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angstysebfan · 6 months

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My Roommates Boyfriend - Chapter 2

Pairing: Bucky x Female Reader AU: Modern

Chapter Summary: The drive begins... along with some tears.... Warnings: Angst, cursing, asshole Bucky

Series Masterlist

You woke up the next morning at 4, just to give you enough time before Bucky arrived. You showered and finished packing some last minute supplies. You had bought snacks for the car and made different playlists, as you weren’t sure what kind of music Bucky listened to.

At 4:45 exactly your front door opened to reveal Bucky, with a duffel bag over his shoulder. You were busy making coffee in to-go cups. You looked up in surprise, forgetting Nat had given Bucky a key.

“Remind me to get that key from you before we separate,” you say with a sigh. Buck just rolls his eyes and sits on the couch, saying nothing.

“Good morning Bucky, how do you take your coffee?” you ask sarcastically.

He glares at you, which makes you want to laugh. He obviously isn’t a morning person.

“Black,” he says.

You put a cover over the black coffee and hand it to him. He takes it and turns to sit on the couch.

“You’re welcome” you say, rolling your eyes. This was going to be a long trip.

You grab your stuff and you both head out the door. When you get to the car, you grab the keys from your purse, which are quickly yanked from your hand.

“I’m driving,” he says, getting into the drivers seat.

You angrily throw your bag into the trunk with his and close it. Before getting in, you flip him off behind his back, just to make yourself feel better. Then walk over to the passenger side and get in.

Once you buckle up you take out a stack papers from your purse as Bucky starts the car and immediately pulls away from the curb.

“Okay, so I have everything mapped out, and even put deposits at a few hotels and motels on the way, separate rooms of course. I also circled some fun things we might want to see before–”

Before you can finish your sentence, Bucky grabs the papers out of your hand and throwing them out of the open window.

“I’m not gonna following any plan of yours. This is not some fun road trip, alright! The sooner we get there, the sooner we're away from each other. Which can't come soon enough,” he says the last part more to himself, keeping his eyes on the road.

“What the actual fuck Bucky!? You don’t have to be such a douchebag to me all the time!” you say, trying to keep your emotions at bay.

Maybe it was the early hour and the lack of sleep, but you were really trying hard not to cry. Bucky just ignores you and keeps driving, while you tear up in the passenger seat, your arms crossed over your chest.

“Look, we don’t need some stupid plan. It’s 2020, we have GPS on our phones,” he says.

You decide saying nothing is the best option. You turn away from him and lean your head on the window, allowing the tears to come down. You really wanted to tell him to stop and let you out before you left the city. But then you thought of Nat, and decided that you would make the most of this time. After all, you will never see Bucky Barnes again after this trip. Man did she owe you after this trip.

After an hour of silence, you grab your phone and start looking through the playlists you created. You weren’t sure how to broach the subject with Bucky, since everything you did seemed to annoy him. You find your classic rock playlist, you looked at Bucky.

“Um… I’m sure you don’t want to sit in silence the whole time. I made a few playlists, since I didn’t know what kind of music you like. I have a classic rock one, if that works for you,” you say cautiously.

Bucky’s eyebrows shoot up for a moment, then he glances at you with an unreadable look.

“You… you like classic rock?” he asks, shocked.

You scoff, “Yeah, what kind of music did you think I listened to?” you ask. He shrugs, not taking his eyes off the road, “Not sure, I thought some Ariana Grande or some shit like that.”

You roll your eyes, “Do you want the classic rock or not?” you ask, getting slightly annoyed.

He smirks, “By all means princess,” he says.

You grab the aux cord and plug it into your phone, ignoring the name called you. Queen’s greatest hits starts playing, and before you know it, you are both bouncing your head to the beat and singing along. You realize this is the first time that you both are near each other and not tearing each other’s heads off. It’s nice, if you were to be perfectly honest.

Soon you find your eyelids getting heavy. You hate falling asleep in the car when there is no one else is in the car. Bucky sees you struggling and rolls his eyes.

“Just take a nap, I’m fine,” he says.

You look at him for a moment and then lean against the window, allowing your eyes to finally close.

–

Bucky’s POV (not saying anything out loud)

"Look at you, sleeping huddled against the door. You actually look…. adorable, to be honest. Not that I would ever let you know that. I will never let you know I actually find you attractive... more than attractive. Not after what you said about me. You try and act like you're this nice innocent girl, but I know the real truth. You're nothing but judgmental and cruel. Nat might have been fooled, but you couldn’t fool me.

I still can’t believe Nat is forcing me to drive you across the country. I thought this was going to be my last days with my girl. We both decided long distance was too complicated, so we were going to part as friends. But, man am I going to miss her. She's just so beautiful, and funny, and smart. But she wasn’t my first choice to be honest...

If only you knew that it was you that I was looking at that night. It was you that I wanted to talk to. Good thing I found out who you really are before I made a move. Not that I wasn’t happy with Nat, but it was really you who caught my eye that night. But I won't fall for your good looks, kissable lips, and sweet smile. I’ll continue to keep my distance from you and your tricks because I know who you really are.

–

When you opened your eyes the sun was high in the sky. Your music was still playing, now moving on to The Beatles. You check the time and see that it is past noon. You stretch your arms up, which causes your shirt to ride up, showing just a slight amount of skin. You don’t notice Bucky glancing at it.

“Where are we?” you ask as you yawn.

“Western Pennsylvania, not too far from the United 93 Memorial, I think,” Bucky says dryly.

You look at him and bite your lower lip. “Do… uh.. do you think we could stop there? I've always wanted to see it,” you say.

Bucky rolls his eyes. “This isn’t that kind of road trip. I just want to get to Seattle,” Bucky says.

You look down at your hands, nodding sadly, then look back out your window.

Bucky looks at you while you look sadly out your window. “Fine, we can stop there. Stop your pouting, please!” he says, exasperated.

You look at him and can’t help the smile that comes across your lips. Bucky’s breath hitches when he sees that site, but quickly shakes it off. He starts following the signs toward the memorial site.

After touring the memorial for two hours, you both get into the car. You both have been having quiet conversations about what you remember about 9/11. Where you were, what you were doing, how you felt. It was honestly the easiest and nicest conversation you both have had with each other.

When Bucky gets back onto the highway he sees a sign for a rest stop. “You hungry?” he asks.

“Starving” you say with a laugh. “I’ll stop at the rest stop to fill up and grab food, but I want to get back on the road quickly since we lost time at the memorial,” he says. You give him a thumbs up and put your playlist back on.

As you are driving toward the rest stop, you think about how today was actually an okay day. Maybe this road trip wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe you and Bucky could make it across the country without killing each other. When you pull up to the gas tank you grab your wallet.

“What do you want? I’ll grab the food.” you say looking at Bucky.

“Just a burger or something. I’ll get the gas,” he says calmly.

You smile at him before leaving the car. After getting you both 2 burgers, fries, and cokes, you walk back to the car, where Bucky is waiting. You get in and hand him his bag with a smile.

“Took you long enough. I didn’t realize getting a burger was so difficult,” he snaps at you.

You sigh defeatedly, so much for having a good day. “It’s not my fault there was a long line. I got it as fast as I could,” you say calmly.

He scoffs at you, as he takes a bite of his burger. “I’m sure you did the best you could,” he says rolling his eyes.

You get back onto the highway, with complete silence in the car. The only noise was you both chewing or drinking your soda’s. The sun was starting to set as you passed the Ohio state line. You take out your phone and start looking at hotels in the area, since you are no where near where you planned on driving so all your hotel choices are obsolete.

“There's a motel about 10 miles up, if you want to stop for the night,” you say, keeping your eyes on your phone.

“Well, if the princess needs her beauty sleep, then of course I'll stop.” Bucky says sarcastically.

Your eyes shoot up and you look at his side profile. “Excuse me?!” you say, your voice raising. “I was thinking about you, dick! Especially since you've been driving all day. I'd rather not die in an accident because you fell asleep at the wheel. Since you obviously don’t want me to drive, I figured allowing you some rest was the next best option. Do you have to bite my goddamn head off with everything I say?!” You shout.

Bucky laughs, “Oh yeah, like you really give a flying fuck about me. I know what you really think of me. You don’t have to put on this show anymore, Nat's not here,” he says.

You look at him like he has 10 heads. “I would love to know what you think I think of you. I've been nothing but nice to you ever since I first met you. YOU, on the other hand, have been a complete and utter asshole and don’t care if you hurt my feelings.”

Bucky laughs again, “Yeah, keep going with your innocent act. Pretend I’m the bad guy. I may be an asshole, but we both know what you said that night in the bar,” Bucky sneers.

You look at him and scoff, “I actually have no idea what you are talking about, but whatever. Do you want to sleep at the motel or not?” you say annoyed.

“Fine, I’d be fine sleeping in the car, but I don’t want the princess to be uncomfortable,” he said.

You look back down at your phone, again trying to keep the tears at bay. You hate the way he always manages to get a reaction from you. As you are looking for hotels you get a text from Nat”

-Hey love, how’s the trip?

-Ugh… Bucky is being Bucky. I still don’t know why you wanted the two of us to come together.

-You know I always have my reasons. You're just going to have to trust my instincts on this one.

What does that mean? What does Nat have planned?

Part 1 / Part 3

Yeah Bucky is an asshole... and you'll find out why soon. Will it make a difference is the actual question. Also what does Nat mean? If you already read this don't spoil it! Feedback is appreciated!

Permanent Taglist: Permanent Taglist: @rebekahdawkins @marajade1974 @missvelvetsstuff @phillygirl77 @pattiemac1 @winterslove1917 @vampire7595 @unkasworld @midnightramyeoncravings

Story Taglist: @unaxv

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky angst #james buchanan barnes #james bucky barnes #bucky x y/n #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes angst #bucky x you #bucky x natasha #enemies to lovers #bucky barnes modern au #modern au #bucky is an asshole #misunderstanding

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flightfoot · 4 months

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ML Fanfic Recs for 2023: 60K - 80K Words

So I’ve been going through and adding particularly good fics I’ve read throughout the year. Only Complete fics, of course. Enjoy!

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drowning (in plain sight) by @buggachat

Everybody had expected Monarch's defeat to be a moment of triumph. Nobody had expected Gabriel Agreste, unmasked and mind frayed from continual abuse of the miraculous, crying out to all who would listen and making Paris certain of one thing:

His son, Adrien Agreste, is one of his sentimonsters.

And now he's missing.

Nobody can find him— not even the superheroes, and not even his closest friends. But Marinette, Nino, and Alya aren't ones to give up so easily. They'll find him, no matter what it takes.

(But, geez, would it kill Chat Noir to lend a hand?)

I’m sure everyone saw this one coming. If there’s one thing buggachat’s good at, storywise, it’s capturing raw, tumultuous emotions, frantic breakdowns as the characters desperately try to navigate bad situations. This was a real treat to read, as I’m betting most people reading this will agree, given just how popular the fic has been. It also has a ton of fanart, both by buggachat and by random fans, if you go looking for it (there’s a drowning in plain sight tag which I’d advise perusing).

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The Rules of Engagement by @overworkedunderwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face.

Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years.

As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible.

Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

They might not be superheroes in this universe, but secret identities are still active here. Both Marinette and Adrien used to be involved with the Ladybug and Chat Noir movies, and both kept that a secret - Adrien especially, since if his father found out about it, there could be some bad repercussions, as he voiced Chat Noir without Gabriel’s permission. Marinette, meanwhile, is well known for making cosplay (calling herself “Ladybug” after the movie), and has been in contact with “Chat Noir” for quite some time before the story starts - not that she knows he’s the actual VA.

It’s mostly an Adrienette fic with the two of them getting to know each other after their unusual “first” meeting, where Marinette pretended to be Kagami in order to scupper the date with Adrien and get Tomoe off her back, with some intrigue and drama thrown in. Lila’s skulking around causing problems for the people around her, but she’s honestly not the main focus here.

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call it even by @anna-scribbles and @sha-nwa

After a year of dating, there is one thing Marinette knows for certain: it's her and Adrien against the world. Through it all, Adrien is kind, patient, and endlessly understanding—even as she tries her best to keep her secret superhero identity hidden from him along with the rest of the world.

Nothing could ruin it, not even the supervillains of Paris: Hawkmoth and Chat Noir.

(adrinette dating // ladynoir enemies au)

This is one of those fics where Adrien and Marinette are REALLY going through it emotionally, with them starting off with wildly different perceptions of each other when untransformed, and then reckoning with the person they love the most being someone they think of as a villain, with all the betrayal and doubt that involves. Especially with Adrien having been lied to extensively by his father, and not knowing who or what to believe.

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Miraculous Conception series by @ladynoirfanao3

Summary of the first story, The Power Of Creation:

Everyone knows that Ladybug's cure fixes everything after the destruction wrought by Shadow Moth's akumatized villains. After an akuma with an unfortunate power leaves Ladybug and Adrien in an awkward position, Marinette has never been happier to simply forget. However, she soon discovers that her miraculous ladybugs have a limitation on their curing ability, a limitation that puts her in a situation she never expected to be in.

So basically, Ladybug and Adrien run into each other just as an akuma makes everyone in the vicinity extremely horny, and when they both start remembering things again, they’re in a pretty... compromising position. But it’s just an akuma so they put it out of their heads, until Marinette discovers she’s pregnant and has to decide what to do about it, whether to keep the pregnancy, tell Adrien she’s Ladybug and is having his baby, what to do with the earrings when she’s too pregnant to be Ladybug, etc.

I really enjoyed it! Just watching Ladybug and Adrien try and navigate the situation, especially with secret identities thrown into the mix.

The main fics in the series are basically the same story, it’s just that the first one is from Marinette’s perspective, while the second one is from Adrien’s. The Power of Creation is rated M while the Power of Destruction is rated E, but for both fics it’s just rated that for a single sex scene that occurs in the fic (with it being the same sex scene in both fics, just told from two different perspectives).

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I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween.

It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise.

With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

This one’s mostly just some really cute Lovesquare shenanigans around Halloween, with some really fun sequences like Marinette and Adrien getting body-swapped and Marinette temporarily becoming a vampire (and also Marinette repeatedly stunning Adrien with her outfits. I was just waiting for him to pass out from blood loss from a nosebleed).

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Through the Looking Glass by @jheqiawrites

Adrien is a lonely child, cut off from the outside world by his parent's strict rules. But when he discovers a window in his closet and sees a young girl looking back at him like his reflection, maybe he has hope for friendship after all.

Poor Adrien here, he makes a long-time friend (who everyone thinks is an imaginary friend), and has several great years interacting with her as his parents grow more concerned with him not growing out of it... and then Emilie dies, Gabriel orders the window destroyed, Adrien’s put on medication to suppress his “hallucinations” (which also makes him forget Marinette) and he’s just kind of left like that for the next several years, until he’s an adult.

Luckily, while Adrien forgot Marinette, Marinette never forgot him, and he’s not too difficult to track down...

This is some really cute Adrienette, if you want a “forgotten childhood friends-to lovers” Adrienette story, you should check this out!

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien discovers something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster.

Marinette was so excited to have her first pet. If only it would stop escaping!

At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor.

(Adrienette Never Met AU)

Funnily enough, this is based on a true story. Specifically, the author’s own experience of having her hamster run out and be found by a neighbor.

Anyway, this is adorable! Marinette and Adrien become smitten with each other extremely quickly, with Marinette’s hamster keeping giving them reasons to talk. Very effective wing-hamster, that one XD.

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic rec #drowning in plain sight #call it even #adrienette #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng

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justauthoring · 1 year

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content.

*content: in a state of peaceful happiness.

a/n: this is entirely self-indulgent but!!! did you guys see isagi in the most recent episode? i wish his hair was always like that lol. pairing: isagi yoichi x f!reader

It was always uncomfortable being in another person house for the very first time.

The unfamiliar space where everywhere you looked, something was new for you to discover -- it bothered some more than others. And it wasn't necessarily the fact that it was an unfamiliar space and not your familiar, easing apartment; but rather then fact that this was your first time ever spending the night at Isagi's apartment.

Your boyfriend of two months. You'd both decided to take things slow, not really rush into anything. Given his busy schedule as a professional athlete, he wasn't even home all that often so the offer to spend the night just hadn't been made yet.

Until now.

His apartment was so much for lavish then yours. A lot bigger too. You're not sure why you're so surprised; you knew that his job paid well. It's just while you certainly weren't ashamed of your own job or your apartment, his was so large.

You felt like you could get lost just trying to find the washroom.

But after a small, quick tour and a nice dinner that you and Isagi had decided to make together, the night was ending and the tensed silence was enough of an answer for both of you. Isagi's cautious and gentle as he takes your hand in his own, guiding you over to his bedroom where he assures you to get comfortable as he takes a quick shower.

At his offer if you'd like one as well, to which you politely decline, he slips away into the bedroom.

It isn't until you hear the water start running that you get up from the spot you'd rooted yourself on on his bed. You first move to change out of your jeans and blouse, opting for a pair of shorts and one of Isagi's sweaters that you'd stolen from him on a day you'd neglected to bring a coat and he'd been generous enough to offer you his.

(You'd promise him you'd return it to him the next time you saw each other, but you and him both knew you had every intention of keeping it for yourself.)

You move to remove your makeup, grabbing your other hygiene products and getting them ready for when Isagi's done his shower.

Then, you wander. You smile as you come across a photo on his dresser drawer of the two of you from your second date. He'd taken you to an arcade, one that he'd assured his friend had said was awesome, and in it had been one of those photos booths. The blush on your cheeks in undeniable and neither is the warmth that blossoms in your chest at the fact that you kept your copy in a similar spot as him.

There's small little trinkets along the way -- memories from his childhood, the trophies and awards his won along his career, photos of friends and more of you and him and even some of just you.

You get so lost in the moment that the sound of the the bathroom door opening doesn't register -- at least, not until you hear Isagi let out a small 'oh'.

You turn, flushing at having been caught snooping, but there's a smile on his lips you easily recognize the second you meet his eyes that eases your worries without hesitation. And then, the rest of him sinks in and your lips part, eyes widening faintly when you take in the fact that Isagi's elected to only wear a pair of shorts to bed, showing off his toned upper half; and it's not like you've never seen him shirtless before but that coupled with the way his freshly washed, wet hair is slicked back, slightly messy and out of place, leaving his forehead pair...

You've only ever seen Isagi with his hair worn down like it always was -- and you loved it that way!

But this... not only did he look incredibly handsome, there was something so vulnerable about how you were seeing him now. Not dressed in the way he'd left the house for the whole world to see, but comfortable and relaxed in a way usually only he ever got to see.

"Yo..." You mumble, your nickname for him being the only thing you can manage to mutter.

"Is it weird that I think you look so beautiful right now?"

You blink at his words, the blush on your cheeks instantly turning darker. You suddenly feel hot as you lower your gaze, arms moving up to hug yourself, bashful. "I haven't even washed my face yet," you mumble, "I'm sure I look like a mess."

"Nah," he says, shaking his head as he steps towards you. Your eyes slowly flicker up to meet his as he reaches you, lips parting as your heart flutters when he raises his hand, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear with such a gentle touch it's enough to send goosebumps across your arms. "You look amazing."

Unable to stop the smile that curls onto your lips, you tilt your chin up, hands coming up to run through his hair, admiring the way it slicks back, revealing more of his forehead.

"Yeah, well you don't look so bad yourself," you grin.

Isagi shakes his head, flushed. "My hairs a mess."

"I like it," you laugh, "I feel like I've never seen your forehead before."

He chuckles at your light tease, shaking his head before blowing a puff of air up at a strand of hair that falls directly in front of his eyes. You giggle at the action, eyes slowly flickering back to meet his as Isagi's hands move to your hips, pulling you close.

"I still have to brush my teeth."

"Me too," Isagi nods, thumbs rubbing patters underneath your sweater, "wanted to do it together."

"How incredibly domestic of you," you grin, eyes twinkling with warm at such a simple but incredibly kind gesture.

"Yeah well," he shrugs, "I've been wanting you to spend the night for a while."

Brow quirking, you tilt your head; "oh? Have some fun ideas there, babe?"

Turning bright red, Isagi instantly shakes his head; "not like that!" He all but squeals, rushing to get the words out as you cackle in response. Isagi eases when he realized you were just showing, watching for a moment and enjoying as you laugh.

He loves when you laugh.

"I just... I really like you."

Smiling softly, you nod; "I like you too, Yo."

And you take a moment, taking in everything of him with sparkling, warm eyes, before slipping your hand into his own.

“Let’s go?”

“Yeah,” he nods with ease. “Let’s.”

#blue lock #blue lock x reader #blue lock imagine #bllk #bllk x reader #isagi yoichi x reader #isagi yoichi #isagi x reader #isagi yoichi imagine

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bethanydelleman · 1 year

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Anne de Bourgh is probably just sick

It really bothers me when people speculate that Anne isn’t really sick or that she is a victim of Munchhausen's by proxy because it makes Lady Catherine a monster instead of a uppity busy-body. There is nothing in the text to indicate that Anne is even unhappy at home or feels stifled by her mother! She is presented as ill.

First of all, it was very common back then for people to be sickly. No modern medicine meant vaccine preventable diseases were running rampant many of which can cause lifelong complications (except smallpox, that vaccine was rolling out) and if you had something like a heart condition, no medication or surgery. There are many "sickly" people in history who are suspected of all sorts of conditions. Anne could suffer from something as simple as chronic anemia or from a congenital heart condition or many other things. Diagnosis lagged behind cures in many cases, for example, Type 1 Diabetes has been correctly diagnosed for hundreds of years but it was just a death sentence until they learned how to manufacture insulin.

Second, Anne is physically different from her family and shockingly so. Maria cries out in surprise, “Only look at her. She is quite a little creature. Who would have thought she could be so thin and small!” Elizabeth later describes her thusly, “Miss de Bourgh was pale and sickly: her features, though not plain, were insignificant”. Given that almost every other member of the Fitzwilliam family (Darcy, Georgiana, and Lady Catherine) are described as tall and “formidable”, this indicates a long-standing illness.

Third, there is no evidence that Lady Catherine is in any way cruel or abusive towards her daughter. Anne has her little phaeton to ride around on, Lady Catherine brings people to play pianoforte and cards for her daughter's amusement, and she has a round the clock health attendant, Mrs. Jenkinson. She seems excessively concerned about Anne's health, which wouldn't help to fake keep her sick, "except when Mrs. Jenkinson expressed her fears of Miss de Bourgh’s being too hot or too cold, or having too much or too little light" and "Mrs. Jenkinson was chiefly employed in watching how little Miss de Bourgh ate, pressing her to try some other dish, and fearing she was indisposed,"

Fouth, Anne if anything, seems like a Lady Catherine mini-me than a poor stifled child. She makes Charlotte stand outside to talk to her, which Elizabeth calls rude. She also is a tyrant over her guests:

Miss De Bourgh chose to play at cassino, the two girls had the honour of assisting Mrs. Jenkinson to make up her party.... When Lady Catherine and her daughter had played as long as they chose

In Mansfield Park, Mrs. Grant makes a big pretense of wanting to play whist for her husband’s sake but making it seem like the guests’ choice. Both Anne and Lady Catherine choose without reference to their guests and they play for as long as they want.

But mostly, why in the world would Lady Catherine make her daughter sick if her life goal is to have Darcy marry Anne? Who is going to marry someone who looks like they will die in a stiff wind? Lady Catherine's probably relying on family duty because she knows her daughter is basically unmarriageable. She's frail! She can't even play piano much less run Pemberley, and Lady Catherine is aware of that which is why her only chance is hinting at her nephew and yelling at women he dares to propose to!

Now is it possible that Lady Catherine is treating Anne with something that makes her more ill? Certainly. But that would be an honest mistake and not malicious. Also, we see in Sense & Sensibility that the doctor tries a new remedy when the last fails, so I think it is more probable that Lady Catherine would have gone though many treatments and many doctors, all of whom have failed or maybe resulted in very small improvements.

Anne de Bourgh being an only child and a sickly one is Lady Catherine’s only sympathetic feature. It seems more likely to me that the reason Lady Catherine tries to control and advise others is because the only thing she can’t change is Anne. If Lady Catherine is inflicting this illness on Anne she just becomes an irrational monster. It’s far more likely that Lady Catherine is deeply disappointed that she can’t present Anne at court and parade her around.

People with MbyP usually want to be praised for taking care of their child. Not so with Lady Catherine. The compliments Lady Catherine appreciates are Mr. Collins saying it’s sad Anne can’t be out. She assures people that if Anne was well she would have been awesome. This points more to disappointed hopes than wanting to be seen as a supermom.

MbyP is also super rare. It's far more likely that Anne is just sick or is a result of too many cousins marrying cousins, or is a contrast to healthy, vibrant Elizabeth. Jane Austen also LOVES writing hypochondriacs and when she does, it is always very clear but Anne de Bourgh is presented as just sickly.

Additional Note: The JAFF trope where Elizabeth, uneducated girl that she is, knows what is wrong with Anne/knows the treatment is hurting her is just kind of laughable. If anything she would say something like, “You shouldn’t bleed her, mercury is the way to go.” Also Lady Catherine would probably laugh in her face and ask her for some credentials.

#anne de bough #lady catherine #people seem to want the villains to be BLACK #Lady Catherine is just a busy body #who is probably sad that her daughter isn't more awesome #it gives her humanity #jane austen #pride and prejudice

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nostromo13 · 5 months

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Marry the Sea

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Pairing: Nalu

Rating: Gen

Summary: Usually Natsu felt like he knew everything when it came to Lucy. He knows she loves him but now it's come time to propose and he's not so sure if marriage is something she wants.

This was written for @fleuve-des-etoiles for the @allaboutnalu 2023 Gift Exchange. Sorry it took so long to get out. Life has me busy but I loved writing this.

I owe a big thank you to Tokkias for being my beta for this fic. She put so much work into this, so smooches for her

AO3 Link

Lucy didn’t like surprises. Her friends knew her birthdays weren’t to be made a fuss of and any special achievements such as her book award required no more than a personal, close-circle dinner at a budget-friendly restaurant. No splashing out on her account.

If she took the care to analyse this feeling properly she could probably identify the source as some unspecifiable upset from the hundreds of surprises that came from having wealth. There were the low-effort, entirely symbolic trinkets that counted as birthday presents from her father – usually bought by the house staff – which didn’t make for a great foundation of trust in gift giving. And there were the bountiful gifts from potential courters, all with a transparent intention behind them wrapped up in crepe paper and finished with professionally tied bows. She had had enough of gifts by the time she left the Heartfilia mansion.

As such, a dilemma arose upon the start of her relationship with Natsu. Her love language was quality time, either by themselves or with Happy. It didn’t matter where, as long as she could enjoy her time with her new boyfriend. Natsu's, however, was gift giving.

Lucy had explained to him after the third little trinket that he had given her for no particular reason other than he liked it and thought it would look pretty on her that she simply wasn’t interested in that sort of thing. It set off something in her that made her want to cry that she wasn’t his dress-up doll and she hated feeling like someone else was trying to make her pretty or put her on display.

She knew it wasn’t like that, though. Natsu, for all his dragon tendencies, wanted to make her smile with his giving. She wasn’t his hoard – although wherever that was hidden away it did have a lot of similar jewellery to the sort she wore. She wished she could make more room for his love language and as such she let him go all out for birthdays and Christmas. She tried to meet his gusto when she could.

After four years of resigning gifts as a solely birthday affair, Natsu now had to figure out how to propose to her without touching the nerve that led straight to the ‘gift’ trigger portion of Lucy’s brain. He had even pulled in the big guns to help him plan the right approach.

“I don’t see how it’s the same thing as a gift. I think she’ll be fine with it, Natsu.” Levy was offering her insight, albeit unhelpfully so far.

They had gathered along with Gray, excluding the rest of their team because Erza had the tact of a pinwheel and would blow the operation in her next conversation with Lucy and the guilt of keeping a secret would eat away at Wendy from the inside out. The Exceeds had never really gotten the hang of human dating rituals. Case and point Happy understanding his finally winning Carla over as the result of his continued fish offerings.

“If it feels like the natural time for you both, I don’t see why you shouldn’t.” Levy continued as Natsu shook his head.

“What if it’s the right time for me but it isn’t for her? I don’t want to push her.”

“You don’t want it to be a repeat of Joe. That’s what you’re worried about.” Gray interjected. As much as they grated on each other, Gray was good at being his back up when Natsu truly needed it. It was a once in a blue moon occurrence but Natsu couldn’t help but be glad for his long-term nemesis right now.

Joe had been Lucy’s boyfriend prior to Natsu at 22 and things had gotten pretty serious. They had done all but move in together when Joe popped the question and it had sent Lucy running in the other direction. She had loved him and she had loved his family, but for whatever reason that Natsu hadn’t deciphered in the three years since then that he and Lucy had been dating, she hadn’t been ready to get married.

“It won’t be another Joe.” Levy spoke rather sternly. The script mage was convinced that just because he was Natsu and he was Lucy’s partner, that they were eternally bonded and Lucy wouldn’t dream of turning down his proposal. All he had to do, in her eyes, was gather the balls to ask.

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t be nervous.” Levy shifted her tone when she realised she was erring on the side of unsympathetic. “Of course you’re going to be nervous. She’s the love of your life.”

Gray made a nauseous face at that, earning a playful elbow from Natsu. “Maybe a ring isn’t the right move.” He added, trying to be at least somewhat helpful.

“Lucy’s never responded well to jewellery.” Natsu agreed, getting an immediate objection from Levy.

“She liked that last necklace you got her. She wears it all the time.”

“And she helped me find the ring I proposed to Juvia with.” Gray added.

Natsu gave it a hard thought. “Did she give any indication of whether she would want one? From me?”

“We didn’t talk about it. She was dating him at the time and it didn’t really seem relevant. She was always going to end up with you anyway.”

That seemed to calm him a little. His nerves were racing even through the planning stage but if everyone else saw what he had from way before the war with the Alvarez empire that maybe, just maybe, Lucy loved him as much as he did her.

Or very possibly it wasn’t about love and marriage just wasn’t something she wanted, in which case they would work around it.

Having given all the advice she could reasonably give, Levy called over her husband, currently arrested himself in the demand of two four year olds gripping onto his arms and dangling off the floor.

“Did Salamander decide whether he was gonna do it or not?” He asked, directing his question to his wife as if the other two weren’t sitting across from her.

“Yeah, I think I will.” Natsu replied. “It’s all I want right now and I want to at least have the conversation with her.”

“That’s the right spirit, Natsu.” Levy agreed.

Gajeel guffawed in his gravelly voice, the sharpest of his teeth showing in his amusement. “Make sure ya get a return receipt on that ring.”

Yeah, that didn’t help.

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

When the day finally came, Natsu had everything planned down to the minute. He had put more effort into this than anything else in his life – including the trials in which he had succeeded at gaining S-Class mage status.

He was intent on at least talking to Lucy about it even if she didn’t end up saying yes right there. The worst-case scenario was her doing the same thing she did to her ex and bolting after the smallest explanation she could muster. Only this time Natsu wasn’t an outsider to the guild and it would affect their whole social lives and work.

They had just finished a mission together when they were off on their date. Casual clothing – nothing that could tip her off or make it so big a deal that she would feel pressured. They’d gathered a few foods from her kitchen, put them in a basket so they would be easier to carry and set off for the park for an afternoon lunch.

“I love Jason but I sometimes wish he wasn’t so pushy with getting me to ask my friends if they will do shoots for him.” Natsu listened as Lucy described her recent run in with their favourite reporter. He and Lucy really were good friends from her time as a journalist with Sorcerer Weekly but since then Jason, feeling the pressure from his bosses to churn out more content of Fiore’s top guild, had been trying to use his connection with Lucy to influence Mira and the other Fairy Tail girls to model for him. While they were happy to, on occasion, the weekly permanent contracts that Jason was pushing for weren’t conducive to the busy life of a Fairy Tail Mage.

“What did he say when you asked him to stop?”

“He just got all sad.” Lucy shrugged. “I know it’s none of my responsibility and he’s not trying to make it so it is but I feel kind of bad.”

“Eh, it’s his job, and it sounds more like his bosses are screwing up.”

Her boyfriend, ever the blunt one. Lucy chuckled to herself. “It’s not like that in that world of work. He can’t just drop a client like us because he doesn’t like the way they speak. You can’t just change your bosses.”

“Sounds dumb.” He shook his head. It took a second for him to realise how dismissive he might have sounded. “I’m glad you came back with me instead of staying at that job.” He added softly.

“Me too.” She smiled at him.

They had known generally what area they would sit in when they entered the park. Picnics weren’t out of place for them and Lucy particularly loved sitting near the duck pond so they aimed for about there. They managed to find a nice shady spot that got enough of the Spring breeze but also the summer warmth that May was beginning to invite in.

Lucy waited for Natsu to finish spreading out the blanket before placing their items down and unpacking their basket. Some fruits, some sweeter snacks for later and Marmalade sandwiches, a quirk Lucy had brought with her from her hometown that, when she had introduced it to Natsu, it had become a firm favourite. Now, whenever they passed through Acalypha on the way back from a mission, she always made sure to pick up a fresh jar.

Natsu reached for the Tupperware of cakes, stopping himself just as his fingers met the rim of the plastic. He wanted to be on his best behaviour today and going for dessert first didn’t fall under that. Unless doing just that would tip her off. And surely he should act like his usual self today.

As if answering his question, his fingers were moved out the way by more dainty ones. He watched as Lucy removed the lid for him, taking a slice of Battenberg from the options and raising it to her lips, taking a big bite.

He watched almost in awe. Lucy never broke social etiquette, especially not around food. He was pretty sure such a thing went against her coding.

“Go on Natsu.” She smiled widely at her sputtering boyfriend. She brushed a few crumbs from the corner of her mouth where her unusual haste had spread some.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He took the plate she offered, filling his plate so full that the weight of the mini cakes and the structure of the plate made it look like a paper plate taco in his grip.

Eventually they got through the deserts and onto the sandwiches, Lucy admittedly feeling a little sickly after so much sugar. That was never a hazard for her partner. They had struck up in that time a conversation debating which of their guildmates would win a Ninja obstacle course – whatever one of those was.

The debate had reached the point where Natsu had stood up, waving his arms about, animatedly presenting his argument as to why Laxus could not win at the inflatable obstacle course section.

“He would blow up the course because of the static electricity or something. He couldn’t touch the thing without it exploding beneath him because his electricity would fuck everything up, right?”

“I thought magic was banned from this.” Lucy asked, taking another bite of a sandwich. “I think he would just run around, anyway.”

“No, that would be banned.”

“But the Exceeds flying isn’t?”

“Yeah, well, the floor is Lava or something, I don’t know.” He grinned, not deflated at all by her pragmatism. This was how their conversations usually went on dates like this. She would propose some stupid idea – the Guild Obstacle Course coming from her mind and not his– and Natsu would take it and run with it while she offered a more practical perspective on things.

He sat himself down beside her, arms outstretched on the grass as she leaned into his shoulder. “I think Erza would win.”

“Yeah, she would.” He agreed, more occupied with the feel of her hair against his cheek than expanding on their argument.

“Although.” Lucy began to add, popping her head up suddenly from their rest, “Sabertooth could give us a good run for our money.”

“But they’re not in the guild.”

“So, we’d open it up to other guilds. We could make a rival Grand Magic Games.”

“With no magic?”

“Oh, yeah.” She seemed to sink back into thinking. Before she could think up a new line of enquiry, Natsu thought it best to try and steer her onto a more affectionate type of conversation. Hopefully that would calm the thrumming in his chest that had taken route there the night before.

“Cana’s been talking about proposing to Abigail.” Smooth, dragon slayer. He chastised himself for showing his talent for bluntness.

Lucy smiled, though showing no suggestion that she had caught onto his internal anxiety. “I like Abi. I think she’s been really good for Cana and Cana’s been good for her.”

“The guild’s income has been suffering from it.”

“More alcohol for Macao’s lot, I guess.”

They shared a laugh. Opening his eyes, Natsu looked at her as she giggled. Her eyes were on the duck pond where a small cluster of the ducks of Magnolia South Gate Park were gathered, picking their lunch out of a soggy white bread loaf that some teenagers had chucked into the pond whole. Sometimes she smiled as if she was so entirely content with life. Ducks made her content, Wednesday evenings with him made her content, as did birthday parties and nights out with their friends. He hoped it didn’t mean there wasn’t room for more in their relationship. That maybe she was too content with her life as it was now for things to change.

The weight of the box in his pocket felt heavier as he watched, requiring a quick shake of the head to reset the feeling. He could only talk to her.

“Lucy.” Natsu spoke, thanking his voice for not giving out on him when it counted. She gave him her attention, smiling because there was no way she could see the anxiety bubbling inside his gut. At least that settled him a little. “If I proposed, what would you say? I already have the ring. I just need to know if that is something you would want.”

Lucy’s smile dropped into surprise. Her stare was stuck on his, and for a moment the cogs seemed to slow. But not into a stressed jutting, more into a peaceful, steady clicking.

Her smile bloomed.

“I would say yes.”

If she expected the conversation to end there, she didn’t stop him as he moved onto one knee. His hand tugged the box from the pocket of his trousers, presenting its black velvet exterior before effortlessly prizing it open. Her eyes widened as if she hadn’t realised that he had meant now, but she easily found herself settling into the pull of it.

“Lucy. You’re my best friend.” Natsu felt his cheeks ache with his broad grin. “I think you might be the best thing that ever happened to me and Happy. Even if you’re not always happy with us and we insult you sometimes. You let me take you on adventures and you make me feel comfortable because that is just what you do. You make everyone feel okay with being themselves around you. I think you’re so strong and kind and I love watching you practice your magic because you just care about your spirits, without anyone asking you to. I think it’s incredible. I love you and I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” Lucy half-whispered. “Yes, I will.”

She met him on his knees, her hands clutching onto his shoulders as she kissed him over and over. “Can I put the ring on you?” He asked between pecks.

She nodded, leaning into his shoulder as he tugged the ring from its hold in the velvet. The kiss had made her breathless but the feel and sight of him slipping the ring on her left hand had the sort of butterflies she had only felt with him making her skin tingle. “Natsu, it’s beautiful.”

The ring itself was simple but vintage – not that he could spell the word – and had a round garnet set in the middle. He had chosen it by himself but at Levy’s instruction he had taken one of Lucy’s rings with him for the sizing. It was still loose by a small bit but they could get it resized no problem. Right now he was just happy it was a hit. “Gods, I would’ve been okay if you had just wanted to date instead of getting married but I’m so glad I won’t have to return the ring. The shop man was super weird.”

“Was it that shop just off the marketplace? Levy says that guy is super intense about green engagement rings and thinks everyone should have one.”

He chuckled, unaware that such a guy had existed. “No, I got it in Hargeon.”

“Oh,” She felt her blush blossom more.

“Shit, I love you.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I was so worried you’d say no.”

“Why would I?” She had to take a second to think. “I sort of knew you were going to propose. I would have said something sooner if I didn’t want you to.”

“You knew?”

“I– yeah. I’ve been nervously rambling all afternoon. Could you not tell?” She laughed. An hour ago she was barely making it through a conversation without blurting whatever she could think about, work, and modelling and whatever. Natsu had never been one to ignore her when she felt like she was being boring but she wouldn’t have blamed him for a disinterested sound.

“Why were you nervous?” His brow had softened and he’d taken to stroking her fingers between his own wanting to listen.

“I didn’t want to accidentally ruin whatever you had planned. I don’t know, really. You can always sort of tell when a guy’s about to propose but you never know when it’ll happen.”

“Did you know with Joe?”

Lucy swallowed, nodding. “He sort of got happy whenever he was around me. And since I didn’t really want that with him I just ignored it until I couldn’t any longer.”

“But you do want this with me?”

“Yes.” She nodded harder. “I didn’t know it at the time but I broke things off with him because of you. I think you’ve always been in my heart even if it took me a while to realise it.” She didn’t let him speak. “I love you and I want this with you, more than anything.”

Natsu kissed her again, hands pressed to her cheeks to pull her in and she smiled into it. His fingers tangled into her hair and he sighed, finally content. He had everything he wanted right here and he could spend his lifetime making her happy.

#nalu #fairy tail #nalu gift exchange 2023 #nalu gift exchange #nalu fanfic #nalufanfiction #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu proposal

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randomprose · 2 months

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the rest is confetti

written for the satosho server weekly prompt: wedding [ao3] shoko and satoru get married—twice

When Shoko decided to get married, and when Satoru said it’s gonna be a traditional wedding because of the clan and both of their standing in Jujutsu society, she didn’t think much of it.

When Shoko let him slip that very shiny ring on her finger, she knew exactly what she was getting into.

Hell, she knew it the day Satoru finally got his shit and his words together long enough to ask her out on a date, and she knew it when she leaned it at the end of it to kiss him.

So Ieiri Shoko entered the wedding planning process and it didn’t come as a surprise to her at all that everything would be chaotic and hectic. To say the least.

What did come as a surprise, however, is how…not well Satoru is taking it all in.

While the usual planning and preparation time of a wedding as big and as important as theirs—she is well aware despite not really seeing the point of it—takes six months to a full year, theirs were all set and done in just two months. Which doesn’t really surprise her given the extent of the Gojo clan’s wealth and influence.

In two months, Shoko was ushered in and out of dress fittings and alterations, food and cake tasting, wine sampling (which she thoroughly enjoyed), flowers and decor (which she really didn’t care much for), and all other inanity such as seating arrangements and memorizing clan members. The last part was fairly easy having been in and out of the Gojo estate and having met most of Satoru’s kinsmen since becoming friends with him. It’s the other clans she couldn’t give less of a fuck about.

Everything went relatively alright and smoothly considering both hers and Satoru’s very busy schedule. And all the while Shoko was just thinking they just needed to get through all these frivolities and then they’re golden.

And then Satoru goes AWOL the day before the wedding. Shoko finds him hours later in the clan’s secret garden hiding in the gazebo she and Satoru used to lounge around with Suguru when they would visit in the summers.

“Thought I’d find you here,” Shoko says as she spots him lying on the gazebo’s cold marble floor. “What? Getting cold feet?”

“Marrying you? As if,” Satoru scoffs from his place on the floor.

“We can still call off, you know? The wedding isn’t until tomorrow. We have time.”

“What, and have my clan and all of Jujutsu society on our ass forever?” Satoru runs a hand through his hair. He has a bitching headache and it's obvious with the way his brows are pinched. “Listen, Shoko. I need you to know that you’re the only one I’m sure about in this whole fucking circus, okay? I’m not backing out on that. And you can’t either! I'm just having an off day that's all! Don’t think you can use this as an excuse to back out!”

“I know that, doofus. And I’m not running away. I’m not the one who’s gone awol and went into hiding the day before their wedding, am I?” Shoko says as he sits by his head, putting a hand over his eyes to soothe them and rid him of his migraine. He’s in the mood for jokes even in his state and that’s a good sign. “So, what is this really about?”

“It’s just…” Satoru sighs in relief as he feels her technique course through him. The pinch in his brows is gone. “I’m sorry for putting you through all this bullshit. I know it’s not your style.”

Shoko smiles exasperatedly. Of course, Gojo Satoru will have a meltdown the day before their wedding.

“Please. Give me some credit. I knew what I was getting into the moment I allowed your dork ass to hang around me.”

“Oh, yeah? What, that you’ll one day be marrying the strongest sorcerer?”

“That you’ll one day bamboozle me into somehow agreeing to marry you, yes.”

“Oh, shut up. You beat me to the punch and asked first,” Satoru retorts, clambering up to lay his head on her lap. “You love me.”

“Of course, I do,” Shoko answers without missing a beat and they sit like that for a while with her fingers carding through his hair until the edges of his eyes have softened and his face finally relaxed.

“Man,” Satoru sighs after a while. “This whole thing kinda got away from us, huh?”

“You know I don’t care about any of this, right? But I’m okay to go along with it all because it’s you I get to meet at the end of the aisle.” Shoko looks at him, really looks at him. “Now, I’m asking you. What do you want?”

She’s asking him what he wants. Outside of him being the strongest sorcerer of their time, beyond him being the head of the Gojo clan, taking aside his duty to Jujutsu society and the world it promises to protect, Shoko is asking him what he wants as just him. As just Satoru.

“You,” Satoru answers without hesitation. He sits up so he can look at her properly. “I just want you.”

“Okay,” Shoko smiles. “Then you have me.”

In the next second, Shoko had sneaked them out of the secret backdoor hidden in the garden’s hedges and into a car. She tells Satoru to drive to the airport while she makes some calls. When Satoru asks where they’re going, Shoko just simply tells him ‘Tokyo’ and to drive fast so they can catch the next flight out. She holds up a finger in a shushing motion when Satoru tries to say something because Suguru has already picked up on the other end of the line.

Shoko knows their friends won’t be flying out to Kyoto for the Gojo estate until tomorrow. She tells Suguru to round up the gang and to get Yaga certified to officiate then meet them at the school in two hours.

It is only when they’re sitting in the plane’s first-class cabin do Satoru says, “You know I could’ve just teleported us to Tokyo, right?”

“I know, but we gotta give the gang time to get ready. It’s lucky Utahime and Mei are on a mission in Tokyo right now. She’ll want to get presentable first at least.”

They get to Jujutsu High with just enough time for Utahime to squeeze Shoko out of her sensible turtle neck and trousers into a pantsuit at her insistence. She also does Shoko’s hair in a modest updo and puts light make-up on her. Mei-mei hands her a bouquet.

In another room, Suguru and Yuu manage to wrangle Satoru out of his shirt and jeans into a white button-up and slacks. Kento lends him one of his suit jackets and tames his unruly white hair into a slick do.

They get married on the school grounds at dusk with Yaga blubbering through half the ceremony and his officiation and lecturing them about how they’re impulsive idiots who are a pain in his ass and that he loves them both very much.

Shoko tosses her bouquet and Utahime catches it. Satoru makes a teasing quip about it and Utahime counters by saying she’ll be walking the aisle next for when Shoko divorces him.

Their reception is held at their favorite izakaya and Satoru and Shoko cut a cake bought by Haibara from Satoru’s favorite bakery.

And then, after all the festivities and the congratulations and the ‘see you tomorrow’s, Shoko and Satoru hop on a flight back to Kyoto (because Satoru took a sip of Shoko’s sake and was feeling a little woozy to teleport) and retire to their respective rooms when they get back to the Gojo clan's estate.

In the morning, Satoru and Shoko get married in the traditional way that was expected of people of their standing, with the Gojo clan and all the representatives of major Jujutsu clans in attendance, the Council, and everyone who’s anyone in the Jujutsu society. Their friends are among the crowd of attendees, no less excited and happy for them than they were the day before.

“Is this your first time?” Satoru asks lowly once they’re arm in arm. “Getting married, I mean.”

“Not really,” Shoko shrugs. “I’ve been married before. You?”

“Oh, same.”

“Good to know we both have some experience then.”

“Just so you know, Mrs. Gojo-Ieiri,” Satoru says leaning down so only his wife could hear. “I would marry you a thousand times over any day, anytime, anywhere.”

“Eehh,” Shoko smirks shifting closer and bumping shoulders with her husband. “How very romantic of you, Mr. Ieiri-Gojo.”

Shoko and Satoru share knowing secretive smiles throughout the ceremony.

#everybody lives and nobody dies #Suguru and the rest of Tokyo 5 are here #jjk #jujutsu kaisen #satosho #satoshoko #gojo satoru #ieiri shoko #satoshoko fic #writing

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verymuchimmortalcat · 9 months

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I'm captivated by you, baby, like a fireworks show

For Bio Dad! Bruce Wayne Month, Prompt: Dating ao3 @maribat-bdbwm

Marinette paces across her room, glaring at her phone. Tikki had given up on her a while ago and was probably raiding the kitchen now. She types out a message, ‘would you be free on saturday?’ before backtracking and deleting it again. Why is this so hard? It’s just Jon. Too busy trying to figure out how to ask him out, she doesn’t notice when Dick pokes his head through the door and asks, “Something wrong?”

She jumps a bit in shock and he laughs. Glaring at him, she says, “No, not at all. Get out.”

Unsurprisingly, her brother doesn’t listen to her and walks right in, sitting down on her bed. She stuffs her phone into her pocket before he sees too much. But because her siblings are both extremely annoying and ridiculously skilled, he catches sight of something and puts it together almost immediately. Marinette groans internally as his eyes light up and he grins. “It’s about your crush on Jon then?”

Hoping her face isn’t as red as a tomato, she shoots back, “What crush? I don’t have a crush on Jon Kent.”

Dick (truly an appropriate name for him, she thinks) laughs again, “And Tim has a regular sleep schedule.”

She doesn’t give in, “Really? Good that he fixed that then.”

Undeterred, he continues, “Just ask him out. I’m fairly certain he’ll say yes.”

Marinette sighs and walks over to her brother, sitting down next to him. “It’s not like I’m not trying. I just don’t know what to say. It’s not like I can just ask him to a movie or to play video games or anything. We do all that all the time. How will he know it’s a date?”

“Tell him it’s a date.”

She scoffs, “Right. Because that’s not terrifying at all.”

He offers her a smile, “Even if he says no, what’s the worst that could happen.”

She replies immediately, “He doesn’t want to be friends anymore and everything becomes so awkward that I have to move to Antarctica.”

He gives her a look, “The most realistic worst case scenario.”

“I don’t know how to do those.”

He sighs, “Even if he says no, which by the way is extremely unlikely, you’re not going to stop being friends. You’ve been friends forever.”

“But-”

“Just think it over.” And he pushes himself off her bed and walks out her room. Marinette lets herself fall back. It’s fine, she tells herself, it’ll probably go away soon enough.

.oOo.

It does not go away but it doesn’t really affect her interactions with Jon either. Things are normal and normal is sitting in the living room and beating Jon at video games. She turns to look at him, ready to rub her victory in his face but she’s met with a look so full of affection that she falters. Somewhat vaguely, she considers the possibility of Dick being right in his belief that Jon would want to go out with her.

Jon frowns, eyebrows scrunching adorably in confusion and it strikes Marinette that she’s acting weird. But before she can say anything, the door opens and Damian walks in. “Kent, we have to leave now.”

Beside her Jon looks surprised, “Already?”

“Unexpected developments. Father wants us downstairs immediately.”

He frowns but gets up nonetheless, shooting her an apologetic smile. Marinette waves him off, “It’s fine, not like I don’t bail on you all the time.”

“You also apologise profusely every single time,” he points out.

She grins at him, “You can make your apologies next time.”

“I will,” he promises, getting up and leaving the room. Damian looks at her questioningly once Jon has left the room. “What?” she snaps.

“Get together and end this misery.”

She splutters, “Damian, if-”

“If he hears me, maybe he’ll finally believe me when I tell him you like him too.” And then he walks out of the room before Marinette can grab him and thoroughly interrogate him.

She’s in desperate need for better siblings. Except Cass, Cass is the best.

.oOo.

Marinette takes it back, Cass is the worst. Her older sister grins mischievously and repeats, “You want to know if Jon likes you?”

The part of Marinette that thought this was a good idea has shrivelled up and died. Yes, Cass will know for sure but also Cass is definitely going to tease her about this for the next while. Regardless she nods, “Please?”

“Do you think he likes you?”

She groans, “Maybe. I don’t know. Why do you want to know?”

The older girl’s grin widens, “It’s funny.”

Marinette glares, getting up to leave. She’s at the door when Cass calls out, “He does.”

She turns, “huh?”

“He does like you, it’s very obvious. Steph thinks he has heart eyes. I agree.”

Marinette’s heart is racing and she can’t stop smiling. “Thank you,” she breathes out before running out the room.

As soon as she’s back in her room, she pulls out her phone to text Jon. Tikki looks at her, confused. “I’ll explain in a minute.”

Marinette: are you free on saturday?

Jon: yup Jon: movie night?

Marinette: yes Marinette: it’s a date

Her phone starts ringing instantly. Taking a deep breath, she picks up. “Hi.”

He skips the greeting, “You meant it when you said it was a date? Like an actual romantic date?”

She bites her lip, her siblings like messing with her but they wouldn’t lie about this. “Yes.”

“I’d love to go on a date with you,” is the breathless reply that comes and Marinette can hear the smile she knows so well. An identical one spreading across her face. “See you Saturday then? The usual time?”

Tikki gasps.

“Ok.”

“Ok,” she repeats, still smiling. The conversation turns from there, switching to their usual topics. Admittedly there’s so much more giggling than normal. Tikki squeals when the call ends. “Oh Marinette, I’m so proud of you.”

Marinette blinks, letting everything settle in before squealing, “Holy shit! I actually did that!!”

Tikki giggles and hugs her holder’s cheek.

.oOo.

It’s at family dinner, two days later that Jason asks, “Could you not have waited one more week, Pixie?”

She tilts her head in confusion, “For what?”

“Dating the tiny Superboy.”

She stares at him for a second, processing his words before screeching, “You bet on this??????”

#maribat #my writing #bio dad bruce wayne #mbdbwm2023 #marijon

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avocado-writing · 2 years

Note

1. I love your writing it’s amazing!!! Ilyyy/p ❤️

2. Are your short sfw requests still open? If so are you okay with writing one for Ladybug? One where he and the reader (code name Cherry/Cherry Bomb) are both in the train during the time when it crashes and in a moment of panic they both just hug each other and hope they survive it (before they both fall together into that giant momomon plushie thing like in the movie) afterwards the reader is like: “how the fuck did we survive this?” Ladybug: “just lucky ig”

🥺 ilu2!

I don't really write for Ladybug (or give reader codenames, actually) so I kept this one short! Hope it hits the spot!

Rated M for Sexual References (thank u vvalliu for the gif!)

Well, with his fucking luck, you would end up in this situation.

It’s his first job back so they paired you up together. Wanted someone to keep an eye on him because he’s been acting differently, apparently. You drew the short straw and were stuck with babysitting duty.

“Come on, Maria. Don’t make me do it,” you’d whined down the phone. Your handler had given you a gentle tut.

“It’s one job. Be pleased it’s not with Carver.”

Admittedly, you are pleased with that. Carver is a dick. But Ladybug - at least, that’s what they’re calling him nowadays - didn’t turn out to be much better. With a stupid laid-back attitude and an even stupider hat, you’d found yourself grinding your teeth at his greeting.

“Hey! Cherry Bomb, I’ve not seen you for ages!”

“Just CB is fine.”

“Why’d you need a nickname… when you already have a nickname?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing under those ridiculous glasses.

“It’s a codename, not a nickname. Can we just get on the train, please?”

The old Ladybug might have bickered back and, secretly, you would have enjoyed it. But this new one just shrugs and acquiesces.

Snatch and grab.

Should have been easy. Of course it wasn’t. Assassins running up and down the train like no man’s business. Too many of you to be coincidental, all the while Ladybug’s bad luck dragging you deeper into the dirt. You’re sort of annoyed at him but know, realistically, that luck doesn’t exist. Doesn’t make it any easier to fight off a snake when it’s trying to bite you in the goddamn eyeball, though.

But through it all you can’t deny you’re… looking.

He’s attractive, that’s undeniable. Always has been, even back in the old days before he got that mature suaveness. Those arms, that hair. And he’s also kind of… nice. Which is a rare thing in this business. And you feel yourself soften to his new unwitting charm, smiling more than you frown, despite the circumstances.

Then, well, the train sort of explodes.

Which, yeah, why wouldn’t it? Why wouldn’t a train with Ladybug on it explode? And as you’re there, flying through the debris, you see him open his arms to you, as if in slow-motion.

You let yourself fall into him, feel him pull you flush to his body, scrunch your eyes shut so hard they hurt.

In his arms? It’s not a bad way to go.

Then… something soft. It still hurts, of course, but the softness is a surprise. And when you finally get the sense to look around you’re still very much alive. In the middle of a crash site and in pain, but alive. Ladybug is on top of you, having landed with one of his knees between your legs and his body resting on yours. You might have pushed him off of you if adrenaline wasn’t coursing through your veins.

His hair flops over his face, tickling your own. He’s close. Very close.

“How did we get outta that one?” he mutters.

“Just lucky, I guess,” you breathe back, and drag him down to kiss you. He tastes like smoke and blood and fuck, if it isn’t just perfect. You press your hips up into him and watch his eyebrows skyrocket.

A gun is fired into the air behind you. The two of you look over, and spot the White Death, clinging to life, abhorrent fury on his face at the sight of the two of you choosing now to kiss.

“Can you give me like, two minutes, bro? I’ve been waiting for this forever.”

And you burst into laughter, and despite everything, he kisses you again.

#ladybug x reader #ladybug bullet train x reader #ladybut bullet train #bullet train x reader #answered #request

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a-reader-and-a-writer · 8 months

Text

What Went Wrong

AI-Less Whumptober 2023: 1. Poisoned, 8. Seizure, 14. Bleeding Through the Bandage, 21. Near-Death Experience, 30. Coma, Alt. Prompt: Bloody Knuckles Fandom: DC, The Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, f!reader Summary: After a mission goes spectacularly wrong, Rick is forced to relay what happened, no matter how painful it is for him to relive it. Word Count: 5033 TW: Poison, Mentions of Death, Blood/Bleeding, Seizure, Hospital, Language, Rick is taller than Reader Note: Written for @ailesswhumptober's event. Thank you to the anon who requested Bloody Knuckled with Rick! It was really a wonderful inspiration! And thank you to @loverhymeswith for all the support and beta reading for me! 💖

Colonel Rick Flag sat in the small break room—now a makeshift interrogation room—oblivious to the world around him. All he could do was stare blankly down at his busted, swollen knuckles and watch as his blood slowly reddened the gauze he couldn’t remember someone wrapping them in. Apparently, someone had also given him something for the pain, but it was doing little to stop the throbbing ache that seemed to intensify with every beat of his heart. Yet, he sort of liked it. It gave him something to focus on, to ground him, even as everything else around him lay in ruins.

Gritting his teeth, he balled his left hand into as much of a fist as the swelling and bandaging would allow, and almost blacked out as every nerve running from his hand up his arm screamed out in excruciating agony. Squeezing his eyes together tightly, he stifled a groan of pain as he forced himself to maintain the fist.

Focus on the physical pain. Just focus on the physical pain. Let everythin’ else slip away until there is nothin’ but this pain.

“Colonel Flag….Colonel….Sir—”

“Flag!”

Waller’s sharp tone cut through his fog and Rick’s fist instinctively uncurled, lessening the pain to a point where he once again became aware of his surroundings. Blinking, he looked up to stare at the pair in front of him in a slight daze. “W-what?”

Waller nodded at the other man who shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he cleared his throat and glanced down at the stack of papers in front of him. “Uh, yes, well, I understand this may be difficult for you but we need to get your official statement on what happened for the record.”

Rick sighed as he scratched at the gauze on his hand. “Do we really have to do this right now? I got better places to be.”

The man shot him an apologetic smile. “I understand that but the less time that passes between the event and the report, the more accurate it is. And considering there were numerous asset casualties, we need this to be as accurate as possible to avoid any liabilities.”

“Assets and liabilities,” Rick spat, the words like ash in his mouth. “That’s all any of them are to you, isn’t it? Numbers on a page to use how you want. But the members of Task Force X are people. Yeah, people who made some wrong choices or did horrible things, but that doesn’t mean they are just fodder you can throw at your problems.”

“It wasn’t so long ago that you too viewed your squad members as nothing more than that,” Waller said coldly, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes completely devoid of all emotion. “I wonder, did your view on them change before or after you started crawling into one of their beds?”

Rick leaped to his feet, his metal chair clanging loudly on the hard tile as it toppled over. The man jumped and cowered back in surprise, but Waller didn’t even flinch. Instead, she continued to stare Rick down, daring him to try and make a move against her. But they both knew what would happen if he did….

Recognizing he was in an impossible situation, Rick could only point at Waller and snarl, “You leave her out of this. Whatever relationship we might have didn’t affect what happened on the mission. And what I do on my own time is my own business.”

“Maybe, but you fucked her while she was my prisoner, which makes it my business.”

Before Rick could snap back, the man cleared his throat, his face bright red behind his glasses, and he reached for one of his papers. Scanning it, he asked, “Excuse me but are you confirming you had an intimate relationship with Belle Reve prisoner 0806?”

Rick turned his attention to the man, anger gleaming in his hazel eyes. This just proved his point. To them, you were nothing more than a faceless number, something to be used when convenient then tossed back into a cell like the other thousand inmates of Belle Reve.

“Yes,” Rick said through gritted teeth as the man began to write something on his papers. “After several assignments together, a connection developed and we became romantically then intimately involved.”

The man paused his scribbling and glanced up as Waller began slowly walking around to stand behind Rick. “‘Romantically’...so this relationship between you and this inmate was more than just physical?”

A thousand moments with you unwillingly flashed through Rick’s mind: your head resting on his shoulder as you slept on the flight home from a mission; the determined glare on your face as you fought off a swarm of enemies all by yourself; the way he didn't need to say a word for you to know exactly what he needed; the pure adoration in your eyes as he settled between your legs on your tiny prison cot. How could he not have fallen in love with you?

Rick once again tightened his hand into a loose fist as he growled, “Why the fuck does it matter right now? However you define it, it didn’t affect the mission at all.”

“Given how the evacuation team found you, sir, one might say differently.” Rick began to rise up out of his seat but the man put up his hands. “I’m sorry. I have to ask these kinds of questions so we can get the full picture of what went on in that lab. It’s in your best interest as well as ours if you can be as honest and detailed as possible so we have all the information when presenting our findings. Right now, the depth of your relationship with this inmate only matters to me if it caused some sort of misconduct during the mission that led to its failure. Otherwise, I don’t care what the two of you have been up to or how you feel about each other, I promise.”

Rick could feel Waller’s eyes burning a hole in the back of his head and he knew that she felt very differently. If she had her way, he would be court-martialed immediately. Not because he had been sleeping with you or because he loved you—no, he was certain she already knew about that. But now that it was public knowledge the head of her pride-and-joy task force was sleeping with one of its criminal assets presumedly right under her nose, it would put a black mark not only on the squad but on her as well. And that was not something Waller took lightly.

But for now, she wasn’t his main concern. He needed to get out of this room and upstairs as soon as possible. So, he nodded to the man and motioned for him to continue with his questions.

“Thank you.” The man gave Rick a small smile and looked back down at his papers. After scanning them for a minute, he looked at Rick and said, “Now then, Colonel, to the best of your recollection, can you tell us what happened? What went wrong?”

What went wrong….. It was the thought that had been plaguing Rick for the past twenty-four hours. He had replayed the entire mission over and over in his head trying to figure out what he could have done differently to save his team…..to save you.

It was supposed to be a textbook in-and-out mission with no foreseeable complications. An underground lab was developing a new weapon that could be catastrophic in the wrong hands—which included the scientists developing it. Though hidden, the lab didn’t appear to have more than the most basic levels of security and it seemed like a cakewalk for a small team to go in, destroy the research and weapon, and secure any scientists on site.

Because of this, it was determined this would be a good chance to break in the newest recruits to Task Force X and Rick found himself leading a team comprised almost entirely of untrained, terrified ex-criminals who wouldn’t shut up or fall into line. Before they even got off the plane, he was ready to detonate every last one of their nanite bombs.

Luckily, you had been allowed to tag along to help keep everyone under control….including Rick. Even if no one realized how deeply the connection between the two of you went, it was obvious that you had a way of calming him down and centering him even in the most dangerous or stressful of situations. Rick pretended to hate the idea that he needed someone to manage him but honestly, he didn’t mind as long as it meant he got to spend more time with you.

On your very first mission with Task Force X, Rick noticed you were special and unlike anyone he had met before. And by the third mission, he had you pressed against a wall in a dark alley as you shoved your tongue down his throat. Since then, he would do whatever he could to be near you, including bribing the guards to turn off the cameras in your cell for a few hours once or twice a month—and still it wasn’t enough. He was counting down the missions until you earned your freedom and he could have you in his bed every night without having to leave.

And this mission would bring that dream one step closer to a reality.

Once inside the building, Rick sent the rest of the Squad to destroy everything in the labs (he figured they could handle unbridled destruction without needing supervision) while you went with him to find the mainframe and extract any information you could before wiping it.

The plan seemed to be going perfectly until you and Rick finished your assignment and were heading back to the rendezvous point. Just as you reached the lab’s exit, there was a whirring sound and a pair of thick, metal doors slammed shut inches in front of Rick’s face. You spun around to try to rush back the way you came, but another door slid shut, blocking your retreat.

“Damn it!” Rick yelled as he slammed his fist against the thick metal door. Sighing, he picked up his radio to call into headquarters. Usually, they would all be on earpieces, but since it was supposed to be such a simple mission, they had forgone them this time. “Control, this is Flag. Do you copy?”

The radio crackled to life. “We copy, Flag. Did you complete your mission?”

“Affirmative, Harcourt. But on the way to the rendezvous, we got cut off. We are trapped between two metal doors and I can’t see a way out. Requestin’ an extraction team to come get us.”

“Launching extraction team now. ETA is approximately fifteen minutes. Stand by.”

“Copy.” Rick slipped the radio back into his cargo pocket and shrugged at you. “Well, I guess we just wait. At least we have a few minutes alone together until they show up.”

Looking around at the tight space you were now trapped in, you took a step closer, pressed your palms against Rick’s back, and leaned against him as you whispered, “Rick…I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Ah hell, darlin’,” Rick muttered. “Now why’d you have to say somethin’ like that?”

Suddenly, the sprinkler heads on the ceiling sprang to life, and a mysterious liquid sprayed down on you. It was clear like water but had an oily consistency and a bitter, acidic smell to it. Rick spun around, grabbed your arm, and pulled you tight against his chest trying to use his large form to shield you from as much of it as possible but it was of little use. Soon, you were both drenched from head to toe.

It lasted for less than a minute before the sprinklers turned off once again. Lifting your head from where you had buried it in Rick’s chest, you glanced around before muttering, “What the fuck was that about?”

“I don’t know. But I think we should get outta here before we find out.” Rick turned back to the metal door and began examining it for any sort of weak point or hidden switch.

From behind him, he heard you audibly shiver and he glanced back to see you rubbing your hands over your still dripping arms trying to warm yourself up. He wished he had something to give you but he doubted his soaked tact jacket would provide you any warmth. Either the extraction team needed to hurry up or he needed to get you both out of here as soon as possible.

However, just as he began to turn back to the door, there was a burst of static from above you, and a voice called out from a hidden speaker, “So, this must be the current iteration of Task Force X. Welcome!” You and Rick exchanged a nervous glance as the voice continued. “I had a feeling Waller would track me down eventually, and it looks like I was right. Good thing I took precautions.”

“Who the hell are you?” Rick called out as his eyes scanned the ceiling trying to locate where the voice was coming from.

“She didn’t tell you? She just sent you out on a mission without briefing you on what you were walking into?” The voice scoffed. “Why am I not surprised? Well, let me introduce myself. I used to be one of the head research and developers at ARGUS before Waller got everything she wanted from me and tried to have me arrested despite the fact everything I did was under her orders. You see, I’m the guy who developed the technology that made the nanite bombs possible, including that one currently residing in your girlfriend’s head.”

You gasped as your eyes grew wide and your hand flew to the side of your neck, your finger tracing the small bump just under your skin that Rick knew was there. His eyes met yours and he knew you were both thinking the same thing: If this maniac invented the bombs then chances were….

Rick glared up at the ceiling and roared, “Now listen here you bastard—”

“I can’t detonate it if that’s what you’re worried about,” the voice calmly interrupted. “Waller is smart enough to change the frequency for every mission which means I, unfortunately, can’t access them. However, I had a feeling she would kick me to the curb once she had my technology so I neglected to tell her about the one flaw in my design. The unintended way to weaponize them. The one I just set in motion.”

A chill ran down Rick’s spine. “What are you talkin’ about? What did you do!”

“Rick…” Your fingers dug into his arm as you reached for him, your shivering intensifying—but whether that was from cold or fear, Rick didn’t know.

“The bombs are not the only thing injected into the subjects,” the voice continued. “A small amount of a typically harmless chemical surrounds it to help the body not reject the foreign object or start breaking it down. I say ‘typically harmless’ because it only becomes toxic when mixed with another rare compound….the same compound that was just released from the sprinkler system moments ago.”

“What did you do to me?” you asked, addressing the voice directly for the first time. “What’s going to happen?”

“Oh, not just you, my dear. Those sprinklers went off all over the building so I’m sorry to say your entire team is about to suffer the same fate as you…except for the Colonel that is. Or did Waller implant a bomb into you as well? It wouldn’t surprise me if she did.”

“Shut the fuck up and just tell us how to stop this!”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that. I need Waller to pay for what she did to me and show her she was wrong for ever doubting my abilities. And the best way to do that is by eliminating part of her precious Task Force X. I am sorry you had to be a casualty of our war but just like any game of chess, pawns get sacrificed. I would hurry up and say your goodbyes if I were you. The toxin forming in her blood should begin to take effect any time now and her body will destroy itself before your backup arrives. But Colonel….tell Waller I said hello.”

The speaker crackled out, leaving the two of you standing in a horrified silence. Rick’s mind was spinning with everything he had just heard. What the voice said couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t be. After all, Waller would have known about it.

“Rick?”

Waller was the one who came up with Task Force X and she oversaw every single detail as it came to fruition. She couldn’t have overlooked something like this….could she?

“Rick.”

But then again, what if she had? She wasn’t a scientist and wouldn’t understand all the uses of the different chemicals they were using with the technology. So what if the voice wasn’t lying and you only had a few minutes before—

“Rick!”

He whirled around to see you slumped against the far wall, your eyes wide as you wiped your fingers under your nose and watched them come away bloody, a bright smear still left on your face as more began to trickle out of your nose.

“No….”

He closed the distance between you in two long strides and took your face between his large hands. Your body was shaking slightly as you looked up at him with tears in your eyes and your voice broke as you said, “Rick, I can feel it. It’s already happening. Oh God—” you frantically grabbed onto his wrists as his hands still cupped your face “—I’m scared. I’m not ready to die. Not now. Not when I’ve found—” The rest of your words were lost as you broke down sobbing.

Rick pulled you into his chest and wrapped his arms around you tightly. Resting his chin on the top of your head and rubbing soothing circles across your back, he whispered, “It’s okay, darlin’. You’re gonna be okay. I’m gonna get you outta here and get you help, you hear me? I can’t lose you either so I need you to fight. Fight and just hold on, for as long as you can. We’re gonna get outta here…together.”

He felt you nod into his chest and gently moved you away to look at you. Red-tinted tears trailed down your cheeks and more blood was smeared under your nose. Rick glanced down and saw some of it had wiped off on his jacket, but it didn’t matter. He bent down and pressed his lips furiously against yours—trying to ignore the metallic taste of blood coating your lips— then turned back towards the exit door.

He had already searched every inch of it for some sort of switch but maybe he could pry it open. Rick tried to get his fingernails to dig into the seam where the two doors met, but the seal was just too strong. Maybe if he could find something to wedge between them….

As he quickly scanned the room for something—anything—he could use, he saw you clutch your chest as you began to cough. It started out small, like just clearing your throat. However, within what seemed like seconds, it had evolved into a wheezy, rattling hack that wracked your entire body. Rick watched helplessly as fresh blood sprayed across the floor as a particularly deep cough forced you to double over.

As it subsided and you looked up at him, he inhaled sharply as he saw blood now not only trickling from your nose but from your eyes and mouth too. You tried to say something—it seemed like his name—however, from your rasping gasps, it was clear you weren’t getting enough air to breathe properly, let alone speak.

“No…” Rick couldn’t believe he was being forced to stand here and watch you die with no way to save you. “No!”

Throwing his entire weight behind it, Rick smashed his fist into the metal door. Logically deep down he knew there was no way he would ever be able to punch his way through it, but right now, logic was the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, he wound back and drove his other fist into the door.

Over and over again, he pounded at the metal, ignoring the pain as he felt his skin split and bones crack. The door was now smeared with the blood from his ruined knuckles but it was nothing compared to the blood that was spilling from you just behind him. Hearing you struggling and in pain yet knowing he was helpless to stop it was too much for him and he increased the strength of each blow.

It was only when he saw you collapse to the floor as your body began thrashing and convulsing that Rick abandoned his fruitless attempts at breaking through the door and he dropped to his knees beside you. Pulling your writhing body into his lap, he held you tightly against him and pressed his lips against your ear, muttering empty promises that everything was going to be alright.

As you continued to seize, blood began to flow more steadily from your eyes, nose, and mouth. Your eyes rolled back into your head as your back arched and your entire body went rigid. You seemed to hold that pose for a moment, the entire room suddenly dead silent. Then, slowly and with one extended exhale, your body relaxed against his and your head lolled to the side.

Ice spread through Rick’s veins as he stared at your motionless form. No. This couldn’t be happenin’. Not to you. Please God, not you.

He gently took your face between his hands and turned it so he could see you better. Several trails of blood streaked down your face and though your eyes were mostly closed, he could just make out the dulled, faded color beneath your lids. And though you were lying on his chest, all he felt was an unnatural stillness—no heartbeat, no intake of breath. You were gone.

Tears began to stream down Rick’s cheeks as he buried his face in the top of your head. And though he knew you couldn’t hear him, he softly whispered, “Please, darlin’, come back to me. I need you and I love you and I can’t do this without you. So, please….come back.”

And that’s how Waller’s extraction team found the two of you moments later: Colonel Rick Flag with tears in his eyes as he clung to the limp body of one of the Belle Reve inmates.

Since that moment, Rick had been going on some sort of autopilot, letting himself be shuffled from place to place and doing what he was told. But now that his official statement had been taken and he had been released, there was only one place he needed to be. So, taking the hospital elevator up to the third floor, he stepped out onto the intensive care unit and followed the signs towards his destination.

When he reached the end of the hall, Rick stared through the window into the hospital room, his forehead pressed against the glass as he struggled to maintain some sort of composure. He could barely see your face past the countless machines and equipment hooked up to you in an effort to keep you alive.

By the time Waller’s extraction team had shown up and somehow managed to revive you, the poison had done its job and destroyed or seriously damaged most of your internal organs. It was a miracle the doctors were able to keep you alive this long, even if machines now controlled every aspect of your life support. The rest of the Task Force who had been in a different area of the building hadn’t been so lucky. The two of you were the only survivors—if you could call it that.

The doctors had done everything they could to save you and now the rest was up to you. Rick had heard the full spectrum of possible prognoses ranging from you making a full recovery to you being incapable of cognitive thought or movement—and all of it was dependent on you waking up which was an uncertainty on its own.

But for now, you lay motionless in your hospital bed just as you had for the past twenty-four hours.

Fury boiled in his gut as Rick’s eyes landed on the pair of handcuffs chaining you to the bed. Did they seriously expect you to jump up and sneak out of the hospital? Your heart was struggling to beat without assistance and air was constantly having to be forced into your lungs yet they had to make sure you wouldn’t miraculously make a daring escape. It made Rick sick. As did the fact he wasn’t permitted to be in the room with you. All he wanted was to hold your hand or press a soft kiss to your forehead, but Waller made sure no one except for her and the doctors were allowed in. Just another one of her attempts to punish him.

As if summoned by the very thought of her name, footsteps echoed off the tiles behind him growing louder and louder until Waller stepped into Rick’s peripheral vision. He ignored her, instead keeping his gaze firmly locked on you, and Waller seemed to do the same.

For several minutes, they stood in complete silence, the sounds of your rasping breathing and the beeping of machines the only sound in the dim hallway. Finally, without turning, Rick asked, “Did you know?”

“I know a lot of things, Flag, but you’re going to have to be more specific.”

“Did you know the chemicals in the nanites could be used like that?”

Waller was silent for a moment before she answered curtly, “No. We knew about the chemical surrounding the bombs of course, but we were not aware it could be turned into a weapon. Our lab is already researching alternatives.”

“Yeah, well, I’m sure my team would be thrilled to hear that if they weren’t all currently down in the morgue.”

“Mistakes happen, people die. But that’s why we formed Task Force X. Nobody cares when those dying are criminals.” Waller’s eyes shifted slightly from the window to Rick and back again. “With a few exceptions.”

Rick clenched his fist at her words then immediately regretted it as a sharp bolt of pain ran up his arm from his busted knuckles. He wanted nothing more than to make Waller feel the pain he was feeling. For her to understand how much he cared about you. But he knew nothing he did would make a difference. If anything, it would only make it worse.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm himself, he asked, “So…what happens now?”

Folding her arms over her chest, Waller said, “Despite my objections, the board determined you did nothing wrong on the mission. They said there was nothing you could have done differently to save your team and you are not responsible for their deaths and thus will not receive any formal reprimand or punishment. However–” Waller raised one eyebrow as she glared at Rick “–I have not forgotten your…indiscretion with her and it will not be overlooked.”

“Don’t act like you haven’t known about us since the very start. You’ve just been waitin’ for the moment it best suited your interests to bring it up,” Rick growled. “I don’t care what you do to me but when she’s better I want her released from Belle Reve. She only had thirty years left on her sentence—twenty after this mission. And this….this more than makes up for the rest of her time.”

“Possibly,” Waller said thoughtfully. “First, we have to wait and see if she even pulls through, then we can have that discussion. But until that happens, I expect you to do your job.” She slapped a file down on the ledge of the window. “Your next assignment. You leave tomorrow and you better be on the tarmac on time. Otherwise all of this–” she gestured to the hospital equipment surrounding them “–goes away. Do we understand each other?”

Rick clenched his jaw tightly as he just barely managed to hold back the slew of curses he wanted to direct at his boss but he knew that was exactly what she was hoping for. So instead, he gritted his teeth and in his most Southern twang said, “Yes, Ma’am.”

The “fuck you” was loud and clear in his tone but Waller thankfully ignored it. Shooting him one last glare, she turned sharply and began marching back down the hall. However, Rick called after her, “And I want those cuffs taken off of her. Now.”

Without turning or breaking her stride, Waller replied, “When are you going to learn, Flag? You don’t call the shots around here. I do.” Then she turned down another hall and disappeared from sight.

Sighing, Rick gazed back at your unconscious form. Pressing his hand against the glass, he whispered, “It’ll be alright, darlin’, I promise you that. You don’t worry about anythin’ except gettin’ better and wakin’ up. You do that, and I’ll take care of the rest. And no matter what happens or how bad things are when you do wake up, I’ll be right by your side for all of it, Waller be damned. ‘Cause I love you, now and forever.”

He waited, hoping beyond hope you had heard his words and they helped rouse you from your sleep. But this wasn’t some feel-good movie or romance novel where his bedside pleas would make everything better and you would wake up to fall into his arms once again. No, this was real life and in real life, people didn’t get their happily-ever-afters.

At least…..not yet. As long as your heart was still beating—artificially or not— there was hope. And for now, hope was going to have to be enough.

Tag List: @loverhymeswith, @green-socks, @yespolkadotkitty, @heresathreebee, @tavners, @merlehs, @sunshineflowerchild789, @mayhem24-7forever, @lovearne, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @that-sarcastic-writer, @indig0nebula, @katjnordstrom96, @wildbornsiren, @princessmisery666, @writercole

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cheeriecherrymain · 1 year

Note

Hc of viktor with babies 👀💕🥺

Viktor x fem!Reader Warning: Pregnancy, brief mentions of the horizontal tango

-Neither you nor Viktor had ever expected something like this to happen. You’d been so careful during your nights together, always taking extra steps to be safe.

-It wasn’t that either of you disliked children, or were opposed to having them, but you and Viktor had been clear about it from the start - not right now. His work was just beginning to take off, and you were in the middle of school; neither of you could afford to be parents at the moment.

-Which was why you didn’t immediately come to the conclusion that you were pregnant.

-You’d woken up one morning with a touch of nausea, but you chalked it up to eating something strange the day prior. Then the fatigue, and the ache in your back - clearly you were sitting too much, and your schedule was too busy.

-It wasn’t until you took your lunch hour to go visit Viktor at the lab, that you finally had the realization.

-Viktor hadn’t been in the lab that day, much to your surprise, so instead you’d sat with Jayce for a couple moments to ask about how things were going. He seemed grateful for the company, telling you about their experiments and which parts worked and which parts had ‘maybe exploded, just a little bit’.

-And then you’d caught a whiff off the coffee he’d been brewing, in the little machine that he and Viktor had sneaked into the lab. A scent that would usually delight and comfort you, that instead twisted your stomach and worsened the ever-present nausea tenfold.

-Jayce must have noticed something was off, because seconds later, a bucket was hastily stuck in front of you and you were emptying the contents of your stomach.

-You apologize profusely once the wave passes, and promise that you’ll empty the bucket out yourself, and clean it properly.

-Jayce doesn’t seem to mind, though, laughing and telling you that you ‘can’t help being pregnant’.

-You don’t say anything after that, opting to pop a lid on the bucket so you can drag it back to your apartment, but your mind dwells heavily on his words.

-Surely he was joking, you think. There was no way you could be pregnant - you’d been so careful.

-But you can’t stop thinking about it, putting together your symptoms and counting the days since your last period - two weeks late. And that’s when it really hits you.

-You spend the next hour crying and despairing over what you were meant to do - tell Viktor? Don’t tell him? Keep it? Don’t keep it? You’d both been very clear that you weren’t ready to be parents yet, but…

-You wrap your arms around your midsection and sob again. A little piece of you doesn’t want to give this up, and you know that it’s not a person yet, but…but it could be, if you wanted it to.

—

-Another week passes before you’re ready to tell Viktor, but even that isn’t an accurate description. You have to tell Viktor, before he finds out on his own, and before his opinion won’t matter on whether or not you keep the pregnancy.

-You make sure to get all your files in order - blood test results, symptom tracking, and the exact timeline of when everything had happened, and you tuck it all into your bag.

-Viktor is at the lab this time, where you expect him to be. He and Jayce both greet you when you walk in and make a beeline for your partner, giving him a light kiss on the cheek.

-You ask him quietly if he’s busy and if he could spare a moment - to which he replies that he’ll always have a moment for you.

-And then you set the folder in front of him.

-And you wait.

-And wait.

-In silence, as he looks through the handful of papers you’ve given him.

-Waiting, watching as his eyes grow wider with every word he reads. As every emotion known to man passes across his face - disbelief, shock, fear, confusion, anger-

-You look away when a quiet fury shines in his eyes, opting to bury your face in your hands. You know if you look at him any longer, you’ll start crying, and with Jayce oblivious across the room, you don’t want to draw attention.

- “Are you…certain?” he asks, his voice tight with something you can’t quite place, and you nod, tears beginning to sting your eyes.

-You expect him to be upset, stressed, maybe even resentful. You expect an outrage, or perhaps for him to walk out.

-What you don’t expect is for him to gently pry your hands from your face, and then tenderly hold your jaw. His thumbs swipe across your cheeks where your tears have fallen, and he stares at you with an amazed sort of awe you’ve never witnessed.

- “Truly?” he asks again, and when you -again- nod in your confirmation, he pulls you into a kiss. Deep and warm and desperate, an arm snaking around your midsection to guide you impossibly closer.

-Until you part, breathless, and he rests his forehead on yours.

- “I know we said we weren’t ready for this,” he says quietly, “but…would you be willing to- could we- keep it?”

-You fully burst into tears after that, finally drawing the attention of Jayce, who happily congratulates you both when you tell him the news.

—

-Seven and a half months later, after many sleepless nights and exhausted days, the two of you welcome your daughter into the world. Viktor stays by your side the entire time, bringing and offering you whatever you could possibly want, regardless of its absurdity.

-He brushes your hair from your damp forehead and presses a kiss to your crown, staring with unparalleled adoration at the tiny baby on your chest. Cooing to her when she whines, whispering his love when she sleeps. Sheds his first tears when she wraps her little hand around his finger and refuses to let go.

-After that, there’s not a moment when he’s not at her beck and call. The moment she makes a noise in the night, he’s at the side of her crib to silently check on her. His excuse is that he wants you to rest as much as possible so you can heal and recover from the delivery, but you know as well as he does that he just wants to be near her. Watch over her, keep her safe, make her smile and laugh.

-Even when she brings up her breakfast on his work clothes, he’s able to laugh it off and help clean her up, making sure she’s comfy and cozy afterwards.

-And your daughter always seems to know when he’s around, squirming and giggling around the time he gets home from the lab, especially as she gets older; refusing to eat on time because she knows Viktor will arrive soon, and she wants him to feed her.

-And he does, every single time.

-He dotes on her unrelentingly, possibly even more than he dotes on you.

#viktor x reader #viktor arcane x reader #arcane x reader #i just want him to be loved and happy #hes tragic and i want to give him a good life #viktor headcanons

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a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all · 8 months

Text

What Went Wrong

Focus on the physical pain. Just focus on the physical pain. Let everythin’ else slip away until there is nothin’ but this pain.

“Colonel Flag….Colonel….Sir—”

“Flag!”

Rick sighed as he scratched at the gauze on his hand. “Do we really have to do this right now? I got better places to be.”

“Maybe, but you fucked her while she was my prisoner, which makes it my business.”

Rick once again tightened his hand into a loose fist as he growled, “Why the fuck does it matter right now? However you define it, it didn’t affect the mission at all.”

But for now, she wasn’t his main concern. He needed to get out of this room and upstairs as soon as possible. So, he nodded to the man and motioned for him to continue with his questions.