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thewhitejournal · 4 years

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kind words .

Aaron Hotchner x Female!Reader oneshot

request: Hi, I was wondering if you could write an Aaron Hotch x shy reader where Hotch is always careful and gentle around the reader, but one day he yells at her in the middle of talking (maybe she messed up on the case) and she immediately shuts up and won't look at him bc it scared her so bad? If that makes sense.

alright @lovely-lady-lumps , this one is for you! i really hope that you like it and that it lives up to your expectations.

like and reblog if you liked it! :)

content warnings: angst, cursing, talk of murder/crime/violence

The team stood around in the large and finely decorated dining room of the Peterson’s home. They were waiting on a call from the unsub, as it was in his M.O. to do so. The daughter, Kelly, of James and Miranda, had been kidnapped. She was only seventeen, and as with most cases involving kidnapped children, time is of the essence.

Emily and JJ were comforting the parents in the nearby living room; they were both too distraught to pick up the phone when the unsub called. You were the unsub’s type, a younger, innocent-sounding girl. As the new agent trainee of the BAU, there were a lot of learning experiences for you to have. This was one of them. Hotch had so much faith in you that you could handle this case, even though it was one of the more emotional ones.

It would be a lie to try and say Aaron Hotchner didn't make a lasting first impression on you the first day you met him. You had to be interviewed by him to join the BAU. It was one of the most nerve-wracking days of your life

You took a shaky breath as you stepped out of the elevator, walking into the room you would soon learn to be was called the bullpen, where all the other agents sat. You could feel every pair of eyes in the room on you, piercing through your skin like needles. You moved your feet with care up the stairs so as to not trip, like it was your first time walking up a set of them.

Agent Aaron Hotchner’s office was only a couple paces away now. Sure, you've had interviews before, but this one was different. This interview would decide the fate of your career for the rest of your life. Not to mention you'd heard plenty about the man conducting it; he was stern, strict, not to be messed with. He was a fearless leader and wouldn't take anyone’s shit. You'd even heard once that a bullet was fired right past his head at gunpoint and he didn't even flinch. Your anxiety and nerves were riding higher than ever.

Your knuckles rapped softly on the wooden door. ”Come in.”, you heard his voice sound from inside. Your breath shook as you exhaled and your shaky hand turned the knob, pushing the door open into his office. It was minimally decorated, and that's an overstatement. He had only a few personal items on his desk; pictures of him and what you assumed to be his son. He had a huge smile on his face, holding the child in his arms. The boy wore a soccer jersey and a smile to rival his father’s.

Agent Hotchner stood to greet you. Immediately you were intimidated by his height and overall presence. His hand was huge compared to yours, and warm in a comforting way. He gave you a small smile while shaking your hand, which made you feel a little better. ”Please, have a seat.” He said, gesturing to one of the leather armchairs that sat in front of his desk. You did as you were told.

The rest of the interview went smoothly, other than of course your occasional slip-up and stutter. But Hotch, which he said you could call him, always comforted you and spoke in a low, soft, gentle tone. This was the last thing you expected from a man like him.

Ever since then, he's always been so kind and helpful to you. How could you not fall for a man like that? Oh did you fall, hard and fast. The whole team certainly knew, but you weren't sure he did. They are all profilers after all. Prentiss, Garcia and JJ would lovingly tease you about him and always asked if either of you had made a move yet.

The answer was always ’no’; he was your superior in many ways, and you weren't even on the team officially. Reid and Morgan acted like a mix between older brothers and guys that still wanted you but knew Hotch had your heart, so they didn't dare overstep any boundaries. Rossi of course was like your father, advising you to be careful but that he would certainly make sure Aaron would never be found again if he hurt you. You knew it was all jokingly...hopefully.

Aaron stood over you, along with Rossi, Morgan, and Reid in the room. You let out a small, shaky breath as you waited for the phone call that should be coming any minute. You felt Aaron’s hand rest softly on your shoulder. He didn't say anything, but the gesture meant a million words. ”You can do this, (Y/N). I'm right here.” You could almost hear him whispering it into your ear.

The phone rang. The room was silent; all eyes were on you. A shaky breath escaped your lips, and you turned to look up at Aaron. His light brown eyes searched your face, dark brows furrowed as he tried to read your mind. With his job, it was almost entirely possible. He gave you a small nod; you took that as a sign to pick up the phone. You gathered as much courage as you could and pressed the button to answer it.

”Mmm...Miranda, my compliments to the chef. She takes right after you, curves in all the right places except even juicer...” The distorted voice filled the room. You cleared your throat.

”This is Agent (Y/N) (Y/L/N) with the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. Can Kelly come home, please?” You tried to sound as innocent as possible. Aaron’s hand squeezed your shoulder reassuringly, then his hand fell to his side. You had to speak in a way that would praise the unsub, say what he wanted to hear. He was a dominant sexual sadist; pleasing the unsub was the only way to get Kelly back to her family.

”And how old are you, young lady?” You cringed at the way he said it, but you kept your composure.

”25, sir.” He groaned at this.

”Sounds like a fair trade to me. Tell me (Y/N), what are you wearing?” Unbeknownst to you, Aaron was fuming. He hated hearing someone talk to you like that. He wanted so badly to intervene, tell the unsub to shut the hell up. But the case depended on this ruse.

”A white blouse. Your turn.” You yourself were starting to get angry. All you wanted was to help get this family back together, but it felt like you weren't getting anywhere.

”Nothing but a smile, darling.”

”Kelly’s mom and dad really miss her. Can she come home?” The innocent tone returned to your voice. A deep and distorted chuckle came from the other end of the line.

”No, no. I think I’ll keep her a little while longer. You should come and join us though. You sound like you'd be a lot of fun.”

Your blood was boiling, anger was clouding your mind. Tears were pushing against your water line, a few making it down your cheeks. You were biting your lip so hard you thought it might bleed. Word vomit was bubbling up inside you, and as bad as you wanted to control it, it all came spilling out.

”How could you do this to such a loving family, you sick fucking psychopath? What the hell is wrong with you, you freak? Can't you see the pain you've caused this family?” Even more tears spilled onto your face, and your fingernails dug into the palms of your hand, knuckles so white they envied the walls. The unsub scoffed from the other end, there was a scream heard, and then silence as the line went dead. Reid and Morgan looked at you with widened eyes. Rossi looked almost proud. You could see Hotch shaking his head in your peripheral vision, pinching the bridge of his nose. Your stomach sank. You knew you’d messed up, and it hurt you to know you probably let Hotch down. That was the last thing you ever wanted to do.

Garcia called Morgan’s phone, and he answered it quickly. “Hey, baby girl. Tell us you got something.” He immediately put her on speaker.

“I traced the call. I’m sending everyone the location.”

“Thanks, baby.” Morgan hung up the phone and shared a look with everyone in the room, including you. You saw Hotch motion them on out of the corner of your eye, but Morgan held his hand up at Hotch for some reason. You felt Hotch’s hand clasp your shoulder, and you looked up at him. His face was stern and hard like stone.

“I’m going to talk to you when we get back.” He said in a harsh tone, with a voice full of anger. You watched him hurry off out the door and heard the SUV’s sirens turn on and they all pulled away. You hadn’t even noticed Morgan didn’t follow the rest of the team out the door, not until he pulled a chair out from the table and flipped it to where his chest met the back of the chair. His arms folded over each other, resting on the chair. He sighed. You turned your head to look at him; with this motion, tears you didn’t even know had formed fell on to your cheeks.

“Morgan, I-“, your voice broke. You loved Aaron, all the stolen looks and little kind gestures. You didn’t care if it was inappropriate to say so, it was the truth. One thing you never wanted to do was disappoint him, but it seems you’ve done just that.

“(Y/L/N), it’s okay. Not everyone on this team is perfect, including Hotch. I know you’re not even on the team yet, but there’s no way he’s gonna let you go. Do you know why?” You didn’t answer; you figured he was going to tell you why anyway.

“Because you’re one of the most talented little profilers I’ve ever met.”, he continued. “You’re kind and smart and you’re damn good at this job. We’ve all made mistakes, but that doesn’t mean we’re not good at what we do. Garcia found the location of the call, they will find her. It’ll be okay, (Y/N).”

You sighed, wiping the tears from your cheeks. You wanted to believe that, but it wasn’t a guarantee. Morgan got up and motioned you to do the same. He pulled you into his strong arms, and it took every ounce of energy you had not to break down and start sobbing into his t-shirt. Your arms wrapped around his back and you squeezed his body.

“Thank you, Derek.” You muttered. He didn’t respond; his lips placed a quick kiss to the top of your head. He gave you a ride back to the police station, where the team would eventually end up. The family followed suit.

The unsub was caught and arrested. You heard a commotion coming from outside; it was the press, trying to get pictures and interviews from the team, per the usual. You looked up to see Aaron walking through the door with the rest of the team, with the unsub in handcuffs, pushing him towards a holding cell. The unsub looked over at you, did a once over of your body, and winked at you. Aaron noticed this and shoved him along a little more forcefully. The action made your heart flutter a little.

JJ went over to the family and told them their daughter was in the hospital and that she was going to be okay. They cried and hugged and thanked her. Hotch came back from disposing of the unsub to the local police, along with a couple of members of the team. “Great work guys. Wheels up in thirty.”, he told them. His eyes met yours, and he gestured with his head to one of the empty detective’s offices. You got up and followed him, watching your feet the whole way. Even when you went into the room and shut the door behind you, everything in the office seemed a lot more interesting than looking at Aaron. The blinds were shut and the room was dark, save for a desk lamp.

“(Y/L/N), the way you handled that phone call was unacceptable. The entire case could’ve been compromised and that girl could’ve died! What the hell were you thinking? I told you to stick to a script, tell the unsub what he wanted to hear. Was that not clear enough for you?” His voice rang out through the empty office, bouncing off the walls and coming back to hit you in the chest. You wouldn’t look at him. Your throat hurt, and tears fell on to your cheeks. You had one arm across your chest and the other propped up on it, fist under your chin.

“(Y/N), say something.” His tone seemed a bit softer now. His hand reached out to rest on your arm, but you shrugged him off. He sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you. I can’t be mad at you for getting emotional over this case, and this was a win for us anyway.” Your eyes finally met his.

His eyes were the soft, light brown that you loved. His lips were pressed into a thin line, apologetically you had to assume. You wanted to kiss him, but you knew that would be an overstep to your boundaries as a new agent trainee. His eyes flickered around your face, trying to read your emotions.

“Are you okay?” You nodded. He nodded back, in understanding. The tension in the air was so thick; you could hear your pulse in your ears and butterflies fought each other in your stomach. You were still looking at him, taking in every little detail of his face. He muttered for you to come here. You hesitated at first but stepped towards him. He pulled you into a hug, and you rested your head on his chest, taking in the moment along with a deep breath. He smelled almost like vanilla and something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on. His heart was pounding in his chest, which quite surprised you. You’d think he would be calm.

You pulled away from his chest, still in his arms. You could swear his eyes looked darker. Maybe it was his intoxicating smell or the fact that the room was spinning already, but you could’ve sworn he leaned into you. You copied his motion, lips only centimeters apart now. Blood rushed to your cheeks, making them feel hot. He closed the gap, kissing you gently. He pulled your body closer to his; you were now chest to chest. Your arms snaked up his chest and around his neck, pulling him closer to you.

The kiss deepened, and you heard him sigh; not one of annoyance, but one of happiness. He slowly pulled back from you, but didn’t meet your eyes. “(Y/N), I’m sorry, that was...unprofessional of me and-“ You silenced him by placing your lips on his again for a brief moment.

“I’ve wanted you to do that for a long time.” You both smiled at each other, lips meeting again. The team was probably getting impatient, but neither of you cared. Everyone won tonight.

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janetbrown711 · 3 years

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Much request for seeing how Angelina would have acted the moment Yakko was born and how invasive she would have been/controlling and all the bickering it would have caused. I just think it's neat.

Lena was locked in the tower for six agonizing weeks.

She was only given food and water once a day by some servant who slid it under the door. Lena was sure the only reason her mother did that was that she needed her alive, otherwise she was sure she wouldn’t waste her time. At first, Lena was... well... not happy but accepting of her food rations, but after two weeks passed very little food was able to stay down.

So... Lena found out that she didn’t lie, and she was pregnant after all.

In any other circumstance, Lena would’ve been overjoyed. If she weren’t in a tall, cold, dark tower high up in the castle, with William only available to visit and comfort her at night, she would’ve been excitedly planning everything out. She would’ve set aside a nursery and would’ve decorated it immediately out of excitement. She’d go into the town and look at little baby clothes from the local businesses and pick out the cutest ones. She wouldn’t have to worry about what her mother would do when they were born, or if they would end up having to be born in this dark and horrible place...

There was a moment there Lena feared she wasn’t ever going to be allowed to return, doomed to live there for the rest of her life.

However, after six weeks a servant came up and unlocked the door, telling the princess her mother would allow her to come down. She wasn’t surprised her mother was either too much of a coward or too angry to free her herself. Still, Lena was extremely happy to be out and in the familiar clean halls of the palace, making sure to avoid her mother as much as possible, but it seemed her mother was avoiding her just as much, so at least the feeling was mutual.

Once down though, she and William quickly got to baby planning, as he was over the moon at the prospect of being a dad. They read and studied and decorated as much as possible in preparation for their little bundle of joy, perfectly fine with Angelina staying out of their way.

And so, nine months later, Prince Yakko of Warnerstock was born.

“I could look at him all day,” William said, admiring the sleeping newborn in Lena’s arms.

“You’re telling me,” Lena chuckled, moving the blanket around him a little so she could better see his face. However, their moment of hypnosis was broken off when the doctor entered the room once more.

“The queen would like to speak with the two of you,” He said. Lena and William looked at each other, before looking back at him and nodding, and before they knew it, Angelina entered.

“Mother... how polite of you to ask permission before entering,” Lena snarked coldly, holding her son a little bit closer.

“It wasn’t my choice, the doctor said he’d have to see if you were asleep or not,” She rolled her eyes.

“What do you want?” William asked.

“My you’re snappy. That’s no way to talk to your queen,” Angelina gave him a look.

“Just get to the point, mother,” Lena sighed.

“Fine,” Angelina huffed.

“I figured I would make things easier on you two and make my intentions with your child clear from day one: I will be in charge of their education and training and his preparation to become king,” She declared.

“What? No. Absolutely not. I won’t let you near him,” Lena shook her head and practically shielded Yakko away from his grandmother.

“You don’t have a say in the matter, Angelina. I was simply informing you,” She said.

“I won’t let you. I won’t let you try and mold him into the monster you wanted me to be,” Lena fought back.

“It is not your place to tell me what to do.” Angelina raised her voice.

“You aren’t his mother!” Lena nearly shouted, but realized she was holding a sleeping infant just in time.

“You forget who you are speaking to!” Angelina shouted. “I am your queen, Angelina. I have the supreme authority to do whatever I want with Warnerstock’s future king.”

“If you didn’t want this to have happened, you wouldn’t have married a bastard. You’re lucky I’m letting the little creature live,” She spat, and Yakko was awoken and began to cry. Lena growled, baring her fangs, but William placed a calming hand on her shoulder, though he was clearly mad himself.

“My decision is final. Do what you will with him in the meantime, but he will be learning under my instruction,” She smiled before exiting.

“Shhhhh, it’s okay Yakko, she’s gone,” Lena quickly focused on her crying baby and tried rocking him.

“This is bad... isn’t it?” William put a hand on his forehead as he tried to process.

“William I don’t want to think about that right now,” Lena sighed and continued rocking. “I just want to enjoy having a baby, is that too much to ask?” She closed her eyes.

“Of course not, my love,” He wrapped an arm around her. “I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to enjoy it, don’t worry. It’ll be several years before he’s ready for proper schooling, we’ll practically have him all to ourselves.”

That did make her feel a little better, but she was still angry. Her mother had no right to insult her precious baby boy like that, or William for that matter- and the audacity to just burst in and declare that she’d be taking over his education- who did she think she was?

The queen.

Her mother was the queen, and there was nothing she could do about that.

Lena sighed as Yakko’s cries finally ceased.

“Well, then we’re going to make sure none of her lessons get through to him. We’ll make sure he’s kind, brave, and fiercely intelligent, won’t we William?” She said to Yakko.

“Of course,” William smiled tiredly. “We simply won’t let her get away with this.”

“He’ll be such a good person, her corruption won’t stand a chance,” She smiled down at Yakko too.

She wasn’t going to give up hope, not now. They were going to be a happy family despite her mother’s influences- somehow. She and William were going to figure it out, just you wait.

And so Lena and William did their best to raise Yakko to be the kindest, bravest, and most intelligent little kid he could be. Behind the queen’s back, William would read him stories of brave knights and evil queens and teach him how to read said stories, and Lena would teach him compassion with all forms of life in the gardens. There were times Lena thought that perhaps the day her mother would begin her lessons would never come and that it would just be the three of them forever, but the day after Yakko’s fifth birthday Lena and William were summoned to the throne room and were told it was time. William wanted to put up a fight, but they both knew it was useless, and so they pulled Yakko away from playing with his baby brother, and walked Yakko to her mother’s private study.

“Remember Yakko, what did I say?” Lena asked, holding his hand.

“Sit still, listen, and answer questions,” Yakko beamed at his mother. Lena nodded.

“And remember, if there’s anything you disagree with, you can ask us about it after the lessons,” William reminded. Yakko nodded.

“Then can I play with Wakko?” He asked his father.

“He needs to take his nap, as do you when this is done,” William chuckled.

“Just remember, your grandmother can be wrong about a great number of things, though she doesn’t like to have it pointed out,” Lena explained for the millionth time. William gave her a sympathetic look.

“Well- here we are,” Lena said, as she realized they had reached their destination.

“Fancy,” the prince said, admiring the craftsmanship of the door. Lena chuckled, but the laughter was suppressed when the door opened.

“There you are. You’re almost late,” Angelina looked at them.

“Almost late is on time,” Lena shot back.

“Barely,” The queen scoffed and stepped aside, motioning for Yakko to come in. Yakko froze, looking back at his parents.

“It’s alright dear, we’ll be right here when you’re done, we promise,” William got on his knees and gave Yakko a hug.

“We don’t have all day,” Angelina cut them off.

“Good luck honey,” Lena gave Yakko a quick kiss on the forehead before Yakko then scurried inside the study.

The queen gave them a look before closing the door and shutting them out.

“You will sit there, at the center table,” Angelina pointed at the seat, and Yakko ran to it.

“A good king takes his time, no need for running around when you have servants to do so,” Angelina remarked.

“Running is fun. So is jumping, and skipping, and dancing, and-”

“A good king is also quiet, and listens to his superiors,” The queen interrupted Yakko, which got him to shut up.

“M’sorry,” He said.

Angelina scoffed. “Well at least they taught you something useful,” she said as she went to her chalkboard and wrote down those two ‘lessons’.

“Why is running bad?” He asked.

“A good student raises his hand before speaking, and waits until he is spoken to,” Angelina didn’t even look back before writing. Yakko lowered his head in embarrassment, making sure to keep note. Yakko raised his hand.

“Yes, Yakko?” She sighed.

“Why is running bad?” He asked.

“It’s improper and wild. A good king is orderly, and in control at all times,” She explained. “Take for example... your father. He isn’t king, so he runs around all the time. It’s because of that he isn’t king, understood?” She asked.

Yakko thought about that.

He didn’t think there was anything wrong with his dad playing chase and tag with him, but he wasn’t king, unlike him someday.

He nodded.

“Good,” She smiled, before something Yakko’s pocket caught her eye.

“What is that?” She pointed. Yakko’s face lit up as he dug it out.

“That’s my toy! It’s a bunny I named Bu-”

“Kings do not play with toys, especially toy rabbits,” Angelina held out her hand. Yakko blinked.

“I’m not king yet,” he said.

“Not yet, but you will be one day, so you must prepare. Hand it over,” She said, raising her voice slightly. With an eep, Yakko handed it over, and she took it away.

“Good, the last thing you need to be is distracted,” She said, putting it into a pocket in her dress. Yakko raised his hand.

“Yes?” She sighed, raising an eyebrow.

“Can I have it back after?” He asked.

“No, Yakko. This training is of the utmost importance. The fate of the kingdom will soon rest on your shoulders, and it’s important to prepare yourself for that reality,” She explained softly. Yakko thought long and hard about that.

“Okay...” He ultimately agreed. After all, it did make sense.

In all of the storybooks he read, kings were shown as strong and stoic, never playing with dolls or toys or even little brothers. They were brave and did what was best for others- though Yakko wasn’t sure he wanted to give up all of that just yet. He liked those things after all.

But if it would make him a good king...

“Good, let's carry on then,” Angelina said with a smile, and they continued their lesson.

And they did. Angelina told him tales of kings of old, and what traits they did and didn’t have, and which ones Yakko should aspire for, and Yakko listened and kept notes in his head. After all, nothing she said felt wrong, it made sense, so Yakko saw no need for alarm. Plus, it was fun learning about the history of his family, and the legacy he was to carry on.

Yakko knew he was going to like his grandmother’s lessons.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

#my fics #animaniacs #yakko warner #angelina 1 lives au #queen angelina i #queen angelina ii #sir william the good #william warner #tw abuse #tw pregnancy #angst #feels #tw emotional manipulation

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vagabondreamer · 3 years

Text

After the Fall (3)

Pairing: Lucifer x Angel! Fem! MC

Word Count: 2k

Series Summary: Angel! Fem! MC is part of an exchange program that sends her to the Devildom for a year.

Chapter Summary: MC wanders the house, and almost finds a secret. Instead, she finds herself in a very embarrassing situation.

Author’s Note: I will be starting a tag list for anyone who is interested!

***

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Turning around, you looked at him - a prominent frown was plastered on his face.

“You transformed with me.”

“You made me mad.” You emphasized that it was his fault. “I don’t know Lucifer! I just - I was terrified, and you were right - I’m naive and my body betrayed me; is that what you want to hear?”

“No, I don’t want to hear that.” You didn’t think it was possible for his frown to deepen but it did.

“I just want to forget this ever happened, okay?” He nodded and allowed you to leave without any further questions.

The thought of having to explain to everyone what happened made your body quiver. It was only your second day, and you had already been attacked; you felt like a walking target. Dropping your bag off in your room, you dug through it to find your DDD. You had five missed calls - three from Lucifer and two from Mammon - and about twenty unread messages. It ranged from Mammon asking ‘where are ya?’ to Mammon freaking out and saying ‘Lucifer’s gonna hang me if you don’t come home’. Lucifer’s messages also varied, from ‘you better get home right now’ to ‘are you okay?’. He must’ve went back to RAD to look for you - you 're so lucky he did.

Grabbing a small blanket, you wrapped it around your shoulders and let it drape off your body. You decided it would be better to face the brothers now, rather than wait it out. Walking towards the kitchen you could smell something delicious being made, and could faintly hear music being played in the background. Barely popping your head in, you see Satan.

“Is dinner almost done?” You asked softly.

“Yeah, just two more minutes. Do you mind setting the table?” He asked without looking up.

“Okay.” You grabbed plates and silverware, placing it on the dining table. After you were finished, you looked at the eight chairs - one at the head of the table, one at the foot, and three on each side. Obviously, Lucifer would be seated at the head, but where did the others usually sit? You didn’t want to take anyone’s seat, but you also didn’t want to be trapped in-between anyone. Choosing the foot of the table, you sat down, wrapping the blanket tighter and waited for everyone to join you.

Lucifer was the first to arrive - no surprise there, he was always punctual. Then, the rest filtered in. Satan brought out the food on various dishes, placing it in the middle for everyone to partake in. He sat down adjacent to your left, Asmo was to his left, and then Levi. To your right was an empty chair, and then Beel, to his right was Mammon. Thankfully, it seemed everyone was too focused on food to notice the condition you’re in. You served some food onto your plate, and listened to the various conversations the boys were having.

“Everyone has to enter the event! They’re giving away a limited edition Ruri-chan figure and I need to win it!” Levi exclaimed.

“Limited edition? That must mean it’s worth a lot. Yeah, I’ll enter ya silly competition.”

“No, Mammon, if you win it you have to give it to me!”

“What are ya gonna give to me in exchange?”

You tuned out the rest of the conversation. You weren’t sure what a Ruri-chan was, but decided not to ask about it; Levi seemed passionate about it, and you didn’t want to sit here all night.

“So, MC, how was detention?” Satan turned to you to tease you, knowing good and well that he had ditched you, but his expression dropped when he saw the claw marks on your face.

“Detention?” Mammon questioned. Great. All eyes were on you - all eyes were on your injury.

“MC! Your face!” Asmo got up to get a closer look, but you raised your hand, hoping to stop him.

“It’s just a scratch.”

“What the hell happened?” Satan inquired.

“Enough. She doesn’t have to answer any questions.” Lucifer’s voice was firm.

“It’s okay. After detention, I was attacked, that’s really all that happened.” Your eyes watered up, but you just tightened the blanket over you. “And Lucifer saved me, so I’m okay.”

“Oh MC!” Amso cried out. “Can I hug you?” You nodded and accepted his embrace. “You poor thing.”

Asmo coddled you in your seat, it felt nice to be cared for.

The look on Mammon’s and Beel’s faces were heartbreaking, but they didn’t push the subject further.

“Satan, how did you know she had detention?” You could see Satan scratch the back of his neck, knowing Lucifer was going to rip him a new one.

“I also got detention with her...and Solomon. But I lied and said I had a meeting with you, and the professor let me go. I’m assuming Solomon made up an excuse too.” His face was filled with guilt.

“You and Mammon are going to receive a punishment after dinner.”

“Wait, I didn’t do anything!” Mammon declared.

“Exactly. I told you to make sure she didn’t get hurt, and you failed.”

You untangled yourself from Asmo’s grasp and sat up.

“No, it’s not their fault. They shouldn’t be blamed for my mistakes.” Lucifer’s intense gaze fell on you, softening slightly.

“MC, it’s not your fault.”

“I was the one who was talking in class, and I’m the one who told Mammon I could take care of myself.” Standing up, you placed your hands flat against the table. “I made a foolish mistake. It won’t happen again.”

You went to your room for the rest of the night.

***

A whole school week had passed. Lucifer still punished Satan and Mammon despite you asking him not to, this meant Mammon was practically glued to your hip from now on. You had been questioned by Solomon and the angels about what happened to your face, and gave them the short story. Simeon had been a big help making you feel safe; he suggested texting each other everyday to check in on each other. And Luke, well, he complained that you shouldn’t be in a house full of demons.

It was Saturday, this meant that most of the boys were out of the house - aside from Lucifer and Levi. You were tired of being in your room all the time, and silently wished you had asked Asmo to take you shopping like he promised. Wandering around the house aimlessly, you decided to go mess with Levi. You didn’t know him too well, except he was obsessed with Ruri-chan and always called himself a yucky otaku; he was kind of weird, you hadn’t ever met someone like him in the Celestial Realm, but he peaked your interest enough. Knocking on his door, you call out his name. No answer. You try again. Same result. You try to turn the door knob but it’s locked.

“You have to say the secret password!” He yelled.

“I don’t know the secret password!”

“Then you can’t get in!” You’re dumbfounded by his logic; he must really not want to hang out with you. Leaving him alone, you go on a quest to rid your boredom. Messing with Lucifer would only result in him lecturing you, so you explored the house instead.

It was easy to get lost. You did it several times. Every door just led to a hallway of more doors, and some even opened into walls. You almost fell out of the second story because one door opened to the outside! There were several staircases that led to nowhere, and you were starting to wonder who created this poorly designed house. You were about to give up and go back to your room when you heard a soft voice - it was singing a lullaby. The song was faint, but you tried to follow it. You started walking up a spiral staircase, the sound was getting stronger.

“MC.” The voice startled you causing you to miss your next step. You would’ve fell down the stairs had it not been for his strong arms catching you.

“Lucifer?”

“What are you doing here?” He set you down on stable ground.

“I was just exploring. I’m bored.”

“Don’t go up these stairs.”

“Why not?” He combed his hair with his gloved hand - you were stressing him out.

“Because I said so.” Placing his hand on your lower back, he led you out back into the main hall.

“That’s not a fair reason.”

“Fine, you can help me with paperwork.”

“Wait - what?”

“You said you were bored? I’ve got plenty for you to do.”

“Well, I’m not that bored -” you tried to protest.

“Come, now.” You sighed in defeat and followed him to his office. You make a mental note to never tell Lucifer you’re bored. He pulls a seat to his desk, perpendicular to his chair. You climb onto the chair, sitting on your legs so that you’re close enough to the desk. There’s a huge stack of papers on his desk, you groan not wanting to do any work.

“Are you always this lazy?”

“No offense, but why would I try to make an effort down here?” You cross your arms. “I don’t overwork myself, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Well that doesn’t sound very angel-like.” You rolled your eyes, he’s one to talk.

“All you have to do is separate the papers into urgent and not urgent. That way I can get to the urgent ones first and then do the rest.” He plopped the stack in front of you.

“How am I supposed to know what’s urgent or not?”

“Trust your instinct to make the right decision.”

“My instinct?”

“It has to be somewhere in there,” he pointed to your head, you swatted his hand away. You could’ve swore there was a ghost of a smile on his face. Shaking your head to clear the thought, you started to separate the papers, trusting your instinct.

It felt like hours had passed by the time you completely separated all of the papers. Lucifer was concentrating on the paperwork he was doing, it gave you enough time to finally look at his face up close without his burning stare.

His hair was pitch black, besides the ends that looked faded. The locks of his hair perfectly framed his face, and not a single strand was out of place. Your eyes wandered across his cheek to his jawline; his skin looked soft, yet his jaw was so masculine. Every nerve in your body wanted to reach up and caress his face. His mouth was in his permanent pout, but his lips looked kissable. Your gaze wandered up - even his nose was perfect - you reached his eyes, his beautiful red eyes.

Red eyes.

Watching you.

Instantly, your face matched that color. And his once pout turned into a smirk. All that you can think about is getting out of here. Your chair was pulled so forward against the desk that you couldn’t scoot back, so you tried to leap over the chair’s arm - but in your embarrassed state that proved to be too difficult. Tripping and nearly falling over, you caught yourself and heard a small chuckle come from behind you. You don’t even look back as you race out of his office and back to your room.

Closing the door behind you, you leaned against it and fell to the floor. What was that all about? Never in your life had you looked at another being the way you just looked at him. Yeah, when you saw Simeon you admired him, but you were admiring God’s work! Sure, Lucifer was handsome, but kissable? No way - no way in hell! You got up and started pacing the room. Why did you run away like a scared schoolgirl? You could’ve played that off, but now he definitely knows you were admiring his face! Would he use this against you? Oh, he would definitely use this against you.

It was Lucifer.

After the Fall Tag List @ptv-hades

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sellyoursoulforagoodfic · 3 years

Text

Shelbys at Somme: Chapter 8

Thomas X Reader

3744

Summary: Tensions grow between Grace and Reader when Grace is informed one of her co-workers is dead. Reader meets Ada.

by @adventuresintooblivion

Grace was due for a rendezvous yesterday, but she hadn’t a moment of free time until the Garrison Pub closed its doors two hours after it was supposed to. She had called into the station, but no one answered, which led to her practically sprinting to the nearest cabby who might take her to see Inspector Campbell.

After an all too expensive ride, Grace strode into Inspector Campbell’s office, clutching her purse between herself and the world. At first he didn’t even look up from his papers. It wasn’t until Grace cleared her throat that he spoke.

“You’re late.” He slowly looked up. Something about his posture had changed since last Grace saw him. While before he had stood tall and proper, now he held a tension in his movements.

Grace glanced down. “The Pub kept me working late yesterday. Everything was closed by the time I was free to contact you.”

Inspector Campbell grumbled, “You could’ve come over.”

She raised her eyebrow. “To your house Sir? Isn’t that dangerous?”

Not to mention wildly inappropriate?

The Inspector ran his hand through his thinning hair. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. But your father would want me to look after you, so I can’t have you missing deadlines like this.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you send anyone now?”

It was his turn to break eye contact. “Something has happened. I’m not sure how big it is, so I didn’t want to endanger your cover just in case.”

“What happened?”

He grimaced, “We questioned that girl you gave us a picture of. We’d been keeping an eye on her, but when she contacted Thomas and stuck around we thought he might be trying to fence the guns through her.”

Grace felt blood rushing in her ears as the world dropped from underneath her. “W...Who did she turn out to be?”

Inspector Campbell shrugged, “Y/F/N. She was an old war buddy of his. Worked in his company as what they called a Runner. Distracted the Germans while they dug.”

“She joined the army and fought?”

The Inspector nodded but didn’t elaborate. He started shuffling through papers until finally he held one out for Grace. When she took it there was a list of names with Y/N’s picture next to it. Each name had a different occupation listed next to it along with locations.

Grace frowned, “Is this all her?”

He shrugged, “Supposedly, though she’s never done jail time for anything. I’m half convinced most of these she just made for fun.”

“So how did you get her to come in? I didn’t think she’d be the type to offer up information for free.” Grace folded the paper and tucked it away in her purse.

Inspector Campbell’s features darkened. “Oh, it wasn’t free. She gave us no choice, we had to corner her. When she tried to escape, she killed Matthew.”

She froze, “Matthew’s dead?”

He nodded. “The funeral is this weekend. Due to your current assignment, I can’t allow you to attend, but we are all pitching in to help his wife and son. At least until she can figure something out.”

Grace nodded and practically threw what little cash she had on hand at him. She’d always liked Matthew. They’d bonded during the late hours working to neutralize the IRA. When Inspector Campbell had offered to take them both to Birmingham, Grace had even helped him pack up his whole family. Now he was gone.

Something about the situation didn’t all she could think about was her friend’s tired smile. “Please tell me you at least got something.”

He paused for too long but Grace was desperate for an answer, “We have a possible location.”

She nodded. It was all she needed to keep going, to not run out of here right now and give Y/N a sound lashing.

〜

The next day Grace wiped her hands on her apron, her foul mood having settled in to stay. Her mind kept wandering back to images of Matthew. While Inspector Campbell hadn’t gone into details about his death, her imagination provided plenty of gory details for her to mull over.

She knew Y/N was upstairs. Hell, the topic of last night’s search party was all she heard about all day. Details were fuzzy at best but from what she could gather Tommy had roused half the Peaky Blinders in the late hours of the night to track her down.

Grace tried to strike up conversation multiple times with her patrons, but they were all dead on their feet. Several of them went so far as to nap next to the pints they’d been nursing moments before. Even Harry’s stern glares weren’t enough to keep them awake.

Yet Grace was determined. If she couldn’t get information from them, she’d get it from Thomas when he returned.

〜

It was late afternoon by the time Y/N awoke. For the first few moments she lay there perfectly still and enjoyed her last couple minutes of peace. Then she shifted and it was all over. Her muscles spasmed, causing her to lose her breath for the briefest moment.

“Well, damn, I was wondering when you’d join us.” Nearby a woman sat with a book splayed open on her lap.

Y/N slowly sat up, her arms shaky beneath her.

The woman stood suddenly. "Hey now, don't you think about getting up alright? Tommy gave me strict orders to keep you off your feet."

Y/N chuckled, "Thank you for the attention, Miss…?"

She waved away Y/N's feeble attempts to dismiss her, "The name is Ada Shelby."

A smile spread across Y/N's lips. "So you're Ada? I was wondering when I'd get to meet you."

She nodded proudly, "The one and only. Now listen here, missy. You'll not get out of this bed until you're healthy again. You hear me?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Y/N tried to hide her growing smile.

Ada ruffled Y/N's hair. "Don't be cheeky with me. You're the one that got caught by a copper of all things. Now, what would you like to do today?"

Y/N shrugged. "Just grab me a couple books and I'll be fine. If you need to go do something I don't need to be babysat."

"Well, while that might be the case I'm not supposed to really be out and about either." Ada fidgeted with the ties on her dress.

Y/N raised her eyebrow. "I'd ask how come, but it doesn't look like you're comfortable sharing."

"I know I can trust you, otherwise you wouldn't be living above the Garrison right now. No it's just… I haven't said it aloud yet. Not to anyone except Aunt Pol."

Y/N shrugged, "I mean, I'm not really sure where I stand. So really, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Ada sat back, drawing her shawl closer around herself. After a moment Y/N noticed it was the same as Pol's just a different color. Wonder which one of them knits.

Then Ada spoke so softly Y/N almost missed it, "I'm pregnant."

The words hung in the air allowing their weight to settle as the implications slowly became clear.

Y/N bit her lip, "And you've only told Pol. Yikes."

She glanced down, "Yeah, he's missing too. Do you think.. He’ll come back?"

"I'm not exactly the expert on that. “Y/N paused for a moment. “But I did also come back from the dead. That’s a weird case though, so I’m not sure I’m the best person to ask."

Ada smiled sadly at her. "You really came back for Tommy?"

Y/N blushed, "Don't say it too loudly. You're gonna make me sound like even more of an idiot."

She burst out laughing, the color returning to her cheeks. "Come on, let's get you some breakfast."

"I didn't get a chance to buy any groceries yet." Y/N bit her lip.

Ada bounced back up excitedly. "Don't you worry about that. I stopped by the market on the way here."

"I hope you're not hurting for money then, because I have absolutely no way to pay you back right now." Y/N felt a pit forming in her stomach. Or pay rent for that matter.

Ada turned towards the kitchenette, the room so small Y/N caught herself checking to make sure the blankets wouldn't get caught underfoot. She rifled through cupboards and moments later the smell of food filled the space between them.

Ada finally answered, "Don't worry about paying for anything, Y/N. Tommy would lose his head if anyone asked you for a dime."

Y/N shifted around until she was sitting at the foot of the bed, closer to Ada. "Yes, making a deal with the Devil is the perfect way to never worry about anything ever again."

Ada threateningly waved a wooden spoon at her, "You calling my brother the Devil? Cause you'd be right."

They burst into laughter, an easy chatter formed between them. Ada remained for a large part of the day. Eventually the sun began to set and the two women were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Thomas waited barely a moment before slowly poking his head in. “I hope everyone here is decent.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “It’s not gonna be the time you’ve seen me in my underwear, Thomas.”

Ada cast her a somewhat scandalized look but was quickly distracted by Thomas’ soft chuckle. “Yet you looked manlier than most the men you were changing next to.”

Y/N gasped dramatically as she clutched at her heart. Thomas’ chuckle rose into a full on laughter.

“What kind of sorcery is this? I haven’t seen you smile like that since you found out John tried to stick it in the wrong hole his first time.”

“John did what?” Y/N’s mouth fell open in astonishment.

Ada glanced between the two shrugging, “He said his reasoning was that ‘that’s how animals did it.’”

Thomas shook his head. “I still can’t fucking believe-”

Laughter filled the room, however the mood was dampened quickly as Y/N groaned. Thomas rushed forward, kneeling beside the bed while Ada stood nearby frozen as they waited.

Finally, after catching her breath, Y/N grimaced, “Oh stop your fussing. A good laugh is worth a few loose ribs.”

“You’re supposed to be healing,” Thomas growled.

She dismissed his concern with a small wave, “If I spend all my time healing I won’t have any left for living. Stop worrying so much about me Shelby, I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head before turning towards Ada, “Would you mind giving us some privacy? I have to talk to Y/N about a couple things.”

Ada huffed, but soon her steps could be heard receding down the stairs.

Thomas slowly turned back to Y/N. “How are you holding up?”

Y/N shrugged, glancing out the window into the abyss. When did it get so dark?

He took her hand in his, so gently she almost didn’t recognize his touch. “Y/N, don’t spare me the details. I can’t do my job if you don’t tell me how bad it is.”

“What exactly is your job when it comes to me?” Her voice was the barest whisper.

There was a long pause as the answer hung in the air, the one they needed to be said before either of them could move on. It was their last chance to escape from each other; if he pushed her away now, she would leave. Disappear. Once again becoming the ghost of his past.

Thomas bowed his head, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. “I’m going to look after you.”

Only the slightest tremor in her voice betrayed her, “You don’t owe me that, Thomas.”

“Not everything is about payment, Y/N?”

She raised her eyebrow. “Is this the same Birmingham that I left five years ago?”

He released an amused hum from somewhere deep in his throat, finally looking up at her. The dark circles had etched themselves deeper beneath his eyes. A tightness around the corners reminded Y/N of the darkest days in the trenches. Instinctively she reached up to cup his cheek and brush the worry away with her thumb.

“Rough day, Tommy?”

It was as if the whole room released a deep sigh, “It always is.”

Y/N gestured to the chair Ada had been using, “Wanna talk about it?”

Thomas ignored the chair and sat at the foot of her bed, his hip pressed against her leg and his elbows resting on his knees. Old habits die hard, don’t they?

He gathered his thoughts, but soon he was catching her up on a myriad of events. About the horse and the unfortunate turn of events that had taken place. The guns. Thomas’ meeting with Inspector Campbell and how close he had come to throttling the man. Danny’s head being payment for the death of a man he’d caused during an episode of shell shock.

For the most part Y/N listened, offering advice where it seemed to fit, until he brought up Danny, “They want you to kill him with witnesses?”

He nodded. “I’ve already taken care of that. A casing full of sheep brains.”

Y/N couldn’t stop the smile that played across her lips. “This is why I love you. So do you have a good hiding place for the guns or are they still at the docks?”

Thomas’s mind went blank, then suddenly every thought he’d ever had felt like it was clashing together as he registered what Y/N had just said. His heart was pounding in his ears. The room was too hot and not warm enough all at once. It took every ounce of control he had left to control his breathing enough to speak.

“W...what did you just say?”

“Hmmm? I was asking if you had a good hiding spot for the guns yet.”

“No...Um, before that.”

Y/N furrowed her brow, “I was asking if they demanded witnesses.”

Thomas finally let himself look at her. There was no indication that she was messing with him. No tell tale smirk or signature twinkle in her eye. She just sat there confused on why he was asking her to repeat herself. He ran his fingers through his hair.

His voice was gruff when he finally answered, “No, I don’t have a place picked out for the guns yet.” He honestly already had several ideas, but he couldn’t conjure up a single one right now.

Y/N glanced around the room thinking for a moment. “Why don’t you put them in Danny’s grave?”

“He’s not actually dead. I thought I made that clear.”

“Yeah, but if he was dead you’d dig him a grave come hell or high water. So you’ll have to dig him one anyways so that no one gets suspicious. Plus, this won’t be related to any other contraband that the Peaky Blinders deal with so if someone snitches on you, it won’t be there.”

Thomas blinked slowly before he nodded. “That is actually quite brilliant. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t come up with that myself.”

Y/N shrugged, “One of my many random skills, hiding things.”

Thomas wasn’t exactly sure what to say about that, but he had one last thing to tell her. After her slip-up in the previous moment, the words felt like poison on his lips. “I’ve also asked Grace to the races.”

“Did you just need her for a plus one?” Y/N raised her eyebrow.

Just say yes.

“No, Billy Kimber owns the race tracks, and we’re expanding. Making legal money and all that.” He pressed his lips against his clasped hands, wishing he didn’t have to answer what came next.

Y/N frowned, confused. “And what does this have to do with Grace?”

Thomas sighed. “Mr. Kimber is known to enjoy sampling the pleasures of women. She asked to work for me, so I plan on offering her up to him as part of the bargain.”

“Did you ask her if she was ok with that?”

“No.”

She smacked his shoulder, a sharp sting exploding from his arm. “Tommy!”

“Hey, don’t hit me, Ms. Cracked Ribs.”

She shook her finger threateningly at him. “It’s Ms. Broken Ribs to you, and I’ll smack you as much as I damn well please. You can’t just go offering up a girl’s dignity like that.”

Thomas turned and grabbed her hands in his, preventing any further retaliation. “She asked to work for me, Y/N.”

Y/N growled, “She’s not from the underbelly of Birmingham. Or any other city for that matter. You can tell from a god damned mile away. Shit like this ruins women.”

He paused. “You may be right, but I don’t have anything else he wants.”

She let out a deep sigh. “What were you gonna offer him?”

He told her, and she nodded. They sat in silence for a while as they mulled over what to do about all this. At the end of the day they both knew if he brought Grace she would end up having to go with Kimber sooner or later. He expected it to say the least. And it wasn’t just Grace, any woman Thomas brought would be offered up as a bargaining chip.

Finally Y/N spoke, “She may have to go with him, but she doesn’t have to stay with him.”

“And break the deal?”

She shook her head, “Save Kimber. Like tell him she has something.”

He smirked at her. “So much for preserving dignity.”

Y/N shrugged. “At least she won’t have to sleep with him.”

Thomas glanced away, “Yeah.”

Y/N glanced down. Her hands were still in his, though his grip had loosened into something more casual. A small thrill went through her as she realized how much smaller her hands were compared to his.

She stammered as she spoke, “It’s getting late.”

Thomas took a deep breath broken out of his thoughts. “Yeah it is. I’ll head out and give you some peace. If you need anything, come get me.” He stood, letting Y/N’s hands slip from his grasp.

The air was cool on her skin compared to his touch. She found herself following him with her gaze.“Come get you? I thought you lived at the Shelby house?” she asked.

He paused. “I’m going to be staying in the room next door for a while, until you’re better at least.” And with that he was gone.

〜

Y/N awoke in the late hours of the night. Darkness had escaped it’s daily chains, exploded from every nook and cranny and coated the room in a thick film. It took her a moment to shake off the disorientation before she remembered where she was.

Then she heard what had woken her. Through the wall she heard a cry. She couldn’t tell at first what it was for, but then it came again. Thomas.

She stood slowly, pain shooting up her back with every step as she shuffled out of her room and down the hallway. When she finally reached the rickety door she pressed her ear against it.

“NO...Freddie!”

That was enough. Y/N pounded on the door. On a normal day with the noise of people, it would’ve been deep and resounding. But now it was so deafening she caught herself wincing as she hit the wood.

A bewildered voice answered, “Wha..Who’s there?”

“Thomas it’s me. Open up.”

A shuffling sound and rattle later the door opened slowly. Thomas blinked at her blearily with bloodshot eyes. Y/N waited patiently for him to come back to reality just enough.

He asked groggily, “Is everything ok?”

“You’re having nightmares.”

Thomas stiffened, glancing around as if the whole world might be listening. He was about to answer when Y/N stepped forward, gently placing her hand on his chest.

His skin was hot and damp, the sweat having left a small layer that made him glisten in the barest of light. The air inside the room was hot as it poured through the crack in the door, trying to escape.

He placed his hand over hers. “What’re you doing?”

She looked up at him, somehow finding his eyes in the darkness. “Let me in.”

“She says at the entrance of the Devil’s den.” A soft rumble rolled from deep within his chest, a sleepy laugh.

“If you think I’m not a devil myself then I really need to jog your memory.”

“Y/N.”

Every ounce of fight in him suddenly dissolved away. After so many years of nightmares. After so long in the darkness. After watching her die a thousand times in his dreams. He had no will left to say ‘No’.

Y/N pushed her way inside, careful not to bump into anything that could make her fall. The room was much smaller than hers, and the window wasn’t open even the slightest, accounting for the heat.

As she walked inside she let her hand fall from his chest to intertwine with his fingers. Thomas let her lead him back towards the bed. It was actually smaller than the one she had in the other room, but that didn’t stop her from laying down and pressing her back against the wall.

She waved for him to join her, “Come on, Thomas. Before the room becomes freezing again.”

His brows furrowed as he tried to process what was going on. “I don’t think this will help your ribs heal.”

“Just shut up and get in here.”

He crawled in slowly, careful not to jostle her. Thomas paused before laying his head down. Y/N finally got tired of waiting and slid back onto the bed proper and maneuvered him until his head rested on her stomach.

Her fingers ran through his hair as he mumbled, “This isn’t hurting you?”

“The broken ones are higher up. And while I’m pretty sure any doctor would be shitting themselves right now, I’m fine.”

“Y/N,” he protested.

“Hush now, and get some sleep.”

After a few moments he chuckled, “My feet are hanging off the edge a bit.”

She hummed as sleep reclaimed her, “We’ll just have to sleep in mine tomorrow.”

“The scandal.”

“Damn right.”

#tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagine #thomas shelby imagine #thomas shelby x reader #peaky blinders imagine #reader insert

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elderbwrry · 3 years

Text

Even if he doesn’t say so - Chapter 3/?

Kylo/Hux/Poe Witcher AU

Chapter summary: mini-waterfight, short scene continuation of these three wombling across the continent, (word count 1343)

Chapter 1, 2, and also on ao3

Kylo trudged back into camp and sat down heavily by the fire. He was angry, and he was sure his two companions could tell, judging by the way they had fallen to silently looking at him instead of chatting as they had been before. Eventually, Kylo couldn't take the staring. “What?” he demanded.

“You've... got a little something there,” Poe offered, pointing at him, first his hair and then his whole body.

“The fucking thing exploded!” he informed them loudly, and several birds took flight from the trees with a slap of wings that irritated Kylo all the more.

Sure, Kylo was glad to have the coin from the shepherds, and their sheep-snatching issue was solved, but did it have to spew foul smelling viscera all over him?

Hux was grimacing now. “It smells awful,” he complained, his tone allowing no argument, “go wash it off. There's a stream not too far west.”

Kylo groaned, leaned over to the side and lay down. He did want it off, but it seemed like such effort right at that moment – besides, he'd mostly gotten used to the smell, and he was tired. “I'll do it later.”

Kylo heard Hux stand up, and practically heard the vein in his forehead bulge as he ordered, “You'll do it now!” Crunching leaves as he approached, saying, “I don't want you stinking up camp.” The heel of a boot dug into Kylo's side, turning him over a bit and then retreating when he tried to grab it's owner.

“Go and hide in your fancy posh tent, then!”

“I imagine the stench would reach even there.”

“Prick.”

“Oaf.”

“Kylo,” Poe's mediating voice made Kylo bite back the unsavoury comment he was about to make about mages. “Go wash off. You'll feel better for it. And Hux? Stop being a shit.” And somehow, that stopped the argument.

The healthy distance Hux and Poe were keeping in order to avoid the smell meant that by the time the two of them had caught up to his pissed-off march to the river, Kylo had already stripped off and dunked himself underwater. There was still stuff caught in his hair, which he was trying to drag his fingers through.

“Hey, that looks painful,” Poe said, sounding genuinely concerned, and coming forward to sit at a rocky section at the side of the stream. “Come here, I'll sort it out for you.”

Kylo hesitated. For one thing, he was fully naked. Of course Poe had seen flashes of him naked before, but what with he and Hux fully clothed – the mage wandering around looking at the various plants around the banks and occasionally casting glances in their direction – it wasn't exactly a familiar situation.

In fact, thinking about the situation made Kylo hesitate, though he was unsure why; something told him that this ought to feel different, but the more he thought about it, it didn't feel different. They both knew him, and it felt... natural. So he went over and turned so Poe could easily reach.

Poe's fingers working over Kylo's scalp felt... heavenly. Kylo relaxed into it further and further. He tried not to think about how gentle Poe was being, but it was all that was in his mind. Poe, unlike so many others in Kylo's life, Hux included, never tried to hurt him, never treated him like everyone else where Poe came from. It had to mean something. He wanted to turn around and put his head on Poe's chest, sink into that gentle warmth and burrow into the delightful burr of his voice.

Poe lifted some water and worked it into Kylo's hair. It trickled down his back, and Poe's fingers gathered his hair by brushing it back over his ear. Kylo shivered. “You okay there?” Poe asked.

“Yeah,” Kylo cleared his throat, “it's just cold.”

Hux looked up from the stone he was turning over with his foot, meeting Kylo's eyes as if to call him out on the lie. Kylo wished he could know what Hux was thinking behind his calculating eyes and schooled expression, seeing the two of them like that, but Hux was often inscrutable to Kylo when it came to physical demonstrations of any kind of emotion, something which had caused plenty of trouble in the past. Although... provocation often worked.

“Gods, yeah, it's freezing,” Poe was saying, “you're almost done,” but Kylo wasn't listening, too busy gathering the strength to flick water at Hux. His arm shot out of the water, casting a splash that just missed the mage, who withdrew quickly, scandalised.

“How dareyou!” he snapped, approaching severely, but remaining on guard for further attacks as he looked down at Kylo, beginning a lecture on exactly how he would curse him if he did it again. Hux was so busy doing that, he didn't focus on Poe standing or walking round behind him - unfortunately, he couldn't fail to notice when the bard stuck out a hip and pushed him into the water.

The mage fell like a collection of overly fine fabric and swearing, splashing around in a fantastic approximation of a surprised cat. It wasn't that the stream was too deep for him to stand, he was just caught off guard, and Kylo took advantage of that by wading in and lifting him up, an arm around his back and under his knees. Bedraggled and annoyed, this was no doubt the most fearsome Hux could get without unleashing his magic on the subject of his discontent.

“You!” he exclaimed at Poe, trying to get his legs out from Kylo's hold, “I'll murder you, I'll-”

With that, Kylo dropped him. There was a moment more of spluttering, followed by a faint glow from under the water, and then Kylo found himself inundated again with a magical wave which the gentle flow of the stream never could have generated on its own. When Hux got his feet under him and saw Kylo still blinking water out of his eyes, he gave a snorting laugh.

There were two thuds from the bank of shed boots, and a warning shout from Poe as he jumped into the stream just behind Kylo, causing him to be inundated again. The whole thing degenerated into a splash fight, cold but happy.

When they finally trudged back to camp – Hux complaining perfunctorily the whole way about how his robes were “ruined” and would have to be fixed magically, Poe's hair slowly re-curling as it dried – it was the best Kylo had felt in a long time.

Kylo was building up the fire and finding a place to spread out his wet shirt when he noticed Poe looking through the slightly open flap of the tent, inside of which Hux was changing. It was only a moment, in which Poe had paused, run his hand through his hair once, and then seemed to decide he shouldn't be looking, heading off to find something in his pack.

As inconspicuously as possible, Kylo took up the place Poe had abandoned, making to hang up his clothes but glancing back inside the tent as he did. The light inside was a soft, dusky orange, courtesy of the canvas sides and the lantern Hux had lit. The mage was framed perfectly in the entrance, wearing a loose pair of pants and nothing else, his slim chest exposed. He looked soft, enticing, all smooth muscles accented by sharp shoulder bones, freckles smattering his shoulders. Kylo remembered poring over them in the winter evenings, when the two of them could take it slow. It cast a strange kind of nostalgia into his heart.

Hux turned and noticed Kylo before he could look away. He tilted his head and raised his eyebrow, to which Kylo shrugged. The reason they parted wasn't because of lack of attraction, after all, and it had been Hux who had engineered their reunion. Hux still understood Kylo better than possibly anyone else in the world.

A flick of Hux's wrist, and the tent flap lolled closed.

#darkgingerpilot #armitage hux #kylo ren #poe dameron #kylo/hux/poe #kylux #darkpilot #gingerpilot #my writing #fanfiction #witcher au #fantasy medieval au #star wars #even if he doesn't say so #late update! sorry but thanks for still reading if you are still reading #im aware this is Niche

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jimmythegirl · 4 years

Text

what’s in it for me?

Chapter 2 of Ion Turbine

part 1

Din Djarin x Reader

Summary: Force sensitive reader and Din cross paths.... its a real slow burn y’all

Warnings: violence , mentions of slavery, no smut now but later on

Author note: I just wanna say thank y’all so much for all the love chapter 1 got. Holy smokes, it really means the world to me. Also, sorry there wasn’t too much Daddy Din in this but next chapter is gonna be saturated with him dw.

When the world came back into focus you felt cold metal around you. As you came to you realized you were on the ground, your body was aching. Had you been hit? Did you fight something or someone? The mandalorian stood feet away from you, holding his blaster in one hand, the small green child guarded behind him.

“Get up and get out.” He demanded, moving closer, extending his blaster out as if to warn you.

You slowly pushed yourself up the wall for support before trying to hobble down the ship’s ramp. He moved up just inches behind you, the blaster pressed against the back of your neck. The touch of its icy metal sent a chill down your spine.

“It-it,” You began softly, looking back at the green child, “has a gift you know.”

The next moment your knees slammed against the rough metal of the ramp, ripping up your skin. Your wrist tried to take the impact but instead leaving you with bloody palms

“Who sent you?!” He kneeled onto your back, the metal plate on his knee digging into your spine.

“N-no one sent me?” You choked out, your face pressed against the ground.

You could feel the blaster pressing into your skull even harder. You scanned your surroundings looking for anything that might give you a slight chance at making it out alive. You could see a large crate back in the ship and hoped that you had enough strength in you to move it.

You closed your eyes, tuning out everything. The demands of the man above you. The birds beginning to wake. The wind blowing through the branches of trees. Everything.

Your arms were currently pinned under your body but you did your best to extend your fingers towards the crate. Pulling on everything in you to move it. You hadn’t used your ability in a long time but this was life or death and you knew you had it in you. You could feel the energy shift as the crate began to pull towards you. You honed in on that feeling and gave every last thing you had. Finally, the crate hurled towards you colliding with the mandalorian and throwing him off you.

He quickly got back to his feet but he did not try to hurt you again. He just stood there. As if in complete disbelief, looking back at the child who just looked at him innocently. You laid still on the dirty ground, trying to regain the energy to move.

“Did you-?”

You nodded, doing your best to sit back up. He disappeared into the ship, reappearing moments later with bacta spray.

“Give me your hands.”

You did as he said, watching quietly as he carefully sprayed your hands and knees. Your cheeks flushed as he helped you to your feet. You could see the beginning of morning peek through the trees. Your stomach dropped as you realized the amount of trouble you would be in back at the shop for being gone all night.

Once again you glanced back at the green child, trying to determine what to do. It seemed so foolish to walk away from another one like you, but you had to remember why you were here. You came to this planet for a reason. To this village for a reason.

You looked at the man in armor and then once again to the child as if to ask for permission. He gave a nod and you slowly approached the little green creature who cooed softly. Not wanting to end up on the floor again you opted out of picking it up and instead went to rub the top of its head.

The moment the two of you touched you could feel a force around you, connecting the two of you. The dizzy feeling was gone, replaced instead by something entirely different. This felt stronger, like your life force was merged to the little green one’s, creating something powerful.

“Are there more of you?” The modulated voice said, breaking you out of your connection.

“What?”

“With these powers, are there more that have them?”

“I have heard stories...but.” You walked back towards him. You looked towards the sky, seeing the shift in colors, “Shit, I have to go.” You hurried down the ramp quickly, collecting your things onto the cart.

“What?” He followed after you.

“I need to get back before my boss wakes up.” You began to haul yourself into the woods, as he quickly followed after you.

“Wait, I need your help.”

You stopped. He needed your help? The mandalorian needed help from the girl he almost just killed?

“You what?” You let out a sarcastic laugh.

“With the kid I mean. I’ve been trying to find where he belongs and you might be a start.”

“We aren’t even close to the same species, you do realize that right?” You finally turned to face him, arms crossed across your chest.

“He needs someone like him.”

You looked down to your boots, debating it. Anything would be better than your current living/work situation now, you knew that. But you worried about joining this man you knew nothing about, who just tried to kill you.

“What’s in it for me, huh?”

“I’ll pay, I’ve got plenty of credits.”

“Hmm, no, I don’t have any use for those.” You dropped the handle to your cart, slowly walking closer to him, “Are you getting off this planet anytime soon?”

“As soon as you’d like.”

“Teach me to fight and you have yourself a deal.” You pushed your arm out towards him as he did the same, grasping your hand in agreement.

“Be here by midday.”

“Yes, sir!” You said before heading off back towards the village, cart behind you. The anxiety and adrenaline filling your veins.

As you slowly made your way back up to your room above the shop your ears were met with angry beeps.

“Shhhhhh! You’re gonna wake the whole house up!” You half whispered half yelled at the droid who was ferociously bumping into your leg as some form of punishment, “I know, I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be gone so long.” You grabbed a bag and began to haphazardly throw things in, “We have to leave, ok lil bud, I can explain everything on the way.” There were only confused beeps that time, “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

You rummaged through your shelf, grabbing all your books. You knew you were bound to forget something but as long as you had these you could get through floating through space with the galaxy's most dangerous bounty hunter.

Once your bag was packed you snuck out to the refresher to wash up. Then threw some clothes back on and your hair back up in it’s usual style before heading down the hall to your room.

You stopped right before you stepped inside. Someone was in there, you felt it. At this point, your boss should’ve been opening up the shop for the day, so who was in your room? You took a few small steps closer before your eyes were met with the end of a blaster.

“Where were you plannin’ on runnin’ off to eh?” Your boss said, your packed bag in his unoccupied hand.

“I’m not going an-anywhere sir. I was just...just packing up some things to sell.”

“Ahh sell is it?” He smiled a practically toothless grin, “That why you were gone all night?”

You could feel the blood drain from your face. He began to shove you towards a back room in the house with nothing in it but a cage.

“Get in.” He laughed, and you did as you were told. He sat on a stool opposite the cage, the blaster still aimed at you. Honestly, how many times in one day can a girl have a blaster pointed at her?

“Don’t you think all of this is a bit of an overreaction, Nahdonnis, sir? All I did was pack a bag.”

“This is about more than that bag.” He walked up to the bars of the cage, “This is about you not understandin’ that I own you.” His dirty nails dug into your cheeks, the smell of his breath enveloping you and causing your stomach to churn, “Ahhhhaha but you’re gonn’ make me enough credits for one of those new speeder bikes aren’t you, pretty girl?” You felt sick, really sick now.

“W-what?”

“You heard me.” His hand slipped from your face to your neck, “So don’t go usin’ those mind power.” He hobbled back to his stool.

You nodded. Tears threatened your eyes as you came to terms with what was happening. You weren’t going to make it to the meeting with the mandalorian. You would have to leave soon and you were stuck in a cage about to be sold.

You sunk to the floor, accepting your fate. The exhaustion of a sleepless night and emotional morning getting to you as you curled up on the limited floor space available. You knew that once you were sold the possibility of no sleep was a real threat so you allowed yourself to doze off.

When you woke again your eyes shot open, you could hear something loud happening down in the shop but you weren’t sure what. Although it wasn’t unusual for customers to get rowdy so you didn’t think much of it and judging by your boss, with his hands down his pants, he didn’t either.

You couldn’t exactly tell what time it was but the windows that were boarded up had streams of bright light coming in that were not yet orange like that from the evening suns. It made your heart sink to know that the mandalorian probably already left. That your one chance to get out of this life was probably not even on this planet anymore. You thought about the little green child as well. How the mandalorian said he needed your help. Your heart yearned to help that little baby.

Suddenly there were shots heard downstairs. You quickly sat up. Your boss grabbed his blaster, eyeing the door as the house grew suspiciously quiet. The only thing you could hear was the heartbeat in your ears.

You could sense someone else was nearby. One person. Just outside the door.

The door flew off its hinge, your boss quickly standing as he held out his blaster with shaky hands. You slowly rose to your feet, confused as the mandalorian walked inside.

@halefirewarrior @sinnamon-bunn @lustriix @thisgirlcanstrut @lizajane3 @lavenderl3mons @talesfromtheguild @way-too-addicted-to-anime @fioccodineveautunnale @frantheseer @cheekygeek05 @weirdowithnobeardo

Wanna be added to the tag list? Lemme know 💕 Please let me know if I missed you as well!

~Jimmy

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

THE FIREBOLT

Sirius was still staring vacantly down at the book in his hands as if fearing it was going to leap up and rip his face off any second, so taking pity on him Harry got to his feet and offered his hand out for the book. When he still didn't respond to that, Harry leaned over and gently tugged the book out of his slack grip, but before he could head back to his spot to read James voiced, "It's getting pretty late into the night. How about we take a break for food?"

Lily nodded in agreement and Harry was happy to follow her into the kitchen and help again, leaving the three stunned boys in place.

Finding out James was dead was one of the most heart-wrenching things his friends had ever considered. Of course they weren't naïve, they recognized they would all die eventually, but the manner in which it was to come, and so soon, had terrified them from the very beginning. Now here they were, yet again, to find another of theirs lost too soon for this life, and for what?

Because Peter had panicked and tried to confront Sirius, only for the matter to be blown into historical proportions? Where was the justice in that? The bloodlust it ensued in the friends to find out who'd done this to their friend was hardly contained even now as they sat in a stewing silence.

In the kitchen, Harry was having a more pleasant chat with his mother. "I didn't know Sirius was my Godfather. How come you guys haven't mentioned it?"

Lily thought back for a moment to realize they hadn't outright told him this before nodding and saying, "guess it just hadn't crossed our mind to tell you dear. There are plenty of little things like that, just passing comments we hardly realize you wouldn't get. Sorry love, but now you know."

Harry chuckled for a moment, passing her the pepper and inspecting this bubbling warmth that this seemed to cause him. He had a Godfather? He obviously knew now why Sirius hadn't been there for him through the years, but something about realizing this made him smile. Of course his thirteen-year-old self had been devastated at the news, but right now all he could think of was, what if Sirius' name really did get cleared? His family seemed very sure this was going to happen, and he had no reasons to doubt them. If that did happen, then that could very possibly mean he would leave the Dursleys? He may actually regain memories of a home life he was only getting a glimpse of now?

His gut wanted to argue the point, there was no settling feeling saying his thoughts now had any concrete to them, but the mood of this book had been so low for so long now, he refused to let himself ruin this fantasy and would cling to it for as long as possible.

Dinner was mostly a silent affair, the shock still weighing heavily on all of them as Harry went to pick the book back up. Now that he at least partially knew what had been bothering him about that trip into Hogsmeade Harry's mind had settled down some, though that lingering prickle that he was still missing something left him with an anxious feeling as he began to read.

Harry had no memory of traveling back to the common room, just that it happened a lot faster then when he came down.

Sirius winced at his remembered light joke of before, hating how this book seemed to continue twisting and mocking his very being.

He was too busy analyzing every word of that conversation, one thing in particular standing out, why hadn't anybody ever told him?

'Because the one who should have wasn't around' Remus bitterly thought, wanting to curse himself nearly as much as anyone else the more this dragged on.

Fudge, Hagrid, Dumbledore, Mr. Weasley,

"Arthur might not have known," Lily said fairly, "I'm sure he doesn't even know you two, and as Fudge did say, this didn't really seem that widely known."

Harry nodded in understanding, knowing he hadn't held this against the Weasley's, though feeling rather certain he had wanted to demand this from someone.

any number of people should have told Harry that his parents were murdered because of their supposed best friend's knife in the back.

Both James and Remus gave Sirius a very careful look, noticing at once how his hands twisted up in his lap at the implication, but he seemed to have taken Remus' words to heart at least somewhat. Sirius just had to know he'd never do anything like this, accidentally or not, so Harry didn't let that horrid question linger.

They got back to the common room to find the twins had let off some dungbombs to let out some steam.

Lily crinkled up her nose in disgust, not really understanding how stinking up the common room would make them feel better, but knowing this behavior all too well from her own boys. If given half the chance, the present Marauders would cause mayhem in the school right now to get rid of some built up tension; but they weren't in school anymore, and they were having to learn to cope with this in other ways.

Harry didn't want them to get the chance to ask how his trip had gone,

All three boys gave a horrible jerk at that, disgusted that something like Harry's first trip into Hogsmeade, and the use of the map at all, would be ruined by this. It just didn't seem fair they couldn't stay happy for one whole chapter anymore.

and went up to his room instead and dug out something Hagrid had given him at the end of his first year, a photo album filled with pictures of his parents.

This happy little reminder did spike up the mood at least a bit. Of course none of them had forgotten this treasured gift, and it was warming beyond belief to know Harry clearly valued it so much.

He curled up in his bed and began flipping until he came across their wedding photo.

"Ah," Sirius murmured, nodding in understanding now. Harry had once mentioned he thought he knew him back when Hagrid had given him this book, at the time Harry had simply settled on the idea he must have seen a picture of him. Now they understood it was wrong, but it was still interesting to know which picture Harry had latched onto.

His mother and father were easily picked out and usually Harry's sole attention, but now he glanced at his father's right hand side, where the best man stood, whom he'd never thought about before.

Sirius wanted to mock pout at that, but just couldn't raise up the energy at yet another reminder of how little Harry knew about him, and the manner that he continued learning about him hurt like a scalding knife tearing chunks out of his soul.

If he hadn't known now, he wouldn't believe it was the same person. The Black in the photo was young and carefree, clearly laughing along, when compared to the more recent photo he'd seen of the skull like villain.

James and Remus couldn't even imagine it. Sirius so unrecognizable to his boisterous nature as to not be recognized like this! It was something they refused to linger on any longer than was possible.

He wondered if Black was already on the other side in this captured moment,

Harry wanted to stop and give him a sorry look for ever thinking that, in his defense he hadn't actually known him at the time, but he knew it was only going to get worse so forced himself to keep going. The words would have jammed up in his throat anyways, because of that terrible spot he couldn't fix. He was convinced now more than ever Sirius had a reason for being at school, a murderous reason. It couldn't really be Harry though...right? The fact that he couldn't answer himself gave him chills as much as anything he'd been hearing.

if he felt anything for the other people in this photo, if he had any idea he was fixing to spend years in Azkaban and come out looking like a different man.

"I sincerely doubt he actually knew that," Lily muttered sarcastically under her breath, grimacing right along with everyone else at these implausible questions.

Then Harry remembered that dementors had no effect on him,

"Maybe not while I'm a dog," Sirius sighed, still vacantly wondering why he had acted so normal around Fudge.

and Black didn't have to hear Lily screaming and pleading against her son's death. Harry slammed the book shut and put it away,

Sirius winced anew that his face had at any time caused such a horrible reaction to Harry, but the boy sounded so miserable in that moment he didn't want to say anything for fear of making it worse.

and rolled over to feign sleep just as Ron came in, so Harry didn't react.

'Can't hardly blame him' Remus thought sadly, 'everyone wants to be alone sometimes.'

Ron left, and Harry was left with a building hatred pounding through him.

"I'm sorry Sirius," Harry couldn't stop himself this time, his wide green eyes looking the opposite of hatred in that moment. He clearly felt guilt ridden about ever thinking something like this when now he instinctively knew just how wrong he was. He was forcefully ignoring that other part of him, Sirius must have a reason for this, no man who looked as guilt stricken upon hearing of all this could really have done these things.

"S'alright Harry," Sirius sighed, trying to put some feeling into his voice even as he rubbed at his face, trying to force this stiff almost frozen expression of a scowl away. "Not like I can really do anything to fix it, least you're not thinking it for the rest of your life, that's all that really matters."

James couldn't help but give Sirius a reassuring pat on the shoulder all the same, like he was trying to reward him for the attempt even if it did come out a little hollow anyways.

He was picturing the whole thing in his head like a video, Black from that wedding photo blowing up Peter Pettigrew,

All three of them made a horrible choking noise at that sentence, like it wasn't bad enough hearing it the first time, but now realizing Harry was going to sit around and think about it nearly as much as thinking about his Mother gave each of them a deep desire to blast their own memories of this particular pain. Maybe if Harry didn't feel so wretched for what he was currently putting Sirius through he would have focused a little more on how odd and just plain wrong that sentence was for him to say, his gut giving an absent nudge of pain going unnoticed.

who looked like Neville,

"Not a bad comparison really," James said a little too loudly, looking for anything to take his mind off of this topic. "Wish you could get to know Neville a little better all the same."

Harry nodded in agreement, having a fairly good feeling his friendship with his fellow Gryffindor only gets stronger through the years.

and Black's voice, though he had no real idea what it could be,

Sirius had a fairly good idea that type of reminder would never not feel like a stab to the heart.

whispering to his master that he was handing over the Potters. Then he once again remembered the screaming...

Dialogue jumped in by telling Harry how bad he looked.

"Oh thank you, because I'm sure that made him feel so much better," Remus rolled his eyes.

Since Harry hadn't actually fallen asleep during the night, this made sense.

Lily had to bite at her lip to stop herself from voicing the opinion if this continued he really should go and visit Madam Pomfrey for some sort of dreamless potion to help with this restlessness. The only thing restraining her was the reminder of how rarely Harry actually sought out help, and she doubted this time would really be different.

He'd fallen into a fitful doze sometime around daybreak, woken up to an empty room, and come downstairs to find Ron eating a Peppermint Toad and rubbing at his stomach,

"Probably had one to many of those," James muttered randomly.

while Hermione was doing homework on three separate tables.

Sirius was more than happily distracted by letting out a low whistle and admitting, "almost forgot how many classes she was in, Merlin it's a bloody miracle she even takes the chance to go to Hogsmeade. You'd think she'd have to be doing homework twenty-four seven to keep up."

Harry asked why the place was deserted, and Ron reminded it was Christmas break, most everyone went home.

"Can't rightly blame them," Lily said with some forced cheerfulness, more than happy Harry's friends were at least looking out for him, or trying to, with staying behind.

Harry collapsed in a chair without comment, and Hermione repeated how bad Harry looked.

"I'm sure that made him feel just as swell the second time," Remus snorted in real amusement.

Harry brushed it off, and Hermione threw a quick look at Ron before beginning to tell him that what they'd heard the other day, shouldn't make him go doing anything stupid.

"Stupid like what?" James demanded in disbelief. "What exactly do they think you're going to do with this new information, except to rightly sulk a bit."

Harry just shrugged, he remembered that poisonous hatred hadn't exactly worn off, but he'd no real idea what or how he was supposed to channel it at that time, so what Hermione actually thought he was going to do he didn't know.

Harry asked what she was talking about, and Ron snapped that he shouldn't be going after Black.

"That would be a sight," Remus rolled his eyes at that mental image.

"I still insist Harry might really win that fight," Sirius joked lightly, half wishing Harry would do this anyways. It was high time someone gave Harry some real facts, which he was sure he could deliver, rather than all of this tosh he kept getting.

It was clear from the way they were acting they'd already talked about this before Harry woke up, but he didn't respond.

"You're friends never cease to amuse me," Lily chuckled. "Who rehearses this type of conversation?" Privately she was warmed that Harry had such caring friends they were so worried about Harry like this, despite how misguided it was, as Harry really should be allowed to be as angry as he wanted about this mess.

Instead he asked if they knew what he heard whenever he was around a dementor.

'Guess it's a good thing he tells someone' James mentally sighed, bracing himself to hear this living nightmare all over again.

They obviously didn't, so he told them all the gritty details.

'I probably will be a real murderer when Harry really does get that name' Sirius mentally snarled, but kept that one to himself for fear of the retribution his friends would give him.

While shocked at the horrible news, Hermione insisted it still didn't change that Black should be caught by the proper people, put back in Azkaban, which is what he deserved.

'Gotta love Hermione' Remus frowned without any real heat, knowing Hermione was speaking without all the facts, but detesting anyone saying this about his friend.

Harry just scoffed, as Fudge had said that place had no effect on him, it wasn't even a real punishment. Ron looked scared now as he asked what Harry did want, Black dead?

"Can't even say that's harsh, I'm thinking something similar about the person who did do this," James scowled.

Hermione looked very freaked out now as she said of course Harry didn't want anyone dead!

Harry didn't offer an opinion now anymore than he did then. At the time he really couldn't claim he would have batted an eye if that did happen, now the very thought of it caused a horrible twist inside of him. He lacked commenting this though, because he didn't think Sirius would appreciate the first answer anymore then his memory would appreciate him poking at an echo of pain he didn't know how to dwell on.

Harry didn't answer, he was just positive that the fact Black was out was eating away at him.

"I'm honestly curious what you really will do," Sirius couldn't help but chuckle, knowing Harry was doing it for all the wrong reasons, but willing to encourage anything that would get the two of them in the same room alone.

Then he pointed out that Malfoy knew.

"What's this?" Remus asked curiously, trying to cast his mind around for the last time Harry had spoken to Malfoy.

That day in Potions, he'd mocked Harry that he should have gone and killed Black already, for revenge.

"Oh," they all muttered, frowning all over again. None of them really wanted to consider Malfoy a credible source for anything, but the fact that a Death Eater would know about this instance really struck a nerve. It even crossed James' mind that, what if it had been a Death Eater to orchestrate this whole thing? He found this the most likely scenario yet, but he wanted to think on it a while more before he offered it to the others.

Ron was insulted as he told Harry he was taking Malfoy's words over them.

"Harry's hardly 'taking his advice', he's just noting something from before," Remus frowned, rather as annoyed by this as Ron that Malfoy would have any involvement.

Then he continued by telling Harry something he'd heard, that Order of Merlin, First Class, Pettigrew had received was sent to his mother with only a finger in a box, because that was the largest part of him they found.

"Ew," Lily muttered, trying to force that mental image out of her mind rather than bursting into tears that this was a fate of someone she considered a friend. Her reaction was mild compared to Peter's friends, who had gone a pasty color and looked more likely to vomit the longer this was talked about.

Harry was blinking spastically down at the page, like his Mum trying his very hardest to push something away, in his case a feeling of significance. Something about this, a single finger, then a headache began forming again and he forced himself to keep reading.

Ron was insisting that Black was too unstable to go near, but Harry ignored Ron, saying Malfoy's dad would know all about this.

"Half wish you'd actually ignored all of what he'd said," Sirius muttered, thinking he'd have been more than happy if they'd never learned that bit of trivia.

Remembering that Malfoy Senior was in Voldemort's top ranks, and Ron tried to cut Harry off and told him to say You-Know-Who.

"And that still hasn't gotten old," Remus muttered for his own amusement, at this point fairly certain Harry never was going to start doing that and the reactions from others would continue. Which mostly caused pride in him, finding Harry's resistance against this a very good parallel to his father.

Harry was still talking, saying Malfoy would have known Black as well, then Ron cut in again that those Malfoys would be just as happy if Harry wound up like Pettigrew.

"I want to curse Ron into a million pieces," Lily snarled, somehow managing to find Ron's crude humor in even more poor a taste then Sirius' of late.

Then Ron told Harry Malfoy had just said all of that to distract him from the coming Quidditch game.

"Harry can beat him with one arm behind his back," James chirped, causing bursts of still dulled amusement from all of them. The mantra of 'they could fix this' was pretty much the only thing sustaining them at this point, as the fate of their friend now seemed as hot a topic as Sirius, and they all wanted to vomit or murder someone for the continuing reminder. It seemed to hurt all the worse because Peter wasn't here now, they couldn't just glance over at their friend whenever they needed the reminder. Now they really wished they'd convinced Peter to stick around.

Hermione looked likely to cry any second as she begged Harry to listen, that going after Black wouldn't do them any good because it's what Black wants.

"Going to have to agree with Hermione on that one, under a different context anyways," Sirius huffed.

Surely Harry's parents didn't want Harry to get hurt, and wouldn't want him to do that.

Lily said, "no" at the same time as James said, "yes."

The parents gave each other the stank eye for a moment before James cracked and smiled over at her, responding, "I think we technically answered a different half of her question."

Lily couldn't help but return the smile and laughed at the exchange.

Harry shot back he had no idea what they'd ever want, because Black had them killed!

"Merlin, can't have one decent moment anymore can they," Remus sighed low enough only Sirius heard him as James and Lily turned away from each other, faces dropping and biting at their lips at such a reminder, while Harry's smile dropped right out as well.

Crookshanks interrupted by jumping on the table, and Ron's pocket gave a shiver.

"Inquisitive little thing," Sirius grumbled, really not looking forward to another fight breaking out right now and hoping that cat would stay put.

Ron tried for something new, instead saying they should go and visit Hagrid, they hadn't in awhile.

"Not without good reason," Harry sighed in reminder, since the moment he'd read that he had an inkling of a feeling what Ron's words were fixing to cause in him then, and it wasn't good.

Hermione tried to protest Harry still wasn't allowed out of school,

Maybe it was all the pent up frustration at this particular book, but the room gave a collective groan and grumble of annoyance for Hermione still trying to enforce that rule.

but Harry was all for it, wanting to have a go at Hagrid for never mentioning any of this before.

James sucked in air backwards through his teeth, creating a sound effect that made it obvious he very dearly didn't want to sit in on this conversation.

That was not what Ron had meant at all,

"Curse irony," Sirius scowled, still not really over the fact that he normally loved the full attention being on him, and the way it kept getting thrown in his face like this. Remus gave him a gentle nudge in pity, having a pretty good idea what Sirius' little comment meant and both agreeing with him and unable to think of anything to make him feel better.

and tried for something new like a game, but Harry wouldn't hear of it and marched out of the common room. They had to go past the usual standard of ye old insults.

Lily had to do a double take before reminding herself of the current portrait, then frowned when she realized why hadn't the Fat Lady come back yet? Exactly how badly had Sirius hurt her painting? The boys looked so miserable over there though, she wondered if they even registered this, and she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.

When they reached Hagrid's though, they knocked without an answer. Hermione wondered if Hagrid had stepped out,

"Wouldn't put it past him," Remus shrugged, "I'm sure the holidays leave him rather busy with both of his jobs."

but Ron pressed his ear to the door and heard some odd thrumming inside, like someone sobbing.

"Is-is that Fang crying?" Sirius frowned, thinking that wasn't really how a dog would be described to cry, but really unsure as to why it would be Hagrid.

James thumped Sirius on the ear for what he considered a stupid comment.

Harry began knocking on the door even louder, calling out who it was, and Hagrid answered this time with red swollen eyes.

"Oh no," Lily cooed at once, wanting to wrap Hagrid in a hug even if her arms wouldn't reach all the way around. They'd all felt some pretty mild annoyance at Hagrid's part in the story in the last chapter, but they could hardly sit there and blame him more than anyone else when it was clear McGonagall and every other person in the world believed Sirius had done all of that as well. So their first reaction to hearing Hagrid was upset was an equal amount of concern as Harry, all of them deciding they really couldn't hold a grudge against someone who had done so much for Harry.

He took one look at Harry, realized he'd heard, and wrapped Harry up in a hug.

"Heard what?" Remus muttered, getting jittery at once for what other possible bad thing could happen.

Hagrid being so much larger, this wasn't very easy. Harry felt like his spin was about to snap in half, when Ron and Hermione saved him by taking one of Hagrid's arms each and leading him back inside.

It was a good thing Hagrid still seemed to have some sense of himself, as they were all sure Ron and Hermione's combined strength really couldn't have done this if he hadn't wanted to.

Hagrid didn't protest as he stumbled back to a chair, tears still leaking down into his beard.

"The poor dear," Lily began fretting, her first instinct to get to her feet and make him a nice hot cup of tea so that he could tell her what the problem was. She only hoped Hermione or one of the boys would think to do something like this as well.

Hermione asked what was wrong, and Hagrid waved at a letter on the table. With permission, Harry picked it up and began to read, the first sentence stating this was about that hippogriff attack.

"Oh crap," they all muttered, having nearly forgotten the whole incident. It hadn't happened that long ago, but considering the things they learned since then it may as well have been a lifetime. The whole thing had pretty much lost its impact, but clearly there had been further repercussions then what they'd been expecting.

It explained that Dumbledore made it clear Hagrid had no part to blame in the student attack,

"Well there's that," Lily let out a breath of relief.

"So what's wrong with Hagrid?" James frowned, leaning forward in concern.

but the hippogriff in question still needed to be addressed, after the complaint Mr. Lucius Malfoy filled.

Sirius proceeded to call Mr. Malfoy quite a few colorful terms, and Lily felt so upset on Hagrid's part she couldn't even find it in her to scold him for it.

A date was set for Hagrid and the hippogriff in question to appear in front of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures.

"They want him to take a hippogriff into London?" Harry reread his mind scattering around for something that didn't make him squirm in displeasure. This was very clearly what had Hagrid so upset, and the thought of one of his friends in this state truly did cause him to want to pursue action. The random question was just to give him time to think, though at the time he'd been more shell shocked at the events and knew he hadn't said anything.

"It's not impossible," James answered with a heavy sigh. "I'm sure someone will cast a spell on him, disguise him as a regular horse until he gets inside or something."

"Why do they want Buckbeak to be there at all? They can hardly ask him what happened," Sirius added on his own question.

This wasn't Lily's particular department, but she took a swing anyways and offered, "most likely they might try and gauge his attitude, try and see for themselves how dangerous he truly is. Test him a bit before they give a proper ruling."

Harry found the subject rather fascinating, but knew better than to try and linger on the subject when he really wanted his answers from the book on what was going to happen.

Ron offered comfort that once they met Buckbeak, they'd realize nothing was wrong with him, and this problem should go away at last.

"They really should," Remus agreed, rubbing the back of his neck in thought. "Honestly the whole instance was Malfoy's fault, so if Lucius didn't have so much 'influence' it might not have even gotten this far."

"This is actually pretty similar to what happens when a muggles dog bites someone," Lily shrugged, "so I might disagree with you on that, but I've never dealt with anything like this personally so I don't know all the details."

Hagrid didn't agree, saying that this Committee was known to have it out for interesting creatures.

"I want to call a biased opinion on that," James muttered, "but in this case, Hagrid's right. Buckbeak really wasn't at full fault."

"Actually I'm in full agreement with Hagrid," Sirius shrugged, "that Committee really is too analytical when it comes to a very broad topic. They think they can make rules to cover every instance, and it's just not possible when dealing with live animals."

Harry watched curiously when it looked like Remus was about to jump in, and the boys looked like they were going to start a whole debate on the matter, but then Lily cleared her throat with a warm smile and said, "we can pick this up later boys, I'd like to get this chapter done before midnight."

They all rolled their eyes but backed down all the same.

Then they heard an odd sound, and turned to find said hippogriff in front of the fireplace, eating something bloody.

"Lovely," Remus crinkled up his nose at the thought, but couldn't really blame Hagrid for this either.

Hagrid explained he couldn't bring himself to leave Buckbeak out in the snow, not during Christmas.

"Aw," Lily smiled brightly, she thought this was adorable and wouldn't put it past herself to think the same of her own pet.

The trio hadn't always seen eye to eye with Hagrid and his pets, but in this case Harry was on Hagrid's side. By all previous records, Buckbeak was by far the best.

"I'll give Harry full points for that spot on comparison," James nodded with amusement.

Hermione was still talking about the case, saying they'd just have to build him up a good strong go and he'd have to win. Hagrid wasn't convinced, saying Malfoy would just pay them all off to see his way.

Sirius scowled and muttered a few things about how the system worked, which no one really argued him on at this point.

Harry asked if Dumbledore would help,

"Not really sure Dumbledore could do anything in this instance," Remus frowned thoughtfully, "he wasn't there. Sure he could vouch for Hagrid's opinion on the matter; maybe his presence would hold as much weight as Malfoy's."

"Let's hope then," Lily nodded in agreement.

but Hagrid said Dumbledore had done as much as he could, and he was so busy dealing with Black running around.

"Well now I just feel awful, taking time away from a very important matter," Sirius said sincerely. James and Remus couldn't tell how sarcastic he was being, but at least he hadn't flinched when his name was mentioned this time, so that was progress.

Hermione and Ron gave a wary look at Harry, clearly worried that Hagrid had brought up the reminder Harry wanted to yell at Hagrid for not sharing certain things,

"Oh yeah," they muttered, that having been the original reason for this visit, and really hoping Harry wouldn't turn this back. While the case of Buckbeak wasn't a happy topic, it was still loads better then what Harry wanted.

but Harry couldn't bring himself to do it when he saw the state Hagrid was in.

"You are such a sweet boy," Lily smiled at her son, taking a moment to brush her hand through his hair at this bout of thoughtfulness.

Harry couldn't help but blush, and couldn't deny that he did appreciate the affection all the same.

Instead he said Hagrid could call them as witnesses, and they'd say what really happened. Hermione agreed that she could read up on previous such cases, and find out how they'd won their trials.

"Why am I not surprised Hermione has read a book on this," Remus chuckled.

"I think her life's goal is to read every book in the world," Sirius smirked.

Ron floundered, then offered to make some tea.

"Thank you Ron," Lily beamed.

The boys were too busy laughing at such a random input.

Harry just stared at him, and Ron blushed it was what his mum did to comfort people.

"Must be a girl thing," Sirius snickered, ignoring the haughty look from said woman.

After many more reassurances, Hagrid got himself together,

"Turns out to be a rather good thing you came down there," James beamed. "I'd feel wretched if Hagrid had been down there by himself like this all through the holidays."

"Good things can come from the most unexpected places," Remus smirked.

"Enough fortune cookies from you," Sirius rolled his eyes at him.

saying he'd been wallowing too much about Buckbeak, and no one liking his classes,

"Can you blame us," Harry sighed, then he added on, "course I can't hardly blame Hagrid, it's not actually his fault."

but Hermione was quick to correct and lied they loved them! Ron adding on the same, while crossing his fingers under the table.

The boys couldn't help but snicker at this, finding Ron's reaction adorable to the many lies they'd pulled off by this time in their life.

Then he asked how those flobberworms were doing, and Hagrid admitted they'd all died from lettuce overdose. Ron couldn't keep the happiness out of his voice as he said how sad that was.

"How on earth will the class live with themselves?" Sirius smirked, not bothering one bit to pretend like that was a real question.

Then Hagrid shivered and admitted being around those dementors wasn't helping, gave him nightmares of back when he'd had his stint in Azkaban.

Sirius blinked spastically, for the first time coming back to that random connection. While he'd yet to ever go to Azkaban himself, and here's praying he never would, he was pretty sure it was a big place and the odds he'd been around Hagrid during that time were slim. Mostly it reminded him of Lily's snippy little threat from back during the beginning of the second book, and how not funny that was anymore.

Hermione couldn't seem to help herself as she asked how bad it was there.

"Just can't stay off this topic for more than five minutes lately," James scowled, wanting to block Sirius' ears from having to continually hear about this. He figured that would only result in a wrestling match that neither of them would win, which would only annoy Lily, so he restrained himself.

Hagrid said he couldn't even properly describe it, just a swirl of every bad feeling he'd ever had, like the day he was expelled, his dad dying, Norbert being taken away.

"That's one of his worst memories?" Remus couldn't help but blurt out.

"Wow, think we underestimated how much he liked that dragon," Sirius shuddered in renewed disgust. As if mentioning all of this wasn't bad enough, now he had that dragon reminder to deal with on top of everything.

He tried to explain it was like losing yourself, your mind being eaten away and only the worst things left in place, and when he'd finally been let out it was like being reborn. Of course the dementors weren't happy to see him go.

Sirius was leaning so far into the couch he seemed to be trying to merge with it, his vacant hands kept patting his knees or twisting in his lap as he continued trying very forcibly to not think about himself in this situation, plenty of his worst memories already coming to mind, more clearly to come.

James and Remus exchanged heart wrenched looks, but what could they really say? There were only so many times they could help him and try to convince him they weren't going to let this happen to him, but it was disturbing them far more than anything to see how much this affected him. Sirius wasn't known for letting things get to him, so the severe reaction he continued to have to this, something he must know they refused to allow, was scaring them more than anything.

Hermione protested that Hagrid had been innocent, and Hagrid just snorted as he told that they didn't care. They were soulless creatures who just wanted another body to feed off of. He had been considering letting Buckbeak go, just getting the hippogriff to fly away and escape,

"That could work," Sirius said loudly, anything to keep the conversation away from that prison. "Just say he got loose and flew away, they really couldn't say otherwise."

"I suppose it depends on how loyal Buckbeak is to Hagrid," Remus shrugged, more than happy to play along for as long as possible. "Because if Buckbeak ever decided to come back, and Malfoy noticed, it would cause more harm than good."

but he was afraid that would get him sent back to Azkaban.

Lily's heart broke into tiny little pieces upon hearing that. It was bad enough watching Sirius being forced to listen to this ordeal, now Hagrid was having just as many issues and she couldn't help either of them. It made her feel helpless, not a feeling Lily Potter ever enjoyed. There must be some way to fix all of this, make it so that such a place as Azkaban couldn't even be an option. While she'd heard of some gruesome stories of people who she had considered did deserve that place, now that she'd heard of two separate instances of people wrongly being in there, she was beginning to question the place as a whole.

While their trip to Hagrid's hadn't exactly been a cheerful one, it far from erased Harry's feelings on Black, but it gave him something new to focus on.

"There's the bright side," James rolled his eyes with forced laughter, happy for any brief change in the mood.

They kept their promise and tramped back to the castle to start doing research for Hagrid's case.

"You three have got to be the only students who use the library so frequently," Remus chuckled. "All three years now, and you lot have had a reason to go in and grab seemingly random books. Most students just use it for homework."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Harry chuckled.

They spent hours discussing anything that looked likely, Hermione coming across one case where the hippogriff had been convicted, then voicing how disgusting it was what they'd done to it.

"I do not want to know," Lily frowned, more than happy when Harry continued on without the added comment of what did happen.

Ron found one where a manticore got off, but that was because everyone was to scared to go near it.

"That's a great idea," Sirius snorted, "let's make Buckbeak so scary no one wants to go near him, I'm sure he'll live a long and happy life."

"The worst part is, I still can't tell if you're kidding," Remus frowned at him, which Sirius ignored.

The rest of the castle was enjoying the break much more, putting up the usual holiday cheer even for the few students around.

"They'd put those up if no students stayed," James shrugged, "I think the teachers enjoy doing it for themselves honestly."

The halls were soon filled with the good smells of a holiday feast, even Scabbers could be seen poking his nose out of Ron's pocket curiously.

"Poor little thing," James snickered.

"Hope Ron slips him something nice," Remus agreed.

Harry was woken up Christmas day by Ron chucking a pillow in his face.

"Well that was pleasant," Lily snickered.

"Sincerely doubt Harry would mind," Sirius pointed out.

Ron was already digging into his own presents, voicing his annoyance that he'd gotten another maroon sweater.

"Please tell me he actually thanks his mother for that, no matter the color," Lily rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting the sense of no," Remus smirked.

Harry had received one as well, Mrs. Weasley had sent him a scarlet colored one with the Gryffindor lion knitted in,

"Now see, why couldn't she have just done that for Ron, I'm sure he would have found that much cooler," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't mind matching with him," Harry agreed with a laugh, as he'd never had anyone to do that with.

plus some sweets.

Lily relished this gift while it lasted, trying to brace herself as much as possible for the horrid gift she was now expecting from the Dursleys.

Then Harry noticed a particularly large package, and he opened it to find a broomstick.

"A broomstick?" James repeated so loudly, Sirius started to rub his ear in annoyance before his eyes lit up like Christmas as well.

"What kind?" Sirius demanded at once nearly as loud as James just had.

"Who sent it?" Remus demanded, nearly bouncing in place in excitement.

Lily had started by giggling, she couldn't help it at their childlike delight of something like this, though even her son looked nearly as deliriously happy at this prospect, but at Remus' question it gave them all a brief pause to turn that over.

"Must have been me," Sirius shrugged, "I really can't think up anyone else."

"I'll buy that," James nodded eagerly. "No think about it," he persisted when Lily didn't look convinced, "Remus most likely told Sirius that Harry had lost his broom after Sirius had left, and do you really think Sirius wouldn't buy Harry anything less than another broomstick?"

"How would he pay for it though," Lily countered, this being the only thing she was really stuck on. "I doubt he's carrying around that kind of gold on him."

"There are ways to access your account without withdrawing in person," Remus reminded. "Personally I agree, I can see Sirius doing this easily."

Harry was laughing with giddy excitement, feeling very sure indeed they were right on the spot with this one. He decided to risk it and told them as much aloud, causing the brightest smile in hours to appear on all of them, more than making up for the sharp spike of pain Harry received for that memory returning early. He didn't care though, he'd do it again in a heartbeat his family looked so happy for something like this to have happened to him.

Ron nearly fell off his bed in shock when he saw it was a Firebolt.

James and Sirius nearly passed out from overloaded excitement. Harry had just gotten an international broomstick! The very one they'd been drooling over during his summer holidays! It was too good to be true.

Then Remus burst out laughing watching Sirius, and only continuing when he demanded to know what was so funny. "You-" he finally choked out in between chuckles "-you would catch up on the latest model of brooms. I'm just sitting here imagining you grabbing hold of the nearest paper and checking all the Quidditch League Status' and-" he trailed off again, causing everyone else to laugh along. Sirius wasn't even going to try and deny he was obsessed enough with his sport he would have gone out of his way to update himself like this as soon as possible. Merlin, he wouldn't have put it past himself to go and buy two of those things, one for Harry and one for himself.

It was indeed, a replica of that same broom he'd been thinking on all summer.

James and Sirius were shivering in place, looking like at any second they were going to get to their feet and run to the nearest Quidditch store to get their own. Lily was still giggling from before, doubling up now at how enthusiastic they were being. Remus restrained himself from reminding them this hadn't actually come out yet.

Ron was barely able to ask who had sent it, but then they realized there was no card attached. Ron still wouldn't let it go, asking who would spend so much money on Harry.

"The best Godfather in the world," James hooted, clutching Sirius up and hugging him tightly. Sirius made no point of denying it, he was still laughing to hard.

Harry's first response was to say it certainly wasn't the Dursleys.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at his own joke now, pleased to see that even the mention of them hadn't brought his family's mood back down.

Ron guessed it was Dumbledore,

"I don't see that happening," Lily disagreed, "or any of the teachers, like McGonagall; otherwise they would have done it not long after you lost your broom. Sirius would have waited until now, less publicly so there's not as much scrutiny of it."

he had sent Harry his Invisibility Cloak without a note.

"That's not the same thing," James shook his head, "that was yours by birthright."

Harry disagreed, saying that was originally his dad's and different. Dumbledore wouldn't spend all that money on him, it would be unfair to the other students.

"There's that too," Remus nodded, "can't be showing favoritism like this."

Ron said that's why he didn't leave a note, so kids like Malfoy couldn't say it was favoritism.

All four boys lost it again, laughing raucously at the thought of such a prat like Malfoy, and the way he'd acted last year about having a superior broom, and now Harry was going to outstrip him by a mile. He hadn't even done anything like ask for it!

Then Ron lit up all over again, laughing like a maniac as he pictured Malfoy's face when he saw Harry's new broom.

Lily very dearly wanted to make a comment about how Sirius was spoiling Harry just a bit, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. One, she was still giggling too much to sound too intelligibly. The foul mood from before being gone like this now left them all slightly in hysterics. Two, she honestly believed Harry did deserve it, if for no other reason than she thought this may have been Sirius' way of trying to give back a lot of missed presents on his part.

Then Ron snapped his fingers, and said Lupin might have.

"I wouldn't put it past you to give me the idea," Sirius reminded him, still snickering away like a fool. "So I think that means it technically came from both of us." Remus was in far to good a mood to deny it.

Harry laughed that off, saying if their teacher could afford this, he'd go buy himself some new clothes.

"Can't deny that," Remus muttered, refusing to let the good mood be dampened again by this kind of comment, so saying that with as much good humor as he could muster.

Ron disagreed that he did like Harry, and he must have gotten it while he was out sick.

"I doubt he would have been doing much traveling at the time, but I like what Ron was trying," James shrugged.

Harry asked what he meant, and Ron said that he certainly hadn't been in the school when he was ill, because Snape had him clean the bedpans in the hospital wing, and Lupin hadn't been in there.

'Yet another thing to hate Snape for' Sirius finally started to frown again, more than annoyed at that pompous git. It seemed to him like he was just trying to set Harry in particular to figure this out, which made him want to punch that greasy git in the face.

Harry still insisted Lupin couldn't afford this thing.

Remus couldn't help but smile, glad to see Harry hadn't read into that too closely, unlike his father. Whenever he'd used the excuse that he really had felt sick, and James had gone and seen he wasn't in the hospital wing, well that had taken some explaining to do. While Harry had reacted just fine now to him, he still couldn't help the mounting fear of what Harry may have thought of him at some point.

Hermione came in, Crookshanks tucked under one arm and looking quite grumpy about a bit of tinsel she'd tied around his neck.

"Makes any pet grumpy," Sirius snickered.

Ron reacted at once by scooping Scabbers off of his bed, but Hermione hardly noticed, putting Crookshanks down on Seamus' bed,

"And what if Seamus doesn't appreciate that?" James randomly commented.

while looking at Harry's new broom. She asked who'd sent it, and Harry admitted they had been trying to figure that out. To their surprise, she frowned.

"I swear, she is the most pessimistic kid," Remus rolled his eyes. "Who wouldn't be bouncing around in sheer joy at finding out something like this?"

"Be nice," Lily sighed without any real heat.

Voicing how odd it was for Harry to get such a good broom,

"Quite good indeed," Sirius wiggled in pleasure, finding that the understatement of Hermione's life.

and how expensive it was, and Ron agreed it cost more then all of the Slytherins' brooms put together.

"Fair comparison," James nodded in agreement.

Then she asked why someone would do that without saying who.

"If I didn't know otherwise, I'd rightly be as suspicious as Hermione in this instance," Lily defended her when it looked like one of the boys were going to say something again.

Ron just laughed it off, saying it didn't matter, and asked Harry for a ride on it.

"Harry will be the worst kind of person in the world if you say no," Sirius told him with a straight face.

Harry pretended like he was deliberating for a moment, but it didn't last when James snorted and said, "please, we're talking about the same kid who bought a cart load of candy and split it with Ron before he knew him. Have you ever actually seen him be selfish, about anything?"

Sirius hadn't really meant it anyways, but he was still snickering in amusement all the same.

Hermione sounded outraged as she said nobody should be getting on that.

"Well not in the dorms obviously," Remus rolled his eyes, knowing what Hermione had meant, and beginning to feel a pit forming when he realized this might start going in a bad direction.

Ron told her she was being mental, what else would he do, clean with it?

"I'd have heart failure," James shuddered in disgust at the very thought.

Hermione didn't get a chance to answer, when Crookshanks sprang up and lunged at Ron's pocket over his chest.

"Uh-oh," the room muttered as one, knowing this couldn't be a good thing.

Ron screamed in outrage as the cats claws sank into his pajamas, determinedly going after the rat, who tried to make a run for it.

Sirius continued reading in a rather harassed tone, very concerned indeed this may not play out as well as last time.

Ron tried to kick Crookshanks away while desperately holding onto his pet, but missed and instead kicked Harry's trunk, now hopping around in all kinds of pain.

James sighed, knowing he probably would have found that rather amusing under any other circumstances.

Crookshanks was all fur on ends as he began glaring at Harry's Sneakoscope instead, which had fallen out at Ron's doing and was now spinning around the room.

"Wait, what?" Remus demanded in confusion.

"Why would that be going off now?" Sirius pondered, casting his mind around for anything that could answer it.

"How long of a range has it got?" James prodded. "Did it say the twins had stayed over the holidays? Perhaps there up to something in their dorm?"

The others shrugged, they really had no further explanation.

Harry said he'd forgotten he even had that, since he never used those old socks he kept it in.

"Stinks that it goes off so easily," Lily smiled sadly, "Ron's gift doesn't seem to be doing much good."

The other two weren't paying much attention, Ron still telling Hermione off for bringing her cat in here. Hermione grabbed up her feline and bolted out of the room, Crookshanks glaring over her shoulder.

They all grave a breath of relief, more than pleased no one had gotten further hurt by this, though it still didn't answer the lingering question of how many more times this could happen before something irreversible did occur.

Harry put his Sneakoscope away, but then he caught sight of Scabbers for the first time in months, and saw he wasn't looking good. The once plump, gray rat had lost a lot of weight, and now had bald patches all over, giving him a very sickly look.

"Poor little guy," Sirius muttered in sympathy, feeling rather awful that at this rate, Scabbers might not even make it to Easter break.

Harry voiced how bad he looked, and Ron blamed it all on Crookshanks, saying it was stress.

James winced, having a suspicious feeling that it was more likely old age then anything and Ron was just looking for any excuse to put that aside.

Harry remembered though that Scabbers had been feeling off since Ron's return from Egypt, even before they'd met Crookshanks, and Harry had the feeling it really might just be old age on the rodent.

"Well at least you realize that Harry," Remus sighed, "might make it an easier transition for Ron if his friend tries to make him understand that to."

Harry nodded, but he wasn't really listening. Why was it the longer Scabbers was mentioned, the more ill will he had for him? When he'd initially thought this, he'd always wondered whether Scabbers had bit him at some point and he'd just resented it, but now he wasn't so sure. There was yet another something he was missing, a piece to a huge missing puzzle that would continue to drive him crazy until he had a full answer. He tried testing his feelings on it, but all he got was a comparable feeling he'd had for Sirius at his age of thirteen. This made no sense what so ever, he must be confusing the two.

Despite how often Ron complained that his pet never did anything, Harry knew how upset his friend would be if Scabbers did die.

"I'm sure you're right indeed," Lily sighed in trepidation for the moment that was sure to come about.

Christmas for the Gryffindors was a very sore affair the rest of the day. Hermione was furious with Ron for trying to hurt her cat,

"Really Hermione, really?" James ground out. "What on earth made her think it was even a good idea to bring him up there, when she knew full well what that cat would try."

while Ron resented her just as much for Crookshanks deeds. Harry wasn't going to try fixing it, as he was too busy looking over his new broom,

"A worthy use of time," Sirius nodded in agreement, looking for any excuse to get the good mood back in swing. One chapter, that's all he wanted, one chapter where he could actually enjoy the whole thing.

which Hermione took just as much offense with.

"Everything annoys Hermione this year," James scoffed.

"Homework overload," Sirius offered in his wise old voice, causing at least Harry and Remus to chuckle.

She didn't say it aloud, but she kept shooting nasty looks at it like it had hit her cat as well.

"Now that'd be a nifty trick," Remus smirked.

While Lily agreed Hermione may have been going about her actions the wrong way this year, she still didn't really appreciate her boys' attitude towards her any better. Yet she couldn't come up with a way to tell them off for it that would actually make a difference.

When lunch came around, they went down to find the Great Hall had changed up a bit, and there were now only twelve chairs around one table.

James let out a low, throaty whistle in surprise as he said, "not even that many people left Hogwarts last year."

"Castle used to be this deserted some years for us," Remus shrugged in remembrance, "we personally found it entertaining." He finished with a gesture at Sirius who nodded enthusiastically.

All of the teachers were there dressed to their best, even Filch having donned an old coat that looked like it was growing mold.

"Urgh," Sirius muttered, "rather he just go casual then."

The only other students in attendance were two first years and a Slytherin fifth year.

Remus randomly noted that it couldn't have been the twins who had made the Sneakoscope go off then, if the twins weren't there and apparently Harry, Ron and Hermione were the only ones in range, but then what on earth would cause the thing to go off now? It couldn't be set off by an animal could it, had it been set off by Crookshanks' untrustworthy attempts to eat Scabbers? No one else really seemed to notice this, and he wasn't even sure if this was what really was going on, so he decided against saying anything and might have really put it down to a faulty one.

Dumbledore greeted them, saying how silly it would be to use the house tables with so few in attendance,

"I think it would have been more of a sight," Remus shrugged, "get to stretch out a bit more."

as they took seats and Dumbledore offered Snape some crackers, who pulled without enthusiasm.

"Oh boy," James whispered, brows shooting up in excitement as all kinds of possibilities for that scenario played out in his mind.

There was a bang, and when the smoke cleared away, a stuffed vulture hat was left in place.

The five of them lost it all over again, the abrupt reminder causing quite the laughing fit for a moment before Harry gained his breath back and kept reading with a wide stupid grin still in place.

Harry had to avoid Ron's eye to stop himself from outright laughing at the reminder,

"You lot have much more control than us," Sirius gasped, still massaging at his now abused ribs.

but Snape wasn't pleased when Dumbledore took up the hat and put it on himself.

Sirius refused to let his sour mood be ruined then, but he couldn't help but grumble when he realized he once would have loved Dumbledore's random reaction to this, but couldn't shake the reminder that Dumbledore hadn't trusted him! He doubted that smarting would go away anytime soon.

Food had appeared on the table then, and they began helping themselves to the feast, when the doors opened again.

Sirius and James perked up, having noticed one teacher in particular being absent, and more than pleased if it said Remus would take a seat near Harry.

It was Trelawney,

"Rats," James sat back with a pout, this not having been the teacher he'd had in mind.

who looked more flamboyant than usual in a patterned green dress, giving her the abnormal appearance of a dragonfly.

Sirius didn't bother to smother his amused chuckling at the description one bit.

Dumbledore greeted her warmly, and she returned the gesture by explaining that she'd been crystal gazing and had seen herself coming down for this meal.

"She saw herself, doing something she would decide to do?" Remus demanded, rather puzzled by the whole thing.

"I don't question her to deeply," Lily rolled her eyes.

Dumbledore didn't mind one bit, standing to literally draw her a chair in midair,*

"Wow," Harry blinked in mild surprise at such an advanced level of magic to him.

which landed between McGonagall and Snape.

James released a surprised snort of laughter at all of the hilarity this could cause. Then again, it was a wonder those two were sitting beside each other in the first place.

Trelawny didn't move though, she'd been eyeing the table, and suddenly let out a soft scream.

"How do you softly scream?" Lily snickered.

"I'm sure it's just as dramatic as it sounds," James smirked right back.

She claimed that she couldn't eat with them, because if she did that would make thirteen people eating together, and the first to rise from that kind of meal dies!

"I've never heard that," Remus said with mild interest.

"I have," Sirius said with amusement, "it's a superstition I heard years ago, don't know how real to take it."

"About as real as her whole subject," James rolled his eyes.

McGonagall took no notice, saying they'd take the risk if they could eat. Trelawny didn't argue the point further, but she sank down into her chair as if at any moment they'd all burst into flames.

Lily's shoulders started shaking with suppressed laughter, as James spoke out loud with just as much amusement, "don't know what she's so worried about. If she's that freaked, her solution is just to not rise first. I'm sure she can manage that."

Then McGonagall offered Trelawny some tripe.

Lily couldn't help but wrinkle her nose up at the thought of that particular food item, but couldn't deny she was intrigued by who at the table was eating it.

Trelawney ignored her,

"Rude," Remus sniffed lightly.

and instead asked where dear Lupin was?

"Aw Remus, are you her dear now?" Sirius demanded at once with unsuppressed glee at this new opportunity.

"Oh please," he scoffed with a roll of his eyes, "she called Neville that too, don't be thick."

"Hush you two, I want to hear this," James snapped at the pair.

Dumbledore explained he'd been feeling under the weather again,

All five of their faces fell, pity welling up in them for Remus for this to happen to him on the holidays, while Remus was simply wishing no one had mentioned it at all.

and what a pity to happen on Christmas.

"I'll say," Sirius frowned, though personally thinking that at least he was probably around him for company now.

McGonagall cut in that surely Trelawny had known that before she'd asked.

"Oh wow," James spluttered, going wide eyed at this prospect. He'd recognized McGonagall's opinion of Trelawny back during that first class of this year, and now watching them beside each other should only get better.

Trelawny went cold then, losing a bit of her mystic tone as she told that while she had known, she commonly acted like she didn't to not make others feel so bad.

"I'm so sure that's it," Lily muttered, brushing her hand across her mouth to try and hide her twitching lips.

McGonagall agreed that explained a lot.

Sirius didn't bother one bit and even released another snort of amusement for his old teachers wit.

Then Trelawny cut in by saying she had a very personal knowledge on the subject that Lupin wouldn't be here long anyways, he'd all but run from her when she'd offered to do some crystal gazing for him, which she sounded rather tart about.

"Looks like we know how to push her buttons," James chirped.

"Looks like Remus cares about it as much then as he does now," Sirius countered as Remus rolled his eyes at the very thought.

McGonagall said she couldn't imagine that, her tone implying the opposite.

Lily couldn't hide it anymore and outright laughed with the others at this continued verbal exchange.

Dumbledore cut in then, saying Lupin was just fine, then asked if Snape had made that potion again?

"Oh here we go again," James immediately switched from joyed amusement, to a scowl at this still unexplained phenomenon.

"Relax James," Remus said, leaning forward eagerly, "since Dumbledore's the one who brought it up, maybe they'll explain more properly this time."

Snape agreed he had,

"Still thank my lucky stars he's not poisoning it in the meantime," Sirius grumbled.

and Dumbledore said that made the matter closed, before turning to one of the first years and offering chipolatas.

"And that explained, nothing," Remus scowled, leaning right back into his seat in agitation again.

James and Sirius however couldn't help but exchange a hopeful look all over again. What on earth were the odds that this mysterious potion was being given to Remus two times in a row when it was obvious to them these were the times of his full moon. Maybe they'd been a little too quick to dismiss their original theory, maybe it did have something to do with his lycanthropy? Still neither of them spoke this to anyone, far too anxious they really might get their friends hopes up for nothing.

The spooked first year, not used to being addressed directly by the headmaster, took the sausages with shaking hands.

"Poor kid," Lily nodded in sympathy, knowing that could be quite intimidating.

Trelawny acted normal again until the end of the meal, when Harry and Ron took to their feet, and she screeched like a bird.

"Oh boy," Sirius grinned lightly.

"As if she wasn't convinced enough you were going to die," James rolled his eyes in disdain that Harry had so happened to be the one to make this come up again.

She demanded to know which of them had risen first, and Ron said he wasn't sure while eyeing Harry warily.

"A double murder it is then, unless them doing this undermines the terms of her prediction," Sirius rolled his eyes good naturedly.

McGonagall wasn't impressed, saying unless there was a mad axe-men waiting at the doors for them, they should be fine.

"Never thought I'd see the day, but I miss her," James cackled at her continued commentary of this.

Even Ron laughed at that, while Trelawney looked offended.

"Can't rightly blame her, that was a little rude," Lily shrugged, still smiling along.

When Hermione didn't get up with them, Harry asked her about it, and she said she wanted to stay behind and talk to McGonagall for a moment.

"Now what's she up to?" Remus asked curiously.

"Probably looking for a way to keep Crookshanks somewhere else, or I should hope," Lily rolled her eyes, hoping someone would step up and put better measures in place so that scene before wouldn't keep happening.

Ron laughed she was probably looking to take more classes,

Which gave them all a little snicker of amusement all over again, only hoping Ron was just joking.

as they went into the entrance hall, which was all clear of mad axe-men.

"Well thank Merlin for that," Lily nodded seriously, "that really was giving me a fright."

They made their way back up to their tower, and gave the password Scurvy cur,

"Well at least no one's going to be guessing that," Remus grinned.

before going inside. Harry dragged his Firebolt down into the common room along with the Servicing Kit Hermione had gotten him for his birthday, but he couldn't find anything to fix. The broom still looked brand new, without a twig out of shape,

"Well I should hope so, you haven't even ridden it yet," Sirius beamed.

"Why not take it straight down to the pitch and try it out?" James demanded as if he found it ludicrous Harry hadn't already thought of this.

"We'd just eaten a full meal," Harry reminded, "we were going to head down there after the food had settled a bit." He trailed off with a bit of a frown in place, wondering why on earth he was getting a bad feeling about this, like he hadn't gotten the chance to do it?

the polish in his hand feeling useless the broom was already so shiny.

"Someone needs to give that advice to Percy," Remus muttered in Sirius' ear, causing him to snort with laughter all over again.

Ron and him just sat there and stared at it,

"I'm going to turn green here soon, I'm so jealous," James sighed, already trying to count down the minutes when he could get his own hands on such a beautiful object.

when the door opened and Hermione came through, with McGonagall.

"Wait what?" Remus yelped in shock.

"Why?" Sirius agreed with a frown already in place.

Harry was getting a very bad feeling about this, so he didn't let them theorize much before reading loudly.

This set the boys on edge at once, since their head of house had only come in once before, and that hadn't been good news.

"That's usually the only time she comes up there," James said with a sudden spike of concern. She couldn't possibly be up there to tell him that Sirius had been caught, had she? That would be newsworthy enough, but it would probably make him faint from terror.

This thought clearly hadn't crossed anyone else's mind, Harry was still reading on more in curiosity and a touch of confusion then outright fear.

Hermione scurried past them without looking at her friends, going over to the nearest book, and pretended to read it.

"Oh no," Lily frowned in confusion.

"What did she do?" Sirius suddenly growled, narrowing his eyes in fury.

Remus licked his lips and looked ready to say something, but Harry forced himself to keep reading loudly over them to get a real answer.

McGonagall told that Hermione explained to her that Harry had been sent a new broom.

"She did!" Remus groaned, placing his face in his hands.

"Don't." Lily cut in when it looked like James and Sirius were going to get truly upset at what this could imply. "Don't you lot sit around badgering on about this. Hermione did what she thought was right, s'not her fault she doesn't know any better. She did what anybody afraid for their friends life would do, and I'm sure McGonagall won't chuck it in the fireplace."

Sirius still muttered something under his breath, but James did marginally relax. Compared to what he'd thought was fixing to happen, this almost seemed mild in comparison.

The boys looked at her, who didn't look up from the book she was holding upside down.

"Must be a very interesting read I'm sure," Remus rolled his eyes.

McGonagall asked to see it, before snatching it up anyways.

"Under any other circumstances, I would have laughed at that," Sirius sighed, knowing how much of a Quidditch nut their old teacher could be, but knowing what this could imply, he'd rather hide that out of her sight for the rest of his life.

She looked hard at it as she confirmed there had been no message at all attached.

"If there had, you'd only freak out all the more," James rolled his eyes.

"Not sure what kind of note that would have been anyway," Sirius huffed in annoyance. "Merry Christmas from your long lost Godfather, here's a kind of apology for missing every other one of your holidays."

"You know I hate it when you do that," Remus snapped at him for the horrible joke, causing Sirius to at least sort of back down.

Harry agreed there hadn't, which made McGonagall decide she'd have to confiscate this.

All five of them sighed in horrible disappointment, not at all pleased they'd been right. Yet with any hope, McGonagall wouldn't really do anything but test the broom to make sure Sirius hadn't done anything, surely she wasn't going to actually destroy the broom...right?

Harry jumped to his feet in fear, demanding to know why, and McGonagall said she wanted to test it to make sure it wasn't jinxed.

"Thank Merlin," Sirius sighed in relief.

"You'll have that thing back to you by the end of break," Remus smiled, "and they'll be all sorts of humiliated."

James laughed eagerly at that conversation, still more annoyed than anything Harry hadn't gotten to enjoy his gift long enough to even ride it, but so long as he got it back he'd forgive in the end.

Hooch and Flitwick would want to have a look at it as well while they stripped it down, and Ron repeated the term back at her like she'd lost her marbles.

"Oh it's not that bad," James reassured when Harry seemed to be getting a growing look of horror at what that could mean. "They don't do anything to the broom physically, they simply put it through a series of rigorous tests to make sure nothing more was done to it then the manufacturer's intended. They do it all the time to professionals to make sure they didn't try and enhance their brooms."

Harry let out a long sigh of relief, having been picturing something far more medieval and irreparable being done to his new treasured gift.

McGonagall said it would only take a few weeks, just to make sure it wasn't cursed. Harry tried to protest he was sure it wasn't,

"Wish she would actually believe that," Sirius rolled his eyes.

but McGonagall said there was no way to be sure until they checked, then she left with it. Ron turned on Hermione as soon as she was gone,

"Uh-oh," Lily muttered, thinking that these two already had more than enough to fight about, this wasn't going to make it any better.

demanding to know why she'd started this. Hermione put her book to the side and stood up as well, rather flushed but matching Ron's eyes.

"Well I can say this for her," Remus grinned, "she stands by what she does."

Telling them that she'd feared, as did McGonagall, that the broom had been sent by Sirius Black.

"Oh the horror," James rolled his eyes.

"Never bleeding crossed our minds," Lily smirked.

"Chapter's over by the way," Harry shrugged, tossing the book back over to Remus, who fumbled a bit and accidentally had it crash into Sirius' head.

"Ouch," Sirius grumbled jerking the book away, "jeez, you klutz, can you even see straight to read."

"Yes," Remus snapped right back, snatching the book back and flipping to his chapter.

HPHPHP

*It's never explicitly stated that Ron still has Scabbers in his pocket at this time, but assuming he did, that would actually put thirteen in attendance before Trelawny joined. Dumbledore was the first to rise from that then group of thirteen, and guess who died first at this table. It's not something that'll ever be brought up in fic, but it was fascinating to have that pointed out to me.

#Harry Potter #Fanfiction #PoA #James Potter #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Lily Potter #reading the books

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mystic-kitten-writer · 4 years

Note

Can you drop a teaser for Flutter my sweetest dearest most awesome writer in the universe 😍 (yes Im trying to use flattery. I have no shame). But i hope all is well with you i love you tons 💜💜

A teaser you say...👀👀

I’m not above flattery - and your flattery has earned you a teaser 😂

I’m going to be releasing an update plan for my stories sometime soon - but Flutter should be dropping within the month (fingers crossed!). My computer crashed, and I lost the majority of my edits a few weeks ago (also why I’m behind on my other stories too), but I finally got an external hard drive so I’m less fearful of losing all my edits!

But I hope you like the teaser, love you, babe~! 💜

Pairing: Kim Seokjin x Reader

AU: Greek Mythology (mini-series - 3rd installment)

Genre: Romance/smut

Rating: SFW

Notes: A small teaser for waiting so patiently while my life is a chaotic mess.

Flutter [M] ︳Final

“Did you see Kitten this morning? It’s like she wanted to get ruined again.”

“Give our sweet Princess a break – she’s only human after all…”

“Hmm, we both know there’s not a single thing that our sweet Kitten can’t handle.”

Your eyelashes battled innocently, cheeks reddening the more you listened. A harmonious mixture of disbelief and embarrassment painting your face.

It was impossible to strip your gaze away from them - the way Taehyung and Jimin moved their plump lips, lustful words dancing off the tips of their tongues. The way they spoke, one would have thought they were talking about their wines, not their sexual rendezvous.

What a way to start the day.

“Kitten? Princess?” You spoke with a perfectly raised brow, fingers tapping on the armrest of the couch you sat upon. An easy thing, designed by the one and only, Taehyung, himself. But the newest addition of furniture was the last thing on your mind, especially knowing that Jimin and Taehyung were utterly love-struck.

As if Eros shot them with one of his arrows.

It wasn’t that you thought Taehyung or Jimin was incapable of loving someone; you just didn’t think they would share, let alone with a mere mortal.

Your smooth voice reminded them of your presence, and they smirked to each other - leaning back into the couches they sat on. You could only imagine the filth coursing through those corrupt minds of theirs – was their mother really a human? They seem more like direct offspring of Aphrodite and Dionysus...

Taehyung’s arms rested along the back of the couch, his fingers drumming as he crossed his legs, “She’s a beauty, y/n. But more importantly-”

“She loves us, both of us.” Jimin finished, manspreading as his hands brushed through his hair, a sweet but devilish smile on his face. And just like that, you could see it; love.

It twinkled in their eyes, and despite their shameless talks and the physical attractions, they genuinely loved her.

Seeing them sporting the broadest smiles on their faces, in utter bliss, made your heart swell with happiness. “And to think that just a moment ago, you were cute, awkward, teenagers.” you giggled, brushing your curtain of hair behind your ears, smiling.

You’ve seen them grow, all six of them, ever since you began a courtship with the eldest brother, Seokjin. To see them now, grown men, handsome and wise, and smitten, was the best thing that could have happened to you. Strangely, you felt like all of the brothers were your children, and it made sense since you’ve known them all from the very beginning.

“Have the others met her? I would love to meet her.” You smiled, leaning forward with excitement, and Taehyung let his long fingers tap against the couch, “Almost everyone, except Yoongi…but, you know him…”

You pouted, nodding knowingly.

He had his own worries, his own love troubles, and seeing people madly in love would most likely dampen his mood even more.

“We actually came to visit because we have a favour to ask…” Jimin beamed, his voice light as he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. With a tilted head, you nodded, eager to hear what the great Gods of Wines could possibly want from just a butterfly nymph-like yourself.

And the moment they spoke, you felt your heart stop, face dropping that stunning smile to a forced one.

“We want to make her ours - officially. And there’s no one else we could trust with planning such an event than yourself.” Taehyung spoke, his eyes hazing over as he smiled to himself. Your breath hitched at his words, he couldn’t possibly mean what you think he does.

“Y-you’re talking about marriage?” You muttered under your breath, and Jimin grinned.

“Who would’ve thought we would be settling down already?” Taehyung and Jimin chuckled to themselves, nodding in unison at the thought, utterly oblivious of the sound of your involuntary giggle, hands intertwined on your lap.

Your nails dug into your skin, bottom lip trembling as you thought about it – marriage.

You loved Jimin and Taehyung, but not that way. You were happy that they were happy, glad that they found the one. The twisting of your stomach, the lump that built up in your throat, was caused by an entirely different meaning.

You’ve been with Jin for God knows how long, and yet, he never did propose or make any move that would suggest he was thinking of it. And while they were plenty of happy couples in Olympus, unmarried and with no desire to do so, marriage was something the both of you expressed a desire for and valued.

How long has it been? Five hundred, maybe even six hundred years in mortal time?

That gut-wrenching feeling, skin-crawling - you were jealous.

Jimin and Taehyung were ready to propose to a woman, whom they’ve known for less than a quarter than how long you and Jin have been dating.

“I’m happy for you two.” You spoke slowly, compelling a smile to stay on your face as you gazed over at the two boys.

It wasn’t like you fantasized about being a wife since you were little, but it still hurt. It was something you both cherished, and you didn’t think the relationship was failing, so what was it? If only you could pop the question, you totally would; but given his status, that was a no-go.

Were you wasting your time?

Asking too much from a God?

Was he… was he in love with someone else? It wasn’t uncommon for the Gods to stray away…only a handful of them stay faithful – the brothers being prime examples. But Jin isn’t that type of man. He’s committed, that was never a realistic fear…unless it should?

Your heart was pounding vigorously, as if someone stuffed a waterfall inside of your body. The soft mummers from the boys were lost to the thrashing in your head – oblivious to the confused looks they shared with one another.

Was Jin just content?

Maybe he does value marriage, just not with you.

Now that you’re thinking about it…

The more you thought, the more you realized the odd things that started to happen in your relationship…like how Jin kept freezing up every time you hugged him or gave him a peck. Or how awkward he seemed at times at your presence, like he was uncomfortable or stress.

It was like Jin was there with you but not at the same time…was our relationship falling apart right under your nose, and you just never noticed?

And just like that, you felt it; hands resting over yours, causing your eyes to flutter open – not realizing you had even shut them. Jimin was kneeling in front of you, his hands grasping yours.

“What’s wrong…? Are you mad at us?” Jimin questioned, voice strained.

“N-no, sorry, I was just thinking and- sorry. I’m fine, Jimin, don’t worry-” you cooed desperately, cupping his hands and pressing a bright smile. But Jimin sulked, shaking his head at the words you spoke.

“What’s wrong y/n…we know you just as well as you know us.” Taehyung huffed. He leaned over his knees, eagerly awaiting your answer.

Your mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to say.

What do you say? That you’re jealous of some woman you never even met? That you want to marry their brother?

“I-it’s nothing, I promise. I’ll gladly help you two with your wedding.”

“It’s Seokjin…isn’t it?” Taehyung muttered under his breath. With that statement alone, he clicked his tongue, head shaking as he straightened his back and gazed away. You couldn’t stop your breath from hitching, surprised that he guessed as fast as he did, but also not since it would be the only answer that would make sense.

Jimin glowered, the grip on your hand tightening tenfold, forcing your eyes to fall back on the man kneeling before you. “J-Jimin, sit up. You know it’s shunned upon for a God to kneel before anyone less than a God.”

“But you’re not just anyone. You’re practically our mother.” He grumbled.

His small hand untangled themselves with yours, dusting his stunning black silks as he stood. A sad smile painted your pink lips – they viewed you as a mother figure, and that meant tons.

“I’m not sure what Seokjin did, but you know how he is. He can be so aloof.” Taehyung grumbled under his breath, and you couldn’t help but laugh breathlessly. He had a point…although Taehyung isn’t one to talk – aloofness was, more often than not, his middle name at times.

But it wasn’t that Jin was unwise, he just proved…oblivious in certain areas.

For someone who was such a family man, a man who valued tradition and customs, he was unusually slow to picking up specific hints. There was a reason why you had to initiate the first kiss, the hand-holding…what a frustrating man he can be.

Was it aloofness?

No…it was more so his fear of pushing you – hurting you.

“You’re my butterfly – and I never want to be the reason why you no longer flutter as beautifully as you do.” You smiled sheepishly, remembering his romantic words – what a goof.

“Does…Seokjin wish to marry me?” you muttered under your breath, more so a question for yourself than for your boys to hear.

Jimin’s eyes widen, his jaw almost dropping as he huffed angrily to himself, “That’s it, I’m going to talk with him. What’s wrong with that man? He’s beyond self-conceited and prides himself in being the most handsome God that he’s forgetting to pay some attention to you.”

You blushed at Jimin’s words, hearing the anger in his voice.

There was one thing you learned about these boys – it was that Jimin was a sweetheart, but if pushed, he could make Zeus himself fearful. Standing tall, he raged internally, his jaw clenched as he brushed back his hair messily – a habit of his that often-had men and women swooning.

“Jimin, no need to get so worked up-”

“But it’s utterly pathetic. He’s our older brother, yet Taehyung and I are set to wed before him! How embarrassing on his part. Can you even call yourself a God at that point?”

He nailed it.

“M-maybe Seokjin isn’t interested-”

“Now, you’re starting to anger me, y/n.” Taehyung growled under his breath, his hazel eyes glaring at you with venom. Tones of exasperation and annoyance were unfamiliar, let alone having it directed towards yourself.

#bts smut #bts fanfic #kim seokjin x reader #kim seokjin #BTS jin #Flutter #Greek Mythology #ask me anything #anon answered

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inahazzze · 5 years

Text

Poster Boy

@yes-daddy-i-willl: 😈 imagine H knew that your biggest life regret was NOT fucking him in his childhood home so he just goes ahead and makes it a reality ok

Thanks for sending in this request, Erika. YOU ASKED FOR THIS!!!

Warnings: This is almost entirely smut lol. There’s some light dom/sub stuff and it gets straight into it (pun intended). This is the first time I’m ever posting smut!!! As usual please let me know what you think!! :) x

“Harry,” you breathed, your voice laced with arousal. “Please.”

He’d been edging you for over two hours, and you’d reached the end of your tether. He’d eaten you out, used his fingers on you, and then let you ride his thigh. It was starting to get painful and you really needed him to let you cum.

“Okay, baby, since you’ve been so good… go ahead and cum for me,” he said, and you let it all go. Your whole body shook with the release, and Harry held you as close to his body as he could while you came on top of him. You slumped over his shoulder and dug your nails into his back as the orgasm raged through you.

When it finished, you looked up to a very satisfied Harry. You felt like every part of you was relaxed and refreshed. He smirked down at you, but you recognised the sharp glint of lust still in his eyes. You wondered how he was able to hold off for so long himself, considering that he’d been rock hard for hours without allowing you to touch him. You liked to be edged but would never have had the strength to do it to yourself for this long. He had stamina you’d never encountered before.

You took a few deep breaths, feeling your body begin to come back to you. Harry caressed your back slowly until you lifted your head from his slightly sticky shoulder. It was a testament to his character that he let you come down from your high before fucking you, even though he was painfully hard. He allowed you the time to become a bit less sensitive so that you could finish together without it being uncomfortable for you. That was one of the many reasons you loved him.

You looked into Harry’s eyes and tried to convey your adoration for him. You were still sitting on him as he sat up against the wall at the head of the bed. Behind him was a Rolling Stones poster, and you had to hold back your emotions at seeing such clear evidence of being in his teenage bedroom. You were in his family home for the first time, and he wanted to take advantage of the fact that you had the house to yourselves for the night. You’d pictured what this exact bedroom might’ve looked like when you had a crush on Harry as a teenager, so it was surreal to be here now. Doing this. It was probably your post-orgasm haze, but you found yourself internally reminiscing over your teen memories of Harry.

You’d go with your mum to the bakery that he worked at just to smile at him from across the shop. You even convinced your mum that you loved the bakery’s pastries more than any other’s just so you could see him. On a few occasions you’d unexpectedly seen him around Holmes Chapel and you always felt like your heart would burst from your chest. It was the kind of early teenage crush that felt defining in a way, and you never forgot about him. Not even when you moved away when you were a bit older. He’d sometimes cross your mind and you’d find yourself wondering what he was doing with his life.

Which is why running into him randomly over ten years later must’ve been meant to be. And it came full circle now that you were finally in the place that you most wished to be all those years ago. Your heart swelled in your chest at the thoughts of your long journey with him, all while you were staring at the wrinkled and dusty Rolling Stones poster.

Harry followed your gaze and brought you back to reality. “What, you want more tongue, then? I thought I gave you plenty,” he said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes but laughed and half-heartedly hit his torso with your palms. But before you could reach his chest, his hands shot up in one swift movement and clasped your wrists together. The mood shifted immediately – his eyes darkened and you felt your body heat up again.

“Get up and lean over the bed,” he said with a firm tone. Your body erupted in shivers and you jumped to obey his order.

“How long have you wanted me to fuck you here, huh?” He asked, and you felt yourself blush. “Tell me. How long?”

“Since…forever,” you squeaked, not able to make sense of anything while you anticipated him fucking you. You wanted to sit up and see his face, but he asked to you lean over the bed so that’s where you stayed.

“Hmm… got a lot of time to make up for, then, don’t I?” He said, his voice getting deeper by the minute. You sucked in a breath and waited for him to make his move. You heard the sound of his clothes coming off and a condom wrapper opening, and then felt his length slide along your wet folds. The barest touch sent a tingle up your spine, but that was nothing compared to how it felt when he sank into you in one quick movement. You let out a gasp at the same time that Harry let out deep, husky moan. You were wet and relaxed enough that you didn’t need to adjust to him – but it was still a lot. His size was something you’d never fully get used to, not that you were complaining. He filled you up better than anyone ever had and he knew it. He pulled all the way out and somehow went even deeper on his next thrust, causing you to fall down to your forearms on the bed.

Harry held your hips up as he fucked in to you from behind, and it felt deeper than ever. He was thrusting into you roughly and you were glad he wasn’t holding anything back. You reached your hands under your chest to pinch your nipples, but he quickly yanked you up by your hair when he saw what you were doing.

“Did I say you could touch yourself?” He said between breaths. He started fucking you even harder and pulled sharply on your hair when you didn’t answer him.

“Sorry,” you breathed out, feeling yourself get even wetter at his dominance.

“You’re gonna cum because of me.” He grunted out in a scratchy voice. You were going to say something back but it caught in your throat as he reached a hand to circle your sensitive clit. You clenched tightly around him in surprise, and could feel his cock throb in response.

Your moans rivalled Harry’s, you both completely overwhelmed with how hard he was fucking you in his teenage bedroom.

“Shit,” he groaned loudly as your walls clenched in a flutter around his dick. “Not yet, baby,” he said, but his fingers didn’t slow down on your clit.

“Please, Harry,” you cry, “I’m begging you, I’ve gotta come.”

“You wanna cum on my cock, baby?”

“Please let me cum on your big cock, Harry,” you whined, knowing he loves it when you play it up for him. “You’ve been fucking me too hard and I need it.”

His breathing picked up and he spoke through clenched teeth. “Cum on me.”

You let your orgasm free and it spread through you like a fire catching in a forest. You were so tight around him that he came immediately after you, filling you with warmth and shivers. You felt unbelievably full in every way possible. When he pulled out of you, you slumped down onto the bed in exhaustion - but you still missed the feeling of him inside you. He fell down next to you on the bed with a blissful expression and loving look at you.

“What?” You asked, blushing at the way he was looking at you.

“You’re so incredible,” he said. You beamed back at him. “And I got to fuck you in my childhood bedroom, so ‘m pretty chuffed about tha’ too.”

You giggled and swatted at him as he showed off his dimples and ducked away from you. You ended up lying flat on top of him, both laughing and kissing each other playfully in your post-orgasm high.

#harry styles #harry styles smut #harry styles blurb #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #writing #my writing #one direction fan fiction #one direction fanfiction #one direction smut #smut #blurb #poster boy

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1-1snailxd-art · 5 years

Text

Libraries are for Meetings

Master List --- Chapter 1

Chapter 2 - The Librarian in the Closet

Warnings: mild panic

Summary: Logan wants to repay Virgil for his help with the laptop.

___________________________________________________

Virgil had been at the library for three months, and in that three months it had never occurred to him that Roman was gay. Heat rose to Virgil’s cheeks as he pictured Roman dancing in the library, and he shook his head to erase the thoughts.

“Are you ok, Virgil?” Logan questioned, watching the other jolt out of their thoughts.

“Ah, I’m fine. A tad overloaded, but fine.” Virgil turned to check on the computers progress, eager to return to some normality after recent events. “It’ll take around 20 minutes for the files to finish copying. You’re welcome to use the kitchen at the back to make yourself something to drink while you wait. I’ve gotta get back to work.”

Virgil left the office, expecting Logan to head towards the back, so he was surprised to sense the man still following him.

“Um, the kitchen is that way.” He gestured to the room behind the reading area, but Logan shook his head.

“I would feel terrible if I were to sit and relax while you work. I did distract you from your usual tasks. Allow me to help.”

“That isn’t necessary,” Virgil started busying himself by searching through books on a random shelf. “I can handle everything. Tuesday’s are quiet and I can’t start the actual cleaning for another 40 minutes when the library officially closes.”

“Oh, well, um…” Logan knew nothing about the role of a librarian and didn’t want to cause any more trouble for Virgil. “Would you like something to drink while I’m back there?”

“Coffee, please. Black.”

“I’ll get right on it.”

Logan turned towards the kitchen, pausing in the reading area to lay his lab coat on the couch before continuing. Finally alone, Virgil lent on a support beam and allowed himself to relax. His hands trembled slightly, and he closed his eyes to try and steady his suddenly irregular breathing. In the span of 20 minutes he had gone from preparing to defend an acquaintance from a vicious deviant, to salvaging a ruined laptops data, to watching a friendship crumble before him. That was a lot of social events for one person to deal with in a short time span.

********************

The kitchen was set out for basic communal use. The fridge was covered in notices about an honesty system and ensuring money was deposited in the jar to cover the cost of what was used. Logan opened a cupboard to retrieve two mugs and set to making two cups of instant coffee. Curiosity itched at Logan, and he found himself opening and inspecting the contents of all the cupboards. Plates, platters, cutlery. The kitchen was clearly capable of presenting a large array of foods, though none could be cooked without a stove or oven. In the final cupboard, Logan was shocked to find a collection of old phone books.

“Odd place to store these.” Logan whispered aloud as he pulled one of the books out to inspect it.

He was shocked to find the space behind the books was full of instant noodles, granola bars and biscuits. Logan’s mind ticked over as he recalled the items in the office. Suddenly the number of boxes of materials and duffel bags in Virgil’s office appeared suspicious, and the hidden food had Logan questioning. He knew Katie and she was not the sort to eat food like that. Returning the book, Logan finished making the coffees and headed back to find Virgil.

“Virgil?” Pausing at the main desk, Logan was surprised to see the librarian on the floor behind the desk. “What is going on?”

Virgil had been so focused on trying to maintain control of his breathing, that he hadn’t heard Logan approach him.

“You’re shaking.” Logan dug into his jean pocket and pulled out a roll of candies. “Here, take one of these. I’ve found sugar helps in cases of many ailments, and I think it applies to your case.”

Gratefully taking the candies, Virgil felt his cheeks heating as he realised how close Logan was to him.

“Ahem, thanks.” Keeping his gaze low, Virgil tentatively stretched before attempting to stand.

“Was that a result of the overload you mentioned earlier, or something else?”

Virgil stared up at Logan before turning away, shaking his head and taking a sip of his coffee. “It’s nothing.”

“You’re a skilled person, Virgil, but lying isn’t one of your skills unfortunately.” Logan made no attempt to move as he watched Virgil’s back, carefully reading his body language. “Is there any way I could assist you with your predicament?”

Virgil almost choked on his coffee at Logan’s words.

“What are you talking about? Why do you care? You don’t even know me?”

The words came out harsher than he had intended, and Virgil was glad he still had his back to Logan.

“I understand that my earlier behaviour may have led you to believe otherwise, but I am a rather caring person. You come across as the sort of person who gives plenty to others and expects very little in return, which is what has led to your cur-“

“Stop. Please, just stop.” Virgil pushed away from the desk and headed back into the aisles of the library.

Logan didn’t follow. He merely watched the young man as he wondered the aisles, finding all manner of jobs to distract himself. It was like looking in a mirror, only when Logan had been avoiding all manner of help, he was younger than what Virgil was now. Taking a page from Patton’s book, Logan sat back and gave Virgil his space to process.

********************

Finally, a clock chimed, marking the closure of the library. Virgil jumped at the sound, realising that time had slipped away from him. After locking the front door, he headed back to his office to collect the USB for Logan.

The sound of a vacuum starting had Virgil scrambling to grab the USB as it jumped from his hand. Exiting the office, he found Logan was in the process of vacuuming the reading area.

“What on earth are you doing?” Virgil called over the sound.

Logan looked back and smiled at Virgil before returning to his work, until the vacuums power plug was pulled, and the library was plunged back into silence.

“Well that was incredibly rude,” Logan remarked, “I was working.”

“A, you don’t work here and B, here’s your USB.” Virgil tossed the drive to Logan and pointed towards the door. “You can go now.”

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere. I still have to repay you for your efforts.”

“You’ve already paid me. I asked you not to dissect anyone and you haven’t.”

“A service deserves payment. So, allow me to pay you, Virgil.”

“Logan? It’s great to see you.” Katie’s voice echoed from the front of the library as she locked the door and headed towards where Logan and Virgil were.

“Always a pleasure to see you too, Katie. How’s the main library?”

“Back on track now. Thanks for taking over, Virgil, but I can take it from here. You’re free to go home now.”

It suddenly occurred to Virgil that with Katie staying back to clean, he wouldn’t be able to stay, and he hadn’t arranged to stay with anyone else.

“Oh, um, yeah. Thanks, Katie.” He quickly went back to his office to start packing his things and make a plan for the evening.

“Roman filled me in on the afternoons events,” Katie commented as she took the vacuum from Logan’s hand. “Honestly, Lo, don’t you think you went a little overboard.”

“Considering my general demeanour, it would appear so, but I assure you it was entirely justified.”

“Sure, it was, sweetie. So, what do you think of Virgil?”

“What do you mean?” Logan squinted at Katie in confusion as he took in her mischievous look.

“You missed out on Professor Keils extra tutorial to hang out in a library. You’ve never missed a lecture or tutorial for anyone. So, what do you think of Virgil?”

Logan was at a loss for words as he considered why he had stayed with Virgil. He needed the data from his laptop, that was important, but he didn’t have to stay to retrieve it. He could have gone to the tutorial and come back later to collect his things, there was no reason to stay. So why had he?

“I think he… is lost.”

“Sound familiar.” Katie smiled and pulled Logan into a hug. “I’ve given Virgil space, but I think he needs someone to give him guidance.”

“I hardly know him, and he sees me as a stranger.”

“Jason hardly knew you.”

“That was different. We were younger and Jason was-“ Logan choked on his words thinking of the person he had lost.

“Don’t over think it, Lo. Just act.”

“See you tomorrow, Katie.” Virgil called from the front as he left.

Logan looked down at Katie, who nudged her head to the side and mouthed “go”.

“You are a very manipulative and quick-witted woman.”

After planting a kiss of thanks on Katie’s forehead, Logan grabbed his coat and rushed out the door to catch up with Virgil.

“You’d be proud of him, Jason.” Katie spoke to the echoes of the empty library. “Admittedly, you would also be jealous, and a little concerned at how he reacted, but proud nonetheless.”

********************

Pulling his hood up to block out the evening breeze, Virgil headed down the road; his mind ticking through his possible options for the evening. So far, his best option was to find a place to chill until Katie finished at the library so he could return to do his usual process. The reading area couch wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but it was better than any outdoor options.

“Virgil!”

Logan’s voice snapped Virgil out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the man jogging towards him.

“You have a very swift walking pace,” he noted, quickly catching up to where Virgil had paused. “I never expected you to be so far away.”

“What happened to cleaning the library?” Virgil questioned, adjusting the straps of his backpack and duffel bag.

“A, I don’t work there and B, I was only cleaning to repay you.” Logan mimicked Virgil’s earlier body language and noticed the slight smile pulling at the other's cheeks. “Can’t repay you if you aren’t there, so allow me to treat you to dinner instead.”

“Wha-What?” The duffel slipped off Virgil’s shoulder and hit the ground with a soft thud.

“Dinner.” Logan replied, reaching down to pick up Virgil’s bag, “The meal you eat in the evening.”

“I-I know what dinner is but-“

“Well then, let’s go. My car is on the other side of the University; it will be necessary to take you to make favourite restaurant.”

Patton wouldn’t approve of Logan’s methods; talking over Virgil and forcing the man to follow him as he walked away with his bag. Initially, Virgil didn’t move, stunned into silence, but he soon found his feet and was following Logan towards the University. The pair walked in silence, Logan slightly ahead and Virgil a step behind and trying to work out what Logan’s endgame was. He couldn’t work the man out and he seemed to be going to a lot of effort over repaying him for a simple data transfer.

Slipping his phone out of his pocket, Virgil quickly typed out a message to Katie.

Virge: spill. What is this guys deal?

Reelest: what ever do you mean?

Virge: Im serious. Im currently walking the streets with a guy who was threatening to dissect someone earlier today.

Reelest: Logan is harmless.

Virge: what is his fascination with repaying me.

Reelest: you just saved months worth of research for him. He’s grateful. Let someone do something for you for a change.

Virge: I don’t know how I feel about this, Katie. This is all just so weird.

Reelest: trust me, Sparks. Logan is a good guy. Relax and enjoy yourself. I expect pictures and for you to fill me in tomorrow.

Virge: you’re acting like this is a date. This isn’t a date!

Virgil sent the message but felt his breath catch in his throat. His mind raced with cruel thoughts and memories. The vibration of his phone pulled him back to the present, and he gasped; realising he had stopped breathing altogether.

“Are you ok back there?” Logan questioned, realising that Virgil had fallen more than a few steps behind.

“Um,” Virgil quickly cleared his throat and pulled his hood down to hide his face. “I’m fine. I was just distracted by my phone.”

“Well, we are almost there. Sorry I parked so far away.”

“No worries, it’s fine.”

Virgil looked down at the message in his phone and felt confusingly calmer.

Reelest : don’t worry. Logan doesn’t date. I still want all the details though.

********************

"Um, isn't the car park that way?" questioned Virgil, as Logan suddenly veered towards a nearby building.

"I need to collect my bag from the lab."

Pulling a keycard from his pocket, Logan let himself into the building and stepped inside; letting the door swing back to Virgil's outstretched hand. Virgil remained nervously in the entry as his mind reminded him of the furious man he had met hours earlier. He couldn't shake the feeling that he would do something wrong and make Logan just as mad at him.

Peering over his shoulder, Logan noticed Virgil's hesitation and decided not to push him to follow. His footsteps echoed through the halls as he headed up the stairs and swiped his card again to enter the first room on his left.

Sighing, Logan stood in the doorway and took in the mess that he and Patton had left behind. A microscope was still set up on a bench with a box of slides set out, Logan's notebook hadn't moved from where it had been laid open and was thankfully safe from the pool of coffee that had spread from a fallen mug. Wiping his hand down his face, Logan groaned at the reminder that he would have to clear the lab to ensure his access wouldn't be revoked.

"Honestly," Virgil suddenly appeared behind Logan, "I expected it to be worse."

Logan chuckled, "It seemed a lot worse to me at the time."

"Care to point me in the direction of a cloth or something. Cleaning is kind of what I do."

"No." Logan started walking to the storeroom to collect some supplies, "I'm the one repaying you, remember?"

Shrugging, Virgil hoisted himself up onto another bench and looked down at the laptop power cable snaked across the floor.

"I'm guessing Patton pulled your laptop down by the power cord?"

"Precisely," Returning, Logan dumped a handful of paper towel on the coffee spill to soak the liquid up. "He was practicing some dance Roman had taught him when his foot snagged on the cord. I can't count the number of times I've told him labs weren't a place for dancing."

“I imagine he’s not as graceful as Roman.”

Logan chuckled, “No, he isn’t. You watch Roman dance often?”

“Yea-no. Not rea-. Well…” Virgil stumbled over his words, thankful that Logan’s back was too him. “I usually -um- only see the end when I’m shutting up the library. I don’t, like, watch him or anything.”

Logan nodded and took no more than a side glance at Virgil. The man was on edge, barely able to keep still and there was a slight blush to his cheeks. He recognised that look and that talk. It was painfully familiar.

‘Katie said he needed guidance. Perhaps it is in more areas than I thought.’

Returning the microscope to the cupboard, Logan turned to find Virgil had packed his notebook and slides in his bag and was using a cloth to wipe the bench top down with disinfectant.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he commented, taking the supplies out of Virgil’s hands to return them.

“Annoying, isn’t it,” Virgil gave Logan a smug smile and picked up his backpack and duffel. “Can we get this dinner over with now so that we are all squared up.”

“Aren’t you enjoying my company?”

“No offence, or anything,” Virgil was working hard to come across as nonchalant and hide his true feelings. “I don’t enjoy the company of people in general.”

“Relatable.”

Logan strode out of the lab, leaving Virgil lingering alone for a moment.

‘Who on earth is this guy?’

Virgil had never experienced anyone quite like Logan. It didn’t make sense that he could be irrationally emotional and quick witted one second, and then deadly serious the next. As Virgil caught up and continued to follow Logan out towards the carpark, he considered the way he was presenting himself.

‘Mentally unstable, antisocial, loner, computer freak. Why hasn’t this dude run for the hills yet?’

“Here’s my car”

The lights of a scratched-up Honda Civic flashed as Logan unlocked the car. Considering how professional Logan came across, Virgil had pictured a modern, well-kept car. The grey machine before him was anything but well kept.

“You can put your stuff in the boot if you want.” Logan offered, placing his own bag in and walking around to the driver’s side.

Slamming the boot shut, Virgil slid into the passenger seat just and the engine spluttered to life.

********************

“So where is this elusive restaurant?” Virgil asked, glancing over and noticing how the streetlights reflected on Logan’s glasses.

“It’s on the east side. Considering how quiet it is on the roads right now, we should be there in 10 minutes.”

Virgil paled slightly, realising he would have to make the journey back to the library later. He only hoped the weather was on his side.

“I will of course be able to drop you back at your place afterwards,” offered Logan, quickly sensing Virgil’s discomfort. “I wouldn’t whisk you away and then expect you to find your own way back.”

“Oh, no. That’s fine. You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. But I will.”

Virgil turned to stare out the window, reassessing his plans. He couldn’t get Logan to drop him off at the library; that would scream “I’m homeless and illegally living where I work.” He instead settled on using his old address; it was only a 5 minute walk to the library from there.

For some, the silence of the drive would have been uncomfortable, but both Logan and Virgil found it comforting. They each had their own thoughts to process. Virgil focused on his housing dilemma and trying to understand Logan’s motives. While Logan on the other hand, was thinking about what Katie expected him to do and wondering how Patton was. The two were so different and yet shared much in common. Logan was starting to see it, but it would take time for Virgil to feel the same.

____________________________________________

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Let me know if you have any feedback, questions or concerns.

💜🐌

____________________________________________

Chapter 3 --- Master List

What else have I done:

The Perfect Ring (oneshot - analogical proposal)

You Promised (oneshot - prinxiety angst/injury/near death)

Sides of a Hero (Completed Fic - sides are fusions of impulses and aspects of Thomas. Virgil has a depressing past that he is forced to face thanks to Deceit and Rage. Was canon compliant at the time of completion)

The Shield to your Sword (WIP - A fantasy/magic au - Prinxiety (Royal Roman and orphan Virgil - they’ll admit to their love eventually), Virgil angst, non binary, healer Logan, *spoiler* Patton)

Check out my other blog for random fandom reblogs and stuff @snail-giggles

#libraries are for meetings #LAFM #the librarian in the closet #sanders sides #sanders sides fanfiction #sanders sides fanfic #sanders sides au #alternate universe #ts logan #ts virgil #Logan Mars #Virgil Sparks #orignial character #analogical #self discovery #fanders #famders #sanders sides fandom #my writing

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shytalia · 4 years

Text

A Prince and a Pirate’s Fate - Chapter 3

Summary: When the future King and Queen of the Spade’s Kingdom come of age, a mark appears on their body. Alfred is the kind Prince of Spades, heir to the throne. Arthur is his fated husband, the future Queen. The only problem is, Arthur is one of the most infamous pirates to sail the seas, a wanted man in all four kingdoms, and he violently refuses his place in the castle.

No attempts at capturing him have been successful and he remains on the run, fulfilling his lust for defiance. Alfred, following his nineteenth birthday, decides to take the task of bringing Arthur home into his own hands.

— ♠ — ♠ — ♠ —

Also available on my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shytalia

— ♠ — ♠ — ♠ —

Chapter Three

Start at Chapter one here: https://shytalia.tumblr.com/post/611878754309079040/a-prince-and-a-pirates-fate-usuk-fanfic

— ♠ — ♠ — ♠ —

The following morning, Alfred woke up with a start. A loud noise aroused him from his slumber in a small inn room overlooking the sea. He was horrified to see the infamous ship beginning to sail away.

“No, no, no, shit!” He threw on some spare clothes and bolted out the door, running frantically to the shoreline where the ship had already left. “Fuck, fuck! What am I supposed to do now?” He yelled out to the sea, causing a few concerned looks from the locals. He looked frantically from side to side, only pausing when he saw a smaller boat not too far down the shore at a different pier. Even better, there was an old fisherman on it.

“Sir!” He waved his arms above his head at the man as he ran towards him, who in turn looked at him as if he were crazy. “Sir, I need to catch that ship there.” He pointed dramatically towards the fleeing vessel. But maybe it was going slow enough for them to catch. “I beg you, take me to it with your boat. I’ll even pay you for your trouble, look.” He dug out a thick bag from one of his pockets, opening it up to reveal shiny gold coins and offered them all to him. He had brought money with him for obvious reasons, but it would be useless to him if he lost Arthur now after he had just found him.

“W-What? I can’t accept this. Young man, this is too much for a simple ride--”

“No time! It’s yours, all I ask if you get me to that ship.” He begged again, urging the greying fisherman to accept his offer. After some thinking, the old man sighed and relented, allowing Alfred to hop onto his boat before preparing for a speedy chase. Thankfully Arthur’s ship hadn’t released their sails fully yet, so they were going at a leisurely pace propelled mostly only by the calm waves. That being the case, it was easy even for a small boat such as this one to catch up to them before they made it even farther out. Their small vessel rocked hurriedly against the current, coming up upon the massive, wooden form.

“Arthur! Arthur, come on! Stop! Arthur!” He yelled, but his voice was hardly audible over the thunder of the waves against the ship.

Their presence did not go unnoticed, however. As soon as Alfred was confident they could over pass the large ship and get in front of it, he was greeted by rifles being pointed directly at them from over the dock. The Fisherman gasped and in his panic turned the boat sharply, not taking into consideration his land-legged passenger.

“Whoa!” The young prince stumbled and fell, crashing into the cold waters below. He managed to resurface, taking a loud gasp of air only to see his only way out, the fisherman, was quickly driving away back towards the distant shore. Wow, did they really go that far out? He could hardly even see the land anymore as he peered into the distance.

A rush of panic pooled over him. He was stuck in the middle of the ocean! He could try to swim back but his heart was already beating hard from adrenaline and the water was cold on his skin, there was no way he was going to have the energy to swim that far without a rest.

What made it worse, he realized the ship he had been so fervently chasing after was now turning back towards him. “Oh no, oh no, oh no,” He chanted, making his last dues with the gods because Captain Kirkland was going to absolutely crush him with that ship. But before he succumbed to the violent waves roaring off the wooden vessel, it slowed and turned slightly, until it came to a halt just a ways away.

Confused and scared, Alfred could feel himself growing tired already as he worked to keep himself afloat. He guessed the sadistic sea captain just wanted a front row seat to watch him die. He really was an idiot, now his kingdom would have no future queen or king.

Just when Alfred started to feel himself start to slip ever so slightly under the water, his energy draining out of him, he heard the distinct smack of something nearby hitting the water. Looking, he could see what looked like a large ring floating towards him. Desperate to find purchase on something solid, he used the last bit of his energy to make his way to it and grabbed it.

He sighed in relief and allowed the ring to pull him slowly closer to the ship and eventually even up towards the deck.

It wasn’t until he actually reached the top that his peculiar situation dawned on him. He was just pulled aboard an infamous pirate ship, one whose crew were guilty of all sorts of inexcusable acts, and now he was at their mercy. He was dragged onto the hard wood and breathed deeply, trying to catch his breath. He could feel the bodies surrounding him without even looking. He knew he had to meet his makers at some point, so he slowly stood up and glanced around at the people who circled him like vultures.

Just as he expected, he was met with various different faces, most of which looked like they wanted to rip him apart piece by piece. Others held expressions of curiosity and a few, much to his dismay, looked openly hungry as they glanced him up and down. He swallowed hard and stood his ground, wondering if he would have fared better in the ocean after all. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a different familiar voice.

“You bloody, absolute, incomprehensibly stupid git !” The voice yelled, a path between the rough men and women surrounding him parted to reveal the shaggy haired captain storming forth. Without hesitating, Arthur grabbed the prince by his soaked shirt and pushed him against the wooden frame behind him, the only thing separating Alfred from yet another watery struggle down below. “What the hell do you think you were doing? How stupid can you possibly be? Augh! I should have left you to die!” He was practically screaming in the young man’s face, and yet, Alfred only stared at him in awe.

“But...you didn’t.” It dawned on Alfred in a matter of moments. The horrible, vile, quick tempered villain of the seas had shown him some level of mercy. It was against everything Alfred had ever heard about Arthur. “Arthur, you saved my life.”

“Like hell I did, git. Consider yourself in debt.” The British captain grumbled in return, face twisting in disapproval at the accusation that he might have actually saved Alfred just out of kindness. “And it’s Captain Kirkland, to you.” He corrected, finally releasing the younger man with a rough push sideways, causing the boy to stumble away from him.

The blonde pirate took a few steps back from the confused prince, his eyes never leaving him. It was like a predator glaring down its next meal. “Take him to The Hole.”

“Huh?” Without hesitation, Alfred felt large hands grab his arms and start to pull him away. Much to his distress Arthur was not following after them and was fading into the distance as he was dragged away. “W-Wait! Hold on, just let me talk to you for a minute!” He struggled to get out of the iron grip that had him, only for it to tighten as a result and pull him faster.

Alfred found himself thrown into a cold cell deep below the ship’s surface and left to sulk there despite how he tried to convince the pirates to do otherwise. “Let me out! I want to talk to Arthur!” He yelled into the dark air, shaking the cell door with loud clunks. This did nothing to affect his captors and he was left alone to wait.

--- ♠ --- ♠ --- ♠ ---

It was hard to tell how much time had passed as he stayed there in the dim light. He sat on a small cot, hardly better than the damp floor itself but he supposed he should be thankful for it. For a time he waited and listened for any sign of life, but the only sound he could hear was his own breathing and the rumble of the waves outside.

Strangely, it was almost a soothing sound, considering they had nearly killed him not too long ago. The young prince closed his eyes and listened. The waters were powerful and threatening, easily they could grow at any moment and swallow the entire ship whole. Despite this, they rocked the vessel mercifully, and their cycle of kissing the wood helped lull him into a light slumber.

Why did he suddenly enjoy the sound of the waves so much?

They were nice, sure. He had visited beaches and sailed plenty of times to attend to royal duties in other lands, but all those times he had never simply sat and listened. It was like the waves themselves were sirens beckoning him to open his ears and jump in, not some mythical creature.

What was it that had him so unexpectedly fascinated, then?

Was it the ocean's ability to have ferocious, destructive power, only for some divine reason it chose not to use it and gave them compassionate seas instead?

Thump.

Perhaps it is its beauty, the way it shined and sparkled against the sun?

Thump thump.

Or even the way its salt littered the air, forcing him to breathe it in. A familiar scent, where was it from again?

Thump thump thump.

Alfred sighed softly, subconsciously aware of the noise that grew ever closer to his cell. His mind swirled in an attempt to place that taste of salt water dancing on his lips. Where had he tasted it before?

“Oi, are you asleep? Wake the hell up!”

A loud, unforgiving voice startled him from his sleep. He jostled awake, sitting up from his lazy position against the makeshift bed. He stared wide-eyed towards the caged door for the intruder, only to find the one person he actually wanted to see standing on the other side.

“Arthur!” Alfred didn’t try to hold back his obvious joy at seeing the older man, which only earned him another hard scowl.

“It’s Captain Kirkland, you capital tit.” The shorter man corrected quickly. He didn’t move as the prince stood up and practically ran towards the bars, merely inches away from the man he was supposed to marry, but unable to touch him.

“I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t mean to make you so upset.” The wheat blonde’s frown looked sincere, only because it truly was. An aspect Arthur silently thought was too rare in apologies these days.

Still, he didn’t understand why the boy was quite so apologetic about simply calling him by his first name. Of course it was disrespectful to Arthur, he had earned the title through years of work and terror, and did not appreciate some arrogant wannabe from the capital thinking he could address him otherwise. But, most would apologize from fear of punishment, not genuine sorrow. “You must know how important names are, being from the big city and all.” That must be it. There, a certain few names of the rich and powerful ruled everything. But here on the sea? His name nearly ruled it all.

“What? Oh, yeah, I mean, I’m sorry about that too. I’ll call you Cap if you want.” Alfred’s apologetic face quickly upturned with an almost amused smile, before he suddenly remembered something and it shot down again. “I meant I’m sorry for upsetting you last night, you know, at the bar? I wasn’t trying to imply anything. I really just wanted to understand you better. I didn’t know it was a sensitive subject for you and I didn’t mean to make you mad. Are you still upset?”

Of all the things Arthur thought the boy might say, it certainly wasn’t that. He gawked at him for a moment, unable to decide if he should be angry at him for bringing it up again or impressed with his honesty. Though really, what the hell did Alfred care about his feelings? He was a pirate! Not only that, he was one of the most feared captains in all four kingdoms. He wasn’t one to be coddled, but it made him realize, it had been quite a long time since he heard anyone ask him such a compassionate question.

“I...suppose not.” He settled finally, watching carefully as Alfred’s face shifted from worried to a large grin. It accentuated his nice face, really. He looked much better with a smile than that sour face from before. This ‘capital tit’, admittedly, had a nice, goofy smile to accompany his shining, blue eyes. It was like staring into the depths of the ocean itself. Arthur would know, he had done just that many times before, after all. The realization startled him a bit and he cursed himself for losing focus.

“So,” the grinning man beamed at him with a hopeful gaze. “Will you let me talk with you now that you aren’t mad? Just a little bit, so I can get to know you better.”

Now it was Arthur’s turn to smile, though it wasn’t the optimistic, toothy grin Alfred had. No, his was much more sarcastic, and he smirked as if he had just been told a nasty joke.

“Idiot, are you really not understanding the situation you’re in right now?” He placed his rough, calloused hands on his hips as he stared at his hopeful prisoner.

“Huh?” Judging by Alfred’s response, he did not.

“Here you are, on my ship, in my cell, as my prisoner, and you want to talk as if we were just friends?” He said it as if it was obvious his request was insane, since for anyone else it would be! Anyone else in their right mind would be scared shitless being the infamous pirate’s captive. Maybe Alfred really was just plain stupid after all.

“Have you really not figured this out yet? I could kill you...I could torture you...I could make you my play thing then dump you into the sea when you start to bore me.” His face twisted sharply, his Cheshire grin roughening at the edges. “I thought about it, you know? It wouldn’t be hard, after all. I could make you do whatever I wanted and there would be nothing you could do to stop any of it.” It was a face of such sadistic pleasure that Alfred had never seen a human morph like that before. It sent a chill down his spine as his eyes unwillingly locked on it, unable to force them away.

Ah, there it finally was. The fear.

Alfred’s stance stiffened and his blue eyes watched the captain carefully, even when Arthur stepped closer. His gaze remained on the pale man before him, even as said man broke the distance between them, reaching through the bars and caressing his face. It stung a little, he could only guess there was a dark bruise left from when he had been punched the night before. The touch was so gentle though, Alfred swore it had to be someone else’s hand. But it wasn’t, it was Arthur’s, and he smelt like sea salt.

Alfred swallowed the lump forming in his throat, “But...you haven’t.” He stated simply.

The hand on his cheek paused suddenly.

“What?” Came the surprised reply. Even if it was hidden deep under a low, dark mumble, Alfred could hear the confusion.

Alfred grew bolder and was quick to reply. “You haven’t hurt me yet, but you’ve had more than enough chances to.” The prince reiterated. Without thinking, he reached up and grabbed onto Arthur’s cold hand that still lay dormant on his cheek, gripping it gently in his own warm one. “From the stories I’ve always heard about you, you’re ruthless. You’re violent and you won’t hesitate to kill anyone who gets in your way. But I can tell that’s not all you are, I know it’s not. You saved my life, cage or not, I’d be dead if it weren’t for you. You even held a knife to my throat for gods sake, Arthur, but I’m still here. Anyone else would call you a monster for it but I don’t see you that way. I don’t think you’re as heartless as people say you are.”

It was Arthur’s turn to go wide-eyed. His emerald eyes sparkled with so many emotions that Alfred could hardly keep up with them all. There was confusion, first and foremost. Denial, skepticism, doubt, and if he was right, a hint of fear.

The Brit jerked his hand out of the prisoner’s soft grasp, somewhere between fuming and disbelief. “Do not doubt me, I will make your life hell on earth.” He spit. And with that, the captain stormed away and out of The Hole.

“Cap? Hold on, wait! Arthur!”

But his cries were ignored, heard only by unsympathetic walls and the pacing sea.

--- ♠ --- ♠ --- ♠ ---

#usuk #fanfic #usuk fanfic #hetalia #aph #aph america #aph england #usuccc reblogged my fic omfg #one of my favorite tumblr blogs #i feel so honored XD #and their tags were funny af lmao #fanfiction #america #england #cardverse #cardverse usuk #pirate england #yo ho ho arthur doesnt know what affection is #surprise bitch

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hotheadhero · 4 years

Note

Jouska: A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head.

@thefetchingfletcher asked this also!

It’s been a long time since I reblogged the source ask (misread it from the very beginning too) and I’ve been thinking about Azure Moon recently, so I’m going to be lazy(?) and answer this as if I’m writing a drabble for just Caspar. Spoilers for Azure Moon Chapter 14, major (albeit offscreen) character death, and sheer length. Hints of monachopsis, rubatosis, nodus tollens, and lachesism scattered throughout (arguably also mauerbauertraurigkeit, albeit indirectly). There are also hints of suicide here and there if you know where to look (disclaimer: I have encountered very little of it myself and am making it up as I go).

Whatif I had stopped him?

Whatif I had intervened then and there?

Theywere weeks out from the event, yet Caspar couldn’t stop replaying his uncleRandolph’s final moments in his head. How he’d begged for mercy, tried in vainto appeal to Dimitri’s sense of reason and his heart. How Dimitri merely shuthim down, dug the nail in deeper, until Randolph’s very voice bled with tormentand he cried out for the mad king to stop. No doubt his uncle had imagined all of the men he’d fought with, dyingbefore his eyes even as he lay helpless to stop them. Imagined Fleche there onthe guillotine with them, eyes wide and panicked and accusing in their finalmoments. Why didn’t you save me, brother? those cyan eyes demanded. Whydidn’t you try harder to save your people?

Perhapshe was merely imagining those things, for Fleche was not here now; and byvirtue of not being here, she could not be dead. Perhaps he was merelyprojecting his own thoughts onto another, in some… futile attempt to come togrips of exactly what it was that he was enabling.

Itwas no secret to any of them that Caspar hailed from the Empire. He was the only one of them hereif one excluded the runaways who’d fled Emperor Edelgard’s iron grip on the southern Adrestian lands. Everyday he expected one of the Lions of Faerghus to come for his head, to lop it off as theyhad Fleche’s in his vivid nightmares, laughing scornfully, maniacally, justas Dimitri had done before Byleth intervened and killed Randolph with one blow. Byleth was no better, either—the Ashen Demon come back to life, murdering Caspar’s blood relative as coldly and emotionlessly as Caspar might take out the trash. Itdidn’t matter what they’d said to Dimitri after that. How they missed theDimitri they once knew. It was all a ploy. A feigned attempt at emotionality, at humanity.At least Dimitri had been obvious about how he’d felt, and confirmed outright thesuspicions Caspar had had of him since coming back to the monastery and theLions last year.

Andyet… Had anything Dimitri said truly been wrong?

Justbecause the one who’d delivered the message was clearly unsettled did not meanCaspar could dismiss it out of hand. The mad king had a point. Even if this waswar, with every life they took, all of their hands turned redder and redder,the poll of blood widening at their fingertips, soaking into their skin, so that noteven the most vigorous of scrubbings could clear the taint away. And Caspar hadbeen so eager to prove his worth on the battlefield, so ready to kill anybodywho stood in his way, allegiance be damned. Was it truly justice if he had tokill and murder friend and foe in order to achieve it? He’d deserted his house to be here; hisfamily, his country, the princess. He’d slain countless citizens of theEmpire as Dimitri’s and Byleth’s willing pawn, even enjoyed it—did that makehim any better than his friends in Faerghus, who at least had the ties of (separate) country binding them? What must they think of a deserter who readily killed those hailing from a country he once called home?

Werethey too waiting for him to snap? To take his revenge upon Dimitri, as nephew tothe slain?

Hecouldn’t deny the hatred he felt burning in his bones, threatening to overwhelm him in afever pitch if he just closed his eyes and gave in. And yet Caspar couldnot so easily shake his memories of the Faerghus prince from five years ago,the first of his house to extend a welcoming hand to the new transfer, one with whom he’d laughedand cried and joked and sparred countless times in the past. The memories feltso far away now; but they were as much a part of him as his very name. Could hereally leave all that behind, even for the sake of justifiable revenge? It washis duty as a Bergliez to avenge the death of his uncle; yet impossible hope against hopestayed his hand. He had to believe the Dimitri of old would come back one day,or else everything he had fought for up to this point would be for naught. Hewould be nothing but a traitor, a fool who mindlessly killed for his homeland’s enemy, a monster smiling but not the less grotesque, carrying out the dyingwishes of a mad king, a walking corpse.

Hecouldn’t bear the idea of facing Linhardt now, even as he wished his old friend could be here right now to comfort him and tell him that he was doing something right.

(Yethe knew Warp magic did not work that way; they’d tried plenty hard five years before—)

Therewas so much he wanted to ask Dimitri. What happened, what insult had the Empiredealt him so long ago that he would chase after them so single-mindedly now, whatif anything he could do to make it better. But Caspar had no doubt in his mindthat if he were to approach Dimitri now, he would simply order his head cut off,or maybe simply his tongue so that Caspar could neither protest nor questionhis orders. If he persisted, Dimitri would do worse—just as he would have doneRandolph, had Byleth not intervened.

(Worse yet, he did not know that even his death would cheer the prince of Faerghus up. He’d heard in Dimitri’s voice that some part of him was still horrified by all the death he invited and caused, even if the greater part of him thrilled in it and wanted more. In other words, if he confronted Dimitri now, his life too would be in vain, just as his uncle Randolph’s had been before him.)

AndByleth was no better either—willingly letting Dimitri use them “evenshould the flesh fall from their bones” even though their blood ties were nomore tightly-hewn than his. Caspar had almost forgotten just how it was that Bylethhad earned the nickname they’d held before leading the Blue Lions. Now hewould never forget.

Norcould he confide in any of the other Lions who followed Dimitri; not Mercedes or Annette, not even Sylvain or Felix. Caspar had no way of knowing how many of themapproved of Dimitri’s mad tirade, how many of them had their ears peeled foreven the slightest hint that he was cracking under the pressure of being alone. And so Caspar had no choice butto bear it alone, even as it wounded him, bent his back and shoulders and tore athis guts until he was little more than a throbbing mass of pain andconfusion and regret. What must Linhardt think of me now? Caspar thoughtmiserably. He knew before anyone else that I wanted to switch houses. Doeshe still think of me when he hears news from the battlefront? Or does myface morph into Dimitri’s now, laughing maniacally while mowing hundreds of enemy soldiers down?

Goddess,he was even starting to think of the Empire as his enemy now. Were the ties ofblood and old friendships really so tenuous?

Caspardidn’t remember sitting down or dropping his head into his hands; but helifted his head now with a shuddering, despairing laugh. Maybe he shouldgo confront Dimitri, he thought to himself; put an end to this stupid farce once andfor all. It was as clear as day that he did not belong here. A lone Adrestian amongFaerghans, a red wolf lost amid the blue. At least death would be better thanthis uncertainty; and even if Dimitri made his end neither swift nor merciful,there would be no more of this unbearable tension. Just one clean stroke, andhis life would be over, especially if Byleth intervened again to spare him thetorture.

Itwasn’t as if he’d made much use of his life anyways.

Aturncoat hiding amongst the wolves. His pulse quickened in his chest; Casparimagined it was trying to burst clear out from the bones that caged it in. Anaccurate analogy for one such as he, chained by the corpses piled at his feetto a false ideal, far from everything he had once held dear. He didn’t have tosee the bodies to be certain that his older brother and his family lay deadnow, as did his father, the indomitable Minister of Military Affairs. They wouldhave gone after him first; Count Bergliez was too dangerous a target to letwander free. Perhaps some part of him yet wanted him to stay alive for the sakeof the fallen, to procure revenge if at all possible and flee with his life ifhe could not. And yet, when had Caspar ever behaved like a proper heir? Howfitting it would be if he died as he lived, a rebel to the very end, spittingon the face of his lost inheritance as surely as he’d spit upon his country andhis family. For even if he hadn’t killed Uncle Randolph himself, his inactionhad killed him as surely as if he and not Byleth had wielded the blade. Casparwould never forget the look on his face as he died, as surely as he wouldn’tforget the smile on Dimitri’s face as he spoke so callously of gouging Randolph’s eyesout and dragging him down to his level—

Casparhadn’t even realized he’d started laughing again in earnest. Quiet though thesound was, it was inhuman, not even his own. The cackling of a monster. Howcould he ever have thought he’d make it through this war whilst keeping his idealspure, wings white, hands clean?

Perhapshe would go seek Dimitri out after all. Caspar never had been one forinaction; none of the Bergliezes were. No doubt his aunt Fleche would do thesame in his shoes, if she learned of the fate with which Uncle Randolph had met.

Hecouldn’t let her throw her life away like that; for if she lived, she was theonly living relative he had left. He couldn’t lose another relative when somany of them had already fallen. All of the tragedy that had befallen theirfamily was his fault—and it was his responsibility to end it.

The laughter continued, brokenand despairing. If it would silence these coward voices, then by the Goddess,he would act.

#ask #drabble #heirofhresvelg #thefetchingfletcher #3h spoilers #tw: death #tw: suicidal ideation #// oblique ideation but still #// thanks for the ask!#// 5000 years later #// sorry i didn't quite follow directions but #// i got this irresistible idea and it sets good groundwork for any azure moon threads i do #answered #war phase

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thegreatestinthegalaxy · 5 years

Text

The Revelation

(( AKA, the whole story behind why LD and @rcginaxgnis‘ Dom FINALLY started gaying it up x1000 back in April.

Get ready for 4k words worth of... well, I’m not gonna give away any potential spoilers, but I will strongly advise: prepare your emotions. And if you’re not already followin @rcginaxgnis WOW GO FIX THAT, and enjoy the story~!!!: ))

So far, movie night had been rather boring – enough so that Dom had actually fallen asleep at some point of it, having rested her head upon LD’s shoulder before dozing off. She vaguely remembered LD playing with her hair, probably in an attempt to keep herself awake, which, if it actually worked, seemed to have done the exact opposite for Dom. The villainess opened her eyes some time later, noticing that the movie had ended.

“Uuuggghhhhhh, I wish it’d had more GOOD violence in it!!!” Came LD’s voice.

“…Well. That was decent, for what I was awake for.” Dom spoke up after a quiet little yawn. Unintentional on both their parts, the two lava lords’ comments overlapped one another just a bit. “Definitely needed more violence, though.”

LD immediately perked up at that. “YEAH!! YEAH!!!! It was ALRIGHT.”

“I had a nice nap, so I give it an ‘okay.’”

“Pfff.”

To keep from falling asleep again, the two then elected to watch some episodes of that Earth cartoon “Bob’s Burgers”, which was always entertaining, seeing as how it was a piece of on-screen entertainment that humans actually got right for once. However, when one of the characters took a leak and then proceeded to shake another’s hand without washing his hands first like a heathen…

“Why are men like this...”

“I don’t know, I’m lesbian.” Dom replied, doing her best not to crack a smirk at her little joke.

LD just looked down at Dom (who was still leaning against her) i n t e n s e l y – to the point of deeply intended hilarity.

… “I thought you were blonde.”

It took everything in her not to die laughing as she said that—which really was hard, seeing as how she did so using the best fake ‘shook’ tone of voice she could possibly deliver.

“MY HAIR IS WHITE YOU ABSOLUTE LUNATIC.”

Dom acted offended, like the joke had been serious and was an actual slight to her. (It was too bad she was already failing miserably at not cracking up over it.)

LD, however, was the first to officially lose it, slumping over as her entire body was absolutely wracked with laughter. She then sucked in a deep breath and collected herself just long enough to throw out her next joke-retort, which was to just scream back, “YOU KNOW I CAN’T TELL THE DIFFERENCE!!!!”

Dom was near sobbing with laughter at this point, pausing only to screech, “COLOR BLIND PEOPLE AREN’T REAL PEOPLE!”

LD’s only retort to that… was to just scream. At Dom. She just screamed.

Dom WHEEZED.

Throughout all of this, LD was slowly but surely sliding off of the couch as she died laughing at their tomfoolery. Luckily, Dom – who was still using LD as a pillow – anticipated this. She grabbed LD around the waist to pull her up into her lap.

“NO. THIS IS NOT HOW LORD DOMINATOR DIES.” Dom screamed, just as loudly as before, if not even more so.

LD put a hand to Dom’s chest to steady herself as she continued to absolutely lose it, and not two seconds later, moved in and just nuzzled her face against the side of Dom’s as a gesture of ‘oh hey, thanks for not letting me fall off.’

Dom’s laughter had turned to giggling, the arm around LD’s waist only pulling her closer…

AND THEN LD put her hand on her chest, and she nuzzled her face with her own, all while practically STRADDLING her, and, honestly, this was probably the most Dom had EVER blushed. She couldn’t even form a coherent thought.

It took a moment for LD to think to move her hand up, off the chest area, and a good minute after that to finally stop laughing too hard to be able to take her face away from Dom’s.

“Hhaaah…” LD turned to look at her, finally coming down from her near-death-by-laughter experience. It would’ve taken the most astronomical levels of obliviousness (or maybe just horrible eyesight) to not have seen just how badly Dom was blushing, and there was still some laugh in her when she piped up about it. “…S-sorry…hah.. oh, fuck, sorry.”

She then gave Dom’s cheek a little poke, smirking as she did so. “Dude, you’re zonked out.”

Dom’s eyes flashed when LD poked her cheek, her chest hitching. She still couldn’t think, and LD was so close…

“……Uh…” LD slowly took Dom’s hand off of her waist… and moved off her lap… very convinced that she somehow might’ve straight-up broken the other woman, so of course the most logical line of reasoning there was to figure that maybe not being on her lap would help the situation…

Immediately, though, Dom snapped.

“WHY DID YOU MOVE.”

As soon as the words left her, she slapped a hand over her mouth, looking absolutely MORTIFIED.

LD looked just as shocked as Dom did, a small blush rising to her cheeks as well, but mostly for Dom rather than because of her. Wow, she… did not know what to do or say about… whatever that just was…… but what was even worse was how, since she didn’t know how to NOT vocalize responses to things, LD just stared back at Dom, almost frozen, and just let out a real loud “UH…!”

As soon as LD made that noise, Dom shut her eyes tight. She let out a quiet, extremely distressed noise, and leapt over the couch, running into the other room.

“Whuh--…fuck.” LD cleared the couch and ran after Dom as fast as her legs could carry her, all before she could even process the thought to do so -- she just… acted. Once her mind caught up with her body, though, it dawned on her that… whatever was happening, it… well, it might not be something that anyone would want somebody else around for EVER, and she stopped herself just outside the doorway. There was absolutely no helping the severe degree of serious emotional concern that was apparent in LD’s voice when she spoke next, and she cringed at herself so badly when she did so.

“Are you okay?!”

Dom’s heart leapt into her throat when she heard LD call for her, and she bit down on her hand, hard. It took her a moment, but she managed to calm down enough to reply. Her voice was shaky, and she hated herself for it beyond all reason.

“I-I’m fine. Are…” She nearly choked with her next words. “Are you mad at me?”

There was a pause.

“…..You don’t… sound.. fine…” LD’s mind could not have been blanking any harder. Okay, she was NOT going to go into that room right now, wasn’t even going to LOOK into it!

“Wh-what!? No! I mean, I’d be happier with movie night still going on without a hitch right now, heh, but…” Maybe now wasn’t the time for a light-hearted aside. “W…WHY would I be mad at you!? It.… I… it didn’t look like you could…help anything, I– ..ugh, okay, I’m… I could not be less sure about what’s going on right now, and I’m sounding like a dumbass, ..a-am I– ..…I’m not… making things WORSE right now, right? ‘Cause I REALLY don’t think I’m helping, I…”

LD let out an incredibly nervous laugh. Grop, she was nothing but nervous right now.

“Just… talk to me. I need you to…”

For just a split second, Dom’s ears betrayed her, and she could’ve sworn she heard LD say, ‘I need you.’ She knew immediately that it wasn’t what she said, though, and it HURT.

“Didn’t…mean to…mess it up…” Dom mumbled, giving a little (not at all fine) laugh. Grod, she HATED herself so much right now and she’d NEVER felt like that before! She wasn’t sure if LD was being sincere, or if she was just pretending to have no idea what was happening to save Dom some embarrassment. Truly, she didn’t know which would have been worse.

“No, no, you’re…you’re fine. You’re always fine. It’s just… it’s…it’s me.” Dom let out a shaky breath then, looking down at her hand. Oh. She had bitten it so hard it’d started bleeding. Fuck.

LD just stared down at the floor, feeling like if she did so any harder, she’d fall right through it.

“M…mess what up!? I-!” Oh, grop, now she was borderline hyperventilating over the sheer confusion of this all, and it was so obvious when she spoke! LD dug her claws into her leg and mentally growled, “STOP IT” at herself.

She stood there… taking a minute to fully absorb Dom’s words, her tone of voice… and she decided that she hated it… she decided that she hated it so much, and that she didn’t want any iteration of herself– no, that she didn’t ever want Dom to feel however it was that she was feeling right now. Not ever.

Whatever reservations she had against going into that room were gone now, dashed completely, and she marched herself in there, over to Dom, and then closed the distance between them entirely, kneeling in front of the other woman before wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace.

“I need you to be okay.”

Dom was so tense beneath her, like she would simply snap at any given second.

“H-hey… uh…… sometimes shit just happens…” LD murmured, her hold on Dom becoming surprisingly soft even though she was now squeezing her tighter. “Though I really do wish you'd just tell me…” Her breathing hitched then, as she realized that she maybe shouldn’t have expressed that. Grop. Well, at least it wouldn’t be hard to remedy such a mistake.

“But it’s fine if you can’t, I mean…”

...

Fuck. She was at a complete loss for comforting words. This was SO not her forte‼

Dom just let out a quiet laugh.

“I…really can’t. I’d…really mess everything up then, I know it.” She mumbled, sounding no less dejected, although she did begin to relax just a little into LD’s embrace. “Grod – just – FORGET I said that! It’s nothing! Grop, it can’t be anything!” For just a split second there, she stopped breathing.

LD pulled away so she could look Dom in the face.

“Really?”

She was visibly shocked and hopefully that masked the bit of disappointment that was also present on her features just then. “..Hah, I dunno, I mean, there’s plenty of other stuff that’cha do that I find NUTS that doesn’t change how much I flarpin’ love ya at all!” She declared with a nervous laugh. She then froze up for a second, flustered as she realized how very... emotionally intimate using that word could be in situations like this one. Hopefully she recovered quickly enough for the other to not have noticed.

“Y-you don’t wanna try me…?” LD asked. She reached over and brushed Dom’s hair behind her ear. “It’s… okay if you really… seriously can’t.” She added, breaking eye contact with her at that, gaze moving down to just look anywhere that was away. It wasn’t very subtle that she was bummed out by the thought of Dom not being able to tell her something.

‘That doesn’t change how much I love you at all – ’ Dom clutched a hand to her chest at LD’s words, looking like she might actually FAINT.

“Y-You…” She closed her eyes tightly as LD brushed her hair behind her ear, taking in a deep breath. This… couldn’t possibly get any worse, right? Right? So maybe…maybe now… after all this time, if she just…

“I – I really can’t tell you, but…I…if you promise…you won’t…” Dom paused to take a shuddering breath. “Don’t hate me…please. Ever. I… couldn’t take it.” She hesitantly placed a hand on LD’s leg, not meeting her eyes. “Just say that and I…I can…show you.”

LD’s expression became deathly serious.

“I could never hate you.”

She put her hand over Dom’s and gave it a little squeeze in solidarity.

Dom bit her lip, looking down at LD’s hand over her own. She…she was so nervous. She’d NEVER been nervous like this before. Despite LD’s reassurance, she couldn’t help but worry – she’d been dealing with these feelings for so long, and now?

“I can’t hate you either.” Dom murmured, glancing up at LD from beneath her lashes. “…Okay. If you… really mean that… can you…can you close your eyes for me, please?”

“……Okay… okay, just…” She took in a breath. “Just gimmie a sec to be calmed down enough to even do that!”

“Y-Yeah. Of course. Yeah.”

LD took a quick moment to just… breathe… —wow, she was… really stressed out over making sure that Dom was okay— and then she was able to make herself relax, to close her eyes like Dom needed her to…

Dom was so nervous – she considered backing out, but…if not now, then when? She wanted to ask if LD was okay, if she needed more time to relax… But she couldn’t make herself speak any more, she was trembling, and she hoped to grod LD didn’t notice. Then, LD closed her eyes. Time seemed to move in slow motion, and to Dom every second felt like an eternity. She cradled LD’s face in her hands, thumbs stroking her cheeks as she sucked in a raspy breath. She waited to make sure LD didn’t open her eyes, then… resigned herself to whatever fate awaited her after this.

Dom leaned forward, and she kissed LD. It wasn’t quick, either – she realized all too well that this could be the very last and only time it ever happened, and she was going to savor every second of it that she could get. It was slow, nervous, but she knew what she was doing. It was sensual, full of emotion and of every time she’d ever wanted to kiss her before, and Dom hoped to whatever higher power there might’ve been that she wasn’t making LD uncomfortable. She couldn’t bear that. Dom finally moved to pull away, but she couldn’t help but brush her lips against LD’s as they parted. She sat back, opening her eyes with a panicked expression on her face as she waited for LD’s response.

So many things went off in LD’s head the second that Dom kissed her… Too many for them to even be made out into anything specific. She was surprised by it to say the least, but… not as much as she might’ve been had it gone any other way, and for that, she didn’t jolt at the sudden contact, her surprise instead coming forth in the form of her letting out a small gasp against Dom’s lips when she felt them press against her own. LD just stayed as she was for a moment, not reacting to any of it as she tried to sort out all the noise in her head.

Then, she opted to just… do instead of think, and she leaned into the kiss. It was slight, the newness of it all holding her back from doing much more, and in doing so the rest of her practically went limp, as though no part of her had been prepared to be so relaxed against a kiss of all things that her body was now only accomplishing the bare minimum required of it to simply keep her sitting upright! If that and the faint little moan she subsequently let out were any indication, Dom kissing her was… really, really nice. It wasn’t terribly long after that that it was over, though; Dom pulled away, and it actually took a few seconds after the fact for it to fully register to LD that the kiss was over.

She blinked at Dom, suddenly extremely aware of the fact that she was blushing VERY hard.

“…Oh.” LD let out a small laugh, and... there was nothing malicious about it! “OH!!!!” Another small giggle escaped her before she paused for a quick moment, biting at her lower lip, and then leaned in real close to the other, sliding her arms between Dom’s to let her hands rest on the ground behind them as she all but crawled on top of the woman, gazing at her through half-lidded eyes.

“You should do that again.”

Dom’s heart was racing, and she felt as if she was going to faint – she expected at any moment for LD to punch or slap her or SOMETHING…but it never happened. Instead, LD laughed, and it was…nice. Not at all the mocking laughter she’d been expecting. She was frozen as LD leaned in and put her arms around her, and she was so close again but this time it was of her own volition. Dom bit her lip, shock on her face when LD looked up at her. Grod, she’s so beautiful… At her words, though, Dom couldn’t help the surprised noise that escaped her.

“Y-You…you want me to d--do it again?”

LD smirked. She pulled one hand back to rest on Dom’s hip, and the other she brought up to brush against her double’s freckled cheek in a very slow, sensual manner. “Uh, yea—”

Before the other could give a proper answer, though… it was just then that Dom realized something. “I – oh grod. I’m – I’m SO sorry, I didn’t – I mean I did, but–“ LD’s hand was on Dom’s hip, she was stroking her cheek, and, GROD, Dom knew she was blushing so hard, but still, “–that was…your first, wasn’t it? Uh, kiss, I mean! Oh grod...” She ducked her head down, looking absolutely ashamed.

LD had intended to mess around with her a bit there, to do something like, say, toss her a playfully unamused look and go, ‘What, you want me to take it back?’ Yes, that would’ve been sufficiently teasing of her to do, but all of a sudden Dom was dissolving into a nervous, ashamed sounding mess, and LD was immediately shocked right out of the idea.

“Wait– wait what?” The hand that she’d been caressing Dom’s cheek with fell, only to be placed on Dom’s arm immediately thereafter.

“Noooo, noo! I-I mean…YEAH, it was, but…” LD moved in even closer -- if she were to do that any more at this point, she’d be pressing her entire body into her. “But… hey, that’s…” She breathed out the tiniest laugh, angling her head down so that she could be right in front of Dom’s. “Why would I want it to have been any different?” She looked up into Dom’s eyes then, a very real, genuine smile on her lips. “With anyone else, I mean?” And she really, truly meant that. She couldn’t name anyone else she’d have liked her first kiss to have been with.

Dom was adamant in her refusal to look up – she felt so bad, and it was so weird. Then, she heard LD’s words, her laugh, and then familiar fuchsia eyes met her own, and when LD spoke again, Dom swore it was almost as if she were dreaming. She blinked, glancing away and biting her lip.

“I…you…really liked that? I was…so worried, for so long…” The villainess let out a little laugh, and suddenly it felt as if a huge weight had begun to lift off her shoulders. “I never thought…that this would happen.”

“..For…so long...and…never…” LD was already whispering to begin with, but with every word her voice grew even fainter.

“Wow, I… REALLY SUCK, DON’T I?!” She suddenly exclaimed, letting out a small incredulous laugh. She then just as suddenly added, “DON’T ANSWER THAT. DO NOT. I’ll take the goods away, I swear to grop!” LD sounded dead serious as she shouted that, even going so far as to pull away just to flaunt it a little as she spoke — you know, for emphasis... or, er, example.

There was a small pause, and then she just facepalmed in annoyance at herself. “Ugh, grop. I’m killing the mood…”

She shook it off and pressed back into Dom, placed a finger under her chin, and tilted her head up towards her. “Seriously, though. I really, really did like it…” It’s almost involuntary, just how much her voice dipped seductively, lower with every word spoken and paired with a sultry little smirk.

“…Y-Yeah…for…so long…” Dom gave a small nod, actually letting out a quiet giggle at LD’s exclamation. Oh, but then LD did… THAT, and Dom could’ve sworn there was steam coming out of her ears. (In reality, though, they only twitched.) “N-No…you’re really…not killing anything.” Dom mumbled, only to stop breathing for a second when LD leaned back into her and tilted her chin up. ‘Seriously though, I really did.’ Those words, and, grod, the way LD’s voice dipped… Dom bit her lip, trying to stifle a quiet moan but failing miserably, much to her embarrassment. “I’m…so glad…”

A low, very amused little hum of a laugh fell from LD, and she then went so far as to ghost her lips over Dom’s own, no hesitation at all in her actions. She figured that once all of.. this was out of the way, she probably wouldn’t be able to be such a tease again—at least not all that much—and she wanted to relish in however much more of it she still could. The villainess tilted her head to the side, the action deliberately moving her lips away from hovering just over Dom’s. “You gonna show me just how glad?” The way she spoke was far too playful to sound quite as low and seductive as she had just a moment ago, but her overall tone didn’t change in the slightest. “Or what?~”

Dom gasped when LD brushed her lips over her own, and it took everything in her not to catch LD in an actual kiss. It was so hard to believe this was finally happening, but Dom was SO HAPPY.

‘You gonna show me just how glad?’ At that, Dom grinned and wrapped an arm around LD’s waist, humming seductively. “I’ll show you whatever you want…” Her eyes shone, and the smile on her face was so genuine. It faltered, but only for a moment. “Just…don’t let me make you uncomfortable, okay? I don’t ever want that. You say it, and I stop.” With her other hand, Dom brushed LD’s hair behind her ear and shot her a little wink.

LD smiled back at Dom, and at what she just did—what she just said, she leaned in and pressed a quick little kiss to the other woman’s lips as a show of MUCH approval, her smile not once leaving her face. It only lasted about two seconds tops before she pulled away, since, again, it was just a quick little show of affection, of how much she was loving and happily approving of absolutely all of this, and- ah, grop, there went her chance to be a massive tease like she had planned…

…Oh well!

She still had to wait for Dom to initiate the REAL fun, and that still counted for something! (Not to mention that it was pretty hard to even care about things like that anymore when in the position of being totally unable to stop smiling, but whatever.)

Dom couldn’t help but let out the happiest sounding laugh, and she crashed her lips against LD’s. Take it slow, take it slow… She reminded herself, but GROD she’d wanted this for so long, could anyone really blame her for being so excited? Her claws danced across the exposed skin of LD’s midriff, sending shivers down the other woman’s spine. Dom broke away for a moment to breathe, smirking before giving LD’s bottom lip a soft little bite. Then she sighed, leaning back just a little to run her free hand through LD’s hair, giggling as she did so.

“Don’t get me too excited – this isn’t all I want to do with you, and I’d rather not be greedy all in one night…”

An incredibly content hum left LD when Dom kissed her again. Mmm -- finally! She shuddered when she felt Dom’s claws against her bare skin, almost breaking the kiss to let out a gasp, but ohhh somehow she managed to suppress it. When the two did finally break away to breathe, though, and Dom bit at her lip, a sound did escape her. It was quiet, but incredibly hard to miss, somewhere between a sigh and a small moan. She leaned into the hand playing with her hair, grinning even more, which she didn’t even think was possible.

“Mmm… there’s still a lot we can do limited to just making out… more or less…”

Dom couldn’t help but smile just as much, if not even more so as LD. She rested her forehead against hers, humming quietly as she traced her claws along the other woman’s skin.

“Mm, I know…” She looked at LD with half-lidded eyes, the blush on her face a softer hue now, complimenting the freckles upon her cheeks beautifully. “I can have a lot of fun with just that.”

“Oh, I know you can…”

Dom nuzzled her before moving in to kiss her again. “Ready for some fun?” She whispered with a happy little giggle, smirking against LD’s lips as she did so.

LD made no sound in response, just happily mouthed ‘yeah’ before she finally closed the space between them once more.

#(( LIKE IF YOU READ PLEASE! 💖 ))#rcginaxgnis #blog canon #(❤) Verse: DOMINATOR'S GREATER ~ BEST VILLAIN! (❤)#(( THE EXACT DAY THIS ALL WENT DOWN WAS MARCH 30TH BTW ))#(( and for anyone & everyone who'd be interested in seeing the original rabb.it chat rp itself i'll share that too another time! ))#(( I don't think there were any MAJOR cuts but not EVERYTHING from the original rp was kept! ))

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instakpop · 6 years

Text

JB scenario - Snowed in

Requested by @catou1305

Genre: angst, smut

Summary: After a heated argument about your living arrangements, JB thinks it a good time to let you have your space, but Mother Nature says differently.

We've been at this for hours. My lease ends in a few months and I asked the inevitable question: "Should we just find a place together?" then JB got all weirded out.

"Just tell me now, are you committed to me?"

"Yes, of course, I am. Y/n, I love you more than anything. I just don't think we should rush into living together." He said.

"Jae, I am about to enter a year-long lease with this place. You and I have been together for almost three years. What are you afraid of?"

JB thought to himself for a moment, trying to come up with a way to express his thoughts. I took a deep breath and gave up. There was no point in changing his mind about this. I just thought we were ready for the next step.

"Baby, please don't be mad. I just think we should both have our own space for a while." His words send a shock through my system. Space?! He wants space?

"Maybe you should just go. You win, alright. I'll just stay in this apartment alone and you can do the same." I crossed my arms, shutting off all communication, but it wasn't over just yet.

"Y/n. I don't want to leave you like this. I can tell you're still mad. You and I will stay right here until we figure this out."

"There's nothing to figure out. Just go. You got your wish. I'll give you space." I hissed.

JBs expression went from guilty to outright irritated. "You know that's not what I meant. That just gives me even more reason to stay right here with you."

"Funny how you want to stay here when things are ugly, yet you can't even stomach the thought of living with me full-time."

"Y/n, will you stop with this. Fine! I will live with you. Are you happy?"

"No. I want you to want this. I'm not about to keep you here against your will."

It was clear that there was no good ending to this argument. At least not today. JB sat across from me, pulling out his phone when he received an alert.

"Oh, shit." He muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"Looks like I'm going to be here a while. The snowstorm rolled in early." He got up, walked over to the windows to check outside.

The moment he opened the shades, my eyes went wide. It was a complete whiteout! Nothing but falling snow as far as the eye can see. I stood next to JB watching his car get pummeled in the snow.

"That's just great." He walked away from the window, laid out on my couch and turned on the TV.

"How long will this last?" I asked him.

"Not sure. The alert said a day or two. I'll just stay on the couch tonight." He fluffed a pillow, placing it under his head and draped a blanket over himself.

I knew he was mad, but damn it if he didn't look cute all snuggled up. Normally I would invite myself into his arms, but odds are he wouldn't even let me in after what I said. I just walked back to my spot on the chair, curling up and watching him surf through channels.

"So what now?" I asked him.

"You're looking at it." He snapped back.

"Jae, you're not being very fair. That blanket is yours. You bought it last year at the store down the street but you forget to take it home with you so you just kept it here. That shirt you're wearing has been in my closet for six months before you finally took it with you after your last overnight stay. A third of the things in here are technically yours. I know it for a fact that a lot of my things are at your place too. Including my backup toothbrush and extra clothes." JB wouldn't look me in the eye, but I knew he was listening. After a brief pause, he turned off the TV and sat up to look me in the eye. "We're pretty much already living together, we've just never made it official in one place." I finished.

It was a lot to process, but he knew I was right. He took a look around my apartment, taking notice off all the things that were actually his.

"I guess you're right, but I just don't know." He said rubbing his neck.

"Well, why don't we turn this snow storm into a test. I have plenty of food to last the whole weekend and then some. We're gonna stay right here for two days and by the end of it, if we decide we shouldn't live together, then that'll be that." I extended my hand for him to shake in order to seal the deal. He hesitated but still took my hand, shaking it firmly before laying back down.

He looked over at me with his soft brown eyes and opened his arms for me to lay with him. I smiled at his cuteness and accepted. He wrapped me in a warm embrace, covering us both with the blanket and nuzzling his head in the crook of my neck. I grabbed the remote, turning the TV back on and we decided on a movie.

The tension quickly faded and everything went back to normal. JB and I got a little hungry after a couple of hours and cooked up some dinner together. We soon forgot about the weather outside and enjoyed each other's company. But I needed to do more. I had to prove to him that living together would be the perfect set up.

"Ooh! I wish we had those nice cups from the china shop we went to." I whined.

"They're at my place..." He said, not catching on to my mind game.

"That's alright, we can use mine. Could you hand me the oregano?" I asked, knowing full well it wasn't there.

"I don't see it." He said, looking around my spice cabinet.

"I could have sworn I bought some the last time we had spaghetti."

"Oh, I think it's at my-... What are you doing?" Uh-oh. He caught me.

"What am I doing?" I questioned innocently.

"You're tricking me into just moving the rest of my stuff over here, that won't work, Y/n."

"Relax. I just asked you two questions. The fact that those things just happen to be at your apartment is out of my control." I said with a shrug.

"...Okay. No more traps though." He warned.

"Okay."

We finished making dinner and sat at the table, making small talk and occasionally looking out the window. The weather went from bad to worse quickly. With just a flicker of the lights, the power went out. I looked to JB in a panic.

"Oh, god." I murmured.

Before JB could say anything, I jumped up and headed right for my fireplace. We're technically not supposed to use anything but gas, but desperate times call for desperate measures. JB came right over with a lighter and a scrap of paper to get things started and I laid down a couple of logs to keep us warm. JB started the fire and I grabbed some candles and flashlights to brighten the rest of the room.

"It's worse than I thought," JB said.

"It's okay though. We already ate and there plenty of snacks that don't need to be cooked for tomorrow." I tried to reassure him, earning a little smile.

"No worries, love. We'll just continue in the dark." He took my hand, guiding me to the kitchen and lit a few more candles.

We both started on the dishes, thankfully the pipes were still working fine. I was nearly finished on the last plate when I felt JB's body heat on my back. Normally washing dishes by candlelight isn't the most romantic thing ever, but with JB's hands on my waist, my mind travels to a whole other dimension. A place where there are no arguments or disagreements of any kind. Just the two of us in perfect harmony.

I set the plate on the drying rack and leaned back, letting his touch take over. His soft lips kissed along my neck, stopping for a few nibbles along the way. His arms coiled around my waist, making me walk backward with him through the living room and to my bedroom.

"Is sex the first thing on your mind after washing dishes?" I asked him flirtatiously.

He just shrugged and turned me around to face him. "I'm a creature of habit."

He laid me down on my bed, pulling my pants down which caused me to instantly shiver from the cold. JB covered me up in the blankets to get rid of the rest of my clothes on my own while he stripped down himself. He joined me under the covers, kissing me deeply and letting his hands roam all over my body.

"Mmm~ You're so warm." I purred.

"I can't get enough of you, baby." His hot kisses moved down my shoulders, covering my skin with his love.

I spread my legs a little more, reaching down to massage his tip against my wetness. JB's mouth opened just a bit, holding back a moan. Involuntarily, I bucked my hips, trying to take him inside me. He smirked at me and squeezed my thigh. I needed to feel his thrusts, slow, rough, never-ending. He had me drenched and ready. I cupped his face with my free hand, whispering "please" before feeling his tip push past my folds.

My hand came around to his hips, slowly pulling him in closer as he pushed his member deeper inside me. His eyes closed as the base of his cock met my pelvis. I moaned at the feeling of him pulling back out only to thrust back into me. His skin was burning with desire, warming me up faster than I thought possible.

"Faster." I moaned.

His rhythm quickened, satisfying my every need. I latched onto him while he rode me closer and closer to the edge. His strong muscles flexed beneath my palms. I dug my nails into his back, allowing my sweet release to fully take control of me.

"Don't stop." I clenched around his manhood, milking every last drop of his warm cum.

JB grunted and groaned as we finished our orgasms. Our sweaty bodies piled together, cooling down for a while. I kissed his temple and he rolled over onto his side of my bed.

"We'll have to do this lights out thing at your place sometime," I said.

"No need. I'm moving in." He said casually.

I jumped out of the afterglow and into what must be a dream. "Wait, what?"

"I'm moving in." He repeated, looking me deep in the eyes. "Think about it. Just a few hours ago we had a fight, usually one of us would leave to cool off, but this time we were bound together and here we are, closer than ever." He took my hand, smiling at me.

"You have no idea how happy you've made me!" I climbed on top of him, bringing him in for a hug.

He kissed the top of my head and held me close. "I'll do anything to make you happy."

Maybe the storm wasn't so bad after all...

THE END

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topazshadowwolf · 5 years

Text

Someone New Visits the Shop

Decided to play with the idea of Asgore visiting Sans’s store in Deltarune. This is part of my soriel themed fics that came before it, so please, keep that in mind before reading. I was super excited to write Asgore since I have mostly written post neutral UT fics (meaning he is dead) or the fic had situations in which he really wouldn’t be there. Hope I did the guy some justice!

(I posted it on my AO3 and there are two other chapters. My AO3 goes by the same name. I will add the chapters to the UT Master List so they can be found. If I link them here, this post won’t be seen in searches of the tags.)

Running a store took far more energy than he thought it would. The first days of being open were slow as the citizens of the town were still discovering the new shop. Now that word had gotten around, it was becoming much busier. As soon as he opened the store this morning a group of police officers, led by the fish monster Undyne, came barging in buying a hoard of donuts, coffee, other pastries, snacks, and drinks. By the time they had left, it felt like a massive whirlwind had blown through. Even as the majority of the group had left some of the figurative storm remained behind. Contrary to his belief that she’d rather not have to deal with him, Undyne was still there talking to him for reasons he couldn’t figure out.

“Here’s an idea,” she started, taking a bite out of a donut she had yet to pay for. At this point, he didn’t care. She could have it for free as long as she makes it a point to meet his brother. If she doesn’t, he’ll just add it on the bill next time she stopped in.

Before it disappeared with the rest, Sans grabbed himself a jelly-filled donut and started to eat it with some milk. Technically, he had grabbed two donuts for himself, but Undyne had snatched the second one right out of his hand and started feasting on it. All the more reason he wasn’t going to be picky about her paying; after all, he wasn’t going to pay for it either. Still, he had been hungry and would have liked to have had it, instead of her grabbing it and declaring she was “looking out for his health.” He had been late leaving home that morning and missed breakfast. He’ll count this as an early break since it wasn’t so busy. He’ll also remember to make sure Undyne was gone before eating anything from now on.

When Undyne couldn’t continue because she still needed to clear her mouth, Sans nudged a bottle of milk towards her. Again, it was something he could charge her for if she didn’t uphold her promise. She opened it and downed half of it before slamming the container down. “Hot fridges!”

That… that was not what he expected to hear. “hot... fridges?”

“Yeah! See, you have those freezers and fridges that keep all the food cold, but what if you had a thing like them but they keep food hot or warm,” Undyne smiled big as she said that.

Sans raised a brow ridge, trying to understand where this “idea” was coming from. “okay, i guess i need to warm up to the idea. just, uh… why?”

Undyne glared at him for the pun or the questioning of her idea, possibly both. “Why? Because hot food is better than cold food. That’s why!”

“yeah, ok,” Sans said as he reached over and grabbed Undyne’s giant, insulated, coffee mug. He let her fill her own mug, instead of filling up a bunch of cups. It seemed fair and will keep him from running out of coffee cups. Considering her, though, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’s drinking too much caffeine. The stuff was technically a drug. “i think it’s time i cut you off,” he joked, though a small part of him wanted to be serious.

“Take my coffee and I’ll book you for theft,” Undyne growled, showing off her dangerous looking teeth. Though, he believed she was joking too as there was a hint of a grin on her face.

Sans released her mug and held his hands up in surrender. “whatever you say, officer. i’ll keep the, uh… hot freezers in mind.”

“YOU BETTER! It’s the best idea! You could sell a lot of awesome precooked food!” Undyne said as she finally grabbed her things and started out.

Sans thought for a moment, returning to eating his donut. Precooked food did seem like a good idea after all. Though he still wasn’t sure about a “hot fridge,” she may be on the right track. He’s just a little confused on how to properly use her idea. Sans finished his breakfast and got up. The snacks weren’t going to restock themselves.

He went in the backroom and dug out a box of snack foods to restock the shelves the officers had left bare. As he walked out of the stockroom he heard the annoying buzz/ding indicating that someone had entered the store. Perhaps, if he could figure out if that sound was meant to be a buzz or a bell he wouldn’t find it so annoying. The fact he can’t tell what it was, made the sound irritating. Though, that might be why his bro selected it. Papyrus most likely also knew Sans would be too lazy to change the sound, no matter how annoyed he got. “hello,” Sans said, not looking to see who walked in yet. “if you need help, let me know.”

“Oh, well, I’m here to talk to you, actually,” replied the customer. That was odd, he tried to think what he might have done to upset someone to cause them to want to talk with him. But, as far as he could tell there wasn’t anything that he had said or done that he hadn’t already been yelled at for. Other than that “befriended” joke, he had been trying his best to make a good impression for the sake of… well… the whole reason why he chose to move to this town. Curious, Sans set the box down and headed to the front of the store.

“alright, uh, what’s up?” Sans asked, but he quickly had an answer. This guy was up. He was tall. Granted, nearly everyone looked tall to Sans, but this guy was taller than most people he had considered tall.

“Howdy!” The goat monster said with a smile. In his hands was a vase with some flowers, which he handed to Sans. “I wanted to welcome you to the town. As a fellow shopkeeper, I thought I should take the time to come over and see how you were doing and if you needed any help.”

“oh, uh… thanks?” Sans looked at the flowers he was now holding. He then turned and put them on the counter as he looked them over more. Those flowers couldn’t be cheap. That flower shop must be making this guy plenty of money if he was willing to just give away flowers like that. “they look... nice. thanks for the welcome, i think i’m doing alright, though. if i do need help, i’ll know to ask… uh…”

“Oh, how rude of me, I’m Asgore Dreemurr.”

“asgore, pleasure to meetcha. the name’s sans, sans the skeleton.”

Wait, didn’t Tori say her Ex ran the flower shop? So then, Asgore was that guy? He didn’t seem like a bad person and Sans couldn’t help but wonder what it was that caused the two to get a divorce. Perhaps it was because he was friends with Toriel, but this meeting suddenly felt awkward. Asgore seemed oblivious to that, though. This guy wasn’t what Sans imagined when Tori was talking about her Ex last night. His imagination had conjured up a real jerk or creep, not this person with a large happy smile and friendly gaze. Though, in retrospect, Tori most likely wouldn’t have married him in the first place if he had been like the monster Sans had made up in his mind. She would have avoided a guy like that if that was the case. Which brings back the question of what happened? Anyway, as much as he wondered about why it really wasn’t his place to know. If Tori wanted to tell him, then, and only then, he would know.

“A pleasure to meet you as well, Sans the Skeleton.” Asgore extended a paw to Sans, and Sans took it. His far smaller boney hand easily disappeared as if engulfed by the larger furry paw. Ever so gently, Sans felt Asgore’s claws tap on his bones as they shook hands. It was not a threat and was unintentional most likely. Like most monsters with paw-like hands, claws were just part of the deal. He had felt claws against his bones when shaking hands plenty of times. As long as he isn’t scratched, he has never minded that feeling. Yet, at that moment, it almost sent a shiver up his spine.

The more Sans looked at the guy, the more he saw that nothing about this guy hinted he would even threaten a fly. Still, that light contact of those sharp claws reminded Sans that this seemingly harmless monster still had his teeth, claws, and magic. As much of a pacifist this guy was, he could still fight. And he was still trying to regain Tori’s affections. Trying harder than Sans ever would have. Chances are if Asgore felt threatened by Sans, there was little Sans could do to not be dusted by the guy. If the far smaller and fragile skeleton had any sense of self-preservation he’d make sure his friendship with the lady in question stayed just that.

And yet…

“Well, I should be going,” Asgore said with the same bright, happy smile. “I have a shop to run…”

“you need anything while you’re here? even if you can’t keep ‘em at your shop, i can have the stuff dropped off later,” Sans figured the guy had to need something, and if he had the cash as the flowers hinted, it would be best to encourage business.

“Oh, well, thank you, but no… I… well… I’m running a little short this week,” Asgore admitted.

That caused Sans to pause in thought. Then he started to put all the small and subtle clues together. First, there was Tori, who was just in here last night complaining about the flowers Asgore gives her. Then he remembered that, just the other day, he saw an alleyway with trash cans packed full of well-tended flowers. He thought it was odd then but didn’t think much on it at the time. Now, though, he couldn’t think of anywhere else those flowers could have come from other than Asgore’s Flower show. Now Asgore, the flower shop owner who should be trying to earn money with the flowers he grows, just gave him, Sans the skeleton, expensive looking flowers as a welcome gift.

Asgore wasn’t bringing in a lot of money, he was bleeding it with his overly generous behaviors. Instead of selling his flowers, Asgore was giving them away to his ex-wife and anyone else he thought needed a smile from having a bright bunch of flowers. Sans inwardly winced with a sudden pang of guilt. Here the guy was being nice and Sans tried using that kindness for personal gain. The vase of flowers was a kind gift that Sans didn’t even know if the guy could even really afford. At this point, he couldn’t pay for those flowers or reject them and tell Asgore to go sell them. If he tried to, it would come off as an insult. Judging by how Asgore seems to be, he’d most likely be hurt by that, but hold all the pain inside.

Geez, this guy was almost hopeless with his poor business skills, but he made up for that by being easily likable. No wonder people were bugging Tori about taking him back. If they were only looking at it from Asgore’s side, they would feel sympathy for the guy and just want to see him happy. But Sans still stood by what he said to Tori. If she didn’t want him back in her life, she shouldn’t feel forced to take him back. It’d be worse if she did, for both of them.

Sans put his hands in his pockets and thought for a moment. “that’s alright,” he finally said, kicking himself for what he was about to do. He shouldn’t be so nice, he needs the money, but he wasn’t going to let someone go hungry. If he didn’t do this, he knew he would only feel guilty for turning him away. After all, Asgore did ask Sans if he needed any help. He should return the favor. “i’ll open a tab for you and you can pay it off later.” Though at the rate Asgore was going, Sans wasn’t going to hold his breath. Chances are, he’ll never see that money, but who knows, maybe he will. “us shop owners gotta stick together, right?”

“Thank you,” Asgore said with a bright smile. Something Sans said must have lifted his mood, as Asgore happily accepted the offer. He then grabbed a few things that he apparently needed. It really was just a few; obviously, he didn’t want to take advantage of Sans’s generosity which Sans was thankful for. Asgore had grabbed only the bare essentials, that’s for sure. Sans was tempted to add a few things to the bag to give the guy a few more things that he may need. But he decided not to push it at this point. Sans made a note of what Asgore got and the cost then waved the guy goodbye.

After he was alone again, Sans sat there a moment and sighed. He looked at the flowers, understanding now what Tori meant about feeling guilted into forgiving him. By no means was Asgore trying to guilt Sans into being nice, the guy was genuinely trying to be kind. There was no malice there or ill intent. The guy really just wanted Sans to feel welcomed to the area. And while Sans didn’t need to open the tab, seeing how everything was it just felt rude not to return the favor. It would be awesome if they lived in a world where they could just forget about money and all be kind like that. Or if the flowers had just been a simple bunch without the vase, Sans wouldn’t have felt such a need to pay Asgore back. Not that he felt bad that he had helped the guy, as it was clear Asgore needed help. But, Sans had this job for a reason. And while Sans could afford to do this with one customer (plus the kids who he’ll have to keep a socket out for), he can’t do this for everyone. Not if he wanted to keep his house.

Regardless, Sans might be heartless in the literal sense, but he wasn’t figuratively. He’ll keep this running tab for the guy because he was nice and deserved a break. It might not be the break Sans was sure Agore really hoped for, the one where Toriel forgave him and took him back. But it was still a chance for him to not feel so stressed by needs. After Sans’ talks with Toriel, he was surprised Asgore was still hoping for Tori to take him back, but that seemed to be the obliviousness of him. He must not be picking up on the cues Toriel was giving him. At least Toriel seemed alright with her kid visiting Asgore, which he was sure brought the guy some joy. So, hopefully, she won’t mind her friend being nice to her ex-husband. She didn’t seem the vindictive type to Sans… maybe a bit bitter, but not vindictive. Angry, but not hateful. Willing to speak ill of Asgore but not do anything against him.

But then, Sans didn’t know her that well, yet. This was just his first and second impressions. But last night… she really opened up to him. If there was hate there, he didn’t sense it from her. Who knows, there might be hope for the guy after all.

…

Thinking back to last night and that look on her face while she spoke about Asgore, Sans doubted it. Add in what she said, he was sure that even if Tori did forgive the guy that the relationship was still over. And perhaps it was best for the both of them. They would have a chance to find someone new. Someone who would love them and be there for them. Someone who Tori could be open with and feel comfortable with.

A person who shares her sense of humor and loves to hear her laugh.

… huh… at some point, he stopped thinking of the two and just thought about Tori...

He got up from his stool and went back to restocking the snacks. It was time for him to turn his focus back to everything he needed to do and stop thinking about Tori. All these thoughts of Toriel were reminding him of the sound of her laugh and how wonderful that boisterous sound was. Her clever wordplay. Really, there was a lot about her that was beautiful. Even when she was glaring down at Sans with all her wrath behind her gaze.

… He had no sense of self-preservation, did he?

And this was just the start of the day, he didn’t even have his lunch break yet.

#Deltarune #soriel #Sans #Undyne #Asgore #I'm just having fun with the idea of Sans running a store #okay?#Seriously though #I hope I wrote Asgore well #The guy deserves love #I'd like a big old Asgore hug please

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