#(but yeah i hope ani and anyone else who reads this enjoys it despite the angst! it's good to have mokubas headspace written out prior to

[universestreasures]

Extension / Spinoff Of This Thread With @shacchou

🎶"Looking up at the sky with you, two bright shining stars call to us. Here we are, standing strong. Shining with our Buddy Lights..."🎶

The gentle and soothing singing voice of his friend was pleasant on the young boy's ears. Never in a million years did he think Tasuku had such a hidden talent, and yet here he is listening to him sing a song from the heart just to try and help him feel better. Then again, the Buddy Police Boy Wonder was good at a lot of things: Buddyfighting, school, investigating; just to name a few. So, him being good at yet another thing shouldn't be too surprising by this point to Mokuba.

He really was just like...Seto, wasn't he?

Drawing those comparisons between Tasuku and his brother was what the young boy had begun to do unconsciously since their initial meeting, but such things slowly became more and more common as he spent more time here. In fact, even now as he sits there listening to the other sing his tune, he can't help but visualize a younger Seto there soothing him instead, despite the fact Mokuba's never heard his brother ever sing before in his life.

Yes, the pre-teen seemed to embody the positive qualities that Mokuba associated with his elder brother from the past: warmth, gentleness, selflessness, compassion, happiness, protectiveness, honesty; all of those things he saw in Tasuku. Perhaps it was those qualities in him that had drawn the younger boy to seek out his help specifically during this time. After all, this entire situation came about because of his own feelings regarding the past, a past he can't seem to stop trying to chase despite promises of a prosperous future.

Such feelings did not change ever since being here. In truth, being around the blue-haired boy just made them stronger, the younger Kaiba feeling a semblance of what was lost the day he and his older brother were adopted. That just spoke though to a simple fact, a fact the boy knew deep down but did not want to admit to himself: that Mokuba had not yet fully accepted in his heart who his brother was today, in spite of their improved relations after Duelist Kingdom.

Mokuba wasn't so naive as to think that neither him or Seto wouldn't change over time. That would be nonsensical, especially considering the circumstances of their lives since becoming Kaiba's. No, what Mokuba couldn't seem to comprehend, and felt frustration and sadness towards, was why his brother was still...well...a stick in the mud, to put it nicely, long after their stepfather was gone.

From his viewpoint, that man was the sole reason for Seto's major shift in demeanor. So why did he have to keep acting so cold and grumpy now? Like he wasn't looking forward to the future he had been preparing for them all this time? The question went unanswered in his mind, no matter how much he tried to come up with an answer.

It had taken Mokuba some time to regain his own true smile after everything that's happened, no part in short thanks to Yugi's crew and his own he managed to make. He wants the same for his brother, to heal past the pain of Gozaboru's tryannny and be able to be as happy as he was prior to it. That selfless desire that seemed so far out of reach was a key part of why he was so hurt. He felt like his brother was just keeping himself miserable needlessly, overworking himself to death and isolating himself from and rejecting anyone who dare try to add some happiness into his life.

He just wanted his brother to be happy again like he was before, to play with games again truly for the fun of it and not in pursuit of revenge or victory. Was that so wrong to wish? To wish his brother could try to start to heal after the suffering they both went through, like Mokuba had?

Clearly, that sentiment was wrong. Otherwise, the elder Kaiba wouldn't have rejected his feelings that night so fiercely. In spite of his good intentions, Mokuba's feelings were burdening his brother, trying to drag him to a place he didn't want to go near for reasons not understood. It's something he's felt since a young age and seen time and time again to the point where he questions whether his inclusion in Seto's life was ever a good thing.

If Mokuba wasn't around, then his brother no doubt would have been adopted quickly and potentially not by a monster like Gozaboru.

If Mokuba wasn't around, his brother wouldn't have had to fight so hard to protect and care for him all the time, to secure a future for them both when securing one for a genius like him alone would have been easier.

If Mokuba wasn't around...perhaps he never would have lost his smile to begin with.

The very thought causes tears to come from his purple eyes, syncing up with the end of Tasuku's sweet song. His breaths came out shaky, unable to stop the floodgates from flowing. Without needing to think, his hands move to clasp the pair of lockets around his neck, as if he would die without doing so.

"Why...? Why?! Why am I such a burden?! Such a bad brother?!"

His voice echoed throughout the small apartment room, his voice portraying the inner pain he felt akin to being kicked in the gutts. Why did he have to follow Gao's advice? Why did he have to speak his mind and say such hurtful things? Why didn't he just let things be as they are despite wanting so much more, like he's done before? Why did he do something that would risk his staying in his brother's life?!

Perhaps taking that risk was why Seto had yet to contact him since he left. Because maybe he felt the same thing Mokuba was starting to think: that he didn't want him to come back. That way, his brother wouldn't have to entertain the younger boy's 'nonsense' anymore, and he could live his life without being reminded of the past he clearly was repulsed by.

Maybe...things were better off this way, after all...

"Mokie Mokuba."

The all-too-familiar voice reaches his ears, and an all-too-familiar touch can be felt on his shoulders. Mokuba opened his teary eyes slowly in response. In front of him, with his vision blurred by the water, he...saw him. He saw his brother, but not the one of the past, but of the present.

Did he come here to see him? Did he come here to take him home? Did he come here because...he still loved him?

"S...eto...?"

"You're not..."

"A burden or a bad brother." The illusion Mokuba's mind had created shattered with Tasuku's next words, as gentle as they were. The young Kaiba was now thrust again into reality, purple hues glancing up at his friend who had been the one speaking the whole time. Seems like his mind and heart were continuing to play tricks on him.

How cruel.

"Listen to me. You've done nothing wrong. It's your brother who has. Don't blame yourself for his mistakes." Mokuba is then pulled into the other's arms, him being comforted by Tasuku's warmth. "Never think you can't express how you're feeling or that it's wrong to feel how you do, no matter who tells you."

The embrace lasted as long as he needed to calm himself. After having cried himself to death, the older kid lets go, gently standing up from his position of sitting next to the boy in order to gently try and guide Mokuba to lie down once again. Once he is set, he watches Tasuku grab the blankets, scattered at the bottom of the bed, and attempts to tuck him back in, not realizing his method of tucking was not to Mokuba's preference (it was too tight). Still, the young Kaiba didn't voice anything to the contrary, for he had lost his voice from all that crying.

"Now, try to get some rest, okay? Gao is coming over tomorrow. He said he wants to have a game of Capsule Monsters with you. I'm sure you two will have a blast." Tasuku then moves to the door's exit, Mokuba glancing over at the soft smile he can see through the light coming from the rest of the apartment. "Sleep well, Mokuba. And if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me or Jack. We're here for you."

The door then closes, leaving Mokuba alone in the room whose only light source was a nightlight Tasuku had gotten for him. He reaches for his Blue-Eyes plush, hugging it tightly for support. It's then he reaches with one of his arms to open his own locket, staring at the picture of Seto inside intensely until he passes out from emotional and physical exhaustion.

#💎 Crystalized Hidden Gems (Drabble) #💎 Vice Treasure (Mokuba Kaiba) #💎 Wonder Treasure (Tasuku Ryuenji) #💎 President With A Blue-Eyed Lighting (Shacchou) #💎 Vice's Monochromic Alternate Path (Mokuba Manga Verse) #💎 Wonder's Game Of Life (Tasuku Yu-Gi-Oh! DM Verse) #tw long post #tw ptsd #(I told Ani a spin off drabble of Mokuba's POV during this angst fest was coming and here it is. ;;;;; #(mokuba's pain just hurts me so much like bby no you're not a burden and your brother loves you ;;;;; #(this takes place the night before gao's visit where he pitches that idea to tasuku further showing why tasuku was not about it #( i also wanted to have a specific thing for Tasuku to reference for the eventual interaction with Seto #(the song tasuku is singing here is actually the ED his va does sing in the show and is a song other chrs have sung IN universe too #(plus Soma Saitou has such a beautiful voice like omg ;;; #(I thought it was fitting and sweet to include it. tasuku doesnt like share his singing talent with others that much unless they are close #(more so because he figured he'd start getting people to want to turn him into an idol if it went public #(its something he learnt how to do from his mother much like seto with his piano playing from what Ani has told me which #(another thing these two have in common icb this LOL #(the song is linked on all the lyrics in the reply if anyone wants to listen to it! soma saitou tasukus va has such a wonderful voice ;;; #(but yeah i hope ani and anyone else who reads this enjoys it despite the angst! it's good to have mokubas headspace written out prior to #(his inveitable talk with seto #(providing context as to where he's at and such #(also getting to dive into mokubas sub concious projecting of seto onto tasuku that just really shows how he needs #(his brother rn despite tasukus best efforts to try and be that sort of figure for him rn

[winterarmyy]

Thin Walls, Thin Lines

What will happen if a fuckboy falls in love with a hopeless romantic?

Summary: Modern society surely had corrupted the mind of the hundred-something year old man, Bucky Barnes, when he seemed to have forgotten the art of courting a lady. Lost in lust and pleasure, he had been indulging with endless array of different girls on his bed almost every night. And the opposite side of that thin walls of his room, lives a hopeless romantic who he was madly in love with.

Navigation: Original Version || Deleted Scene* (alt. ending)

Pairing: fuckboy!bucky x female!reader

Words: 4.9k++

Warnings: avenger au, explicit language/contents, angst, lil bit of drama, fluff, please bare with the fuckery of bucky barnes, reader is sensitive yet quite fiesty too. i can't backup steve on this one, he is on his own.

A/N: As you can see from the navigation bar, we have two different endings for this fic, because I am greedy and indecisive. The original version ended with fluff and the deleted scene (alternate ending) ended with absolute filth of a smut. So... enjoy! 💕

P/S: And this is also my submission for @jessybarnes 's writing challenge. I have chosen "Kiss me again" from the prompt list and I hope you like the way I used it in this fic!

Read my other works here: Masterlist

Y/N has always been a hopeless romantic. She dreams of a love like the ones she read in books. She craved someone who loves her so deeply that she could never find peace in anyone else but him. She wanted all the love songs and poetry to be reminders of him; his beauty, his charms.

Fresh flowers, stargazing, coffee dates, kisses that tastes of cotton candy, warm cuddles, and every little things in between; she longed for it all. She dreams of a love that is so consuming until all that's left in that small bubble of infatuation is their entangled soul mending each other to the bone.

That's what makes her a hopeless romantic.

And very much the opposite of her was Bucky. He is an infuriating flirt. There's not a day goes by that he doesn't call her with sickeningly sweet nicknames; doll, gorgeous, princess, darling, you name it. He will definitely drop some suggestive lines at any given chance and most of the time when she least expected.

He can charm anyone just by his presence, and if you're lucky enough to get one of his infamous smile; then you best believe that you won't be going home alone that night, or able to walk proper the next morning. He is the typical playboy you know and hate; very often she'll see different girl in his arms or on his bed. And that man seemed to not know when to stop. Sometimes, she do wonder if he ever got tired of sex. Because she knows for certain that he can go on and on for hours, daily.

"Fuck,, that's it. Spread your legs for me. Yeah, 'atta girl."

Speaking of the devil.

This has been recurring for months now. It seems like the man never sleep because his voice would always wake her up. She couldn't decide what was worse; between being forced to hear the sounds of the skin slapping, the bed creaking, him groaning and her squealing or being a super light sleeper that even a whisper in her room would jolt her awake.

Y/N let out an annoyed grunt when she swoop her head under the pillow, hoping to silenced the noises even just a little bit. Surprise; it didn't help at all. Her body cringed and her face contorted into a squint when she hear the other woman announcing her release as the headboard hits the wall a little harder, a little faster.

Bucky Barnes sure is a fuckboy but unfortunately for her, he is also the man she fell in love with.

She refused to show it, but lord knows how much her heart simply swell to the sight of his smile. Despite the flirtatious tendencies of his, there was something about him that attracted her like a magnet; or like a moth to a flame.

Maybe it was his old soul, or maybe because she saw glimpses of timeless charm in him; the way he moves, the way he gazes, and the way treated her. Nevertheless, it was such a devastating thing for someone like her to fall for someone like him.

The last thing she wanted in a man, is to look at her like she was just a good fuck and nothing more. She just couldn't imagine herself to be tied with someone like that. And Bucky was exactly that someone.

Y/N haven't been able to get more than 2 hours of sleep for months now. The lack of it had caused her to drastically lose physical strength and lately fatigue has been a constant presence as well.

So she decided to go the medbay to consult Dr. Cho about it. After running some tests, she sat her down for some Camomile tea as she went through the results, "It seemed like the severe lack of sleep had took a really heavy toll on you."

Y/N sighed as she place the tea cup on the back on the table, "Yes, I am well aware of that. That is precisely why I am here."

"Nightmares?" Dr. Cho speculated.

If the definition of nightmare is 'the moans of the man, that she had a crush on, fucking someone else next door' then, yes. She was having long and nearly endless nightmares for months now.

"Something like that." She lied.

"Then, I have some medication that I can prescribe to you. You should take it daily after dinner and..." Before Dr. Cho managed to finish her instructions, Y/N quickly asked, "Is it possible to fix me without meds?"

Dr. Cho frowned curiously, "Why wouldn't take meds? That's the quickest way to help for your situation, as far as I know." she asked.

This was not her first rodeo; she had troubles sleeping back when she was merely teenager. And the last time tried using meds, she ended up almost overdosed herself from it, "It's just... I prefer not to." she evaded.

Dr. Cho nodded understandingly before clarifying the current situation, "Well then, I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do for you. Though some research suggested that meditation routine before sleep can help. Or putting up some natural ambience like the sound of rain or waves--"

Y/N wasn't really listening after the first sentence. Because all she could thought of was how much longer she can bare with this and what will it take for her to finally snap.

Y/N was dying. At least it felt like it.

With her deprivation of sleep and the intense combat training she had to go through today, her patience was reaching it's limit. After visiting the medbay 2 weeks ago, she had tried to approach Bucky about it but he always took it lightly.

There was series of insincere apology followed by a cheeky promise to 'keep the tone down' for her. But nothing changed. She asked him again and again; days gone by he didn't live up to the end of his bargain.

For those past week, Y/N had resorted to sleep in the living room for most of the nights. How she dreaded to leave her comfy bed but she could no longer tolerate the sounds coming from the other side on the wall. Though she still jolted awake from time to time due to how uncomfortable it was sleeping on a couch, but at least she got more than 2 hours of sleep if she was to compare to the nights she slept in her own room.

It's not she didn't notice it at all; she knew exactly how and why it happened. The habit of microsleeping that she developed during the course of this training. The slowed reaction time, the lack of energy, she can feel it. But, there was nothing she can do about it.

The only cure for this was to get some rest. A proper rest. And that can't happened, not without Bucky's cooperation.

When Y/N was marching towards the sargent who was sitting way across the gym; she could see how his eyes undress every piece of her clothing, how his tongue rolled out and his teeth sunk into his lips.

She wasn't even wearing anything remotely provocative but here he was lusting over the way her hips sway especially when he was the one she's walking towards.

The moment she stood in front of him, his mouth lifted into a smirk, "Yes, princess. How may I be of your service?" His voice was sultry and the way he towers over made her slightly nervous for no reason.

Her heart fluttered, yet her lips refused to form a smile, "Don't call me princess."

"I apologize, my queen." Bucky gave her a cheeky smile.

Y/N didn't want to drag this any longer than she should, so she quicky jump into it and said, "So you know how I’m like-"

"-absolutely embarrassingly in love with me? Yes, I'm familiar go on." Bucky cuts in. If panic ever rose in her chest, then she was doing an incredible job of hiding it, "Can you just shut up for a second and take me seriously?"

His eyes glint with flirtaous mischief when he replied, "Doll, you know the fastest way to shut me up is to kiss me."

Y/N simply sighed before she began to rant, "I really don't have the mood for this banter with you, Barnes. I just want you tone down your nightly routine. It is because of you I've been having trouble sleeping and--"

He quickly stopped her before she nags even more than she already did, "Okay, okay I get it. We've been through this, doll." Bucky's face lit up when he suggested, "How about I help you sleep, hmm? I may know a thing or two about tiring someone out." There was surely something unholy in those steel blue eyes of his.

And Y/N picked it up rather quick, but considering the amount of times he had insinuate something more than just a friendly banter, then of course she knew exactly what he was suggesting, so she simply replied, "No offense, Barnes. But, I don't do one night stand or no strings attached thing. And with a manwhore like you? No, thank you." sassy was her answer.

Bucky's head tilted back as he laughed, then when he spoke his voice was like a devil luring an angel to sin, "Oh babydoll, if I were to be a whore, it'll only be for you." He stepped closer so that only she can hear his confession.

His masculine scent hits her nose, mixture of the citrus cologne and his natural odour was just perfect. Annoyingly alluring; but perfect. And it took all her will to hold it together and blatantly rejects him, "Still not interested."

Bucky groaned in protest, "Come on, princess. You can't keep dreaming for some prince charming to court you, do you? You know that's probably never going to happen right?"

Surely he meant only to tease her; that it was less likely that an actual prince to romance her. Not that she did not deserve the world; she does. And Bucky was more than will to burn it to the ground if that's what she wanted.

But, Y/N didn't see it that way. She thought that Bucky meant that she is not worthy enough for a decent man to court her with respect and chilvary; that she was just a toy fit for fucking and nothing more. And the fact that her "insomia" had affected her usually high patience and reduced it to almost paper thin, it was only fair for her to finally snap.

She can tolerate his endless flirtation but she can't simple turn a blind eye for his insult.

Bucky was caught by surprise why Y/N harshly grabbed him by the collar, pushing him back and nearly stumbled; her eyes was pure fire when she growled, "Don't you dare mock the way I value relationship, Barnes." Her nose flared with anger and the commotion has attracted some prying eyes towards the two.

"Just because you enjoy fucking anything that breathes, that doesn't mean that everyone else does." She seethed, "The only cock that will be wrecking my pussy would belong to someone I love and if you have a problem with that, you can fuck right off." She forcefully pushed him until his ass landed on the bench behind him.

Her feet stomped all throughout her exit out of the gym, leaving Bucky in a blinking confusion.

He knew it was wrong.

It felt good. It felt right.

But, it was so fucking wrong.

To keep moaning Y/N's name when he railed those strangers to heaven; when he came so hard into the thin layer of condom. And it was always a soft and slow type of whimper, right in those girls' ears. So intimate, so careful not to let his secret out; knowing how thin the walls between him and the love of his life.

But, he certainly didn't care about the girl he was fucking. If it wasn't for his heavy body pinning her from behind, she would've elbowed him right in the guts for moaning another woman's name. Unfortunately for him, she quickly ditched and see herself out after the first round.

Now, he laid there; naked and bare. Thinking of how he simply couldn't help it. How could he not think of Y/N all the times? Not when he was deeply, helplessly in love with her. But, he knew she wouldn't bat an eye at him now that he had the reputation of a "fuckboy", as the young ones describes it. She especially made it clear today at the gym. She's never going to give him a chance now.

Not when she's a hopeless romantic. And the fact that he too was once the same was just aggravating to him. He was such a gentleman decades ago; before Hydra, before the war, when he was but a young man living Brooklyn.

His Ma had really shaped him into the perfect gentleman; every parents in the neighbourhood wanted him as their son-in-law. They claimed he would make the perfect husband for their daughters. But, things are different now. And he knew that the man he was before was long forgotten.

It was just curiosity at first; about how sex works in the 21st century. However, Bucky quickly fall into the promises of lust and pleasure; changing girls like changing clothes. He let himself dosed in ecstasy, as if it was a drug to silenced the dark and haunting memories of his past, like it was a quick escape from reality, from the Winter Soldier.

Then, Y/N happened.

Bucky never saw it coming; but, he fell. Hard.

They were colleague for years and had been a good friend he can rely on besides Steve. She was so sweet and pretty. Probably the most gorgeous woman he ever laid his eyes on, in the hundred something year old life of his. Most importantly, she was kind and patient and strong and fierce yet so unforgivingly selfless. 

But that didn't matter now, does it? Especially when she despise him. And it was all because of the unholy title he held.

At first Bucky didn't notice it, but now that he stepped closer into the living room, he heard it again. The rustling fabric, the quiet whimper coming from the sofa. His steps were as careful as a wolf on a hunt, stalking a hiding prey in between the trees.

If Bucky were to guess what he would find on a late night trip to the kitchen, he would've probably said 'ice cream' and not 'Y/N sleeping in the living room'. His eyes briefly raked her sleeping figure, curling uncomfortably into the pastel purple blanket. Then at the scattered pillows on the floor around her.

Why was she sleeping in the living room?

Another whine passed her lips and his attention was locked on her frowning face; it seemed like she was having a bad dream. Bucky carefully crouch next to her, and ravel in her beauty. Such delicate features, long lashes, pretty freckles across her nose, and those soft looking lips; he would kill just to taste her them, to sink his teeth in between them.

It worried him though; to see her sleeping here. She was clearly uncomfortable, it was a mystery that she managed to even fall asleep in the first place. Bucky suspected she simply passed out due to today's training. It was particularly hard, even for him. Let alone a normal human being like Y/N.

Not to mention the fight that they had.

Then, it clicked. The complains about how she had trouble sleeping. It wasn't just to make fun of him or tease him in any way. It was a plead. She needed to be heard and he completely blew her off with jest and jokes.

"Was it because of... me?" Bucky thought to himself. It all made sense now, "Shit." A curse rang in his mind when he bit the insides of his cheek. He was mad at himself. How could he be so insensitive? And he claimed to love her? Please. What an absolute piece of shit he was.

When Y/N began to toss and turn, her blanket fell from her body. Even in her sleep, the cold managed to catch her. She instinctively curled towards herself, seeking warmth but was no avail.

She look so small and Bucky felt a surge of need to cuddle her close, keeping her safe, keeping her warm in his arms. But if he does that, he'd probably get kicked in the nuts. So instead, he picked up the fallen blanket lay it back across her whole body; carefully not to disturb her sleep.

Bucky smiled softly when she snuggled into the fabric and before he walked away, he swore to stop this corrupting habit of his and apologize for being such a douchebag to her. And if he's lucky, maybe he could even properly court her.

But for now, he just needed to go through tommorrow's mission. So does everyone one else in the team.

"Do you realized what you have done?" Not matter how hard he tried to hold it back, everyone in the Quinjet can see how Steve was seething.

Y/N's lost of sleep had took a toll on her more than she realized now that it had affected her performance in mission. She tried to ignore the way she was basically seeing Steve's feet multiply by the second, and continued to look down in shame, "I'm sorry, Captain."

"Don't apologize to me. Nat's the one who got shot because of you!" He yelled as he pointed at the red haired woman at the side of the plane.

No matter how much she wanted to blame Bucky on this; how he literally robbed her from fulfilling her human needs to rest at night, but she just couldn't. It was her fault that Natasha got hurt. If she was more alert, she would've seen the enemy standing right in front of her. If she was awake enough, then Natasha wouldn't get hurt.

Tears threatened to form when she looked over at her dear friend, bleeding at the side, "I'm so sorry, Nat. I really am. I didn't know what came to me and I--"

"Oh please, I'd take a bullet for you any day of the week, honey." Natasha swiftly cuts into her apology, in attempt to diffuse the heated situation.

But, Steve totally disagree with her, "Don't make this 'okay', Nat. You almost died because for her carelessness. Being inadequate shouldn't be okay for any agent to do. It is extremely reckless and downright stupid."

There was a sound of a distant gasp from the pilot pit, "Language!" Tony was clearly trying to lighten up the mood but it failed rather miserably when no one reacted.

Steve had every right to be mad, especially when his girlfriend was injured because of this, but oh does it hurt to hear his stabbing words. It hurts more when it comes from the Captain America himself.

God, she was extremely tired.

Physically, mentally and that's what happens when a person is lack of sleep. Then when she thought about all her hardwork and struggles to train amongst the superhero themselves, she couldn't help but to crack; and the tears that was building up in her eyes finally fell.

When Steve saw it, he lost it completely, "Oh, you're gonna cry now? WOW. Real mature, y/n. You can't disappoint me more can you?" At that point, he was being a little too mean for anyone's liking.

Especially Bucky.

So Bucky slowly pulled Y/N back, and shielded her body behind his as he went on face to face with his bestfriend, "That's enough, Steve." He warned but Steve doesn't seem to get the idea, "No, Buck. Do you see--"

Bucky took one step closer, his menacing glare went right through Steve's soul, "I said... that's enough." He repeated his words. This time the message went through.

Steve gulped and cleared his throat as he waved a dismissing hand, "I expect a full report and a letter of apology from you when we get back, y/n." He ended his sentence with his back turned and then walked away towards his girl.

When Bucky turned around to face Y/N, she was but a crying mess. Tears kept streaming down and her lips quivered in so much sadness. Now, that she was in the light, Bucky could see the darker shades on the bag of her eyes.

This was his fault. If he just stopped goofing around and listen to what she had to say yesterday, she wouldn't need to go through this, "Oh sweetheart..." though he meant to call her in his mind, it might just slipped through his lips.

Y/N glared up at him, "This was none of your concern, Barnes." She spat.

He shrugged, "Well, lucky for you, I don't care whose it is. What I know is I care about you. Now, let's get that wound patch up." Bucky simply said, and that was when she realized that her ribs were slashed open, bleeding and torn. Maybe it was not too deep, that was why she didn't notice it.

But it is an injury nonetheless, and it was a surprise to her that Bucky noticed it. "I don't want your help." She frowned yet continued to sniffle.

"Yeah, but you need it." He replied as he carefully tucked the loose strand of her hair behind her ears.

Unable to think of any comebacks, she let her fatigue win over. Her lips shut tightly and her chest shuddered for breaths. And when Bucky took her hand in his and lead the way, her body instantly responded by gripping him tight.

Bucky's heart soared at the touch of her small hand in his, while fire was burning in hers.

She hates him. She hates how caring he can be. She hates how soft he was when handling her. And she hates how easy it was for him to make her fall for him even more.

Y/N's body quickly went on auto pilot; she let him undress the blood soaking top and patch her wounds. And Bucky let her cry her heart out on his shoulder all the way back home to New York.

That night when everyone had settled back to their own rooms, Y/N was prepping to sleep outside again. It was like a schedule for Bucky to always fuck whatever his frustrations out when they finished a mission.

And she doesn't want to hear any of it. Not tonight.

Thankfully, her wounds were mostly healed thanks to Dr. Cho and her ingenious of a machine, Cradle. That thing fixed the teared tissue right up with its regenerative  functions.

Now, Y/N just needs to endure the bruises but those are bearable. What she couldn't bear is the lack of energy and goodnight's sleep. She wished to just pass out for days and not wake up even if a prince came to kiss her to wake.

And she knew that sleeping in her room won't give her that.

Y/N piled her pillows and blanket on top of another before scanning the room one last time to make sure she didn't leave anything behind. Because she was not planning to step foot in her room until dawn comes, hoping the sounds from the other side of the room died down by then.

When she was walking pass Bucky's, she noticed how awfully quiet his room was, but she didn't think about it too much. She waited for the elevator to open its door only to reveal the man himself, "Barnes."

He eyed how Y/N's figure almost hidden behind the piles of pillow in her hold. He stepped out as he asked, "Where do you think you're going?" Bucky knew exactly where but he was not having any of that.

It was weird to her that she didn't see any sign or Bucky's hook-up in his arms, but she bet that there will be one after she's gone downstairs, "Away from you, that's for sure." She said, taking a step into the elevator but instantly stopped the moment Bucky blocked her path.

Bucky lips flatten against each other; he didn't say anything, he only frowned down at her then simply grabbed her wrist and dragged her back to her room.

Utterly confused, "What are you doing? Hey, let go of me." She twisted her wrist in his hold, while trying to balance the pillows from falling. A useless trial it was; because who could even escape that metal grip of his.

Bucky quickly respond, "No. You're not sleeping on that shitty sofa tonight." He stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to her, "You're injured, y/n. You need on a proper rest on a proper bed." He coaxed.

How did he know that she had been sleeping on the coach? She thought before saying out loud, "I'm fine, Barnes. It's not even that deep of a wound, the Cradle fixed it clean. So, can you just... let go of my hand?" She sighed.

But Bucky refused to even spare her a glance, he silently tug her and stomp his way towards her room. There waa retaliation on her side, but his lack of response had lead Y/N to her defeat. She begrudgingly followed his long strides until she they stood by her bed.

He snatched each of the pillows and blankets off her hands, while Y/N simply blinked speechlessly as she watched Bucky started set up her bed like he had been doing it everyday.

Weirdly, at times like this, she found him extremely lovely. There was no corny and flirty comment about her, or his annoying habit of teasing every little thing she does.

There was just a comfortable silence and a kind gesture; the type that pulled the red strings of her heart just enough to make her want to dream of him.

Fucking hell, she can't believe that he managed to do that again! Making her fall for his antics. He really needs to stop doing that, it's simply rude.

Y/N broke from her love struck trance when she felt his cold metal laced around her hand again, he pulled her closer, "Now hop on, bunny. You need to rest." He lead her under the blanket and she grumbled curses under her breath, something about he need stop calling her weird nicknames like that.

When she was well tucked in and comfortable, Bucky sat at the edge of the bed by her side and spoke, "I'm sorry. For not trying to listen to you at the gym yesterday. I was a jerk."

His apology was so sincere that Y/N caught herself in a shock. Who is this man? What has he done to Bucky Barnes?

His eyes lingered to the wall behind her bed as if he was trying to find the right words to address it, "About the noises..." he trailed, "...it'll stop from now on."

Oh. Nevermind. She liked this Bucky. She wants to keep him forever, "Really? You mean it?" There weren't any effort put to hide her excitement when her voice nearly squeaked.

Bucky chuckled amusingly at her reaction, "Really, doll. But, you gotta promise not to sleep on the couch again."

Sparks of joy filled her chest when he confirmed his decision. Sure, it was such a small favour to do to anyone. But, she appreciate his efforts to make amends. "Hmm, I promise." She hummed happily, blinking slow as the comfort of her bed lured her into a drowsy state.

"Thanks, Bucky." Her mentioned his name.

Thank god for the super sensitive hearing ability, cause Bucky surely love the sound of her voice whispering his name so softly, "For apologizing or for tucking you to sleep?" He jest.

It only made her eyes rolled to the side and a smile spread across her face, "Both." she said. "And for what you did on the jet."

Bucky simply shrugged as if it was a normal thing to do. But, it wasn't. It was rare for him to challenge Steve like he did. And he did it for her, "Really, I owe you one." She said assuringly.

A playful smirk pulled on Bucky's lips when he spoke "Doll, you shouldn't be saying that so carelessly. Who knows I might use it for despicable things." Surely, he love to be the cause to bloom those red shades on her cheeks.

But it didn't happened when she asked quietly, "Will you?"

And the silence that came after was heavy with tenderness while their eyes spoke the truth to one another. As the thin lines in between got blurry, for once, there was just streams of genuine feelings pouring out of them, leaking through and contaminating the air with its magic.

Would he? Take advantage of her?

How could he though? He loved her too much to even think of purposely hurting her. "No." Bucky replied as he leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead, "Sleep well, princess." He mumbled against her skin.

And he pulled back, he grinned a cheeky smile. There it was; the pink blush on her face, wide surprise of her eyes and her slightly parted lips. She looked so adorable. He swore couldn't get enough of it.

"Kiss me again..." she nearly growled, but her blushing on her face didn't indicate anger, "...and I will choke you in your sleep." Though it was an attempt to threaten but typical of Bucky to just love to turn things around, "Hmm, is that an invitation, princess?" He purred and stole another kiss; this time, on her cheek. "Then, I will be looking forward to it." He whispered as quickly as he removed himself from the scene.

When he found his own bed, he couldn't help but to laugh at the muffled scream coming from the opposite side of the thin walls, "James. Fucking. Barnes!!!"

End.

Alternate ending (smut edition): Deleted Scene >>

Read my other works here: Masterlist

A/N: I hope you drop some thoughts behind before going to the deleted scene. Which I know you will. See you on the other side 👀

#jessybarnesreaches500 #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #avenger!bucky #fuckboy!bucky #bucky fluff #bucky barnes fluff #thin walls thin lines au

[hairyjocktf]

Filling the Roster

Aidan was just starting his second year at university. The summer home with family had been exhausting and he was pumped to be back on campus with everyone and to get back to his routine. Ever since going off to college he’d been trying to work on himself, including going to the gym for the first time in his life. He’d gotten into a good routine his freshman year but hadn’t managed to gain much muscle yet, to his dismay. He was hoping to change that this year. The first day of classes had been a snoozefest, just reading syllabi and some uncomfortable ice breakers, so he was ready to get out of the classroom and into the gym again.

He walked into the campus gym and glanced around to see what was open. He noticed what looked like the wrestling team in the back, hogging all the squat racks and making their presence known with obnoxious grunting. Making a mental note to avoid that area today, Aidan went over to the treadmill to warm up. He’d always been on the nerdier side growing up, and while he did have a year of exercise under his belt now, he still didn’t fit in with that kind of crowd. Aidan put in his earbuds and got to it, the next hour flying by as he did a mild total body workout to ease himself back in.

Satisfied with himself for the day, he grabbed his water bottle and headed to the locker room. Normally he hated changing here and would just walk home first, but he had a club meeting that evening and he didn’t have time to go all the way back. He walked in and was immediately assaulted by the stench, the room absolutely stunk of BO and sweat. Yeah it was a locker room but this was a bit much, he thought as he breathed through his mouth. The wrestling guys had evidently finished their workouts too, as the room was noisy from all their chatter and yelling. They’d left their gear scattered all over the benches and floor, leaving hardly any room for anyone else. Aidan rolled his eyes and squeezed his way through the chaos to an empty corner. Despite working out for an hour he hadn’t sweat much, he never did, so he skipped the shower. Midway through changing he realized the room had gone silent. He turned around to check if the wrestlers had all left but instead was greeted with a sight that made him freeze.

The entire team had gathered behind him and now stared at him. The biggest guy, who Aidan recognized as their captain, Beau, broke the silence.

“Hey pipsqueak,” he said with a shockingly deep voice for a college student, “We found out today we’re down a man this season. We gotta solve that ASAP, y’know?”

Aidan was confused and intimidated. “Uh… Sorry to hear that man,” he said with a crack in his voice. He took a step back only to hit the wall of lockers behind him.

“Yea it’s a real shame ain’t it,” the wrestler took a step towards Aidan. “It’s a good thing I’m a great recruiter,” he laughed to himself. There was an almost sinister grin plastered on his face. 

Aidan felt cornered, realizing that he was standing there in just his boxers. “What do you want with me dude?” He asked frantically as the wrestlers slowly closed in on him. The putrid stench in the room was only getting worse as the jocks came nearer. 

“Like I said, we need a replacement wrestler,” Beau replied, pulling a yellowed jockstrap out of his bag that was on the bench. “I think you’ll enjoy getting to know the team.”

Aidan’s heart was pounding through his chest, he didn’t know what they wanted with him but he knew he needed to get out NOW. His fight or flight (mostly flight) instincts were kicking in. He looked past the wall of jocks to the door of the locker room, about 20 feet away. Before he had a chance to act, two of the wrestlers pounced. They grabbed Aidan’s arms and held him in place as Beau walked up to him.

“What the fuck, let me go!” Aidan cried in distress, struggling against his captors. They were bigger and evidently much stronger than him, not letting him budge at all.

“Hush now, I think you have some real potential here, I’m just going to let that all out,” Beau told Aidan before grabbing his boxers and ripping them off. Aidan’s flaccid cock was on full display, as were the paltry few hairs he called his bush. 

“Well, I’ve seen worse,” Beau chuckled to himself. He took the dirty jockstrap in his hand and pulled it up Aidan’s legs letting it snap into place around his small member. 

“Let me go!” Aidan yelled, continuing to try and break free from the jock’s hold. 

“Just give it a moment,” Beau said, kneeling down to look closer at Aidan’s groin. Aidan’s struggling lessened as he noticed a strange sensation coming from his crotch that was seemingly getting more intense every second. It felt… good almost. No, it did feel good, it was almost like he was jerking off without even touching himself. He felt his dick start to harden as the sensation of pleasure grew.

Beau laughed, “There you go man! I knew you’d come around.” Those words barely registered in Aidan’s ears as he stared at his dick, watching it grow erect and push against the jockstrap as his body was flooded with pleasure hormones. It felt incredible, like his dick was growing harder than ever before. It in fact was, growing steadily past his previous five inches, reaching seven, eight, as it really started to tent the jockstrap. A tingling feeling arose within Aidan’s crotch at the same time as Beau leaned in to take a closer look.

“Aww yea, look at those pubes start to come in. Fuck that’s hot.” He watched as dark hairs sprouted out of Aidan’s mostly bare crotch, like thick weeds shooting out of his skin. Aidan groaned as the sensation of hair growing added to his already euphoric state. Hairs continued popping up across his groin, filling in denser and denser as they spread out. “Looks like our man’s goin’ through puberty right in front of us,” Beau said as he rubbed his hand through the sprouting bush. Aidan’s body shivered in pleasure, Beau’s touch seemingly encouraging more hairs to push out of him. The pubic hairs grew longer and curled together, climbing up the shaft of his now massive cock. Beau grinned as he noticed Aidan’s balls swelling, growing to the size of eggs, then tangerines as they stretched his sack and hung lower. That was just the beginning, as the same thick dark pubes wormed their way out giving him a thick coating. At this point the jockstrap was barely covering anything. Aidan’s now nine inch cock stood completely erect, tenting the fabric and letting his new bush explode outward. Those thick pubes were starting to produce their own musk, not too dissimilar from the general stench of the locker room. The hairs spread out even farther, beginning to climb up above his waistband and onto his stomach, as well as spreading to his inner thighs with a thick rug. Aidan hung in the jocks’ arms nearly limp, his cock dribbling precum like a faucet.

“Well I think this has served its purpose,” Beau said to himself as he pulled the jockstrap off Aidan, letting his thick cock snap up against his stomach. The flow of precum soaked the area around his navel, and where the precum had wetted his skin, more thick hairs began to crop up. Beau went back to his bag and exchanged the dripping jockstrap for a wrestling singlet. It was damp from sweat and being stuffed in Beau’s dank gym bag, and stank to high heaven. With the help of the other wrestlers, Beau got the tight singlet onto Aidan’s lanky body. It didn’t really fit, but there was an enormous bulge from Aidan’s recent developments. He pulled the shoulder straps and let them snap down onto Aidan’s bony clavicle. That immediately pulled Aidan out of his subdued hormone-fueled slumber. 

“Oh, god, oh, oh what the fuck,” he said, processing the past few minutes. Part of his brain was still in adrenaline mode, telling him he needed to BOLT, while another part was content with this situation, elated even. The longer he breathed in the musky air of the locker room the louder that voice became, and the more he wanted Beau’s hands back on him. He looked up away from his own body and made eye contact with Beau, a grin crossing his stubbled face.

“You already look good in that singlet man, it won’t take much now,” Beau told him. Aidan’s mind was running at light speed but his mouth was not on the same wavelength. 

“What are you-, why are-, how the-,” Aidan was trying to get his thoughts out when the pulsing, pleasurable sensation began to return. His words trailed off as he looked down at his own flat chest, watching with wide eyes as two muscular pecs began to push out. He felt his whole body begin to tighten as muscle started popping out all over. Pronounced bone disappeared under layers of thick muscle that began to fill out his form, and the singlet. What had previously been impressively slack for a spandex suit was now taught against his body, expanding as he did. His pecs grew sore as they continued to grow, blocking Aidan’s view of his lower half as they packed on size. On the new horizon of his chest he noticed something, tiny hairs were poking out of his mountainous pecs. They started small and slow but quickly began shooting up all across the vast expanse of his chest. The hairs itched as they grew in, Aidan wasn’t bothered, he was in awe at the forest that was engulfing his new muscles. He ran his hands through the growing hairs, pulling gently on the hairs as they continued their advance across his chest, working up towards his neck and down across his stomach. As the hairs matured they grew darker and curlier, tangling into a thick rug across his pecs. Beau watched Aidan become enraptured by his own jockification. He noticed a growing wet spot in his groin where the precum continued to leak out constantly.

Beau stepped back up to Aidan and planted his hand on his chest, feeling the growing fields of hair. That alone was enough to get a soft moan out of Aidan, putting a devilish grin on Beau’s face. He pinned Aidan’s growing frame against the locker before raising one of his arms up. What he found was underwhelming; a handful of light wispy hairs scattered across the armpit. That would have to change. He stuck his hand into his own sweaty, hairy pit and rubbed it around, coating his fingers in thick jock sweat and musk. He sniffed them just to make sure it was potent enough, and his body was never slacking in the sweat department. Taking his moistened hand he went back to Aidan’s nearly hairless pit and massaged the sweat in. Within moments he felt little prickles of stubble against his fingers. Beau saw dark pinpricks appearing across Aidan’s pit, spots that quickly erupted into thick, wiry hairs. The original wispy hairs grew dark and curly as the sweat did its work, and soon Aidan had a respectable amount of hair under his arm. But that wasn’t enough for Beau, he dug out some more musky sweat from his own pits to finish the job. Soon enough Aidan’s pit hairs completely coated the area, even reaching out to connect with the pelt on his chest. Beau’s fingers were combing through the thick hairs, gently tugging on them and pulling out more growth. Aidan moaned again; the feeling of Beau’s hands stroking his growing pit hairs was euphoric. He was slipping more and more from his old self as his body grew to love this new reality, the jock voice in his own head growing louder.

Beau was satisfied with the pit situation after he was able to smell Aidan’s newly produced stench from a distance. He stepped back and watched as Aidan’s body continued to adjust to the singlet. In the same way his pecs had ballooned, his arms began exploding with size. His delts, triceps, biceps, and forearms grew intensely sore as they put on years worth of bulk in moments. Aidan was finally starting to look like a wrestler who could hold his own on the mat. The definition on his new muscles was quickly hidden as hair began to sprout across his boulder shoulders and down his arms. What started as a few hairs popping up across his shoulders grew into a flood of dark hair that surged down his arms, and the singlet left it all visible for the crowd. The hairs continued growing denser, curling around each other as the hair began to resemble fur on his bulky arms; he would look like a total beast of a man in action. Aidan’s hands got the same treatment, his palms grew bulkier as his hands stretched out in size. He could hear the popping sounds of his growth but was too flush with hormones to care, barely registering the thick hairs growing on the backs of his hands. Beau could already tell Aidan was going to become one of their best wrestlers, with his immense size and build. All he needed was to let the inner jock blooming inside of him take control.

After the growth in Aidan’s arms slowed down, his legs picked up the slack. His quads beefed up, thighs nearly shredding the singlet with their girth. Beau watched as Aidan’s bulge twitched and leaked as his legs grew longer and thicker than they’d ever been. His feet began to stretch and grow, expanding to a size 15 before becoming covered by hairs. Those hairs raced up his calves and onto his thighs, leaving him with a thick fur coating for his tree trunks. Aidan had grown to the point where he could take most of the jocks on the team, almost rivaling Beau’s height and mass. Beau knew he’d made a good call with Aidan, he’d been so similar before he joined the team. He couldn’t help but rub his hands over Aidan’s furry legs, feeling the coarse hairs run through his fingers. He could feel Aidan’s heart rate increase. He almost felt envious of him, experiencing immense growth like this was a once in a lifetime event, and he knew Aidan was almost complete.

Aidan groaned as his body fully filled out the singlet, stretching it to its limit with his massive muscles. The fur that had coated his body felt incredible rubbing against the fabric, keeping his cock at full mast, pressed against the singlet so everyone knew. Beau looked him up and down; Aidan had the body of a tank, a heavyweight champion, but a severe case of babyface. Beau had an idea, he went back to his grab and grabbed his mouthguard. It was grimy and had a couple hairs stuck to it, but it’d do the trick. He grabbed Aidan’s pudgy face and opened his mouth, shoving the guard in. Aidan sputtered as he gagged on old spit and wiry hairs.

“Aw, the hell bro what was that,” he complained weakly. Beau smiled, he was already speaking more like a jock, and that voice was getting deeper. He watched as an Adam's apple pushed out of Aidan’s neck, cementing his new rugged voice. Aidan’s face started to darken a shade as the shadow of thick stubble spread across his jaw. It quickly pushed out, brown hairs coating his face. They grew longer and thicker, with more popping up between old ones, giving him an incredibly dense short beard. Aidan moaned as the hairs spread across his jaw and up his sideburns to his hair, which gained some lighter highlights and shortened into a more athletic style. His upper lip erupted with the same thick hairs, giving him a full short beard. His jaw squared up and his eyebrows grew bushier, before his ears grew and stuck out from his head more. He finally looked fully like a champion wrestler. Aidan stroked his hands through the dense growth, finally pushing him over the edge. His breaths quickened and grew louder as he climaxed, grunting as cum erupted out of his thick cock. It pushed through the fabric of the singlet, pouring down the front of it. The euphoric trance he’d been in began to fade, but the old Aidan was gone. He was Aidan the wrestler, a jock ready to conquer his path on the mat. Instinctually he flexed, showing off his beefy arms and hairy pits. The scent emanating from his pits matched the rest of the locker room now, and he took a big whiff of it out of habit, that manly odor really turned him on. Beau laughed and grabbed Aidan’s hand, pulling him upright. His cum was still dripping down his singlet onto the floor, adding to the pungent scent of the locker room.

“Welcome to the team bro,” Beau said, looking forward to their best season yet.

#male tf #hairy tf #jock tf #hair growth #hairy #hairy chest #hairy pits #beard #my writing

[glow-worms-are-believers]

Heya so this is Damian's pov in the chapter 16 of my fic Hostage situations and other romantic activities based on @iguessthisisanewobsession's prompt! I had it written out and though it doesn't fit in with the main storyline, I figured I'd post it here and link it in case anyone was curious. Feel free to ignore this if you haven't read the fic <3

Hope you guys enjoy:) (Spoilers ahead)

Damian’s head hurt. Zsasz had managed to get in a good hit before Damian had managed to knock him out, or at least what he thought had been a knock-out. He’d been sloppy and now the teen’s head was throbbing. At least, he had seen no injuries on Danny though the other boy had been very pale and looked unwell. 

That was another thing. Danny.

Gotham wasn’t a safe place for civilians, and metas had it even worse. That was true everywhere but in Gotham even more so; discrimination, increased risk of violence, even human experimentation. 

It wasn’t surprising that Danny would want to keep his abilities a secret. But something about the blast, how despite clearly having been instinct, the shot had been so very precise that Damian who had been pinned under Zsasz hadn’t felt more than a cold blast of wind made it seem as if there was more to it than that.

And right now, as he was perched up in the tree waiting for law enforcement, there was nothing to do but to speculate.

No, that was untrue, he thought as he took his phone out of his pocket. He could do more than that. 

He could research. And so he did. 

And found nothing.

Oh sure, there was a blurry picture here, an oblique mention there but no proof of existence beyond a social security number, a high school diploma, and one measly article.

No birth certificate, no social media, no medical file, not even a driver’s license.

It wasn’t that Danny Fenton was a ghost. It was more like he was a half-finished person.

Damian breathed out slowly. 

It wasn’t Danny’s powers that made him suspicious. It was everything else.

An hour later, Damian slid down into the now dark forest and started walking.

Damian looked up to see Danny coming down carefully. Damian steeled his expression into a neutral one, unwilling to let his thoughts play on his face.

“Daniel,” Damian started formally. “You went back to the school.”

That was a point in the boy’s favour; at least, he had not ran.

“Yeah,” Danny answered, too casually. “thanks again for saving my butt back there.”

Damian nodded, but abstained from saying anything further in favour of studying Danny’s expression. He didn’t seem any different but Damian knew appearances could be deceiving.

“So-“ Danny started but Damian wasn’t interested in small talk.

“I could not find a picture of you before your fourteenth birthday,” Damian stated clearly.

“Uh,” Danny stumbled. “Ok?”

“Nor could I find a birth certificate in your name.” Damian continued expecting a twitch, a frown, something.

“Yeah,” Danny answered calmly, waving. “Mom and Dad are terrible at paperwork.”

Alright. If that was how Danny would play it. Flimsy excuses could only go so far. 

“No social media, no bank account. Not even a tax return in twenty years.”

“IRS have given up long before I was born,” Danny answered airily. “And Amity’s not the safest place for technology.”

Damian studied the boy in front of him. He looked relaxed and mostly at ease. A bit confused, a bit tired if anything. And Damian wanted to believe it. 

Yet, both his instinct and his experience were telling him not to, and so Damian forged on.

“Why did you come to Gotham?” Damian asked.

“What?” Danny answered, once again frowning in confusion. “Uh, I’m here for school? I think I told you that.”

This was getting insulting.

“Do not lie to me,” Damian said, feeling something brewing.

“I’m not,” Daniel persisted in a stupid simplistic excuse. “I’m really here for school.”

Damian clenched his jaw, keeping his eyes peeled on the deceptive face in front of him. Damian had come for the truth and he was going to get it. 

“You truly had me fooled,” Damian stated as he slowly started to circle the other teen. “I did not suspect you for a moment.”

“What are you even talking about?” Danny said, but Damian wasn’t listening to more lies.

“Why did you approach me?” Damian asked asking from Danny’s side. Because that was the most logical explanation, no matter what Damian wanted to believe. It wouldn’t be the first time mother or another one of his enemies had sent someone to kill him. He had to consider the possibility. Danny turned to keep himself facing Damian.

“I didn’t,” Danny stressed, his voice almost snarling. Good. More likely to let something slip.

“Maybe so, but you did not turn down the opportunity to do so either.” Damian allowed, because it truly would’ve been a convoluted plan to manipulate Damian into choosing Danny.

“What,” Danny’s voice biting. “Like you left me any choice?”

Damian stopped short at that. He knew he could be forceful and overbearing but he would never force anyone to do anything like that. He was nothing like her.

“Damian,” Danny’s voice rose again, kinder, softer. “Im not sure what this is, and we can talk about it, I-”.

No. This wouldn’t work. Damian wouldn’t let himself be pacified like a child. “You have deceived me,” Damian reminded himself and Danny

“I haven’t,” Danny protested but Damian wasn't listening. 

“You are not who you say you are.” That was the truth. And no matter what he said, Daniel knew it too.

“Yes, I am,” Danny refuted strongly and Damian had had enough. There was one thing Daniel could no longer lie about.

 “Are you?” Damian asked clearly. “Tell me Danny, are you human?”

Danny flinched and Damian’s heart sank even as it confirmed what Damian already knew.

“That’s what I thought,” said Damian, more calmly than he felt.

“What does that mean?” Danny asked, still trying to pretend but Damian wouldn’t let him.

“It means, I am ashamed I let you get so close.”

It means I know, Damian thought. It mean there’s no use pretending. It means, please do not try. 

There was a moment of silence where Damian held his breath. For Danny to finally give it up and admit it.

Daniel took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. And Damian held himself straighter. Daniel opened his mouth but closed it again.

And then finally-

“Please leave,” Danny’s voice came and what was left of Damian’s hope froze over.

So this was it then. 

“Fine,” Damain said dispassionately. “I’ll send you the severance pay before the end of the week.”

“I don’t want it,” Daniel bit out and Damian could feel something ugly within him rear its head, and Damian let it take the place of the coldness.

“Waynes believe in tying up loose ends,” Damian said silkily. “It does not do to for past indiscretions crop up at importunate times.”

“Ok no. I’m done with this.” Danny stalked off, and it welled up again, poisonous and mean.

“I would be happy to give a recommendation to any new employer of yours,” Damian shouted. 

He knew he was supposed to be better than this, but he couldn’t help it.

“Screw you!” Danny yelled back and Damian snarled, stopping himself from punching at a tree or something equally stupid and emotional.

Whatever. He turned away and started walking.

It wasn’t like it had been a real relationship. It wasn’t like it had meant anything. Damian started running.

It had done what it was supposed to do, and really, Damian had gotten out of it exactly what he wanted. 

The thought did nothing to appease the empty feeling in his chest as he made his way back home.

#dp x dc #dc x dp #Might be too soon but I just gotta say that the progression from fake lovers to bitter exes is extremely funny to me #roxpox #roxpoxwrote

[gotham-daydreams]

your writing is fantastic !! absolutely obsessed with not here. but i have a question

so reader had been living with them for years, but how did they get adopted? at first i thought they were kidnapped by batfam/bruce but from reading other asks it seems like it was normal bruce adopting a random kid. is that right? lol

I'm glad you think so, and enjoyed "Not Here!"

As for your question:

I will say that the reader is officially adopted by Bruce Wayne (which does kind of tie in with how they were able to get so far in their musical career despite only performing/playing music to more larger-ish audiences (at least when compared to a small school talent show or something) for about 4 years- approaching 5 at the time of "Not Here").

I will also mention that how Bruce even found out about the reader might be a similar situation to that of Jason when he was adopted? Though more in the "he caught them in an unfortunate situation and doing something desperate because of said situation", and not necessarily because the reader lived on the streets or anything.

Though, basically, yeah!

It's really up to you folks, how you think the reader in "Not Tonight/Not Here" got adopted, but just know it wasn't a kidnapping... maybe :]

(Or maybe it was, and the reader just doesn't remember! Maybe their family was killed/seperated from the reader so Bruce could 'adopt' them! Who knows? The possibilities are endless!)

((Like I said, it's really up to you how you interpret the situation :] they could be adopted semi-normally, or be 'surprise adopted' and just not remember their previous life or even getting taken ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ))

What's really the most import part about the reader's backstory is that they've just lived with Bruce and the Batfam for a long while (before they were even double digits), during that time they were heavily neglected, and because of that they left.

I will also say that the reader is also a middle child and not the youngest in the fam, sort of adding to the angst as they see Bruce take in Damian and such, and paying attention to him, but not them. :]

Anyways, tldr: it's up to you, honestly. Either way, the years of neglect and absence of the Batfam in the reader's life is what's important. So, if the reader is 'surprise adopted' or not is really up to your own interpretation!

Hoped that answered your question! If anyone else has any questions, or if you have another question yourself, feel free to send in an ask!

#platonic yandere batfam #yandere batfam #yandere x gn reader #yandere dc #gn reader #sibling reader

[shinjisdone]

Any food scraps on Yandere riddle with a physically affectionate reader who despite being the teasing kind gets flustered easily?

Ok this is interesting. As much as I gush over Yandere Thorfinn and put Riddle above S Tier, I actually never thought of any of the TWST charas as Yanderes myself. I enjoy reading them as yanderes (especially Riddle!) But I never put any thought of how I would picture them as Yanderes. So yeah, these will actually really be food scrapes ;^^ hope its ok!

Yandere!Riddle With An Teasing, Affectionate But Easily Flustered!Reader

Ok. So. Yandere Riddle.

There are many variations but the one I see the most is an possesive Riddle who expects his object of affections to bend to his rules. It's the only correct way to be, the right way to live and the perfect way for Riddle to (consciously or unconciously) have a hold over them.

This is great but for me personally, I think it clashes with his character development on how he realizes that those rules are not supreme and that they have always somehow hurt him. They have hurt others. And unfortunely, he let his mother be his puppeteer in a regard, no matter how much he loves her.

So I think Yandere! Riddle would be someone who would try to not only guide but also protect. Find a way to not be hurt by those above you while still not straying from the path and falling into a rabbit hole.

I think in order for Riddle to even be a Yandere for you, you really have to be close to him. A childhood friend like Trey or someone he feels open and comfortable enough to call a very close friend.

So when you come in being affectionate and teasing, Im sure you'd have to be close to even feel comfortable doing that to and around someone as stern and not-so-sociable as Riddle.

Affections, yandere or not, are a bit startling to him. He does do physical contact but not to show 'affection' but to show 'proper ettiquette'. When someone offers their hand, he shakes it. When someone wants to join in on the tea party, he pulls the chair out. And when one wishes to be guided, he offers his arm, as the very scholared and upright student that he is, and teaches those in need of rules.

But high-fives, hugs and kisses are too...unfamiliar to him. Riddle will startle and blush a deep, crimson red before demanding what all of this is supposed to be. Why are you doing such things...out of nowhere?!

He doesn't know what to do in These situations...

But when it's from you, he realizes it is not so bad...

The scowl disappears and he notes how lighter his chest becomes even as his heart is skipping a beat. Not one but few! And more he realizes!

It's...good? And short and sweet like a strawberry tart...

Nevertheless how much he tells you to knock it off or silently endures indulges in your affection with a red face, Riddle will be very hesitant to show any affection back. It might take months.

You can teach him. But is still too much of an unfamiliar territory for him.

And teasing? Yeah, don't.

In this case, Riddle will feign anger but his face is just as red. He will pout and tell you to stop. He doesn't know what to do. If it were anyone else, it'd be long off with their heads. But this is you and you aren't just 'anyone'...

However, if one day he magically manages to fluster you? Things change.

It is...surprising. But so tenderly sweet. Your face flushed and your lips quivering, trying to avoid his gaze. The tables have been turned.

Riddle will experiment what he can exactly do to make you fluster. He sees it as payment and has a certain glee of Schadenfreude with him that starts off harmless.

When he realizes that you tease others, that you show affections to others and that others can fluster you...thats when he gets a bit insecure. And possessive.

There was something special about flustering the teasing one but now people like Ace seem to do so much easier. All of them can see your flustered, charming face.

Everyone gets a hug and a flick of their nose. You are one of his closest friends yet it doesn't...feel like it anymore.

Wasn't Riddle special to you?

Isn't that why you did all of that?

He puts you on a pedestal...sees you above the rules, protects you and wants you to have a safe and healthy life here in NRC. He would never do anything to upset you, let alone reign down the rules that have hurt him.

You can have all the tea and tarts you want. He'll allow you to come to any Unbirthday Party in whatever outfit you wish. You can hug and...kiss him, he doesn't mind it if it's you!

But he does mind that others get the same treatment from you.

Perhaps...one day he might create a new rule. Not officially, he isn't stupid. No, it'll be subtle without anyone raising any suspicion. Without you realizing that he wants your attention to be on him only.

'Do not tease anyone. Do not act inappropiatly at Heartslabyul grounds. Especially not guests'.

#Request #twisted wonderland #twst #Yandere twisted wonderland #riddle rosehearts #yandere riddle rosehearts

[strawurberries]

Hello Berry! I just wanted to slide a request your way cause I'm not gonna lie the fanfic you wrote with vash where the reader has stretchmarks almost had me in tears cause I'm so self-conscious about mine and it just made me so happy to read it.

So, I was wondering if I could have a fanfic with that same premise with nai? 🥺

I want all the plant boys!

🍰Anon (if it's okay to be called that)

Stretch Marks (Knives Version)

Summary: Knives find himself enamored with a little human quirk he was previously in the dark about.

Authors Note: Hello!! I'm so glad my writing was able to help you! That's really all I've wanted from my writing, to have people read it and feel better about themselves and/or just enjoy it in any way! I hope you enjoy this one just as much as my Vash one! (Also, you're totally welcome to be the 🍰 Anon) And, once again, here's your tag @blackkiwi :) hope you all love it !

Warnings: Mild nudity, sexual themes, self-hate

His fascination with the human boggled everyone, even his great mind was submerged deep in confusion; so much, in fact, that at first he was completely convinced they were an independent like him. There was no possible way a human could garner his attention (and later on, his affection) so, therefore, the only logical solution to this little puzzle was that she was, in fact, not human. Every moment—well, every moment he wasn’t brooding over the melancholic mood he had decided to live within—was spent thinking about her. She’s strange, kind, and unbearably interesting. It took a month or so for him to finally come to the conclusion—and accept said conclusion—that she was human, nothing more nothing less. Of course that realization was detrimental in so many different ways it would take a hundred years to write about the emotional turmoil and confliction he felt; but, on days like this, he supposed his feelings weren’t all that bad.

“Are you going to drink it?” She sipped on her tea and pointed at the steaming cup (it was ceramic and a painfully awkward blue that clashed with the entirety of her kitchen, but she said she bought it because “it reminded me of you”. Despite his protests, and the want for a different, less ugly cup, she had assigned him to the blue cup; and only the blue cup).

He looked at the murky liquid, “no.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want it.”

“So you just came all this way to stare at me?”

He huffed and took the cup, looking around at the quaint little house he had somehow found himself in. “I was in town. That’s all.” He really shouldn’t be here, more pressing matters nipping at the base of his heels, clawing at his back like starved, abused dogs. The world was begging him to leave, to complete his mission and his faith, but for the first time in a long time, he ignored it.

He took a small sip. 

She smiled, “Oh yeah, right. Just in town, decided to stop by. That’s the story you’re going with?”

“Because it’s the truth.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Nai.”

He didn’t know if he was annoyed she had the audacity to use a nickname, or excited at the prospect that she loved him enough to do so. “You’re the only one who’s ever said such a thing to me.”

“That’s because everyone else is too scared. You know, you’re a little bit intimidating.”

He couldn’t stop the indignant noise that left his throat, “a little?”

She set her cup down and pinched two fingers together, “just a tad.”

“A tad,” he deadpanned. 

“Sorry,” she grinned, “a smidge.”

He took another sip of his drink and ignored her. Bastardly human, he cursed in his head. If it had been anyone else, especially a human, that dared to tease him like that, they’d be dead before they knew it; sliced and diced into neat little squares, perfect enough for a tea party snack. Not that he ever had tea parties, or ate people, but the mental image alone was enough to ward off the majority of pests.

She grabbed her cup and walked over to the sink, rinsing it off before putting it away. She yawned and raised her arms, “it’s only seven o’clock but I feel exhausted.”

Nai looked up at her, swirling the cup in his hands idly. The tea wasn’t the best, nor was it something particularly homey or nostalgic enough to make him drink more, but she had poured her time and heart into creating this so, he supposed, drinking it was the least he could do. He took another sip before his eyes settled on her again, most of her body covered by the cup from his perspective.

She groaned, “I have to go to the market today. I’m running low on. . . well, everything. Or, oh no. It’s too late for that I guess. Tomorrow would be a good enough day to go.”

He finished the drink and set the cup to the set (still mildly upset at how ugly it was—the colors really clashed with the rest of the house. If it was his choice, he would’ve gotten rid of the mug ages ago and replaced it with something that matched his taste, or, at the very least, matched the aesthetic of the house). “You do tend to procrastinate.”

“Oh shut up,” she rolled her shoulders back, her shirt riding up ever so slightly. “Give me your cup.” She beckoned him with a wave of her hand.

He wordlessly handed it to her. 

She washed it, dried it with an old rag, and slid it in the cupboard next to her favorite mug. “Next time you get to do the dishes.”

He opened his mouth to respond, an insult whipping on the tip of his tongue, but he caught the sight of her bare skin. It looked softer than he had imagined, smooth and—he tilted his head, mind momentarily reeling at what he saw. Little markings, he blinked, like me. He didn’t know how or why, but his chest constricted and the only thing he could feel was the intense blazing emotion of curiosity and. . . something he couldn’t identify.

She has markings.

Like me?

Like me.

He stepped forward and grabbed the hem of her shirt, yanking it up to her chest. The fabric gave way easily enough, revealing what had interested him so. Swirls and lines decorated her belly, wrapping into each other like the galaxies he had seen oh so long ago. The only thing he could think of was how absolutely divine it looked. His view though, his beautifully artistic view, was interrupted with a shove and a loud gasp. 

“Wha–what was that?!” she grabbed her shirt and pulled it down, the fabric taunt in her grip, “usually you ask before you go taking people’s shirts off!”

He was focused on her now covered stomach, mind short-circuiting. “Show me again.” The sight was burned into the forefront of his mind, heart giddy with the possibilities. Maybe she was a plant, an independent. Or even, partially so—he’d take that, he’d take anything as long as she wasn’t human. . . would he? Suddenly his excitement turned into a mix of anticipation and anxiety. The thought of rejecting her for being something different from him, it made him sick for a moment. He may be a God, something divinity has blessed, but he was undoubtedly seduced by mortal wiles. Though, and he shoved this thought to the back of his mind, I don’t really mind. 

She shook her head, “no–wait, what am I even showing?”

“Those patterns,” he raised his head up, watching her intently, “I want to see them again.”

“Patterns?” she thought for a moment, before a strike of realization hit her face, “my stretch marks?” Her grip loosened every so slightly, before quickly regaining her previous strength.

“Whatever they are,” he raised his hand before pausing and bringing it back. I ask before I take her shirt off. “They’re like mine.” To drive his point home—and, really, looking back he doesn’t know why he gave her the courtesy of understanding his intentions, or his needs, but in the moment it felt right—he let his markings quickly show on the surface of his skin, a low bleeding blue edging out into the country house. 

She blinked and whispered, a child-like awe on her face. “can–can I touch them?”

She had known he was a plant since the day they met. He, stealing a dependent from a town, and her watching him with mild confusion and amazement. But she hadn’t seen this side of him—the destruction, hate, and blood, yes. But the somber blue and quiet hums of his soul? No. He hadn’t shown anyone that in a long, long time.

“I suppose,” he looked down at her, “as long as I can touch yours.” The deal was fair enough, he tried to argue in his mind, shoving away the anxieties and sickness at the thought of being touched. It’s all in the pursuit of his curiosity.

She puffed out her cheeks, hesitation clear in her eyes, “fine, but you can’t say anything mean about them okay?”

“Why would I be mean?”

“You’re always mean.” 

She reached out and touched his face gently, as if she was afraid he would disappear into the sand dunes that surrounded her home. She traced one line from the right side of his jaw to his nose, before trailing her fingers to his exposed neck. “You’re so pretty,” she mumbled. The skin under her became heated, flushed.

Whether it was a conscious decision or not, he leaned into her touch, the soft feeling of her fingers making his heart stutter. Several markings glowed brighter before he was able to shut them down, pushing his excitement—or, no, he wasn’t excited; he was disgusted that a human was touching him, that’s what it was (oh, what a terrible liar he is). Despite his momentary panic, he let her explore his face and neck, hoping the blue of his markings drowned out the red of his embarrassment. He didn’t have a real reason for why he was letting her do this to him, he should’ve stopped her a while ago, but it felt. . . nice. This was something he had’t experiences in years, a feeling so foreign he had nearly forgotten it. 

She pulled back, not missing the way he subtly leaned forward to feel her for a moment longer. “Why do you even want to see my stretch marks?” she whispered, fingers itching to touch him again. 

“Because they’re like mine,” he matched her tone, towering over her with no malice or hate, but silent admiration. The thought of her—her touch, her looks, her voice, by God, all of her, it entrapped him in a spell of nothing sort of Love. That's what it was, this feeling. Love. He could feel the anxiety in the back of his throat, the crumbling of his beliefs and ideologies, but those were problems for another day, right now? He was busy falling deeper into this sweet little hole he had dug. 

“No they’re not,” she laughed slightly, sadly, “yours are way cooler.”

He tugged at the hem of her shirt, this time asking, “can I?”

She sighed and let her head fall into his chest, “a promise is a promise.”

He resisted the urge to tell her that she needn’t keep her word if it caused her pain, that he would rather she feel happy than obligated. He didn’t though, the well of his curiosity ever growing. “You’re human,” he mumbled, less than gently tugging the shirt off her, “and yet your markings are so similar. . . so beautiful?”

“They’re not markings, well, not in the way you’re thinking of.”

The low light of the setting sun barely reached the windows, slowly plunging them into darkness. Without thinking he grabbed her hips and hoisted her up, momentarily enjoying the sounds of surprise she made as he put her down on the counter. His hands resumed his search, trailing the pads of his fingers across her belly in a loving motion that he had never known he was capable of. “What are they then?”

“Stretch marks.”

He huffed, “explain.”

“They’re like little scars that appear when our skin stretches too fast. I think it can happen when our skin shrinks too? I don’t really know the specifics. I just know they’re annoying and ugly.”

He paused, bringings his hands up to grip her chin, “what?’

She blinked at him owlishly, “what. . .?”

“Are you calling me ugly?”

“Wha–” she let out a laugh, “when did I say that?!”

He ignored the happiness that stabbed his heart when she laughed. “I said our markings are the same, if you say yours are ugly, you are calling mine that as well.”

She thought for a moment, “I guess that makes sense, but you’re forgetting one thing.” She raised a finger and tilted her head, a little grin on her face—the expression did nothing to hide her fear and anxiety.

“What may that be?” he said with a hint of amusement, fingers still holding her jaw.

“You are handsome, I am not. So the markings look different between us. I’m not calling you ugly, don’t worry. You’re actually quite attractive.”

He frowned and leaned forward, forcing her to place her hands behind her on the counter in order not to fall. “You’re right. You’re not handsome.”

She rolled her eyes, “so romantic.”

“You’re stunning,” he savored the squeak of embarrassment that left her mouth, a knowing smirk on his face. I want to hear more, he thought as he trailed down to her stomach, kissing each mark on her belly, “beautiful,” he muttered. “Your loveliness cannot be described.” He reached the band of her pants, hooking a finger around it before he remembered his manners. “Can I?” He looked up at her, grin still present and eyes twinkling with something she couldn’t describe. 

“Y–yeah,” she whispered. 

He didn’t go any further, tilting his head with a waiting expression. 

“What?” she tried to hold his eye contact but it became too intense, and she looked away, chest starting to rise and fall rapidly. What have I gotten myself into?

“Look at me,” he commanded, pleased when she obeyed without a second to spare. He should talk to her like that more often, maybe indulge in her flesh if she listened so deliciously like that. “I heeded your words, didn’t I? You said I have to ask before I do things like this, yes?”

She nodded.

“Say you’re proud then.”

“I’m proud,” she stumbled out, all hints of her teasing nature drowned out by her bewilderment (and pure, unrestrained excitement).

He pulled back, trapping her in between his arms, “that’s boring,” he muttered, “come up with some creative praise. I’ve been so nice to you, haven’t I? Isn’t it only fair?” He whispered in her ear, laughing at the shiver that racked her body. With a hum he trailed back down her body, saving his softer affections for her stomach, her marks.

He reached her pants again in no time, looking at her expectedly.

“You’re beautiful,” she blurted out. 

“Not good enough.”

“Divine,” she uttered. 

“Think, Darling, or else I’m going to stop right here.” He played with the edge of her pants, thumbing the material as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. God, how he loved to play with her.

“Y-you’re,” she tossed her head back and groaned, mind flying as she tried to think of a compliment. After a moment she wrapped her legs around him, making him give her a questioning hum, and grabbed his face. “You’re my God,” she whispered, “mine alone. You’re wonderful and strong, a holy being that I am blessed to have around me.” 

He could’ve sworn he died at that moment—and if he had, he would’ve gone happily.

She buried her face in his neck, practically whining with embarrassment. “I can’t believe you made me say that.”

He wrapped an arm around her, pressing her into the counter, collecting himself before he spoke, “that was good. I knew you’d learn eventually.” With a deep, burning red, he hid his face in her stomach, going back to tracing her stretch marks. Faint blue markings glided up his neck, curling around the flesh of his face—he didn’t bother to stop it this time. With a single motion he helped her rid herself of her pants, letting out a deep sigh when he saw the rest of her markings. 

“You didn’t say you had more.”

“Well,” she finally gained her confidence back, letting out a huff, “you never asked.”

He, with the same awe and amazement as earlier, observed her thighs as if he was a starved man, denied of any mortal pleasures (though, he supposed he had never done anything like this before). “I want to see all of them,” he tugged at her underwear, “they’re too beautiful to hide.” If it was up to him, he'd have her naked in his presence all the time, solely for observing how heavenly she looked.

She grabbed his hand and snapped it away, “you didn’t ask that time.” 

He tilted his head and smiled wickedly, “I guess I didn’t hmm? Where are my manners? Here, can I see all of you? Bare and unobstructed?”

She gripped his hands and turned her head away, “you’re a bastard.”

“That’s not a compliment,” he whispered.

“You’re my bastard.”

He laughed, a sound she cherished deeply, “that doesn’t count.”

#this is the first time I've written for his chr #so I hope i was able to do him justice #trigun #trigun stampede #trigun anime #trigun manga #Knives x reader #Knives x you #Knives x y/n #Knives #Nai x you #Nai x reader #Nai x y/n #Knives trigun #trigun Knives #trigun x reader #trigun x you #trigun x y/n #trigun fanfiction #trigun fics #trigun fic

[thewhiskersonkittens]

You Know Why

Pairing: Nick “Goose” Bradshaw x Female Reader.

Summary: You’re a sexy sweetheart with a past and a toxic boyfriend. Goose sees that and wants better for you. Why? You know why. ❤️

Warnings: Fluff, romantic, hurt/comfort, reader has jerk boyfriend, toxic relationship, some curse words, punching, Goose becoming “Mr. Steal Your Girl”. ;)

Word Count: 4,787

A/N: I couldn’t come up with a name I liked for Reader’s boyfriend in this so he’s just “Boyfriend” LOL. The word “Squid” used in this story is a common nickname for Navy sailors, usually intended as a mild insult. This idea comes from the 150 Random Writing Prompts list by @writinginstardust​.

“Don’t go on that date.” “Why?” “You know why.” “Say it.”

“Blue Hawaii” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley. 🎵

I really like this one. 😍  I hope you enjoy! :)

Lieutenant JG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw thought he always knew what his type of girl was. He wanted one that shared his sense of humor and values. Someone who didn't mind his silly antics with his best friend and someone who could understand how important his service to the Navy was to him. Someone he could feel comfortable with introducing to his mother. He let his friend, Maverick, chase the hot-to-trot bombshells. As nice as they were to look at, Goose knew he didn't want the hassle and drama those types inevitably came with. Or at least that's what he thought until he met you.

You worked at a little hole in the wall BBQ restaurant near the docks. The wall decor was tacky and the air always had the lingering scent of cigarette smoke. None of that mattered to Goose. The pulled pork sandwich was to die for and best of all, the restaurant had an old upright piano in the corner open for anyone to play. At least that's what he told himself on the reasons why he kept coming back. You were leggy and buxom. A "body built for sin", as they say, or even for the pages of a girlie magazine, as it was rumored you had once posed nude in one.

"I'm telling ya, man! I've seen her in there as Miss March, like, a year ago." Wolfman once told Goose during a round of locker room talk.

 "Yeah, you say that but you fail to come up with the evidence." Hollywood chimed in, laughing, while Wolfman claimed he no longer had the magazine to prove it.

 "Mother Goose got the hots for a centerfold?" joked Slider.

 "She's not a centerfold." Goose flatly stated despite not being quite sure of himself. He didn't know why he suddenly couldn't come up with one of his quick quips. "She's not..."

 As if reading his friend's mind Maverick spoke up.

"Hey, so what if she is?" He said to no one in particular.

"Like any of you horn dogs really care?"

Maverick turned and smiled and nodded at Goose who returned the nod. The conversation went in another direction and all was quickly forgotten. Except Goose didn't forget. He couldn't stop thinking about you.

Your story was that you had moved out to California from some small town in the Midwest. Like many girls before you, the bright lights of Hollywood had attracted you and your ambition was to make it as an actress or a model. Needless to say, your Tinseltown dreams never panned out. Not wanting to go back home but no longer able to afford L.A., you relocated south to much more laid back San Diego.

It really didn't matter to Goose whether or not you'd been a centerfold or whatever else was in your past. That was the least of it. His real problem was with that goddamn boyfriend of yours.

...

Goose sat on the piano bench in the restaurant, messing around on the keys, lazily playing whatever song came to his mind. It was early on a Friday night and the place seemed deserted at the time. It was only him, the bartender, and one other patron who looked half asleep at the bar. 

Goose hummed a few notes. From where he sat, he could see the small parking lot. He saw you sitting in the passenger seat of your boyfriend's Trans AM. Even from the distance, Goose could feel the tension. Your arms were folded across your chest, your face turned away from the guy in the driver's seat. The RIO watched your boyfriend's lips move. He was yelling at you, that was for sure. It made Goose shift uncomfortably. He didn't like it when any man raised his voice at a woman. You turned and said something back to your boyfriend, your face did not look happy. You turned again and made an attempt to exit the car, when the guy grabbed your arm. Goose felt ready to jump up to your defense but you quickly shook your boyfriend off and got out of the car in a huff. You slammed the passenger door so hard it rattled the car windows. Your boyfriend peeled out moments later.

You opened the door and stomped inside. You were so fired up you didn't even notice Goose sitting there at the piano until he casually said:

"Trouble in paradise?"

You froze and looked at Goose. He was in jeans with a T-shirt and a blue Hawaiian shirt.

He kept his eyes on the piano keys.

"Goose." You said. Just seeing him made you calm down a bit.

You walked over to the piano and stood next to him.

"Where's your partner in crime?" You asked.

Goose smiled and glanced at you over the bridge of his aviators.

"Mav? Oh, I imagine by now he's probably shacked up with some lady he picked up at the O club."

Goose paused and quickly added: "I mean, he had a date. Yeah, that's it. A date."

You chuckled as he winked and hit some keys trying his best to imitate the sound of a comedic rim shot.

"Have a seat, honey." He offered, nodding to the bench.

You had some time before your shift started. You slid your purse strap off your shoulder and rested it on top of the piano as you took a seat next to Goose.

"Everything OK, Y/N?" Goose asked, cautiously. He made it no secret he was not fond of your boyfriend at all.

You nodded and said: "Yes. I'm fine, Nick. Thanks."

He didn't press and you didn't offer anymore.

You reached out and touched a few keys.

"I never learned to play an instrument." You told him, changing the subject.

"It was just never a thing in my house. Growing up."

That was another thing. You didn't like to talk about your family.

He had been struggling all night to figure out what to play. "Great Balls of Fire" was his favorite song but sometimes he felt like switching it up.

Wanting to lighten the mood, an idea popped into his head and he started playing.

"Night and you/And Blue Hawaii/The night is heavenly..."

He turned and and smiled at you and continued singing:

"And you are heaven to me."

You felt your heart flutter and your cheeks blush.

"That's my favorite Elvis movie. Blue Hawaii." You mentioned.

"Yeah? It was on TV in the rec room last night." Goose said.

"I've always wanted to go there." There was a wistful tone to your voice.

"To Miramar's rec room?" Goose suggested. "It's nothing special. Let me tell ya."

You laugh. "No, you dork! I meant Hawaii."

Goose smiled and kept playing.

"You mean you've never been?!" Goose asked like it was impossible.

"Well, we should go! And WHO are you calling a DORK, missy?!"

You laughed and shook your head at his silliness but he went on.

"No, seriously, let's go, Y/N. It's beautiful! You'll love it! We'll go to Pearl Harbor first. Gotta pay our respects."

You giggle. "Of course, Goose."

"That's right! And then we'll do all the touristy shit, ya know? Like, we'll go to Waikiki Beach. It's crowded as all get out but don't worry we can still have fun. We can go swimming or surfing or snorkeling. Whatever you want, babe."

Goose winked at you as he continued to tickle the ivories. You couldn't help but smile. The man always knew how to make you smile.

"We'll go to a luau," Goose said. "Eat some pig that's been in the ground for half a day. Drink as many of those fruity drinks you like."

Playing along, you joke:

"Yeah and maybe if we're lucky we'll both get... Lei-ed."

Goose stopped playing and let out one of his loud, wild, and infectious laughs.

"Oh, baby!" He cackled. "At this point, I'd settle for a hula girl shaking her grass skirt in my face. But yes, ma'am!" He drawled.

"I always appreciate a nice lei." He gave you a knowing look over his sunglasses.

"You and me both, Navy man." You winked.

"Great Balls of Fire!" Goose quickly slid his hand back and forth across the keys so it made a range of notes.

You both loved the way you flirted with one another. Not so much in an overt sexually charged way but in a more tongue-in-cheek way.

"You're sweet, Goose. But I know it's all just a pipe dream." You sigh.

"Why do you say that?" He asks, softly, eyes still on the keys.

A beat of silence passes between the two of you.

"You know why." You replied.

"It doesn't have to be that way, Y/N." Goose replied.

Something about the way he spoke and the soft melody he was now playing made your heart feel like it was melting.

Changing the subject, you glanced at your watch and said you better get going but he gently touched your arm, stopping you.

"Wait," Goose said. "C'mere. I wanna show you something."

He patted his lap.

You raise an eyebrow. "What?"

"C'mere," Goose repeated, smiling. "This won't take long, I swear."

He pushes the bench back a little bit so you could stand up and sit on his lap.

You shoot him a quizzical look as you settled yourself on his lap. You feel butterflies dance in your stomach as he pulls you closer and his arms cover yours.

"This will be your first piano lesson." Goose tells you.

You laughed and turn to look back at him. "What?! Are you serious?"

"Don't worry, honey, it will be a freebie lesson. After that, I'm afraid I'll have to start charging. A guy's gotta eat, ya know?"

You can't help but giggle as Goose reminds you that you had just mentioned how you always wanted to learn an instrument.

"Yeah, but not right now!" You exclaimed.

"Oh, hush," Goose replied. "You're being a very difficult student to work with, young lady."

He turns you back so you are facing the piano. He places your fingers on the keys and rests his hands on top of yours.

He leans his head over your right shoulder and guides you on which keys to play. You can feel his breath hot in your ear.

The notes you make don't sound nearly as good as when Goose plays.

"That's all right, darlin,'" He coaxed. "It's a little awkward your first time but you practice enough and it will come more naturally."

He really didn't intend that as innuendo but you both catch it and chuckle.

Goose worked the pedal below while you kept trying the keys he taught.

"I'm no good at this," You comment.

"Here, let me show you."

Goose takes your hands off the keys but makes no indication that he wants you to get up so you stayed seated in his lap.

His arms flanked around yours and he shifted his body to scoot closer to the piano and you could feel his chest flush against your back. You caught a faint whiff of his woodsy cologne.

He started to play but he wasn't playing the same thing as before.

Gradually, you recognized the tune and it all started to click.

"Wise men say/Only fools rush in/But I can't help/Falling in love with you."

Goose sang softly in your ear.

You didn't realize you were holding your breath until you let out a sigh.

Sitting there in Goose's lap with his arms around you, the warmth of his body heat, his smooth singing voice serenading you, it felt so good. You felt warm, safe, and loved. Things you hadn't felt from anybody in a long time.

As Goose continued to sing, you closed your eyes and surrendered to the moment. Soon he was slowly rocking you side to side to the music. His face was so close to yours, you could feel his mustache brush against your skin.

"Take my hand/Take my whole life, too/For I can't help/Falling in love with you."

Goose finished singing and you both sat very still for a moment. Slowly, you twisted around to face him. He lifted his aviators up and rested them on top of his head. Your noses were practically touching. You were both staring at each other's lips. You both were breathing heavily.

You both wanted to say something but couldn't. You felt your bottom lip tremble but whether it was from anxiety or anticipation, you weren't sure.

Goose reached up and pressed his thumb to your lips and brushed it back and forth. Just when you felt like you couldn't stand it any longer, he leaned in and your eyes closed anticipating his kiss.

"Hey, Bradshaw!"

The voice of the restaurant manager made the two of you jump. It gave you such a jolt of surprise that you accidentally tipped backwards, catching yourself on the piano keys, resulting in a medley of sour notes. Goose reached out and helped you steady yourself.

"Are you gonna turn my waitress loose any time this year?"

The manager joked. He was a friendly, middle aged man.

"Dinner crowd's gonna be coming in shortly." He explained, his head sticking out from the kitchen door.

You watched as a range of emotions crossed Goose's face as he tried to pull himself together. He also had got lost in the moment before and had forgotten where he was. It was such an easy thing to do for both of you when you spent time together. He swore under his breath.

"Uh, yeah!" Goose called out your boss. "Sure thing, man! She's all yours."

Goose reluctantly released you. The piano bench made a scraping noise across the title as he pushed away from the instrument to allow you to stand up.

You gathered your purse and turned back to Goose. He remained seated on the bench, looking up at you with wide brown eyes.

"Thanks for the piano lesson, Goose," You tell him. "I gotta get to work now. See you around."

"Y/N, wait."

You shake your head no and started to move away as he stood up.

"No. I'm sorry, Nick."

Was it your imagination or did your voice just crack when you said his real name? It must have because you noticed the change in Goose's face. His brown eyes, reflecting concern. You both knew you only called him by his real name when you were being serious.

"I'll come back." Goose said. "Later. Tonight. When you're off."

You sigh. "That...That wouldn't be a very good idea. "

Goose inhaled and exhaled a very audible sigh of frustration.

"Your boyfriend? Is he coming back?"

You nodded.

"Look, I just don't want there to be any trouble..."

"Trouble?!" Goose repeated. He motioned to himself, trying to lighten the mood.

"C'mon. Do I honestly look like trouble?"

There was a beat and he added:

"OK, so I DO look like trouble but that's only when I'm with Maverick. He's a bad influence on me. Other than that I'm an angel, baby, I swear." He made a show of crossing his heart.

"Yes," You chuckle. "Yes, you are, Goose."

Damn this man, you thought. Damn this irresistibly charming, handsome and heartwarming man.

"Go to work, honey," Goose said. "I'll come back. "

...

Shit. Goose thought. The chance was right there and if it hadn't been for the worst timing in the world from your manager, you two would have kissed. One thing was made crystal clear: you felt the same way he did.

Goose never thought of himself as the type that would deliberately swipe another guy's girl. Tonight that was going to change. His reasons were valid. He was coming back and he didn't care if it started "trouble" or not. He wasn't afraid of your boyfriend and you shouldn't be either. You deserved better and he was going to give it to you. He was going to make you his.

All throughout your shift you couldn't get your mind off of Goose and the almost kiss you had with him at the piano. You kept replaying the scene over and over in your head. Oh God, how much you wanted him. And he wanted you, too. You told him not to come back but you hoped he wouldn't listen.

Please come back, Goosey. Baby, please.

You clocked out and when you walked out into the dining room, you felt your heart soar like a F-14 launched off the catapult.

Goose was waiting for you.

"Hey," He said, smiling. "I'm back."

"I see that." You said.

You wanted to run to him. You wanted to jump in his arms and plant kisses all over his pretty face but you restrained yourself.

He offered you his arm.

"C'mere. Walk with me awhile."

You walked together down to the pier. The night had a warm, balmy breeze. You both stopped along side the railing looking out at the twinkling lights of the passing boats.

"He's coming back to pick me up." You blurted, referring to your boyfriend.  You were looking to break the awkward silence. You turned to face Goose.

"He's taking me on a date," You explain.

Goose only nodded and listened to you explain how your boyfriend had been asking you to move in with him. He had been starting to get very adamant it and it was causing problems, among other things.

"Does he hit you?" Goose asked, carefully.

You shook your head no.

"Don't lie to me, Y/N. You can tell me. You know that."

"I would never lie to you, Goose. You know that."

Goose nodded.

"I know you wouldn't, baby."

There was something about the way he said that. It was so firm yet so warm and gentle. You felt your eyes well up with tears. You managed to kept them at bay.

"Look, Y/N," Goose started. You wondered if you were finally going to discuss what almost happened at the piano earlier.

"Do me a favor." Goose stated, taking your hands in his.

He hesitated before looking you square in the eyes.

"Don't go on that date."

You stood there for a moment, holding hands and eye contact.

You felt your bottom lip tremble again.

"Why?" It was all you could manage to squeak out.

"You know why."

Goose reached up and brushed his thumb across your lip.

You couldn't take it anymore.

"Say it."

To your surprise, Goose shook his head no.

"Say it," You demand. "Say it, Nick! Say it!"

Goose kept shaking his head.

"No, honey. I'm done talking."

Before you knew it, his lips were on yours. You immediately surrendered to his embrace. Your hands were moving all over each other. He pulled you as flush as he could to his body. You let your hands slide up his sides, over his neck and into his hair. You had wondered before what kind of kisser he would be. He did not disappoint. His tongue danced with yours over and over in the most tender and loving way. A moan escaped from your mouth and Goose squeezed you tighter.

Goose reluctantly released you when it became necessary to breathe again.

Your eyes fluttered open. You both were panting steadily.

"Oh, Goosey," You whispered.

You hugged him again, pressing your face into his chest. You felt his arms wrap around you, feeling like a cozy blanket .

"Talk to me, honey," He soothed. "What is it?"

"I've made so many mistakes in my past." You told him. "I'm not proud of the things I've done."

Just thinking about your life back in L.A. made you want to cringe.

You looked at the gold cross that he wore on a short chain around his neck next to his dog tags. You reached up and rubbed the pendant between your fingers.

"I used to go church," You said, not sure why you were telling him this. "I used to be a good girl. Once upon a time. You're such a good man. You should get yourself a nice church girl, Goose. A good girl."

Goose cupped your chin and tilted your head to make you look up at him.

"I don't need to do that. I already got a good girl."

You were both smiling when he leaned down and kissed you again. He wanted to communicate through the kiss. He wanted you to know nobody was perfect, everybody has made mistakes, it didn't matter what your past was, the time was now and that's all that mattered.

The kiss was abruptly interrupted when a booming voice from behind said your name.

"Y/N?! What the HELL is going on?!"

You froze stiff. Goose immediately pulled you off to his side, moving in a defensive position in front of you. His protective mode had been activated.

There was your boyfriend, standing there just a few feet away.

He was shooting daggers at you with his eyes.

"I've been looking all over for you. Your boss said you left thirty minutes ago?!"

His glare found Goose.

"And who the fuck is this clown?!" He was looking at the aviator but speaking to you.

You felt your stomach knot with fear. You didn't want there to be a scene. You didn't want anyone to get hurt.

"No, no, no, pal," Goose answered, waving his index finger, voice dripping with sarcasm. "There's only one Bozo around here and it ain't me."

Your boyfriend put his hands on his hips and squinted his eyes.

"Oh, a real funny guy, huh? We'll see what's funny when I knock that shit-eating grin off your face."

You clutched Goose's arm. He looked back at you and touched your hand, reassuring you it was OK.

Turning back, Goose could only find amusement in the situation. Guys like your boyfriend were a dime a dozen. Their bark was always worse than their bite.

"Y/N, I asked YOU a question." Your boyfriend spat.

"He's my friend," You simply said.

Your boyfriend moved closer. Spotting Goose's dog tags, he scoffed.

"He’s one of those squids, huh? I should have known. Boy, you'd really screw anyone, won't you? All right, you had your fun. Come on. Let's go."

He had the audacity to stick out his hand, expecting you to take it.

You shook your head.

"No."

Your boyfriend's eyes widened with disbelief.

"What?!" He was not accustomed to being denied.

"No," You repeated, much louder. "I said no!"

Goose felt his heart swell with pride at your new found confidence.

Your boyfriend let his arm drop. He threw up his arms in frustration.

"I can't believe this bullshit!"

"Believe it, brother," Goose gloated. "You heard the lady. She doesn't want you anymore."

"Hey, asshole, " Your boyfriend pointed his finger at Goose. "Nobody is talking to you!"

"Yeah, well, I AM talking to you," Goose quipped. There was an edge to his voice he didn't use very often but he still maintained his composure.

He knew nothing made a pissed off person more angry than someone who wouldn't take the bait.

"She doesn't want you here. I don't want you here. That gives you one option: Go away and don't come around ever again."

Your boyfriend edged closer. To your surprise, Goose did the same.

With the two men standing in front of each other, you noticed how Goose was taller than your boyfriend. Goose had his shoulders squared and his chest was puffed out like a peacock. He wasn't exactly a super buff guy but he did have a decent build.

You watched in awe at the display in front of you. You never had two guys fighting over you before.

"Oh, yeah?" Your boyfriend whined, peering up at Goose. "What are you gonna do about it if I don't, hot shot?!"

Goose grinned so wickedly it was almost a little unnerving. He started chuckling. "What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?! " He mocked.

He began cracking up.

He turned around to you and called out: "Hey, Y/N! Your boyfriend here wants to  know what I'm gonna do!"

You thought maybe Goose suddenly lost his marbles and your boyfriend looked just as perplexed.

Just as quickly as he started, Goose stopped laughing, turned back and violently snatched your boyfriend by his shirt collar, catching him completely off guard, lifting him off the ground. The action made your boyfriend yelp and you audibly gasp.

"Fuck around and find out." Goose told him, very matter-of-factly.

He released your boyfriend without warning and the man stumbled upon impact with the ground.

He looked visibly shaken up. You suddenly laughed. Mostly at yourself at why you let him bully you for so long. You walked over and defiantly linked arms with Goose.

Your boyfriend's panicked eyes flickered back and forth between you and Goose. You both waited to see what he would do next.

Nostrils flaring, he yelled: "Fine! Fuck it! You can have her, man. I was about done with her ass anyway." He told Goose.

He shot one more glare at you. "Fuck you, bitch!"

The last thing he saw was Goose's fist coming toward his face. It connected with his nose so hard it sent him flying backwards. He fell flat on his back on the pier, knocked out cold.

You gasped and turned to Goose. He was groaning, flexing his hand, rubbing his knuckles, trying to relieve the pain.

"I hate it when it does that!" He said, humorously, as if his hand had a mind of it’s own.

"I don't take it very well when somebody talks to my girlfriend like that."

You looked from your new boyfriend to your now ex-boyfriend laying splayed out.

 "Is he going to be all right?"

Goose shrugged.

"I suppose so. Don't worry. He's still breathing. He'll walk it off. C'mon, let me take you home."

...

You walked back to the restaurant parking lot with your arms wrapped around each other's waist.

"I didn't know you could fight like that." You said, curiously.

"Yeah, I used to box a little bit while I was in Annapolis." Goose explained.

"I gave it up because I didn't want to screw up my hands. I like playing the piano more than boxing. It's good to know I still got it, though!"

You give him a sultry glance.

"I got to admit it was pretty hot." You give him a nudge.

Goose laughed and made a playful growl in your ear which made you giggle.

"That get your motor going, baby? I'll have to remember that."

"You're a little bit of a lover and a fighter, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

As you reached the parking lot, there was one burning question still on his mind.

"Can I ask you a really, really random question?"

"Shoot." You reply.

"You used to do some modeling, right? Back in L.A.?"

"Yes?"

You both stop walking when you reach Goose's car.

He chuckled nervously while he scratched the back of his head.

"So were you ever in a magazine? By any chance?"

You laughed and regard him curiously. You folded your arms across your chest and gave him a pointed look.

"What kind of magazine are we talking about?"

" Hehehe... " He chuckled. He wonders if he's going to regret this but he just has to know.

"You know," He said. "A girlie magazine?"

Your mouth opens in surprise but you're not upset. It was actually quite funny.

You pretend to be flattered. You clasped your hands over your heart and bat your eyelashes.

"Oh, Goosey." You fake some sniffles. "It's so sweet of you to say that! That's always been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. To be the centerfold in a girlie magazine."

You then burst out with laughter.

"No, I was never in anything like that! Where on earth did you get an idea like that?!"

Goose was cackling with you.

"I'm sorry, honey! I honestly don't know where that idea came from."

I knew those idiots in the Miramar locker room were full of shit! Goose thought.

This time you took the lead and kissed him.

"I love you, Goose."

"I love you more, honey."

He held you in his arms not wanting to ever let you go.

"You know, Y/N," Goose started.

"I happen to have a really great Polaroid camera." His voice had a hint of mischief in it.

You smiled, slyly.

"That's nice. Any particular reason why you're telling me this, Goose?"

He shook his head.

"Nope! No reason at all! I just thought you'd be interested in that little tid-bit."

"Uh-huh." You clicked.

Goose opened the passenger door for you. Before you slid inside the car, you told him that he could show his camera to you "on the trip".

"What trip?" Goose asked.

You smiled. "Our trip to Hawaii, of course."

Goose laughed.

"Great Balls of Fire!"

#top gun #top gun 1986 #nick goose bradshaw #goose #goose x reader #nick goose bradshaw x reader #top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #reader insert #x female reader #bless you if you read all this b/c it's kind of long ❤

[multi-fandomsfreak]

Hey!! Can you do movie sonic x mobian fem reader (platonic) who is a fan of him and wants to show herself to the world and fight eggman but she is too scared people will hate her

Sonic Meeting Mobian!Reader Who Happens To Be A Fan

Hey there! Thanks for the ask!

Sorry for the late post. I’ve had a bunch of requests coming through and with me going to the hospital recently to see if my foot’s good (by the way it’s healing great just need to get used to walking again.) so I didn’t have the time to do it till now. Hope you like reading this because I definitely enjoyed writing this. ~J/Blaze

Pronouns: She/Her

Warning: ⚠️Mentions of low self-esteem/anxiety⚠️

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Sonic + Mentions Of Tom + Maddie + Tails + Knuckles + Eggman

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Icon by jennieismygirlfriend on Pinterest + Banner by scyprod on Pinterest

———————————

- Sonic the hedgehog. A name that constantly rings through your mind constantly. You most likely discovered him around some point from the baseball scene to near the end just like how Tails did. You had heard about his antics on earth and to say you liked him was an understatement. Judging on the info you had discovered from the most recent event with him and eggman you became a massive fan of him. Can anyone blame you? He helped you be inspired in your own way. Even if you had some problems expressing yourself mostly due to fear of what people might think of you. You wanted to prove your worth but you just didn’t know how.

- You really wanted to meet him even dreaming of what he would be like if you were to talk to him. Would he take interest or not? You were contemplating on going to earth just to meet him in real life. Show him how he has helped you in a way without directly meeting you. But you let your insecurities get the better of you. Eventually you decided to risk and travel to earth, you didn’t know what you were going to do when you got there, you didn’t really have any other motive besides meeting your idol. With Eggman gone as far as you were aware of and no one else who wanted to carry out his plan you didn’t really have any reason to go and get yourself into any trouble but still for some reason you felt like you needed to go. It kind of took you a while to get used to being on earth as well trying not to get spotted by pretty much everyone. You never know what they’re reactions could be seeing you and honestly you didn’t want to find out so you created a hide-out like what sonic did in the first movie.

- Now for when Sonic met you for the first time. He managed to come across you and your hide-out on his solo adventure and to say he was surprised was an understatement. There was another mobian like him, he immediately went over to you and started asking you a bunch of questions catching you off guard before immediately recognising him as the idol you love. You were too busy internally fangirling about if this was a dream or not to answer his questions.

+ “Ma’am is everything alright there?” Sonic asked, managing to snap you out of your fangirl trance concerned about the lack of reaction coming from you “oh…yeah I am, you're sonic right like the actual sonic?” You asked in return wanting to confirm it even though you knew it was. Sonic gave you a confused look before slowly answering your question “yeah I am sonic, why do you ask?” You gave him a cheerful smile before bringing him into a hug, surprising him even more but still hugged you in return despite just meeting you. You then told him about how much of a fan you were of him, telling him how much you appreciated him to which he thanked you and joked about he never knew he had fans.

- Pretty much since then he wanted to introduce you to Tom and Maddie because why not, they were also starting to suspect something with him constantly going off to see you. At first you were nervous because based on how he described them you guessed they were humans and your nervousness was getting the best of you but sonic managed to convince you that they really didn’t mean any harm and you trusted him so you decided to go with him to meet the two of them. As soon as you met the two of them they were excited they’d pretty much had gotten used to seeing sonic so seeing you with him although surprised to see someone like sonic they openly welcomed you with open arms, they were just happy that sonic met someone else. Also Sonic may have been teased by Tom about you especially since you were a female but except for that they enjoyed meeting you.

- Sonic will be your number one defender. If anyone even dares to make you upset about something he isn’t going to sit there and let you take it, making you even more self conscious. He doesn’t like seeing his friends upset, it kind of makes him both angry and upset himself seeing you just take insults being thrown at you.

- He pretty much noticed a bit after meeting you that you're very self conscious about yourself. Although you seemed to be somewhat open, when it came to expressing yourself and your strengths he noticed how unwilling you were to do it. He didn’t really understand why at first because he thinks you're really cool. You must have some sort of strength if you were willing to leave your home planet just to visit him. But once he learns about your lack of confidence he honestly feels bad for you. He could tell by the way you talked to him that you do genuinely want to prove yourself to the world; you just let your feet get the best of you. So with the new information he learned about you he’s willing to do anything to help raise your confidence. He feels like he has to, what sort of idol would he be if he didn’t?

- He takes it a step at a time, although he was wanting to make sure that you gain your confidence he knows it will take some time. You two will often have one on one sessions basically letting you express your feelings (imagine that scene when sonic is acting like a therapist but it’s with you and not just him).

- Eventually when Eggman returns from Mushroom planet Sonic definitely wants you to join him alongside Tails. He knows this would be a big step for you but he sees this as an opportunity and wants you to join him. He promises to keep both you and Tails safe as long as you're with him. Although a bit nervous yourself you could see what his point was and you knew he wouldn’t let you get harmed. You wanted to prove yourself and put what you learned from him to use so without thinking you joined him. And to say that it felt oddly good to finally do what you wanted to was an understatement. Still you were nervous but that nervousness was overwritten by adrenaline and relief. Although you went through some things during the trip to get the chaos emerald it was worth it in the end. This is when you decided to permanently join Sonic’s group alongside your new friends Tails and eventually when he decided to join Knuckles.

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#sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog x reader #sonic #sonic x reader #sonic movie #sonic movie 2 #sonic movie x reader #movie sonic #movie sonic x reader #sonic series #sonic series x reader #tom wachowski #maddie wachowski #miles tails prower #movie tails #knuckles the echidna #movie knuckles #eggman #movie eggman #x reader #platonic #request

[bvidzsoo]

Pure-blooded (Part 1)

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warnings: the use of the word ‘bastard’, nothing else

 Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x oc

 Word count: 5942

 Summary:  A story about a girl called Vaella Velaryon, who after more than six years, returns to King's Landing due to her brother, Luke, being questioned about his right as heir of Driftmark, and she meets Aemond. A changed man. A vicious man who is set to have his revenge, unknowing that Vaella would do anything for her family.

 A/N:  *khm khm*(does a shameful walk) As a simple mortal, I had no choice but to crumble when I saw this man, so...my brain started working, and here I am, writing about Aemond *sighs* A little heads up, this will be a mini-series and we’ll see how many parts it’ll have, because I initially wanted to write three but uhm well, I keep getting ideas sooo yeah. I can start a taglist if people are interested, just comment on this post to let me know. Your feedback is strongly appreciated, so I hope you will leave your thoughts for me to read. You can find my story on Wattpad as well, under the username ‘Arfina8′. Enjoy now!

↳ Masterlist

              Serenity and peace was something King’s Landing had been lacking ever since King Viserys decided to marry Alicent Hightower. The friendship and trust had been broken forever between the two girls, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Lady Alicent Hightower. Rhaenyra felt betrayed, but tried to understand. Her father and her friend, who seemed to drastically change once her title was given, Queen Alicent Hightower. She had no business sitting on the throne next to the King, but Otto Hightower was a vile man, who out of greed would do anything to see his family succeed. Rightfully or not, it was no surprise to anyone anymore. Everyone from Rhaenyra’s family knew of the distrust and disrespect the Hightowers kept sending her way, time and time again, questioning her rightful title as heir to the Iron Throne and the legitimacy of her children. In some ways, it had become taboo to speak of such thing, unless you wished to grant yourself a very painful death. It was visible to everyone’s eyes, how different her sons were compared to her husband, Laenor Velaryon. And despite sharing the Targaryen features as much as her mother’s temper, Vaella was no different to her brothers. Her long platinum blonde hair and gleaming purple eyes wouldn’t save her from the whispers of others calling her a bastard as well. Why? Even in plain sight it was quite obvious that she shared none of her father’s qualities nor personality despite being raised by him. Laenor was a kind, patient, a bit clumsy and irresponsible, but loving man. Vaella, however, was brash and impatient. She didn’t take orders from anyone but her mother and alleged uncle, Daemon, and of course, herself. She was her own master and thus followed no one else but her own mind and heart. She was a soldier, never to be tamed, and a free spirit who sought justice and fairness. She wanted peace and most importantly to be accepted by her people for once and for all. She hated the whispers as much as her brothers, Jacaerys and Lucerys, did, as Joffrey was too young to understand what being called a bastard meant. And despite Princess Rhaenyra doing her best to protect her children, who meant the world to her, she was questioned time and time again, their legitimacy brought as center of discussion more than once. Vaella hated feeling powerless and uncapable of doing anything as a young girl, watching the pain in her mother’s eyes any time someone accused her brothers of looking like Ser Harwin Strong. As a young girl, she never understood why the people at Red Keep would stare at her with spite anytime she opened her mouth. But as time passed and she grew, she started to understand. She looked nothing like Laenor, yet resembled Daemon as if she were a fierce copy of his. She never dared question her mother, out of respect and fear of knowing the unspoken truth, but she knew. She knew the second her and Daemon were forced to meet at his beloved wife’s funeral, Laena. Their eyes held the same harshness and determination. Their hearts beat for justice and validation as they both felt like they deserved more than what life has given them, and most importantly, they both would burn bridges for Rhaenyra and slay anyone who dared mistreat the Princess. Vaella couldn’t explain why, but her love and loyalty lay deeply with her mother. She swore to protect her until her last breath were to be taken and give her anything she wanted. Sometimes, Rhaenyra would laugh, and say she was the son she never asked for but got in the form of a daughter, secretly wishing that she could name Vaella as heir to the Iron Throne. But Vaella was content with her position and the probability of inheriting Dragonstone one day, she didn’t yearn for the throne. That was to be Jacaerys’ as the second born, but first son of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Laenor Velaryon. Yet after everything they have done for the King’s second family, the Hightowers, they even moved out to let them be in peace, they would still take and take from them. They would not rest until they have seen Rhaenyra destroyed and with nothing. They wanted her dead, especially Otto and Alicent, and it was no secret to anyone. Vaella hated that family with a passion and always wondered how such a sweet man like her grandsire, King Viserys, fell into their trap. Perhaps, that is why he fell into it, because he refused to see their true nature. Now, with the sole existence of Prince Aegon and Prince Aemond Targaryen, Princess Rhaenyra’s succession to the throne would be questioned and debated over and over again. Those bastards would never have enough, not until they see the rightful heir and her family burning. Something that would never happen on Vaella and Daemon’s watches, not if they would strike the Hightowers first, but for that, they had to be patient. And that is why Daemon sent a raven to Vaella, discreetly asking her to join them at King’s Landing as Lucerys’ legitimacy had been questioned once again as her uncle Vaemond was petitioning against him inheriting Driftmark. Vaella’s blood boiled when she read the letter from her father and without much explanation she went to get her dragon, Silverwing, to fly to King’s Landing. Vaella was a traveler, therefore she resided both on Dragonstone and Pentos, the later being a place her father suggested she’d frequent. Daemon loved the libraries they had there and figured he could send her daughter to enjoy what that place had to offer for her. Vaella didn’t complain once she saw the beauty of that place and all the lectures it had to offer her. She might’ve been a soldier, but her heart yearned to study and learn as much as she could about her heritage, history, and curiosities of each land.

           The ride to King’s Landing had been swift, Silverwing could sense his rider’s anger and displeasure as they flew through the air. It came as no surprise to see nobody waiting for her once she arrived to the Red Keep, the courtyard empty as she waltzed through it, head held high. Not being welcomed to the place she once called her home didn’t affect her in any way. What did anger her, however, were the disgusting changes brought to it. The place was littered with green and the emblems of the Hightowers, making her feel sick. This place rightfully belonged to the Targaryens, her own family, and she couldn’t believe the plain disrespect brought upon the still living King by none other than his wife, who Vaella refused to acknowledge as Queen. When she was a child, she didn’t understand the seemingly obvious hatred directed at her by the woman or why she was trying to keep her sons away from her and her own brothers. Her uncles were nice kids while they were growing up, until they weren’t, until their mother’s words got to them, forever imprinted in their minds. Vaella was never one to instigate anything or hate people for no concrete reasons, but that faithful night, when Lucerys cut their uncle’s eye out accidentally, she realized there was no turning back. Aemond had looked at them with disgust and hatred, when he saw them rush to into their mother’s arms, Princess Rhaenyra. Vaella wasn’t a witness to the event as Aegon had stolen one of her dagger’s and was running around the castle drunkenly, hiding from her. She felt horrible when she heard what had happened. It made her hate herself how instead of being there to protect her younger brothers and cousins, she was running after Aegon, who was just being his usual jester self and annoying her. Despite their current hatred for each other, she had fond memories of Aegon, as the two of them would bicker quite often and chase each other around the castle. While they were growing up, Aegon was good with a sword and secretly would train her from time to time as being a lady and a Princess didn’t grant her the same privileges her brothers and uncles had. Aemond was never too fond of her, recognizing the power she held inside her at a young age already. He saw her as someone who would challenge him and outshine him in the future, getting his eye taken by her brother only made matters worse between the two. Vaella wasn’t fond of Aemond either, even before that faithful event, as she thought he was too soft and easy to pick on. He had the potential in him, yet he allowed everyone to walk all over him. Vaella hated people like that, people who willingly allowed themselves to be victims without standing up for themselves and instead running to their mothers to cry about what had happened. If Vaella were to be like that, she’d be nowhere today. She wouldn’t be a soldier, she wouldn’t have one of the most powerful dragon’s under her control, she wouldn’t have earned so many men and women’s respect, and most importantly…she wouldn’t be her mother’s most loyal and sworn protector. Lost in thought, she made her way up the stairs to the second floor of the castle, having in mind to visit her grandsire, but four guards came rounding the corner and stopping her in her tracks. Her body tensed as her left hand grabbed the handle of her sword strapped onto her hip.

“Princess Vaella,” the commander spoke up, bringing the princess’ gleaming eyes onto him, “your mother, Princess Rhaenyra, asked us to escort you to her chamber once you have arrived.”

Vaella stared at them for a second before nodding her head, releasing the handle of her sword. These guards were harmless, and they would lead her to her mother. The commander nodded his head silently and they started walking, two guards disappearing as they descended the stairs to their left, leaving her with two guards only. Despite being a soldier herself, Vaella didn’t wear armor unless she had to partake in a battle. She found the clothing too heavy to bear all day and opted for a simpler outfit, one that wouldn’t restrain her if she needed to fight. She wore tight black, leather pants, and two daggers gifted by Daemon, were hidden in her two boots which reached just above her knees. The laces were tightly tied together, the steel of her daggers lightly digging into her clothed leg, a constant reminder that she had them there. Her camisole was always beige and tucked away underneath her usually burgundy or black flowy shirts. Vaella wore them always off her shoulders and tucked inside her leather pants, accompanied by her usually black corset which came over her shirt and hugged her torso firmly. She didn’t like wearing her corset too loosely or too tightly as it mattered a lot when it came to combat offering her more mobility or restricting her of some movement. Her burgundy cloak was eye catching and everyone would stare at her when she passed by them, she wasn’t afraid or ashamed of her heritage. She wore it proudly and loudly, letting everyone know who she was. The daughter of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Laenor Velaryon. Those who valued their lives stayed away from the fierce Princess. The guards stopped in front of double doors and knocked on it before they allowed Vaella to step inside. She opened the doors and found herself looking at her mother and father. Rhaenyra was cradling her bump as Daemon looked outside the window, eyebrows drawn together.

“Mother, father.” Vaella greeted and bowed her head as a wide smile spread onto her mother’s lips.

“Vaella, finally,” She let out a sigh of relief and approached her daughter, “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it here in time.”

“None sense, mother.” Vaella’s eyebrows furrowed as she embraced her mother, careful of her bump, “I shall never miss out on such a hideous hearing. Will they ever let us rest—”

“Vaella, darling,” Daemon’s fatherly voice interrupted Vaella’s full of anger rant, “we had a rather straining day today. Let us not aggravate Princess Rhaenyra furthermore.”

Vaella gulped and bit her tongue, refraining herself of saying the insults she had in mind directed at the Hightowers, “My apologies, but tell me, what is the matter?”

Rhaenyra sighed and glanced at Daemon, who nodded lightly, “The King is very sick…I do not know for how much longer he will be amongst us.”

Vaella could hear the heartbreak in her mother’s voice and it broke her own heart seeing her like that, and hearing the condition of her grandsire. She loved the man a lot, he always protected them, he always took their side and shut down each and every accusation thrown their way. She might hate the Hightowers, and despite King Viserys choosing to marry such a snake as Alicent, it always left her impressed how much he’d go against his wife to protect his only child from his one and only love, Princess Aemma. Vaella always wished to meet her, but Her Grace died when her mother was a blooming girl; it was a very long time ago.

“Is there anything to be done?” Vaella found her voice as she looked at her father. He shook his head with a sigh, seeing his brother in such state bothered him a lot.

“I’m afraid it’s too late for anything to be done, daughter.” Daemon’s voice was low and Vaella nodded, sensing from his tone that they were done talking about the King’s condition. She looked at her mother and willed herself to smile at her.

“How is the baby, Princess? I haven’t seen you all in over a moon.” Rhaenyra smiled down at her bump and looked back at her daughter.

“She’s doing well.”

“So it seems I’ll have another baby sister?” Vaella smiled as she glanced between her parents, having accepted Daemon’s daughters as her own sisters the day her parents got married. She held no ill intentions towards her half-sisters, perhaps a little envy that they go to grow up with her real father, but she never held that against them. It was never their fault.

“Your mother had decided that it will be a girl and so I have agreed with her.” Daemon said with a chuckle as he brushed his hand against Rhaenyra’s baby bump.

“A wise choice, my Prince.” Vaella chuckled and Daemon smiled at her, noticing the two daggers gifted by him hiding in her boots and the red stoned ring also gifted by him sitting proudly on her left pointer finger. Vaella’s unashamed show of her heritage always amused him, but also made him adore her more. He was content of having a daughter which resembled him so much, yet he was grateful Vaella was lucky enough to inherit Rhaenyra’s level-headedness, which stopped her from being completely reckless as he was.

“Vaella, your brothers have dearly missed you. I think you should meet them.” Vaella’s eyes lit up at the mention of her brothers and she eagerly nodded her head at her mother’s suggestion, “They are probably headed to the courtyard, I heard them talking and saying they wanted to see the training grounds—”

Vaella bowed her head at her father and mother and turned to leave, but her mother’s final words made her stop by the door, “And please, Princess, stop them from engaging into anything stupid. And I also hope I can expect the same from yourself, Princess Vaella.”

Vaella smirked to herself, her mother knowing her too well. If she were to be provoked, there were less chances she’d back down and more that she would stand up to the challenge and accept it, “Of course, mother, do not worry.”

           Finding her brothers was no hard task, as they were quite loud while chatting. They were eagerly running around the castle, looking and checking every nook and cranny they were allowed to. Vaella, just to amuse herself, crept after them quietly, wondering when they’d notice her. So far, she had been tailing them for ten minutes and they seemed oblivious to her presence. Or so she had thought, because rounding the corner which lead to the stairs taking them downstairs to the main entrance, fours hands had her pinned against the wall. Her brothers eyes widened and instantly released their sister, shocked and happy at the same time. Vaella grinned at them and pulled them both into a bear hug, having missed them.

“Sister!” Luke exclaimed and held onto her arms, “We were not informed you would be joining us here!”

Vaella rolled her eyes and scoffed as she leaned a bit down, “I wouldn’t miss such an atrocious event, Luke. Somebody has to make order in this damned castle—”

“And you wish to be doing that, right?” Jace interrupted her inner thoughts spilling out and Vaella smirked at him, leaning her arm on his shoulder as Luke released her. She was taller than both of her brothers, but they were still growing, she was sure one day she’d have to look up at both of them as they would outgrow her.

“I wish to slit every throat that dares question the legitimacy and loyalty of my family.” Vaella answered them darkly as she glared at nothing specifically, letting her dark thoughts control her. Luke gulped nervously as he glanced at Jace before grabbing onto Vaella’s hand, bringing her back to the present.

“You can be so scary sometimes, sister.” Luke muttered as Jace took her other hand and they suddenly started pulling their sister with themselves, heading down the stone steps and marching towards the huge door. Vaella ignored Luke’s comment and let her brothers drag her with themselves, not complaining, as she had missed their presences. She loved them dearly and enjoyed spending her time with them. Being a few years older, she would read to them when they were younger and she’d help them learn high Valyrian, finding amusement at Jace’s repeated mistranslations. Once outside, Jace released his hold on his sister and ran up ahead Luke and Vaella, feeling full of excitement as he took in the place. In his eyes, nothing much had changed. Luke seemed hesitant in following after his brother, but still holding onto Vaella, he was forced to descend the stone steps. She noticed his hesitancy but said nothing, taking in the scenery before them. People had gathered here and there, some chatting as well as walking around. A smaller group had gathered around two fighting knights.

“Smaller than I remember.” Luke commented as Vaella and him glanced at two identical looking knights training, their swords clashing together. Vaella was itching to hold her sword and challenge a knight, but she remembered her mother’s words and refrained from doing so.

“It looks exactly the same.” Jace scoffed at his brother and hurried down the steps, glancing back at his sister and brother, urging them to follow him, “Ah, Luke, Vaella, come on!”

“In fact, it does not look exactly the same.” Vaella whispered to Luke with a grin and he shook his head, suddenly releasing her hand. Vaella looked at him with a questioning gaze until she noticed Jace tensing up and slowing down his walk to wait for his siblings to catch up to him. It didn’t take much for Vaella to realize why her brothers turned suddenly so stiff and alarmed. Everyone passing by them in the courtyard was staring. She hated it. The instant whispers and judgmental stares thrown their way, she wished to cut out their tongues and poke their eyes out. Her hand twitched to grab onto her sword, so instead, she allowed her hand to rest on Luke’s shoulder as Jace suddenly ran forward, towards a wall, with a missing piece in it. Luke and her stopped in front of a table full of various weapons, watching Jace’s excited face.

“See? I told you this would still be here.” Jace walked back towards them as Luke smiled to himself bashfully, “And you thought you could swing Criston’s morning star. And you almost took your own head off.”

No doubt Jace was recalling one of their trainings at which Vaella back then wasn’t allowed to participate, having been deemed too barbaric and un-ladylike. She couldn’t give a shit about it, but she didn’t want to upset her grandsire and her mother, so she stayed inside, and pretended to take an interest in sewing. When in reality, she absolutely hated it. As Vaella grabbed onto a weapon, her and Jace inspecting it, she felt Luke turn his head. She could feel his discomfort still and having her hand on his shoulder, she turned him back towards the weapons, giving him a glare.

“What’s your problem?” Jace asked as he noticed the exchange. Vaella forcefully placed the weapon back on the table as she felt Luke stealing a glance at her.

“Everyone’s staring at us.”

“Let them stare, brother.” Vaella snapped and looked around, catching the eyes of a few ladies and men, making her scowl at them. Everyone knew of the Princess’ reputation and they were afraid of her, her outbursts being sudden and brutal. Jace took a sword in his hand and pointed it at Vaella and Luke playfully, chuckling when Vaella raised an eyebrow at him. To his shame, his sister was a much better swordsman than he would ever be.

“No one would question me being heir to Driftmark—If—if I looked more like Ser Laenor Velaryon than Ser Harwin Strong.” Vaella sighed loudly as Jace stopped playing around with the weapons and looked at his brother.

“It doesn’t matter what they think.” Jace’s answer brought a smirk onto Vaella’s lips, appreciating his mindset which was similar to hers, and it left Luke looking at his two siblings smirking at each other cheekily. He sighed, feeling frustrated that seemingly he was the only one bothered by the stares and whispers. Luke knew Vaella didn’t care about anyone else’s opinions and he knew that while Jace cared, he never let it show. But Luke was different, he couldn’t hide his emotions well and being away from Dragonstone, which was his safe place, he felt uncomfortable and mistreated. However, he feared voicing his thoughts, knowing his sister would slay every soul standing in that courtyard if that meant it would make him feel better. He loved his sister, but she scared him more often than not. The siblings attention was caught by loud gasping coming from the crowd gathered around two fighting knights behind them. Jace, still excited about being back here, turned and ran up to the circle and it promptly made Luke and Vaella follow him. Vaella’s hand still rested on Luke’s shoulder and he didn’t mind, because it brought a sense of familiarity and reassurance to him. She was the only one making him feel safe underneath those judging eyes and he wished he could tell her, but knew his sister didn’t appreciate weakness from the people around her. Luke always tried to act tough around his sister, but sometimes failed miserably, yet it brought no change to Vaella’s thoughts about him. He was her baby brother and she knew he was scared of the world and their judgmental words, but she also knew he would grow up to be a powerful and proud man.

Vaella’s attention landed on the fighting knights and her body instantly tensed at the sight of Ser Criston Cole. She hated that man with her whole being and wanted nothing more than to cut out his tongue before torture him for the vile things he’s said and done to her family. However, her attention went as quickly as it came from that bastard as she watched the tall man fighting him. The platinum blonde hair made him easily recognizable as it could be no one else but a Targaryen. Having his back facing them, she couldn’t identify him, but she assumed it was Prince Aegon. He had been a fine swordsman while growing up, and as he loved attention she wouldn’t be surprised to see him fighting Ser Criston in front of a little crowd, gloating later on. That is, if he changed and became more mature…however, Vaella doubted her uncle was possible of changing much. Luke being a bit shorter tried to see better the fight and Vaella pulled him in front of her, letting go of his shoulder as she watched the fight closely. Ser Criston Cole was swinging his flail at the Targaryen prince, who was ferociously trying to dodge his blows while trying to gain advantage and swing at him with his sword. The fight was violent and the little crowd cheered when the Prince made a futile attempt at an advance, but Ser Criston swung his flail at him harshly, breaking the Prince’s shield in half. It took the later man off balance and Vaella smirked as she watched her uncle lose his footing for a second and slip, but her little amusement disappeared instantly when the two man changed positions, the prince now facing them and swinging at Ser Criston with his sword aggressively. It was not Prince Aegon, but Prince Aemond. Both Luke and Jace took a step back in shock, stepping onto Vaella’s feet, and when they turned to apologize, they saw how much her body language had changed. Vaella’s jaw was tight as her eyes focused on Prince Aemond only, following his every step as he turned around again, recoiling at Ser Criston’s continuous attacks. Vaella’s heart was thumping so loudly that all she could hear was that as she tried to ground herself, waiting for her shock to dissolve. The Aemond she knew was a frail and scared boy, running to his mother to seek refuge after every little inconvenience. But the Aemond before her looked ruthless in his swings and with a final swing from Ser Criston, Aemond swung his sword at him, taking him off guard, and winning the fight altogether. Vaella gulped and felt Luke’s hand sneakily holding hers, giving her a comforting squeeze. She quickly composed herself and placed her other hand on Jace’s shoulder, standing tall as the crowd started clapping for Prince Aemond.

“Well done, my Prince.” Ser Criston said smugly, “You’ll be winning tourneys in no time.”

“I don’t give a shit about tourneys.” Prince Aemond’s stoic expression was accompanied by his harsh words, surprising Vaella and her brothers even more. The frail little boy was gone, and a ruthless, cold man stood in his place. It was a change which Vaella never imagined would happen.

“Nephews.” Prince Aemond’s good eye fell on the siblings, its stare pinning them to the ground, “Have you come to train?”

Luke and Jace stepped back at his words, stepping onto Vaella’s feet again, prompting her to hold onto both of her brothers’ napes to hold them in place. She felt Aemond’s eye on her, taking her in. They haven’t seen each other in over six years. Aemond was tall now, and his eyepatch seemed to scream in their faces, as his piercing blue eye ran up and down Vaella’s body, noticing the changes the years brought to her. Her muscles were firm but not too much, and he could see the discipline in her body, making it obvious that she was a fighter. And if not her body stance, the sword tied to her hips made it very obvious. Her face had also gotten fuller and more mature, her round eyes more hollow looking than they were before. Her purple eyes could slice anyone in half, and he felt just that as she stared him down, hatred mixed with surprised showing on her features. Aemond’s face had changed too, it’s what took Vaella off guard the most. His jaw was sharp and his cheekbones high, his light blue eye paired with his eyepatch making him look dangerous. She wasn’t scared of him, knowing of his nature before his transformation, but the fight she had just seen told her that her uncle might surprise her more than once during her family’s visit to the Red Keep.

“Niece.” Prince Aemond finally found his voice, not surprised at Vaella’s defiance as she refused to speak first. He knew her as a chatty girl, yet her own harsh exterior came as a surprise, making him think that the once cheerful girl he knew was long gone.

“Uncle.” Her voice was firm as she greeted back, not afraid to stand up to him. She intended on walking away, but as she started tugging on her brothers napes to make them walk, a guard shouted for the gates to be opened and in walked Prince Vaemond Velaryon. Vaella didn’t miss the smug smirk on Aemond’s lips as he watched Ser Vaemond walk inside, meanwhile her brothers started fidgeting under her hold, the Prince sending a dirty look their way. Vaella stood tall and gave a glare to Ser Vaemond, but was ignored just as her brothers were. Ser Vaemond and his guards having passed them, headed up the stone steps, inside the castle. Vaella sneered and made a move to leave when her uncle spoke up.

“A fight, before you leave?” His right eyebrow raised as he watched Vaella looking at him with an amused smile.

“I was given instructions not to engage in any provocation to a fight—”

“I wasn’t talking to you, niece—”

“Why? Are you afraid a woman might be able to defeat you?” Vaella taunted, raising her eyebrows and felt Luke trying to make her walk as Jace looked at Aemond with a glare. Their uncle chuckled but remained unphased by her words.

“I have unfinished business with my nephew, Luke.” Hearing his name, the boy tensed and looked at Vaella with pleading eyes, asking her to start walking back inside the castle.

“You have no—”

“Bona iksos olvie unfortunate, uncle.” (That is quite unfortunate, uncle.) Vaella cut off Jace as she switched to High Valyrian, smirking at her uncle as his jaw clenched. Without waiting for an answer, she leaned her head down between her brothers and smiled, “Let’s go steal some snacks from the kitchen.”

Jace snickered at his sister’s words as she started walking them, still holding onto her brothers napes, feeling Aemond’s eye on her, as she held her chin high and looked only ahead, refusing to make eye contact with him. She wished nothing more than to engage into a fight with him, kick him to the ground and point her sword at his neck, but her mother has asked her to behave and keep her brothers out of trouble as well. She didn’t want to upset the pregnant woman, therefore decided to walk away. The air was a bit tense between the three as they started ascending the stone steps and Vaella cracked a grin, glancing back towards where the small crowd was now dispersed but Ser Criston and Prince Aemond remained. She caught the eye of her uncle and immediately turned her head, jaw clenching at being caught looking. There was something very alluring about the man and she hated how her curiosity sparked after their interaction, sensing the distaste and hatred oozing out of Aemond as he looked at them yet dared not to touch them.

“Did you see the mistake he made?” Vaella spoke up with a vile smirk, recalling the slip up of her uncle.

“Who?” Luke muttered confused, glancing up at his big sister as Jace opened the doors for them, and Vaella finally released the boys from her firm hold. It was a tactic to keep them under control but it was also something she would quite frequently do; they didn’t mind it after all.

“Our uncle, of course. When his shield broke, he was distracted and almost toppled over.” Vaella chuckled and placed her hands behind her back, following her brothers down to the kitchen, “Cricket Horn almost got him—”

“Cricket Horn?!” Jace exclaimed outraged and Luke had to press a hand against his lips as his loud laughter broke out of him suddenly. Vaella tried to remain unphased but couldn’t help her own laughter bubbling up.

“Criston Cole, I thought of finding a more fitting name for him.” Vaella managed to say between her laughter and her brothers were now stopped and toppling over in laughter. She knew she was distracting them from their dire moods and felt content watching her brothers forget about the whole ordeal which has happened in the courtyard. They started coming up with more hilarious names as they continued their walk to the kitchen and Vaella listened to them amused, their versions getting more and more creative. It made her realize that they were still young and underserving of the accusations the Hightowers and their own family was bringing to them. It made her blood boil, but being here she knew she could keep them safe and away from harm. Even if that came in the form of their uncle, she could take the man, she wasn’t afraid. And she was certain she’d be able to defeat him too, his fighting combat being that of the usual she saw in battles. Her father made sure to teach her tricks and so did her masters at Pentos and Dorne, making her a very talented fighter. She took pride in that.

“You know,” Luke muttered as they reached the kitchen, “I thought uncle Aemond wouldn’t hold a grudge against me—I should’ve known better, Vaella. I’m too naïve.”

Vaella sighed and looked at Jace as he ruffled his brother’s hair, “You are not. Yes, your uncle lost a very important asset of his, but he should not hold a grudge against a child who was just trying to defend his own brother. Do not be afraid of him, Lucerys, he will not lay a finger on you.”

“Because you will have his fingers cut and fed to Silverwing?” Luke asked quietly, grinning up at his siblings. Jace chuckled and looked at his sister amused, knocking his shoulder into her arm.

“Have I told you that you are a fast learner?” Vaella raised her eyebrow and grinned at her brother with mischief. Luke nodded his head proudly and Jace clapped his hands together, looking eager to raid the kitchen now. He was starving for some sweets.

“Shall we go now?” Jace held the handle of the door and Luke nodded eagerly. Vaella leaned down and licked her lips.

“Remember, we must be quick and under no circumstance can be caught, yes?” Her brothers nodded, mischievous smiles on their faces. They would do this frequently at Dragonstone, raid the kitchen and take as many snacks as they could without being caught. Then they would run to their dragons and fly to the nearest island, which was just ten minutes away, and devour their snacks before going for a swim in the ocean, if it was warm enough that day. Vaella knew there was no island they could fly to right now, but she knew of a forest with a beautiful meadow not far from here. Rhaenyra was the one who had shown it to her and ever since then it became Vaella’s favorite spot in all of King’s Landing.

Jace started counting from one to three and when he pushed the door open, Luke and Vaella slipped inside, making a run for the table filled with snacks.

↳Next part 

#bvidzsoo #aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x oc #aemond targaryen imagine #aemond x reader #aemond x oc #aemond targaryen angst #aemond targaryen fluff #aemond targaryen smut #hotd #hotd imagine #house of the dragon #house of the dragon x oc #aemond targaryen enemies to lovers

[dragonwritersblog]

Royally Screwed!

Read on AO3

1/2/3/4/5

Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, there was a lot of issues going on and it took out a lot of energy from me. But it's here now and I hope its worth the wait. Hope you guys enjoy! Also I tried to edit it as much as I can but I'll go back is there's any spelling mistakes, but other than that, here's chapter 2!

2. Irish Eyes

Kaufmo groaned as he pressed a hand to his lower back, tonight’s show hadn’t been kind to him in the slightest. The ringmaster has suggested a few new stunts for his act to make the audience go crazy. Now usually that would be fine…if the ringmaster hadn’t announced it while performing. It gave Kaufmo no time to warm up or prepare before he saw an anvil failing for the sky and aiming right at him. He managed to dodge it just in time and had earned him some good reception, but he had twisted his body the wrong way while ducking, leaving a pretty bad sore spot on his back.

He sighed, at least it was over now and he could have a better chance tomorrow morning to prepare for that new trick (and anything else the ringmaster hadn’t told him about yet). He was going to head to his tent for the tight when he heard light sniffling from the lion cages. He turned and tried to peak through the shadows to see who was inside of Ragatha’s lion’s cage…oh, it was Pomni.

The child was the newest member of the cast, and the youngest. Now that Kaufmo thought about it, no one had joined the circus at her age before, so the experience must have been so much more jarring for a young girl. And she was only five years old, the poor thing.

The girl was patting each lion’s mane as she tried to control her tears, the large animals providing as much comfort as they could. She had been quite nervous around the two felines when she first met them, but after seeing how tame they were, they were a great source of security for her in times like this. Times when she felt overwhelmingly homesick.

Kaufmo tapped one of the bars, alerting everyone of his presence. The lions let out a growl when Pomni let out a startled gasp, only to calm down once they saw the clown. “Easy, it’s just me,” he said reassuringly as Pomni gripped tighter to one of the lions. “Hey kiddo, sorry for scaring you.”

Pomni wiped her eyes as the clown climbed in, sitting on the wall opposite her with one of the lions between her. The other lion came back to sit beside her, nudging her hand for more scratches.

“Huh, Simba and Kovu seemed to have taking a liking to you,” Kaufmo mused. Despite their large size, both of the large felines were rather friendly to the rest of the circus. Give them a snack and scratch their favourite spot and you were practically their best friend.

“Yeah, they’re nice,” Pomni whispered, harshly rubbing her the tears off her cheeks to hide the fact that she had been crying. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, the show just finished up and I was gonna get back to my tent,” he explained, “But, then I heard someone wasn’t feeling that great.”

Pomni paled, hiding her face in Simba’s mane. “It’s nothing!” she mumbled into the fur, “I just had something in my eyes, I’m fine!”

Kaufmo hummed. Pomni seemed to be quite a particularly panicky child, one wrong move and she’ll be shaking like a leaf, in fear for her life. He had to approach her carefully, she had already been through enough. “Here,” he pulled out a handkerchief. Pomni stared at it cautiously. “Don’t worry, it’s joke free. Clown’s honour.” He put a hand to his chest with a mock serious expression.

The child smiled, taking the little white fabric and wiped her cheeks.

“I know you’re scared,” Kaufmo said, “I understand. We’ve never had anyone as young as you join. Well, ‘join’ might be a might of a strong word. And you have every right to be scared, upset, angry. It isn’t fair what the ringmaster did. If you need to scream, scream.”

“Maybe not scream,” she muttered, “But the ringmaster said we’re not allowed to get upset.”

“That’s because he’s void of any emotion and doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” he placed the tips of his fingers on her hand just in case she wanted to pull it away. “Pomni, you’re five. Cry if you have to cry.”

Suddenly, a wall had crumbled and the dams were loose. The child latched herself onto the clown, muffled cries escaping her and tears soaking his costume. He instantly wrapped his arms around her. “Shh, there, there,” he whispered, “It’s gonna be okay kiddo, I got you.”

“I want my Ma and Pa!” she wailed as he stroked her hair. “I wanna go home!”

Kaufmo sighed. She was way too young for this. Curse the ringmaster and his void heart. “I know kiddo,” he hugged her tighter. “I know.”

They remained like that for a moment, Kaufmo letting Pomni cried while he stroked her hair before the child pulled away, her cheeks tear stained. “Sorry,” she sniffed.

“There’s nothing to apologise for,” he reassured her. “Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, would that cheer you up?”

“Um, okay,” Pomni nodded. “I…I like to sing a little bit, my ma used to teach me.”

“Huh,” Kaufmo lit up, an idea forming. “You know, I like to play guitar, I used to play it a lot.”

Pomni beamed, crawling closer to him, “Really?!”

“Heck yeah,” Kaufmo chuckled, “How about I go get it and I can show you what I can do?”

“Yeah!” Pomni cheered, giggling and falling back, a lion catching her with the side of his body.

“Okay kiddo,” Kaufmo grinned, “You just wait there. I’ll be right back.”

The clown had never run so fast in his life. He couldn’t recall the last time he played his guitar, but he remembered how much he loved it. Once he made it to his tent, he picked up the instrument from the side of his bed and ran straight back to Pomni, the little girl was playing with Kovu’s mane before gasping with excitement when she saw the guitar.

“Okay, it’s been a while,” Kaufmo told her while tuning it, “But I think I remember this.”

He began playing a simple chord, rummaging through his mind before landing on a song he hadn’t sung for anyone.

You can't take my past

You can't take my history

You could take my Pa

But his name’s a mystery

Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

Oh nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping

“Wow!” Pomni looked absolutely awestruck, it was the cutest thing in the world. “That’s so cool!”

“It’s not finished yet,” he admitted bashfully. “I haven’t really had the time to.”

“I can help finish it?” Pomni suggested shyly, “And maybe…you could teach me too?”

Kaufmo’s eyes widened, not only had he not played for someone in so long, but it was the first time a person asked him to teach them. For the first time, someone didn’t want to now the clown that Kaufmo played, but rather the part of a person that the ringmaster had forced him to bury so long ago. “Yeah,” he nodded, “I think that can be arranged kiddo.”

He carefully placed the guitar on her lap, the instrument was comically big for her little body, but she managed to hold it properly. She giggled with excitement as her guided her hands on where to go. “So, if you put your fingers here, it makes a makes a C chord,” he told her, her fingers making the shape and strummed the strings, her face brightening after playing her first ever note. “Atta girl, and just make this shape and you’ll get a G chord.” He shifted them again, grinning as she played the second note.

“I’m doing it!” she exclaimed.

“You’re doing great kiddo,” he grinned, “Now, have you got any ideas for lyrics?”

The child nodded so fast that he was afraid she’d hurt herself. With a gentle voice, she began to sing.

You can't take my charm!

You can't take my humour…

.

.

.

Twenty Years Later

Kaufmo hummed cheerily as he walked through the inn the rest of the cast and himself were staying in. They were here for the rest of the week to perform, but everyone had really wanted to explore the rest of the town. And who was he to stop them?

Ragatha had wanted to see if they had any good treats for her lions, Zooble wanted to buy some flowers for Gangle, and Moon and Sun had wanted to wander with everyone and see the sights. Kaufmo decided to stay, wanting to take the day to rest. However, there was one person who didn’t say anything about wanting to go or stay.

Pomni.

Despite last night’s fiasco with the prince, she seemed to be in a good mood. He was heading to her room, just to check up on her and see if she wanted to go out as well. He was about to knock when he heard the faint strums of a guitar and a female voice singing along with the tune.

My mother says I have Irish eyes

Irish eyes, Irish eyes

My mother says I have Irish eyes

They go ever so blue under stormy skies

But they're never so blue as when I let them cry

Kaufmo smiled, Pomni’s voice was always so heavenly whenever she sang. Every song she wrote, he would always be excited to hear. He cracked the door open a little, seeing her standing with her guitar in hand as she sang. She wore a simple shift with brown stays adorned with pink stitched flowers and a light green skirt that reached her black boots. She looked a little bit like spring itself.

My father says I have English hair

English hair, English hair

Brown like the bark of an oak somewhere

Like the bed of a lake where the hemlock grows

Like the thorn in the stem of an English rose

She began to twirl happily, dancing along with her song without a care in the world.

I'm a map of the world and the ones before

One foot in sea and one on shore

Every step, every hope flung high

I'm a map of them all with my Irish eyes

She jumped, whipping round when she heard the sound of clapping, only to soften when she saw that it was Kaufmo standing at the door. “Don’t scare me like that,” she giggled, putting her guitar away.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you kiddo,” he said, “Is that a new song?”

“Yeah, I began to write it when we were on the road,” she confirmed, “Decided to give it a whirl before I went out to town.”

“You’re going out?” Kaufmo asked hopefully. Pomni wasn’t normally someone who liked to be out in busy places when she wasn’t performing but seeing her actively wanting to go out was quite a big step for her. While it left him protective, it left him proud of her as well.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “Gangle wanted to go look and see the dresses here so I wanted to go with her as well. Ragatha and Moon should be with us as well.”

“I’ll come too,” Kaufmo said, “Just in case you want to leave early and come back.”

“Kaufmo,” she sighed, “I’ll be fine.”

“I have no doubt about that,” Kaufmo reassured her, “It’s just, you know…It’s always going to be my instinct to protect you.”

Pomni smiled, walking over and wrapping her arms around the clown, with Kaufmo doing the same. “I understand, what we went through was…its over now,” Pomni said, “I wanna be able to go into towns without being terrified of who I run into, enjoy my time with my family. With my Pa.”

Kaufmo patted her cheek, she never failed to amaze him. “Well then, what are we waiting for?” he asked, “Let’s go have some fun.”

Pomni patted his hand back before Kaufmo let it fall to his side, both of them leaving the room and heading downstairs to greet everyone else before going into town.

.

.

.

Jax paced back and forth in the dining room, dressed in a simple white blouse, blue waistcoat and black slacks. The room had been cleared earlier after breakfast, but he needed the space to pace and think about his plan to woo Pomni. She was going to be tricky – if her outburst was anything to go by – so he had to tread carefully about this. Motley watched the prince go back and forth, the kitten perched on the table experiencing the most brainstorming that Prince Jax had ever done in his life.

How would one win over the heart of a spitfire? A being so beautiful and entrances you with its song and dance but can easily scorch you if you make one wrong move. But it was that danger that pulled him closer to her. Only a woman like her deserved the best when it came to courting. But where to start, what should he do?

Queenie and Kinger watched their son’s pacing from the slightly ajar door. The staff had alerted them of the prince’s peculiar behaviour, so they wanted to investigate it for themselves – from afar of course.

“I still can’t believe it,” Kinger muttered, “Never would I have though the day would come where Jax would be so entranced by a girl.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Queenie mused, “I’m not surprised it was the jester that stole his heart. She does seem to be such a darling. Although, I will admit, I am slightly concerned with what Jax has up his sleeve with this one. His mind is quite…devious after all.”

Kinger hummed in agreement, “That is true. He always has these great plans when it comes to playing tricks on the servants or his escape attempts. Part of me doesn’t want to know what type of plan he comes up with for courting her.”

“Yes,” Queenie nodded, thinking to herself for a moment. The jester, Pomni was her name she believed, seemed like such a sweet young woman. While she was glad her son was in love, Queenie was completely aware of Pomni’s outburst with him they other day (after all she was outside tent when it happened, and was able to hear every single word). “How about you let me handle this Kinger dear? I’ve had my experience when it comes to men falling to a woman’s feet before. I could help correct him with the proper ways of how to win a girl’s heart.”

Kinger blushed, memories of himself as a young prince falling for a lord’s daughter many moons ago flooding back to him like a tidal wave. “Uh, y-yes darling,” he stuttered slightly, “I believe that would be for the best. The last person he needs advice from is his old man who laned face first into mud when trying to court the person he admired.”

“But I fell in love with you because of that dearest,” Queenie teased, giggling at Kinger’s flustered expression. “Now, if you excuse me. I have a son to steer away from making a fool of himself.”

“Good luck,” Kinger gave her reassuring thumbs up. Truth be told, when it came to Jax (especially since he was in love) she probably needed that luck.

Queenie took a breath, opening the door further and entering the dining room, though it seemed that Jax didn’t notice her presence, still caught up in his planning and muttering. Motley did though, letting out a happy mewl and ran over to her, climbing up her cloak and settling himself in her arms. The queen let out a small laugh, running a finger over his head as she walked up to her son.

Jax jumped as soon as he heard the sound of a throat clearing, exhaling when he saw that it was only Queenie. “Holy shit!” he cursed, placing a hand on his chest, “You scared me!”

“Language young man,” Queenie reprimanded him, “I just wanted to see if you were alright, the servants said that you haven’t left this room since breakfast.”

Jax sighed, the moment word about anything happening to him got out, his mother would instantly be by his side to make sure he way okay. It was one of Queenie’s most admirable qualities. “Yes, I’m fine mother. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“I see,” Queenie hummed, her eyes giving off a teasing glint. “It’s definitely not the jester from last night’s performance.”

Jax was so sure that his fur had changed from a periwinkle purple to a cherry red as he whipped round to face his mother, a smug look curved upon her features as she eyed her son knowingly. “M-mom!” he nearly choked on his words.

“Careful now dear,” Queenie chuckled, “The last thing we need is for our heir to suffocate on himself. Besides it was quite obvious, you immediately trailed after her like a loyal pet the moment her performance ended and are still infatuated with the girl despite her verbal lashing with you. Yes I’ve heard it, I’m sure most of the kingdom did too.”

“I can’t help it,” Jax rubbed the back of his neck. “The moment I heard her singing, my soul was bewitched. I had to listen to her song, her voice was telling a story and I wanted to learn it word for word until she’s ingrained into my memory. And her beauty, I don’t think I’ve met another person who radiated starlight just as much as she did. She’s a book that I can’t put down, I need to know more about her! I have to let her know that she’s the one for me!”

Never in all her years did Queenie think her son was capable of being bashful. Everything about Jax, from the way he spoke to the way he strutted down the hall screamed nothing but self-righteous confidence. What type of magic tricks did Pomni possess to reveal this new side of the prince? “Well, well,” Queenie breathed, “It seems that you’re very taken with this girl.”

“Oh, she definitely stole my heart and run off with it,” Jax sighed, “I just need to know what to do that will make her realise just how perfect I am for her!”

Queenie cringed, she had a feeling this was coming. The last thing Jax needed was his ego sabotaging any chance of Pomni liking at least a quarter of him back. After all, it was his arrogance that made him receive her angry and biting tone with him, if he continued down this road he would ending up kissing any plans of courting her goodbye. “Now Jax, I understand the butterflies that come with meeting someone that has you ‘bewitched’,” she spoke carefully, hoping that her son’s head wasn’t already full of outlandish plans already. “However, Pomni has already made her opinion of you quite clear. I will support you if you want to make amends with her, however I will put a cease to that if you try and force her to become yours.”

“Force her?!” Jax gasped, flabbergasted at his mother’s suggestion. Women would throw themselves at him without Jax doing nothing more that blink, how on earth did she think he was going to force Pomni to be his? “She’ll come running to me when I show her how charming I can be, before she leaves she will practically be begging me to marry her. It’s just as easy as that.”

“Jax,” Queenie shook her head with a disappointed frown, “Are you even listening to yourself? You barely know anything about having these types of feelings, how on earth do you plan on courting a girl if you don’t take them time to access yourself first?”

“Well judging how you and father say sappy crap to each other all the time and don’t end up gagging by how overly sweet it is, it’s probably not that hard,” Jax shrugged. His heart sunk at Queenie’s crestfallen expression. He went too far there. Motley gently purred into the queen’s chest, providing comfort for her hurt state.

Despite the saccharine display his parents put on, Jax could tell how much they treasured their love for one another. To insult their bond was an insult to his mother as well, and he hated making her feel awful. “I…mother forgive me,” Jax exhaled slowly, “I got caught up there, I didn’t mean that-”

The door burst open as a guard entered into the dining room, “Your highnesses. The markets have new products after the recent shipment. Would you care to be escorted into town today, or shall I have the servants search for something that you need?”

“I, I suppose it would be nice to go into town today,” Queenie turned to her son, her eyes giving a soft forgiving shine. “What do you think Jax?”

They were okay, Jax nearly sighed with relief. Seeing his mother upset was his own personal torture, and he hated every bit of it.

“I also wanted to inform you that the circus cast from last night are also in town today,” The guard informed them, “In case you have any words to say to them for their performance.”

Jax practically beamed at that, his grin nearly splitting his face. He cleared his throat, putting on a suave look and straightened his back. After all, he had a jester to court. “Well there’s no harm in saying hi to them, now is there?” he smirked, “I think a little trip sounds just delightful.”

Queenie paled. She recognised that smirk, Jax always wore that smirk when he was up to no good. “Jax…” Queenie drawled warningly.

“Go alert my father that we plan to leave as soon as possible, in case he wants to join,” Jax commanded the guard.

The soldier in question raised a brow at that, familiar with the young prince and his antics, before turning to the queen for her verdict.

Queenie sighed, once Jax’s mind was set that was no point in trying to change it. Besides, she really wanted to go out today. “Inform Kinger that we plan to leave soon,” she said, “I would hate for him to miss out on this.”

“Yes, your majesty,” the guard bowed, turning on his heel and walking out the door.

Queenie gave Jax a glare, a silent threat to not do anything stupid.

The prince gulped, whenever Queenie sent him that look it gave him nothing but sinking dread in the pit of his gut. He had a lot on the line today, not only risking it all to win Pomni’s affection, but also to make sure he didn’t suffer from his mother’s angered wrath as well. “D-don’t worry m-mother,” he stammered, “I promise that I have nothing but good intentions going forward.”

Queenie raised a brow as Motley let out a meow – Jax swore the little shit was mocking him. “As for you,” He picked up Motley and set him on the floor, “You’re staying here. The last thing we need for you is to get lost and become someone else’s pet.” Motley mewled, pawing at Jax’s leg with a pleading look on his face. “Nope, I’ve made up my mind. Your tricks aren’t working on me today.”

He turned to his mother, offering his arm out to her, “Shall we?”

Queenie sighed, letting out a little laugh at her son’s outlandish behaviour, “I suppose. But you better behave, got it young man?” She nearly growled.

“…Yes ma’am,” Jax whimpered pathetically.

Queenie patted his cheek, “Good. Now then, let’s go find your father before he chases after another butterfly for his collection. We don’t need a repeat of…last time.”

Jax shuddered at the memory, despite his own bug-like pranks, he certainly didn’t want to do what his father was capable of. “You and me both mother,” he nodded.

He hid the dopey grin that stretched on his features the more he thought about the jester, how he was going to spoil her, give her everything she could ever hope for and more, to do anything to make her his and his alone. He couldn’t wait to see her again.

.

.

.

To tell the truth, Pomni was nothing but nerves when to came to public situations. It was different whenever she was performing, she knew that by the end of the day – as long as she put on a smile and a good show – everything would turn out according to plan. When it came to actually being in a crowd full of people, she always felt like she was going to be sick. It wasn’t easy to put on a façade when there was no pre-planned performance. The thought of being around so many people, not knowing what they were like or what they would say, she could make one slight mistake and everything could go wrong.

She was a bit glad that Kaufmo insisted to come along, to read the signs on her face in case she had to get out of here. But another part of her felt guilty for doing that. She wanted to enjoy herself put in public, to not fear the next person coming here way, to not fear if they had any other ulterior motives. Why did her mind have to be like this? And she hated how she always dragged Kaufmo down with her, he deserved to have one day where he wasn’t constantly worrying over her, how did he not see her as a burden? She just wished could be…normal. But someone like her could never be normal, not in this lifetime anyway.

Still, she wasn’t going to waste her time dwelling on misery, life was too short for that. She remained glued by Moon and Ragatha’s sides, Kaufmo trailing behind them like a guard dog (a rather colourful guard dog but the intention was clear). She wanted to have fun, have a day to just be Pomni, not worrying about the performance for tonight and if it was perfect enough. That was for later, this was now.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Sun marvelling over cakes at the window of a bakery, his mouth watering at each flavour presented through the glass. Gangle and Zooble were at a flower stall, with the latter buying a rose the same colour as the ribboned woman and gifting it to her, making Gangle blush. Pomni smiled at the couple, maybe one day she would find someone to share a bond with like Zooble and Gangle.

She heard a small gasp, turning she noticed two young girls pointing at her while whispering excitedly. Pomni shook her head fondly, they must have recognised her from the show the other night. She gave them a small curtsy, the children become even more excited before bounding over to her. She was a little bit nervous with the sudden closeness and enthusiasm from the children, but Moon and Ragatha were behind her, making sure she was alright.

She was fine, all she got was a fright. “Hello,” she waved at the two girls, “Hope can I help you?”

“Hi miss!” The first girl squealed, “You were so pretty last night!”

“Why thank you,” Pomni cooed, “Did you two enjoy the show?”

“Yeah!” the second girl cheered, “You were my favourite! You were so sparkly and twisty!”

Pomni giggled, they must have been referring to her costumes and her dance flexibility on the aerial silks. It was the main highlights of her performance and what boosted audience numbers. She wasn’t surprised that the girls liked it so much. “I’m so glad you two had fun,” she grinned, her chest fluttering at the girl’s collective beaming faces.

“What you like one of our flower crowns?” the first girl asked, “It has pretty daises!”

Pomni placed both hands to her chest in a flattered manner, “I would love to have one of your flowers crowns.”

The girls jumped with glee, fishing into one of their satchels and pulling out a delicate daisy chain tied into a circle. Pomni lowered her head as they placed it on her hair, the whole interaction made her feel giddy and warm. After all, who didn’t love flower crowns? She never got to do that at their age, so there was something bittersweet having a chance to do this now. She was about to open her mouth to thank the girls for their gift, when a loud and brash voice made her flinch.

“I knew a crown would look good on you,” Prince Jax’s voice made her wince, “Just have it in gold and you’ll look like a real princess.”

Pomni took a breath, plastering on a face of fake kindness and concealed annoyance as she turned to the prince – Moon and Ragatha were protectively standing on each side of her as Kaufmo stood from a distance, ready to intervene in case anything happened. “Prince Jax,” she spoke through gritted teeth, “To what do I owe the pleasure.”

“Your presence is enough for that little lady,” he grinned as she bristled at the nickname, “I was just making my way through town and decided to stop bye and say hi.”

“Well, now you did, so you can go now,” Pomni rolled her eyes and turned to face the girls again. Moon and Ragatha smirked while Kaufmo’s chest puffed proudly.

Jax faltered a bit, he didn’t want this conversation to end so soon! He ran up to her, dodging the ragdoll and Moon, ignoring Kaufmo’s icy glare and shoved himself in front of Pomni’s eyeline. “If you like, I could get you a little souvenir,” he offered suavely, “After all, daisies die pretty fast. Kind of a pathetic gift if you ask me. A little gold chain with a diamond would like nice around that pretty neck of yours.”

Pomni scowled at him, her anger growing more as she heard the two little girls’ sniffle at his insult. They were young, yes, but she knew about much effort must have gone into making this crown. And the fact that she never got to do this as a child only added fuel to the fire. “You have some nerve insulting the talents of your people,” she poked him harshly in the chest as a look of fear spread across the prince’s face. “This is a gift made from the gentle hands of the next generation of your kingdom, don’t you dare degrade this is present in front of them. And even if it were to die quickly, it only means I must cherish it more before that happens.”

“I-um,” Jax stammered, he was barely a minute into talking with her and he was already screwing up. He had to try a new tactic. With quick thinking, he ran over to the flower stall, blindly picked up a bouquet, slammed a few coins down and ran back over to Pomni. “Here,” he shoved the flowers into her face, making her splutter. “As an apology.”

After Pomni regained her bearings, she took a proper look at what was shoved in her face. Taking a note of the flowers in his hand, she gave him a deadpanned look, “Orange lilies and yellow carnations?”

Jax gave her a smug grin, looking as though he won the lottery, “From Prince Jax himself. You’re welcome.”

“They literally symbolise hatred and rejection,” said Pomni. Jax’s face fell, as though lightening struck through him at the realisation. “I think I’ll stick with my daisies.”

With that, she gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked away – but not before giving the two girls a warm hug and reassuring them that she loved her new flower crown.

Jax was about to go after her, until he was stopped by the death glares of Ragatha and Moon, as well and a tight grip on his shoulder. His eyes followed the hand attached to the arm, all the way to the furious gaze of Kaufmo. “I don’t give a damn if you’re royalty or not,” the clown growled, “But you will not disrespect my kid in front of me. Do I make myself clear?”

Jax gulped, the last thing he needed today was to be murdered by an overprotective clown, “Yes sir.”

“Good,” Kaufmo took his hand off, brushing it on his suit and walked away to find Pomni, Ragatha and Moon in tow.

Jax let out a breath, he never knew clowns could be that scary. He froze at the sound of a throat clearing, he groaned as he looked at Kinger and Queenie, disappointment etched on their faces with the royal guards standing behind them. “I ask for one thing Jax,” Queenie muttered, “One thing. For you to behave, and this is what you do?!”

“To be fair…this is me we’re talking about,” Jax gave them a nervous chuckle.

The couple’s expression didn’t change. “Come on,” Kinger sighed, “You’re sticking with us for the rest of the day.”

Jax whined, crossing his arms as he followed his parents and the guards. Queenie stuck by his side though, leaning up to whisper in his ear, “You know, the next time you want to impress a girl, keep the snide comments about simple gifts from children to yourself. You aren’t going to get anywhere if you keep up that attitude.”

Jax grumbled under his breath. But his mother did have a point though, they were just kids, he didn’t have to stoop so low. His stomach churned, hearing those whimpers from those little girls struck him in the heart, how could he be so cold-hearted? “You’re right mother, that wasn’t the best choice of words,” he admitted. Queenie’s eyes sparked a little bit, perhaps her son was finally taking the right step- “That’s why I’m going to spend so much fortune on Pomni and gift her anything she could ever ask for without commenting on the boring stuff she likes!”

Queenie’s face fell. Nope, Jax was still up his own ass.

.

.

.

The minute Jax was back in his room, he started writing a list. He wrote down everything he knew about how to woo a woman, and as someone who was quite popular with the ladies, he felt pretty confident with his abilities. Truly, he was a master of his craft. Once he was satisfied with his plan, he got to work, with Motley watching the trainwreck preparing itself from afar.

Firstly, he went to the best broker he could find and purchased the most beautiful, one-of-a-kind diamond that he had ever seen in his life. It was just as striking as Pomni’s perfect eyes. He had a servant deliver it to her, content that within a day’s time she would be coming to the castle to visit him. However, the servant had come back and instead of his jester, he returned with news that Pomni had sold the diamond to a local jewellery shop, where it was smashed to pieces and turned into lovely necklaces for the other women of the village.

Okay, so she wasn’t a fan of shiny things. It doesn’t matter, he still had a few plans up his sleeve.

Next, he took out a deposit of his spendings (it was at least enough to buy ten castles) and requested it to be sent to Pomni in her name for her to do what she pleased with it. His heart skipped a beat when he found out she accepted it, only for him to choke on his tongue when he found out that she had donated it all to the orphanage of the village. The only thing he received from her was a note telling him to ‘do something beneficial with his spendings since he had so much of it’.

He swooned over the fact that his little jester was so charitable, but he couldn’t ignore the irritation that came with it! He was going further beyond for her, yet she wouldn’t even spare a glance at him. What else did he have to do to make her notice him?!

It continued like that, he would send her the most lavish, expensive gifts that would make any man or woman swoon, and every single time she either gave it away or returned it. Jax was starting to get on his last nerve, she was going to notice his affections one way or another. He still had one more plan, and if this didn’t work (which it would!) then he was truly at a loss.

The next day, he gave instructions to the royal announcer. A royal banquet was going to be held at the castle tonight, with Jax wanting nothing more than to have Pomni to be his plus one for the evening. Maybe it was a bit of a jerk move to announce this publicly, but he was just so desperate to see her again, he was willing to do anything just to catch a glimpse of her lovely face.

He awaited patiently, so sure that his plan was going to work. When the announcer came back, there was a smug grin on the prince’s lips, expecting for him to say that his jester would be attending tonight. However, the situation was much more different than the prince had hoped. When the news went out to the public that Prince Jax wanted to invite Pomni to the banquet, she had merely given the announcer a simple bow and replied:

“I appreciate the invitation, but I will have to decline the prince’s offer and his lack of planning ahead.”

Jax felt as if he had been kicked in the stomach.

She rejected his invite! In public no less! It was one thing to reject an invite to such a regal occasion, but to reject a royal? That was the biggest humiliation that anyone could ever do to royalty! It would leave a mark on his reputation! The only prince known in all the lands to be rejected for all the kingdom to see.

And this is where it left him now, alone at the banquet, swirling a glass of wine as he mumbled to himself. “It was the diamond, I should’ve gotten her the ruby,” he muttered under his breath, “Diamonds are overrated anyways. I don’t understand, I’m great with courting, how could anyone-”

“You know, you can tap a cocoon as many times as you want, the butterfly still won’t come out,” he jumped at the sound of his mother’s voice as she walked up to him.

“Mother,” he gasped, “You can’t keep surprising me like that!”

“Just like how you can’t keep pushing this girl to be with you,” Queenie crossed her arms over her chest, “Honestly Jax. Out of all the ideas you have had in your entire life, announcing to the public to make Pomni join you for tonight has got to be your most ridiculous one yet! Honestly, I don’t blame her for rejecting you, someone had to hit you with common sense eventually!”

“I-I, but!” Jax stammered, but deep down he knew his mother was right. Karma had to hit him eventually, and it hit him with the most alluring, beautiful, one-of-a-kind songbird that fluttered into his heart, only for her to be completely out of his reach. He sighed, “I just… I never felt this way for anyone before.”

“Really?! I couldn’t tell with the way you were constantly making a fool of yourself!” she ignored Jax’s gaping mouth towards her, continuing her speech. “She has expressed to you multiple times that she isn’t interested with what you have to offer Jax! Either you cease these attempts or you actually find something that will let her see you in a different light!”

“How?! If this is all that I can offer her, then it’s already too late for me. You know it, you see it! I’m nothing but a reckless prince who keeps ruining things for myself,” Jax’s shoulder’s tensed, taking a breath while feeling his heart twist in his chest as his eyes drifted down to the ground. “For the first time something finally good came my way and I already messed it up. But I don’t want to let her go.”

Queenie’s shoulders sagged, her face twisting somberly, “You already have so many good things Jax. I wish you could see it too.”

Jax was about to open his mouth to ask what she meant, but Queenie was already walking away. He stared at the wine in his cup, watching the bubbles rise to the top. Through the glass, he could see the other guests spying on him, whispering to one another while pointing at him.

He knew they were talking about his most recent blunder with Pomni, and as much as it hurt, it wasn’t the first time the upper class had gossiped about him. Even before his pranks, before his reputation as the ‘disaster heir of Laphria’, ever since he was a child every lord, duke and count always had their opinions and comments about of him, none of them friendly.

Jax scoffed at them, he didn’t care. At least now that he was older he had a reason for them to talk nothing but rubbish about him, instead of simply being a child.

He took a swig of his wine, it was going to be a long night.

.

.

.

My nana says I have travelling feet

Travelling feet, travelling feet

Slippers for princesses don't fit me

But I dance to my own drum, bright and bold

And my travelling feet always get me home

Pomni strummed her guitar in the dressing room, fully decked in her costume and waiting for the performance to start later. She always got nervous before a show (especially after the public invite she received from the prince) but her music always calmed her down.

My sister says I've a restless soul

Restless soul, restless soul

Easy to catch, but I'm hard to hold

Like a song on the wind that you caught one day

I get under your skin, then I slip away

Gangle, Zooble, Moon and Ragatha were in there as well, adding the last touches to their costumes while listening to Pomni’s song. The girl had come a long way, for better and for worse, but her music was one of the things that gave the circus members hope. After what they went though, they could all use it.

I'm a map of the world and the ones before

One foot in sea and one on shore

Every step, every hope flung high

I'm a map of them all with my Irish eyes

“That’s coming along really well Pomni!” Gangle clapped as Pomni finished up.

The jester smiled, resting her head on the side of her guitar as she faced the rest of the group, “It still has some polishing but it’s becoming a new favourite of mine.”

“I’m glad you have something to focus on after that whole mess earlier,” Moon sneered at the memory of the announcer, feeling nothing but fury at the prince for trying to pressure Pomni to join him. “It took bravery to decline such a heavy offer Pomni.”

Pomni cringed, “I don’t understand, what on earth does the prince see in me for him to keep running back! I mean, you’d think he’d take a hint after what I said to him the first time I saw him! But no, he just wants to keep being annoying. Ugh, men are the worst thing in this realm.”

“Agreed,” Ragatha nodded, “Men are only born with half a brain with not a lot going on in there.”

“I don’t know,” Zooble shrugged, “Granted, women are better. But you seem pretty passionate about someone you find annoying Pomni.”

“W-what?!” Pomni stuttered, nearly dropping the guitar, “What is that supposed to mean?!”

“You know, if you really hate him Pomni you wouldn’t be talking about him this much,” Zooble grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gangle gasped, an excited grin gracing her mask, “It’s true! Pomni, you can say you like him, we won’t judge!”

“I-I, no! I don’t ­like him! That’s absurd!” Pomni stuck her tongue out in disgust.

“Exactly, there’s no way that prince even deserves Pomni,” Ragatha nodded.

“Honestly, you and Zooble might be so head over heels with one another that you both are making up stories in your head!” Moon frowned, shaking her head.

“Or maybe we’re able to see the obvious,” Zooble chuckled.

“No! No! You don’t see anything!” Pomni squeaked. “Besides, Jax is not my type at all! He’s so loud and rude. And has a terrible sense of humour. And struts as if he owns the place. And he has untamed, wild eyes…that shine. And he’s always smiling no matter what’s thrown his way. And his smile, its so…” She trailed off, whipping her head up when she noticed Zooble’s shit eating grin, Gangle’s giddy face and the shocked looks that Ragatha and Moon shared. “…It’s so annoying! I mean come on!”

Her eyes darted between everyone, no one was buying her excuse. “I’m getting some air!” she huffed, setting her guitar down and running out of the dressing room.

Once she was at a good distance, she climbed the nearest rope connected to the ceiling, balancing and swinging on it slightly before jumping onto a nearby trapeze swing. She sighed with relief, despite her anxiety, the vertigo from being up so high was enough to distract her. She smiled a little bit, from up here she could see half of behind the tent and the audience were starting to flood the seats.

Her mind went back to what Zooble said, more so what they said about Jax. Her?! Like him?! How could she ever like him?! They were so different and he oozed nothing but a ‘higher than thou’ attitude, something she despised. She hated him, yup that was her final verdict, she hated him.

But unfortunately Gangle was right, she couldn’t get him out of here head.

She groaned, why couldn’t the rabbit prince get out of her head?!

“Did you hear about Prince Jax?”

Pomni perked up, looking down at the crowd. There was a group of young adults around her age, from the fine fabrics and jewels they wore that had to be belonging to quite prestigious families.

There were two young women and men, each one of them wearing vicious smirks. “This has to be his most embarrassing blunder yet.”

Pomni frowned, she didn’t like their tones at all.

“As if he wasn’t an embarrassment enough,” the first man sneered, “Honestly, I can’t believe that the crown will be going to him.”

“Marriage into the crown is the only saving quality of that man,” the first woman giggled, “That and his parties.”

“Imagine how low you have to sink to be like that,” the second man cackled, “Only being good for parties and nights in the sheets.”

The second woman whacked his arm with her fan, “Don’t talk about such topics in public!”

“He isn’t wrong though,” the first woman pointed out, “He was so desperate to lose his virtue, such a pig!”

Pomni’s heart sank. She only heard the village talk about the prince, his recklessness and pranks and all that, but was this how the upper crust talked about him? He probably had to spend every day with these types of people coming into the castle, did he hear every bit of it in the hallways?

“What else do we expect from an orphan bastard,” the second man sneered, “Only taken in because the royal family felt pity for him. Only one with peasant blood could act so foolishly.”

Pomni saw red. That was the final straw. To think so lowly of someone just because they had no blood relation to royalty, out of all the things to not like about the prince, that was what they hated the most?! He couldn’t control not being born into status! And each comment that they made was an indirect insult to the king and queen taking in a child from the kindness of their hearts!

In fact, having this knowledge made her understand Jax a little bit more, was this why he acted out the way he did? From hearing these comments all the time? After all, she knew better than anyone about being taken care of by someone with no blood connected to them, she didn’t know if she would even be here today if it wasn’t for Kaufmo.

She glared at the ignorant cluster below her, she wasn’t going to let them get away with this.  

She looked up, on the platform next to Moon and Sun’s tightrope, she could see the bucket of water that was typically dumped onto Kaufmo’s head at the beginning of his act. She titled the swing, giving it a bit of momentum before swing over onto the tightrope. She jumped, balancing carefully before tiptoeing over to the platform. She picked up the bucket of water, searched for the group again before dumping the water over them, soaking their clothes and makeup.

They let out ear-piercing screeches, demanding who did this. Pomni jumped back onto her swing, hidden in the shadows as she bit back a giggle. That would teach them a lesson for their vile little words.

She froze when she heard a throat clear, looking back behind the tent, she saw Kaufmo with his arms crossed while frowning. Damn it, he saw what she did.

“Uh…the water was dirty?” she gave him a nervous laugh.

His face didn’t move a muscle. Oh I’m in big trouble “I’m sorry Pa.”

.

.

.

There was so much smoke.

So much fire.

She couldn’t breathe, the smoke was too much.

There was no one there.

Where did everyone go?

She couldn’t be alone.

She can’t be alone.

“Ma!”

There was no answer.

No body

No life.

“Ma where are you?!”

Pomni woke in a cold sweat. She took in her surroundings, she was in the inn, sleeping after another show. She wasn’t a five-year-old girl anymore, she wasn’t stuck in a burning town with faded memories. She was here, she was safe.

She rubbed her face, the nightmares would always change, but they would never become dreams and they would never go away. There had been nights while she was more than willing to sacrifice her sleep, but it only resulted in passing out during the middle of the day. Nothing but a viscous cycle that she couldn’t escape from.

She contemplated getting her guitar out, but she didn’t want to risk waking anyone. She hated it when she got like this, she was nothing but a burden that everyone else was forced to carry. She was weak and stupid and a coward and-

Smash!

She screamed when the glass of her window smashed, a hooded figure climbing in with a knife and rope.

Pomni’s stomach sank. No, no I can’t go back.

She reached under her pillow, pulling out a knife of her own. The hooded man came forward to hit her, she blocked his attack and kicked him away. He let out a yell as he was pushed back. Pomni jumped off the bed as he began to stand back up, slashing her knife on her arms every time he lunged to her.

She raised her knife again, only for her door to be kicked down by another figure. They grabbed her arms, forcing her to drop the knife. The first stranger handed the rope to his associate as they reached into their pockets for something else. “Thought you had her under control,” the second figure spat.

“Don’t blame me,” the first one retorted, “Caine didn’t say how much of a spitfire she was.”

The name sent a shiver down Pomni’s spine. “Help! Somebody hel-” her cries were cut off when the first figure wrapped a gag around her mouth, muffling her screams.

“The pay before make up for this,” the second growled, “I got every mind to cut this little bitch’s fingers off.”

“Easy, Caine said he wanted her in one piece,” the first told him, “Just keep your eyes on the prize and we’ll be fine.”

Pomni heard more screams and crashes coming from outside her room. The others, they were in danger to. She tried to escape from her captor’s hold, but they were too strong as they wrapped the rope around her wrists and dragged out of the room.

She paled as she saw the rest of the circus crew being dragged out of their rooms, with staff members of the inn trying to stop them. In the midst of the ruckus, her captors managed to drag her away and outside into the pouring rain. The first figure pulled him onto his horse, with the second one hoisting Pomni behind him.

“Remember,” the second one spoke, “Meet Caine in the middle of the woods, that’s where he’s doing the pick-up.”

“Don’t need to tell me twice,” the first nodded, whipping his reigns and taking off.

Pomni could only struggle as she watched the inn grow smaller and smaller, while her heart spiked and panic washed over her.

She can’t be a prisoner again.

She can’t let that happen.

She won’t let that happen.

.

.

.

The royal family was awoken in the middle of the night, an emergency was afoot and it needed their full attention.

Jax rubbed sleep from his eyes as he followed his parents into the throne room. This had better be good if he was rudely awoken.

“Your majesties,” a guard bowed, “The innkeeper has requested immediate help, her inn is under attack.”

The fur on Jax’s neck stood, that’s where Pomni was.

“Word has it that they call themselves the gloinks, a group of bounty hunters that has raided many kingdoms before,” the guard continued, “We managed to send over as many as we could to arrest them and they managed to intervene before anyone was hurt. But one already got away with a victim.”

No, no, no, no, no, no. Please don’t tell me its-

“They took the jester from the circus.”

Jax was numb, the rest of the world falling silent.

From the corner of his eye, he could see his parents worrying and giving out instructions of what to do. But Jax? He already had a plan. Get Pomni back.

And so, he ran.

“Jax!” Kinger yelled out to him, “Jax!”

“Jax where are you going?!” Queenie shouted.

He ignored them, he had to. Someone kidnapped Pomni, and they were going to pay.

He ran all the way to the stables, pulling a nearby coat off the rack as he took out his horse. He didn’t bother with a saddle, he had ridden plenty of times without one. Maybe he would get in trouble for disobeying his parents later, but he didn’t care. What mattered right now was Pomni’s safety.

He took hold off his horse’s mane as he took off, running out of the stables and towards the gate.

“Open the gate!” he shouted to whoever was there.

At his command, they opened.

“Come on boy,” he told his horse, “We gotta go!”

The horse galloped faster and faster, running past the gates and into the town.

He had to pick up the pace, Pomni’s captor was probably reaching the edge of the village. There was one thing he knew, tonight, he was getting Pomni back.

.

.

.

Pomni struggled with her binds, her kidnapper’s horse was starting to near the forest. She couldn’t go back to Caine, not when freedom was at her grasp. She closed her eyes and focused, blue mist levitating from her hands. She focused on the knot on the rope, letting the mist carefully pull it out. It took time and patience, but she managed to get it to slip out.

She pulled the rope off, taking the gag off and was about to jump off the horse when an arm grabbed her. “Oh no you don’t!” her captor growled, “You ain’t getting away that easily!”

“I’m not going back!” she screamed, “You can tell Caine to go fuck himself!”

She raised a hand, scratching him in the face, leaving behind three bleeding streaks across his skin. “You stupid cunt!” he screamed.

He struck Pomni across the face. The momentum sending her off the horse, hitting the back of her head on a rock. “Fuck!” he jumped off, going over to her, “Shit, Caine’s gonna kill me!”

“Not before I kill you first.”

A fist grabbed the back of the captor’s hood, and he met the striking yellow and furious eyes of Prince Jax. He swore death was staring right back at him.

Jax used his other hand to grab the captor by the throat, lifting him above the ground. Jax grinned as he watched writhe in pain, scratching at his hands for air. He felt no mercy for this son of a bitch, he put his filthy hands on Pomni. He was going to pay. He slammed the captor against a tree, his head collecting with the trunk as he passed out. Jax threw him to the ground, he would deal with him later. There were more important matters at hand.

“Pomni!” he rushed over to her, kneeling to the ground and putting her head on his lap. When he pulled his hand away, his heart twisted as the sight of blood on his fingertips. Carefully lifting her head, he saw a nasty gash bleeding in the back of her head. He had to get her to a healer and fast. He pulled his jacket off, tearing off a sleeve and wrapped it round her add, making sure it applied pressure to the wound and ceased the bleeding.

He slid his arms under her waist and back, pulling her into his embrace and let her head rest on his shoulder as he stood. He carried her over to his horse, lifting them both up as he cradled her. He could see the rest of the guards coming, they could deal with her captor. For now, Pomni needed medical attention.

Without missing a beat, his horse tore off back to the castle, Jax keeping one hand on his mane and the other wrapped around Pomni to steady her. “Come on boy, come on!” he grunted, the horse snorting back as he ran as fast as he could.

Relief flooded him the moment the castle gates were in sight, opening at the first sight of the prince. Jax jumped off the horse as he slowed to a spot, keeping Pomni in his arms as he ran to the doors of the castle.

The guards positioned outside immediately opening the doors once they saw the royal and the injured jester, not wasting a moment so he could get her inside.

“Medic! I need a medic!” Jax yelled out, running up the marbled stairs.

The servants rushed out at the sound of the prince’s voice, gasping at the sight of Pomni and led them both quickly to a guest room.

Jax gently lay her on the plush bed, a few maids rushing over with bowls of water and towels. “She hit her head,” he told them, “I tried to add pressure to stop the blood but I’m not sure if it did enough.”

He unwrapped the makeshift bandage, tossing it aside before grabbing one of the wet towels to press it against the wound. A maid took it from him, pressing against it instead. He didn’t want to stand there doing nothing, Pomni was hurt and he was hanging around like a useless fly. “Blankets, do we have blankets?!” he turned to another servant, fear and desperation in his eyes.

They must’ve noticed, for they didn’t waste time pointing to a nearby cupboard. Jax rushed over, pulling out every blanket he could find and placed it on Pomni’s shivering body. “Hang in there Pomni,” his hands began to shake, there was more blood. He couldn’t lose her, not after treating her the way he did. His mother was right, now he was paying the price.

A doctor rushed in, medical bag in hand and ready to get to work. Jax’s stomach flipped when he heard Pomni letting out a whimper in her unconscious state. “Be careful with her!” he growled.

He felt a hand pulling him back by the shoulder, he flinched, shoving it away, only to soften that it was his father with his mother behind him. “Pomni is in good with hands with the doctor,” Kinger placed his hand back on Jax’s shoulder, “You got her here in time, let him do his work.”

“I can’t do nothing,” Jax interrupted, “Not when she’s hurt like this! I have to, I need to-”

“Ma,”

Everyone turned to the voice. Pomni wasn’t awake, but a tear slid down her cheek as she shifted in her slumber. “Ma,” her voice cracked, “Ma I’m stuck. Where are you?”

Jax’s heart shattered into a million pieces. Seeing and hearing Pomni so vulnerable, stripped of the glam and sass she wore, leaving behind a broken and frightened person instead. It made the guilt ten times worse. He felt himself sway, his head was pounding and his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest from how hard it was beating. Queenie immediately noticed, already wrapping her arms around her son and led him to a cushioned chair in the corner of the room.

“Pomni, she needs my help, she…” he murmured.

“Shh, it’s okay, you’ve done enough,” Queenie reassured him, running a hand over his ears, “Rest, she’s going to be okay.”

Jax wanted to protest, to insist that he was fine, to be by Pomni’s side. But the promise of sleep was too strong to ignore. And so, he shut his eyes. He’d wake up later, then he would help Pomni.

.

.

.

Kaufmo couldn’t stop trembling. When the inn was under attack, he was roughly grabbed out of his bed and shoved against a wall, leaving him with a bleeding forehead and a black eye. The blood was ringing in his ears and his vision was blurred, but what he did notice was Pomni screaming and tied up as she was dragged away.

He wanted to reach out for her, to give hell to those who hurt his kid, but the pain was too much and his attacker was too strong to escape from. Just hearing the cries of his family, and the fear of…him finding them. It was too much.

He thanked whatever god was up there when the palace guards came, saving them from the gloinks. But it was short-lived, with Pomni being the first thing on his mind. Out of everyone in the circus, it was his kid who had the highest bounty on her head.

He nearly cried when the news of Pomni being safe at the castle arrived to him, but what shocked him was who saved her. Prince Jax. Never in all his days did he think that the arrogant prince would care for anyone’s wellbeing other than his own. Nevertheless, Pomni was Kaufmo’s first priority, he wanted to get to the castle as soon as possible.

And this was where he stood now, in the throne room with the rest of the circus behind him, all praying for Pomni to be okay. The king and queen trekked into the room, Kaufmo running as soon as he saw them. “Where’s Pomni? What happened to her? Is she okay?” tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t care, his kid was all that mattered.

“It’s okay,” Queenie spoke, “Pomni is safe, she hit her head but we had a doctor attend to her and she is recovering in a guest room.”

Kaufmo let out a giant sigh of relief. All tension leaving him the second the news was told to him. Pomni was okay, they got to her in time.

“However it does leave a question,” Kinger said, his tone serious and avoid of any other emotion, “Why were the gloinks targeting Pomni directly? What’s going on with you all?”

Kaufmo paled, the rest of the circus matching his expression. They had a feeling that after what happened, this question would arise. After all, this wasn’t a normal attack. The gloinks were infamous for their bounty hunting, always demanding the highest pay for whoever that had to go after. So why go after a simple jester?

“Kaufmo?” Ragatha walked towards him, placing a hand on his back, a silent question if he really wanted to get into this mess.

“It’s okay, they have to know,” Kaufmo took a breath to prepare himself, he could so this. “Our circus wasn’t always like this, and I wasn’t always the ringmaster. Many years ago, I wanted to be a clown for my whole life. Performing in a circus was always my dream. But no matter who I went to, they would never hire me. I was going to give up until I met a man named Caine. He was starting a circus of his own and he had everything, except a clown. He practically hired me on the spot, I was so excited that I was willing to look past any warning that were blaring.

It was fine at first, the audience liked my jokes, it was good pay and I got to travel all over the land. However, after a year of being there, I was ready to go home and see my family. But when I tried to leave, that was when I saw Caine’s true colours. The moment I stepped out of that tent, I was attacked by Caine’s hunters. It was then when I learned that no one could leave, and even if you tried, Caine would send his men after you. Either you get attacked, but if you attempted to leave multiple times…I know many members who chose death rather than stay.”

“That’s how Caine tricks people,” Moon spoke up, “He offered me a home for me and my brother. I even fell in love with him. But when I saw what he was doing, I tried to get help. I made it about three feet before his hunters came after me.”

“He said he would help my family,” Ragatha rubbed her arm nervously, “We were poor and he said he would pay for anything as long as I stayed in the circus. I haven’t seen my family in five years.”

“I wanted to run away with the circus, escape from the harm that was in my town,” Gangle sniffed, Zooble wrapped an arm around her, “I never thought how much worse it could get.”

“It went on like that for so long,” Kaufmo continued. “For years we were nothing but puppets for Caine as he fed off our talents. If we weren’t sleeping, we were either rehearsing or performing. And if we showed the slightest sign of fatigue, he’d unleash his fury on us. It only got worse when Pomni arrived. Pomni…I’ll let her tell her story. But she was the youngest out of all of us. She was five when Caine stole her. I took her under my wing, protecting her from Caine. But Pomni was different than the rest of us, her talents are…unique to say the least. It was what attracted audiences however, and as long as Pomni had that power, there was no way Caine was ever going to let her go.

“That was where I came in,” Zooble spoke up. “When the circus arrived in my area, I already had my suspicions. That was when I met Gangle, she told me what happened and I knew I couldn’t do nothing. So I came up with a plan to get them out. I would pretend that I wanted to be in Caine’s show while trying to get everyone out. It took a few buddies of mine and some help from my village, but it worked.”

“We managed to get the enforcers of the town and alert them of what was happening and then managed to detain Caine…at least for a while,” Kaufmo’s face fell. “A while ago, we heard news that Caine had managed to escape, but what really scared us the most was that he didn’t want any of us. Just Pomni. She was irreplaceable, so we’ve been on the run ever since. As long as Caine’s out there, none of us are free.”

Queenie and Kinger stood there, shellshock keeping them frozen in place. How could anyone react any differently to that information?! They wanted to so badly to ask about Pomni, but they knew that they shouldn’t pry her story from others. It was hers and only hers to share. “I appreciate you telling us this, I can’t imagine what you all have gone through,” Queenie told them, nothing but kindness and sincerity in her tone.

“Rest assured,” Kinger straightened up, “We will do everything in our power to make sure Caine doesn’t come near you ever again.”

“But how?!” Kaufmo cried out, “We’ve done everything in our power to get rid of him and he still manages a way to find us! We’re lucky to be alive at this point!”

“Believe my husband and I when I say that Caine will not get away with these crimes,” Queenie informed them. “For your safety, including Pomni’s, we advise you to stay within the castle walls under Caine is no longer a threat. Our soldiers are highly trained to deal with these types of threats. Worry not, your freedom is going to be granted soon.”

Kaufmo opened his mouth and closed it. Freedom? Was it really that possible for him? Would his daughter finally be rid of that monster? Maybe he was getting his hopes up, but by the end of the day, it was still hope. And as long as Pomni was safe, he would take it. “Thank you, your majesties, thank you,” Kaufmo shuddered, feeling a sense of happiness he hadn’t felt in a long time.”

“Of course,” Kinger nodded, “Once Pomni has arisen, we’ll let you see her. As for now, we’ll have your belongings transferred over to the castle. Please, breathe, you are all safe here.”

The circus members looked to one another, was it really possible? Would they finally have a life without fear? All they knew was one thing, as long as Caine didn’t get his hands on Pomni, then they could all finally breathe.

.

.

.

Pomni stirred lightly, her head thundering with pain. She was half tempted to go back to sleep, this bed was the softest she had ever slept in. She eyes shot open, the bed at the inn wasn’t normally this soft. When the bleariness cleared, she could see that she was laid upon the most luxurious sheets she had ever slept in, along with sleek silky pillows that cooled the heat rising upon her flushed skin. As her eyes travelled, they landed upon red wallpaper with embroidered gold stems and leaves, her gaze drifted to the side as she spied some type of curtains tied to each side of the bed.

She lifted herself up into a sitting position, ignoring her throbbing head as she took in more of her surroundings. She was still wondering how she got here, in fact, her memories were just as fuzzy in her. Then, in a flash, it came back to her.

The nightmares.

The break in.

The cries of her family.

The fear of seeing Caine.

The agony of her head hitting the rock…

And then Jax was there. His touch soft and his voice gentle as he lifted her and carried her back to the castle. Jax…saved me.

Pomni turned, gasping faintly as she saw the prince in a chair next to her. The castle she realised to herself I’m in the castle. Jax’s head was resting on the side of the bed as his breathing evenly flowed in and out. She smiled a bit, he looked so innocent like this. Stripped of his brashness and confidence, a small glimpse of Jax was peeking out to her. She was half tempted to brush her fingers through the fur of his ears, but quickly decided against that. He was a prince for goodness’ sake, how improper would that be.

She flinched at the sound of small pattering feet. She had a feeling she was safe due to the heavy protection surrounding the castle, but even that couldn’t keep the nerves at bay. She held the blankets closer to her, as though they would act as some sort of shield. All that worry melted away into awe once she saw the sweet brown eyes of a kitten starting up at her as he wandered into the room.

“Aw!” she cooed, “Hi little kitty!”

The kitten meowed, his tail wagging slowly as he made his way over to the jester. Pomni patted the bed, gesturing for the feline to come up. His claws caught into the sheets, making his way up until he joined Pomni on the mattress. Unable to resist, she scooped his up into her arms, with the little kitten rubbing his head against her cheek as he purred. “You’re just the sweetest little thing, aren’t you?” she scratched behind his ears.

Mew

She pressed a small kiss on his nose, he was just so cute!

Unbeknownst to the duo, the movement and noise that they were making made the prince stir a bit.  

Jax let out a low grumble, the back of his neck aching after sleeping in this horrible position. But he didn’t want to leave Pomni’s side for a moment. Just in case she woke up or something happened to her in her sleep. No, he had to be here. Even if he resigned himself to sleep in a terrible way, Pomni mattered more.

He could feel something move next to him, along with the sound of coos and tiny meows. Wait a minute, he recognised those meows. He straightened up immediately, ignoring the neck ache. Pomni jumped at how quickly got up, hugging Motley closer to her.

“You’re awake!” Jax’s mouth split into a relieved grin, “Are you okay, nothing hurts does it? Do you need anything? Another blanket, water?”

Pomni blinked with confusion at the prince’s many questions. He seemed so…sweet? He did save her life, but still, seeing this side of him was so jarring. “Um, I’m fine thanks,” she smiled awkwardly.

He ran to the door, not wanting to waste a single moment longer, “Doctor! She’s awake!”

It wasn’t long before the doctor came in, checking her over and making sure she was alright, informing her about her extended stay in the castle and the search for Caine. However, all her focus seemed to be on Jax. When the doctor asked for a cool towel for her flushed face, Jax was eager to fetch it. When a breeze through the window made her shiver, he was quick to close it. And when the maid was setting up a tray of breakfast for her, Jax dropped everything to help her. Even the servants and doctors seemed perplexed by his behaviour. What happened to the mischievous prince who made sure to make his crudeness his reputation?

When the buzz died down, the doctor informed Pomni to stay in bed and that he would fetch her family.

Her family. They were safe, it relieved some tension that she didn’t even know she had. It was when Jax turned to leave that she did something that puzzled both of them. “Wait!” she called out. The prince turned back, did she want him to stay? “I-I just…why did you save me?”

Jax was taken aback by that question, staring at her as though the answer was obvious, “I couldn’t just let them take you. Bounty hunters invaded my kingdom and kidnapped one of our visitors. Besides, you hold value to your family and circus. They need you in their lives.”

“R-right, well what I wanted to say was…thank you,” her smile made his heart turn to melted gold. So soft yet so delicate and beautiful. It was burned into the prince’s memory.

“Y-you’re welcome Pomni,” Jax stuttered, sitting himself back down on the chair. He gulped, not once in his life did he get so tongue-tied over another person. It was certainly an interesting feeling to say the least. “And I should apologise for sending you those gifts and the announcement in the town square. Please believe me when I say that I didn’t aim to make you uncomfortable. How does my mother put it? My heart can be bigger than my brain sometimes. But I’m sorry that you had to witness it.”

It was Pomni’s turn to be taken aback. She had never heard words so genuine and sincere, especially with it coming from someone she always saw as pompous and crude. She cleared her throat, “I appreciate the apology your highness. It may take me a while to fully forgive you, but you’ve made a good start already.”

“Jax,” he said.

She hummed questioningly.

“Call me Jax,” he clarified.

“Oh! Well, thank you Jax,” she ran her fingers along the kitten’s fur, listening to him purr to fill the pleasant silence.

“Ah, I see you met Motley,” Jax poked the feline’s nose.

“Motley?” Pomni tilted her head.

“My cat,” he clarified.

Pomni let out a gasp, excitement washing over her. “This is your cat?!” she beamed, holding the kitten up to her face, “He’s adorable.” She pressed little kisses over his small face, Motley purring louder at the affection.

Jax grumbled, ignoring the twinge of jealously, “He’s an obnoxious little shit.”

Pomni scoffed at him, “No he’s not! He’s a sweet little gentleman.”

“He broke in here and decided that this place was gonna be his home,” Jax retorted back, “I didn’t get a say in the matter.”

“But how could you say no to this cute face?” Pomni held Motley closer to Jax’s face, the kitten pressing a paw to the prince’s nose.”

“He’s quite…persuading. But you won’t like him when he’s taking a bath, trust me,” Jax said.

Pomni rolled her eyes, cuddling the kitten again. Jax smiled softly, it was sweet to see her bonding with Motley, after what happened she could use this little interaction to help lift her spirits.

They paused for a moment, Jax letting Pomni take small bites of her breakfast while he prepared some tea for her. He had requested chamomile from the maids, it was what helped him for whenever he had a sick day and he hoped it would help Pomni as well. Once Pomni’s plate was cleared, he gently put the mug in her hands and took away the breakfast tray. She hummed appreciatively at the warm drink, watching Jax’s carefully stack everything together and taking it to the door. It was quite the sight to see, a prince waiting beck and call for a commoner. But she wasn’t complaining, it was rather comforting to be taken care of.

Throughout the silence, simple questions being traded back and forth between the two. “So tell me, how do you know so much about flowers?” Jax asked, “You know, after my abysmal attempt of trying to give some to you.”

Pomni laughed, it was quite funny looking back at it now, “My ma-…my family always loved flowers, they taught me everything there was to know about them. My favourite was always roses, it might be cliché but there are so many meanings to come out of one flower depending on the colour.”

“I see,” Jax murmured, even the smallest thing about Pomni meant the world to him. She was just so fascinating.

“And you,” Pomni spoke, “What is your favourite pastime?”

“Well…I have a passion for reading,” he told her, “Ever since I was young I’ve always had a fondness for books about adventures and swashbuckling pirates! Every page was a new journey and I wanted to devour it all! I wanted to live that life more than ever.”

“That does sound amazing,” she mused, “I haven’t been to a library in so long…” she trailed off. Jax’s face fell slightly, reaching his hand out to her. Pomni noticed the sudden change in mood and smiled again, “But it’s alright, I’m sure I will one day.”

Jax nodded, keeping her sentence locked in his mind. He’d have to come back to that later.

Pomni bit her lip, another question had been burning at the back of her mind and it had made her more curious than she thought she should be. She turned to Jax, “I have to ask, why did you want to see me so badly? What did I do that made you so infatuated?”

Jax blinked, resting his arms on his legs as he clasped his hands together. He took a breath, his face serious as he answered her, “I know it might sound ridiculous, and you’re allowed to laugh. But in all honesty, it was your voice.”

Pomni perked up, her eyes wide, “My voice?”

“Yeah,” Jax nodded, “The moment you started singing, I just wanted to know more about you. You were telling a story simply through song, but you were only telling the first chapter. I got impatient and wanted to read more. From the first note, I knew that there was more to you that I had to know. I just…didn’t go about it the right way at first.” He let out a nervous chuckled, only to freeze when he saw a tear slide down her cheek. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you!”

“No, no, you didn’t,” she let out a choked laugh, wiping the tear away, “In fact, you said exactly what I needed to hear.”

Motley rubbed his head against her arm, offering as much comfort as possible. Jax placed his hand on hers, “Pomni, if I act or say anything stupid just say the word. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a massive idiot.”

Pomni giggled, her face twisting into one of mock surprise, “Really, I had no idea!”

Jax rolled his eyes fondly, “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up short stack.”

She snorted, about to say another word when the room was suddenly flooded by the circus members. Each one of them fretting over her and checking if she was okay. “Guys! I’m fine!” she reassured them, Motley scrambling out of the crowd and ran over to Jax.

The rabbit picked him up, giving the circus cast their space as they reunited with Pomni. “You scared me to death kiddo!” Kaufmo squeezed her, “I thought they got you!”

“I’m okay Pa,” she rested her head on his shoulder, “I gave them a piece of my mind before Jax saved me.”

Kaufmo froze, slowly turning to the prince. “You saved my kid?” he asked.

Jax gulped, he still hadn’t forgotten the clown’s terrifying threat, “Yes?”

Kaufmo hummed in thought, it seemed that he judged the prince a bit too harshly. But only a little bit, he didn’t regret chewing him out. “Thank you, your highness,” he gave Jax a simple bow, “It’s good to know that our safety is taken seriously by you.”

“O-of course,” Jax stuttered. He had fought and won battles against much more frightening opponents, how did a clown seem worse than that?

Kaufmo turned his attention back to Pomni, running his hand over her wound and cringing at the sight. He sat on the bed next to Pomni, the girl leaning into her father’s hug as the rest of the circus members watched over them.

Jax decided to take this as a que to leave and give them their privacy. He was just about to head out the room when he was stopped by Pomni’s voice, “Jax!”

He paused, turning back to her.

“Thank you, again,” Pomni smiled at him, “For what you did.”

Jax grinned, feeling a sense of pride fill him. But it wasn’t the usual arrogance he’d come to expect, there was a warmth to it, and a flutter of butterflies in his stomach. Holding Motley in one arm, he gave the jester a bow, “Always. If you’d like, once you’ve recovered, I could give you a tour of the castle?”

“I’d like that,” Pomni nodded.

And with that, Jax took his leave, fully aware of the stabbing glares of Kaufmo, Moon and Ragatha on his back, never did he expect to feel such danger from a circus crew.

Pomni bit her lip shyly, fisting the sheets below her hands before looking up to meet Gangle’s giddy smile and Zooble’s teasing gaze. “So, you got yourself a date with the prince huh?” Zooble chortled.

“S-shut up!” Pomni threw a pillow at him, making them laugh harder. She sighed, that prince really wormed himself into her heart, didn’t he?

Song Credit: Irish Eyes by Rose Betts

#the amazing digital circus #jax #pomni #pomnijax #funnybunny #jax x pomni #pomni x jax #kinger #queenie #ragatha #gangle #zooble #tadc sun #tadc moon #caine #dragon rambles #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #royal au #prince!jax #my writing

[deargodhelpmeaaa]

My attempt at an Adventure Time: Fiona and Cake finale rewrite (READ THE TAGS PLEASE this is not representative of my writing at all)

Requested by: @r0swells and @raidenfanclub

This is still an early (kind of rough) draft due to me not having more time to work on it, and I wanted it to be a surprise for the two people who requested it so I didn't get them to beta read and was a bit too embarrassed to ask anyone else to do so. Whatever the case, I tried my best. I referenced this post and this post, various clips of the original series and The Adventure Time Wiki to write this, so if I didn't get the characterization completely on point I apologize. I hope you enjoy this nonetheless.

Context: This is after Golbetty bricks the Lich. Due to the show having built up the Lich being “depressed” already I have to roll with it. I am merely “fixing” the episode where Simon speaks to Betty and not the stuff before it, since that was kind of the deal the people who requested this made. Only rewrite the last episode. We start this on the last frame after GOLBetty turns the lich into a lego.

(Simon steps back a little. GOLBetty looks at him and summons an avatar of Betty.)

Simon: Betty?

Betty: Yeah, it’s me. Well, an avatar of me, this isn’t my real body, but… yeah, this is me. I just figured I’d talk to you in a more familiar form to show you, yeah, hi, I’m still here. Also, at this size I can do this.

(Betty hugs Simon)

Simon: This is probably the worst possible time for us to meet again like this…

Betty: What do you mean?

Simon: It’s a long story… I made a promise to these two people I met, Fiona and Cake, who live in this pocket universe inside of my head, yeah, confusing I know.

Betty: Ha-ha, yeah, but so is everything that has happened this last… God, how many years….? It’s hard to tell when you’re spending all this time in a literal abyss.

Simon: You know, I stopped counting, too, but I’ll say this. You remember that boy Finn? He’s all grown up now.

Betty: Oh. That’s nice. Anyway, I’m sorry. Keep talking.

Simon: Right, right… where was I?

Betty: Pocket universe inside your head.

Simon: Yes, that! These two people wanted me to bring magic back to their world and I figured the only way to do that was to put the crown back on, so after a while I decided…

(Betty shakes her head and covers her mouth)

Simon: I just thought that my life is kind of worthless now that you’re gone. I don’t have any reason to keep living here as myself, so I can just… go back to being the Ice King and nothing will change. But, you know, before I do that we can-

(Scarab shows up and attempts to kill Simon only to be quickly pacified by Golb, turned into two mini scarabs)

Simon: What was that? He’s still crawling around.

Betty: He’s immortal. I can’t do the same thing to him that I did to the Lich just then.

(The scarab tries attacking simon and splits into two)

Simon: Well, couldn’t you do something a bit more convenient?

Betty: I panicked!

(Every time the scarab tries to hurt simon it duplicates. Betty and Simon try to keep them away from him, but they, through sheer force of will, they manage to all get into his head despite all they tried.)

Simon: Okay, now I really need to put the crown on.

(He puts it over his head)

Betty: Stop!

Simon: I need to help my friends.

Betty: And how is putting the crown on gonna help?

Simon: If magic returns to their world, I think they’ll have more of a fighting chance.

Betty: You think so?

(Simon is about to put the crown on and Betty stops him with her Golb powers.)

Betty: I’m sorry. I can’t let you do this.

Simon: I understand, but which matters more? Me or a whole universe?

(Betty doesn’t give in and keeps him paralyzed.)

Simon: Betty! Come on Betty, I need to help them.

(Then his phone starts ringing. She undoes her magic and lets Simon pick it up.)

Fiona: Simon!

Simon: Fiona! What’s happened? Is your world okay? Are you safe?

Fiona: Yes, no, some weird bugs that I think might have something to do with the scarab showed up, and yes. In that order.

Simon: I’m about to put the crown on to help you out.

Fiona: Don’t!

(Simon pauses, shocked.)

Fiona: We decided we don’t want that.

Simon: But without magic…

Fiona: Hey, I mean Cake’s pretty magic. She’ll help protect us.

Simon: Okay. Are you sure?

Fiona: Yes. One hundred percent sure.

Simon: Okay.

(Simon hangs up)

Simon (looking at the crown): So, I guess we don’t need this afterall.

(He throws it into the abyss)

Simon: I should not have done that. What if I do need it again.

Betty: You aren’t going to need it again.

Simon: You’re right. You know what, I have faith in them. They’ll be fine on their own.

(Betty sits down and pats the side of the block next to her for Simon to sit down, too)

Betty: So, that stuff about you thinking you didn’t matter now that I’m gone… what made you say that?

Simon: I mean, everyone else is doing just fine without me now.

Betty: There’s no way that can be true. Simon, look at those two people living inside your head you’re trying to save. You touched their lives. You touched mine.  And I’m sure there’s other lives you’ve touched too.

Simon: Marceline’s... And… now that I think of it, so, so many others, too. But what does it matter? That’s all in the past. And what does it matter if I still stay here even after all this? What am I going to do from there?

Betty: You’re gonna keep on living, Simon. That’s what you’re gonna do.

Simon: Oh.

Betty: Okay, I’m really bugged right now. There has to be something I can do to help out whatever’s going on inside your head. What’s that immortal being even want?

Simon: He wants to destroy the world in there. That’s why he tried to kill me just then.

Betty: Oh! I actually can do something to help with that.

(she gives him the little thing representing Fiona’s entire world)

Simon: What is this?

Betty: Put it into your head, it should help you.

Simon: Okay… let me make sure it doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

(He calls Fiona)

Fiona: Hi, I’m kind of in the middle of the apocalypse right now.

Simon: Fiona, check for the nearest portal, I’m going to give you something that GOLBetty gave me. She said it will help save your world.

Fiona: Well, there’s only one portal here left and I’m right next to it. Hurry, Simon!

(Simon gives it to her through his head portal)

Fiona: I got it.

(Fiona hangs up and Simon returns his focus to Betty)

Simon: So, Betty… it looks like we can finally just focus on each other now. Is there anything else you want to say to me?

Betty: So much I want to say, but so little I can say. It’s hard to talk about these things when it gets you all choked up.

Simon: I agree. 

Betty: So why let our words do the talking here?

(she kisses Simon)

Simon: I’m realizing something, actually.

Betty: Yeah?

Simon: I think we’re similar in a weird way. We both think of each other as everything in the world. Literally everything. I mean, you kind of almost chose me over a whole universe. Admittedly, that was the right choice, but we didn’t know that at the time. And I’m over here thinking that my life is nothing now that you aren’t in it, which is wrong even now. And, I can say this with full certainty: you’re not nothing without me either.

Betty: That’s true; I’m fused with the embodiment of chaos now. That does make me something.

Simon: That’s not what I mean.

Betty: I’m joking, I’m sorry, dark joke. I guess I am kind of something without you. I just spent a lot of time on you that I didn’t spend much time on myself, so I couldn’t see that.

Simon: There’s something wrong with us.

Betty: Who cares if it was right or wrong? It’s behind us and all we can do now is look forward. You still have some years ahead of you. Now go ahead… you can go back home.

Simon: Thanks for everything, Betty. Goodbye.

(then it ends with her sending him back like she did in the episode and he wakes up in the flower field)

#adventure time fiona and cake #adventure time: fionna & cake #fiona campbell #betty grof #simon petrikov #golbetty #betty golb #simon and betty #simon x betty #the scarab #scarab adventure time #the lich #adventure time spoilers #adventure time #feel free to use this as a basis for your own rewrite #it is still pretty rough #also the pacing is a bit fast

[alfi-always-writes]

22. “your hands are freezing!” with rottmnt disaster twins would be so cute!

Maybe with Lee!Leo and Ler!Donnie

Arm(chair)ageddon

Summary: Movie night can't just be a movie night, and Leo needs to be taken down a peg (but you didn't need me to tell you that).

Author's note: This was so fun to write! Thank you, anon, for the lovely prompt from this list! We love some disaster twins chaos! I hope you all enjoy! (Also, not planned, but posting some lee!Leo content on @leosmasktails's birthday just seems so right. Happy birthday pal!)

Warnings: Just tickling, so please don't read if that isn't your jam!

Word count: 942

22. "Your hands are freezing!"

Despite all of the complaints and fussing, Splinter still wouldn't budge on replacing his comfy armchair with a sofa big enough for everyone to fit on. "But we don't have to replace it, we just want a couch as well!" No matter what tactic they used to ask, or how much Mikey gave the classic puppy eyes, their father just wasn't interested.

Therefore, the rules remained as they had always been: Whoever sits down first gets the chair, and if they leave for any reason, the chair can be claimed by anyone else.

Sure, maybe it would make more sense to alternate who sits in the chair every night, but that would mean Leo would have to sit on the floor more often than not.

And, well, that just wasn't an option.

"Gather around, children," he said with the arrogance of someone who hasn't sat on the floor for the past seven movie nights.

Mikey, who had just narrowly lost the couch to Leo this time around, sat beside Raph on the floor, just to the left of the squashy armchair. He stuck out his lower lip in a pitiful pout. "This is so unfair!"

Raph rubbed the back of his littlest brother's shell, giving Leo a look. "Yah know, Leo, it wouldn't kill you to give someone else a turn. I want—er, Mikey wants a chance!"

"He'll get his chance," Leo said, swinging his legs over the right arm of the chair, "When he earns it fair and square."

Donnie was sat on the floor to the right of the chair, scrolling through his phone. "Angelo, don't listen to him. It's not even that good of a seat, it smells like dad." Donnie was, notoriously, the one who sat in the chair the least.

"Sorry, what was that, DonTon? It's hard to hear you from all the way up here."

"Just play the movie."

Raph started the movie of Mikey's choice, which predictably pulled him out of his mopey mood. Donnie continued to scroll through his phone, as they had all seen this movie upwards of fifty times. They all practically memorized it and, though it was a superb movie, it was still the same ninety minutes.

The light from his phone caught Leo's attention. The blue-banded brother was trying to find something to do aside from quote the whole movie by heart. They were only halfway through at this point, and Leo couldn't fathom sitting still for another minute. He swung his foot, managing to kick the phone out of Donnie's hand and to the ground with an amusing thunk.

"Leon," Donnie whispered, as to not interrupt the movie, "Watch it."

"Watch wh—the movie? Oh yeah, I am watching it, great flick." The shit-eating grin was audible in his tone, causing Donnie to nearly pull a muscle from rolling his eyes so dramatically.

Then the idea struck Donnie. Normally he wouldn't resort to such childish measures (yes he would), but the floor was cold and his phone was at two percent, so he gave in to the temptation. After all, if the winner leaves the chair, it's fair game. And Donnie wanted that sweet, sweet cushiony seat. With that in mind, Donnie placed his hands on Leo's calf, eliciting a strangled gasp from the red-eared slider.

Leo pulled his leg away quickly. "Your hands are freezing!" he whispered, as loudly as he could without disturbing Mikey and Raph.

Donnie grabbed Leo's other ankle before the brother could pull it back as well. There was a moment where eyes met and Leo knew that, through no fault of his own, he was in trouble.

"Leave me alone."

"I didn't think you knew the meaning of the phrase, Nardo," Donnie said quickly, scritching his fingers against the bottom of Leo's foot.

The reaction was immediate, Leo convulsed in the chair, fighting to pull his foot out of Donnie's grasp while also holding back his hysterical laughter. He covered his mouth to keep the giggles at bay, while trying to kick Donnie away with his free leg.

"Nardo, watch the movie, this part is very serious," Donnie said with a straight face, squeezing Leo's calf and ducking to avoid the flailing leg.

Leo's resolve lasted until Donnie snatched the other leg out of the air, holding his ankles in a headlock while he expertly scribbled his fingers across the bottoms of both feet. Peals of loud laughter echoed through the lair, stealing Raph and Mikey's attention from the movie.

"Sorry guys, he's acting up tonight," Donnie said nonchalantly, as if he wasn't tickling Leo within an inch of his life.

"Dohohonnie yohohou suhuck!"

"At least I didn't ruin movie night."

Leo slid onto the ground, trying to crawl to freedom with whatever strength he could gather. Donnie pulled him back, now squeezing both of Leo's knees.

"Lehehehet gohoho, cheheheATER!"

"Never! The supremely comfortable chair will be mine!"

"In y—HAHaha, yohohour dreams!"

"Uh, guys..." came Raph's voice, halting Donnie's attack so all eyes could turn to Mikey, standing on the arms of the chair victoriously.

"I... am... THE ALL-TIME CHAMP!" he proclaimed, dropping down into the chair with a bounce and a squeal of excitement. Donnie pushed Leo away with a loud groan, and Raph gave Mikey a thumbs up.

Leo, still panting, stared at the dirty floor. There was no way he could go back to sitting on the cold ground, not after living in luxury for so long. If he couldn't have the chair to himself, he could settle for generously sharing it with his beloved baby brother.

"Mikey, have I ever told you that you're my favorite brother?"

#my writing #sfw tickle fic #sfw tickling community #rottmnt tickle fic #ticklish!leo #this was SO much fun #thank you for the prompt anon #i have more prompts to fill so stay tuned!!!

[sizzlingsheepcheesecake]

i get what you are saying about people being protective of their ships bc i'm kinda one of them lmao i mean i did not want to start reading Distortion at first exactly because there were two ships and in the very first author note you said you don't know how this will end and i kinda don't read fics with no happy ending for my ship so... and still here i am reading Distortion anyway and being addicted to it even though i still don't know if there is a happy ending for my babies hahaha so yeah idk where i was going with all this lmao just wanted to say thank you i guess?? and ofc everyone wants different things from your fic including me and that's okay but it's the magic of your writing that has brought us all here so the only thing that matters is what YOU want to write regardless of any expectations and you're doing an amazing brilliant spectacular etc job!! so yeah thank you so much i hope your pillow is always cold on both sides and life is kind and gentle to you 💕💕💕

Aww this is so sweet thank you!! 💕 I totally understand that people sometimes only want to read their ship without anyone else involved, and only want to read if there's a happy ending guaranteed for their ship, that's totally valid!

Fun fact but I had never even read a single fanfic until a few months ago! So the concept that a lot of people read fics knowing exactly what's going to happen, and like to know who's endgame etc. is new to me. I guess I'm approaching it in a way that's slightly more similar to a novel, like when we didn't know if Bella would choose Edward/Jacob or whether Katniss would choose Peeta/Gale (not that Distortion is like a novel in many other ways haha it's definitely self indulgent and fan fic-y) As well as not wanting a spoiler I also didn't know who would be endgame, and still amn't 100% clear on how exactly it'll end. But I always said I wanted it to be a fic with lots of enjoyable lovey content for both ships, even if it's also quite angsty by nature. Also I don't intend on writing an ending that will be super sad or disappointing for anyone if that makes sense? And I'm happy that I've written some Bokris and Bo(Jan)2 exclusive fics too for people who aren't into the uncertainty or the love triangle vibe, hopefully they can enjoy that 🥰

It means so much that you decided to give it a chance and are enjoying it despite your uncertainty, thank you so much! ❤���❤️❤️

#bokris #bo(jan)2 #joker out fanfic

[girlwiththepapatattoo]

The Unlikely Similarities Between Kittens and Vampires, Chapter 14

Warnings: threats of violence, Astarion being himself

Summary: Yet another player enters the stage.

Notes: I'm away from my computer for 3 days, and I forget how to do words. XD I hope you guys enjoy this, I'm not completely sure that I like it but I want it out. <3

Read on Ao3 here!

Previous chapter | First chapter

“The mouse smiled brightly; it outfoxed the cat! Then down came the claw, and that, love, was that.” The man before them, who’d appeared out of nowhere almost as soon as they beheld the statue of Selûne in the Underdark, chuckles. “They do know how to write them in Cormyr.” 

If Sable had been in cat form, her hackles would be raised. There’s something about this man that’s…off. He looks middle aged for a human, his thick brown hair almost slicked back, his lips curled in a smug smile. 

She hates him immediately. 

“But then again, I suppose I don’t have to talk to you about cats, do I?” 

“...who are you?” she asks, her voice flat. 

At her side, Astarion stares the man down. He can all but feel her tension, and it’s putting him on edge. She’s not like this with anyone.

The man bows and spreads his hands grandly. “Well met. I am Raphael, very much at your service.” 

“I don’t need or want any of your services,” she all but spits. 

His smirk is amused, patronizing. She feels Astarion’s hand on the nape of her neck, giving a gentle, if pointed squeeze. “Easy, darling,” he whispers, so under his breath that even Sable barely hears him. 

“Yes, listen to your lover,” Raphael says, overhearing anyway. “Your words are at odds with your…situation, my dear. But this isn’t the place for such talk. Too middle of nowhere.” He raises his hand. 

“No-!” 

But it’s too late. A bright burst of light momentarily blinds the group, and when they can see again, they’re somewhere else. The dirty stone floor of the dilapidated chapel has been replaced with gorgeously arranged tiles that reflect the light from the huge fireplace at the mystery man’s back. Behind the group, an enormous table is laden with a decadent feast that, despite her anger and fear, has her mouth watering and her stomach rumbling. 

“Nice decor,” Astarion says, looking around. “I can’t call it garish, even if it’s a bit much.” His eyes alight on the giant portrait hanging above the mantelpiece, and his eyebrow raises at seeing the winged devil who looks suspiciously like the man before us. “Oh.” The vampire’s nose wrinkles. “Well, never mind.” 

“Shit,” Karlach hisses, somewhere behind Sable in the group. “He’s brought us to the hells!” 

“What?!” Gale’s head whips to look at the tiefling. “Are you sure?” 

“Oh yeah. I’d know the stink of Avernus anywhere,” she replies, and wraps one hand around her greataxe. “Plus that, my heart’s cooled down a bit.” 

“Ah, but this place is much less…threatening, we’ll say, than the Avernus you’re used to,” Raphael says. He spreads his hands grandly once more. “The House of Hope. Where the tired come to rest, and the famished come to feast–lavishly.” He gives him an encouraging smile as he motions towards the banquet behind them. “Go on. Partake. Enjoy your supper…it could be your last, after all.” 

“Don’t take anything a devil offers,” Wyll says, not taking his eye off the man. “The fine print is not often worth the meal.” 

“So says the man who didn’t hesitate to fill his own plate,” is the pointed reply. 

“Chk, this farce is just wasting time,” Lae’zel snarls. “What is the point of all this?” 

Raphael sighs. “Always taking the fun out of things, you are. Very well.” A burst of fire suddenly surrounds the man, and when it disappears with a flash of heat that ruffles Sable’s hair, a devil stands before them. Huge, almost regal looking wings stretch from his back, his skin is crimson, his eyes two rings of fire in a black void. A pair of thick double horns now protrude from his skull. “What’s better than a devil you don’t know?” he all but purrs towards the tense leader of the rag-tag troupe. “A devil you do.” 

Sable hears Wyll and Karlach both snort loudly at that statement. 

Raphael, though, ignores them. “Am I a friend?” he asks thoughtfully, and inclines his head. “Potentially. An adversary? Conceivably. But a savior…that’s for certain.” 

“Ha! And I thought I was dramatic,” Astarion stage whispers to Sable, whose lips twitch despite her ire.  

“Little vampling, you know exactly the value of good introductions,” the devil retorts.

“This isn’t doing you any favors,” Sable says, her hands balling into fists at her sides. “I don’t want anything you could possibly offer.”

“Even if I could get rid of those little intruders you all carry?” 

Don’t listen to him, a voice intrudes into her mind. The dream visitor. I’ve already explained to you that they cannot be removed magically. He’s trying to trick you.

Sable rubs her temples, feeling the beginnings of a deep headache coming on. “You have my answer,” she finally snarls, and her eyes begin to faintly glow the vibrant green of her natural magic. Halsin, sensing it rising, gives her a sharp look. “Take us back. Now.” 

“Ohhh, temper temper! Looks like the kitten does have claws after all.” 

“YOU DON’T GET TO CALL ME THAT!” she roars in an absolute fury, and her body explodes into fur and teeth, a long tail and razor sharp claws. Astarion stumbles back in shock as, rather than the small kitten he’s used to, a massive tiger now stands there, crouched and ready to pounce. 

Her group explodes into action. Lae’zel and Karlach both draw their weapons. Shadowheart’s fingertips start to glow as she prepares a spell, as do Gale’s eyes. Wyll does both, rapier held point out towards the devil while his good eye starts to glow a sickly green. 

Halsin, though, leaps forward and wraps his massive arms around the tiger’s shoulders. “Calm down, Sable,” he rumbles urgently into his friend’s ear. “It isn’t the time or place for this.” 

“Halsin’s right,” Astarion says, recovering quickly and kneeling next to her, a hand on her back. “Normally I’d be all for gutting him where he stands, but this isn’t a fight we should pick right now!” 

To everyone’s surprise, though, Raphael holds up his hands. “It seems that I’ve offended. Truly, that wasn’t my intent with this particular visit. My apologies. I’ve no wish to fight you…but I will defend myself, if you attack first.” 

The group waits for Sable, used to following her lead by now. Slowly, after a long, breathless moment, her form ripples, and Halsin is left holding a shaking woman. Astarion smiles very faintly. “That’s my lover.” 

The rest of the group lower their weapons, and the tension is taken down a notch. “Wonderful. Now, on to business, and since you so dislike my normal…theatrics, I’ll get right to the point. I can get rid of those tadpoles for you.” 

“Just out of the goodness of your heart?” Astarion says incredulously. “Please, there’s always a price with you devils.”

“A price, yes,” Raphael agrees. “But how much is a soul worth, really?” 

“More than we’re willing to pay,” Wyll says, his voice like steel. 

The devil looks around at the group, at their determined gazes and tense shoulders, and he smiles. “Well, well. This group of rag-tag people…you haven’t known each other for very long at all, and yet you’re all acting nearly as one. And if I had to guess…” His gaze falls to Sable. “It’s because of you. Very well then. Go on. Shop around! Beg, borrow, steal. Exhaust every possibility until none are left.” 

His gaze sweeps along them all. “And when hope has been whittled down to the very marrow of despair–that’s when you’ll come crawling back.” He pauses, then smiles wryly. “Or perhaps by then, you’ll be floating. Who knows?” 

He snaps his fingers, and in the blink of an eye they’re back, standing before the glowing statue of Selûne in the Underdark. 

“What the FUCK?!” Karlach snarls, and stalks off to start ripping a nearby crate apart. 

“Well,” Gale says, brushing off his robe. “That was certainly a novel experience.” 

Sable pulls out of Halsin’s arms and sits down on a nearby bench, shuddering hard and closing her eyes. Astarion sits next to her, taking her hand softly between his. “Are you all right, my sweet?” he murmurs gently. 

“Yes…no…” She laughs, though there’s not much humor to it. “I don’t know, honestly.” 

“Well, I can’t blame you for that,” the vampire says, sighing, as Halsin comes and sits down on her other side. “You surprised me back there, Sable. I’ve never seen you angry like that before.” 

“I haven’t really had reason yet,” she mumbles, bracing her elbows on her knees and pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes, listening to the sounds of the others talking, of Karlach throwing pieces of destroyed crate around. “I hate the fact that so many are using these tadpoles as an opportunity to…to…” 

“Fuck us over in the long run?” Astarion provides. 

“Exactly!” 

Halsin sighs on her other side. “The ambitious take every opportunity. Even the cruelest.” 

“Especially the cruelest,” Sable says sadly, letting her hands flop back to her lap. “I’m just so…tired of it.” 

It’s quiet a moment. Then Astarion sighs and wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her gently to him, letting her lay her head on his shoulder. “My precious kitten…” he murmurs, pressing his lips to the top of her head. “Were it anyone else, I would tell them to grow a spine, thicken their skin, because the world isn’t going to treat them nicely just because you want it to. But I…” His voice drops to a whisper, for her ears only. “I don’t want you to ever change. You’re perfect, just as you are.” His arm tightens. “But I am proud of you.” 

She looks up at him in surprise. “You are? For what?” 

He smiles, brushing a tender touch along her jaw. “You were ready to rip that devil’s face off,” he says happily. “You stood up for yourself, and for a bit of a selfish reason. It was beautiful!” His smile turns faintly smug. “I knew you liked me calling you kitten.” 

Halsin starts laughing on Sable’s other side as the younger druid turns crimson and hides her face in her hands. “You are going to be absolutely insufferable about this, aren’t you?” she all but whines. 

“Oh, absolutely,” is the unrepentant reply. “But honestly, you wouldn’t have me any other way, would you?” 

She glowers at him, but only for a moment, because she can feel her heart melting. She finally sighs, smiles, and presses her forehead gently to his neck. “I really wouldn’t.”

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #astarion x tav #bg3 astarion #my writing

[dumbfuck-mojave]

Coming Out to Steve and Eddie as Bisexual (Separate Scenarios)

Franchise: Stranger Things 

Pairings: Steve Harrington x Reader, Eddie Munson x Reader (Can be read as platonic or romantic!! Whatever suits you most <3)

Also Featured: Mentions of Wayne, Robin, unnamed Family Video Customer

Warnings: Food, a really brief mention of the pencil scene from Evil Dead (injury, blood). Eddie and Steve both use petnames but it can still be platonic. 

A/N: Well I didn’t plan on the over a month writing hiatus but I’m back, writing for more Midwestern characters. I wanted to have an undeniable Midwestern thing in this one and that evolved into Eddie being a diehard Puppy Chow fan, and me wanting to write a full fic where he and his partner make it for Hellfire lol. So if you like Stranger Things and my writing style, give me a follow and look forward to that. I also made Eddie specifically unlabeled queer, I was originally gonna make it ambiguous but this is my fic so >:(. And I think it’s funny if he’s a little bitch when it comes to horror movies so I also threw that in lol. I hope you enjoy!! I might do this for Jonathan in the future as well. 

This was inspired by @kaylawritesfics headcanons on coming out to the older ST characters! Make sure to give that post a like/reblog and give her a follow, she was one of the first ST writers I read on my private account and her work is amazing!!

Word Count: 

Steve- 1,368

Eddie- 1,177

@dollyghostface @horrorstolemyheart @kaylawritesfics and @loveronlineee​ who I also read a lot and recall seeing they were okay with being tagged in stuff :))

Support a disabled creator this disability pride month :D

-Steve Harrington-

It was almost closing time when a young woman slipped through the door of Family Video, carrying a stack of tapes the length of her torso. You had your back partially turned to the register and the door, sorting through the new inventory, so Steve had hopped up from the rolling chair he was sitting in to assist her. It had been relatively quiet for the past few hours, and that didn’t change much; The woman had a quiet voice, the sound barely overshadowing the methodic tapping of computer keys as Steve typed and the pirouetting seat of the chair, still recovering from his sudden upheaval. You figured, despite the amount of tapes she had brought in, it would be a relatively quick final task of the day. You were wrong. 

“I’m honestly appalled.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, Steve.” 

“No, Y/N, because look at this!” He gestures aggressively to the partially broken down stack in front of him, then picks one up with flamboyance, “There’s like 20 tapes here! Are we even allowed to rent out that many to one person!?”

“Actually, I don’t think so-”

“AND SHE DIDN’T REWIND ANY OF THEM! Like Jeez, if you’re gonna be a lousy customer at least be only half lousy! Thank God I didn’t just shove them out like I wanted because if I didn’t discover this I would be in so much shit-”

“Aw, you poor baby. Actually having to do your job.” You fake pouted at him.

“Yeah, well, at least I’m doing something productive.” He shot back, even though it didn’t have much fire behind it. It’s rare that he’s genuinely mad at you (Or anyone else, for that matter). 

You looked down at your swinging feet coming in to view over your knees every few seconds or so, having hopped onto the counter after finishing sorting the new tapes into “easy to put out genre piles” for tomorrow. There’s been a bit of delay with your stock recently, and you had gotten triple the amount you usually did in one delivery today so you thought the normal system could change a little bit because of it. Sort it all out today, put it all out when you come in for the opening shift tomorrow. Simple.

“I’ve been productive all day, Steve! I didn’t see your ass wanting to sort through all this bullshit.”

Steve clicks his tongue, “Language.”

“Oh, shut up.”

You both started chuckling at that. You glance over at his stack of tapes, still messy but forming some sense of order as he places the rewound ones back in their own pile. He sighs as he pulls another one out of its cover, changing it out for the one that has just finished rewinding with a pop. 

Your caution blanks on you for a moment, just one moment. But it allows your words to overtake you. 

“Hey, can I tell you something?” 

Oh shit.

As Steve looks at you curiously, you feel like you’re going to pass out, or throw up, or both. You debated on getting off the counter, but decided to stay put so as to not make a fool of yourself floundering to find a new seat. 

It’s not like you didn’t want to tell Steve, you loved him and you knew he would be accepting, but even knowing that information didn’t help the anxiety that blanketed the struggle of trying to build yourself up to this point over the last few months. This wasn’t the way you wanted to do it, you wanted it to happen when you were completely comfortable and secure, maybe during a late night talk or near the end of a long phone call. The still moment in the car as you finally arrive home after a long trip. Anything but this, right now. 

“Yeah, of course? Are you okay?”

“It’s something important.” Once again, not what you wanted to say.

“Alright, but are you okay? You’re looking a little sick there, peaches.” 

You feel a little more life rush back into you as you scoff.

“Again with the ‘peaches’?”

“What, I thought you liked it!”

“When you said it the first time I laughed, that’s not confirmation I like it.”

Steve saunters towards you, “Welllll, you’re laughing now and you don’t look 2 seconds away from dying anymore, so I consider it a win.” 

A small chuckle bubbles up in your throat, “Scoffing is not laughing, Harrington. Now this, what I’m doing right now? Is laughing.” 

“A win!”

“A win because of how stupid you are!”

“Still a win!” Steve had made it over to you by now, leaning back against the counter as he looks up at you. He nudges your knee with his elbow, “So, what do you want to talk about?” 

Nervousness invades you again, and Steve notices as your lips slightly turn down. 

“Hey, it’s okay! I promise, don’t back out on me now. I’m sure you’ll feel better after saying it.” 

He says it with a smile, and you can’t help but silently agree with him. Your gaze diverts to the door and Steve follows it, turning his head.

“Do you want me to lock the door? That way no one will come in, it’ll be just us.”

You nod. Steve moves quickly throughout the store, first locking the door then flipping off some switches so all the outside lights were off and only a few remained on inside. Legs flew in your peripheral as he launched over the counter, nearly falling as he situated himself up beside you. 

“If you would have fallen and broken your face, I would’ve laughed as I drove you to the hospital.” 

“Shhhh,” Steve hushes as he puts his arm around your shoulders, “We’re focusing on you now.”

“Yeah… focusing on me.”

Steve’s brows furrow, “I know what I said a few minutes ago but you really don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

You took a deep breath in, “No, I want to.” 

You pause again, leaning your head on Steve's shoulder as his thumb starts to rub gentle circles into your cloth covered one. 

Finally, you speak.

“I’m bisexual.” You close your eyes and a beat passes. But you have to hand it to Steve, there’s barely any time for you to start doubting before he replies. 

“That…. That means you’re into both boys and girls, right? Just want to make sure before I say anything stupidly incorrect.”

You smile, nuzzling more into his shoulder as his grip around you tightens, “That and the in-between, but yes.” 

“Alright, cool.” You can feel his jaw move against the side of your head as he lays his own on top of yours, “Thank you for trusting me. I’m sorry I don’t have much else to say.”

“It’s okay, you don’t need to say anything.” You nudge your head away from his, looking at his face, “I feel a lot better now.”

He softly smiles at you, “I’m glad. You know I wouldn’t care no matter what, right?”

Shrugging, you respond, “Yeah, but it’s still scary.” 

“Yeah, yeah, for sure. Your ‘secret’ is safe with me.” He sloppily salutes and you cackle, hoping off the counter.

“Alright sailor boy, how about we head out of this joint. The seas await us.” 

“That’s former sailor boy to you. And a fellow employee pressuring me into leaving before I’ve finished all my work? I might just report you for that.” 

“Whatever, I can just get Robin to do the rest tomorrow!” You yell over your shoulder, heading into the back to pick up your and Steve’s stuff as he shuts off the rest of the lights. There’s still dim natural light out, so you see his featureless form waiting for you by the door. He swings it open when you get close enough. 

“I’m really happy I told you, I’ve been freaking out about it for so long.” You look over at him as you both walk towards his car.

“I’m glad you told me too, now I can judge your taste in both guys and girls,” He unlocks the car and finger guns at you over the hood, “And everything in between.” 

-Eddie Munson-

“Home sweet home!” Eddie yelled out as he kicked his leg up to hold the door open, hands full as he gestures you inside with his head.

“Your home, not my home.” You reply as you set your own bags down on the small collapsible table in the kitchen area. You weren’t even sure who had pulled it out, or why, Wayne usually eats a small supper at work while Eddie takes whatever he can scrounge up into his room. Even when there were people over, like you or some neighbor Wayne was friendly with, the meal was eaten while watching TV in the living area, surrounded by hats and mugs basked in the dim overhead light. It was nice. Homey, you thought. 

“It could be our home. What do you say, roommates?” Eddie wiggled his eyebrows at you and you laughed, pulling the last of the things out of your bags and reaching over to unpack Eddie’s. 

“I’m sure your uncle would absolutely adore having another person cramped up in here.” 

“Hey, it’s not cramped!”

“With three people and three people’s amount of stuff, it definitely will be.” 

When Eddie doesn't respond immediately, you glance up and are met with a confused expression on his face while he looks down at his hands, flexing them slightly. 

“Hey, bud, you doing okay?” 

“I’m trying to remember if I forgot anything.” He mumbles quietly, his fingers starting to move as he counted to himself. 

“We picked up the movie yesterday, we walked in just as Steve dropped a tape in front of that group of girls.”

He smacked his hand down on the table, rings clacking together as he pointed the other one at you, “That’s it! I swear, I remembered we did that all day, but it just… flew off right then.”

“It’s okay, I was kind of expecting it.”

Eddie clutches his chest, eyes widening as he gasps dramatically, “Sweetheart, light of my life, how could you say such things!”

You smirk but roll your eyes, taking a slight step back as he tries to throw his arms around you, just to up the dramatics a bit. 

“Light of my life? Seems a bit too Grecian for you, Eds.” 

“Oh, I have more where that came from. I can be one sappy motherfucker if I do so desire to be.” He shoulder shimmies, a teasing look in his brown eyes. 

“Alright, Euripides, let’s get to what we’re actually supposed to be doing tonight.” 

“What?” 

“He was a tragedian in ancient Greece, his play is where the ‘light of my life’ thing first popped up. He wrote depressing shit, I had to do a report on it, let’s move on.” 

Eddie’s body, which had been surprisingly still during your explanation, jumped back into motion at your suggestion. 

“Let’s! So, we got Bottle Caps, M&M’s, Nerds, like six different types of chips, that Puppy Chow we made yesterday after we apparently rented out the movie, let’s see what else....” 

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

The pencil impales the back of Linda’s ankle, gooey red blood pouring out, as Eddie hides his face into the pillow he’s been clutching and groans.

“Wow, that’s gnarly.” You chuckle as you pause the movie, turning to him. His head shoots up to look at you, a look of disbelief in his wide eyes.

“Are you kidding me? That was awful. That was torture, who would ever want to watch this shit?”

“Uh, you, Eddie. You’re the one who suggested Evil Dead.” You deadpan back.

“Well, I forgot about this scene.”

“If you would just admit you’re a pussy-”

“I AM NOT-”

“Then stop complaining and watch the damn movie, Munson!” 

“Listen, I don’t know what kind of sick fuck you are if you want to watch some lady get stabbed in the foot but I’m really starting to reconsider the people I choose to spend time with right now! I may write some mean shit for my campaigns, but at least I don’t have to visually witness it happening.” 

You sigh, flopping further into the couch, “We can stop if you’d like.” 

Eddie bites his nails in thought, “No, I just want to take a break. I need more Puppy Chow, and can you please not keep it paused at this particular moment.”

“Yes sir, anything you say sir.”

“I hate you.” Eddie mumbles halfheartedly, standing up from the couch as you rewind the movie back and stop on an innocent shot of cards. 

He returns after a brief moment, carrying the rest of the Puppy Chow in his hands. He shakes the bowl out to you in offering, but you decline. 

“I’m good. Have at it, Puppy Chow Fiend.” 

It’s almost silent for the next few minutes, the only sound being Eddie’s chewing and spring insects outside. But it isn’t awkward, more relaxing than anything. You feel like you could drift off as you close your eyes, surrounded by the warmth of blankets and Eddie next to you. You feel… safe.

“Hey, Eds, can I tell you something?” You peek one eye open, watching him quickly swallow and nod. 

“Of course, anything.”

Sighing, you scoot closer to him, turning so you can be face to face. Putting the bowl on the floor, he mirrors you and holds out his hands. You grasp them in your own, feeling the foreign texture of metal clashing with his rough skin. 

“I wanted to tell you I’m bisexual.” You give him a small smile, and he grins back at you, his eyes lighting up as he processes your words.

“That’s so sick, dude! Obviously, I won’t tell anyone else but I’m happy you found yourself and felt comfortable enough telling me. You already know I don’t care about gender or attraction, whether it’s me or anyone else, so it’ll be nice to have someone else around to talk about that stuff on a personal level with, even if I don’t really use labels.”

“Yeah, yeah I totally get that. It just feels like I can breathe now, you know?” 

“Yeah, I know.” Eddie holds out his arms for you, “Wanna hug?”

“Yes, please.” You hold him tightly, his fluffy hair tickling your face. Your hand reaches up to stroke it, “You know, I should braid this again.”

“After last time? No way.”

“It’s not my fault you tore out the ponytail like a little heathen. If you did it nicely, it wouldn’t have pulled so badly.” 

“Yeah, Yeah, whatever.” Eddie pulls away and looks over at the TV, grimacing. 

“Maybe we should have taken Steve’s suggestion instead.” You giggle, and Eddie raises an eyebrow at you.

“You want to watch Grease?”

You throw your hands up, “It’s fun!”

Eddie scoffs, “All the characters suck! And it totally breaks the realism at the end.”

“Eddie Munson, are you really trying to call out a movie where people break into song constantly on breaking realism?” 

He picks the almost empty bowl of Puppy Chow back up.

“I’m just saying, it would be a little more believable if they just drove away.” 

#My writing #original writing #steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #tw food #food #bi reader #bi!reader #bisexual #eddie munson imagine #steve harrington imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #steve harrington fic #eddie munson fic #stranger things fic #coming out #coming out fic