#zo catching feelings? yes thank you. good content

[gunsatthaphan]

"I made it worse."

#hidden agenda #hidden agenda ep3 #joongdunk #joke x zo #jokezo #joong archen #dunk natachai #gmmtv #thai bl #bl drama #the way this show has me kicking my feet like an idiot is really embarrassing tbh 😩 #i just love the energy so much #and im glad its so different from SIMM #i love it #my kinda show #zo catching feelings? yes thank you. good content

[monaownsmyass]

And They Were Roommates

Requested fic by anon (if you have any fic ideas or requests you'd like me to write, you can leave me an ask!)

Book: Queen B, (after) Chapter 13

Pairing: Zoey Wade x MC (Bea Hughes)

Genre: Fluff

Rating: G, none

Word count: 3,140

A/N: Zoey and MC have a impromptu sleepover after making up from their fight a few weeks ago. Took shorter than expected cuz I wanted to get it done today so here it is! I think this might be my fav fic of mine so far :)

Tag list: @ineedskyecrandall @kamilahsayeet2063 @avalawrencefl @lovekamilahsayeed @thequeenkamilahsayeed @heygmicheelle (lmk if anyone would like to be included or removed in my next fics.)

"Have you gotten the chips yet?"

"Yeah, do you have the chocolate?"

"First thing I grabbed!"

Zoey wrapped her arms around my waist from the back and rested her chin on my shoulder. Together we peered into our shopping cart, almost overflowing with snacks. Underneath was our weekly grocery but it was entirely hidden.

"Babe, this is a ridiculous amount junk food," Zoey laughs.

"I mean, it's not like we're gonna finish it in one night. We could always keep it for some other time or even throw a party or something," I protested with a smile.

"This is basically an invitation for diabetes and an aneurysm."

"I don't see you making any effort to put some back though," I challenged.

She just laughs and lets go of me as we continued making our way down the aisle.

It was past sundown and we came to the grocery store with the only intention of stocking up our fridge with groceries. However, on the way, Zoey suggested we have a 'sleepover night' since we made up even though we live together and it's been weeks since the fallout. I'm not complaining though, I thought it'd be really fun especially if it means spending more time her.

And of course I suggested on getting some snacks 'cuz what's a sleepover without 'em? But we may have went a little overboard.

We headed towards the checkout and unloaded all the items onto the conveyor belt. My phone kept going off so I pulled it out to check it. Poppy was spamming my notifications again. The bitch just won’t leave me alone.

I scrolled through the 52 messages and rolled my eyes. I turned my phone on silent then looked back to Zoey who was already paying. I helped her place all the foodstuff back into the cart. Before leaving, I caught Zoey place the tips of her outstretched fingers to her chin and then bring it forward in the direction of the cashier. The cashier returned the gesture.

Wait, did Zoey know sign language?

As we made our way out of the grocery store, I turned to Zoey. "Were you communicating in sign language to the cashier?"

"Yeah, they had hearing impairment. You know ASL too?"

I shook my head. "I mean, I only know the basics like 'yes' and 'no'. I didn't know you knew sign language."

I loved finding out new things about her. It was a pleasant surprise every time.

Zoey let out a small chuckle. "You still have lots to learn about me, babe." She gave me a mischievous look. "Which is exactly why this sleepover is vital!"

I laughed at her as we reached our car and transferred the grocery bags once again. We drove back to campus, blasting music and jamming out to it on the way. I looked over to see her singing her heart out and making exaggerated facial features while bouncing up and down. Moments like these with Zoey made me so glad I was dating my best friend. I smiled at her and joined in.

When we arrived, Zoey and I piled the groceries onto our arms, refusing to make a second trip to the car and back.

We almost made it to our dorm room when Zoey stopped dead in her tracks. I bumped into her, causing me to almost loose my balance and drop everything I was carrying. Fortunately, I managed to prevent myself from falling.

"What the hell, Zo?"

"It's here!"

"What's here?"

She was looking down so I tried to peak over her shoulder to see what she was staring at. Being taller than me, it was no use.

Finally, she stepped aside to unlock the door and I saw what she was talking about. It was a package right at our doorstep.

"What's that?"

"You'll see." She entered and placed all the food on the kitchen counter before going out to retrieve the box.

I put the bags I were carrying beside hers and followed her to the dining table where she took a knife to cut open the tape sealing the box.

"Voilà!" she exclaimed and flip the lids open in a flourish.

The object inside was still wrapped up in plastic but I could make out some fabric through the clear wrapping.

"Here, this is for you! Catch!" She tossed me a plastic bag with the fabric in it and took one for herself.

I held it up and finally figured out what it was.

"Zoey Wade, you did not!"

"But yes! I did!"

I ripped open the plastic the same time she did and we unfolded the material to show it off to the other.

"You got us matching onesies?!"

She nodded enthusiastically with the biggest, cutest grin ever.

"I got us penguins 'cuz I remember you saying you like them. Also, they're so cute! Just like us!" she said with a laugh.

I didn't even bother with a reply, I was too excited. I pulled her by the face into a kiss. Her soft lips met mine, kissing me back. It was brief but if I wasn't already giddy with excitement, I definitely was now. "Thank you, Zo!"

We quickly changed into our respective onesies and modelled for the other.

"Aww, you're the cutest penguin ever," Zoey spoke in a soft and gentle voice that made me blush.

"No, you are!" I rushed to her to embrace her in a hug. "You're so soft," I giggled into her shoulder.

"Now we know our cuddle game is gonna be strong later," she laughed along with me. "Come, we have to set up the pillow fort."

I nodded but refused to let go off her. Human Zoey was a fantastic hugger but Penguin Zoey only made it better.

"Maybe I should've gotten you a monkey onesie instead," she teased and turned her head to kiss my temple. Then, she gently pried me away. "I promise we'll continue this later."

I finally let go and we got to work, building our pillow fort in the middle of the living room. It took us longer than we'd like to admit to set up the blanket as the tent. Whenever we'd secure one side, the other would come undone. It only made us crack up harder the more often it happened.

"Okay, okay, I got this side, you go grab the other!"

I rushed to the other side and made sure it would stay in place. We cautiously let go of the blanket and backed away. To our surprise, it didn't fall.

"Yes!"

We tossed a bunch of pillows into the blanket fort and hung fairy lights all over, including inside. We switched off the main lights a took a step back to admire our handiwork. We snaked an arm around each other to side hug.

"Good job, babe," Zoey smiled, squeezing me into her.

"You too, beautiful." I gave her a peck on the cheek in reply.

"Alright, time to call for pizza now!"

"Can you do it on your phone? Poppy has been blowing up mine so I'm avoiding it at all cost."

Her eyes widen. "Still? It's been so long!"

"I know," I sighed. "I'll probably block her tomorrow or something. Tonight, it's all about you and me."

"You got that right," Zoey murmured and gave me a small kiss on the lips.

She grabs her phone and dials up the pizza place. Once she was done, she went into her room and came out holding a folded picnic blanket.

"C'mon," she said and stretched out her other hand for me to hold.

I accepted her warm hand in mine instinctively, loving the way it fits perfectly. "Where are we going? What's up with the mat?"

"The delivery guy said he couldn't come up to the dorm to deliver it. The best he can do is meet us at the courtyard. So I thought we could maybe stargaze while we wait."

My heart skipped and my breath hitched. Stargazing with Zoey? How could I say no? Who in their right mind would say no?

“In our onesies?”

“Only if you want to.”

"Of course I want to!" I blurted and immediately dragged her out the door with her chuckling at me.

At the courtyard, Zoey spread open the picnic blanket and laid it on the ground. She sat on it and reached up to grab my hand, pulling me down to sit beside her. We laid down on our backs and looked up at the sky. It was clear and the stars seemed to twinkle extra bright tonight.

Zoey's hand moved around in search of mine and interlaced our fingers together when she found it. I gave it a squeeze and smiled into the night, never felt so contented before. Just two people in penguin onesies under the night sky, holding hands.

"Do you recognise any constellations?" I asked her.

"I can't say I do, are you some kind of astronomy expert that I didn't know?"

I laughed. "No, but my dad used to point some out to me when I was a kid. He'd take me outside and we'd just sit and watch the stars."

I glanced at her and saw a small smile play on her lips. That in turn made me smile. I was sharing a meaningful, nostalgic moment with her and that sent a thrill through me. I couldn't express how grateful I was that I could share this with her.

"Tell me about them." She looked at me and then back at the starry sky.

"That one is the Ursa Major, or the Great Bear," I said softly, just loud enough for her to hear. I pointed to the sky and traced the stars with my finger. She moved in closer to me to see where I traced.

"And that’s the Big Dipper. It consists of the seven brightest stars of the Ursa Major." I continued to move my finger in the air.

It was really cute that her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she was listening but the she squinted. "That doesn't look like a bear."

I laughed again and said, "Almost every constellation doesn't look like their names, darling. You should see Corvus."

"That's a little weird."

"Why don't you go ahead and name one then," I insisted.

"Okay," she replied and pointed to the brightest star in the sky I could see. "I'm calling that Bea Hughes."

I started giggling and I could feel the butterflies in my stomach flutter furiously.

"Then that one should be called Zoey Wade." I indicated to the star that was directly beside the one she chose.

She grinned at me and I squeezed her hand once more. "Perfect."

She rolled into her side and I followed suit. Facing each other, we stared at the other for a while with our hands still interlocked. I brought my other hand up to brush the stray strands that fell in her face. I rested my hand against her cheek and gently stroked her smooth skin. She closed her eyes.

I looked at her in unabashed adoration. It wasn't the first time I was blown away by her and I was certain it wouldn't be the last time. My eyes trailed over the features of her face. She was perfection.

She opened her eyes and I gasped as a wave of emotion flooded me. My heart was beating a million miles an hour as realisation dawn on me when I gazed into her brilliant eyes.

I loved Zoey Wade.

I loved the way she tossed her head back when she laughed. I loved how her eyes lit up when she was talking about something she was passionate about. I loved the way she looked at me. I loved that she remembers the smallest things about me even when I don't recall mentioning it to her myself. I loved getting to know new things about her. I loved the way she brightens my day just by seeing her

I was in love with her.

I reacted the only way I knew how to; I pulled her into me to hug her and immediately buried my face in her neck.

"I adore you, Zo." I kissed the skin where her neck and shoulder meets.

"I adore you too."

We stayed like that in comfortable silence until we heard someone shout 'oh my god!' and footsteps coming closer.

I felt her turn her head to the source and sigh. Me with my face still in her neck whispered, "Is that the demon I hear?"

"Unfortunately."

Poppy stopped right over us and crossed her arms. I looked straight up at her and Zoey shifted to look at her too.

"This is why you've been ignoring me?!" she practically screeched. "You've been ignoring me to lie around in the middle of the lawn in stupid animal suits? With her?"

"Why? Jealous?"

She scoffed. "As if, Farmsville!"

"Shoo shoo, we're in the middle of something," Zoey said unamused while waving her hand at Poppy.

Poppy started shouting at us but we weren't paying attention any longer.

"Ughh! Fine! You will regret this!" she huffed and finally stomped away.

"Oh, just in time," I said as I saw the pizza delivery person.

We paid for our pizza and headed back up to our dorm.

Once we stepped passed the door, I heard Zoey's phone buzz and then laugh.

"What's up?"

"Check your phone."

Still on silent, I whipped out my phone and saw the notifications. My eyes widen when I saw both Zoey and I's ranking on The T increase. I scrolled through the feed and saw a picture of us from just now at the courtyard, cuddling.

"Poppy thought she could submit this and ruin us!" Zoey said between giggles. "Obviously it backfired 'cuz now everyone at Belvoire thinks we're the cutest couple on campus."

I went through the comments.

'Omg, they're so cute!' 'I didn't know they were together but they look good.' 'They're perfect for each other!' 'And they were roommates...'

I snorted and glanced over at Zoey who looked beyond ecstatic. "Suck it, Poppy!"

I laughed at her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"Y'know, we do make a pretty cute couple."

"Only 'pretty cute'?" Zoey teased and returned my hug. "We're fricken' adorable!"

I brought her in for a kiss and she grabbed onto me a little tighter. One hand was on the back of my neck and the other went around my waist, gripping it. The way she kissed me was electric. Surges of energy ran through my veins, making me come alive. The passion and yearning poured into the kiss made me breathless. Being in love with her only amplified the feeling.

Zoey broke the kiss, panting but mostly laughing.

"Sorry, babe," she said, trying to catch her breath. "I just remembered we're both in penguin onesies."

I broke into a fit of giggles. God, I loved this girl.

"Damn right we are," I confirmed, beaming. "Must look pretty ridiculous but it's sure as hell comfy."

Zoey grinned back at me and grabbed my hand to lead me into the pillow fort. We took the pizza with us along with a bottle of wine.

"Cheers!" We clinked glasses and took a swig after she poured some out.

Even though we had a TV in the living room, Zoey brought out her laptop 'cuz our pillow fort was blocking it. She set it up and started playing 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'.

I turned to Zoey. "How did you know this was my favourite classic?"

"Who doesn't love a good Hepburn movie once in a while?"

We dug into the pizza while enjoying our wine. After we were done, we got into a comfortable position. She laid back, propping her head up using the pillows as I laid my head on her chest, arms wrapped around each other as well as our legs. Some of the snacks we got earlier surrounded us for easy access. She was right, cuddling with the onesies was on a whole other level.

"Can we just stay like this, forever?"

"I'd love to but I think we have other obligations," she joked.

"Can we at least do this every weekend then? Penguin onesies, pillow forts and all?"

"Sounds good to me."

The movie continued and eventually, Holly Golightly started singing 'Moon River'. I heard Zoey singing along softly.

'Moon river, wider than a mile, I'm crossing you in style someday.'

I gazed up at her and she looked back at me, still singing.

'Oh dream maker, you heartbreaker, Wherever you're going, I'm going your way.'

Mesmerised by the beautiful sound of her voice, I just stared at her in wonderment while she sang the rest of the song.

"You're unreal," I spoke in amazement when she was done.

She giggled and kissed my forehead. "That's you, darling."

I laid her head back onto her chest and listened to the gentle thump in her chest as the movie carried on. A while later, I looked up to peer at Zoey only to find her eyes closed.

She must have fallen asleep. Thinking back to my recent revelation when we were stargazing, I started speaking quietly, just above a whisper. I couldn't hold it in.

"You probably can't hear me, but I have to get something off of my chest," I said. "Kinda funny that were in penguin onesies. 'Cuz penguins mate for life. Not that I'm saying we'll be together for the rest of our lives even though I really hope we do."

I exhaled slowly and continued, "What I mean is that, after the whole situation at the Zeta's, I thought I lost you for good. I can't tell you how lucky I am that you're giving me a second chance. We're in this together and I mean it. I'll always be by your side no matter what."

I closed me eyes. She may not hear this part in person but I hope she hears it in her dreams. "What I'm trying to say... what I'm saying is that, I love you, Zo."

Instantly, I could hear her heart begin to pound rapidly. My eyes shot open as butterflies invaded my stomach. Did she hear me?

I felt her hand that was resting my my thigh twitch. I look down to see the barest movement of her fingers. Her ring and middle finger down while the rest were stretched out.

My own heart started racing in recognition. One of the only signs I knew.

I love you.

I squeezed her, hugging her tighter to let her know I saw it. I felt her tighten her hold on me in response.

We drifted off to sleep in each other's embrace with me being lulled by her heartbeat, knowing that my love loved me back.

(More fics!)

#🤟🤟🤟 #zoey wade #zoey x mc #zoey qb #qb #queen b #qb choices #choices #choices: stories you play #playchoices #pb #pixelberry #queen b fanfiction #qb fanfiction #choices fanfiction #thanks for reading!

[unto-myself-together]

From Dusk to Dawn, ch 2 (ESO fanfic)

Content warnings for this specific chapter: references to sex. Brief descriptions of violence. Occasional light cursing (i.e. damn, ass. It’s very infrequent though)

Author notes (a lot of notes, sorry!!):

Previous chapters: Chapter 1

Author notes (skip to the squiggly lines--> ~~~~~~ if you want to jump straight into the story)

You can also read the story on my Archive of Our Own Account here:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23343163/chapters/64680022#workskin

Lots of notes here (and I apologize for that. But this chapter had a lot of stuff going on. There are a couple of explanations for anyone who is interested/confused by something that went on in this chapter.):

Hey everyone. I really really hope you all have been doing much better during these troubled times than I have. I have an anxiety disorder (as well as a couple of other things and chronic medical conditions) and let’s just say that this does not exactly mix well with a worldwide pandemic. Let me just say that if it wasn’t for ESO and my ESO guildies, I don’t know where I’d be.

I love your comments. All of them. I have been coming back just to read them again and again, and when I get the chance I want to respond to each and every one of them. You all are so beautiful; thank you… And thank you to the person who left that extremely lovely message in my ask box on Tumblr! I’m not sure how to let you know, how to respond in a way that you will see (are you still around?), but if you can see this: I love you and I loved, loved, loved your message!

I missed writing. A lot. But I have so tired lately that I was having difficulties writing this next chapter. I finally got it out and I wanted to share it with all of you. This one is a bit more lighthearted than the last (we’re going to go on a rollercoaster here, with lighthearted chapters intermixed with not-so lighthearted chapters). I also changed the tags a bit.

Ravenwatch and sexuality: It’s actually canon that House Ravenwatch has “naked parties”. I kid you not. Gwendis has dialogue during the quest where you crown the new King/Queen of Rivenspire; if you meet her upstairs in Shornhelm’s castle, she’ll say something like:“If this were a Ravenwatch party, none of these people would be wearing clothes”. Please note that this is a “missable conversation”;if you do not catch Gwendis before completing the crowning quest, you will never get to see her say it again.

Even if ZOS later decides to erase these lines, they can’t erase them from history because I have recordings of it :D In all honesty? I actually appreciated this little side note;I think it adds more complexity to their characters. Given their rules about consent regarding blood giving, their parties are probably fully consensual too.And there really isn’t anything wrong about adults having consensual parties. Besides, vampires have always been a little associated with sex and sexuality, so I don’t think it’s really that surprising.

Kalin’s comment is a reference to their parties. But he purposely worded it in a way that he knew Elyssa wouldn’t understand: with a reference to a Dunmer tavern-brothel. No, Ophelia doesn’t actually participate in their parties (having grown up in this place, I think it would be awkward for all people involved); instead she usually goes to visit relatives and comes back to help with the clean-up. That’s not gonna stop Kalin from teasing her anyways. Speaking of Kalin, I really think he didn’t need to be half-naked and lounging on their dining room table during their mealtime. Just saying: I feel like we were interrupting a little more than just “mealtime”.

Now, whether or not Verandis and his "children" have relations with each other when they keep referring to each other by familial names ("father", "sister") is a different story; the idea makes me uncomfortable. But I'm fairly certain Kalin (who is not "a family member") and mortal guests can get some action with the vampires.

In regards to the mortal servants: I’m sorry, ZOS. I don’t care how much magic is pumping through Tamriel’s veins; you will never convince me that two servants (Kalin and Estelle) can feed a household of five vampires once a night every night (even more than five vampires if you save the two people during the Rivenspire quests). Even with magical “produce more blood” potions, I felt the need to add at least two more mortals to the household…I hope readers don’t mind…

It did get me thinking: how does Verandis find these people? I doubt he just puts up an ad onto the Shornhelm bulletin board. Can you imagine? “Help wanted. Must have lots of blood and no aversion to pointy objects in your neck” (I’m kidding). Melina Cassel’s comments in her hireling mails implies that Verandis doesn’t force the servants to give blood as a part of their contract (she makes mention that Estelle giving blood goes “beyond the call of duty”). But there probably is a preference for those who aren’t averse to parting with a bit of their life force every now and then. In Kalin’s case, I’m like 99% convinced his half naked Dunmer self does it because he thinks it’s hot.

I actually had a mock up done of the Castle Ravenwatch basement/lower floor on the PTS using Daggerfall Overlook. I’m not sure if anyone would be interested enough in it for me to post a pic of it though. (yes, I know.  I saw the Ravenwatch Prologue and I don’t care)

I really hope ZOS comes up with a house crest for House Ravenwatch soon; otherwise I will have to make my own…

I know it may not seem like it from this chapter, but I actually have fallen madly in love with Fennorian. But it doesn’t technically appear during the Rivenspire questline, and I actually want Elyssa’s first time meeting him to be during her visit to Western Skyrim and doing something like the Bound in Blood quest.

The goat: It’s more of an inside joke I have with myself. When I was going through the Rivenspire questline for the first time, I noticed that there’s a goat that appears behind Ravenwatch Castle. At first, I thought it coincided the appearance and disappearance of Kalin. So I made a joke to myself that Kalin IS the goat. (Later I found out the goat’s appearance has nothing to do with whether or not Kalin the NPC is around. Still, I thought it would be funny to poke at that idea in the fic).

I have a problem with the Stormhaven storyline and this idea that you have to have this specific potion made with the Dream Shard just to avoid dreams. For the purposes of this story, I’m going to re-write that part so that the Dream Shard created potion is only to prevent Vaermina’s magic from interfering with your dreams specifically, and that there are likely plenty of other alchemy potions (sleep potions) that could prevent dreams (but not necessarily prevent Vaermina or her followers from affecting your sleep or giving you nightmares anyways). I just wanted to make that distinction.

While I wouldn’t doubt Vaermina might torment the Vestige in their sleep as a payback, I doubt the Daedric Prince would care enough to do it constantly (just the feeling that I got when I finished the Stormhaven questline was that Vaermina wasn’t too perturbed by being thwarted. Her “imprisoning” the Vestige in her realm was half-hearted as well; you could easily leave. Like she had much bigger fish to fry than you).

In regards to House Ravenwatch and sexuality again: I wanted to state more bluntly that No, I do not think the vampiric family members have sex with each other because they keep referring to each other as "brother" and "sister" (and to Verandis as "father") in canon. Yes, I know they're probably not ACTUALLY related to each other, but still. Instead, I think they have rampant naked parties with fully willing fully adult mortal participants. Let's be honest: there's got to be at least as many mortals in Tamriel who think vampires are hot as there are people in our world that think vampires are hot...Also. You know. Kalin. Half naked. On the table. Just saying.

PLEASE NOTE: Elyssa Arboretum is NOT the actual name of my character. I changed her last name for this story because...well....I'm a little shy. If you ever meet someone in game that has a name similar but not exact, it MIGHT be me. I usually like being on my own, as social situations can cause me great stress (especially if they're strangers). I am so sorry, and I greatly appreciate your understanding...

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

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

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

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

She was staring at a wall.

….

…….

To be fair, it was a very nice wall.

…

….

….Although it did take her more than a moment’s time to realize she was staring at it sideways.

…

…And even longer to realize that she was staring at it sideways because she was lying down.

Groaning out of partial frustration, Elyssa heaved herself into a sitting position.

A soft bed and warm blankets were there to greet her, and they were inviting enough that she was sorely tempted to just go back to sleep.

But the longer she sat there, the faster the memories of the previous days nagged at her:

High Rock.

Blood fiends.

A plot to conquer the entirety of Rivenspire by a grieving and spiteful Breton noble.

The usual.

….

……She had to know what time it was.

Covers flung wide, she jumped out of bed.  Or tripped, rather; a creak in her back found her eagerness a bit disagreeable.   And it took a bit rubbing out her muscles to get her poor back to stand up straight.

But she hurried to make her way downstairs, whether her sore back liked it or not, when she heard the echoes of a conversation.

Gwendis and Melina were both there in the main hall.  Gwendis was literally lounging on top of her coffin, her arm lazily hanging over her eyes as if she meant to sleep like that.

Melina was at the table, toying with an array of colorful runestones.

“Good morning, Elyssa,” Melina cheerfully greeted her as she approached.

“Morning, Melina.  Morning Gwendis.”

Gwendis only gave a grunt in response.

Elyssa took a spot next to Melina, watching her as she carefully examined one rune at a time before placing them into different, colorful piles.

“Did you sleep well?”  Melina asked, frowning and squinting closer to her own hand when she noticed the rune she held had its surface defaced.

“Better than well.  I think this was the best sleep I’ve had since…it’s got to have been weeks...I feel fantastic…”

Melina chuckled a little.  “Well if you get such wonderful sleep in our home, perhaps you should stay with us then!  At least, for a while.  We get so few guests; I find it a little exciting to have someone new with us.  And, provided you’re still interested, I’d love the opportunity to show you a few basic enchanting techniques.  You know…when all this…ah, bloodfiend business is over.”

Elyssa perked up with a grin.  “I think I’d really like that.  And maybe you could take a look at that book I got, the one I told you about?  It really doesn’t make a lick of sense to me, and it would be great if someone could translate it into something more ‘beginner level’.”

“Oh of course, dear. I’ll certainly give it a try when we’re all a little less pre-occupied…”

“Wake me up when the world’s ending,” Gwendis moaned, still lounging on her perch.

“Is she all right?” Elyssa asked, leaning towards Melina.

“Oh she’s fine.  Just cranky after scouting out half of Rivenspire for Adusa.  She’ll be better after she gets some rest….”

Melina’s eyes narrowed at Gwendis.  “She’d feel even better if she actually bothered to go inside her coffin instead of sleeping on the hard stone lid...”

“That requires getting up…” Gwendis complained.

Melina gave a sigh, then went back to her rune sorting.

But Elyssa continued to stare at Gwendis, lost in thought.

“Do vampires dream?”  She asked, absentmindedly.

“Of course we do,” Melina replied. “My favorite dreams involve handsome men, coming to sweep me off my feet and take me far away to their extravagant and elaborate castle where we watch the stars and raise our nineteen adopted children together…”

“Which, for Melina, is nineteen too many,” Gwendis chimed in with a chuckle.

“Oh hush you.  If you’re too tired to lift a coffin lid than you’re too tired to make fun of my fantasies.”

“Do you really want nineteen children?”  Elyssa asked.

“Well…” She started with a bit of a grimace, “Maybe not quite THAT many….But I do want at least a child or two.  I adore children, they can be so sweet sometimes…”

She stared with melancholy as she traced the face of a beautiful rune.

“Never making assumptions….never judging you…”  She continued, solemnly.

“Breaking all the furniture in the house,” Gwendis remarked with a more lighthearted air.

“I suppose they can also be quite destructive too,” Melina gave out a little laugh.  “But what about you, Elyssa?  Have you ever thought about children?”

Elyssa made a face. “I think my horse is enough of a handful…”

She straightened up in a panic when she remembered her horse.

“Wait, my horse!  I put her around back in that shed place like Ophelia told me to, but I forgot to ask: was that really okay?  What if the bloodfiends got to her?  Should I go check on her?”

Melina patted her hand reassuringly just as she stood.

“Don’t fret there, dear.  The bloodfiends tend to lean away from anything that doesn’t smell like food, and our scent is all over these grounds.  It wards the little monsters away from our beautiful castle.”

Elyssa sat back down out of relief.

“Besides,” Melina added, “Our beloved little goat would have been eaten a long time ago if it were otherwise.”

“That goat!” Elyssa groaned. “I mean, speaking of kids and destruction: your goat wouldn’t stop headbutting me as I was trying to take off my horse’s tack, and I was very nearly tempted to kick him straight into your lake.  How do you get him to stop?”

“Elyssa!”  Melina chastised with a cluck. “That’s no way to treat Kalin.”

“Yes but—“ Elyssa cut off as those words wormed their way into her head.  “Wha….”

She turned to Melina, face contorted in a mixture of utter confusion with a touch of horror.  “What?  But I thought Kalin was the name of your…”

“Our resident Weregoat, yes.”

“Your resident… what?”

“Were.  Goat.” Melina said with precise articulation.

Elyssa stared at her as if she’d grown an extra head.  “You’re pulling my leg.”

“Me?” Melina asked, offended and with her hand firmly at her heart.  “Why I’d never!”

That did nothing to convince Elyssa.

“Gwendis…” Elyssa sighed, turning to the lounging vampire.  “Is there such thing as Weregoats?“

Gwendis lazily lifted her arm to give her a side eye.  “I mean, I think you should really focus on apologizing to Kalin for thinking about throwing him into the lake…Ya got some priorities you need to sort here…”

Elyssa flushed in embarrassment.  She’d never heard of a weregoat before.  But then, she’d never heard of friendly vampires until just yesterday.  And someone did tell her once that werebears were an actual thing…

“All…All right…” Elyssa said, slowly.  Not quite fully prepared to believe.  “Then when do weregoats transform?”

“Why, none other than the evening of every second Morndas of the month.  Which, I believe, was yesterday.  Is that not correct, Gwendis?”

“Yeee-ep.”  Gwendis replied, lazily letting the word hang in the air.

“Okay,” Elyssa said, a little less confident in herself.  “But why a goat, of all things?”

“Please,” Melina said, “Do I look like Hircine? For all we know, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt punishes those who scorn him with this…awful curse.  Such poor people might be used as fodder in the Prince’s hunting games.  All the more reason why he needs to stay, safe and sound, with us.”

Elyssa gave Melina a critical eye.  The vampire had been a bit overdramatic in the way she’d said “awful curse”, but otherwise it seemed she was serious.

Gwendis, likewise, seemed fairly serious too, even as she kept lounging on her coffin lid.  

Elyssa sighed, defeated.

“I guess I really should apologize to Kalin for getting irritated with him…”

“If you still don’t believe us, you can check out his tail,” Gwendis chipped in, “Ask if he’ll drop his pants and show you his hindquarters.”

Elyssa flushed red, and was about to reply that she would not, under any circumstances, ask to see the Dunmer’s posterior.

But a strangled noise brought her attention back to Melina, and her eyes narrowed in as the lady vampire struggled to keep a straight face.

“You…” Elyssa accused.  “You both are pulling my leg after all!”

Melina released the laughter she had apparently been holding in, and Gwendis was happy to chuckle alongside her.

“Come on, Mel,” Gwendis accused, “We had something here.”

The other’s laughter died down to a grin.

“Oh but Gwendis, I think you went a little too far with that one.  If she honestly asked Kalin to bare himself…you know how he gets…He’d probably acquiesce.”

“But that was the best part about it.” Gwendis grinned back.

“Well I don’t think it’s very nice,” Elyssa grumbled.

“Come on.” Gwendis said “We’re just teasing ya a bit.  A little hazing just to check if you’re good with our House and all.”

“Besides,” Melina added.  “It was positively adorable that you were willing to believe in weregoats.”

“Yeah.  I’m just so gullible aren’t I?”  Elyssa replied bitterly, remembering what the Count had told her last night about being a little too trusting of people.

“Come now, dear.” Melina said, patting her hand.  “We’re sorry.  Truly.  And how about I put my money where my mouth is and give you extra runestones for your next shipment as a little apology gift?”

“I guess…”  She replied, trying to refrain from any signs that free stuff had indeed perked up her mood just slightly.  

She found out she didn’t need to put much effort into that; the Count himself emerged from his study to interrupt.

“Good morning, Elyssa.  May I have a word with you?”  The statement was short, sweet, and a bit curt. Although that could have just been his High Elven accent.

“Do something naughty while we were gone, did ya?” Gwendis grinned at her just as Elyssa got up to join him.

“Wha—No!  Of course not!”

Gwendis’ chuckle seemed to almost follow her as she joined Verandis by the bookshelves.  This time, he forewent a book in favor of leaning against the shelves, his arms crossed while he regarded her carefully.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Like a rock.”  She stretched out her back a little with a wince. “I even woke up feeling a little like a rock.”

“Probably because you spent the better part of the night sleeping on my floor.  If I hadn’t decided to venture upstairs to dabble with a little more alchemy, you’d have woken up there too.  Why didn’t you drink the potion while you were in bed?”

“I did!” Elyssa cheerfully replied, holding a finger up, “But then I thought it would be a good idea to fetch a little more wine to wash it down.”

His eyebrows rose as he gave her a pointed look

“I mean,” Elyssa continued, her hands dropping to her side again, “At the time it seemed like a good idea.  Obviously it’s not such a good idea after the fact.”

The Count stared at her critically for a good while before he closed his eyes with a sigh.  When he re-opened them, he was back to contemplative again.

“You’re lucky you suffered no serious injuries; you could have easily gained yourself a concussion.  It seems the Divines do more than simply gift you powerful light magic: it appears they’re also the only things that are keeping you alive.”

“Hey!”

“Which brings me to the reason I called you here.  I took the liberty of making a full batch of sleeping draught for you.  The bottles are on a tray upstairs labeled with their purpose and your name.”

“Really?”  Elyssa’s face lit up; the potential to actually get decent sleep was literally being handed to her.  “Thank you so much! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.  This stuff is fantastic; I didn’t dream at all after drinking it.”

“Which is something I need to warn you of.  As you’ve discovered for yourself, the draught places you in a very deep sleep.  Too deep to dream…and most certainly too deep to be easily roused.  If someone were to grab you or hurt you, you will likely not awaken.  Make sure to never take a dose unless you are absolutely certain of your safety.”

She was much less enthusiastic about this caveat; inn rooms were expensive, and camping was often inevitable for a lot of places.

“So…I probably shouldn’t drink any if it’s just me and my sleeping roll out in the open...”

“I would severely recommend against that.  Instead, if you absolutely cannot sleep and cannot find a safe haven, take a quarter dosage.  It will not rid you of your dreams, but it will help keep you from a restless night without sacrificing your ability to respond to potential threats.”

She gave him a wry smile.  “Aaaaand let me guess; I’ll have to come back to you every time I run out, won’t I?  Should I start looking for a house in Rivenspire?”

He waved the questions away.  “No need.  I’ve written down the recipe for you.   Even if you do not feel comfortable brewing it yourself, you need only take the instructions to any community’s resident alchemist.  It’s straightforward enough that any one of them should be able to provide it for you.”

She nodded and mimicked his stance to recline against the bookshelves, albeit from the opposite end.   Silence hung in the air, and he was still regarding her carefully.

“…That’s not all you called me here for.  Is it?”  Elyssa finally spoke up.

“No, it’s not.”  Verandis sighed.  She could tell from his very tone he was contemplating his words carefully. “Elyssa…have you considered spending time in Wayrest for a while?  There’s a flower festival that happens every year around this time, I believe.  I can only vouch for what I’ve seen from afar, but it’s does seem a rather popular event…”

She stared at him incredulously.  “We’re in the middle of a situation where bloodfiends and vampires are trying to take over the entire province…”

“Indeed.  And we have more than enough people here to handle it.”

She winced back as if he had struck her.  ‘We don’t need you’ was the unspoken implication.  

“Oh?  Am I a burden to you now?” She spat back bitterly.

“Child—“

“So what that I’m young?  That I have nightmares, and that you found out about them. Now I’m suddenly too pathetic to be of any use to you, is that right?”

“Listen to me—“

“No, you listen to me!  What was all that stuff you told me last night?  How it was okay to have weaknesses?  I’m grateful you gave me potions to help with my sleep, but I’m not worthless just because I need them!  And you!”

She pointed an accusing finger at him.

“You have no right to order me out of Rivenspire like this!  You aren’t my parent.  You aren’t my Emperor.  You’re not even the King of Rivenspire.”

She could tell, from the way his face perceptively changed, that the last statement hit a mark.  But she was too angry to care.

“No.  I’m going to stay right here. I’m going to help defeat Baron Montclair.  I’m gonna fight a whole bunch of bloodfiends to reach him…” She stared him down, fists clenched at her side, “And there’s not a damn thing you can do to stop me.”

He stared back at her, calmly watching for an indication that she was finished.

“Elyssa…”  When he finally spoke, it was soft, slow, and soothing. “I do not believe I ever said you were worthless or pathetic.”

“And yet you’re ordering me to go off prancing at a flower festival.”

“I’m not ordering you to do anything, child.  I’m merely making a suggestion.  A suggestion based on what I’ve seen and what you’ve told me…You need a moment to relax and recover.  One cannot keep shouldering so many burdens without cracking underneath their pressures.”

“But I’m also needed here.  Back at Shornhelm, you said I had powerful light magic.  Better than most.”  She reminded him.   “And that I could be a great help in all this, since we’re fighting people whose very skin cracks under the light…”

“And, to an extent, I stand by those words.  Light magic is notoriously tricky to learn compared to the other elements, and yet it seems to come to you as easily as breathing does.  This is unheard of, particularly for someone at your age.  There are those who would even go so far as to call you a prodigy, myself included.”

The unexpected praise took a little of the edge off her rage.

“But you’re still inexperienced, and it’s painfully obvious you have not had any formal training in combat; your footwork is sloppy and you leave far too many openings for your opponent to take advantage of.  This might not be particularly risky when dealing with mindl0ess bloodfiends, creatures which have very little ability to strategize.  But the full-fledged vampires in Montclair’s army won’t hesitate to use that against you.  Furthermore, why aren’t you using a staff?”

She straightened up with pride.  “Swords are cool.”

He paused as if this was not the answer he was expecting.

“A staff would make a tremendous improvement on your magicka flow.”  He continued on with the same tone of voice.  He had, apparently, elected to ignore her statement. “You might even see an additional threefold improvement in the manifestation of your abilities.”

“But it would leave me wide open.  Greatswords help me guard against blows…”

“And so can staves…”

He walked over to retrieve his own firestaff that had been waiting in the corner for him.  Holding it out for her to look at, he gestured to its components.

“A typical battlestaff is made with combat in mind, and part of that involves the possibility that you will need to block a blow if your opponent finds a way to come within reach.  You can see here how my own weapon has its wood reinforced with a layer of metal.  Furthermore, are the multiple runes embedded into its spine…”

His finger traced over the weapon.  As if in response to its owner’s command, several symbols glowed across the length of it, brightly shining for a brief moment before settling back to normal.

“These, too, are designed with its protection in mind.  And with the mind of maintaining consistent magicka flow.  A staff that can no longer provide a steady resonation with its owner’s power is not only useless, but dangerous.  Such a weapon risks a catastrophic explosion if the user was not careful; thus, the important of the runes.  And as for its bladed tip…”

He gestured to the very top of the staff, in which the blade has been sharpened to fine edge.

“It is not unusual for many staff artisans to include a bladed tip in their work.  It does nothing to impair the staff’s traditional function and offers the advantage to utilize it as a make-shift spear, should the need require it.”

He set the staff aside back in its designated corner.

“Staves may not be as….”  He gave her an indulgent smile “…flashy as some other weapons, but they are nonetheless perfectly viable, and adaptable to changing situations on the battlefield.”

Elyssa grumbled, unimpressed.  “First you order me out of the region, now you’re ordering me to change my weapon—“

“Just another suggestion, Elyssa.  A suggestion,” The Count interrupted with wry smile.  He went to return to his books once again.

“As you say, Father.”  She mockingly shot back.  She waited for a moment to see if he’d react to that, if only just a little bit. But her frustration grew a tad when it was clear he was utterly unfazed by the title, continuing on in his books without so much as a raised eyebrow.

She grumbled again, and turned to leave the library.

“And please do not forget to eat before you leave, my daughter.” He called after her.

She froze in the doorway, and took a moment to glance back at him; her face full of surprise.

His reading was as focused as it always was, but he did pause to look up when he noticed her watching.

“Something wrong?”  He asked, and the very end of his mouth seemed to twist ever so slightly in a smile that almost looked….devious.

“N-no…” She replied shakily, the surprise lining her face beginning to tinge just slightly with mortification.

She thought the damned vampire elf would be too serious to give much of a reaction, let alone throw her comment back in her face.

“Then by all means: do try to make me proud out there.” He turned the page and returned to his books, still with that damnable little smile.

“I---“ Elyssa closed her mouth almost as soon as she’d opened it, before she said anything she might later come to regret, and decided it was far better to just turn around and walk away.

She could hear Gwendis’ muffled, gentle laughter beside her as she passed the coffins, and it only made her more determined to try and keep the red from her face from showing; it was likely most of the vampiric members of the household had overheard.

Melina, too, seemed to struggle with her own smile as Elyssa passed her.

“Oh,” Melina said. “I believe Ophelia made some honey bread this morning, if that pleases you, dear sister.”

“Shut up.”  Elyssa muttered back, and made haste for the guest room before either of them could comment further.

She ignored the tray of alchemy bottles that had been set aside for her on the table, deciding she could figure out the logistics of safely storing them in her pack later.  Once safely within the walls of her temporary bedroom, she made a beeline for her gear.

She was quickly getting used to putting it on; the intricacies that went into the chainmail underside and the straps that accompanied the plate outer layer did not seem to trouble her as much as it did weeks ago.

Her feet brought her to stand in front of the mirror, admiring her work.   She looked almost like a real soldier.

Honorary member of the Lion Guard, Elyssa Arboretum.  

The memory of the guard announcing this while offering the suit of tailored armor played in her head.  It was to be expected: in spite of all the things she had (somehow) managed to accomplish, she wasn’t actually a soldier.  She had no training in their regiment…nor was she even technically a citizen of High Rock.  

‘You’re footwork is sloppy and you leave too many openings’

‘It seems the Divines do more than simply gift you powerful light magic: it appears they’re also the only things that are keeping you alive’

These new words began to rotate in her head, churning into doubts.

Most of her opponents, thus far, had either been werewolves overcome by their animalistic desires, nature corrupting spirits, mindless zombies, or clumsy bandits and disorganized cultist members…None of them had combat styles that could be comparable to word “finesse”.  So her usual method of brute forcing her way with powerful spears of light magic before swinging her greatsword around in a haphazard manner had always worked out.  Tactics, strategy, and footwork were never things she ever thought about on a regular basis.

Even with Angof the Gravesinger...he almost seemed like the more she fought with him, the more he just…gave up. As if his motivation to defeat her was shriveling away like the very vines he failed to grow.  Most of his necromantic abilities didn’t stand a chance against the element of light; she barely even needed to concentrate to sweep the floor clear of his zombies.  They faded to dust almost as soon as she touched them with even the dimmest glow of her power.  And that wasn’t even mentioning the fact that she had plenty of help at her side at the time…

….

...What if she’d just been lucky so far in her opponents?

That all of her “deeds” were nothing more than the culmination of her brute forcing her own “prodigy-like” magic and having the “Gods’ luck” on her side?

…..

….Was she actually making a difference?

She struck a pose in the mirror, hoping to look impressive decked out in her armor…but her rounded cheeks and short stature did nothing to wipe away the traditional, youthful appearance of a Breton.

Why couldn’t she have inherited at least a little of her Imperial father’s more chiseled features?

She stuck her tongue out at herself, and was greeted with an even more childish sight as a result.  Fully frustrated, she grabbed her pack and stuck a few of her things in it.

She frowned at the alchemy bottles; it was times like these that she wished she had a bigger protective bottle case in her pack.  She was grateful that he made her so much, but there was just a few too many to fit.

And she was hungry.

…She huffed, and decided she’d have to figure out the problem of the bottles later.

As she made her way downstairs, she caught sight of Gwendis and Melina chatting at the dining table; Gwendis finally appeared to have made it off her coffin.  Elyssa was almost tempted to throw a teasing comment at her for that.

Further downstairs was the basement level.

She’d been told it was always kept locked, mostly so that the household (both vampire and servant) could have a place of privacy away from any visiting guests.  The main kitchen was down there, however, and so she found herself knocking at the basement door.

“Why good morning to you, Elyssa!”  The cheerful face of an older, gray haired Imperial woman greeted her.

“Good morning, Ophelia.  Melina told me you have some honey bread all made up?”

“I do.  I do indeed; my lady must have smelled it from the hall.  Come in, sweetie, and I’ll cut you a few slices.”

The basement of Ravenwatch castle was, perhaps, even more homely than its main hall.  Reminiscent of the guest suite, there were no gargoyle statues or eclectic furnishings (save for the two coffins in the center of the room, one of which had to be Melina’s).  A roaring fireplace lit up the place brighter than the other rooms, perhaps for the benefit of the servants as they had their own separate room nearby.

Workstations filled with alchemy ingredients and enchanting components lined the walls.  A mysterious door to an even deeper cellar was in the far corner (she was told it was strictly forbidden to anyone not of the House; and that only made her slightly more curious about it).  Finally, there was a full kitchen to the side; much nicer than the kitchenette of the upstairs guest suite.

Ophelia wasn’t the only servant awake; the others were out and about as well.

The Breton, Estelle, was by the fire, working on some sort of sewing.  She was the only one Elyssa hadn’t formally met; they told her she was of a skittish disposition, particularly around strangers.  From what was mentioned, the Count had found and rescued her from bandits who had badly abused her.  Until she got used to a new person, it was advised for that individual to leave her alone unless absolutely necessary.

Anise, a Bosmer, was at the nearby dining table, a table that was a much smaller twin to the grander one of the main hall.  She….definitely looked like she was still asleep, her small head propped up by her arms at the table.  Narcolepsy was something Ophelia had mentioned; apparently Anise had trouble finding someone to hire her in a ‘traditional’ job because of her condition.  But the household wasn’t perturbed by the idea of narcolepsy, and had hired her practically on the spot the moment she revealed she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of serving vampires.

Ophelia herself was busy cutting an impressively large portion of an equally impressively large loaf of sweet smelling bread.  Elyssa recalled that when she had previously asked what the Imperial thought about living here, the older woman had merely scoffed.  For Ophelia, it was just tradition; her family had served House Ravenwatch for a handful of generations.  She had literally grown up in the castle.  So, naturally, she was quite fine with it all.  

Kalin, one of the ones Elyssa had spoken to the most (but ironically knew the least about), was lounging about at the wall near the kitchen, eyeing her carefully.  The only information she had on the Dunmer was that he was the oldest and longest serving of all the mortals who stayed there.

“So our guest yet lives…”  He said, that slow sardonic drawl of his hanging in the air. “Do tell; how does it feel knowing you survived a night in a vampire’s stronghold?”

“Got better sleep here than in most inn rooms.” She responded, grinning. “You all seem to get along really well with each other.”

He laughed.  “Indeed….we’re quite….close with each other…”

“Kalin,” Ophelia warned.

“Some of us ….closer…than others.”

“Kalin.”

“You might even say it’s a regular Ebony Flask around here--”

Ophelia banged her knife down flat with a loud clunk, staring him down with a none-too pleased grimace.

“What’s an Ebony Flask?” Elyssa asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.

“Now you see?  She’s only going to start asking more questions…” Ophelia said.

“What…Is it something bad?”

“Not at all…” Kalin continued, an exceptionally wolfish grin lining his face. “Ophelia is only upset because sometimes even she—“

“That’s it!”  Ophelia pointed her knife at him from afar. “You. Out of my kitchen!”

“My work here is done…” Kalin stated in monotone, impish grin still on his lips as he strolled out the basement doors.

He held it open for Gwendis, who had found her way downstairs.

“Gwendis!”  Elyssa approached her “Kalin said it’s like a regular Ebony Flask around here; what does that mean?”

Whatever emotion Gwendis’ face had before vanished as she stared off into the distance with pursed lips.  She took a deep breath through her nose…

….Then turned and walked right back through the basement doors again.

“Wha-Gwendis?!”

“Never you mind that, sweetie.”  Ophelia interjected with an almost strangled voice.  “Why don’t you come and have some breakfast?  I made you some eggs and bacon too; I think you could use the protein, going out to fight as you do.  Might even put a little meat on those bones.”

Melina was next to come through the doors, clutching her satchel of runes and yawning all the while. And Elyssa immediately abandoned her breakfast plate to jump on the opportunity.

“Melina!  Kalin talked about an ‘Ebony Flask’.  What does he mean by that?”

Melina paused mid yawn, a curious expression forming on her face.

“Oh Elyssa…” She sighed.  “I’m afraid I’m much too tired to have this conversation.  We can have this talk after I’ve taken my rest…”

“My lady, I must protest!” Ophelia exclaimed.

Melina gained a rather mischievous smile at Ophelia’s outburst. “Very well.  We can have this talk after I’ve taken my rest AND after Ophelia has gone to bed.”

“My lady, please.”

Elyssa grinned as Melina gave her a little wink.  Seeing that, Ophelia’s protestations started to die down into more of a sputter.

“Herding cats around here…” Elyssa could hear Ophelia mutter under her breath as the older woman re-doubled her cleaning efforts. “Some days, I swear…”

But Elyssa was far more interested in what Melina was doing: heading towards one of the stone coffins in the main area of the room.  

Melina caught sight of her following close behind.

“Curious, are we?” She asked with a slightly amused smile.

“I just want to see what’s in it.” Elyssa beamed back at her.

“What might you think is in it?” Melina cocked her head slightly.

“I…”  Elyssa tried to think of all the vampire stories she knew.  Which wasn’t very helpful. She knew they supposedly slept in coffins, but she never really heard any stories about what they slept with. “…Jewels?”

The lady vampire laughed. “I’m not a dragon!”

The coffin lid scraped across its base as she moved it, revealing a cushioned lining, a small horde of pillows and a patterned blanket.  Though the outside was drab stone, the inside looked…rather homey.  For a coffin.

“Not quite what you were hoping for?” Melina asked, as it seemed she noticed her dismay.  

“I don’t know.”  Elyssa frowned.  “Why not just sleep in a bed then?”

The vampire bit at her lower lip in contemplation.

“Well…I can’t speak for the others…But in my case…”  She shifted uncomfortably.  “I--the first days of my new life were spent constantly under threat from the sun, even when I tried to sleep….especially when I tried to sleep.  I developed a bit of a phobia for it.  And after a while, I just started to feel…more at ease in places that were dark and enclosed.”

She fondly traced the edges of the lid.  “Sleeping in a box of some sort is the easiest way to accomplish that.  But they don’t usually make human shaped cargo boxes...And asking for one would likely raise too many questions…But coffins…”

The vampire waved towards her open resting place.

“...Coffins are requested all the time.  Even coffins ordered to your exact specifications; no one ever bats an eye over measurements…It’s a convenience, really.”

“So…you could sleep in a bed if you wanted to?”

“The bed itself certainly wouldn’t kill us.  But….our reactions aren’t always fast when we’re groggy and it’s the middle of the day, so if someone were to open the drapes on any of us while we lay exposed and slumbering…”

“But all of the windows here are glazed over; I could open all the drapes in the castle and the sun still wouldn’t touch you…And I mean…there can’t be that many people who would do something that horrible to you in the first place…”

“That’s very sweet of you to say, Elyssa.”  Melina smiled kindly.  “It isn’t true, and I think you know that, but it’s very sweet of you to say nonetheless.  There are plenty of people out there who wouldn’t hesitate…so…Just…think of the coffin in the same way you’d think of a stuffed toy that a child would cling to; it brings me comfort and assurance to know the sun can’t touch me so long as I’m inside.”

“I’m guessing you’re going to sleep now?”   Elyssa watched as Melina kicked off her shoes and settled down among the bright interior of her coffin.

“Mmmm…Indeed.  I just simply can’t keep my eyes open any longer…”  She sighed happily as she nuzzled one of her pillows.  “Won’t you be a dear and close my lid for me?”

“Wait…”  Elyssa gestured to the coffin opposite of hers.  “Before I do, I wanted to ask: there’s five coffins total, but I thought there was only four of you…”

“Oh…that one would belong to my dear, sweet brother…”  Melina lazily said, already with half lidded eyes. “You won’t likely meet him; he’s gone and locked himself in the cellar.  Out of abundance of caution, mostly.  He’s been having difficulties these days, and…oh, well, he’s such a sweetheart; he’d do anything to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone…”

“I see….” Elyssa said, suddenly solemn as she stared out towards the cellar hatch.  “I hope he feels better.”

“Indeed, as do I.  I so hate to think of him stuck down there, but it was his choice and my Lord approved…”

She let out another yawn.  “Ah…oh, excuse me.  I’m so sorry, Elyssa.  But I must really bid you a good day; I cannot possibly stay awake a moment longer.  Please promise you’ll stay safe.  I’ve already become a bit fond of you, and I would hate it terribly if you were injured….”

“I’ll promise I’ll try not to die.  Have a good night…erm…I mean day.  Have a good day, Melina.”

Melina gave her one last, sweet smile as Elyssa pushed close the lid.

…It was a lot heavier than anticipated.

She had to shove her shoulder against it just to get it shut.  The clunk of the stone finding the indentation on its base was louder than she’d thought it would be and caused her to jump.

Giving one last look towards the cellar hatch, as if expecting another vampire to appear any moment, Elyssa went back to the table.  Eggs, bacon, and honey bread were shoveled down as fast as she could manage.

~~~

She walked out of the basement a little too full; Ophelia had insisted on giving her a second helping of eggs and bacon, and had even tried for a third.  Given the sort of conversations that had accompanied breakfast, Elyssa had a nagging feeling that the older woman had been desperately trying to distract her from Ebony Flasks.  And, of course, that did nothing but make her more curious.  

Chances were, Ophelia would manage to talk Melina out of explaining it later.

So instead of heading towards the front door with her pack, she made a quick beeline for Gwendis, who had gone back to lounging atop her coffin.

“Psst….Gwendis?  Gwendis, what’s an Ebony Flask?”  She gave the vampire a few pokes in the arm that was covering her eyes.  The skin was oddly cold compared to a mortal’s.

…And the vampire didn’t budge.

“I know you know.  You had that look on your face when I asked about it before, so don’t think you can pretend otherwise.”

And the vampire still didn’t budge.

“Aww come on.  You can’t be asleep already.  And even if you were, there’s a tasty mortal inches from your face nudging you with her fingers.  If that doesn’t wake up a vampire, I don’t know what would.  So what’s an Ebony Flask?  Is it a type of skooma?  Do you all get together to use skooma?  I won’t judge; I promise.”

She could see Gwendis’ lips twitching against her pale face, but otherwise she continued to remain still.

Elyssa huffed.  “Fine.  Be that way.  I give up.  Have a good nigh—day.  Day!  Ugh.  Whatever.”

She passed by Verandis’ study on her way out.  He was still in there, working away at his books, as usual.  Elyssa was partly tempted to go in and ask him about Ebony Flasks and what that had to do with House Ravenwatch.

But she was still too irritated at him to even make the attempt, and that pushed all other thoughts away; so much so that she simply headed outside without so much as a ‘goodbye’ to him.

The bright sun greeted her as soon as she pushed open the heavy oak doors. She stopped to stretch out as she basked in the warmth.

“Hey don’t forget…” Gwendis’ voice came echoing through the halls behind her, proving that she hadn’t been asleep after all, “…Watch out for the weregoats out there.”

Elyssa’s irritation was matched only by the intensity of how hard she slammed their front door shut.

“I hate you all.” She muttered under her breath.  Not that she completely meant it.  

But her irritation only grew further as she noticed a bloodfiend at the edge of town, happily gorging itself on a dead citizen.  

…

……It was like breathing; such an apt description that Verandis had given her earlier that it became hard for her to think of it otherwise.

Warmth filled the tips of her fingers, a growing sensation that shifted through her palm like a liquid.

Coalescing.  Expanding.  An extension of her arm, of her will.  She often found she only needed to hold the image of a spear in her mind for it to form.  And with two steps taken, her momentum helped to send the whole thing forward, hurling through the air.

What was only mere moments resulted in a motionless bloodfiend, a bright spear of solid-like light skewered into its chest.

Unfortunately, it seemed she attracted some attention; another figure lurking in the shadows manifested itself right next to the dead bloodfiend.  She readied herself another spear….

…Only to then dissipate the light in her hands when she realized the second figure had cat ears.

And she winced when a rather irate Adusa-daro came towards her.

“H-Hi…Adusa….”  She nervously greeted.

“Adusa would appreciate…” The Khajiit began with a glower.  “…If the young one would please stop throwing such powerful holy magic so close to this one’s fur…”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!  I just didn’t see you there when you’re dressed in all black like that!”

“Yes yes; this is exactly the sort of thing Adusa is worried about…”  Adusa grumbled, but she didn’t actually seem too upset at her.

Then again, it was difficult to tell; the Khajiit’s black and flowing cloak was surely thick enough to ensure no sunlight ever peaked through, and most definitely dark enough to obscure any body language.  It looked to be made of the same fine material as the one she’d seen Verandis wear the other day, and she was sure that, like Verandis’, it held a dark grey outline of their house crest on the back as well.

…Although Verandis’ cloak didn’t exactly have cat ear protrusions on the hood; that would have been a definite improvement. (She made a mental note to herself to tell him to get some cat ears on his cloak.  Since he was so eager to give her ‘suggestions’ before, he surely wouldn’t mind receiving ‘suggestions’ in return.).

Elyssa frowned as she attempted to figure out where among the bloodfiends the vampire had been lurking.  She only found more bloodfiends.

Which only made her frown more because…well….bloodfiends.

“How can you stand all this going on right outside your doorstep?  With these poor people like….like this…?”

She vigorously gestured towards a few of the creatures shambling close by.

“Patience, young one.  Tell this one; what is the most important thing we must focus on?”

“Killing Montclair?”

“Yes, good.  And what else?”

Elyssa strained herself to think: what else was there besides killing Montclair and dispatching bloodfiends?

“….Er…Killing Montclair…a second time…?”

Adusa groaned. “The living, Elyssa.  Living people are important, yes?  We must kill Montclair and make sure any living survivors are safe.  These are the two most important of all things that we must do.”

She could hear the khajiit grunt in disgust as she waved towards the bloodfiends.

“These….creatures.  They can wait until later…The dead will always be here later…The living?  Not so much.”

“Sorry; I guess I just took it for granted that we’d help the survivors.  I mean…why wouldn’t we?  But these bloodfiends here…they do still bother you…right?”  Elyssa asked in a quiet voice.

Adusa was in the process of taking down fabric around the face area, which suggested that the cloak, like typical Breton hoods, had a built in face mask.  

“We may not have always spoken much to the people here…” Adusa said. Pain on her face as cat-like eyes scanned over the town.  “But the ones of Crestshade…they were good people.  They do not deserve such a fate.  It is….very, very difficult to watch.  These townsfolk deserve to be put to rest, and not wander like filthy beasts.”

“Is there a chance that Montclair would use these ones for his army?”

The khajiit shook her head.

“Look at them, young one.  They are baking in the sun, and they do not even realize it hurts…Montclair would not win this war on the backs of freshly burnt carcasses falling to pieces.  No, the bloodfiends sent here were clearly only meant to coax the people out of their homes and scattered on the winds.  To turn to the curse any of those who could not make it out…less people he would have to cow to his would-be rule…”

Adusa’s fangs protruded as she softly snarled, her ears hunched back.  “…This one also thinks he may have been trying to mock us a little as well…Send bloodfiends to attack the town while we all were away as an insult to all of our efforts…”

Elyssa remained silent.

She didn’t know how to respond except to look out again amongst the bloodfiends stumbling across the ground…

Their bodies did seem like they were coming apart at the seams; many of them had sun wounds that burrowed straight through their skin, creating gaping holes that only hindered their movements more.

“We must rest and work and focus on the two most important things, Elyssa.  Never forget the priorities. And speaking of which: Adusa is glad to have caught you before you left.  She has need of you.  You will help, yes?”

“What needs to be done?”

“Adusa has been scouting to see how far Montclair’s army has taken its curse, how far it has spread.  They have taken over a small town called Moira’s Hope in the south.  This one could smell the blood of the living there...but there are also many, many bloodfiends as well.  She will need help to cut a path through…and perhaps help with the survivors as well; they are more likely to trust a fellow mortal than Adusa, and there may be need to get them out quickly…”

“Right! I’m with you; I just need to go and get Justice ready…”

“Justice?”  Adusa followed Elyssa around back to their stables.

“My horse.”

“…Is that not…How does one say?  ‘A little on the nose’?”

“Oh I didn’t name her that.  That was the name she came with.  If you can believe it, I got her for free from this cranky old Imperial man.”   Elyssa’s face screwed up as she recalled the memory. “All eight of his horses were white Imperial thoroughbreds, and ALL of them were named Justice….”

Adusa looked at her with incredulity.  “…Did he not have trouble telling them apart?”

“He was so angry; I was afraid to ask too many questions.” She flashed Adusa a nervous smile.

“Very generous, a whole horse….”

“I don’t think he could afford to take care of them all after he’d been displaced from the war.  And I think he was also looking to help other citizens of Cyrodiil, because he only offered her to me when he found out I was a fellow refugee…”

Her comment cut short and her muscles tensed up when she came face to face…with him.

He was hanging out, casually, by the awning of the stables, right next to Justice.

He lifted his head to watch her as she approached.

Her arch-nemesis.

The bane of her existence.

                                     The damned goat.

Her blue eyes narrowed in on him; her stance braced for impact.

He stared back, creepy little sideways pupils watching her as if to size her up.

She took a few sidesteps to the right, maintaining eye contact.

He mirrored her maneuver, his soft bleating filled with obvious faux innocence.

She stopped.

He stopped.

The irritating fiend was playing hardball.

Slowly, she inched her way towards her horse, eyes dead center on her foe in anticipation of the slightest mo—

“What...”  Adusa’s voice intervened, “…In the name of the blessed moons are you doing?”

“Your goat is pure ev—“

Only a moment; Elyssa had only looked away from her dreaded foe for a moment, and the beast, sensing weakness, lowered its horned head to charge.  Just barely was she able to escape the horror of it all by scrambling up the stable post with a yelp.

Adusa stood where she was, her arms crossed, and surveyed the scene with eyes aglow with amusement.

“Hibiscus must like you.  She does not usually react in such a manner with anyone else…”

“You call this liking?” Elyssa grimaced as she clung to the stable post and tried to shoo the goat away by waving one foot while trying to balance on the other.  “Look at the eyes, Adusa!  Those are the eyes of a bloodthirsty creature who has killed before…and will kill again!”  

“Speaking as one who knows bloodthirsty creatures, Adusa can assure that Hibby is both safe and does not consume blood,” Adusa began to make her way back around the castle.  “This one will see you at Moira’s Hope, then.”

“Wha-you’re leaving me??!”  Hibiscus the goat was already making the attempt to scale up the stable walls just to get to her enemy.

“Adusa has every confidence you can handle little Hibby.  If not, Hibby’s treat bag is at the right of yourself. Feed her no more than three whole apples; a fat Hibby would make Anise very concerned.”

And with a wave over her shoulder, the hooded Adusa was gone.

Elyssa turned to her adversary.

“So….You’re a girl goat, huh?  That’s quite a coincidence.  I happen to be a girl human.  We have so much in common; please stop trying to kill me.”

The horizontal goat pupils didn’t seem to falter, and she idly wondered if goats were carnivorous.

Her fingers strained as she tried to reach the treat bag, but she only ended up in an awkward, stretched out position with her torso still at the post and the weight of her upper half held up by her reaching fingers.  She looked at her horse, who was calmly grazing at a pile of hay.

“A little help?” She asked, not actually expecting her horse to respond.

Sure enough, the horse stared back at her, unfazed and ignorant of her situation, before dipping its head to take in another mouthful of hay.

“First Adusa, now you; the double betrayal hurts just a little bit.”  She said, purposefully overdramatic.  If only to make herself feel better about the whole situation.

The goat seemed to be getting impatient, as it begun to ram its horned head against the sides of the stable.  As if to try and knock her down.

“I have to wonder if you really are trying to kill me…” Elyssa winced as she made a solid lunge for an apple peeking out of the leather bag.   Another effortful motion and an apple was tossed as far away as she could manage.

It was a gift from the Gods that Hibby’s priorities involved eating first and everything else second; Elyssa was finally free to drop down.  Not necessarily in an elegant way, given her strained position; she ended up with a face full of hay, with her horse making the move to try and lick it off her face.

Straightened up with hay brushed off, she moved to get her horse’s tack on as quick as she possibly could before the demonic goat got back.  Part of which required giving a jealous Justice an apple of her own to get her to cooperate.

Her weapons and pack at the ready, she hoisted herself up atop her steed; just in time to watch a distraught Hibby cower from Justice’s mightier hooves.  Up high on a horse, she felt a bit more like a knight, regardless of whatever her image in the mirror had shown her before.

Ready to take on the world itself.

A click of the tongue and a flick of the reins, and she was well on her way.

Racing past the bloodfiends as the sun shone in the sky.  

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

Final Author note: Bold of you to assume Verandis wouldn’t adopt your rebellious mortal ass, Elyssa.

#verandis ravenwatch #the elder scrolls online #eso #gwendis #adusa #my fanfiction

[pixie88]

Miami

Chapter 5 - Our Little Secret.

A/N: Queen B fanfiction. I’m currently editing and adding all  my  FF to my new account. All being added to my pinned masterlist on my  profile. Let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Find previous chapters HERE under Queen B - Our Little Secret.

Word count: 1702

WARNINGS: ⚠️ Some adult language & sexual content.  

Disclaimer: Characters are property of Pixelberry.

Pairings: Ian x MC - Lyla.

Enjoy!

RING, RING, RING , RING!

(Argh, what is that noise shut it up! My head! Ouch!)

I open my eyes and realize it's my phone ringing. I grab it from the dresser and take a look at the screen where Zoey name appears I answer.

'Hey Zo!'

'Thank god! Lyla, where are you?'

(I go to answer, then I stop myself. Keep it a secret and lie!)

'I am at my parents, why?'

'I was worried about you when you didn't come home last night!'

'Sorry, I should've texted but I didn't think. Sorry!'

'I'm just glad you're ok. You sound rough!'

I laugh.

'Thanks Zo! I just woke up'

'Wow, you must have had a good night to still be in bed at this time!'

I pull the phone away to check the time 2.17pm.

(I've slept all day!)

I turn but the bed is empty. I return the phone to my ear.

'Zo, I need to go speak tonight?'

'Sure, I'll see you later. Bye'

'Bye'

I hang up, get out of bed and call out to Ian but I don't get any answer. I send him a text.

[Hey, Why didn't you wake me?]

PING

[Hi, You looked peaceful, and I thought you could do with the sleep.]

[As sweet as that was. I've now missed half of my classes for today!]

PING

[Sorry, I made a mistake. Next time I will wake you.]

[No, I'm sorry I didn't mean that to sound ungrateful. TBH I probably wouldn't of been able to concentrate. My head is banging.]

PING

[In the bathroom cupboard there are some painkillers in there. As drink plenty of water. I have a class starting now. Speak soon x]

[Thanks, Will do. Have fun! x]

I make my way to the bathroom and decide to have a shower too. Later I leave Ian's and head back to my dorm.

2 Weeks later I'm in my bedroom reading when my phone pings I look at the screen.

*1 New Message from Ian Kingsley*

[Hi Lyla, Are you still awake? x]

I smile.

[Hey Ian, Considering I'm replying to your text yes I am still awake. What's up? xx]

PING.

[I miss you.....I wish you were here! x]

I laugh!

[Awww, I wish I was with you too! You would be more fun than this book.]

PING.

[What are you reading? x]

[Nothing interesting. What are you doing? xx]

PING

[I'm in bed with the TV on thinking about you. x]

[Thinking about me? ;) Naughty Professor! xx]

PING

[The things I'm imagining.... x]

[Oooo, enlighten me then? xx]

PING

[God, I wish you were here! x]

[What would you do if I was? xx]

PING

[I'd kiss your lips and catch your lip between my teeth. x]

[I let out a moan and grab your hair at the nape of your neck and pull your head back, so I have access to your neck. Where I can lay kisses down to your collarbone.]

PING

[I let my hands wander down your body taking in every curve.]

[I relish in your touch.]

PING

[I push you onto the bed and trap your body beneath mine. My hands slip under your nightie and tease your breast. My mouth captures yours and I kiss you passionately.]

[Oh Ian! I move my legs so you are between them and I slide my hands down your bare chest, abs and into your boxers I brush against your hard member.]

PING

[I groan Lyla, I pull your nightie up over your head and use it to pin your hands there. I let my mouth slip from yours, nibbling your neck as I go, I get to your chest and my tongue runs over your breast.]

[Oh...Ian! I moan. I arch my back needing you.]

PING

[I brush my fingers against you, hook them inside and move your underwear to the side, so I can roll my tongue along you. You taste amazing.]

[I move my hips, wanting more. I moan as your tongue moves against me, I try to move my hands but your hold is too strong and I spread my legs.]

PING

[I push my tongue into you, you buck your hips up and I push your hips down, pinning them to the bed. I lap and suck at your centre until you can't take anymore.]

[Please, Ian I need you! I beg, you come up and your lips crash against mine. You rub your hard member against me....]

PING

[I push pass your entrance, you moan and I start off slowly letting you get used to the feeling. You wrap your legs around my waist and link your feet behind my back.]

[I tell you to move faster and harder. I need you! I move my hips to match your rhythm. You groan and your grip on my wrists loosens and I pull of my night from around my wrists and wrap my arms around you and dig my nails into your back.]

PING

[God! Lyla, I need you here! I'm....]

[Just imagine it's me, Ian! I flip you onto your back and start riding you hard.]

PING

[I grasp you hips, helping your movements. Making you speed up as your bouncing up and down me.]

[I pull your hands away and pin the above your head before I whisper how do you like to be pinned down Ian?]

PING

[I'm helpless and at your mercy. I lose control and call out your name LYLA!]

[Hearing you lose control makes me hit my own peek. I moan your name IAN!]

PING

[You collapse onto the bed, and we cuddle up.]

[I wish! Thanks for the release professor! I can't wait to see you. I love you xx]

PING

[We have the same wish. Nor can, I. Better get some sleep. Good night and I love you too x]

[Night, Ian x]

A couple of days later I'm walking into Ian's office, he looks up at me with a smile "Lyla, Glad you're here! I have something to tell you." "What is it?" "The New York University are holding a few training days in Miami. I decided to flight out the Sunday night and come back the Saturday morning as the training is on Tuesday and Thursday." "Ian, That's fantastic!" I feel disappointed that he's going to be away for a week.

I try to keep my voice neutral, but my face doesn't get the memo. Ian knows I'm upset, so he makes his way over to me from behind his desk. "Lyla, I booked the extra days, so you could come with me" I try to hide my smile, but it's no use. "So a naughty week away professor?" He gets a heat glint in his eyes.

"We will have time alone together, yes. But I was thinking there was other stuff we could do like normal stuff without prying eyes." He kisses me. Then whispers against my ear "All you have to do is say yes, pack a bag and be ready for 6pm Sunday night" his breath against my ear make my hair stand on end.

"Ian, Yes!" he breaks and his lips crash against mine. As his hand comes to the back of my neck pulls me closer to him. There's a knock at the door, it's one of Ian's students, we pull away and straight ourselves up.

Ian opens the door and I go to leave. "I'll see you Sunday, Ian" I wink and Ian smirks. "Sunday" he says as he turns his attention to his student.

It's Sunday, I'm packing as Zoey walks into my room with Gizmo. "I'm so jealous, I can't believe you're going to Miami with your parents. It should be a girls trip." "They want to spend some time with me before summer break" I avoid her eye, so she can't tell I was lying.

Later I meet Ian at the airport, he smiles when he spots me "Lyla, Fancy meeting you here" "Sorry professor, I am meeting my boyfriend here, can't stop" I smirk and start walking past him, and he grabs my arm.

"Funny, I'm meeting my girlfriend and you seem to resemble her!" he laughs, "Where are you and your girlfriend going?" I ask "Miami, I have training there for my new job and I decide to make it into a little holiday for us" "Wow, I'm heading to Miami too. A romantic break away is just what I need." I smile.

We hear the call for our flight "That's us!" "Better make our way, hopefully my boyfriend will make it on time" "I sure he's closer than you think, Lyla" he smirks.

We get onto the plane "Would you look at that Professor, we are sitting together!" "So it seems" we take our seats. A little later we order drinks "So, are we staying at the hotel the university booked?" "Nope, when I invited you, I booked The Setai for us away from where the others are staying" "So, you could keep me a secret?" "Lyla, quite the opposite. So, I don't have to spend my time outside the training with my new colleagues. I'm free to spend it with you." I smile.

"So, have you ever joined the mile high club, Ian?" I ask as I see his eyes darken.

Once we arrive at the hotel we check in and make our way up to our room. The view is stunning! You can see the whole of Miami beach from here. "Ian, This is beautiful." "So, are you!" I turn to him, and he's staring at me.

"So, shall we head to bed? It is 11pm" I yawn "Yes, We better. I have planned a full day tomorrow for us" "Ian, do you ever just go with the flow?" "Oh, we don't hav.." I cut him off "I was joking. I can't wait to see what you have planned for us tomorrow! But after some cuddles and sleep!" he smiles "Great!" we get changed for bed.

We climb into bed, and Ian wraps me up in his strong arms I can barely keep my eyes open "Goodnight, Lyla" he kisses my cheek. "Night, Ian" I drift off to sleep happy.

Continue reading this story here - Chapter 6.

#ian kingsley #ian #ian x mc #professor #belvoire #queen b #fanfic #choices #pixelberry

[aliceslantern]

Heartlines, a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, chapter 5

Twelve years ago, Xemnas betrayed the royal court of Radiant Garden to his father, Xehanort. Prince Ienzo flees to another city and begins university in the aftermath, hoping the anonymity will protect him from eager eyes with ill intent. The darkness spilling across the country, as well as an individual from his past, cut short Ienzo's new beginning and bring new conflicts to light. Strained between the desires of his magic and his heart, Ienzo's choice will change him forever.

Modern Fantasy AU, Soulmates, Zemyx. Updates Fridays until it's done.

Chapter summary:  Ienzo investigates Demyx further, and comes to a shocking revelation.

Read it on FF.net/on AO3

---

Ienzo told Aeleus everything.

The man seemed more tired than usual. He’d been gone for the past two days on some resistance mission neither Even nor Ienzo really knew anything about. He’d slept soundlessly, almost breathlessly, on the couch for two hours before Ienzo tried to feed him and convince him to sleep in his proper bed. But when Aeleus asked how he was… the words had spilled out of him almost against his will.

“There are more people like me here, Aeleus,” he finished. “That much is certain.”

Aeleus ate steadily. Ienzo had made pho; he’d forgotten how much he missed cooking with an actual full kitchen. “Of course there are,” he said. “Not everyone goes underground in our sense. Some merely prefer to hide.”

“In some ways I feel so… naive,” he admitted slowly. “I wish you would tell me some things so I don’t feel so ignorant.”

Aeleus smiled and squeezed Ienzo’s hand. “If I could, I would,” he said. “Even I am only allowed to know pieces, parts.” He set aside his empty bowl. “Though I am curious. I had thought all the seeker lines… were eradicated.”

“But why, if they’re functionally harmless? He has no magic.”

Aeleus rubbed at his eyes. “Their abilities are purely passive… and somewhat latent. It’s thought seekers would do anything to trigger their own abilities, even if they do not consciously realize it. But once they wake… they are a force to be reckoned with. Their individualism was what made them dangerous.”

Ienzo exhaled. Was that why Demyx was so drawn to him? Because on some level he thought Ienzo’s power would awaken his own?

“...Moreover… and Even would say this is all silly mythology.”

“If Even says it’s silly, then I want to know it all the more.”

“Seekers pairbond. It’s thought they spend their days looking for their soulmate… and if they find them, they know. Ironically… despite the individualism, they are nearly dependent on those they bond with."

Ienzo smiled a little. “That is very mythic.”

“I admit I’m rather jealous of you. I’d like to meet one.”

“Well, if I can be subtle about it, I’ll ask him.”

“He might not know much about his own culture.”

“...Soulmates.” Ienzo shook his head. “As if anyone has time for love right now.”

---

Still, why was it Ienzo agreed to see him again?

Thanks to the psychology professor, Eraqus, he was able to test out of many gen-ed courses. But this left Ienzo with a dilemma--namely, that he had no idea what to actually major in. It seemed like a superficial problem to have, on top of all this.

“ Precisely why I wanted you to actually take those classes,” Even told him, with a scowl. “To get to know your cohort, your community--because that influences it too.”

Ienzo pursed his lips. “Why bother, when we might have to run again at any moment? You should have at the very least given me the choice, Even.”

His disposition did not improve. “You know little of the actual world. Gods forbid I try to actually let you learn.”

“Learn what? On paper, I already know all of the content. And you don’t want me to truly get close to anyone--else you would actually let me socialize, instead of calling me until I return home.”

His head snapped up from his computer. “How dare I worry for you, you mean? If there are Heartless and seekers and goodness knows what else--”

“Even. I can take care of myself. You have to let me make my own decisions. Otherwise, what type of ruler would I ever hope to be?” A bit of an underhanded move, but true regardless.

Even turned pink, and his scowl deepened. He knew Ienzo had cornered him. “Very well . Now leave me be. I have to finish this report.”

Ienzo put on a jacket and left the house. He told Demyx he’d meet him at the streetcar station nearest the beach. He thought about what Aeleus told him, about soulmates. He thought of the warmth, the prickling he’d felt with his own magic whenever they were together. Was it possible that--?

Perhaps it was simply a silly schoolboy crush, and given that he’d never much had one on anyone else, this was just how his magic reacted normally. Surely he couldn’t simply ask Demyx what he’d felt, could he?

Something to ponder. Aeleus had said it was myth. Ienzo reminded himself to try and study more magic history. It had been some time, and he was rusty.

The streetcar was relatively empty for this time of day, so his trip was smooth and easy. Ienzo liked public transit, its cleanliness, its efficiency. If only all of life could be organized so neatly. He watched the band of sea grow closer and closer until finally the conductor urged him to get off at the terminus.

The memories of the sea were louder now, harder to fight-- Braig, where is _____?

I dunno, I just turned around for five seconds, couldn’t have gone far--

The feeling of water rushing into his lungs, sand as the riptide tossed him back and forth like a ragdoll-- then a memory he was almost certain he hadn’t recalled in some time, of another child in the water, a child with blonde hair and shiny scales guiding him towards the surface--

“Hey, Zo! You made it!”

Ienzo gasped a little. He had to have corroborated that memory. It was impossible that happened--Braig had to have been the one who saved him from drowning, or Aeleus, not some kind of--creature that looked just like the man in front of him-- “Hi, Demyx.”

He cocked his head. “You okay?”

“Yes… I… fine. Shall we?”

“Uh. Sure.”

They walked along the boardwalk, the old, sand-weathered boards creaking under their feet. Various food vendors, gift shops, and game booths dotted the surface, leading to a set of stairs down to the beach itself. “You ever been?” Demyx asked. “It’s too cold to swim, but still pretty to look at.”

Ienzo breathed that sea-tinted air, the echoes of the memory making both him and his magic feel… so very strange. Was he being put in a thrall? But this felt like none of the thralls Even and Merlin had trained him on. It did not feel like conscious magic. “Sure. Let’s go.”

They took off their shoes when they got to the water. The sand, in this twilight, was pleasantly warm. A few people milled about; the brave were swimming, some wading, others flying kites or playing with dogs or simply watching the water. They walked closely enough that every few drifts of tide, Ienzo could just barely feel the cool water on his toes. He felt… relaxed, he realized, even in the presence of this essential stranger.

“Does this remind you of your home?” Ienzo asked him. Demyx’s expression was dreamy, his eyes trained on the ocean outside.

“It… does. Whenever I really feel homesick… I come down here. It’s a little too cold for surfing now, but even just the sound of the waves… or the birds…” He sighed. “I was supposed to go back for a visit. Before it… fell.”

“I truly am sorry.”

He smiled sadly. “It’s not your fault.”

Ienzo wondered if it actually was; if he hadn’t been running, if he’d done something or fought , would Destiny Islands be whole?

Demyx took a breath. “I wanted to… talk to you about something,” he said. “And I know it’s going to sound totally insane--”

Ienzo’s heart beat harder.

“But I can’t stop thinking about it, and I wonder if it’s actually true--”

He felt almost like he couldn’t breathe, the world getting dizzy, his magic practically screaming at him to open his eyes and see what was right in front of him--

“Hey… you okay?”

Ienzo’s knees gave out, and everything went dark.

---

“...zo? Hey.”

He blinked. He was lying on the soft sand of the beach, and the right leg of his pants was awkwardly wet. “What happened?”

“You fainted. Here.” He was handed a bottle of water.

Ienzo sat up slowly. His right eye didn’t hurt, but it did feel warm, almost like it was glowing. He opened the lukewarm water and drank it.

“Sorry about your pants. I wasn’t able to fully catch you.”

“...They’ll dry.” He looked back towards the boardwalk--there were no people near them. They were almost completely alone in this strange little cove. “A… friend of mine told me a little about seekers.”

A flush brightened Demyx’s face. “What did they say?”

“He said… that you subconsciously seek out your soulmate, and when you find them, you know.” Demyx’s face was still doubled in his vision. “Is that true? Is that what you're actually seeking, not magic users to protect?"

A substantial pause. All Ienzo heard for a long moment was the waves. Then, finally, “yeah. It’s true.”

Ienzo sat up a little more. “When we…” He swallowed, and forced himself to lock eyes with him. “When we met. I felt something in my magic. I didn’t know what it was, but I wonder--”

“If we--” Demyx cut himself off. His eyes were watering.

“That wasn’t the first time we met, was it?”

“No.”

Ienzo’s heart was beating so hard. “When I was… little. My family and I took a trip to your islands. My caretaker… lost track of me, and I nearly drowned. I was saved by… something. It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” The tears ran over.

“You’re not human.”

“Not completely. But neither are you.”

Ienzo shook his head slowly. “Not completely.”

Demyx took both of his hands. “I’d forgotten it… all the way up until… you saved me from that Heartless, and then I didn’t believe it was you until…”

The pull was growing stronger. “Then what are you?” Ienzo asked.

“I guess you would call it… a siren? I guess?” He bit his lip nervously. “But we… I don’t remember how, I really don’t, but I lost the ability to change form… and one day I just washed up on the beach. I forgot who I was for years .” He took out the pendant. “And since then…”

“You’ve been looking for your history and your family.”

“And you.”

Ienzo’s breath caught.

“I know we’re… we’re basically strangers, but… I know we’re…” He swiped at his eyes. “Right? You felt it too.”

Slowly… in a state of disbelief… Ienzo nodded. The prickling feeling inside of his magic only intensified. Demyx took one hand and touched his cheek. Ienzo gasped despite himself. He’d never had these feelings… maybe there was a reason --

Demyx had said he was a siren. Maybe this was all some kind of enchanting magic he’d never experienced--

But his own energy was telling him this was all truth.

Demyx leaned in a little. How had Ienzo not noticed how he smelled before? Like ginger, and salt, and something else he had no name for. “I…” Ienzo was breathing shakily. He should’ve been embarrassed, falling apart like this. “I’ve never--”

“Would you want to?” Demyx asked gently.

“Yes.” He closed the space between them, and Demyx’s lips on his shouldn’t have felt so right . It took him a moment to learn how to do it. Those callused hands tangled in his hair, pulling him a little closer--

Another stronger, warmer wave broke over him, making the fine hairs on his arms stand up straight--

Demyx broke away first, pressing his forehead against Ienzo’s. “Your hair’s glowing again,” he said softly, pressing a kiss against Ienzo’s cheek.

The pleasure he’d found quickly shattered. “No,” he said, snapping his head around to see if there were any witnesses. “Oh--”

“No one can see us,” Demyx said. “I’m blocking you from view.”

“I just--I don’t know how much magic was released by--” He licked his lips. He could still taste him, for gods’ sake, a weirdly sweet flavor.

“I’m blocking you,” Demyx repeated.

He got it. “You can… you can do that?”

“More like…” He brushed his fingers across Ienzo’s cheek. “Distracting whoever would listen. Making them think about their dinner, or…”

“Passive,” Ienzo repeated. “What do we… what now?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t think I’d get this far.” Demyx blinked the tears out of his eyes. “I mean… I guess…”

“Get to know each other?”

He laughed a little, and Ienzo did too.

“I don’t know how I’m going to explain this,” he told Demyx. “My father… I’m not sure I fully understand what’s going on--”

“Me either.”

“I was told…” He could barely breathe. “I was told… when I didn’t understand the situation… to research. To gather data.” Demyx’s hand, against the small of his back, was so warm. His whole body felt suddenly so much more alive.

“I think I understand,” Demyx said, and kissed him again.

---

“Where have you been ?” Even’s voice was shrill, and Ienzo noted, not without worry. He was late, he knew; the sun had been down for hours. “And why are you--covered in sand ?”

Ienzo winced a little. He had a choice to make here--to lie, or tell the truth. But something this big… he had to be sure. And Even did have a nigh-bottomless knowledge of the monarchy, and Ienzo’s own magic. “I’ll… explain everything, I promise, but know I am fine . Let me clean up, and then we can…”

Even touched his shoulder. He lifted a strand of Ienzo’s hair, the tips of which were still luminous. “Oh,” he said softly. He seemed frozen; Ienzo was able to pull away with ease. Even remained there, his one hand still raised, muttering to himself.

Ienzo took a shower. His skin seemed more sensitive than before; in fact, all of his senses seemed as though a film had been peeled away. He combed his hair and looked at himself in the mirror. He took a deep breath. He put on some pajamas and rejoined Even in the parlor.

The heavy mahogany desk had been cleared off. “Up you get. Up,” Even said, steering him over. Wordlessly, Ienzo listened; the wood was cold and hard after the sand. Even forced him to lay down.

“Are you going to tell me why I was never informed about all this pairbonding nonsense?”

“Shut up ,” Even hissed. “Be still.”

Ienzo felt coldness leaching into his body, making him shudder. Even’s magic was always sharp and angular as it probed his. Finally, after what felt like a long time… the coldness dissipated. Ienzo shivered. He sat up slowly. Even was breathing hard, with an odd look on his face, as though someone had struck him. “At first I wondered… if he had placed some advanced enchantment on me,” Ienzo said. “But judging by your expression… that is not the case.”

Even seemed to be struggling. “I’d thought…” He began softly.

“You knew this was a possibility,” Ienzo said. “You knew , and you never said--” A sort of rage blotted out the coldness. “Why didn’t you--”

“It’s old magic, Ienzo,” Even said, spreading his arms. “Ancient, even.” He pressed a hand to his forehead. “It’s that boy, isn’t it? The one Aeleus mentioned… the seeker?”

“So is he my mate, or isn’t he?”

“That’s for you to determine,” he said. “You needn’t… accept this bond, Ienzo.”

Ienzo thought of that kiss, and the many that had followed, the way it all made him feel .

“In fact, if you do… you might as well send up a flare saying “here I am!””

“He blocked me.”

Even’s head snapped up.

“When we were figuring this out. His magic eclipsed mine.” He knotted his hands together. “Why did you not tell me this was a possibility?”

“Because almost all seekers are dead!” Even all but yelled. “How was I to know you’d come in contact with one, much less we’d run into him here of all places? Child, did you even know which gender you favored?”

Ienzo shook his head wearily. He was tired now. “You remember that diplomatic trip we took to Destiny Islands? When I… nearly drowned?”

Even softened. “Do I remember. It’s one of the many reasons I’m going prematurely gray. It’s due to Braig’s carelessness that you almost lost your life.”

“He wasn’t the one who saved me. Demyx was.”

“Oh…” He turned pale. “And the magic released as you struggled for your life… must’ve forged that bond.” He thought a moment, then dashed over to one of the books on a bookshelf. “No matter. I’m certain there’s a spell somewhere that could break it, and you can simply--”

“Break it?” Ienzo repeated.

“Don’t tell me you want this, Ienzo?”

Ienzo’s hand fluttered to his lip without meaning to. “Would it be so terrible?” he mumbled. “Especially… if he does have a shielding property.”

Even groaned. “Child, I know you are flush with hormones, and this magic is hard to resist, but think a moment.”

The embarrassment burned his cheeks.

“How do we know he isn’t allied with Xehanort?”

“If he spent years looking for me, do you really think he’d hurt me?”

“Does he know who you truly are?”

Ienzo said nothing.

“Exactly, Ienzo. Exactly .”

He stood. “I’m going to bed,” he said.

Even followed him. “Tell me you’re not thinking about it.”

How could he not? “I think you should allow me to make my own decisions, Even.”

“Ienzo--”

“I am very tired. Good night. ”

He tramped up the stairs, reeling. So this was… true, then. He and Demyx were… A flush came over him. Even was partially correct; ever since they’d kissed on the beach, some thing had woken up in him, something hot and wanting, something that had previously been much quieter.

Ienzo drew the blinds and lay in bed. He looked at his cell phone--messages from Demyx--

I hope you got home safe. Everything feels so much louder now… I feel so awake…

Ienzo took a quick breath. I do too.

What do you want to do?

He knew what he wanted. What he said instead was, I need to know more about you. And you need to know more about me.

Just give me a time and place.

Some place private… away from those that may listen.

Leave it to me.

Ienzo set the phone aside. He started up at the moonlight playing on the ceiling. Mate , he thought. I have a mate. Someone who knew neither of his gender nor of his heritage. Someone who might try to get away from him if he found this out.

Ienzo could tell him, gauge his reactions, and wipe his memory if need be…

He wanted to trust Demyx. If his magic could protect Ienzo… could that possibly be a way for him to finally do something about Xehanort’s forces? For him to find out more information to pass on to the resistance?

He said he’d tell Riku about the resistance… but he needed to know more about him, too. Demyx was probably a good way to find out more about all this…

That kiss…

He’d known, in an aqueous sort of way, he’d likely have to have an heir at some point, and even for him children didn’t spontaneously come out of thin air. But he’d never thought of how he’d get one, nor imagined marriage, nor even… allowed himself the possibility of fantasy, of being loved. His life was too split, always on the run. How could he settle down? He’d barely had friends, much less a boyfriend or girlfriend, much less a lover-- he had not, prior to those hours on the beach, even kissed --

Kissed, and kissed, and kissed…

He traced the material of his waistband absently. Perhaps Even was right, he had to ignore this impulse.

He felt awake, and a little less alone. Perhaps it was for this reason, but he let his hand slip below the waistband, to feel at skin he normally avoided, to stroke it gently and imagine he was not the one touching it--

He gasped, feeling it break over him, and instead of feeling shame as usual, he instead felt release, felt… hope.

#heartlines #ienzo #demyx #zemyx #even (kingdom hearts) #aeleus #au #soulmates au #alternate universe

[zoeygreensimblr]

Enchanted (episode 2)

I woke up well before my alarm went off, every muscle in my body felt like it was being pulled apart. How do people do this exercise thing and just love it? This is torture and now this trainer guy wants us to do personal training 3 times a week, ugh kill me now. Stupid Angus with his stupid pretty face making it impossible to say no to. Stupid Tess for roping me into this stupid pack, I swear she just wanted to see me suffer while convincing me "It's for the greater good, think of how fit we will be come Summer". Stupid Summer, I can't hide under layers when it's boiling hot. Curse everything!!!

I reach for my phone to shut off my alarm and I notice I've got a text message from a number that I don't know.

See you at 4pm, looking forward to it

Clearly it's been sent to me by accident because, lets face it, I very rarely make plans with anyone and if I I do then I spend all week trying to think up ways to get out of them, Im just going to reply and tell them they have the wrong number.

This is Angus BTW, Your personal Trainer

Great, Mister perfect is a morning person who sends early morning messages reminding his victims he hasn't forgotten he scheduled more torture.

Upstairs I can hear Tess dancing around the kitchen as she makes her breakfast. Tess is also a morning person, it's extremely annoying when you're a night owl like myself and you get woken up by the sound of her singing out of key.

The dancing has stopped and has been replaced the sound by her shoes stomping down the stairs

"Zoey, wake up, we are leaving in 30 minutes" she bellows down the hall "and pack your gym clothes, we have training after school and I don't wanna have to make a trip home and then back into the city, it's easier to go from school"

"Im up, going to shower now" I reply, while I still lay there knowing she won't leave without me

My door flies open suddenly and she's now invading my space with her perkiness.

"you're not up at all, get up!!! Did you see Angus' texted us, I'm so excited to start personal training, arn't you?"

Why must she be so happy all the time?

"Im sore Tess, all over, maybe I shouldn't go today, I'll start PT on Friday" Please Tess, please hear my plea, don't make me go back there but no, she doesn't listen to a word I've said, instead she's shoving my gym clothes into my school bag.

Im up, Im showered, Im ready for school and it only took 40 minutes.

We attend a very elite private school in the heart of Forgotten Hollow. I love going to school here, Tess and I share a great group of friends and Im a straight A student.

Tess' Boyfriend Declan meets us the the school gate, just like he has done every day since he and Tess started dating in year 9, he kisses her on the cheek and greets me with a wave.

"Our personal trainer has a thing for Zoey, I know it, Im never wrong about these things" Tess greets him every morning with useless information that he pretends to take an interest in.

"Way to go Zoey" He enthuses, as if he really cares

"He doesn't have thing for me, he was just being friendly to get us to sign up for his stupid torture sessions and now we have to go back there again this afternoon so he can whip us into shape" I moan

"Tess we have school captain meetings after school today, did you forget?" Declan reminds her.

"Oh shit, I did forget, sorry Zoey, you're facing the torture chamber alone today, don't worry, you'll be fine though" she said, not looking one bit apologetic, she's almost laughing, "You should see Zo in front of this guy Declan, she goes bright red and he just keeps staring at her, he's so into her"

That afternoon I board the train alone to San Myshuno, arriving at the gym just before 4. As Im checking in at the reception desk Angus comes running up to me.

"No Tess today?" he asks and Im left wondering if he's somewhat disappointed that he's realised he's going to be stuck attempting to make conversation with the socially recluse twin

"She forgot she had a meeting to attend today so Im sorry but it's just me this afternoon, did you wanna cancel?" I struggle to get my words out through bouts of shyness creeping in.

Please say yes, we can cancel and wait until Tess returns.

"That's ok, her loss is your gain because now you get me 100% to yourself for a whole hour. How are you feeling after yesterday's session?"

"If I can be honest with you, Im hurting a lot, everywhere"I reply, in the hopes he will send me home to rest.

"I thought you would be sore today but you put in an amazing effort last night, you should be proud of yourself, Im really proud of you, Ive had a lot of women run away mid class and never come bak but not you, you stuck it out, that shows you've got stamina" He flashes me that million dollar smile and I feel my face going bright red, "Ok, lets get started, I'll take things nice and slow with you today, due to the recovery pain you're in"

He leads me to the treadmill and starts me on a low setting, just as promised.

"We're going to be working pretty closely together a lot so what do you say we work on kicking this shyness to the curb too? Lets get you to be a strong, confident woman"

The redness is creeping back into my cheeks, why does he care if I'm shy and not confident?

"We can try but I can't make any promises, I'm socially awkward, Tess is the social butterfly, she loves going to parties and to clubs whereas I'd much rather sit at home binge watching Grey's Anatomy" Why am I volunteering information about being a wallflower? He's going to think I'm such a loser.

"McDreamy and McSteamy are the way to any girls heart" he laughs "I love a good binge watch myself"

"You watch Grey's Anatomy?" I ask, shocked, Ive never met a guy who likes Grey's, but to be fair I don't really talk to many boys, just Declan and only because he's always hanging around Tess.

"I live with my older sister and she's somewhat obsessed with it, she rewatches it every Summer and we only have one TV in the apartment so I'm also forced to watch it too" He laughs, "Do you like movies?"

"I love movies, it's one of the only times I enjoy leaving the house, when something new comes out. I sometimes think I just go for the popcorn though" I reply "what about you?"

"I also love going to the movies but I don't go for the popcorn" He explains "I usually bring my own snack, I don't do carbs, Im just really careful about what I put in my body" He winks at me like I'm in on some secret joke. Is he flirting with me? Is this what flirting is? No way, he's just being cocky, I'm sure of it, Who would flirt with a sweaty introvert who just admitted to carboloading as an excuse to see a movie?

Ive got a plan, if I just stop talking then he will stop talking and I can just stop overthinking everything. I blame Tess, she got into my head with this whole "He likes you" bullshit that she carried on with. I wish Tess was here so the focus wasn't all on me. Why did she have to be popular and be voted in as School Captain? Why couldn't she just think of what coming here alone would do to me.

My plan is working, he's not even trying to talk to me, he's typing something on his phone. Good, just stay focused on your phone buddy, no more chatty chats to Zoey.

My plan lasted all of 3 minutes, he looks up from his phone and asks "Your surname is Green right"

"umm, yeah"

"and it's Zoey, spelt with just an E or EY?"

"EY, why?"

"Im just searching for you on simstergram, oh yeah, there you are. Following and I expect a follow back"

"Do you also expect interesting content too because you will be sadly disappointed" I throw in my own wink at the end and he just laughs.

As I'm about to leave I see that it's started to snow, it wasn't even forecast to snow today, it's been unseasonably warm since the middle of last week so I didn't even consider to bring a jacket. The train station is a 10 minute walk from the gym and the another 15 minute walk to my house. Im going to freeze if I go out there without cover. Best to wait inside and call Don to come pick me up. I pull out my phone and start typing in my home number, hoping that he's home, when I hear Angus behind me.

"Oh wow, it's snowing.How are you getting home Zoey?"

"I was going to catch the train but I didn't bring a coat so Im just going to call my step dad and ask if he can come get me"

"From Brindleton Bay? That's crazy, I'll take you home"

"Oh no, you don't have to, that's well out of your way"

"How do you know Im not already going that way?"

"I just assumed you lived in San Myshuno when you mentioned you live in an apartment"

"ah, umm, yeah I do but really it's no trouble, you were my last client for the day anyway and I'll just be going home to an empty house, my Sister is travelling at the moment, so I really don't mind and it would give you someone to talk to on the way home, although Im sure Im no substitute for Tess"

"Tess could talk under water, I swear." I laugh "well as long as you're sure it's no trouble. I'll call Don though and tell him we are having a guest for dinner, can't have you driving me all the way to Brindleton Bay and back in the snow on an empty stomach"

He smiles "Thanks Zoey, you're a sweetheart"

Here comes the blushing again

The traffic leaving the city is congested with everyone finishing work at 5 and heading back to the suburbs and the snow storm is picking up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we get a blizzard tonight" Angus muses

"I would love that, Tess and I have a tradition of watching movies and getting drunk in our basement on nights of a blizzard because school get cancelled for the next day"

"That's awesome. You two are really close hey?"

"Yeah, she's not just my twin sister, she's also my best friend. She pushes me out of my comfort zone all the time, which can be annoying but she's always got my back whenever someone pushes me around"

"she pushed you into coming to the gym didn't she?"

"Is it that obvious that I don't want to be there?"

He laughs, "Ah yes but I think you'll slowly warm up to it. I hated it at first too but I had a lot of weight that needed to come off, not like you, little miss petite"

"Are you seriously trying to convince me that you didn't always have washboard abs?"

He looks at me, raising an eyebrow "Have you been checking me out Miss Green?"

SHIT!!! I've somehow stumbled into unknown territory, flirting, I can feel my breathing becoming more rapid, I'm going to have a panic attack, which is not unknown territory but Im trapped in a car with a virtual stranger.

"Oh fuck, Zoey, shit, I can't pull over, just deep breaths hun, in and hold it then out" He's trying to not get panicked himself as he's trying to calm me down and it's working.

A few moments of silence pass until he asks me "Does that happen often?"

"unfortunately yes" I tell him, embarrassed. "I just get overwhelmed with some social interactions"

"like flirting?"

"Yeah, I don't  flirt, ever"

He looks over at me again and says with a smile "We're gonna work on that"

We arrive at my house just as the storm starts to get worse. We make a mad dash to the front door where we are greeted by Tess, who is obviously amused with the whole situation.

She yells out to our Mother Ruth and Don "Zoey brought a boy home"

I could kill her, I really could, she has no tact but Angus just laughs like he's in on her joke and I just roll my eyes.

Don ventures out from the kitchen to greet today's unexpected dinner guest, he use to Tess bringing Declan for dinner but this is a first, Zoey with a boy.

Don reaches out to shake hands with Angus, "Hey, Im Don, Zoey and Teresa's step father, their mother is around here somewhere" He turns around to yell out to mum

"Ruthie, come meet Zoey's friend" he turns back to Angus "Sorry, I didn't catch your name"

"Angus, Angus McKennzie"

Tess and I exchange looks, we didn't know his surname until now either.

"McKennzie? You're not Imogen McKennzie's younger brother are you"

Angus smiles, "Yes, how do you know Immie?"

"We were high school sweethearts back in the day, I use to help her babysit you, you've certainly grown, granted you were only around 2 or 3 back then" Don explains

"Oh look out, old Donny boys got his throw back thursday voice on" Tess muses and I laugh. We love Don but he does like to go on, a lot, about "back when I was in high school"

"Girls, stop picking on Don, he's cooked us a lovely roast for dinner" My mother says as she enters the room. "Hi Angus, welcome to the mad house, these two like to stir their step father non stop"

"He loves it" Tess and I say in unison.

"What's Imogen up to these days anyway? I imagine she's still travelling the world and  breaking hearts" he laughs to himself

"well it's funny you say that, she's on a jungle adventure in Selvadorada right now but she'll be back in a few months. We own the gym together and coming into summer we get an influx of new sign ups so I'll need her help real soon"

Tess and I again exchange looks, He owns the gym?

After dinner, Tess and I do the washing up and Don goes outside to look how much snow has fallen, he comes back inside and informs us that the streets are covered in a thick blanket of whiteness. "You're not going to be able to get home tonight Angus and I highly doubt there will be any work or school tomorrow so it looks like you girls have a playmate for drunken shenanigans, best go make him up a bed in the basement"

"Im sure he wouldn't mind bunking in with Zoey if he had to" Tess teases and I shoot her a dirty look.

"Come along Angus, you can help us mix cocktails" Tess says, taking charge.

We've never had an intruder join us on Blizzard night and Tess is finding it all too exciting.

"Full warning, the more drunk Zoey gets, the less awkward she becomes" she informs Angus, I throw a cushion at her to try and get her to shut up and Angus sits there grinning at us.

We pick out "He's just not that into you" to watch and set our drinking rules. I can feel I'm getting tipsy midway through the movie, "She's such a light weight" Tess announces to Angus.

"No I'm not, you just made my drinks really strong for your own amusement" I protest

Tess and Angus exchange looks and just burst out laughing, I knew it!

"So Angus, don't you have to call your wife and tell her you're not coming home? That you're staying with your mistresses tonight" Tess asks, not so subtle

"I'm 22 Tess, I have no wife"

"Girlfriend then?" she presses on, I know where she's leading us to and Im sure he does too.

"No girlfriend either" he explains and we exchange looks, "very much single and have been for 2 years now"

"Why did you break up?" there's never a question Tess doesn't feel she can't ask, no matter how personal

"She cheated on me, for months, with my best friend"

"Aww Angus, that's heartbreaking, isn't that heartbreaking Zoey?"

"What a bitch " I interject and they both look at me shocked, ok I may be a bit more than tipsy

"Zoey, you should give Angus a hug to heal his broken heart"

"Ok" I reply "But only if you let me feel your abs"

Angus looks at Tess "Is she drunk?"

Tess nods, laughing "I told you, less awkward, she can't overthink when she's drunk"

"Stop talking about me as if Im not here" I shout as I run my palm over the bumps on Angus' torso, while looking him in the eye.

"sorry Zo" he whispers in my ear.

We reach the end of the movie and the bottle of vodka, which isn't surprising when Tess is the mixologist.

"That's Zoey's favourite movie" Tess informs Angus

"It's pretty good but I think they need to do a sequel and call it "He is into you but can't tell if you're into him" what do you think Zoey?" Angus asks

"I'd watch the shit out of that" I reply

Angus and Tess both burst out laughing, I've clearly missed the joke and I just don't care, Im having too much fun.

"Angus you are welcomed to join us again for blizzard night, you're too much fun and Tess, he's so pretty too"My speech is becoming slurry

"Well  Angus, I think she just answered your question without even realising it was directed at her" Tess muses

"Stop talking about me like Im not here" I shout, yet again

"Sorry Zo" they both say in unison.

#sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 city living #sims 4 get to work #sims4 #sims4simblr

[oh-ishouldnt]

Warm - part 1

Warm - part 1/3 | Joe Sugg | imagine Word count: 3094 Request: The reader meet Joe randomly in the street and then they start to date and are really in love but they are both worried about the difference age because Joe is 25 and the reader is 17-18 A/N: Thank you again for the sweet anon who requested it! I would love to know if you liked it! At first it would be only a small imagine, but I was carried away so… See you soon, sweeties! [Y/F/B/N is for “your friend’s boyfriend’s name”] You can find more Buttercream Squad content here | Requests are open

There were grey clouds in the sky that afternoon. You had never liked them, but the weather never was up to you and never would be, so you were dealing with it buying yourself a cappuccino after a long period in school.

It was your last year and fools were the ones who thought teachers were being nicer just because you were almost done with it. No, they were only making the process more difficult. Thanks God you could go away soon.

Brighton was a good place to live, you were sure of it. You had really happy times in there, but all you knew was Brighton, this was the only city you ever lived in and now was the time to change things, turning into a new you (or some bullshit like that, you just couldn’t handle living in there).

“Let’s go, Y/N!” Y/F/N called, squeezing her boyfriend’s hand, poor Y/F/B/N. She was impatient because this was your second time getting coffee that week and, in the first, you almost got late for the first class.

“It is not my fault, Y/F/N.” you answered, a little annoyed. “You can go first. I’ll catch you guys later.”

This was all that Y/F/N wanted to hear.

“Fine.” she said, leading Y/F/B/N to the exit even before she finished saying that one word.

You rolled your eyes, toking your phone out of your pocket and checking your notifications. How nice was being abandoned by your friends and having only an electronic device as companion.

Your goal was going to London after graduating, you knew you would struggle, but you didn’t care. You wanted to feel independent and the only way to do that was abandoning your comfort zone for real. You would cry a lot probably with all the effort you would need to put through so you could support yourself, but it would all be fine.

“Y/N.” The coffee lady said.

There were two cups in front of you, but you didn’t saw the other one, grabbing the first that you saw. You needed to hurry if you really wanted to be abble to go with your friends, so you started walking as fast as you could without dropping the drink in your clothes.

Your right hand was already in the door when someone touched your shoulder.

“Lady.”

You turned back, looking at the screen of  your phone to try to send Y/F/N a message saying to her hold up a little.

“I guess this is my coffee you are with.” the voice said.

You looked up and you could feel your eyes widening a little.

“Hm…”

You always thought that people on Youtube was only known if you were part of the Youtube community and even like that, there were a lot of people you couldn’t know about. Joe Sugg? Joe Sugg wasn’t one of those.

He laughed at your reaction and took the cup of your hand, you didn’t protested. Instead, of doing that, you blinked your eyes, trying to make sentences and then laughed of yourself.

“I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine.”

“No, really, I didn’t see it was your coffee.”

Joe smiled.

“Yeah, you don’t seem to be a coffee’s thief.” he joked, holding another cup to give to you. “Here, this is yours.”

“Thank you.” you said. “And saying I don’t seem a thief it’s quite nice of you.” you commented and turned your cup to see if that was really your name in it.

“Hey, as long as I know, you can be a house’s thief.” I could be a heart’s thief “I just said you don’t steal other people’s coffee…” he tried to see the name that was written in your cup as you raise it. “Y/N.”

You took a sip of your drink.

“Yeah, hi. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi, I’m Joe.”

“I will pretend I didn’t know that so we can talk normally, is that ok?” you tried to make fun, you clearly knew who he was.

Joe laughed. “That’s ok, yeah.”.

Your phone started ringing “Sorry.” You looked at Joe with apologizing eyes. “Hello.”

“Y/N, where are you? We have a test in the first class of the afternoon in case you forgot.” Y/F/N didn’t even bothered of saying hello back. “We’re in school already, come fast.” she hung up before you could say something.

“Oh, fuck.” you cursed.

“Everything is ok?” Joe asked.

You forgot he was there.

“I gotta go, actually.”

Joe seemed a little disappointed, or this was what you liked to believe that time.

“Oh, ok. Cool.”

You smiled at him.

“It was really nice to met you, Joe.”

“Until a next time, Y/N.”

“Bye.” You nodded your head as you were waving a goodbye.

“Wait, I was wondering if…” you could give me your number, but you were gone.

.

“Y/N?” Y/F/N asked seeing you approaching your desk. “What happened? You are red.”

You laughed.

“You won’t believe what just happened.”

“What?”

“I just met Joseph Sugg.” you told. “And I’m pretty sure he almost asked my number.

.

“Joe, honestly, your preference for coffee just can’t be that strong.”

“Shut up, Zo.”

“We drove all across the city for this damn coffee!” She complained, stopping by Joe’s side at the row.

“I know it.” he told, not really paying attention to his sister.

Zoe sighed. “Ok, spit it out.”

“What?”

“The girl’s name.”

“What?!” he gave a nervous laugh.

“C’mon, Joe, I know it’s a girl.”

“Fine, fine…” Joe rolled his eyes. “Her name is Y/N.”

“Oh, that’s a good name!”

“I know.”

“Parking the car took me ages!” Alfie complained, catching up with the siblings. “So you guys already ordered?”

Zoe grinned. “Actually, Joe…”

“Zoe!” Joe complained. “You just need to tell everyone in the world, don’t you?” he asked.

Alfie laughed. “To Joe get this affected, we’re talking about girls, aren’t we?” It was always fun when the two of them started chattering about Joe’s crushes, he seemed like a little kid. If they were talking about Joe’s hook ups, thought, he didn’t seem nothing like a kid.

“Yeah!” Zoe agreed, bursting into laughs as her boyfriend.

Joe made a frown at the couple, they were really making fun of this?

“Oh, Joe! Buddy!” Alfie hugged his brother in law. “That’s ok, everybody can have a crush on someone.”

“Yeah, well, you crush my bloody sister!” Joe pointed out.

The trio were laughing when the door opened again and in the cafe entered one really special girl, being follow by her friend.

“Third time!” Y/F/N exclaimed. “Third fucking time this week, Y/N! For God’s sake, the week has only 5 days, how can you need that much coffee in your life?”

“Shut up, Y/F/N.” you ordered, looking around to see if you recognized the one you were looking for. From where he was, you couldn’t see him. “Come, let’s order our drinks.” you said, a little disappointed.

When Joe saw you, his face lit up. Yes! His completely stupid plain of trying to see you again worked out! He was a smart lad, wasn’t he? He smiled and walked to you.

“Hey, Y/N!” He greeted, playing cool. Zoe almost laughed out loud seeing her brother’s moves. He was trying to look chill and she knew he was putting all his effort in it because they literally just came across the city to that place.

You grinned, looking refreshed. “Joe!”

Y/F/N almost wanted to give you a slap, calm down, Y/N, damn! Don’t fangirl now, please. She looked at you with that warning look and you coughed a little, taking a deep breath afterwards.

“This is, Y/F/N.” You presented and your friend smiled politely to Joe.

“Hi, I’m Joe.” he said and Zoe thought it was about time to approach you guys. “And this is my sister, Zoe, and her boyfriend, Alfie.”

Oh, fuck. Joe were kidding with you, right? You weren’t such a youtuber fan, but really? You couldn’t handle that much.

You smiled at them and your friend did the same, trying your best to not freak out completely.

“Hi. I’m Y/N.”

“Hello!” Zoe said, she just wanted to jump around and make fun of Joe because he seemed a teenager again. “Nice to meet you!” You nodded.

“Hi!” Alfie shook your hand and Zoe followed his steps.

“Next!” The cafe’s lady shouted.

“Oh, this is us.” Y/F/N said, taking you by the hand and pulling you.

“Excuse me.” you asked, being sorry for such an abrupt reaction of Y/F/N. “Calm down, Y/F/N, please.” you whispered.

“Are you kidding me? The freakin Zoella is behind us! I just know her because of you and I am freaking out, how aren’t you?”

“I am, moron!” you whispered back. “But for what you love the most, don’t ruin it! This is like insane and stuff.”

“So what you girls are going to order?” The employee asked and you two smiled at her, remembering that you needed to actually have something to drink.

.

Y/F/N was gone to find you a table, you were so anxious about being in at the cafe that you actually got in there really early, so now there was no need to rush to school anymore. She leaved you behind because you were waiting your order.

“So, you are not from here, are you?” you asked Joe, Zoe and Alfie were ordering still.

“Oh, no, I’m from a small village on country side.” He answered and then gave a little smile. “I live in London now.”

“And why would you waste London to come to Brighton?” you looked through the window. “I mean, the weather is not beach vibes or anything…” you sighed, you wish that was. You loved sunny days.

Joe giggled, you seemed so disappointed about the season that he found really cute.

“My sister lives in here, I came to a meeting and now I’m crashing her place this week.” He told you.

“Oh, that’s nice.” You commented, pretending you didn’t know that Zoella lived in your city. Well, Adele did too… But Adele wasn’t buying coffee next to you, was she? Also, you didn’t know who was Adele’s brother, but you were pretty sure he wasn’t that gorgeous as Joe.

Your coffee was delivered, but you stood there and chatted more with Joe, he was really nice and his order wasn’t ready yet, so you could enjoy his company a little more before going in separate ways.

The place had heater and your coffee was really hot as well, so your body started sweating and you took off your coat, revealing your tattoo by your tank top.

“Oh, that’s cool.” Joe said, seeing the black ink on your shoulder.

You looked the way he was looking, sometimes you forgot you had a tattoo. It was there only, you weren’t reminded of it.

“Thanks.” You smiled.

What you didn’t know was that Joe was kind of relieved. The way you talked and the way you moved weren’t the same way as a student would do and, althought you were beautiful, you seemed a little younger than the girls Joe usually found attractive, seeing that you had a tattoo meant you were over 18 and everything was fine.

Well, except by the fact you weren’t 18 yet.

.

“So there I was, right? I’ve got no friends, no one to talk, my phone was in the bedroom and this huge man, like, he literally was 250 pounds, I swear. And he come and just started shouting things at me, saying I was rude and that kind of stuff.” You told, laughing already. “When actually, she” you pointed to Y/F/N “was the one who came to his wife and asked if she was pregnant.”

“Oh, no” Alfie commented, Joe closed his eyes.

“Guess what?” You continued. “She wasn’t.” All of them started to laugh. “The woman pointed at Y/F/N, but my friend here was gone by the time the man stood up for his wife. It was horrible, I swear.”

“She looked like she was pregnant! It wasn’t my fault!” Y/F/N told, trying to defend herself but failing because she was laughing so hard.

The cafe lady called Zoe’s name.

“Oh, that must be our order.” She said, receiving a look from Joe.

“Let me help you.” Alfie said, standing up and going to get their food.

“Could you help us too, Y/F/N?”

“Okay!” Y/F/N said, a little more excited than she should for just grabbing food, she could see what Zoe was doing there and was pretty happy in not standing in her way or yours.

Suddenly, was only you and Joe at the table. You tried to seem as you weren’t freaking out, so you took a sip from your coffee.

“So…” Joe started. “I guess you were about to tell me your number before ran away yesterday.”

You frowned. “I was? Are you sure?”  You joked.

Joe laughed. “Yes, you were.” You raised your shoulders. “Where you went anyway? I mean, you was in a rush for getting in there.”

“I am a really busy girl, Joe.” you said ironically, not wanting to give him up yet by telling you were heading to school.

“And does a busy girl like you go on dates?” Joe asked.

You smiled. “I could see in my schedule if I have time for that, yeah.” Joe smiled at you too, not knowing what he was going to.

.

“Y/N/N, we gotta go.” Y/F/N said, you didn’t notice that she, Zoe and Alfie got the food and were in another table, you were talking to Joe and lost the track of the world.

“Again?” Joe asked, he seemed a little upset and you couldn’t avoid liking it.

“I’m sorry.” you told, with a smile on your face. “But you do have my phone now, so I’m a few buttons away.” you winked  at him, something that no one saw coming. Fuck, you were flirting with Joe Sugg!

Joe laughed, he liked your move. “You are.”

You all said your goodbyes and you starting walking out from the cafe.

“Smooth.” Y/F/N approved.

“Shut up.”

“You’re so into him.” she laughed. “I can believe it. You actually have his number. He is not your celeb crush number 247 or something?”

“He might be on the top 10 at the moment.” you admitted and Y/F/N just couldn’t take you serious. You were a lucky girl, weren’t you. “I’m not stupid, though, I know it won’t take me anywhere.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Because I’m 8 years younger than him, maybe?” you suggested, being ironic again.

“I’m not saying to you to date him, I’m saying you can have some fun with an older guy just for a change.” she argued. “You don’t like boys at our school and it’s nice having someone to feed your ego.”

“You are with Y/F/B/N just to ‘feed your ego’ then?” you joked, making her laugh. Her idea wasn’t bad at all, you had to admit. Maybe you would do that.

.

Your phone rang, you received a message. Your eyes opened wide.

“No cells during class.” Your teacher told, looking at you quite angry.

“Sorry” you gave him a weak smile before searching the device in your backpack so you could leave it in silent mode. As you did it, you saw it was Joe sending you a message, something unusual of him, it was so early in the morning.

A couple weeks passed by since the exchange of numbers. You didn’t know how to react, but you were really enjoying your late chats and stuff like that, it would happen every day now and although you couldn’t admit it even to yourself, you started falling for him, something really really dangerous.

Good morning! was the content of his message. It immediately settled a smile on your face. You looked at your teacher to see if he was paying attention on what you were doing, he wasn’t anymore.

Why are you awake this early? you asked.

You turned your head to the board, seeing Math turn into the most boring thing in your whole existence. You missed the time school was easy and you could just forget about it some hours at the day.

Missing you is messing with my head. Joe sent and it made you roll your eyes, he loved to tease you like that.

Right. Now tell me the real reason. You could hear Joe’s laugh because of your answer.

Are you doubting it? you rolled your eyes again.

Yes was all you wrote.

Fine, fine… I have a meeting today. You kind of wished what he told about missing you was truth, but you were determined of being really grounded about this. Ask me where my meeting is, Y/N. he required.

Where your meet is, Joseph?

Brighton. he informed and your heart jumped and you needed to regain control. Fuck, Joe couldn’t just said that with you unprepared. Hum… Y/N? he asked when he realized you saw the message and didn’t answer it.

Well, this is a good excuse for you to don’t miss me that much, isn’t it? you joked, you started sweating waiting for his response.

We can meet and catch up to resolve this problem of mine, can’t we?

Are you asking me on a date? You joked. Be careful, Joseph, you won’t be able to keep up with me if you are…

You are the one who won’t be keeping up, Y/N. You couldn’t believe in it. It is a yes, then?

You took a deep breath, your panic starting showing up.

“Are you ok, Y/N?” Y/F/N asked.

You nodded your head. “No.”

“What happened?” she seemed worried, you just slid your phone to her desk. “Oh my God.” she commented as she read the messages. “You are going, right?” she confirmed, passing your cell back to you.

“I don’t know.”

“Oh, c’mon, Y/N! You can’t miss this opportunity.”

You agreed with that, but it wasn’t fair to Joe. He didn’t even knew that you were at school while he was texting you.

You took a deep breath again. It was about time he discover your age. You were letting go now.

→ Part 02

#joe sugg #thatcherjoe #joseph sugg #zoella #zoe sugg #alfie deyes #pointlessblog #buttercream squad #buttercream boys #buttercream gang #joe sugg imagine #imagine #fanfic #shortfic #buttercream squad imagine

[thefairefolk-rp]

Hi, Zo! Your application for Hawk has been accepted!

Name/Nickname: Zo

Age: 26

Preferred Pronouns: They/Them

Timezone: EST

Activity and Availability (Please answer in words as well as rating your availability from 1-10): I would say my activity will range from a 6 to 7 out of 10. I expect that I’ll be able to write replies on most weekdays, but I won’t typically be doing replies on the weekend when most role players seem to be active.

As for my availability, I would rate that a 4 to 5 out of 10. I will probably be around briefly during weekdays in the evening to post replies, with Thursdays and Fridays being the days I am online for the longest amount of time. I tend not to be online during the weekends, as I like to spend them with my significant other, but I will pop in and check the dash for sure.

Have you read the rules and FAQ? Yes. 

IC INFORMATION:

Desired Character: Hawk

Second Choice Character: Lysander Flute

What made you choose this character?: Recently I’ve found myself drawn to mischievous characters, and Hawk fits that bill pretty well. I think it would be so fun to delve into all the little nuances that make her who she is, and get her into all sorts of trouble. I also think this penchant for mischief will force her to confront a lot of her personal issues, and I’m always down for some good internal conflict. What’s more, whenever I join a new role playing group, I like to try and find characters that are new to the world themselves. That gives me the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the setting through my character’s eyes. Being a human living among fae, I imagine there’s been a pretty steep learning curve for Hawk, even with her gifted abilities. And I think learning through her and with her as she becomes more accustomed to Midsummer Forest will make writing her all the more engaging.

Are there any changes you would like to make?: I would like to age Hawk up from sixteen to eighteen. I don’t feel comfortable writing an underage character in a role play with mature themes when I myself am not underage.

Questions/Comments: I will probably have more specific questions about the realm that humans reside in if I am accepted. I’d like to have a little better understanding of where Hawk came from in order to establish her past there. So I apologize in advance if I end up bombarding the admins with silly questions!

Writing Sample (Must be 300 words or more, third person limited, in the character you’re auditioning for’s point of view):

She chewed at her lip. Her eyes darted about frantically. Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest and the fool thing refused to quiet itself, despite her commands.

She was scared. She knew she was. She couldn’t ignore the clamminess of her skin or the chill running up her spine. But why? Why was she so frightened? It wasn’t as if she’d never stolen before. She’d picked pockets in some of the finest cities in Midsummer Forest. She’d tricked countless wealthy fae out of their coin with her wide eyes and tall tales. So why did she falter now? Why did fear seem to finally catch up to her this night?

Looking to her left, and then to her right, it became clear why the usually brave girl was frozen in fear. For no longer was she flanked by Nihm or Sparrow or Gull. Now, she was all alone.

Her life of thievery hadn’t truly began until she met Nihm Pan. Before their auspicious meeting, she had never stolen a thing in her life. She hadn’t the need. But that isn’t what she’d told her Flock. In fact, she’d told them she’d been stealing for years. She was a thief born of necessity, as far as they knew, picking pockets and stealing food to survive.

Now, that falsehood was her livelihood. It was the only truth she could allow herself to know. And alongside the Flock – alongside her family – it was so simple to pretend such skills came naturally.

But they weren’t with her today. They weren’t there to listen to her lies. They weren’t there to encourage her. And they certainly weren’t there to keep her from hesitating.

And so she stood, still and stiff as a pole, as she tried to make herself move. She couldn’t return empty-handed, no. She couldn’t make a fool of herself that way. She was a thief, a miscreant, a vagrant. She was every bit the character she portrayed herself to be. She was a Hawk, a predator who descended upon her prey without mercy. She could do this. Even without her Flock by her side, she could do this.

One step was taken. And then another. She listened for the crunching of dirt beneath her feet to confirm her progress. She could do this. She could return to the Flock with a grand haul. A satchel heavy with coins and jewels would spill across the floor of the cave, and the others would look to her in awe. How could such a small thing carry so much? How did such an innocent plunder so many treasures in one night? She could hear their praise ringing in her ears. The imagined words helped urge her forward-

And right into the chest of another person.

She fought to bite back a curse as she stumbled back, a weak apology slipping forth automatically. “Forgive me. My mind was elsewhere,” she mumbled with little remorse.

“Yes, I see that,” the male replied good-naturedly. “It must be something quite important to distract you from even the movement of your feet.”

Hawk took a moment to look over the male she’d stumbled into. She had learned in her time with the Flock how crucial it was to analyze one’s potential prey. The fae before her was Seelie, she presumed. Younger, and with a soft smile upon his face, it was clear he was interested by her. But what, exactly, was it that made him linger when he had no need? She failed to detect any lewd desires within the man, so it seemed unlikely he hoped to bed her. So what then? From where did his interest arise? Eyeing the glimmering necklace that splayed across his chest, she knew he was too fine a prize to let go. She must pick the perfect character to play for him, but who? What story should she spin to trick this unassuming fae?

Her face began to fall, lips starting to tremble as she looked up to meet the male’s eyes. “It ‘tis important, sir. I just… I just don’t know what to do…”

“What troubles you?” the foolish fae asked, a hand coming to rest upon her shoulder.

“My brother… My brother is so sick, sir… I’ve never… He’s always been such a healthy boy, and suddenly… He’s too weak to even sit up and eat.”

“How dreadful… Is that what’s brought you to Olia? Are you searching for a way to cure him?”

Hawk nodded feebly, her gaze canted down towards the male’s booted feet. “I was told… I was told there was a healer here in Olia who could help him. I’ve just gone to see him but I haven’t the money to pay and…” Hawk broke into weak sobs, turning away from the male quickly. Covering her mouth with shaking hands, she stood and waited for her prey to make its final move.

“You poor dear,” the fae crooned, reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket as he spoke. Pulling forth a pouch heavy with coin, he took Hawk’s hand into his own and placed his money into her palm.

“Here. Use this to care for yourself and your brother. You look as if you haven’t rested properly in weeks.”

In fact, Hawk had slept peacefully alongside her adopted family the night before, but she needn’t tell that to him.

“Sir…” she said with feigned awe, her pale eyes meeting his once again. “You are too generous. Please, I can’t accept this-”

“No, please, I insist,” the fae said sweetly, a wide smile splitting across his face. “I couldn’t bare to think of you and your brother suffering when I could do something to help.”

“Thank you, sir… Thank you so much,” she said, beads of wetness trickling down her cheeks at her command. Ready and poised for her final strike, Hawk flung herself into the male’s chest once more, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. “I don’t know what I could do to repay your kindness. Please, allow me to do something for you in return.”

Clearly surprised, the fae chortled as she hugged him tighter. “I… Truly, I don’t expect repayment. So long as your brother is able to recover, that is payment enough for me.”

“Are you certain, sir?” she asked, her grip on him starting to loosen.

“Y-yes. Please just…be well. That is all I ask.”

And with those words, Hawk finally released her prey, a watery smile settled upon her lips. The fae looked utterly disoriented by her, but still smiled unsurely.

“I will never forget your kindness today, sir,” she said, hands tucked behind her back. “I pray that our paths might cross again soon.”

And then she was off, his weighty, bejeweled necklace now tucked safely in her cloak. Hawk could barely keep her mirth contained. Once she was safely away, Hawk wiped away her tears and allowed a smile to brighten her features. She’d done it. Without any encouragement from her Flock, she’d done it.

But Hawk wasn’t content to stop there.

Olia was a wealthy city filled with bleeding hearts and ambivalent fools, all ample targets for a predator like her. She would find more, even larger prey, and she would return to the Flock with a bounty the likes of which they had never seen.

Looking once more at the necklace she’d lifted from that simpleton only moments ago, a wicked grin made the corners of her lips curl. Yes, this had been quite a fine start for Hawk. But the day was young, and she had only just begun.

#accepted

[monaownsmyass]

Hmm I’m pretty bad with being creative so idk if this would make a good fic or not but here’s a suggestion haha. It’s the day that all of that craziness with Benji happened and as soon as you told Zoey she stopped everything that she was doing to be with you. **Basically that diamond scene we got but more fluff, cuteness, kisses, and possible revealing of feelings**

Here you go! Lmk how I did :)

Falling For You

Book: Queen B, Chapter 10 Pairing: Zoey Wade x MC (Bea Hughes) Genre : Fluff, like A LOT of fluff Rating: Nothing explicit, maybe suggestive Word Count: 2,115 A/N: This takes place directly after the whole Benji situation. Zoey's updated diamond scene if I were to write it I guess. No 'horny butterflies' though, sorry lol

"Bea!"

I heard the front door open as Zoey rushed in. I stood up to greet her but before I could say a word, Zoey dropped her bag and enveloped me in a bone-crushing hug, knocking the wind out of me.

"Hey, Zo," I managed to whimper out.

"Ohmygod, Bea, I came as soon as I could," she said softly, her grip on me relaxing. "You have no idea how worried I was."

I wrapped my arms around her neck and rested my cheek against her shoulder. "I'm just glad you're here now."

Zoey pulled back slightly and gave me a kiss on my temple. Taking my hand in hers, she lead me to the couch to sit before pulling one hand away from mine to tuck some stray hair behind my ear. I lean into her soft caress and turn my head slightly to kiss the palm of her hand. My heart was racing faster than it ever had.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" She pulled me into her, laying my head onto her shoulder. I filled her in on everything The T didn't cover while she played with my hair.

When I was done, she met my eyes with pure fury in hers. "He stole your bra? Seriously? Do I need to kill him for you?"

I let out a small giggle, "That's my Zo. Always ready to throw hands."

Her hardened face soften into a smile after my comment. "Well, maybe I'd hire someone. Wouldn't want to break a nail." She paused. "But for you, babe? It'd be worth it."

I placed my head back on her shoulder and sighed in contentment, relieved to have her here beside me. "What would I do without you to fight for me?"

"Apparently you'd do just fine for yourself," she let out a laugh that made my heart burst with joy, "Using your bra as a whip and to choke him? Girl, that's badass! Pretty hot too."

I smirked up at her, "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"You know it, baby," her voice low and suggestive, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Butterflies ruptured in my stomach. I cleared my throat and decided to change the subject. "So, I believe I was promised some pasta and some wine?"

She let out another delightful laugh while scooching me over so she could stand up. I follow her her to the stove only for her to shake her head at me.

"You sit! Your task for today is just to sit still, look pretty and of course, drink this massive glass of wine," she ordered as she poured me a glass of Cabernet and guides me to the bar stool by the waist, gesturing me to sit down. She turned on the radio and moved to the stove to get to work.

"Yes, ma'am," I teased, "I like it when you boss me around."

Zoey looks back at me and our eyes lock, casting a rakish and downright gorgeous grin my way and ooh boy... I'd give up the world just for Zoey Wade to look at me like that for the rest of my life.

"Of course you do," she said as she rolled her eyes, still smiling.

Entranced by her smile I whispered, "How are you so perfect?"

"Well, coming from the most perfect woman I've ever laid my eyes on, that's saying something." Her voice was playful. "But go on."

"You've got to know how much you mean to me. You're amazing, Zo. You're an absolute babe with impeccable fashion sense, a badass that lets no one stand in her way and not to mention extremely talented and kind and caring..."

"Why, thank you! I am all of those things." She turned to face me. " But you forgot one thing." She sauntered towards me, wrapping one arm around my waist and her other hand grabbing my thigh from under. It felt like I've been struck by lightning.

She leaned in closer, foreheads almost touching. "I have incredible taste in women."

I closed my eyes in anticipation, only open them and find those soul-piercing eyes gazing at my lips.

"I want you to kiss me," she breath out. "Show me how much I mean to you."

She didn't have to tell me twice.

I grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her into me, crashing our lips together in a hasten fashion. This kiss, this kiss was not like any of the others we've shared before. It was not like any others I've had before. It was slow, soft, passionate. The kind of kiss that makes you realise that every love story you've heard aren't lies. The kind of kiss that makes you wonder how you've ever lived without experiencing it. The kind that makes your heart skip a beat and soar and heat goes to your cheeks and you become light-headed and weak in the knees and... and... It's the kind of kiss that makes you realise you're falling for someone because wow, if I wasn't already falling for her I sure am now.

I am falling for Zoey Wade.

It felt timeless but it was over all too soon. Before breaking off the kiss, Zoey gently bit my bottom lip and gave it a light tug, making me groan. Not wanting to let her go, I tighten my arms around her.

"Darling," she grinned her charming, brilliant smile at me once again. "The pasta is gonna burn if we don't stopped."

At the mention of food, my stomach gave a grumble. We both giggled as I let her go.

"Alright, alright, but promise me we'll carry on later?" I gave her my best puppy-dog eyes and a pout for good measure.

Zoey smiles softly, softer than I've ever seen. She looks just as smitten as I felt and the thought alone was enough to make me giddy.

Once she was done, Zoey served us the pasta she's prepared. Dinner was an exercise, trying to focus on the food and not the ethereal being sitting opposite me. Everything she did was distracting. From the way she bit into the food to her hand gestures and to the way her eyes lit up when she laughed. She was intoxicating.

We worked our way through multiple servings of pasta and the rest of the bottle of the Cabernet. I helped Zoey put the dishes and glasses into the dishwasher as I thanked her.

"It seems like you're good at everything."

"Of course, babe! Don't you remember who you're talking to?" she said playfully.

I smiled endearingly at her. That's my Zo.

"Now c'mon! It's my job for tonight to take care of you so tell me, how can I help you relax?" She trailed a soft hand along my cheek, electricity sizzling where she touched me.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you promised me a make out sesh," I reminded her nonchalantly.

Wasting no time, she dragged me to my room and lightly shoved me onto the bed. I plopped clumsily on the bed as Zoey climbed over me, resting her body against mine. She lowered her lips to my ear and muttered, "Are you relaxed yet?"

"A little, I think you should kiss me just to be safe."

And kiss me she did. It was as thrilling as the previous kiss. She kissed me just as tenderly, savouring me as if I might disappear if she pulls away.

A hand that was on my cheek moved down to my breast and gave it a squeeze. I let out a small moan and felt her smile through the kiss. Her hand then made its way further down, caressing my stomach and thighs delicately.

In a swift motion, she grasped my thigh hard enough to leave a mark and hiked it up to her waist, pushing herself closer into me in the process.

"Oh, Zoey!" I was already feeling heady at this point.

Her lips left mine to kiss down my jaw to my neck, marking me as she made her descend. After a while, she kissed her way back up my jaw, trailing to my ear. She placed a hand on my chest, over my heart and mumbled, "Hmm, you definitely don't feel relaxed."

"Shut up," I grinned playfully and pulled her lips to meet mine once again.

It could've only been a few minutes or a couple hours but eventually, we stopped. Zoey laid her head on my chest and closed her eyes, trailing patterns on my skin with a perfectly manicured finger. I heard the light drizzle from outside turn into a heavy downpour as I held this breathtaking woman in my arms. I caught a whiff of her floral shampoo from her gorgeous dark curly hair as I tilted my head down to look at her. I let out a big sigh, feeling absolutely blissful.

I felt Zoey shift slightly. Afraid she might try to get up, I encircle her waist with my legs while my arms squeezed her as much as I could.

"Bea!" she shrieked and giggled, squirming in my embrace. "I'm gonna die!"

"I'm never letting you go!" I giggled with her.

She stopped struggling after a while and stretched her neck to look up at me. "Bea," she spoke my name in a slow, flirtatious manner. A prayer on her lips.

"Yeah?" In a moment of weakness, she jumped out of my embrace and ran out of my room.

"Come get me, slowpoke!" she called out while laughing.

I chased her all around the apartment while cursing her.

"Damn you and your long legs!"

She just laughed that radiant laugh of hers.

I don't know how or when it happened, but she was the one who was trying to catch me instead by the end of our little game of catch.

"I've caught you! No escaping now, beautiful," she bragged as she held me in a bear hug.

"Oh no, I'm in the arms of a very attractive woman, whatever shall I do?" I feigned distress.

"You think you're so funny, huh, babe?"

"I'm hilarious." I brought my arms around her waist and leaned up to give her a peck on the lips.

"If you say so," she replied while bending a little to kiss the tip of my nose.

We just stood there for a moment, holding onto each other while listening to the rain that was beginning to subside and to the music that was playing softly in the background from the radio. I've never felt more at home.

Following a moment of silence, Zoey spoke up, "Bea, I just want to say I'm sorry for pushing you onto Professor Kingsley so much especially since I know you don't even like her." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "I... at first I didn't even realise myself why I was so insistent about it. I kept telling myself it's cuz it was the only way to overthrow Poppy. I was in denial about my feelings. Then the whole Benji thing happened and I realised how worried I was and it's just... Flirting with you is second nature to me cuz I'm used to it but this is all so new to me and I didn't know how to process it. I guess what I'm trying to say... what I'm saying is..."

My heart was hammering out of my chest. I've never felt this way for anyone before either but I knew I had to tell her too. It felt right.

"IthinkImfallingforyou!" I blurted out before she could finish.

She held me back a little and looked at me, her captivating brown eyes peering into mine. "What?"

I took a deep breath.

"I think I'm falling for you, Zoey Wade," the words coming out quietly and cautiously.

Her face went from confusion to realisation to shock then to sheer excitement all in the span of a few seconds.

"I think I'm falling for you, too, Bea Hughes."

I let out a small laugh in relief.

I snuggled back into Zoey as she placed a loving kiss on the top of my head.

It was probably pretty late and we had classes the next day. But right then, the both of us sharing small laughs and kisses every now and then, enjoying each other's warm embrace while swaying to the tune of some random song in the dim lighting of our dinning area, I knew I would've rather spend another hour right there than a lifetime anywhere else.

All my worries and stress faded away as I looked up at her stunning face.

How could I've not fallen from Zoey Wade?

(More fics!)

#its been a while since ive wrote anything lol #zoey x mc #zoey wade #qb: zoey #zoey qb #queen b #qb #choices: qb #qb choices #choices #choices: stories you play #pb #pixelberry #choices fanfiction #queen b fanfiction