avoiding looking at him. 

“Y/N,” he reassured, placing a calming hand on her shoulder and coaxing her to look at him. “If you’re worried about my feelings being hurt because you waited until you were ready to tell me what’s going on, you shouldn’t be.” His words worked in getting her to make eye contact and he could see the distress ease some. “You never pushed me to tell you my past or worries. You let me explain them to you when I was ready. I would be a hypocrite to expect something different.”

She smiled at that, but then it slowly fell when she realized just how much she had kept from him. 

“Truthfully, it’s just kind of small things here and there, but-”

Her thought process was cut off and she looked over Bucky’s shoulder with eyes full of fear. He picked up on it immediately and turned around with his body shielding hers in instinct. 

But he didn’t see anything. It was the same clear path they had been walking the whole time. 

Then, before he could process the fact that there was a smell in the air that he knew, Y/N had jumped in front of him. She raised her arm and the sound of a shot echoed at the same time a large purple haze shielded them from the attempt. Bucky scanned the plum smog filled with overwhelming colors glistening throughout.

In any other situation, he would be looking closely at the details and making note of everything that he saw, but this situation could turn any second. There was a threat and that was his main priority. 

When she looked up from her position, eyes squinting, and realizing that it was done on instinct. An instinct she forgot she had until now. With her arm still up, they looked down seeing a squished bullet slightly smoking on the ground after its impact with the powerful mist. 

Bucky and she both shared a look of astonishment, but they were quickly occupied with who the assailant was. 

As if a completely different person, Y/N looked forward once again. When her eyes were back on the target, he noticed an anger in her eyes and a look of recognition.

Before he could look back to where she was staring, still seeing nothing himself, she twisted her hands in what looked like a practiced way. Both heels of her palms connected and with her hands open, she twisted them to the right making them change positions. 

In the motion, a dark purple field with specks of rays colors in energy enveloped her hand, and in front of them was a man with his arms stuck to his sides struggling to get out of the hold of invisible restraints. 

Bucky hadn’t realized, but in the past 30 seconds of all this happening, he had been stuck there with his mouth gaping wider and wider with each action she did. 

She stepped forward to the man a little more than 10 feet in front of them. Her look still showed her anger at the attack, but unlike the museum, she wasn’t terrified. She looked pissed. 

“You,” she mumbled, her hands still glowing and being the only thing keeping him incapacitated. 

He didn’t say anything, just stared at her in an intimidating and annoyed way. Bucky could see fear in his eyes, but behind it, he could see annoyance at her quick response. 

“You weren’t supposed to be able to do that yet,” he seethed, once again struggling in the invisible hold she had him in. 

“Who the hell are you?” The adrenaline was already wearing off, and the realization of the whole scene was settling in, but she pushed it away wanting answers. “What do you want?!” she shouted. 

He stared at her with a stone-cold look. He wasn’t going to talk. Bucky knew what the type of stubbornness was like on someone you needed information on. He knew there was a good chance they weren’t going to get anything out of him here. Not now at least. 

Bucky had to snap out of the bombshell that was just dropped on him and get Y/N and the enemy to a secure location. 

“Friday, tell Stark to get the cell ready. The one we talked about,” he quickly instructed into his watch, not stopping to hear a response as he approached Y/N. 

Before he could de-escalate the situation, Y/N moved her hands in another way that showed this wasn’t the first time she had done it, and the man fell to the ground completely knocked out. 

Bucky was once again trying to wrap his head around what just happened, but decided the questions would have to be asked at a less time-sensitive moment. 

When Y/N saw the unconscious body she looked shell-shocked at him. Bucky pulled her shoulder to him to turn her back to the body. 

“I’ll handle this, but I can’t let you leave my side, ok?” he instructed calmly.

She nodded, closing her eyes and trying to control her breaths which were becoming shakier and shakier by the second. 

“He won't be out for long, so we need to move him quickly,” she said in a small voice. “Don’t ask me how I know that, but trust me please.” Her plea was almost as if begging him to not look at her as a monster after she did what she did. 

“I trust you, Y/N. It’ll all be ok, I promise,” he nodded, assuring her that he wasn’t freaked out, even though he was. 

But it wasn’t the kind of freaking out that lost his trust. He was freaked out that she did what she did without hesitance and as if she had done it a hundred times before. 

Quickly, Bucky picked up the man and before they got to the entrance of the compound, a team of agents was already bringing equipment out that would keep him detained. 

After finding out about the enhancements of all those they were up against, Tony was quick to create restraints that would hopefully hold any type of mutant they had researched. He had made a form of handcuffs that kept the man from changing density, and he learned the invisibility enhancement was just bending light to keep others from seeing what he projected it toward. 

What would be impossible fixes for a normal person, but was just an average Tuesday experiment to Stark. 

___________________________ 

In the process of getting the new enemy in a secure environment and restraints, Bucky refused to let Y/N anywhere outside of his peripherals. 

He was working on the paperwork to admit the detainee and get the start of his report in. He wished he could have just signed a few and gone to check in with Y/N immediately, but paper and signature line one after the other wouldn’t stop coming. 

Y/N was across the room waiting for one of the nurses to do a check-in with her, while everyone else was running around frantically trying to get things under control after learning about the infiltration. 

Agents were running around checking security cameras and entrances, though they were coming up just as empty as Bucky did considering how he was able to break in. Tony was discussing security measures and instructions with the modified restraints and the room he was now in. Shield scientists were already running reports and writing up tests to answer the multitude of questions that were brought to them. 

It wasn’t the type of environment that Bucky wanted her in and he knew it was slowly starting to get to her when he could see clear signs of stress from the distance. 

Her leg was bouncing. Her hair was disheveled from the number of times she had combed her fingers through it. She couldn’t seem to focus on one thing and was watching everyone scramble around her. She had been fidgeting with her hands; popping them, intertwining them, and squeezing them together in patterns. 

He knew she was freaking out and wanted to get her out of there, but every time he got a step closer, another person was cutting him off, asking him questions, and making him sign things. 

Just before he was going to break through the crowd, not worried about another question that needed to be answered, he noticed the nurse they had been waiting on, was finally there.

She bent to the ground, set her medical bag by the chair, and started saying things that Bucky couldn’t hear over the chaos that was happening around him. She must have started listing all the things she was going to check up on because he could see Y/N avidly shaking her head at her instruction. 

Bucky watched closely, not paying any attention to the agent showing him security footage and asking how she saw him. He knew she was already on edge, and having to deal with a stranger at this time, wasn’t the best plan.  

Then she made the mistake many rookies made. She tried to lend support through physical touch by reaching out and placing a hand over Y/N’s trembling ones. 

Bucky knew instantly shit was about to hit the fan. Anyone struggling with PTSD, and especially with one that had triggers like Y/N, they were the last person you wanted to lay a hand on. With good intentions or not, you never know what kind of reaction you would get from physical touch. 

“I SAID, I DON’T WANT TO BE CHECKED ON!” she shouted and almost everyone in a 30-foot radius turned at the outburst. It was silent for the first time in the last 20 minutes. “Damn it! Would someone just listen to me!” She was up out of her seat screaming with anger and pure frustration in her actions and voice. 

It took the first three words of her eruption before Bucky was strutting to her. The kind of strut that made anyone in his path step quickly back, not wanting to be in his wake. 

The nurse was freaked out and already stepping away from Y/N in apprehension, but Y/N wasn’t showing any signs of wanting to harm her. Her back was toward the nurse and she held her head in her hands tightly trying to block out everything overstimulating her around her. She began pacing in her step just trying to calm herself down. 

Clearly, she wasn’t trying to scare anyone, but she was tired of being ignored. 

“Hey, hey,” Bucky came up to Y/N’s side calmly, careful not to make the same mistake as the nurse. Though he had taken the time to build that bond with Y/N that type of action from him didn’t scare her anymore, he knew she was a ticking bomb at the moment and didn’t want to stress her any more than she already was. “What’s going on? Are you ok?” 

“I’m fine,” she grunted, still clearly irritated with the situation. 

He looked to the nurse who noticed his stare and shakily brought a paper out to show the order that she was given. She came just to check her vitals and take a blood sample. 

Bucky nodded, showing she wasn’t in trouble, but gave her a head nod showing it was best she just stayed back. She  agreed, grabbed her bag quickly, and moved to another area. 

“Y/N,” he said softly, his hands up showing surrender if she did turn around. The signal showcased that wasn’t going to make her do anything she didn’t want to. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

She didn’t respond or lift her head from the cradle she held it in. She seemed to find a place of solitude in her controlled position. He let her stay there for a bit and when he turned to see most people still staring in dead silence, he gave a glare to them all and they quickly went back to work. 

If there was one thing about his past that was actually beneficial, it was that it made it easy for him to give a single look to get what he wanted.

The loud environment started back up, and to his surprise that seemed to bring her back to him. He deducted she didn’t care for the attention on her and wanted privacy in her meltdown given being in a very public place.

And deep down, she was embarrassed that she had reacted the way she had. She didn’t mean to scare the women trying to help her, but everyone was ignoring her when she said she was fine. She didn’t want help. She didn’t want people messing with her while she tried to process what just happened. 

Yet not a single person listened when she said she needed a second alone. They just kept telling her not to leave and to stay seated and wait until she was checked on by a professional, while they hauled Bucky to the other side of the giant facility. 

“I just needed a second,” Y/N finally replied. Her voice was barely above a whisper. “But no one would let me have it.” 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “It’s protocol to run those kinds of tests. I meant to tell them to wait, but they kept hauling me back for more notes.” He took a step forward, lowering his arms some. 

She turned halfway to him. Her anger dissipated some but the hurt and annoyance were evident in her body language. 

“Can I go?”

“Now?” 

She didn’t answer but instead gave him a look that asked, “Are you seriously asking me that?” 

This version of her was new to him. He had seen her terrified and stunned. He’s seen her upset and saddened. He’d seen her happy and comfortable. But he had never seen her angry. 

This was new territory to him and he wasn’t sure how to approach it. Especially since his answer was not the one she was wanting from him.

All he could think to do was be honest. 

“I know you want to get out of here, but I think you should at least let her take your vitals. What happened out there wasn’t something you can just walk away from-”

“I’ve walked away from worse,” she snarked back.

He’d seen positive sides to her bold and quick wit traits, but he wasn’t sure how to take this meaner version of it. 

“Y/N,” he furrowed his eyebrows, still trying to process her remark. He didn’t want to be domineering, but he was extremely protective of her at the moment and needed her to be ok. “I’m not trying to make you upset, but it won’t hurt to have someone check to see if everything is ok.”

“Please, just let me leave,” she turned her back to him again, bringing her arms to hug herself. Her snark started to die as she was becoming exhausted begging for someone to just trust her and let her leave. “I’m fine. I just want to go curl under a blanket and hide away.”

He got it now. 

The flip of anger to surrendering back and forth was partially her adrenaline crashing, and partially what he believed to be guilt. The emotion came from feeling at fault for all this happening to people she’d grown close to, homes. 

He hated that she felt that way when she was at no fault at all. It wasn’t her fault that people were hunting her down even though she was actively avoiding them. And it wasn’t her fault for them infiltrating a highly secure facility. She was not at fault for others actions.

Bucky wanted to grant her her request and let her go curl up away and hide from the world that wanted so badly to keep beating her down. He wanted to be the person who kept her safe from it as well. 

But in keeping her safe, they needed to do a check-up after what he saw her do. There was no way everything was normal. 

“Doll,” he started, and she turned to him with hope in her eyes. But before he could crush her dreams, he was saved by Bruce. 

“Hey. What’s going on over here?” he smiled, friendly and keeping a casual tone about everything even though he was coming into the facility when he heard the commotion. “Everything ok?”

“Banner,” Bucky sighed, a breath of relief following. He stayed next to Y/N but motioned Bruce closer. “I could use your help,” he whispered to him. 

Bruce nodded but went on to ask Y/N questions knowing how to play his cards. 

“I heard what happened. Is everyone ok?” he asked her, really asking because he knew the answer that everyone was ok, would relieve a person's soul that feels guilty for what they did. Experience, wink, wink. 

When she turned to him, she looked back at Bucky as if double-checking he was actually ok, and then looked back to Banner and nodded. 

“Good. Then everything is perfectly fine,” he smiled reassuringly. “How do you feel about getting you to bed and out of this place? It’s not very calming in here,” he shook his head before motioning for her to lead.

She gave him a look surprised someone was letting her go and she didn’t even have to ask them. But she took the opportunity quickly and began walking to the exit with the purpose of getting out of there fast before they could change their mind. 

Bucky and Bruce followed behind and Bucky started getting onto Banner. 

“What are you doing?! She needed to have someone check her over and make sure she didn’t get hurt,” he started. 

“She stopped a bullet with her hands, Barnes. I don’t think she got hurt,” he chuckled as if not even slightly bothered by the problem Bucky was worrying himself about. 

“The hell?!” Bucky was confused by the scientist. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am,” he replied, following about 20 steps behind Y/N. “I’m not letting that new intern poke and prod at Y/N.”

“What?” Bucky was lost now. “She was a normal nurse.” 

“No, she was called due to an emergency. She was a student CNA which is a nurse's assistant,” he broke down. “I watched her put an IV in a plastic dummy 12 times before she got it right. That thing doesn’t have a pulse or move and she kept missing.” 

Bucky’s head turned at that. It made sense why she made such a rookie move touching Y/N’s arm without a second thought. And the horror on her face when she was screamed at… 

“Ok, but why are you letting her go to her room?” he whispered now they were out of the loud and overpowering ruckus. 

“I can still take a sample and run a simple check-up from there,” he shrugged. “Plus she’s more comfortable in her own space, so I won’t be poking her when she’s already anxious and uncomfortable. She hates needles already. Why add to the stress?”

“You have no tools on you,” Bucky checked him. 

“I had someone leave a bag in the kitchen if she ends up letting me do the check-up,” Bruce answered. 

“How did you know-?”

Bruce stopped in his step and Bucky halted with him. 

“I know you’re smarter than this, Barnes. But I also know you’re probably still in shock with everything that just happened. Most everyone here suffers from PTSD. The Avengers just happened to be the most mentally ill considering how we tend to all get to that kind of ranking,” he smiled at him, before placing a hand on his shoulder and looking up at him with a wise grin. “I know too well the steps a person takes to calm their nerves. I knew Y/N would be freaking out after what happened out there. I too would rather be in my room than the hell we just walked out of.” 

And he walked on following where Y/N clicked the elevator and kindly waited next to her as she rocked on her feet waiting for the number to match their floor. 

Maybe it was the fact he was still trying to process the whole last hour of everything they had gone through. 

Shit. It had only been an hour. 

He hadn’t even had a chance to process it all. 

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[garbinge]

Never Okay

Opie Winston x OC Joanne Teller

From these August Prompts: Blinding & For @the-slumberparty's Bingo Challenge! Bingo square: Biker A/N: This is... dark and very sad and emotional. Totally get if no one wants to read this cause it's heavy (warnings below) but the story has been in my head and I just... let words hit paper. Again, I love writing for my Teller sister OC outside of her little multi chap I have.. this is an AU to my own fic, yet again. And an AU to canon in a way.

Words: 2.6k

Warnings: Spoilers for series finale of SOA. Canon level mentions of suicide. Mentions of suicide, losing a sibling, murder, grief, angst, nightmares, tense, car/bike accidents, torment, trauma, self blame, not a happy or content ending.

SOA Taglist: @drabbles-mc @justreblogginfics

The breeze was cold and felt eerie along her skin. It was late into the night and Joanne was standing in the middle of the highway. Her head turned to get a look at what was around her, where she was. 508. She knew the road well, too well honestly. Her head looked up ahead and saw the rocks that framed the edge of the road where her father’s initials were permanently marked as well as his soul. But what was she doing here? Why was she standing in the middle of the empty highway in the middle of the night? There was no sign of how she got there, no cars, no people, just her. Her head looked down and she noticed she was in one of Opie’s t-shirts, it was practically swimming on her, her feet were bare, no socks, no shoes. Before she could question any of that, she heard the rumbling of a motorcycle. Her eyes looked up, at first, expecting Opie to be coming to pick her up, explain what the fuck was happening, but it wasn’t him. She saw the bike that was now passing those tall mountained rocks, it was teal, a Tiffany blue to be more exact, the color she had told her father to paint the bike when she was younger. She felt the joy hitch in her throat as she recognized the person on the bike, even from far away. Her father. The smile on her face grew and she took a few steps forward as if that was going to bring her closer to him. Her voice called out while her hands waved. It felt so strange calling out to her father, it was something she hadn’t done in years because, well, JT was dead. Once her mind wrapped itself around that fact, that joyous feeling sunk back into her gut and the bike suddenly turned electric blue and the figure on the bike changed too. Joanne saw her brother, no helmet, smile on his face, and hands beginning to release the handlebars of the bike. Her heart dropped and she began running towards Jax, screaming, telling him to stop, begging, crying, she was so wrapped up in getting her brother’s attention that she didn’t notice the tractor trailer behind her. Her body turned and her hands moved up to shield herself from the blinding headlights, out of instinct she turned the opposite direction but was met with the same blinding light from Jax’s bike. Impulsively she crouched down and shielded herself as both vehicles drove directly at her. She felt two hands on either one of her shoulders and a whisper in her ear that sounded just like the two deceased men in her life. “It’s okay, Jo.” They both said at the same time and the chills that moved down her arms mixed with the noise of beeping and crashing sent her straight awake.

As she sat up in bed her hand moved to her chest in an attempt to slow its rapid beating and catch her breath. It was a dream. Well, more like a nightmare. But nonetheless, it wasn’t real even though it all felt extremely real. Her eyes moved over to the other side of the bed where Opie laid sound asleep, his long hair sprawled around the pillow and his black tank top sat snug across his chest with the comforter half on and half off. His snores were light but they were enough to let Jo know her sudden jolt didn’t stir him awake. After a deep breath she moved her eyes to the nightstand, 3:30AM. She wasn’t sure the last time she could sleep through the night, it’d been months but when everynight posed its own issue preventing sleep, things began to feel like years. 

Jo stood up, one thing remained true from her dream, she was still swimming in Opie’s shirt, but she quickly threw on a pair of socks to protect her feet from the cold hardwood floors. Managing to tip toe out of their shared bedroom, she moved down the hallway and began checking in on the three bedrooms past hers. The first one which belonged to Dylan and Ellie, her daughter with an ex and Opie’s daughter, both girls were sound asleep on the bunk beds that they begged to have. Jo silently closed the door and moved onto the next room which was Kenny’s. Their only son. He was asleep as well, but not in bed. He was passed out in the bean bag that sat in the corner of the kid’s room, a video game controller in one hand and the other across his chest. He slept similarly to Opie, sprawled out with a blanket half on and half off, it made her smile before she lightly closed the door and made her way to the last bedroom. Nicolette’s. Their child together who was aging out of her crib as the days passed. The door was already open in the baby’s room, they left it that way so they could hear her cries better in case the monitor didn’t pick it up entirely. 

The baby was sound asleep as well. There was a part of Joanne that wished she was awake, needed to eat, needed to be burped or just simply wanted to be up. It’d give her something to do since she was up and had no intention of going back to sleep, it’d also give her something to push every aspect she had been going over and over in her head about the nightmare. But, she opted to let the baby sleep and make her way to the garage. 

Her hand rested on the door handle for a minute. Thinking if this was something she wanted to do or if it was just going to put her deeper in grief, deeper in depression. Ultimately, she decided to open the door and she saw the skeleton of the Teller bike and then the parts scattered on the work table against the garage wall. The Teller bike took the place of the panhead Opie had bought back when they decided to leave Charming and the club behind. She thought she had escaped the violence, escaped the torment and path of a bloody Teller life but no matter where she went, it’d follow her. 

“Can’t sleep?” Opie’s voice was soft and didn’t startle Jo one bit. That was one perk of feeling dead inside, nothing frightened her anymore. Sure, she feared for her kids but not for herself. 

“Never can.” Jo stood in the doorway, arms crossed leaned up against the frame staring at the bike that her brother crashed and died on. 

“I told you if you had an issue with me rebuilding it, I’d take it somewhere else.” Opie was now towering behind Jo, his body slightly touching her back as his arm moved up and down her arm. 

“No, I like knowing you’re close when you’re working on it.” Jo protested and melted into Opie’s grip. 

That was one thing she’d never intentionally do, take out her grief on Opie. He had his own share, between Donna and Piney and now their shared grief over Jax. She knew his shoulders were heavy with burden as well.

“You dream about him again?” Opie’s voice was soft now. 

Joanne hummed. “Both of ‘em. I feel like they’re fuckin’ talking to me.” 

“You’ve always felt that way when it came to JT.” Opie rested his head next to Jo’s as they talked. 

“It’s different now, I feel so fucking connected to Jax, JT never haunted me the way Jax’s death is.” Jo shook her head. 

“It’s still fresh. You gotta cut yourself a break.” Opie was now removing himself from Jo and stood directly next to her in the doorway, but he was facing her while she was still staring at the bike. 

“How come you’re so put together.” Jo looked over at her husband, the statement was a little aggressive, again, it was something she’d never intentionally do, didn’t mean that anger didn’t come pushing through sometimes. 

“It’s the life, babe.” Opie shook his head. It’s when Jo realized he tied his hair back into a bun compared to the sprawled out mess it was in bed when she left. 

“It’s not our life anymore.” Jo was back to staring at the bike. 

“But Jax didn’t give it up like we did. You tried, you tried to get him to come with us, but he chose the life.” 

“So that’s what allows you to accept it? Because it's the life?” Jo was trying to wrap her brain around that. 

“I was in the life, Jo. I get it. It’ll always be a part of guys like me and Jax, it makes it easier to understand.”

Was it? Was that what made it easier to understand? Those were the thoughts pinballing in Jo’s head. She was a part of the life, too. Whether she liked it or not. Maybe that was the difference, Jo didn’t exactly choose this life, it was forced on her, she was born into it. But it was the same for Jax and Opie. They all came from the parental lineage of the club. At one point though, it did become a choice. Jax and Opie became grown men and were fully accountable for their actions, their choices, their decisions. So did Jo. In different ways, that was likely where their paths forked. But somewhere along the way, Jo and Ope made the decision to get out. After all that loss the inevitability of the loss to come, it was the only thing that made sense. Jo had begged Jax to leave, begged him to take the kids and come with them but the ghost of JT haunted him in a way that it didn’t haunt her. JT might have loved the club but Jo didn’t think he loved it enough to sacrifice his kids, their well being. Jo’s argument was that was why the club was created, a way to live out a certain way of life, and time and time again, the club proved that wasn’t possible. It’s why JT wrote the manuscript, he was holding on to hope, the same hope that kept the reaper’s grip tight on Jax. Jax also had Gemma in his ear in a way that Jo didn’t. When Jo told Gemma she was packing up her and Opie’s kids and getting the hell out of Charming, Gemma gave some mumbled half assed comment before leaving and really taking it out on Opie. Everything that should have been said to Jo, was said to Opie. Gemma practically begged him to stay, for the club, for Jax. That Jo was just an old lady that needed to be put in her place, and listen to her husband. That was the breaking point of a long line of tension building between the two women. But ultimately, Gemma pulled one Teller back in. The Teller that was going to kill her. The Teller that would ultimately be the demise of Gemma Teller-Morrow. The weight of Gemma’s death didn’t weight on Jo the way everyone thought it would. She was content with it, similar in a way that Opie was with Jax. It was part of the life. Gemma knew what the life was. Through and through and chose it every time. Gemma was the reason JT was dead, whether Jo knew the gory and full truth, she had enough to place blame, Gemma was the reason Jo’s nephews were orphans, she was the reason why there was a strew of death all falling at her feet.

That’s what made Jo think more about Gemma. How she practically groomed her to become an old lady, a club girl.  How she wasn’t a good mother and maybe she could let that go for herself but she couldn’t for Jax. Maybe that’s what it all came down to. The fact that Jo tried so hard as the eldest sibling to be the parent that Jax needed while also being his older sister, while watching out for him, while seeing the good in the man and not pushing him to become something he’d never be able to come back from. But none of it worked. No matter how hard Jo tried, Gemma always won. And Jo always lost. 

So, that was why Jo had an issue blaming the life for the literal wreck in front of her. Because it wasn’t so much the life to blame but the web that Gemma spun for her own personal gain. 

“I would blame the life if he was gunned down by an enemy MC, shivved in prison, hell, even taken down on his bike. But this, Ope? This wasn’t the life. This was our life. The Teller life did this. Gemma did this–” Joanne was getting angrier as she spoke but the last sentence got stuck in her throat as she stopped short of saying what was seconds away from spilling out from her brain through her mouth. 

“You know you did everything you could, this doesn’t land on you.” Opie’s voice got serious now. He knew what she was going to say, that she was going to put the blame on herself. It was an odd position for Opie to be in, being the one trying to ground Joanne, be her support when all these years that was what she did for him. 

Joanne let out a laugh at the statement. This doesn’t land on you. Everything landed on someone in this life. 

“This all lands on me, Ope.” Jo shook her head, pushing off the door frame. “I was the only one there for him. I could’ve pulled him out. I could have prevented this. All of this.” Jo was beginning to spiral. 

“Jax was a grown man, Joanne.” Opie’s voice was soft even though the statement was firm. “Every decision he made falls on him, not me, not Gemma, not you.”

Joanne looked over at him and gave him a look. “Alright, yea, we can blame Gemma a little.” His stance softened and Jo managed to let out a laugh for the first time in a long time. 

She moved over to him and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she melted into his embrace. Opie’s head rested on Joanne’s as their embrace tightened. “Wendy and Nero are taking the boys horseback riding tomorrow.” Opie mumbled on Jo’s head. “Figured we could take the kids.” 

Jo let out a sigh of relief. If there was one thing that came from all of this, it was that Opie and them moved onto Nero’s farm with Wendy and the boys. It allowed Jo to be close to them, help raise them, be some type of fucked up family. 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Jo nodded her head against Opie. 

“You wanna talk about the dream?” Opie asked, bringing up their original conversation. 

“I was on 508, blinding lights from both directions. JT and Jax coming straight at me while the truck was coming from the other side. Then they whispered to me that it’s okay.” 

“Maybe it is okay.” Opie said, still hugging the girl. 

Jo wanted to respond but instead, she just kept her thought to herself.

Or maybe it never will be.

#SOA #Sons of Anarchy #SOA fanfic #Opie Winston #Opie Winston x OC

[technocipher]

Something I've noticed about Jack at Home Base in my most recent playthrough is that he almost always seems to be watching the Protagonist. I say this because every time I've passed by him, his idle animation has him turn to look. And maybe I'm reading too much into it, maybe I'm overthinking it, but it almost seems like he has to keep an eye on the Protagonist.

Where Jack stands by the objective board, he has a clear view of the steps. Here, his observation is more limited; he has Louis standing to his right, and the board directly in front of him. If he leans over too much, Louis will notice, possibly even blow his cover. The best way to monitor the Successor from his position is through furtive glances. Where Jack stands gives the illusion of preoccupation.

Right by Davis, Jack has a perfect view of the mistle. He can easily keep an eye out for the Successor of the Blood, and keep watching them if they approach the punching bag. He also can keep them in his peripheral vision if they're at Murasame's counter.

In front of Louis's desk, Jack can monitor the Protagonist from his peripheral vision. The pretense of business masks him well here, and they likely will not pay him any mind. It is a stealthier approach compared to his other positions.

His position by the curtain in the sanctuary especially permits a wide angle of view. Almost anywhere the Protagonist walks or runs, Jack can see them. From a defensive standpoint, his back is protected; with him watching the doors, any invaders -- Lost or otherwise -- will be spotted quickly. To keep a close eye on the door ensures protection for the Protagonist, as well. This way, they won't be taken from him again. He can proactively stop a threat far quicker than he was able to before, back in Operation Queenslayer. He won't lose them a second time if he can help it.

Even when he's seated at the farthest end of Home Base, he has direct line of sight. It isn't that he looks ahead; rather, his attention is focused more towards Io's post. He seems to closely observe when the Protagonist handles vestiges with their attendant. Fixes them, returning memories to those who desperately needed answers to long-forgotten questions.

Some part of me wonders if Jack wrestles with himself in that very spot. By way of what he thought was a mercy killing, Jack helped to bring that ability forth, perhaps indirectly. Yet at the same time, he placed the terrible burden of being a Successor upon them. Does the Protagonist fear an eventual transformation just as much as he does? Is this how he'll lose them again? Perhaps this is the reason why Jack's gaze is more intense here than in the other positions. His own tumultuous thoughts play upon his face, casting a gravity that does not show itself often outside of battle.

Another part of me wonders if he's monitoring the Protagonist's relic status. This is especially something to consider if the Protagonist is aiming for a Bad Ending run. With multiple Relics housed within their body, the risk of frenzy heightens. The game never quite goes into detail about how the color or shape changes, aura-wise, when Jack is observing the status of a Successor. If it fluctuates, shrinks, pulses, or even glows brighter. On a Bad Ending run, however, the Protagonist's aura must be horrific. Jack would have no other choice but to kill them again. His mental health may never recover, but when he has no choice but to bear another relic and sleep within the confines of a Crypt, he will not be awake to know much else. Perhaps in his fitful, tormented nightmares, he will once again dream of the Protagonist he could not save. A Bad Ending run destroys Jack far more than most may consider.

I also wonder if perhaps Jack keeps an eye on the Protagonist for fear of losing them again. What happens if they don't return to Home Base in one piece? They're not always going to have him accompanying them. Any activity around the mistle will draw his attention. We know that Jack is extremely attached to the Protagonist. (I suspect he has a habit of getting attached to his others partners in differing degrees, but that's a text dump for another time.) Valerio's vestiges show a man haunted and broken by the Protagonist's mercy killing. The Protagonist is someone he places in a high -- perhaps the highest -- esteem.

Two of his lines when the Protagonist returns to the mistle speak volumes about his feelings.

"You're up already? Well, good."

"Hmph. Don't make me so anxious like that..."

I cite that first line because of its vocal inflection. His voice lifts up in an earnest, almost boyish manner. It's positively adorable! He's overjoyed that the Protagonist is back -- that they're alive -- and now he can return to exploring alongside them. The fondness he carries bleeds into his voice, perhaps without him even being aware of it. It's a line that makes me smile even on unsuccessful boss runs.

The next one offers a glimpse into his underlying fears. Jack is constantly worried about losing the Protagonist again. The game glosses over how long a revenant's reformation really takes. Where gameplay is concerned, of course it's going to be instantaneous! But since it took the Protagonist quite a long time to reform following Operation Queenslayer (at least eight years or more), they may be prone to longer reformation times. Jack must pace around the mistle, dragging his fingers through his hair, constantly checking the perimeter for any trace of particle movement. The stress of waiting must tug at his insides, rot him from within. This line shows a great deal of vulnerability, baring more of himself than most seem to realize.

His constant observation of the Protagonist at Home Base serves to reassure him. They're alive, they're back, and they haven't been turned to ash. They haven't frenzied and transformed into a ravenous monstrosity. He won't have to put them down; Jack won't lose them again if he can help it. This peace of mind is one he hasn't allowed for himself in a long time. Even still, he cannot completely let his guard down. To do so would be fatal, and the Gaol of the Mists is unforgiving of even the slightest errors.

A Normal Ending run does not show how he feels about the Protagonist assuming control of Silva's relic, but Jack may be far more unhappy about it than he lets on. The status quo is maintained in the manner Silva intended, but at the cost of any valuable change. The imperfect system will never improve. And on top of it all, Jack loses the irreplaceable company of the Protagonist. He can visit them at any time, but he can't converse with them. They'll never again smile at him, swap stories with him, or dance by him when the jukebox plays. What is left? An absence? I can't see him being pleased about such a loss long-term. In the end, all the Normal Ending offers is a different facet of loss.

During the Good/Golden Ending... he still loses the Protagonist. Though they're alive -- happier, perhaps, in some aspects -- but they're going. Drifting, even, far beyond the limited tides the Gaol of the Mists offers. He may not ever see them again. Does it truly please him, even then? Perhaps during the (infuriatingly) vague timeskip, Jack finally takes the time to have a heart-to-heart discussion with the Protagonist. Maybe they both clear the air and settle their unresolved troubles, maybe it's something a little more than that. I can't picture Jack being completely content about the Protagonist's departure... treading out into the unknown where he can no longer look out for them.

There is much more to Jack than the game will touch upon... but the nuances are certainly there.

#code vein #jack rutherford #i just had to get this out of my system #it's been bouncing around my skull for weeks #go figure i only pick up on this like three years later #ok back to lurking #i caught jack watching from the objective board #see he's a sneaky boy #not sneaky enough for my detail-oriented eyes #character analysis #rife with every ounce of overthinking I can muster #i have a stronger bias towards a certain pairing admittedly #easy to tell i'm sure #if only code vein's plot wasn't all over the place #i'll be complaining about it forever at the rate i'm going #oh look another archival edit #don't like don't read