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rosiehunterwolf · 3 years

Text

stuck with you (through bright and blue)

Prompts: Protective

Word Count: 4,400

Characters: The squad

Timeline: Pre-movie movie!verse

Trigger Warnings: Manipulation, Toxic Friendship

Summary: Kai only wants two things: to protect Lloyd, and to give him the best birthday ever. Unfortunately, Lloyd seems hell-bent on making that as difficult as possible. Kai’s always prided himself on achieving the impossible, but dealing with human emotions is much more complicated than beating up Garmadon’s generals or shooting enemies with fire, as he quickly learns. Movie!verse

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“Woah, it looks like a massacre in here.”

At the sound of Cole’s voice, Kai, Jay, Lloyd, and Zane looked up from the map they had sprawled out across the table. Red pen was everywhere, circling different buildings and connecting them with lines.

“We’re having trouble finding a venue for Lloyd’s party,” Zane explained.

Nya rolled her eyes. “It’s not that hard! Just pick somewhere!” She held a hand out, shaking her phone. “We have five days until his birthday. Most places require at least that many to book a reservation. If we don’t decide today, we’ll have nowhere to go.”

“We can’t just pick anywhere,” Kai insisted. “It has to be perfect!”

“Why don’t we just go to the arcade?”

“It’s always so busy there.”

“It’s a Wednesday night! How many people are going to be there?”

“Trust me,” Jay said, “It’s still busy. It always is.”

Cole peered at the map. “Why’d you cross off the movie theater? Isn’t there a new Starfarer movie Lloyd’s been wanting to see?”

Kai shook his head. “Tickets sold out in like five hours. By the time school was over and we got over there, they were all gone.”

Jay frowned, running his fingers along one of the major streets. “What’s your favorite restaurant, Lloyd?”

“A restaurant? Are you serious?” Cole laughed. “We’d get kicked out in ten minutes.”

“Why can’t we just do it at my place?” Lloyd murmured. “I don’t need anything big deal.”

Kai frowned. “Your apartment isn’t that big, Lloyd. And I don’t want to bother your mom with all the decorations and stuff.”

Lloyd shrugged, looking down. “It doesn’t need to be big.”

“If you really want something simple,” Nya said, “why don’t we just do it at the warehouse? It’ll just be us, but there’s lots of space.”

Zane nodded. “That space would suffice. We would just have to ask Master Wu.”

“That is, if you’re certain that’s what you want.” Nya looked at Lloyd closely. “You sure you don’t want to do anything else?”

Lloyd nodded.

“Positive, bud?” Kai pushed. “Because it’s your birthday. We don’t mind at all.”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd insisted, getting to his feet. “It’s just another day on the calendar. Don’t make such a big fuss.”

The ninja fell silent.

“Lloyd,” Nya murmured, “it is a big deal to us.”

“Sorry. I’m just tired. And I’ve got homework. I should go.”

“Lloyd, wait-”

The green ninja pulled away from Kai’s outstretched hand. “I’m fine, Kai. I just have to go. Call me if you need anything.”

---

When they went back to school on Monday, their teachers loaded them with assignments, and Kai didn’t have a spare minute to talk to Lloyd in their shared classes. He couldn’t even talk at lunch because Lloyd had to make up a test. He kept his eyes peeled for his friend every time he was in the hallways, but if there was one thing Lloyd was good at, it was not being seen.

At the end of the school day, Nya texted him to meet up near their lockers. He got there and found her huddled around her locker with Cole, Jay, and Zane.

Kai walked over to them. “What’s going on? Where’s Lloyd?”

“He said he’d catch up with us later, which is why now is the perfect time for party preparation,” Jay said, gesturing towards Nya, who had a fiercely determined look on her face and was tightly clutching a clipboard. “Apparently she’s been waiting her whole life for this.”

“Alright.” Nya looked up from her clipboard. “I’ve already got streamers and gift wrap at home. What about you guys?”

“I’ve got a banner ordered with his name on it,” Cole said. “And of course, the shark tablecloths-”

Jay blinked. “Sharks?”

“Yeah. He loves sharks.”

“No, no, no, you’ve got it all wrong! We’re getting the dragon ones! He loves dragons!”

“Well, yeah, duh, but he’d obviously like the shark one better.”

“Are you kidding? Sharks would remind him of his dad’s mechs!” “Yeah, well, dragons remind him of his mech, which also reminds him of fighting his dad.”

“Totally not the same, plus dragons are way cooler-”

“Okay, we’re going with the Starfarer ones, then,” Nya grumbled. “What about balloons? Who’s covering-”

“I have balloons,” Zane interrupted. “Two hundred and seventy-five of them.”

They gawked at him.

“Zane… why do you have so many balloons just lying around?” Jay asked.

“They are new! In the package! I can blow them up for Lloyd’s birthday party-”

“Shhhhh!” Four pairs of hands immediately pushed over his mouth, silencing him, even though they were the only ones in the very empty hallway.

“No one can find out,” Cole insisted. “This is Lloyd’s special day. We’re not about to let anyone ruin it.”

“Okay, so Zane’s got the balloons.” Nya ticked another item off the list. “What about the cake? I have most of the ingredients to make one at home, but I’m completely lacking the baking skills.”

Cole nodded. “I can bake a cake. What’s his favorite kind?”

“Lloyd likes that Funfetti one,” Kai murmured.

Cole’s nose wrinkled. “I’m not baking a box mix. I can get him the rainbow sprinkles, though, and make a homemade one.”

“Okay, sounds good. Jay, could you pick up some confetti before his birthday? And Zane, we need some fun paper plates.”

“Zane, you should get shark ones.”

“No, dragons!” “Zane will pick out whichever plates he likes,” Nya snapped.

“What about gifts?” Jay asked. “What are you guys getting?”

“I’m not telling you,” Nya yelped. “I have the best gift ever and I don’t want you stealing any ideas.”

“I’ve been setting aside pieces of my allowance for a month,” Cole grinned. “It’s gonna be sweet.”

Jay blinked at him expectantly, and Cole smirked. “I’m not telling you, either, blabbermouth.”

“Blabbermouth?” he yelped. “I can keep secrets perfectly fine, thank you.”

“Oh yeah? What about that time you nearly gave away all of our ninja identities?”

“Or-” Zane added, “when he and Lloyd were working on those surprise mech upgrades and he accidentally said something in front of Kai and Nya?”

“Oh, remember when he spoiled the finale of Cole’s favorite show?” Nya grinned. “Cole was pissed.”

“Okay, okay, so there were a few times,” Jay spluttered. “But those were a while ago! I have many more secrets that I have kept than I haven’t.”

Cole crossed his arms, smirking. “Name one.”

“Well, there was that one time, where I- hey!” He stopped, glaring at Cole. “You’re trying to trick me into telling you a secret!”

“And it very nearly worked. So no. You can’t know.”

Nya shrugged. “Sorry, Jay. He’s right. When you have a secret, you get nervous. And when you’re nervous, you talk. A lot. It would only be a matter of time before you spilled everything to Lloyd.”

“Fine,” Jay muttered. “Keep your secrets.”

Kai jumped slightly as Nya elbowed him, and she frowned. “You okay? You’ve been really quiet.”

Kai shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Is it just me, or… did Lloyd seem like he doesn’t really want a birthday party?”

The others went quiet.

“We’re not going to not give him a party,” Nya insisted. “You know how he gets. He never wants anyone to make a fuss.” Her brow furrowed. “It’s like he still can’t get it into his skull that we care about him.”

“I mean, of course I want to, it’s just… we can’t force him to do anything he doesn’t want.” Kai bit his lip. “It’s been a rough past few months for him. I just want him to be happy.”

“We all do,” Cole agreed. “Lloyd deserves a night just about him, for once.”

Zane frowned. “But how are we supposed to give him the party that he wants if he won’t tell us what he wants?”

“Let me try to talk to him,” Kai said. “He might open up more if it’s just one of us there.”

---

Lloyd, in fact, did not want to talk.

He was more open during their classes the next day, and held casual conversation with him, but forcefully avoided the topic of his birthday whenever Kai brought it up.

He huffed with frustration. What kind of kid didn’t want to celebrate their birthday? He wished Lloyd would just tell him what was going on.

He wasn’t going to, though, so naturally, the next best thing was to follow him.

He wouldn’t call it spying- just finding another way of obtaining information when Lloyd refused to give it himself. Besides, he was doing this to help Lloyd, not to hurt him.

Kai jerked himself out of his thoughts as Lloyd nearly slipped from his view. He gritted his teeth, refocusing on him. Lloyd wasn’t an easy person to follow, either.

When he finally caught up to him, keeping a reasonable distance, of course, Lloyd was hovering near his locker. An unfamiliar, dark-haired kid was leaning against it, laughing at something as Lloyd smiled uneasily. Kai edged closer, his frown deepening.

“Where’s the spike head? And the rest of your gang?”

“Kai?” Lloyd shifted. “I dunno. He probably had homework and stuff to do.”

The guy shrugged. “I kind of found him annoying, anyway. You realize no one could ever get to you when your friends were around, right?”

“I guess that’s… kind of the point.”

“You can’t spend your whole life letting them protect you. If you block out any person who hurts you, you block out anyone who could potentially be a friend, too.” The guy smiled in a way that made Kai wanted to chuck himself between Lloyd and the guy.

“That’s… that’s the thing. No one wants to be nice to me.”

“Spare me the sob story,” the guy rolled his eyes. “I know your dad sucks, but at least you have one.”

Lloyd flinched. “Sorry.”

The guy laughed, putting a hand on his shoulder and shoving him. “Stop being so jumpy, will ya? No wonder kids pick on you, you’re as harmless as a flea.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Lloyd blinked. “I can’t hit them back, or I’ll be in more trouble than I already am.”

“You don’t need to hit them, just show them you’re not a total coward! Maybe if you actually listen to them instead of cringing away, things might change.”

“Listen to them? Are you saying they’re right?”

“What does it matter if they’re right? Look, Lloyd, you’ve already got it hard enough as it is, and you’re making everything more difficult. You’d be so much cooler if you actually hung out with important people and not the outcast-losers you’ve stationed yourself with.”

For the first time since the conversation had started, Lloyd appeared indignant. “They’re not- I mean, you’re not-”

The guy laughed. “See? You can’t even get a word out. You’re so pathetic. You don’t even need the fact that you’re Garmadon’s son to get picked on, you already got it all set up for the torment-”

Kai wasn’t aware of himself pushing forward, he just was, and suddenly he was gripping the guy by the collar of his shirt, a pair of wide, brown eyes staring fearfully up into his.

“Who do you think you are and what the hell are you doing?”

“I… um, I…” the guy swallowed, his throat running dry.

“You treating my best friend like a piece of shit?” Kai shook him. “Are you?”

“I’m sorry!” The guy squirmed. “I didn’t really mean it, we were just joking around, he says that kind of stuff to me all the time!”

“Really? Lloyd. Says that. You sure we’re talking about the same person? Because I do not take nicely to liars.”

The guy squirmed harder. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry! Just please let me go, I’ll never bother you again!” Kai shot him the fiercest glare he could muster. “You better not.” He stepped back, dropping the kid, and he took off like a bullet.

Turning back to Lloyd, he saw his friend was staring at the fleeing boy with wide, disbelieving eyes, but it quickly dissipated to anger as he turned to Kai. “What the heck did you do that for?”

Kai’s eyes widened. “I was protecting you? From a bully?” Lloyd’s eyes flashed, and Kai actually took a step back. “I don’t need you to protect me! I can fight my own battles!”

Before Kai could even say anything, Lloyd was storming down the hallway and disappearing around the corner.

Kai just stood there for a moment, in shock. What was that all about? Hadn’t he done the same thing for Lloyd a dozen times? Why would defending him ever be bad?

A buzz in his pocket interrupted his thoughts. Kai pulled out his phone to see a new message in the chat from his sister.

irondragonfangirl: how r things going with lloyd

MasterofFiyaaaaa: honestly? i think i made it worse

irondragonfangirl: well u better find a way to fix it soon because his bday’s TOMORROW

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah i’ll find a way through to him

MasterofFiyaaaaa: i just hope he listens

irondragonfangirl: don’t worry

irondragonfangirl: he will

irondragonfangirl: just make sure u remember to listen to him too

irondragonfangirl: i have a feeling we haven’t been doing that enough

irondragonfangirl: i feel terrible

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah me too

MasterofFiyaaaaa: we’ll make it up to him though

MasterofFiyaaaaa: right?

irondragonfangirl: sure as long as cole doesn’t burn this cake

irondragonfangirl: seriously y did we let him bake it

irondragonfangirl: if i dont respond in the next hour just assume his house burnt down and im dead

MasterofFiyaaaaa: can i have your motorcycle if you die

irondragonfangirl: shut up

---

Kai spent an hour looking for Lloyd after their confrontation, but he couldn’t find him anywhere, and Lloyd, unsurprisingly, hadn’t answered any of the twenty-some texts Kai had sent him, either. Eventually, he had to give up looking for him and resigned to speaking to him at school tomorrow.

His birthday.

In the first class they had together, Lloyd avoided looking at him, and Kai felt an ache in his chest. Today was his birthday. He knew things weren’t going to turn out like he had imagined, but he wanted them to at least be better than this.

Swallowing back his nerves, Kai walked over to him, where he was doodling something in his notebook.

Kai cleared his throat. “Um. Lloyd?”

Lloyd looked up, an expression flashing across his face that Kai couldn’t read, but he didn’t immediately leave or turn away from him, which Kai took as a good sign.

“Happy birthday, dude.”

Lloyd smiled tentatively back. “Thanks.”

Things didn’t go immediately back to normal after that- there was still a tension between them, and Lloyd wasn’t saying much more than a couple sentences at a time, firmly avoiding the topic of the previous day- but at least it was back to a level where Kai didn’t feel absolutely horrible for ruining his day. Lunch, at least, got a smile out of him- as well as a bunch of embarrassed blushing as Nya stabbed a candle into his brownie (they couldn’t actually light it, lighters weren’t allowed on campus) and they insisted on singing to him so off-key that Cole looked like he wanted to punch them.

When the last bell finally rang, Kai headed over to Lloyd’s locker, hoping they could talk now that there weren’t other kids around, but he wasn’t there.

Kai relented, pulling out his phone.

MasterofFiyaaaaa: Lloyd? i know youre upset but can we plz talk?

He held his breath, staring at the screen intensely, as if that would make Lloyd respond.

While he was waiting, a message from a group chat popped up.

irondragonfangirl: what’s taking so long jay, we need those decorations

jaybird123: eta 5 mins

jaybird123: i literally just left class how’d you get there so fast

jaybird123: wait you didn’t use the tunnels did you

irondragonfangirl: no me and cole are bringing the CAKE remember?

irondragonfangirl: im not taking that through the tunnel

irondragonfangirl: we didnt spend 3 hrs on that for it to get squished

irondragonfangirl: i told the nurse i wasn’t feeling well so i could go home early

irondragonfangirl: why didnt YOU take them

jaybird123: i couldn’t exactly discreetly smuggle all these decorations into my locker

jaybird123: mmm cake. is it good?

irondragonfangirl: don’t even THINK about it, that’s not until Lloyd gets here

jaybird123: but im hungryyyy

jaybird123: do i need to pick up anything for dinner?

rock’n’cole: nah it’s cool, we just found out lloyd’s favorite chinese restaurant, the Bamboo Dragon, delivers so we’re gonna order from there

jaybird123: my mouth is watering already

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Jay, you shouldn’t text while driving.

jaybird123: tell nya to get off my case then!

irondragonfangirl: exCUSE me zane you are supposed to be putting up those balloons right now why are YOU on your phone

ZaneJulien:0xD;): Why are you texting me? We are in the same room.

irondragonfangirl: why are YOU texting ME

rock’n’cole: would you guys just stop being dumb and come help me

irondragonfangirl: great now you got cole in on it too

rock’n’cole: would you two just GET OFF YOUR PHONES

Kai was interrupted from whatever turn the conversation was going to take next when he finally got another notification.

thegreendragon: ok. you know where i’ll be

Kai blinked, turning towards the doors and pushing through them, walking out onto the school lawn. The main feature was the football stadium, although there were other things as well- large trees, garden patches for the science classes, picnic tables for eating lunch outside, if the weather permitted. And- although the students were too old for recess, now- there was still a small swing set- a simple, rusty thing, with only two swings, but it served its purpose. Sitting on one of them, gently rocking, was Lloyd.

Kai made his way over, sitting down beside him in the other swing.

“So, uh… can we talk? About yesterday?”

Lloyd nodded, and Kai titled his head at him, trying to gauge his thoughts. “Who was that kid?”

Lloyd breathed out slowly. “His name is Brad. He was my best- and only- friend in elementary school, but we were separated when I moved away. Brad’s family just recently moved to Ninjago City, and I… I was hoping to reconnect with him.”

Kai ignored the twinge of jealousy at the words “best friends.” Lloyd was allowed to have other people than him in his life, and things had obviously changed since then, anyway.

“I’m sorry, Lloyd. I didn’t mean to interrupt anything, but from what I saw… Brad was being a jerk to you.”

Lloyd shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I… he’s changed since we were kids. The efforts at rekindling our friendship honestly aren’t going so well. That’s… that’s why I was in a bad mood. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. You were only trying to do something nice for me.” “Don’t worry about me. But this Brad kid… anyone who treats you like that doesn’t deserve to be your friend.”

“I know, I just…” Lloyd sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “I was so eager to make a friend other than you guys…” His eyes widened as he processed his own words. “Not there’s anything wrong with you guys, it’s just- I just wanted to actually earn someone who wasn’t friends with me because of a shared occupation.”

Kai elbowed him. “Hey. This whole ninja thing may be what got us introduced to each other, but we’re not friends with you because you’re one of the ninja. We’re your friends because we love you as a person. As Lloyd, not the green ninja.”

Lloyd sniffed, giving him a soft smile. “Thanks, Kai. I’m glad I have you to protect me.”

“You don’t need protection, but you’re stuck with me as a best friend, so you’re going to get it, anyway.”

Lloyd laughed. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

His phone buzzed, and he quickly checked it.

irondragonfangirl: the party’s all set up, now the only thing missing is lloyd. did you get to talk to him?

MasterofFiyaaaaa: yeah, we’re cool now. on our way

Kai turned back to Lloyd. “C’mon, green machine. Let’s go enjoy your birthday.”

Lloyd blinked at him. “Huh?”

“Your party, remember? The one Nya and the guys have spent the whole week planning? Or is there some other celebration I don’t know about?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No, no, it’s just- I thought I messed it all up.”

“Don’t worry, we got it under control.”

“Really?”

“This is our teammates you’re talking about! Stubborn as mules. They’re not giving up on you that easily.”

“I… thank you. Thank you guys.”

“You can tell them yourself. We’re going to this party, and we’re going to have fun!”

---

Kai had to admit, he was impressed with what the others had been able to pull off in such a short amount of time.

It was nothing huge or extravagant, but it was a nice little party, and Lloyd seemed to like it better like that, anyway.

They were barely through the doors of the warehouse when Jay was launching himself into Lloyd’s arms, pulling him into a tight hug, the others close behind.

“Happy birthday!” they cheered.

Lloyd hugged them back, laughing. “Thanks, guys, I didn’t- I didn’t expect all this!”

“Are you kidding?” Nya put her hands on her hips, grinning. “We’re pulling out all the stops for our baby bro.”

Lloyd’s smile briefly flickered to a scowl. “I’m not a baby.”

“To us, you always will be,” Kai said, slinging an arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair. Lloyd squirmed away, although he was unable to hide the grin on his face.

“Wow, this place really looks different.” Lloyd gazed around at the warehouse with wide eyes. They had pushed aside training equipment to make room for tables and chairs, and green and gold streamers decorated the walls, adorned by multicolored balloons. Someone had plugged a gaming console into the TV, as well as a DVD player next to a box of DVDs- which must’ve been Jay’s, he was the only person Kai knew, apart from Master Wu, who even had DVDs anymore- because Kai still hadn’t been able to convince Master Wu to buy them Netflix on the warehouse’s TV, getting the TV there in the first place had been hard enough as it was. On the far end was a buffet table, filled with rice, chicken, dumplings, and other Chinese staples from the Bamboo Dragon- as well as a beautiful, heavily frosted cake in the center of it all. It was decorated with rainbow sprinkles, making it completely and uniquely Lloyd.

Lloyd’s eyes were on the cake too, his eyes wide. “Cole! It looks amazing! I never knew you were so good at making cakes!”

Cole shrugged, trying to hide his smile. “I’ve had some experience.”

“Hey! What makes you think Cole made it?” Nya sniffed.

Cole blinked. “I did.”

“Well, I helped.”

Cole snorted. “Don’t know if you could call it that. From my point of view, it seems like I was doing most of the work while you were busy texting your boo.”

Both Nya and Jay turned scarlet.

“I was not,” Nya spluttered. “I was making preparations for Lloyd’s party!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever you have to tell yourself.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions too hastily,” Jay said, turning to walk over to the cake. “The true judge of quality will be how good it tastes.”

Nya stuck an arm in front of him. “Not so fast, mister! Dinner first.”

After laughing, playing games, and eating, they insisted on opening presents. Lloyd was all smiles and gratitude with each one, which ended up sparking a debate between the others about whose gift he liked best.

“He totally loved my gift!” “Nuh-uh! Did you see the way he smiled a little differently on mine?”

“Jay, you literally gave him a book. Why would he be excited about that?”

“Not just any book! A first edition Starfarer collector’s comic from when my parents were kids, and in mint condition, too!”

“Why would you want some dusty old comic when you could have the newest Starfarer video game?” Kai argued. “It took forever for me to find one of these, they were sold out everywhere.”

“Starfarer this, Starfarer that,” Cole sighed. “I don’t understand how he could possibly need any more Starfarer things. The record I engraved for him is way more personable and unique.”

“You guys are thinking about this all wrong! You should’ve gotten him a katana like me, something that he actually needs and uses.”

“Statistically, Lloyd spends more time drawing than any other hobby,” Zane said. “Which means my gift of an art book and new set of pencils is logically the best fit.”

“Clearly you guys all have it wrong in the head-”

“Guys, relax,” Lloyd laughed. “I loved all your gifts equally.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Jay… it means exactly what you think it means.”

“You can’t even pick one gift?”

Lloyd shook his head. “No way. These are all amazing. Thank you, guys. Really.” His gaze met Kai’s for a long beat. “For everything.”

“Of course. But, just to make things clear, you did like mine the most, right? You’re just saying you liked them equally, so that you didn’t make the others feel bad?”

Lloyd smacked his forehead as the others burst into protest again, and Kai shot him a sharp-edged grin. “I can do this all night.”

Eventually, Lloyd got them to stop bickering- the mention of cake got them all quiet pretty quickly- and after divvying it up, they went over to the couch and played the video game Kai had gotten him. He quickly lost track of time, but time didn’t matter. Even if it meant they would be tired for school the next day, seeing Lloyd like this- half sprawled over his teammates, brow scrunched in concentration as he mashed buttons on his controller, hints of frosting on his lips as he tried and failed miserably to bite back his laughter- it was worth it. He looked happier than Kai had seen him in weeks.

For that, he could even contain himself from bragging about how Lloyd obviously liked his gift best.

#ninjago #ninbingo #my fic #rosie writes #ninjago kai #lloyd garmadon #ninjago nya #jay walker #ninjago cole #ninjago zane #HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREEN BEAN #I LOVE YOU SO MUCH #XD guys i got so excited about lloyd's big day #maybe i have a bit of a problem but shhhhhhhh #hope this did him tribute #tlnm #thanks for reading!#reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

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thiscastielhasflown · 3 years

Text

day three of day two of j&kcreatorfest (with @expectingtofly)— prompts: movie night or baking dean just wants to watch brokeback mountain in peace and cas is there to enjoy the emotional roller coaster ride. (2.1k) [does contain spoilers of the movie's plot, you have been warned]

"Okay choose — Midnight Cowboy or Brokeback Mountain?"

Cas looks directly at Dean who is standing in front of him holding two DVDs and smiling wide with eagerness. To celebrate and commemorate their first Pride Month official out together, both collectively decided to watch a different LGBTQ+ themed movie every night during June (if at all possible).

Rather than the Winchester/Leahy family's normal Tuesday night movie routine, Sam and Eileen were more than willing to change up their usual viewing schedule — even helping to prepare and order movies unavailable to be streamed. But sadly this night coincided with their short weekend getaway trip up to Donna's cabin for a needed change in scenery from the bleak walls of the bunker. No matter how good the movie choice was going to be for those nights, nothing compares to either couple getting some alone time together.

Cas and Dean are left alone to watch a movie in the newly renovated 'Dean Cave' — now including a larger sectional couch (to fit everyone more comfortably), an LED monogrammed neon light of Dean's nickname from Cas, 'Titan', along with new pictures hung up from a recent family photoshoot, and a new stereo sound system all set up by Dean earlier that day.

While Dean was busy with that, Cas was in the kitchen trying out a homemade sourdough pretzel dough recipe — made with his own fermented starter — along with a batch of double-chocolate chunk brownies with lines of caramel crisscrossing across the top as their movie viewing snack for the night.

"I thought we were watching the Trixie Mattel documentary."

"I know we agreed on that, but I'm more into a gay cowboy sort of mood tonight. You feel me?"

Cas blinks, "I haven't felt you yet."

"Cas, it's a figure of speech. Stay on track. Which one do you want to watch?"

"Isn't Trixie a gay Western icon as anyway?"

Dean hesitates, "Well, I would say not exactly. Maybe because of her music style and love for Dolly—"

"Parton, we've listened to her music before," Cas interrupts.

Dean smiles, "Yes we have. We've listened to Trixie too. So I guess it depends on who you ask if they’d categorize her as a modern gay Western icon in the drag business. We're sidetracked, please just pick one."

"Okay, sorry. How about the one with the happier ending."

Dean pauses to think, "I don't think either end up happy."

"Then the one where someone doesn't die."

Dean pauses again, "I...do believe someone dies in both of them."

"Then what are the differences?"

"To be honest, there really aren't that many," Dean laughs it off, "They both take place within the same 1960s setting, even though Brokeback was made in 2004. There are two main male characters in both, who aren't close in the beginning but end up so by the end. Um. The biggest difference is that Brokeback actually takes place in Western-type locations, where Midnight Cowboy setting is in New York. Is any of this helping in your decision process?"

"To be honest, not really," Cas stands up from the couch and adjusts his shirt, "Well, you go ahead and make the final decision, okay? Let me go grab the pretzels and brownies from the kitchen while you get it set up. Want a beer?"

"Yes, please. Can you bring extra cheese sauce too?" Dean answers.

"Of course, nacho or cheddar?"

A sparkle glazes over Dean's eyes as he looks at Cas, a smirk making its way across his lips, "How about both?"

"Sure can," Cas leans in to give Dean a kiss on the cheek, brushing his hand up against the other man's shoulder, "Be right back."

Dean watches Cas walk out of the room with a smug look on his face, admiring his love before bending down in front of the TV console and turning on the DVD player to give it time to boot up. He looks back and forth between either movie case, still unable to pick one over the other. Sighing, he ends up picking Brokeback Mountain, knowing deep down that Cas would most likely end up enjoy watching it more.

As he stands back up holding the DVD player remote in his hand, he hears the sound of Cas walking down in the hallway near the mancave’s door. They've been together so long at this point, but even the slightest presence of Cas will still make a butterfly giddiness erupt inside of Dean.

"Right on time as always," Dean puts down the remote after pushing 'play', grabbing the plate and beer held out to him by Cas.

He holds it up to his nose and breathes in the mingling smells of delicious food, "You really outdid yourself on this one."

Cas blushes from the compliment before pulling his own plate closer to him, breaking off a piece of the brownie and slipping it into his mouth, "Glad to know you approve."

Dean winks and takes a bite of his own, letting out a tiny moan of satisfaction from the taste, "Did you put sea salt in this?"

"I'm surprised you noticed, it was one of my secret ingredients I added in. Thought it would go well with the caramel."

"Your intuition was right, this is delicious," Dean takes another large bite and lets the flavors melt over his tongue.

At this point in the movie, Jack and Ennis sit at the bar drinking together, getting the chance to have the last bit of freedom before heading up to the mountain to work. This reminds Dean of the many times he's shared a drink with Cas before they assumed the worst would happen, losing each other. Yet those moments have now become ones he'll never forget.

The soft touch of a hand against his face pulls Dean's eyeline from the movie, Cas reeling him into a deep kiss, their lips melding into each other creating a familiar yet comfortable feeling.

Before letting anything escalate Dean pulls back and faces his head back towards the TV, reaching up to wipe off his bottom lip softly, "Watch the movie, you're going to miss a good part."

Cas pulls away and pouts, giving him one last peck on the neck before returning fully to the boundaries of his seat.

Dean turns his head back again to Cas and reaches out for his hand, weaving their fingers together, "Hey don't do that, all I wanna do is watch the movie. We can do plenty of that later."

"Fine, fine," Cas mocks, grabbing a piece of the soft pretzel and dips it in the cheese, shoving it in his mouth with a hint of annoyance.

They manage to in silence to watch the movie a little longer before Cas speaks up again, "So...what exactly is going on?"

Dean clears his throat, "Well, Jack and Ennis got their orders to go up to the mountain to go work with the sheep and they're still trying to get used to each other. Testing out the ropes, trying to work together as a team."

"Are you sure they fall in love? They definitely don't very seem into each other at the moment."

Dean takes a sip of his beer, "Love happens in mysterious ways Cas, just like us. It is never as easy as we think, especially when two people don't really get along, to begin with."

"We got along just fine, what are you talking about?"

The only thing Dean does when he hears Cas make that statement is laugh, downing another large gulp of his beer.

Cas tilts his head, "Why are you laughing?"

"Your memory must be skewed now that you're human. Don't you remember threatening my life multiple times? Trust me, you and Uriel were a couple of dicks for the majority of that early time."

"I've changed a lot since then."

Dean smiles and squeezes Cas' hand, "We've both changed a lot. Us, being here like this, is the ending we both deserve. For them, it was much harder of a situation. Their free will isn't as fluid as the ones we take for granted."

"You're not telling me—" Cas sits back with wide eyes, trying to formulate the future plot points in his head.

"I'm not going to spoil anything from the movie, you're going to have to watch it yourself to find out yourself," Dean mimics zipping his lips and turning a key to lock it, "My lips are sealed.”

A sudden vibration erupts from Dean's back, shoving his hand into it and pulling out his phone to see Sam's picture contact picture lit up (from a drunken Halloween night dressed up in a Chewbacca costume, minus the head, with a herbal cigarette dangling between his lips), swiping to answer, "Hey Sammy, what's going on?"

"Hey-uh-hi, are you busy right now?" Sam asks in a mildly frantic tone of voice over the phone.

"Well—" Dean signals to Cas to pause the movie, "It is movie night like you know, but I can talk. Everything going okay?"

"No, yeah, everything is fine. Do you know how to treat a spider bite?"

Dean coughs slightly in surprise, "Are you telling me you already managed to get a spider bite?"

Cas, overhearing the conversation holds a hand up to his mouth to help suppress the giggling he's unable to prevent himself from doing.

"Yeah, um, neither Eileen and I can remember if it's supposed to be a cold or warm compress."

Dean shakes his head and lets out a chuckle, "Did you just drunkenly call me, to ask me, how to treat a spider bite less than 24 hours after leaving here?"

"Yes Dean, do you have the answer or not?"

"Go get some ice and makeshift ice pack. For the swelling. Any other questions?"

Sam pauses not answering right away, Dean hears the sound of rustling and clanking of ice in the background, "No that should be it. Thank you."

"Yep, you're welcome. Bye," Dean hangs up before Sam can say anything else.

"I'm sorry for all of the distractions tonight Dean, I really am. I know how much you wanted to watch this movie," Cas puts a hand on his shoulder, slightly massaging at the tense muscle underneath Dean's favorite Led Zeppelin shirt.

"It's fine Cas, we can stop the movie if you want. Maybe pick it back up tomorrow?"

"Why can't we continue watching it? If we have to pause again, then we pause again. Anyway, you have me interested in learning what will happen.”

“Alright, we’ll continue.”

Thankfully, no one else bothers them for the rest of the movie. Even when Cas was confused in certain sections, he reminded quiet and attentively watched, quickly becoming attached to the characters and the blossoming (and losing) love between them. When the credits begin to roll, Dean looks over to see Cas crying, tears streaming down his face, and biting on his bottom lip to possibly contain his emotions.

"Cas, what's wrong?"

"The jacket...Jack was the one who took the jacket that Ennis thought he forget on the mountain. He took it and kept it for all those years. And now...with Jack gone..." Cas leans in towards Dean, who wraps his arms around his shoulder in comfort, pressing little kisses on the top of his head. He lets Cas cry, holding onto him tight.

When Cas feels ready enough to pull away, Dean reaches up to wipe the tears from his cheeks, "What’s wrong Cas?"

"It just reminds me of us. When you kept my coat, the symbolism of keeping an article of clothing when your loved one is gone. In this case—" Cas sucks in a deep breath, bottom lip quivering, "Ennis lost Jack, his soulmate. But no matter how many times you've lost me, I've always come back. I wish that could have been the same for them."

"Oh, babe..." Dean pulls Cas into a kiss, strong and supportive, "They got to share their love while they could, and even though things could have been different, that was the ending destined for the."

"Why couldn’t they have ended up together?"

"Just how their cards were played, nothing we can change about it.”

Cas sighs, rubbing away his remaining leftover tears, "This really is a goddamn bitch of a unsatisfactory situation."

Dean can't help himself from laugh out of happiness, "That was a pretty good usage of that phrase, glad to know you picked up on it."

"Oh, it's going to be my go-to now, along with 'I wish I knew how to quit you’."

"Sounds to me like you liked the movie. Well, I do have an idea," Dean stands up from the couch and reaches for Cas' hand, pulling him up to a standing position, "How about we go start something? Sound good to you?"

#j&kcreatorfest #dean winchester #castiel #deancas #destiel #i know this is late don't just me #i'm positing it anyway #this goes out to all of the drag queen brokeback mountain fans out there #hopefully i have hit a niche audience #jace is typing...

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phasmwrites · 4 years

Text

attention || bakugou katsuki

Pairing: Bakugou Katsuki x Female!Reader Warnings: None Word Count: 2804 A/N: This is part one of the two birthday fics I’ll be posting for Bakugou’s birthday! I know it’s not until the 20th, but I offer u this fluff today and will bring you other writing on Monday 🥺💖 please let me know what you think, I was struggling a bit with writing this so I hope its somewhat good!

Birthdays had always felt rather insignificant to Bakugou; year after year he perceived the day as just another twenty-four hours, another full rotation of Earth. Despite this, his rambunctious group of friends from high school always conjured up some sort of event to celebrate. Somewhere deep within his heart, he was grateful. Bakugou never truly knew how to express his gratitude, opting for choking out a quiet thank you by the end of the evening, the words falling on deaf ears in his friend’s intoxicated states.

It would come as a surprise this year when Bakugou discovered that both Sero and Kaminari had flown overseas for a mission and wouldn’t return until after his birthday. Mina was tangled up in hero duty and was unable to reserve the day off due to the increase in villain activity within the vicinity of her agency. He had yet to find out about Kirishima’s predicament, opting to call him when he got his first break of the day.

That break would come after his morning patrol with you, one of the newer sidekicks to join the agency. Your relationship with the hot-headed blonde was...complicated, to say the least. The two of you bickered like an old married couple in front of your co-workers, but alone he’d find himself subtly flirting with you. Of course, Bakugou’s version of flirting consisted of snarky comments and half-assed compliments that often slipped off his tongue as an insult.

It was impossible to deny that you had inevitably grown infatuated with the pro-hero Ground Zero after spending the past four months working alongside him. Every time you were partnered up, your heart squeezed just a bit tighter within the confines of your chest.

This morning he had stormed off after patrol, angrily spewing curse words under his breath after receiving a notification on his phone. Unphased, you rushed inside the building in search of the nearest restroom.

You had gotten distracted by one of your co-workers on your hunt, but once they eventually stopped chatting your ear off you turned the corner to the bathroom. Only, you skidded in your tracks when you witnessed Bakugou’s side profile as he angrily clutched the cell phone in his grasp. He held the device to his ear, teeth gritted as he listened to the person on the other line.

He hadn’t noticed your presence, narrowed red eyes facing towards the wall-length mirrors. Exposed through the glass was the beautiful mountain range of Mount Takao. The vibrant hues of reds and greens scattered across the plains of the mountains, so colorful it could be recognized from such a distance.

“Tch, shut up and quit apologizing already Kiri.” Despite Bakugou’s harsh tone, his slouched shoulders and melancholy expression were a stark contrast to his usual brash demeanor, “It was you idiots who made my birthday a big deal every year anyways.”

A few mumbled words were spoken from the other line, quiet enough that you couldn’t possibly make out what they had been saying. You felt a bit guilty eavesdropping on his conversation, but then he muttered one last thing before hanging up, “I’ll just spend my shitty birthday by myself tomorrow, I really don’t care.”

Something as simple as Bakugou’s birthday was new information to you, let alone the special day being tomorrow. You frowned at the realization that he was fully intending on spending it on his lonesome, remembering how it had been mentioned during a meeting that he would be off-duty.

“Oi, are you listening in on my conversations now?” Bakugou’s glare was redirected at you. Your own eyes widened as you realized you were lost in your train of thought.

Holding up your hands defensively, you responded, “I was just trying to get to the bathroom.”

“Whatever.” He stormed off; small crackling noises emitted from his palms as he disappeared from your line of vision.

No sassy remarks, no spitfire quips thrown back at you...the conversation he had on his phone affected him way more than his pride would ever allow him to admit. The idea that he would be alone on his birthday sat unwell inside of you for the rest of your shift, thinking back to the few trivial things you knew about Bakugou and how a man like him would want to enjoy his special day.

It would be a shot in the dark, a small sliver of a chance that he would oblige, but by the time you began heading home that evening, you had a plan and goal set in mind. Nobody should have to spend their birthday by themselves, even Bakugou Katsuki.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

The actual morning of Bakugou’s birthday was uneventful, his parents foiling his intentions of sleeping in by calling early to wish him well. They encouraged him to stop by his childhood home soon, teased him over whether or not he was seeing anybody, and overall kept the conversation light. By the time his mother finally stopped talking and allowed him to hang up, he couldn’t find it within him to fall back asleep.

A flood of text messages took over his notifications throughout the morning, the generic ‘Happy Birthday!’ sent from both friends and co-workers alike. He received a few longer messages from old classmates and an abundance of apologies in the group chat from his friends who couldn’t see him today.

Bakugou had accepted his fate for the day, opting to watch classic action films while working out in the comfort of his living room. He had been halfway through a set of push-ups when three consecutive rasps against his front door caught his attention.

A few possibilities of who could be knocking on his door flashed through his mind, but it definitely wasn’t you that he was expecting to see, “Hah?”

“Hey!” You chirped, growing a bit intimidated by the harsh gaze Bakugou directed at you, “Happy Birthday-”

“What do ya want?” He asked, his tone anything but amused.

A small part of him anticipated you were here to tell him he needed to come into work, but what passed your lips instead took him by surprise, “I want to take you out for your birthday.”

“Tch-” Bakugou surveyed your appearance, noticing your clothing was anything but formal, in fact, it appeared as if you were ready to step into the gym for a workout, “You stalkin’ me now? Coming to my place?”

“Listen, I overheard that you were going to spend your day alone yesterday, so I thought if you wanted you don’t have to do that anymore.” You explained yourself, growing small in confidence the further you spoke.

He seemed to contemplate your suggestion, but truly Bakugou couldn’t contain the warmth that spread through him at how the women he unknowingly developed a tiny crush on, you, went out of your way to plan an occasion for him.

“Fine, what shitty plans did you have in mind?” Arms crossed over his chest, he maintained his stoic expression even after your complexion lit up with the utmost glee.

You had recalled, in your time spent trying to conjure up a decent plan, that Bakugou had once mentioned mountain hiking to you as something he tended to do in his spare time. He also had stated how he didn’t get to go as often anymore now that he was occupied with hero work.

So when you parked your vehicle at the base of Mount Takao, you glanced over at the man in your passenger seat and just barely spotted a faint glimmer of excitement swimming in his vermilion irises. The lot itself was rather empty as you chose the path with less tourism; a majority of the mountain would be free for both you to explore.

“How’d ya know I like this shit?” The two of you began heading towards the path, entering past the tall trees that encompassed the entrance.

You clutched your small backpack’s straps, focusing on the earth beneath you to avoid tripping over any stones, “You mentioned it once on patrol, I guess it just stuck with me.”

The fact that you remembered something so miniscule about him only caused a soft pink flush to scatter across his cheeks, diverting his attention towards the walk ahead to avoid you noticing. Bakugou wasn’t used to this kind of affection from anyone, unsure of how to process the abundance of emotions swarming through his mind.

“Weren’t you supposed to work today?” Bakugou asked yet another question after a brief silence, the wind bounding itself around your bodies the higher you climbed the dirt pathway. The trees were painted with an assortment of colorful leaves, ones that you had only seen from a distance yesterday, but now you were able to admire their beauty up close.

Rolling your eyes, you chose to tease the ash-blonde at your side, “Are we playing twenty questions now?”

“Oh fuck off,” He snapped back, but there was no true malice behind his words, “Just answer me dammit.”

You hesitated in abashment, “I uh...I lied...I said I had a family emergency…”

A choked out noise crawled out of Bakugou’s throat, “Why would you lie just to spend your day with me?”

The two of you had stopped walking at this point, facing one another as you fell speechless before him and his furrowed gaze. How would you possibly explain that you had developed feelings for him without sounding like every other person who’s ever confessed to him?

You weren’t blind to the flirty remarks co-workers and other heroes alike tossed in his direction, it wasn’t news that every person who had asked him out was rejected publicly and harshly. What made you any different?

Before you could utter a single syllable, the sound of quick rapid movement diverted both of your attention to the path ahead. The sound of crackling palms had you nearly yelling at Bakugou to remind him you were in the middle of a highly flammable forest until suddenly the owner of the loud footprints exposed themselves.

The footprints were rather pawprints, a large dog had skidded to a halt in front of the both of you. His golden-brown fur had been dusted with dirt, drool dripping from his long tongue as he panted heavily.

“Are you lost, little guy?” You cooed, crouching down so that you were eye level with the animal.

Bakugou snorted, “I wouldn’t call him little, he’s pretty fuckin’ big.”

The dog reached over and excitedly sniffed your outreached hand before licking a wet stripe up the side of your cheek. Your laughter rang out through the dense forest, a hand coming up so that you could rake your fingers through his thick fur.

“Come pet him! Unless you’re scared of dogs, Bakugou.” His right eye twitched at the challenge, joining your side and crouching next to you. Of course, you just had to challenge him and now there he was getting slobbered on by a seventy-pound canine as your giggles chimed out like a melody to his ears.

The owners had eventually jogged over, thankful to see their pet had been in safe hands as both you and Bakugou had been petting the attention-hungry animal in comfortable silence. After thanking you and him profusely, they wandered back off and you noticed the sheen reflection of drool that still adorned the side of Bakugou’s face.

“Oi!” You had stepped towards him and reached up with your long sleeve, his rough fingers reflexively curling around your wrist defensively, “What are you doing?!”

“You have drool on your face, you don’t have sleeves so I was gonna clean it for you idiot.” He grumbled out a few curse words at your light insult, but nonetheless, his grip on you loosened and you leaned up to wipe it away.

Red eyes captured yours before you could fully back away, entrancing you in a moment that consisted solely of you and him. Neither of you were sure how long you had stood there, frozen in time as the world continued to exist. Words failed and died on both of your tongues, but it had been anything but uncomfortable.

“L-Let’s get to the top, we’re almost there!” You managed to snap out of it first, leaving the pro-hero to trail behind you as you began racing up to one of the many high peaks of the mountain.

The peak was absolutely stunning, many of the flowers in bloom as they scattered along the rich grass. A metal rail aligned the edge of the mountain, encasing the small space in an intimate setting. When you raced over to the guard rail and curled your fingers around the metal, you could just lean over enough to get a beautiful view of Tokyo.

“Oh! Are you hungry?” You had fallen so mesmerized with the view you had nearly forgotten your plans, the thermos in your backpack thankfully still warm as you slid it out.

Bakugou cocked up an eyebrow, following you quietly as the two of you sat at the rustic picnic table. His knee bumped into your thigh as he chose to sit next to you rather than across, eyes trained on the thermos with curiosity.

“I tried to make this as spicy as I could…” You reached into your bag once more to gather two bowls to pour the curry into, Bakugou’s eyes widening at the realization.

The delicious aroma of spices invaded his nostrils, appearing almost identical to his own recipe, “You fuckin’ made this?”

“Yeah, I see you eating it from time to time...you also once mentioned people who can’t handle spices are ‘weak shit’.”

He audibly snorted at your memory, knowing he probably did utter those words out at one point or another. The fact that you remember these minuscule details about him, that you actually listened to him rather than ogle him like every other person at their agency had his heart clenched tightly within his chest. Bakugou had never felt so paid attention to; he never wanted to forget this feeling as much as it melted at his hardened resolve.

“Alright, give me some of it already.” Snatching the bowl into his grasp, he took one bite of the dish and was pleasantly surprised at the flavors that exploded on his tongue. You smiled victoriously as he continued eating, taking that as your answer as the two of you enjoyed a light dinner within the beauty of nature.

The sun was slowly setting upon what Bakugou considered to be an actually decent birthday. He slouched against the picnic table, eyes trained on your figure. You were watching the sunset as it had casted over Tokyo, fingers clenched around the cool metal guard rail as you took in the hues of oranges and pinks that scattered across the sky.

“Tch, thank you...for today.” A sharp gasp left your lips as you hadn’t even noticed Bakugou had made his way over to you, hands shoved deep within his pockets as he spoke, “I had a decent time, despite it being with you.”

“Hey!” You pouted, dramatically pouting as your lower lip puckered out. Snickering, Bakugou threw all caution to the wind as he curled his large fingers around your waist and drew you against him.

Your breath hitched in your throat at the sudden proximity. His red eyes focused on you before he allowed them to flutter shut at the same exact moment he pressed his lips against yours. The two of you kissed with the sunset as your witness, lips moving in tandem with one another as you curled your fingers into his tank top.

“Listen…” Bakugou pulled away first, his hot breath fanning against your eager mouth as you peered up into his intense gaze once more, “Nobody’s ever fuckin’ done so much for me in a single day, let alone my birthday. You managed to take me out on a hobby I missed doing, cooked me one of my favorite goddamn dishes...you only proved that my dumb feelings for you weren’t for nothing.”

This time, you leaned up and initiated the kiss, allowing yourself to get lost in his embrace. You didn’t need words to express how you felt about the ash-blonde, your actions from today were enough to settle his heart into a beat that matched your own.

“But, you still lied to get out of work, shitty woman.” Bakugou teased as he squeezed at your hip, smirking arrogantly down at you.

Scoffing, you gently shoved at his chest with the palm of your hand, “Well if I didn’t then we wouldn’t be here, now would we?”

“You’re right…” His fingers teased at the hem of your top, heat rising throughout your body as he whispered next, “I still think you should be punished for it, Princess.”

#bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #phasm.writings #bakugo x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #lmk if theres any grammar errors sometimes im dumb

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kumeko · 3 years

Text

Title: shadows of the past

A/N: For the Yona Tarot zine. I really need to write a Hak/Yona/Su-won piece.

…

Son Mundok didn’t like going to the capital these days. No, that implied he liked visiting at some point, that he’d once found it anything but an annoyance. That was a blatantly untrue fact. The capital was filled with headache-inducing bureaucracy, obvious brown-nosing, and miles of red tape. He hadn’t liked it as a young man and he certainly didn’t like it now that his hair was grey.

Grimacing, he stared up at the castle gates. Despite the changes in emperors throughout the years, this view had remained the same. Imposing steel gates stared down at him, slowly opening only once he’d announced himself. Mundok had once hoped he would never see these gates again, barring a wedding celebration or two.

Life, it seemed, had a way of making plans go awry.

As he strolled onto the castle grounds, a woman called out his name. “Chief Mundok!” He looked up in time to catch a young, energetic woman running down the stone path toward him, eagerly waving her hand in the air. Her yellow robes flowed behind her like a bird’s feathers. Panting as she came to an abrupt stop in front of him, she gasped, “T-thank…you for…coming.”

Mundok chuckled. Clearly, she was new to this. “Take your time.”

Her expression turned sheepish and she took a deep breath. Straightening her posture, she clasped her hands and bowed her head slightly. “Chief Mundok, thank you for coming. I know it was a long journey.”

Ah, there was a title he’d hoped was gone forever. At this age, he was supposed to be comfortably retired and spoiling his grandchildren, not watching them war with one another. Scratching his jaw, he replied flatly, “I’m not a chief anymore.”

“R-right! You handed over the title last month.” Flustered, the woman turned red. She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear apprehensively. Gathering her wits, she tried again. “Ex-chief Mundok, the emperor has been expecting you.”

“Of course he is.” Mundok snorted and raised a brow. “He’s the one who called me.”

“T-that’s true.” The woman clasped her hands in front of her and nervously scuffed the ground as she considered it. Troubled, she shook her head. “Well, um, it’s good you got here safely.”

Good for who? Eyeing her, Mundok sighed. That was unfair. She was probably Yona’s age and the whole affair felt like bullying a child. “What’s your name?”

“Me?” she squeaked, surprised. When he only gave her a dry look in response, she fiddled with her fingers. “Min-Ah.” She bowed deeply. “My name is Min-Ah, ex-Chief Mundok.”

It was all very polite and he never thought he’d long for Hak’s missing manners, as crude as his greetings were. “Min-Ah, when did you start working here?”

“Just a few months ago.” Min-Ah straightened her back and puffed her chest with pride. “Just after the Emperor’s coronation.”

“Is that so.” He glanced around the courtyard. The guards were a mix of familiar and new faces. How many were involved in the coup? He had drunk with some of them, trained others, had treated them like they were part of his clan. Which ones had pointed their spear at Hak? At Yona?

Which ones had stood up for them and quietly disappeared in the upheaval?

Mundok was no stranger to war, no stranger to its consequences. That didn’t make this betrayal hurt any less. He really was getting too old for all this nonsense. A sense of fatigue washed over him. “Where’s the emperor? Might as well get it over with.”

“Oh!” Min-Ah rubbed her neck, her brow furrowing. He could almost see the candle lightning up when she got an answer. “He’s in the garden.”

Mundok brushed past her as she turned to lead him. “I know the way.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah.” He looked down the path he’d threaded hundreds of times, flanked on both sides by a grumpy Hak and a chatty Su-Won. In the summer, flowers lined the route, filling the air with a sweet fragrance. Mundok had never considered this place home but it had felt as comfortable as one. “I’m fine.”

He had never considered this place home, and now it felt as alien as a stranger. His shoes clacked against the granite slabs, a solitary sound. Now that it was fall, wilted plants were all that remained and his fingers brushed against a yellowing rose, the petals crinkling before falling to the ground. As he strolled past buildings, his mind assigned them meanings that no longer existed.

Here was where Hak lazed about, faking idleness while keeping guard. Here was where Yona fell asleep in his arms. Here was where Su-Won had whispered in his ear, Thank you, gramps.

Here was where the three played, fell sick, loved one another.

Part of him expected to see a flash of red in the corner of his eye, hear a chorus of childish voices call his name, to feel a small hand slip into his. However, he hadn’t seen red once while he’d been in the capital and perhaps it wasn’t only him who was having problems adjusting to the new status quo.

As Mundok turned the corner to the garden, he spotted a familiar mop of light brown hair. A young boy dressed in blue turned and smiled bashfully, hoping for praise. Yet the boy was a man now, dressed in the royal yellows of royalty, and the smile was a sad one. “Chief Mundok,” Su-Won greeted him.

“I’m not the Chief anymore,” he corrected, looking away. The Zen garden was as idyllic as it used to be. Oddly shaped rocks jutted out of sand pits and calm pond, promising a peace of mind. The only thing missing was a kind, middle-aged man.

“My apologies.” Su-Won lowered his gaze, his lips a thin line. His hand curled into a tight fist before releasing. “You picked a successor.”

“For the second time.” Su-Won flinched at his words but there was no malice behind them, just a simple truth. “I am not picking a third.”

Su-Won shook his head. “I’m sure you won’t have to.” He gave him a wry smile. “Tae-Woo is quite capable.”

“So was Hak.” Mundok grunted in response. He didn’t miss how Su-Won’s jaw tightened in his response, the shadow of grief that crossed his face. “What did you call me for?”

“I needed your assistance on some matters, particularly those pertaining to our borders.” A gentle breeze stirred, playing with his tresses, and Su-Won pushed the stray hairs out of his face. “Tae-Woo will not have your knowledge on these issues yet.”

He couldn’t deny that. Surviving three different emperors left him more intimately acquainted with the country’s politics than he liked. “Fine. Let’s get on with it.”

“We’ll discuss in the planning room.” Su-Won smiled. It held none of the radiance of his youth. “The aides have set up several charts for us to go over.”

Without another word, Mundok turned around. The sooner they got there, the sooner he could leave. If he was lucky, it would be a simple in and out operation. Unlike Fuuga, the air here felt stifling and suffocating.

“Mundok.”

The tone halted him in his tracks. Glancing over his shoulder, he found Su-Won looking up at the sky, his arms crossed. Softly, Su-Won asked, “Do you hate me?”

There was a faked nonchalance in his posture, a sense of detachment in his words. As though his fingers weren’t trembling, as though his jaw wasn’t clenched. As though a sense of sorrow didn’t pervade his every word.

Hate. Mundok closed his eye. If only it were so simple. If only he could divorce the young man in front of him from the cheerful boy he’d watch grow up. There were some emotions that love and hate couldn’t cover, some feelings that went beyond description.

“Does it matter?” he asked instead, studying Su-Won.

Su-Won looked at him now. For a brief, unguarded moment, his expression turned troubled, before smoothening back into his usual calm expression. Shaking his head slowly, he gave a depreciative laugh. “No, I suppose not.”

Part of him wanted to believe in that sadness. The other part of him knew better.

Son Mundok didn’t like going to the capital these days. It was filled with too much heartache.

#son mundok #akayona #akatsuki no yona #soo won #son hak #yona #fanfic #su won #yona the girl standing in the blush of dawn

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shenanigans-and-imagines · 4 years

Text

The Senator and The Chiss

Until We Meet Again: Part 1/?

Thrawn x Senator!Reader, Female Pronouns

Summary: You are a newly appointed Senator of you home planet, trying your best to make it through Ascension week in one piece. Things take a turn for the interesting when you meet a Lieutenant of the Imperial Navy unlike any you have seen before.

Loosely based on an anon request.

A/N: I’m not exactly sure where this is going. I plan this to be a series of one shots revolving around this Senator!Reader. If your interested in reading more about her and Thrawn, feel free to send any request my way! And remember REBLOG AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS!!!

Word Count: 2.6K

Ascension week was proving to be more exhausting than you had anticipated.

You understood what was expected of you and had mentally prepared to be on your feet for every day of the celebrations. But after only three days, the names and faces were starting to blur together until nothing mattered except going home and finally getting some sleep.

You clung to the sides of the ballroom, enjoying the moment’s peace while you could. You had long forgotten where exactly you were or even the host’s name. A twist of guilt resided in your stomach because of it. With any luck you could remain anonymous for another hour or so, as to not appear rude when you left early. The dress and hairpiece you were wearing, however, were making things difficult.

The wardrobe was ceremonial in nature, meant to mark you as a leader of your people. The dress was perfectly tailored to your figure with vibrant greens interwoven with golden and silver thread sewn together in a striking pattern. An elaborate crown was braided into your hair making it appear as if golden vines resided there blooming with silver flowers. It was a striking sight, meant to represented the life of your homeworld and the pride of your people.

Governor Lir had declared you a vision when you had arrived, assuring you were a testimate to Danu and would be the talk of Courscant.

You had thanked him, but knew his words rung partially false. Even when your aids had finished the final touches, you could feel yourself being buried under the weight of the dress. The metal vines poked and pulled at your scalp. You had almost tripped upon first entering the ballroom. If it weren’t for having Governor Lir’s arm, you would have fallen. It was obvious to any with a pair of eyes, and especially yourself; the dress was wearing you rather than you wearing it.

Perhaps you just needed practice. You had only been Senator of Danu for a handful of months and had just settled into your office on Courscant a few weeks ago. It would take time to adjust. But as you looked over the sea of people in the ballroom, all veteran politicians, military men, and various other powerful figures, it was becoming clear time wasn’t on your side.

You took a sip of your wine. Maybe you could convince Governor Lir you needed to rest. Surely he had introduced you to enough people for the evening.

You spotted him across the room, engaged with a handful of other Outer Rim governors.

It would have to wait. You didn’t want to be accidently sucked into another trade routes discussion, if you could help it.

You continued to walk until you came across a set of heavy curtains. They appeared hastily put up. Peaking out of one of the corners you could just make out the bright colors of some kind of mural. Most likely the host didn’t have time to finish it before the start of Ascension week. Regardless, it was exactly the reprieve you needed. Taking a quick glance to make sure you wouldn’t be seen, you ducked under and out of sight.

You turned to face the wall, not wanting to risk backing into wet paint. But, as your eyes adjusted to the dim light, it was clear such precaution was not necessary.

The mural was old, much older than any of the other paintings and portraits placed around the ballroom. The color was starting to fade, but their vibrancy would not die an easy death.

The entire wall was covered in what could only be an ancient star map. Circles and lines weaved along, connecting worlds and stars and planets together in a delicate dance. Each planet stood bodly on their own while still emphasising the importance of the lines connecting them to the rest.

You took a small step back, craning your neck to try and catch every brush stroke. It was then you noticed fresh paint along the corners. At first you assumed it was restoration, but as you examined closer, the darker, subtler color scheme told you otherwise.

A small sting of pain came to your heart. They were painting over it.

The rustle of fabric interrupted your thoughts. You turned toward the sound, an apology ready on your lips when they froze there in wonder.

A new party had entered your sanctuary, but he was unlike anyone you had ever seen.

He was alien, a rarity you had found at events such as these during your short time on Coruscant, but he didn't belong to any species you could name. His humanoid appearance and blue skin should have pointed clearly toward a Pantoran. But his face lacked the usual golden facial tattoos. More importantly his eyes weren’t the usual black or gold; they were a glowing red.

He stood tall exuding an air of confidence which left you transfixed. At first you thought he might be a general or even a prince. But, his uniform and plaque marked him as a Lieutenant of the Imperial Navy.

It felt wrong, somehow.

You blinked, suddenly realizing how long you had been staring. The only comfort you could find was that he had been staring back.

“I’m sorry,” you said, automatically. “Was this your hiding place?”

You held back a wince at your own words. Why would someone like him need to hide?

To your relief, he did not seem to take offence as his lip curled into a mildly amused expression. “No,” he said, in accented Basic. “I was merely hoping for a chance to admire the artwork. Though, it appears I have stumbled upon your hiding place.”

Your eyes darted down in embarrassment. “It was not my intention for it to be so. I just needed a moment to breathe and well…” You looked back toward the painting, and the same regretful pain tugged at your heart once more.

“I will leave you to it, then,” the alien said. He turned to leave, and a sudden panic took you.

“There’s no need,” you said, quickly. “Please, there is more than enough room for two and you may not have another opportunity.”

He paused a moment. His expression was unreadable as his red eyes gazed directly into yours.

You found yourself holding your breath, not even daring to blink.

Then, slowly, he nodded and took a place by your side.

You stood in silence, each allowing the other to observe the mural in peace.

It was actually rather pleasant. You hadn’t realized how long it had been since you had a comfortable silence with someone.

“What do you know of this painting,” he asked.

His tone was surprisingly soft. If he hadn’t addressed you directly, you would have assumed he was asking himself.

“Not much I’m afraid,” you answered. “Judging by how faded it is and the subject matter, I would guess it was commissioned well before The Clone War.”

“That was my conclusion as well. You have a fondness for that era, I take it.”

You gave a small frown. “What makes you say that?”

“You were facing the mural instead of the entrance,” he said, not bothering to take his gaze from the wall. “For one reason or another, this piece overshadowed your desire to remain hidden.”

Your stomach twisted uncomfortably at the truth of his statement as your cheeks grew warm. “I suppose you’re right. In truth, I have a fondness for any era of peace in our galaxy’s history. The Republic was so for nearly a millennium…” You stopped then, a familiar lump forming in your throat. “Until it wasn’t.”

“And what of the Empire?”

You shrugged, swallowing the lump as best you could. “Too soon to tell.”

He said nothing for a moment. His eyes still remained on the mural, but you knew he had taken your words into serious consideration. To what end, you could only guess.

“What other thoughts do you have on the painting?” he asked.

“How do you mean?”

“What do you see? What do you believe drew you to it in the first place?”

He settled his eyes on your now, with just the same focused attention as he had the wall.

“You me aside from its use as an ideal hiding place,” you asked.

His lip twisted upward slightly. “Yes, aside from that.”

You nodded, and allowed yourself a moment to ponder the question. Your eyes wandered again to the mural, to the shapes and colors and the looming ridged strokes along the edges.

“I think it has more to do with the contrast of what is to come,” you said, thoughtfully. “A riot of color rebelling against the darkness.”

You turned your eye to his. They seemed to burn in the dim light. For a moment, you thought you might burn yourself. You looked away, suddenly feeling very small and childish in your explanation.

“But, I am no expert.”

“Perhaps not,” he conceded. “But your answer is telling, nonetheless.”

Your back stiffened, and you raised your chin a little higher. “Do you presume to know me Lieutenant?”

“No,” he said, calmly. “I would not presume to know anything without more data.”

“But you have come to some conclusions.”

“Theories.”

“Which are?”

You were standing even straighter now. You would not allow yourself to be intimidated, especially by a man you barely knew.

He paused then. Something in his expression faltered, as if taken by surprise.

A small swell of pride came to your chest. You had a suspicion surprise was a foreign emotion to the alien.

It only lasted a moment and the impenetrable mask reclaimed its place on his features.

“As I said, I cannot make any certain claims,” he said, carefully. “I can only speculate. But I believe I am correct in saying, you are much bolder than you allow yourself to be.”

You blinked in wonder, not knowing entirely what to say. Slowly, you regained control of your vocabulary. “I will take it under consideration.”

He gave small nod in acknowledgement.

Another silence fell between you. It was not as comfortable as the last one. A new tension was in the air. What it was, you couldn’t name. All you knew was your ears were growing deadly hot.

“For such an intimate evaluation of my character, it feels odd I don’t know your name,” you said, in a light tone.

“Then, allow me to provide a remedy.” He straightened to attention. “I am Lieutenant Thrawn, first weapon’s officer of the Blood Crow, Imperial Navy. And, you?”

You matched him, straightening your posture and holding your head high as if to present yourself to a King. “I am Senator Y/N of Danu,” you said, with a curtsey. “It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lieutenant Thrawn.”

“The pleasure is mine, Senator.”

The amused line had made its way back onto his lips.

It was a small change, but you instantly fell at ease making your next question easier to bear.

“Forgive me if I sound ignorant,” you said. “And please know I mean no disrespect. But, I do not believe I’ve seen a member of your species before. May I ask where you come from?”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Thrawn assured. “I’m afraid you would not have heard of my home planet as it is not on any of your star maps. I can, however, tell you that I am Chiss.”

You felt your eyes widen. “Chiss?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve heard of the Chiss?”

“Only stories, folk tales really.” You were gawking now, you knew you were, but it couldn’t be helped. “I wasn’t entirely convinced you were real.”

“Indeed,” he said. “And how did a senator come to hear such stories?”

“Danu is part of the Outer Rim, boarding Wild Space,” you explained, mentally shaking yourself out of your shock. “My family has employed a number of traders who have explored the Unknown Region looking for hyperspace lanes or even just new trading partners. They all come back with stories.”

“Which you were inclined to listen too.”

You shrugged. “A good story is a good story, it doesn’t matter where it came from or how true it is. Although, it appears some of them may be.”

“Perhaps,” he said, thoughtfully. “I would be interested to hear these stories. A small handful have been relayed to be by my translator, Ensign Vanto. I am curious what similarities and differences may arise after comparing them to another source.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. “And I would be fascinated to hear the stories straight from the Gualaar’s mouth,” you said. “But before we begin, I have one more question to ask of you.”

“Which is?”

“What do you think of the mural?”

Thrawn paused, his brow furrowing slightly.

“You were able to deduce some of my character from the exercise,” you said. “It’s only fair I be given the same opportunity.”

Thrawn again, said nothing. Finally he nodded. “You’re quite right.”

He was quite a long moment.

You could see the wheels of his mind turning behind his eyes. You would have given anything to know exactly what he was thinking. But as was becoming a habit, you could only guess.

Another moment passed before he blinked smoothly back to reality.

“I believe you and I see much the same thing,” he said. “But our conclusions differ as to their ultimate meaning.”

You felt your lips purse at his rather cryptic answer. You were about to ask him what exactly he meant when the curtains behind you parted.

“Lieutenant Thrawn,” an older man snapped. “I’ve been looking… Oh, my apologies.”

He faltered slightly upon seeing you, but soon gained his footing as he stood to attention.

“No need to apologize, Colonel,” Thrawn said. “Allow me to introduce Senator Y/N of Danu. Senator, this is Colonel Yularen of the ISB.”

The Colonel gave a small bow in greeting. “An honor, Senator.”

“The honor is mine,” you replied. “In truth, I should be apologizing to you. It seems I’ve distracted the Lieutenant from his duties.”

“Only for a moment,” the Colonel said, in a good natured, but firm tone which oddly reminded you of your grandfather. “But, I’m afraid I will have to steal him away from you.”

“Of course,” you said, even if you felt a small prick of pain at the loss.

He looked to Thrawn. “Lieutenant.”

“One moment, Colonel,” Thrawn said, as he turned his attention to you. “I would like to continue our discussion at a later date. Is there a time and place convenient for you?”

“I will be attending gatherings every evening this week,” you said, trying to repress the sudden surge of excitement bubbling beneath the surface. “However, I will be in my office tomorrow afternoon, if you can spare the time.”

“I am certain I can. Until tomorrow Senator.”

“Until tomorrow.”

He gave a small bow and turned to follow Colonel Yularen back into the light of the ballroom.

You stood there a moment reeling from the experience. So many questions buzzed in your mind each fighting for your attention until they became a jumbled mess. He thought you were bold?

You shook the thought away, but it didn’t stop your cheeks from growing warm once again.

Perhaps it was too soon to tell, but you had a strange feeling you would be seeing much more of Lieutenant Thrawn than just your upcoming meeting. You weren’t sure what to make of the sensation that now beat fast in your heart. All you could do was wait and see what the galaxy had in store.

Taking a small breath, you step forward towards the light. Your dress felt lighter now. The crown upon your head did not pull and prod. Your steps were smooth and easy.

However this played out, it was certain to be interesting.

#thrawn #thrawn x reader #grand admiral thrawn #grand admiral thrawn x reader #star wars imagine #timothy zahn #star wars #star wars rebels #thrawn x senator

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adenei · 3 years

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Finding My Way Back To You - Ch. 3

Here you go @my-patronus-is-a-champagne-glass I nestled the prompt into this chapter. Not they’re any close to admitting anything yet...😁

Spontaneity

After their awkward conversation in the morning, Ron and Hermione had set up all the materials the Australian ministry had gotten for them, and they began their research. The owl had contained the list of Monica and Wendell Wilkins that lived within a fifty mile radius. Turns out there were twelve.

They’d stopped for a brief lunch break, and had ordered takeaway that night for dinner. By the time night had fallen, Hermione observed their work. Of the thirty some dentist offices in the area, seventeen of them were in relatively close proximity to where eight of the Wilkins’ lived. They decided they’d start with those tomorrow. Hermione had purposely scheduled their arrival over the weekend, but forgot that Australia was ahead, so even though they left on Saturday morning, that meant they’d arrived on Sunday. Hermione was hoping for an extra day to get over the time change and plan a bit more, but she didn’t want to waste a weekday either.

“So tomorrow, we’ll start by calling the dental offices to see if there are any Dr. Wilkins.” Hermione went over the plan. They’d owled the Ministry that morning to ask about installing a telephone, and they were there by the afternoon to do so.

“You’ll make the first few so I can listen to see how you do it, yeah?” Ron asked.

Hermione chuckled a bit. “Sure, but you weren’t terrible a few years ago when you called over the summer.”

“Yeah, but that’s just it. It’s been a few years, hasn’t it? I wouldn’t want to accidentally yell at someone again like I did to Harry’s uncle,” Ron grinned at her.

Hermione laughed. “I forgot about that! Well, I think we’re good for tonight. I won’t make you work every hour of the day.”

Ron got up to go raid the pantry in the kitchen and looked back at her. “What do you want to do instead, then? It’s only...seven.”

Hermione thought back to the vodka she bought that morning at the store. Oh, I don’t know. We could get drunk and tell each other everything we’re afraid to say sober, Hermione thought to herself. “I don’t care. You pick.”

Ron pulled out the bag of crisps and saw the bottle behind it. “What’s this?” he pulled the bottle out and looked at her.

“Looks like a bottle of vodka to me,” Hermione said sarcastically.

He looked back at it, and then at Hermione again. “Want some?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Sure, if you do.” So, Ron cracked open the bottle, as Hermione pulled out the mixer and some cups. They poured the glasses, and Hermione took hers. With her previous thought about getting drunk in her mind, Hermione slammed her drink, and set her empty cup back on the counter.

Ron cocked an eyebrow at her. “Are having a drink or getting drunk?”

Hermione shrugged. “Might as well have some fun before all I can think about is finding my parents.”

“You mean that’s not already the only thing on your mind?” Ron asked.

He had a point. She had become fairly obsessed with trying to make a plan today, and it wasn’t until Ron pried her away from it that she remembered that no matter how hard they planned, it wouldn’t speed up time.

“I can think about other things, you know,” Hermione said.

“Like what?”

“I’m going to need another drink before I tell you that,” she rolled her eyes and poured some more. She watched Ron sip his own drink, before slamming her second full glass. Hermione made to go pour a third when Ron reached out and took her cup away from her.

“Alright, what’s really going on?” he asked her.

“What do you mean?” Hermione responded. She was already feeling a bit of the effects of having drunk two glasses quickly.

“You aren’t one to drink a lot, let alone drink to get drunk. What’s going on, Hermione?”

“Nothing,” she said. So much for trying the drinking angle to get Ron to talk about the kiss. “I’m just nervous,” she half lied. She was nervous, but her patience with the current status of their relationship was dwindling, and the two things combined were starting to get to her.

“Do you want to go for a walk? Some fresh air might be nice, and isn’t there a Wilkins residence close by? We could always scope it out, check one off the list tonight?” Ron suggested.

He was right, some fresh air might do her some good. “Sure, I guess so.”

She went to get her coat as Ron double checked the map they’d marked up earlier today. Sure enough, the home of Wilkins #4 as they’d labeled it was only three blocks away from them. Ron grabbed his own jacket as he stuffed the map in his pocket.

“Ready?” Ron asked, as Hermione nodded. He opened the door, and let her exit first before following and locking the door.

The neighborhood they were in was peaceful. The air was crisp, but not too cold as they set out in the opposite direction Hermione had gone in the morning. Neither said anything as they walked on, Ron leading the way.

“Think you’ll feel a little better when we get one out of the way tonight?” Ron asked as they walked.

“I’m not sure. I doubt we’ll end up seeing anything. I don’t exactly feel comfortable invading their personal privacy, and it’s a bit late to just walk up to their door besides. Even the likelihood of it being them is incredibly slim. Who knows if any of these twelve the Australian Ministry found are even them. What if they ignored me completely and are on the other side of Australia as we speak!”

“They’re here, Hermione. They have to be. Take a right here. The house is on this street. Number 304.”

They continued walking down the street, but couldn’t walk as slowly as Hermione would have liked because one of the homeowners was taking out their garbage at the same time. The man looked up as he saw them approach. “Evening! Looks like a beautiful night for a stroll,” he said smiling under the glow of the streetlight.

Ron’s first thought was that Australian’s were quite friendly, even to people they didn’t know, but the man sounded British more than Australian. They were maybe ten feet away when he’d spoken, and normally Hermione was the one who would exchange pleasantries, but she hadn’t spoken yet, so Ron decided he would, so they wouldn’t seem rude. “Er, hello. Yes, it’s not too cold, is it?”

“Not at all!” the man said back to them. “I’ll take an Australian winter over a British one any day, though I do miss it,” he said as he began walking toward his house. Hermione and Ron were in front of the house now, under the streetlight he’d just walked away from.

“You’re from England, too?” Ron asked. He couldn’t stop the question from falling out of his mouth. The man stopped and turned.

“Yes, we’ve been here for about a-” he froze. “Her-Hermione?” Ron saw him then. Really saw him. Could it really be Mr. Granger? But how did he know that it was Hermione? Ron thought she’d altered their memories.

Hermione was frozen. She couldn’t speak, so Ron took the lead again. “Mr. Grang- I mean, Wilkins?”

“Yes..,” the man said carefully. “Ron?” It’d been a few years since Ron had last seen him. When they dropped Hermione off the summer before sixth year.

“Yeah… How do you know who I am?” he asked hesitantly.

“Is that really you? Is that really my Hermione?”

“...Dad?” she finally said as she stepped closer to him, but Ron grabbed her arm.

“Hermione, how can we trust it’s really him? You said they wouldn’t know who you were..” Ron didn’t care if the supposed Mr. Granger could hear him. He looked at the house. The number did say 304. “Mr. Granger, if you’re really who you say you are, you’ll need to tell us something that only you and Hermione would know.”

“Why? But that’s ridiculous! It’s been 11 months since I’ve seen my daughter-” he started to say, but Ron cut him off.

“I’m sorry, but please, we need you to. If you are who you say you are, then we’ll explain why, but after everything we’ve been through, trusting people isn’t exactly an easy task.” Ron continued to hold Hermione with one hand as his other had hold of his wand.

“Fine,fine! Anything to prove who I am. When Hermione turned eleven, we were out on the patio for tea time, celebrating with her favorite special treat, chocolate chip scones. Hermione had just opened up one of her presents, a copy of Pride and Prejudice. Her mother and I thought she was too young to start reading the classics, but she’d borrowed Charles Dickens from the library the first week back at school, so we chose that one for her. She had already started reading when that Hogwarts professor,” he scrunched his eyes in concentration, “McGonagall, was it? Came to the door with her Hogwarts letter. It was the day we’d finally understood why she was so extraordinary.”

When Mr. Granger had finished the story, Hermione broke free from Ron’s grasps and ran towards the man who was undoubtedly her father. There was no way a death eater could possibly know that story, or tell it with the true, heartfelt emotion that Mr. Granger had..

“Daddy!” she cried as she jumped into his arms. “I’m so sorry. I had to keep you safe! I thought I’d done everything correctly, but I didn’t and I can’t believe we found you. We only just got her today, and weren’t really going to start looking until tomorrow, but Ron suggested we go for a walk, and you’re here! You’re okay!” Ron was sure tears were pouring down her face as he watched the reunion.

“Of course we’re okay, sweetheart. Would you like to come inside? Your mother, she’s been so lost lately without you. She’s had a hard time understanding.”

Ron wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t want to impede on their reunion, but he didn’t want to leave her alone either.

“Ron, you should come in as well. You traveled all this way.” Ron was relieved that Mr. Granger wanted him to come with them. He nodded as he walked up. Hermione smiled gratefully at him as they followed Mr. Granger into the house.

“Jean, dear, could you come down here and say hello to our guests?” Mr. Granger called for his wife.

“Guests? But Hugo it’s after eight! Who would be calling at this time of night?” Mrs. Granger came around the corner and dropped the book that was in her hand. “No,” she whispered.

Hermione looked at her father hesitantly, unsure of whether she should go hug her or not. Her question was answered soon enough when her mother opened her arms up and hurried toward her daughter, who gladly reciprocated the hug.

“You’re alive. You’re okay. I didn’t think…” Mrs. Granger couldn’t finish any of her sentences.

“Why don’t we go sit down and talk,” Mr. Granger suggested. He led them down the hall and into their living room, where Hermione and Ron sat on one side of the sectional they had, and her parents sat on the other.

No one really knew where to start, until Hermione said. “I’m sorry I sent you here. I- I didn’t know what else to do to keep you safe.”

“Hermione, you should have told us what was going on,” Mrs. Granger said. “Here we were living our lives as Monica and Wendell Wilkins, thinking we didn’t have a daughter, and then one day in March we woke up and remembered everything! Remembered we were Jean and Hugo Granger, who had a daughter that was nowhere to be found. Wondering why on Earth we were in Australia and not home in England!”

“So the memory charm did work, then?” Hermione said, confused. “But then why did it break?”

Ron looked at her, and then at her parents. “You said it broke in March? Do you happen to know the day?”

Mr. Granger thought for a moment before responding, “Around the 21st?”

Ron looked at Hermione. “Malfoy Manor. The torture must have been too much to maintain the magic.”

“Or maybe...maybe I did-”

“Don’t say it, Hermione,” Ron said. He refused to believe she’d died and come back. He’d already lived through thinking she was dead in his arms when they apparated to Shell Cottage.

“But I must have for the spell to break,” Hermione said.

“What happened at...Malfoy Manor, did you say?” Mrs. Granger asked. “Isn’t that the same name as the boy who bullied you at school?”

“Yes, Mum. We- we got caught, and were taken there. I was tortured by one of the death eaters, and I-” Hermione couldn’t finish as Ron put his arm around her and comforted her as best he could.

“Oh, honey,” her mother said. “So is that the reason everything came back to us?”

“It must be. I never meant for it to break. I just wanted to keep you safe.”

“Safe from what, sweetheart?” her father asked.

“So, you know how I talked about You-Know-Who up until about fourth year, and then kind of stopped after that?”

“Yes..” Mr. Granger said as her Mum nodded.

“Well, he came back at the end of fourth year. I stopped talking about it because I didn’t want you to keep me home from school. You already knew about Harry’s history with You Know Who, and being his friend, we, er, tended to get into a bit more trouble than I may have let on. We promised Harry we would go with him, help him defeat You-Know-Who. I didn’t go back to school for seventh year. We went on the run to complete a mission that was necessary to destroy him once and for all.”

“I have a feeling there’s a lot more to this story that’s going to take more than one night,” Mr. Granger said.

“I- yes,” Hermione said guiltily. “I promise I’ll tell you everything. I won’t hide any more.”

“It doesn’t have to be done tonight, sweetheart,” her mother said. “Would you like to stay here?”

“I-” Hermione looked at Ron. She wasn’t sure what to do.

“You can stay if you want. It’s fine,” Ron told her. It wasn’t fine for him, but if this was what her family needed, he didn’t want to stand in the way.

“Thanks, Mum, but I think I’ll go back to the flat the Ministry put us up in,” Hermione explained to her parents, much to Ron’s surprise.

Mr. Granger gave Ron a hard look. Ron tried not to look guilty. Not that he had anything to feel guilty about. Hermione noticed too because she said, “Dad, there are two bedrooms, don’t worry.” Ron tried not to give her a look. Didn’t she just say she wasn’t going to lie anymore? “We can come back tomorrow if you’d like, and I’ll start from the beginning.”

Her parents nodded. “How does 4:00 sound? We need to be at the office until about 3,” her father said.

“That’s great,” Hermione said gratefully. Her parents walked them to the door. “Dad? Mum? Why didn’t you return to England when the spell broke?” she asked.

Ron watched as Hermione’s parents gave each other a look before her father said, “Well, we thought about it. But ultimately we knew there was a reason you would have sent us here. We knew we had to trust you, and hoped you’d find your way to us when things were okay again.”

“Thank you for trusting me.” Hermione said in a voice that clearly said ‘I don’t deserve you’.

“We missed you more than anything, sweetheart. We’re so thankful you’re safe,” Mrs. Granger said.

Hermione hugged both her parents tightly. “I love you both.”

“We love you, too. We’ll see you tomorrow afternoon,” Mr. Granger said as they made their way out the door.

The walk back to the flat was quiet. Ron could sense Hermione’s relief, but knew there was a long road ahead, even if the search had turned out surprisingly quick.

#romione #mild slow burn #hp australia

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alj4890 · 4 years

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Choices September Challenge

Day 10 Together

(Leo x Madeleine) in a Choices Rules of Engagement drabble.

A/N I know. I do. There is a ton of Madeleine hate out there. Granted there have been several times I wanted the MC to slap her in TRR. But...when it is all said and done, she has been dealt a raw deal in not just one Choices series, but two.

@choicesseptemberchallenge20 @xjustin-ethansgirliex @lovealexhunt @krsnlove

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"Leo, darling?" Madeleine smiled warmly at him. "Am I boring you with these ideas for the wedding reception?"

Cordonia's crown prince leaned over and pecked a kiss to her cheek. "Sorry, love. I can't seem to concentrate lately."

She placed her hand on his. "I know this type of activity isn't something you would normally choose to do." She lowered her eyes to the images on the table that she had spent one too many hours agonizing over. "I just want everything to be perfect."

"I know you do." Leo released a frustrated breath. "Trust me. Father has done nothing but say how our wedding must be perfect." He rolled his eyes. "Anything for the people."

"I want it perfect for us." She shyly admitted.

He avoided her eyes. "Well, of course."

Unable to look down at his future being decided by everyone but him, he left the table to pace.

"I know most will expect us to use the formal dining room, but I have a soft spot for the place you proposed." She lifted a photograph of a rarely used ballroom in the palace. "No one else knows how special that room is. It could be our own secret celebration during the rec--"

"Madeleine?" Leo turned abruptly toward her. "I need a break."

"I suppose we have been at this for a while." She gathered her photographs and notes. "We can decide tomorrow--"

"I'm going to go out of town for a few days." He informed her.

She stilled. "Out of town? But--"

"I know it is poor timing." He took her hands in his. "I need this."

She looked up at him. A hint of a smile formed on her lips. "Leo, I know circumstances have sped up since your father announced our intention to marry sooner than you thought ." She pressed a tender kiss to his lips. "You deserve a little time to yourself."

He cupped her face and kissed her once more. "You're an angel."

She smiled at him. "Don't stay away too long."

"I won't."

***************

A few days later...

"Madeleine?"

She looked up from her seating charts. "Yes, your majesty?"

Constantine walked into her room. "My dear, I've received word from Leo. He has decided to extend his time away."

"He did?" Her brow furrowed in confused hurt. "I haven't heard from him. Did he not want to talk to me?"

"Leo has decided to take a cruise." He explained. "He assured me that when it makes its next port that he will come back home." He gently patted her shoulder. "I know he will call you once he is settled."

A niggling doubt cropped up in her mind, one that she would have to ignore. "Of course he will. I simply miss his input on all these decisions we need to make."

Constantine laughed. "Leo? You want his input? I believe you should make all the plans." He bowed his head to her. "Your taste needs no assistance."

*****************

A few weeks later...

"Lady Madeleine?!" One of the paparazzo yelled out. "How do you feel about Prince Leo caught in Santorini with an unknown woman?"

"Is the wedding still happening?" Another asked while snapping a photo.

"Why hasn't there been a definite date set?"

Madeleine kept her practiced smile firmly in place. "All of Cordonia knows how friendly our crown prince is. Knowing him as well as I do, I'm certain that he was being his usual charming, helpful self to a person in need." She swallowed nervously. "I expect him to come home soon. Then, together, we will announce our wedding date."

A flurry of camera flashes blinded her as she tried to make it to the waiting car.

That must have been what caused her tears.

**************

The next day...

"There you are!" Leo was a touch breathless as he jogged over. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"I decided to go for a walk." Madeleine mumbled.

She tilted her head while studying him. "So? How was Santorini?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, I know there have been rumors floating about my time there."

"Rumors." She said calmly. "Pictures." Blocking his path, she asked the question she dreaded. "Leo, who is she?"

He took her hands and raised them to his lips. "Love, she's only a fellow cruise ship passenger." He shrugged his shoulders. "She was in the wrong place and I used my title to help her."

Madeleine remained quiet. Doubt practically radiated throughout her mind.

She'd seen the pictures. There was no way possible that the mystery woman was just another passenger. She knew the look of desire Leo had. She knew the tenderness that could appear when he flirted. She knew that he only held hands with someone he truly cared for.

And all those were seen in the photos.

Is it just a fling? Or something more?

Whatever it is, it hurt. It was a rock shattering the glass bubble of her dream. She had thought that he had chosen her out of everyone because he felt something more than a simple sense of duty.

Was I mistaken?

She lowered her head. "I see."

Leo shifted from foot to foot. "How's the plans going?"

"Everything is moving right along." She forced herself to meet his eyes. Her proud, cool mask once more in place. "Your father suggested the the fourteenth of next month for our wedding."

"Fourteenth?" He averted his gaze. "That soon?"

"Yes." Her tone hardened. "It is very soon."

He let go of her hands. Taking a step back, he flashed a charming smile. "I should go talk to Father." He turned away from her. "I'll see you soon."

**************

A day later...

"You're what?" Madeleine didn't bother to hide her frustration. "You're returning to the cruise ship?!"

"Father and Regina understand the pressure I'm under." Leo snapped. "I would think that my future wife would also understand."

"I do understand pressure!" She put her hands on her hips. "I'm the one taking all the pressure for our wedding!"

"I can't deal with this right now Madeleine." He shoved some clothes into a duffle bag. "Especially when you're yelling."

"I'm not yelling!" She exclaimed.

He smirked at her.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "Leo, we need to quiet these rumors that something is wrong." Her pride smarted having to beg him to help her. "We need to spend some time together."

"And we will." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "As soon as I return."

He brushed past her without a goodbye.

As soon as she no longer heard his footsteps, she dropped her head into her hands.

**************

A couple of weeks later...

He's back and he didn't think to tell me!

Madeleine straightened her posture. She took three deep breaths and sneaked into his bedroom.

She hated that she felt a twinge in her heart as she observed his sleeping form. His hair was tousled. Skin tanned by his days on his cruise.

His eyes opened. He blinked sleepily a few times as he sat up.

"Madeleine? Wha--"

She was determined to put the past behind them. Once they were married, they would be united in all that they did for their country and in their personal life.

She draped her arms across his shoulders and kissed him. "I've missed you, darling--"

"Leo?"

Madeleine stilled. She looked over her shoulder and saw the girl from the pictures.

"What the hell is this?!" The picture girl yelled.

"Katie!" Leo pleaded. "It's not what you think--"

Not what you think?

"Who is she?" Katie demanded.

"Who are you?" Madeleine countered.

"I'm Leo's princess." She announced.

Leo's princess.

Somehow Madeleine retained her cool. Those two words had struck her to the point that she felt the need to double over from the pain.

Leo's princess. I was once that. In the eyes of the world, I AM that. Oh God, how did this--what should I--please--give me the words.

"I'm his fiancée." Madeleine explained. She felt a slight bit of pity for the other woman when she took a step back in surprise.

Just imagine you were days from your wedding only to discover that your prince charming is a dirty, cheating scumbag.

"Madeleine, get out of here." Leo ordered.

She somehow kept her emotions at bay. Shouldn't he be down on his knees begging for her forgiveness? Shouldn't he be telling this Katie person to leave?

She walked past the angry woman and out into the hallway.

I have to know.

For the first time in her life, Madeleine pressed her ear to a door.

Each word Leo said caused shock and pain to rise within her. Her carefully calm mask slipped. Tears built in her eyes. Lips parted to get the needed breaths of air.

He didn't want her. He never had. He was willing to give up the throne just to get out of having to marry her.

Leo wanted Katie. Wanted to make it up to her. Prove to her she is the only woman in his life.

We were never together. All I was was an obligation. A necessary step to the throne that he has no desire in claiming.

She felt like such a fool. She had tried to be affectionate. Allowed herself to fall for him. Hoped for a marriage different from her parents. Believed she had found it.

Never again. The only thing she would ever leave herself vulnerable was for her country, her people. Emotions had no place in being a ruler. Hadn't her father told her that repeatedly?

She stepped away from his door. Her pride decided to remind this Katie that there was something bigger here than the three of them. A country would need its future king and queen. It would need their offspring. It would need stability.

Cordonia was all she had left. Being given a chance to be its next queen was all she was good for.

She couldn't lose it now.

#choices the stories you play #choices sept challenge #choices september challenge #leo x madeleine #leo x katie #choices rules of engagement

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lov3nerdstuff · 4 years

Text

Dark Stars

*Loki x OFC*

Part: 1/10

Words: 5.5k

Chapter warnings: some dark thoughts

Genre: angst, mystery, romance

Summary: ~Loki could just let her die here and now. His problems would be solved and he could go back to his usual ways. But then he would forever be left with an unsolved mystery and he hated the prospect of that even more than the fear of what would happen if she lived.~

Or: A story of what happens when Loki stumbles upon someone who is like him in every way. Only better. Oh, and they just happen to save Asgard too.

A.N.: To celebrate over 1000 people following me (how insane is that?!), I decided to share the newly edited version of the very first Loki fanfiction I ever wrote back in the day! Enjoy the mischief 💚

All Parts can be found on my Masterlist!

______________________________

It was an unbearably sunny late afternoon in Asgard, one of the kind that threatened to suffocate you with its looming silence and drown you with its sizzling heat. Nothing out of ordinary was going on in the palace, much to Loki's disdain. He certainly didn't mind the temperature, nor the silence, but the nerve-wracking boredom was slowly killing him, nagging at his mind and chipping away pieces of his sanity.

Just a few days ago he had been let out of the palace prisons, once again, and he hoped it was for good this time. He hated the place, hated the cold boredom, hated the time he could spend getting lost in his internal darkness. The prisons were a dangerous place, but not as dangerous as his own mind. Yet he seemed to be locked into both equally often. Every time Loki just slightly misbehaved, or caused the tiniest mischief, Odin would have him locked up for weeks, sometimes even months. Every opportunity to get him out of the public sphere was taken advantage of.

But today he was free at last. The question was for how long though, as the allfather surely would waste no time to find another excuse to send Loki back to confinement. It was becoming rather a boring game between them.

Currently Loki found himself alone. Thor was, like mostly everyone else, busy with all the important matters nobody would let Loki even come close to. Not that he would care... Always the outsider, he was usually left to mind his own business, which he gladly did.

Thus he was only strolling through the palace, lost in his own thoughts, drowning. At least the rage he had felt all day, about the despicable pack that was his family, was slowly receding to the normal disdain he felt for them at all times.

He was just crossing into a bright hall with a large balcony, heavy balustrade ornamented with imprints of long past glory, when something caught his eye. He stopped dead in his track, turning to look at the balcony with narrowed eyes and a deep frown.

Right there on the balustrade lay a girl with her arms crossed under her head, gazing up into the clouds.

After a second of admitted surprise and another of careful consideration, Loki walked out onto the balcony, already preparing for conflict. She was not supposed to be here, not supposed to have gotten here. He knew everyone in the palace. And yet he had absolutely no idea who she was.

As soon as he came in close enough to see her more clearly, she suddenly turned her head to face to him. Those breathtaking green eyes... A small smirk spread on her lips, mere seconds before she sat up and let herself fall backwards, off the balcony, into the beginning sunset.

Loki's eyes widened as he halted in something one might be able to describe as shock, considering it was an expression coming from Loki, who never really felt things of quite the ordinary sort.

In an instant he stood at the balustrade. Nothing. She had simply vanished into thin air. Or she had shattered on the hard ground far below the balcony, but Loki highly doubted it. What an odd encounter… The frown remained on Loki's face, but he decided to let it slide for the sake of returning to his brooding. It wasn't his task to keep intruders out of the palace, after all, and he wasn't willing to do Odin's job.

Still, over the course of this day and the next few Loki was sure to see her from time to time, bright eyes gazing at him from the shadows, her small silhouette lounging about in the corners of the palace… But it was more of a feeling than an actual sight. She was definitely there, even if he couldn't see her.

A week later –Loki had been strolling through the palace gardens for the majority of the day– he made his way to the kitchens once night had fallen upon the kingdom. His family didn't bother to call him to dinner anymore, for he had never once joined their elaborate feasts since his latest release from the prisons, and Loki generally avoided contact with them as much as possible. Maybe out of personal pride, maybe to give them no opportunity to mock and hurt him any further.

Only Thor had cared enough to tell the servants to set some food aside in the kitchen, for Loki to find and enjoy in his own time. The thoughtful gesture, admittedly, made Loki care a little more for his idiot brother than for the other idiots.

As he went to retrieve his meal now, in the safety of the darkness, his mind wandered back to the girl in the shadows. How had she done that, back on the balcony? Just vanishing… He believed it to be something only he himself was truly capable of. But his pondering was of no use, despite the burning need to understand the occurrence, and he realized that he needed to attend to his physical needs for now. His stomach was very precise in its growling.

However as soon as he entered the kitchen, he noticed that he was not alone.

"Do you realize that intruding is a crime? So is stealing food from the royal kitchen…" He said while quickly scanning the dark room out of the corners of his eyes. A slight smile played on his lips, as he found that this shadowy game of cat and mouse might have run into a dead end.

"It's only a crime if I get caught…" A sweet voice answered a short moment later, and Loki could hear the smile in it, while he had yet to make out where she was.

"Well, I have been arrested for less." He laughed breathily, slowly sauntering over from one wall of the room to the other. "Have you at least found what you are looking for?"

A brief moment of deep silence followed, then an empty golden plate came sliding down the grand table in the middle of the room, right out of the darkness and straight towards Loki.

"Have you indeed?" She chuckled.

"That was my food." Loki replied with a deep chill to his voice. It obviously bothered him that someone was taking what was his, but the girl, this riddle of who she was and where she had come from… it fascinated him beyond measure.

"I beg your pardon, dear sir." She said, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Why do you steal food and why are you in the palace?" Loki finally asked, ignoring her previous comment.

"Why are you?" She smiled. "Sneaking into the kitchen late at night?"

"Don't you know who I am?" He asked, slowly getting more and more amused by the way she was talking to him. It was a temerity, and Loki loved it.

"I know many things, my dear sir, but why would I need to know who you are? Isn't it far more interesting to know what you are? How you are? Why you are?" Her soft voice wrapped around his senses like a lure, cast out only for him to drown in.

Loki frowned, curiosity flashing in his eyes as he finally spotted her dark frame in the darkness of the kitchen. "Why don't you stop playing games with me and tell me who you are instead?" He asked calmly, in the same sensual, deep richness in which she spoke to him before.

Again, her voice was sweet when she responded, but full of passion. "But life would be no fun without games, don't you think?"

Loki froze in his movements, a small smirk appearing on his face, an imprint of his sincere amusement. "Indeed it wouldn't. Very well…"

He watched her shadowy form wander from the wall on the other side of the room, towards the open window front.

"Well, I assume I will see you soon." He said once she had reached the open window, with a little more hope in his voice than appropriate.

"What makes you so sure I will come back?" She responded with the same smirk upon her lips, turning around to face Loki as she stood a mere inch from the edge, where the floor met the open air.

"What makes you so sure I won't have the guards arrest you when you do?" Loki mused, but whether she could hear him he did not know, and he did not care either.

With one more amused smile she let herself fall backwards into the night, eyes fixed on Loki's in curious intensity before she was gone.

Loki did not even bother checking where she went… Maybe she just had a thing for letting herself fall from a mile above the ground?

Shaking his head, he headed back towards his chambers, unable to drop the smile that had manifested itself upon his lips. His dinner plans were long forgotten and his mind busy with more important matters. This night, he did not sleep at all.

_______________

From that day on, Loki was more attentive towards his surroundings. He knew he should not hope to find the girl again... And yet he so desperately wanted to. To solve this mystery that had found its way into his dull life. This whole situation had him on edge on a constant basis, had thrown him into deep conflict with himself. As the days passed, his initial curiosity slowly turned into anger, for he could think of absolutely nothing but her, and the anger turned soon into hatred. Why did confusing emotions always lead to hatred with him?

Loki had always felt a deep hatred for confusing emotions, for distractions, that was nothing new. But now that he wanted nothing more than to find the girl, he hated himself even more for being so consumed by this desire. It, she, was a distraction, nothing more. He had more important matters to attend to! But he couldn't simply stop being intrigued and fascinated and… Could not bring his mind to shut up about her. For that, it made him hate her as well. As the distraction she had become to him. The unsolved mystery, the desire he could not get rid of.

His days were spent brooding in the most shadowy places of the palace and its surroundings, and at night he would aimlessly wander around the halls and corridors until he somehow would end up back at the kitchen. He hated how disappointed he was every time he had to see that he was alone.

The tenth night after their little chat, as he once more came to collect his meal in disappointment to find her absent, he looked down onto the well-laid table with a sigh and a roll his eyes. By all the nine realms, what was happening to his sanity?! What was he doing here, going to do now?

Slowly, sighing to himself, he turned on his heels and locked the kitchen door from the inside. Then he opened a window just wide enough for the gap to be visible to the watchful eye and finally he used his magic to bring himself back to his room, all the while frowning deeply at his own despicable actions.

A few hours later he returned to the kitchen the very same way he had left, finding the plate empty and all dishes neatly washed up. With another curse to himself, he unlocked the door and left. Only then, finally, would his mind allow him to think of other matters once again. For the first time in two weeks.

He continued this procedure for another week, all the while torturing himself mentally. She was a small flame, and he the raging fires of Hel. And still, he set the table for her every night.

It appeared to him to be so wrong, everything he had been doing lately. Thinking about her. About their talk. And giving her a direct invitation to steal his food. He hadn't eaten all that much himself, finding no appetite for anything but information. It all was utterly stupid. But then, why did he continue to do it anyway?

Every time he saw a person during his walks through the palace, they would always jump out of his way. Almost no one wanted to deal with him and his moods, and the rest avoided him anyway. His temper had gotten so bad, so feared, that a rumor had started, saying he was up to some sinister things again. Others said he had finally gone mad once and for all. But everyone had somehow collectively decided to avoid him even more than before.

Honestly, their ways and actions didn't bother Loki much, for he was way more concerned about his own erratic behavior.

But suddenly, after another week, he had finally managed to regain some control over his scattered mind. The incident in the kitchen was pushed back to the darkest corner of his mind, locked up behind the most intricate seals, and she was no more than another face he had once upon a time laid eyes upon.

That was when he decided to take a walk through the palace garden late, at night and in the comfort of the darkness. The night was seemingly the only time he left his chambers these days, for it allowed him to avoid the preying eyes of the folk.

The further away he walked from the palace, the better he felt and the more at ease his troubled mind was. Once he reached his ultimate destination, he sighed almost contently. Two trees, in perfect symmetry.

From the outside, from the mere look, there was nothing that could have given away his secret. He smiled to himself as he walked through the gap between the two trees. Around him, the landscape changed, blurred and reorganized itself until he found himself standing on a clearing with a lovely natural pool, surrounded by large rocks.

This had been his hideaway all throughout his childhood… A picture perfect little place, securely hidden by as many illusions as his magic as a child had allowed him. Of course he had come back and changed a few things though, making it even more uninviting for any stranger who happened to pass by.

But this time when he stepped into the opening, he noticed the difference immediately.

"How...?" He asked quietly, anger and irritation not even remotely hidden from his voice. "How DARE you come to this place?!" His voice rang through the clearing like a rough wind, touching everything in reach in a shaking, threatening quiet.

And here they were once more, the girl and his endlessly torturing thoughts… Loki's blood froze over and started boiling at the very same time. Cold bit harder than fire, cold was cunning in the way it numbed its victim to the damage.

Slowly she walked towards Loki, and he had to keep himself from killing this little worm right on the spot. Her presence here scared him deeply, and Loki, like everyone in fear, lashed out when feeling threatened. This was his space, his alone.

"Hello." She said calmly and came to a stop only a couple feet in front of him. Now he could finally see her more clearly, more real, for the night was bright with stars and a low hanging moon as full as Thor had been at the last banquet.

She looked young, Loki thought. But her eyes seemed to bear the wisdom of many lifetimes.

"How were you able to get to this place?" Loki whispered, full of irritation and a hint of wonder. She frowned, opening her mouth but closing it again quickly.

"There was a door between the two trees and I walked right through it. Isn't that what one is supposed to do with doors? And well, here I am." She replied finally, reluctantly. All the while she didn't look at his eyes, but rather at his shoulders, his hands, his legs.

Loki was irritated to say the least. Normally his barrier would block out everyone except for himself and well, his mother, because she also…

"You are a creature of magic." He said lowly, taking a step closer to the girl. She didn't flinch, nor move, which honestly surprised him, considering his forcefully hostile attitude.

"And that makes you so angry?" She asked quietly, looking straight into Loki's eyes at last. And in that very moment, something strange happened. Not the romantic kind of strange, but the strange kind of strange really.

Loki was completely taken aback as suddenly images flooded his mind, horrible, dark images of pain and torture and things even worse than that. Imagines he could not quite put meaning to, until he saw a little girl that looked terribly beaten up, and even more scared. Then pain hit him like a lightning, forcing him to his knees and finally to the ground altogether. Yet as suddenly as it had come, it was all gone again.

Panting he lay on his back, chest rising and falling rapidly as he tried to catch his breath, and his eyes slowly began to adjust to the real world again. It took him a second to remind himself of his current situation, but as soon as it hit him, he jumped to his feet. The girl was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily as had Loki.

Without a second thought he let a blade of ice appear in his hand and moved to tower over her small body.

"I thought you were a nice guy." She chuckled breathlessly while Loki pressed her torso back to the ground with his foot. The gesture made a part of his being protest heavily, and another dance in victory. It remained for later to see which part was larger.

"You know nothing about me..." He said gravely, while his eyes pierced hers. "YOU have no right to be here."

"Well, you didn't mind when you let me into the palace every night." She answered with a smirk that sent a jolt of energy through Loki's heart. His hand with the blade in it began to shake ever so slightly, only for him to suppress the movement immediately. He was already torn enough about his behavior in his mind… he didn't need his body betray him as well.

"Because the palace is the allfather's concern. I wouldn't care if the rats came and overtook the damn place." He spoke calmly, yet felt mind protest heavily at his current actions. He ignored the voice telling him to stop the hostility. "But this little piece of nothing, this utterly unimportant part of nature, this is mine alone. And I will not allow anyone to take it from me." His voice dropped to a dangerous low as he lifted the blade and… saw the images of the frightened, beaten up little girl in his head. The blade hit the ground less than an inch next to her head. With a shivering breath he stepped away from her, running his hands through his hair in despair. What was he doing!? He should punish her for intruding, for taking control over his mind so effortlessly, maybe even so unknowingly... He should just end his own torment by ending her, right here and right now, to never think of it again. But he couldn't.

"I'm sorry." She finally said and got up, walking towards Loki with long, elegant strides. "You were very nice, gracious, in letting me into the kitchen, and I didn't mean to be disrespectful." A second before she could place a hand on his shoulder, his own hand shot up to stop her mid-air.

"Don't. EVER. Do that again." He said in a warning, but not angry tone. Half a second later he let go of her hand and turned to leave. With his back to her, he finally spoke up once more. "I expect you to be gone before sunrise. And don't come back to the palace. If I ever have to lay eyes upon you again, you will come to know just now nice I really am."

With that he left her standing in the middle of the opening and marched right through the secret entrance, convincing himself that he wasn't fleeing, and failing at it most miserably. But all those images, his locked away thoughts, the confusion, the CHAOS… It was too much to bear. Even his stoic facade had its limits.

Once back in the ordinary palace gardens, he did not get far before he heard her voice call out to him.

"What's your name?" She asked curiously. "I at least want to know the name of the nicest man I have ever met."

He stopped in his movement, closing his eyes, and cursed his mind for being so weak. "Loki." He gave back shortly, and before his stupid mind would bring forth any more foolish actions, he brought himself back to his chambers with magic. He was not in the mood for something as mundane as walking back. To be precise, he was not in the mood for anything at all. Thus he only shed his clothing at once for the sake of a hot bath. Only as he dwelt in the comfort of the almost boiling water, he closed his eyes, hoping he would just fall asleep and drown for real, as he already had in his mind.

_______________

A few days had passed when Loki decided to join the official meals once more, for the kitchen felt like burnt territory now. And the hatred for this damn kingdom would maybe distract him from the hatred he felt for himself and his actions, his words, his thoughts.

"I'm glad that you have finally come to sense, brother." Thor greeted him happily. Loki ignored him.

"It was about time you let go of that dark demeanor and brooding indifference. I have arranged for you to sit next to father, who wants to have a word with you, and I, and I made sure that…" Thor talked on, but Loki had turned on his heels already to head back towards the exit.

Nope, he couldn't do it. He felt overwhelmed by the mere thought of being surrounded by all those utterly stupid people and their utterly meaningless conversations. A room full of people who hated him wasn't the best company, though they hated him not nearly as much as he hated himself. Not even true hatred those puny creatures were capable of… only feasting and smalltalk. No harsh emotions.

He returned to his chambers and sat down on the balustrade of his own balcony, watching the ongoings far below him. Literally and figuratively.

After what seemed like a small eternity of silent peace on the outside and a raging battlefield on the inside, there was a determined knock on his door.

"Loki?" Thor's voice sounded muffled through the thick wood and chipping paint. "Loki I know you are in there. Will you let me in?"

Of course Loki wouldn't. He remained sitting still on the balustrade, pondering over the implications and results of simply jumping. He wouldn't get hurt, not really after all, and he could always teleport back to where he was now, to safety, to misery. Maybe he shouldn't save himself though, that might be for the better of everyone. Unfortunately Loki didn't care for the better of everyone, not on the outside at least, only in a place hidden very deeply within him.

"Loki…" Thor sounded annoyed.

"What, brother?!" Loki spat out the last word as if it was venom on his lips.

"I… I would like to apologize for being so…" Thor's voice trailed off.

"...Stupid? Ignorant? Foolish? Bearded, maybe?" Loki helped him out, but only gained a chuckle in response. Not the desired reaction. His words were not meant to amuse, but to hurt. Maybe he should've stopped at foolish to get his point across.

"I meant to say pushy." Thor finally sighed. "I know how much you dislike our family and… well, everyone basically, but…"

The door flew open and Loki stood only inches away from his brother's face. "THEY despise ME. Why should I treat them any differently..."

Thor sighed. "Not everyone despises you, Loki."

Loki turned around to his room and walked back to the balustrade, leaving the door open for reasons beyond him. Thor followed quietly. "I don't despise you…"

Loki didn't answer, but instead moved to stand on top of the railing, staring down into the city below him with an angry frown. Thor was a fool for believing Loki would actually care at all whether he despised him or not… a fool for not hating Loki like he ought to. Thor seriously made hiding behind hatred difficult than it should be. Why by Valhalla did nobody understand that it was safest for everyone to leave Loki alone for good?!

"...and I think you shouldn't despise yourself either." Thor finally said, now standing in the open window that led onto the balcony.

With an annoyed glare, Loki turned around to face his brother. "You were never one to talk about feelings, and I honestly preferred you that way." He looked him right in the eye, wondering how to get away from the very much unnecessary conversation. "Go mind your own business. Be a good pet to your father."

Then he let himself fall backwards, the only possible route of escape. Off the balustrade, down towards the city in a rushing speed. Just like she had done… He willed his mind to shut up already. He heard Thor shout his name… how vain, really. But Loki only closed his eyes and enjoyed the calm, and for a brief moment he felt free. Free of hatred, free of pain, free of sadness. Of anger, guilt and revenge. The feeling was dangerously addicting. He was only himself, in a way that he should always have been and never will be indeed.

But the brief moment passed and all the confusing emotions came rushing back, heavier and more grave than he had felt them before. Maybe the people were right, maybe he was insane.

Then he hit the ground, not even bothering to slow down his fall before the inevitable collision. Fortunately enough, he landed right in the middle of a field with no one around to report the incident back to their king. Surprisingly, he hadn't died. It did not even hurt. Damn. Stupid plan, after all.

He didn't specifically want to die, but he wouldn't quite mind either. So he merely remained laying in the trench the force of his impact had created. At least no one would bother him here, and he could think in peace, could start to sort through this internal maze, this downward spiral of irrational behavior and divergence from his usual self.

Oh how wrong he was in assuming he would find peace here, as a few minutes later he noticed Thor's heavy footsteps making the ground vibrate beneath him.

"Brother, you seriously have a problem or a few…" Thor sighed as he sat down next to Loki.

"Yeah I know…" Loki sighed bitterly, opting for sarcasm. "Thank you very much for pointing it out though."

Thor sighed again and rested his face in his palms in utter exasperation. The view made Loki smile for the first time in days.

_______________

That night was the first after a row of many sleepless ones where he could finally find some rest.

The next evening, he tried once again to join dinner. He ought to push himself if he ever wanted to forget about the girl and to prove to himself that he was still very much the collected, intelligent god he deemed himself to be, instead of this insane mess of internal chaos. Had the girl ever left his secret garden? Had she come back to the palace already, stealing and spying?

He cleared his mind of those thoughts and walked into the great hall where dinner was to be served every moment now. After the first steps into the room, he could already feel the preying eyes on himself, the ogling and whispering.

"What is he doing here?" Someone asked in disbelief, someone else merely gasped.

Loki however remained silent, his face frozen and grave. His eyes landed on Thor, who already looked surprised enough. Odin on the other hand showed nothing but disdain. Surely he would rather have Loki locked up again where no one could see the poor excuse of a son Loki knew Odin saw in him.

The entire hall had fallen silent as Loki walked towards his designated seat. With the same stoic expression he sat down and soon the talk around him began to pick up again.

"You certainly know how to make an entrance…" Thor smiled. "Do not worry brother, I will leave you alone and not repeat yesterday's mistakes."

"Thank you." Loki responded calmly, but he felt highly uncomfortable. Even though he could be beyond charming and very much likable if he wanted to be, most of it was merely pretense and came out so rarely that most people had forgotten there was any goodness left in him at all.

So he just sat in silence and ate his food, while watching the people around him. Most of them were talking to each other, eating and laughing, and still Loki did not miss the glares everyone was giving him from time to time. It was the first instance in forever that he was joining an official event after all. People weren't used to his presence, and neither was he used to theirs.

Suddenly a guard came rushing into the room and quickly strode towards the allfather, quietly talking to him in obvious haste. The other dinner guests didn't seem to take much notice of it.

Odin called Thor to his side, whispering to him now, while looking at Loki in deepest suspicion.

Of course, whenever something bad happened around the palace, it seemed to always be Loki who was accused first. He rolled his eyes and rose to his feet. Now that everyone had followed Odin's gaze, they were quite shamelessly staring at him and it became obvious that he was not welcome anymore. Yet, he at least wanted to know what he would be imprisoned for next.

Thus he halted when he overheard, by pure accident of course, what exactly the guard was explaining to Odin and Thor.

"...found her trespassing in the royal forest…" The guard's voice was almost too quiet to hear. "...took forever to chase her down… ...heavily wounded… ...dangerous..."

A cold shiver ran down Loki's spine, which he tried to ignore as much as possible, for he was most certain to already know who exactly they were speaking of. Who this 'she' was.

As unsuspiciously as possible, he came to stand in the shadow behind a grand pillar, listening in on the quiet conversation and hoping to hear no more bad news at least.

"...she was barely conscious when we found her. But she kept calling his name…" The guard looked around the room nervously, obviously not finding what or whoever he was looking for.

"Whose name?" Thor asked just as quietly, yet with the not unusual hint of irritation lacing his voice.

"Loki." The guard responded dimly, not daring to look at the allfather, probably in fear of his wrath.

"Where is she now?" Odin asked coldly. "And I hope for your life that your men are already looking for my 'son'…"

"We, uhm, we have locked her in the prisons…" He stuttered. "A-and no, I sincerely apologize, we have not began seeking for Loki."

"But you said she was wounded, why hasn't she been brought to the healers?" Thor asked with a deep frown that Loki could easily hear reflected in his voice.

"Why should we spend resources to heal her… She would have to face trial, and eventually death, for trespassing anyway. Maybe she will spare us the effort." Odin answered to Thor. "And as for you…" He faced the guard now. "When you came into this hall, Loki was right over there. Why exactly did you NOT secure him immediately?" His voice was calm. So calm in fact that Loki could tell even from afar that Odin must be fuming. The rage that was so badly hidden within his voice almost made Loki laugh. But after hearing all of this, he did not feel like laughing at all. He did not feel anything at all.

That fool of a woman had let herself get caught. And hurt. AND locked up. Loki was furious for getting involved in this, and even more for the deeply rooted worry he felt for her well-being. And he was already on his way down into the very same prisons he had hoped to never see from the inside again, indeed hoping that he was not too late now.

______________________________

General Tags:

@its-remy-not-ratatouille @wegingerangelica @thidls12333 @tomstoobeautiful @dreary-skies-stuff @averyhill4445 @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @sadly-falling-through-wonderland @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna @mishaandthebrits @mygodisloki @i-am-a-mes @nonsensicalobsessions @exygon @hiddles-lobotomy @rjohnson1280 @annwhojumps @spookycatqueen @salempoe @headoverhiddleston @fanfiction-and-stress @createdfromblue @halszka-potter @thecreatiivecorner @themusingsofmany @inthemarvelvoid @from-hel-i-with-love @kinghiddlestonanddixon @scorpionchild81 @foodthatsgoodforyoursoul @crystal-28 @adefectivedetective @lokis-girl-in-mischief

If you would like to be added to the tag list, tell me in the comments 💚💗✨ I'm very much hoping for some feedback on this, even though it is not my usual way of writing Loki ☺️ as I said, this story is pretty old and my style of writing has changed since then 😄

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fourangers · 4 years

Text

Kakashi’s exposé

Dedicated to @rivaille-plisetsky that suggested the prompt:

Post-War shenanigans with Kakashi being the only one with knowledge of their relationship

So here it is! I hope you’ll like it. SNS, with a tiny bit one-sided Sakura --> Sasuke, and sex insinuations. Comedy and it’s a lil to the side of crack.

AO3 link

==.==.==

Somehow, some way, it just clicked. Maybe it was due to exhaustion, or Sakura's confession still fresh in his mind but Kakashi witnessed the way Sasuke was looking at his best friend/rival/nemesis, how affection warmed his black eyes mixed with longing and burning intensity and it was just…oh. Oh. OoooooOooH.

Everything made sense now. It's no wonder he was so desperate to cut off his bonds with Naruto and why it brought him so much pain to do so.

Kakashi just stood mildly shocked as his eyes followed his previous students' behavior, from Sakura's relieved smile, Naruto's wide beam and Sasuke's gaze constantly trained towards the blond nin.

Ah…to be young and naive.

⏤.⏤

Kakashi had a hard time feigning surprise when he saw both boys tucked together, blissfully sleeping on the small bed at the hospital. Sakura, on the other hand, was so happy about Sasuke's return that she didn't connect the dots yet.

The next few months was a cumbersome process of finding solid proofs about the Uchiha's massacre tying with Konoha's higher office corruption, since the elders were eager to throw Sasuke in jail while he was still recuperating from his wounds. Fortunately Naruto called Shikamaru for help as they searched in the archives with Tsunade's permission.

Soon enough all the guilty were charged for conspiracy in ethnic cleansing and thrown behind bars. Sasuke also spent some time in jail for multiple attempts of murder against the 5 kages, but thankfully due to his contributions in ending the latest ninja war and Naruto’s constant nagging with Tsunade, he was set free.

Naruto and Kakashi both expected that Sasuke would bolt out of Konoha the second he was unchained. However, much to their puzzled astonishment, the last Uchiha had decided to settle down. He even took the chuunin exams with Naruto as some sort of proof that he desired to get back being a Konoha citizen. As if there was something(someone) that rooted him to the ground.

When Sasuke reached 18 years old, Kakashi gifted him a special Icha Icha book with prim pride.

Sasuke glanced at the title, glared his ex-teacher with his face bright red, and promptly hid when they noticed Naruto’s chakra close by. Several comrades joined in afterwards, some were part of the rookie nine, other were Sasuke’s current teammates, all gathered to celebrate his birthday.

Through the course of that night, wherever Sasuke would go, Ino and Sakura were on his toes once again, vying for his attention. It was a confusing realization for Kakashi, that even if Sakura was now an accomplished medic-nin and jounin, she would revert to her pre-teen self once Sasuke was around. Kakashi simply observed in between sips of sake while Sakura fussed over Sasuke with her doe-eyed expression, and Sasuke tolerated her presence with the smallest furrow on his handsome face. Black eyes flickered towards Naruto’s back, before he exhaled a heavy sigh, calling Sakura much to Ino’s annoyance.

On the next day, the news about Sasuke and Sakura dating was the talk of the whole town. Or rather, how Sakura was running behind her beloved wherever they go, emerald eyes glimmering like a little girl winning the affection of her idolized popular boy.

This is bizarre; Kakashi concluded watching the one-sided interactions. Those youngsters were just too much for him sometimes.

Naruto swore that he welcomed this new development with open arms, really, like…really. He’d accept no one else but Sasuke, if he was going to lose Sakura’s hand to another man. But Kakashi could notice the tightness of his grins whenever team 7 would reunite, but whether he was jealous over Sakura or Sasuke, no one would ever know.

Months have passed and Sasuke was slowly entering a dangerous territory, returning to his personal darkness that few could reach. Maybe it was due to Sakura’s impatience that their relationship got stuck since day one, or how she finally broke the illusion that her idol was just a regular man, so she was currently much more content spending her time with Ino nowadays. Maybe it was because his friendship with Naruto was becoming strained over the days. Maybe the Hyuuga’s heiress bold approach towards his best friend was grating Sasuke’s nerves.

Kakashi sighed. They were so much cuter back when they were little genins.

But Kakashi was; he hoped, wiser now. The accumulated experience he built up all over those years brought him a wider scope about how he should handle human emotions and its complexities. He wouldn't make the same mistake he had done before, unlike last time when he failed talking some sense to pre-teen Sasuke.

He stood up, hopping on the direction towards Naruto’s house.

⏤.⏤

One year later…

Konohamaru cleared his throat, knocking on the door. He heard grumbles, quiet steps and then the door was pried open with a pair of glaring eyes.

He gulped. “Good morning. Is Naruto-niichan nearby?”

Sasuke thinned his lips, turning around. “Cooking breakfast.”

Konohamaru gave a brisk nod, striding towards the kitchen and being greeted by Naruto’s wide gin.

“Hey Konohamaru! ‘Sup?”

“Naruto-niichan! It’s your first day in the Hokage’s apprenticeship, are you excited?”

“Sure am! Man, can’t believe that Tsunade-baachan is going to pass the torch to me, I thought for sure they were going to choose Kakashi-sensei that⏤”

“Oh? Talking about me?”

Konohamaru and Naruto shrieked when they heard Kakashi’s sudden chime, Sasuke stood leaning on the wall unimpressed.

The older man said. “Ah, here I was coming here to congratulate my former protegée, and all I hear is Naruto-kun talking behind my back. You’re hurting my fragile heart.”

“Can’t you knock on the door like a regular person? You almost gave me a heart attack dammit.” Naruto complained, rubbing his chest.

“Another reason why I’m questioning Konoha’s decision to make you the next Hokage. I assumed the prerequisite for such an important job was to master basic moves like noticing someone’s chakra when they are close by, dumbass.” Sasuke scoffed.

“Say what, you asshole⏤”

“As much as I’d love to get down the memory lane watching you boys bicker, I’m here to give you a gift, Naruto.” Kakashi placed several books on the table. “My entire Icha Icha collection. All signed by Jiraiya-sama.”

Naruto stared wide-eyed once the information sank in, picking up one book as if it was the most precious thing in the world. He leafed through pages, smiling fondly when he read Jiraiya’s message. They let Naruto take his time browsing through the books, even Sasuke curbed his usual teasing barb too.

The Uchiha nin seemed to realize something, coughing. “Well, since Kakashi already gave you his present, I suppose I should also give you mine.”

Naruto’s eyes were narrowed and suspicious. “And what exactly you’re gonna give me, bastard?”

Sasuke smirked, throwing his arm around Naruto’s shoulder and directing to their bedroom. “You’ll enjoy it, for sure.”

Konohamaru and Kakashi watched as Naruto was dragged by Sasuke. Konohamaru muttered. “Well, I guess I’ll wait here until they are done. I was also gonna give Naruto-niichan my gift.”

Oh. “Ooooh, there’s no need for you to wait this long Konohamaru-kun. You can give him once we’re in Konoha’s headquarters.”

“What? I can wait a little, I mean⏤”

Kakashi patted the younger nin’s shoulder as he hurried them to the exit. “I have a feeling they are going to take a while, so we better go.”

Several months had passed and Naruto was beginning to get used to the hectic schedule of being Tsunade’s apprentice. The assistants were also smoothly adapting with his working style too, most comfortable with his friendliness.

The rare exceptions were when Naruto’s best friend would go to a long term mission, and the sunny personality will cloud to a petulant pout.

“Naruto.” Everyone jumped startled from the familiar baritone voice, swiveling their heads to see Sasuke perched on the window.

Naruto instantly brightened up, turning back to face their assistants as he declared. “Hey guys! Sasuke is here so I’m gonna go ok, ‘s gonna be really quick I swear. Be right back, be right back!” Both Naruto and Sasuke disappeared in a cloud of poof.

The assistants shrugged, some even rolled his eyes while they resumed their work.

⏤.⏤

How odd it was that whenever Sasuke was around though, Naruto would always blink out of their eyes. For someone who wore neon orange outfit and had bright golden hair in midst of an ocean of dark heads, Naruto could disappear without an effort.

Saeko rubbed her shoulders while she searched the aforementioned blond nin, seeking his signature. She’s way past her prime to be able to find a strong shinobi like Naruto-kun.

Fortunately for her, she spotted Kakashi from afar, calling him. “Kakashi-kun!”

Kakashi acknowledged her with a nod.

“Have you seen Naruto-kun? I really need his signature to authorize a new mission.” She sighed.

Kakashi chuckled. “Well…in case you can’t see him, I guess you could look around and try to find Sasuke instead.”

“Ah right…Uchiha-kun right.” Saeko shook her head. “They are almost attached to the hip.”

“Right.”

“Such a beautiful friendship between those two boys, right?”

Kakashi stared the old lady before settled with a hum.

“They need to settle down and find a good ladies in their lives though.” She quipped with chiding tone. “Why are they taking so long to get married, I wonder. Youngsters those days are in no hurry to build a family, they are exactly like that Yamanaka girl; living with her best friend Haruno-chan.”

Kakashi hummed absentmindedly once again.

Almost as if he was reading their minds, Sasuke exited the toilet in front of them, licking his lips as his finger wiped his mouth.

“Ah, Uchiha-kun!” Saeko tightened her steps, approaching him. “Have you seen Naruto-kun anywhere?”

Sasuke glanced at her back, then gazed Kakashi’s amused eyes, shrugging. “Behind me.”

“Behind y⏤?” Lo and behold, the future Hokage opened the door a little breathless and disheveled, hand combing through his golden hair.

His cheeks were tinged red but he soon recomposed himself when he saw the old lady. “Oh hey, Saeko-san, Kakashi-sensei! Why are you⏤”

“Naruto-kun, you’re going to be the death of this old woman, I swear!” Saeko interrupted him, shoving the papers on his face. “I know that Uchiha-kun is your best friend but do you really need to have him next to you 24/7?”

“I’m sure that Naruto-kun would happily perform his tasks as the Hokage apprentice, normally…” Kakashi muttered. “But I guess Sasuke just missed him too much.”

Sasuke glared, rolling his eyes. “I’ll see you soon Naruto.”

Saeko concluded that their friendship is really one of a kind, watching Uchiha-kun’s back as Naruto was signing her papers. Gossip around town said that a female shinobi might disrupt such cozy relationship, even though Sasuke kept turning down every date request. There was a bet about which man would find a girlfriend first, however, Kakashi almost zeroed his bank account with the belief that his former students wouldn’t find any girl whatsoever.

Every female shinobi dedicated their time to seduce either the last Uchiha or the future of Hokage of Konoha. This also meant that they were thinning Sasuke’s very limited patience, their constant pestering wouldn’t give them some time for themselves.

⏤.⏤

“Naruto-niichan! Wow, you lucky dog!” Konohamaru chirped when he spotted his friend in the corridor, punching the tanned arm playfully. “I can’t believe this⏤!”

“Believe what, Konohamaru?” Naruto questioned.

“Haven’t you heard? Tomoko Saiyuri, the most gorgeous woman of all Konoha is actually going to ask you on a date!”

“He’s not interested.” Sasuke grunted.

“Oh, c’mon Sasuke-niichan, I know you might be sore because she chose Naruto-niichan instead of you, but there’s no way Naruto-niichan wouldn’t be interested because⏤”

“But he’s not interested, he’s not available, he won’t do anything with her.” Sasuke hissed.

“Uh, yeah…Konohamaru, why would I be interested?” Naruto squinted his eyes puzzled. “I’m honored, honestly, but where did you get the idea I would⏤”

“You know that this is your fault right.” Sasuke snapped towards Naruto.

“What?” Naruto grumbled.

“You give too many openings, people are still thinking you’re available.”

“Uh…wait, Naruto-niichan, does that mean you’re actually seeing someone⏤?”

“Wait, don’t put the blame on me, asshole. Where in the hell did I show that I’m available?”

“Well, you’re such an oblivious dumbass, that you wouldn’t realize yours and anyone’s feelings even if it’s right under your nose.” Sasuke muttered under his breath. “Maybe this is the reason why everyone is also blind about us.”

Naruto stared for a while with his jaw slacked, before blurting out. “We live together, I thought everyone knew.”

“Most think we’re just roommates, some still believe that you’re guarding me while I’m on house arrest.”

“What? We share a bed.”

“They think we didn’t find a good house with two bedrooms.”

Konohamaru interjected tentatively. “Um, Naruto-niichan, what exactly are you talking about⏤?”

Naruto however, couldn’t listen to him, blue eyes still trained towards Sasuke. “I don’t get it, we haven’t seen anyone else so far ever since we decided to live together, I thought⏤”

Sasuke sighed. “They think we’re just taking our time to find a girl to settle down.”

Naruto nodded numbly, scratching his head. “Oh. Is that why Momiji-san wanted to cook me some obento?”

Sasuke grunted, his glare darkening. “And you almost fell for it, hook line and sinker.”

Naruto gazed back, studying the Uchiha’s activated Sharingan. Everyone was staring with growing confusion until Naruto snorted. “Are you jealous Sasuke-chan?” He laughed.

“No, absolutely not.” Sasuke promptly defended himself, raising his chin. “I’m staking my claim, that is all, since someone else is not making any effort over this relationship.”

“Awwww⏤you’re really jealous!” Naruto grinned.

“I’m not jealous, usuratonkachi, I just feel like you should have made everything clear to everyone so I can avoid all those troublesome harpies and⏤” When Sasuke saw the determined blue eyes, he tensed but all of a sudden, Naruto grabbed him and hoisted over his shoulder. "Naruto, what the hell are you doing, I swear I'm going to fry your sorry ass if you⏤Naruto⏤!" The door slammed shut.

Then, silence. All ninjas on the vicinity didn’t know whether they should intervene whatever skirmish because Naruto was going to be the Hokage, but still, since he’s the future Hokage, he didn’t need anyone to defend him, right?

Their thought process was interrupted when he heard a moan. But not any moan, it was specifically Sasuke’s moan. Every face was colored red. As the moans and groans were increasing in speed and volume, the shade of their blushes were darkening, and everyone froze on the spot.

A constant thumping noise joined in, eliminating whatever doubt they might had out of the window, in concern with the activity they were doing in the Hokage’s office. The banging grew faster and louder, that at this point everyone in the building could hear it out.

A guttural scream ripped from Naruto’s voice, that made all women fan to themselves and all men shuffle uncomfortably. Another pregnant silence reigned in the building, until Naruto opened the door beaming ear to ear, holding Sasuke’s hand while the latter was scowling, limping his steps.

“So!” Naruto proclaimed cheerfully. “As you can see, Sasuke and I are unavailable for any possible dates at the present and future moment. We’re pretty busy screwing each other, after all.”

“I am screwing you next time, usuratonkachi.” Sasuke grumbled darkly.

Naruto chortled, unaffected by his threat. “He’s so sweet right. I can’t ask for any better boyfriend.”

Sasuke kicked his legs. Naruto retaliated by slapping hard his back. As their skirmish was growing more violent, everyone scurried away from the couple.

Those two are insane.

(Kakashi later appeared in Konoha’s headquarters, ready to collect his money from the bet. It’s more than enough to secure a very nice retirement. The news about Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship reached to Tsunade’s ears but she was wholly unimpressed. She did punch her protegée to seven foot below ground for soiling her office though.)

#NaruSasu #SasuNaru #snstext #sn fic #drabble #snsourced #nssourced #a lil bit of lemon

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damienthepious · 4 years

Text

Joyous Saintsrise, and Happy Lizard Kissin’. It just seemed like fate that the last day of the decade is a Tuesday, and this idea popped into my head and i wrote the whole damn thing yesterday so forgive if it is a little bit sloppy. I love you, I love you, I love you.

Thus Unfurled

[ao3]

[Fandom: The Penumbra Podcast

Relationship: Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla, (also everyone is friends everyone loves each other i love all of them HECK)

Characters: Lord Arum, Sir Damien, Rilla, The Keep, Sir Marc, Talfryn, Sir Angelo, Olala, (Sir Caroline mentioned but not present)

Additional Tags: Second Citadel, Lizard Kissin’ Tuesday, Holidays, Saintsrise, Party, (just a lot of gentle... yes), Found Family, (hey how was that not already a recognized tag)

Summary: The last day of Saintsrise, and two present have never celebrated before.

Notes: Happy New Years! Happy Lizard Kissin'! I'm emotional and sappy and hey, y'all? I really, really love you. Thank you for being so kind to me this year, and I hope next year is even better. Also, Olala is here? Don't question it. Her stuff got resolved, probably. It's not important right now. Now? It's about food and fun and loving each other. The title is from the Saintsrise carol Sir Angelo sings at the beginning of Frozen King Of Flame. 💖]

Arum does not mind the celebratory aspect of this particular human holiday. There is food to be had, and drink and song and revelry, and Damien especially seems charmed by the symbolism of the year turning over, of the demarcation of time, though Arum cannot help but think of it as somewhat arbitrary. Every day they are a year from the same day the year previous, are they not? He supposes such things can be useful, in their way. He has half his mind on the next human Festival of the Three, since it will mark a much more personally meaningful unit of time; a full year he has known his honeysuckle, and near to that for his Amaryllis as well.

Saintsrise is near triple the length of that festival, though. The humans do not intrude upon his space for the entirety of their celebrations, but he has seen more of Sir Marc and Talfryn in the last week than he had in the three months previous. Of course, Sir Marc had been gone for much of that time, and the child has made his visits more frequent since his return, so perhaps that is unfair.

This last day of the festivities, Sir Damien and Amaryllis have convinced him to allow the lot of them to come spend the evening in the Keep. All of them. Together.

It is, perhaps, the loudest it has been inside of his Keep since the assault. Arum believes that Sir Marc is a distinct factor in the creation of noise, he and Damien’s little rival with the booming voice and proclivity for running shoulder-first into doorframes and breaking chairs. They seem to egg each other on, even, and Arum rolls his eyes as they set to arm wrestling for perhaps the third time tonight (Sir Marc has not, as yet, managed to win).

It does grow too much for him, eventually, too overwhelming in brightness and sound, and Arum retreats to darker parts of the Keep to unclench his fists and breathe in the quiet for a long moment or two. The Keep lilts gently, and it drapes vines around his shoulders, and Arum can feel its mellow pleasure, that he and it have been included in this enthusiastic revelry, that there is so much joy and life within its walls, tonight, and Arum is glad for that, if nothing else. His Keep deserves a little joy, deserves to feel such love. The Keep preens at these thoughts, and reminds Arum that he, too, deserves love, deserves joy.

Amaryllis and Damien come to find him after a time. They know him enough, now, to understand that he would grow overwhelmed in such an environment, and they come only gently, only smiling, and Arum holds them to his chest, squeezing tight and nuzzling his snout against their hair and feeling them as a steadying presence. Rilla presses a kiss to his cheek, then, and Damien gazes up at him with so much joy, and then he allows them to take his hands and lead him back to the party proper.

Olala, clinging to Sir Angelo’s leg, asks about the celebration, about why this Ferdinand gets a day less than his brothers merely for being small, her voice full to bursting with a fierce and childish sense of injustice, and Arum and Amaryllis smile in tandem as Damien’s eyes brighten, as he stands and begins to tell the tale. Arum tunes out the words, but only because Damien gave him the same story only days before, and Arum remembers well enough. He would rather spend his attention watching Damien instead, eyes sharp on the enthusiastic gesturing of his hands, on the curve of his smile, the way his curls bounce as he grows more animated in his excitement. Amaryllis comes to sit beside him with a mug of mead to share, and he curls around her and they both watch their poet delight in his tale as the little changeling watches with eyes shining just as bright.

The feast is rather decadent, larger on this last night than on the nights previous, and besides the main meal, everyone has brought something special to share. Even Olala, who spent the day baking beside Marc. This, apparently, is the third of their attempted cakes, and though it looks slightly lopsided it smells delightfully like honey and cinnamon and ginger, and the decoration is colorful and enthusiastic, if childish. Arum wonders which of the two is more responsible for that part of it. Angelo brought a bright, fragrant curry, and Talfryn came with enough of his mother’s blend of spiced tea to make an entire pot, and then another when the first is drained.

Arum, Damien, and Amaryllis spent their day poring over a recipe from one of her fathers. Arum does not typically take well to recipes, but- for this one, he held his tongue. The resulting rasgulla are soft and sweet and perfect, if the ones sacrificed to their taste-tests are any indication, and Talfryn in particular lights up when he sees them, making Rilla grin with an infectious sort of pride.

They eat their fill, and there is so much left that Arum does not know what they will do with it all when the celebrations are finished.

There are games, then. Nothing that requires much movement, they are all far too full for that, but Sir Marc leads them in some word games, and Sir Angelo seems to know a rather ridiculous number of guessing games and the like, and eventually when those scatter off to inattention Damien recites a poem that seems more word-game than anything, itself. A sort of verbal play, a tongue twister that bounces and lilts and rhymes through nonsense and even Sir Marc applauds when Damien careens through to the end.

Olala yawns wide, her little voice squeaking as she leans into Marc’s side, and the knight looks overwhelmingly fond as he ruffles her hair.

“Well, looks like we’re all pretty ready to wind it down, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, probably. It’s been- really fun, actually,” Tal says brightly, through a yawn of his own.

“Quite a boisterous evening! It is merely a shame that Captain Sir Caroline could not join in the festivities as well.”

Perhaps half the room winces in tandem at the suggestion, but no one disabuses Angelo of the notion that Caroline would rather be here with a monster (and possibly worse- Sir Damien) rather than South for her own holiday. Arum saw her briefly on the second day of Saintsrise, when they had been clustered all in Rilla’s front room eating sweets and playing games, and she had very politely pretended that Arum did not exist. Arum was relieved to return the favor, and she had excused herself rather early.

“The celebration is- is over, then?” Olala says, tilting her head and clutching her tail and looking both sleepy and disappointed that the evening may not continue.

“Not just yet,” Damien says warmly, his arm curled around Rilla’s waist. “The celebration may not end until the final words are said.”

Olala blinks, clearly confused, and Arum narrows his eyes for much the same reason.

“The person in attendance who has seen the fewest Saintsrises,” Angelo says dutifully, eager as a schoolboy, “must say “may we love one another as family until the Saints rise again,” to call the festivities to an end.”

Damien smiles in Arum's direction, and Amaryllis does the same with a playfully quirked eyebrow, and Marc is wearing an expression that Arum believes could be called a leer. The remaining few follow suit in the staring, after that.

Arum blinks, and then when the implication hits him his frill flares wide and he leaps to standing, defensive immediately.

“N-no, certainly- do not look at me, that is ridiculous, certainly the child-”

“How many Saintsrises have you celebrated, exactly, Scales?” Marc asks with a less-than-sly grin. “Ten? Twelve?”

“None, obviously, takatakataka. I don’t believe in your ridiculous ghosts,” he snarls, and Marc’s grin widens with a gleeful laugh.

“So you’ve celebrated exactly as many - as few, excuse me - Saintsrises as the kid,” he says, and Arum growls lightly before Damien stands as well and puts a hand on his shoulder, and the noise in Arum’s throat tapers off.

“We will not make you do anything you do not wish to, my lily,” he says gently. “If little Olala would be so kind as to say the words, I am sure we would be delighted. That would work precisely as well.”

Olala perks up, and she stands as well. She nods, and grins, but-

Arum can see that she is nervous. The corners of her mouth do not turn so high as they usually do, and her tail is curling around her own ankle. It is a nervous tic Arum recognizes, one that the little changeling must have picked up from Arum himself.

Arum feels his frill still flaring, embarrassment at both the idea that he would say something so ridiculous as well as the knowledge of all these assembled mammals seeing him so agitated by the idea. He- he does not wish to be the one to close this ceremony. He holds no stock in tradition, he acknowledges no Saints, he is only included in such revelry out of deference to his lovers, surely-

But Olala is sleepy and burying her nervousness in a dutiful sort of excitement, and for Arum, it is always easier to stand when he needs not stand alone.

So Arum sighs, and he reaches out a hand. Olala doesn’t even hesitate to slot her own tiny fingers between his own (tipped with claws at the moment, she has grown claws to match his own, clever little creature) and the sigh fades into a smile when she blinks up at him.

“May we… may we love one another as family,” he says, and Olala echoes a half-second behind, and then fits into a unison on the second half with her gentle lisp bouncing the words chipper and high, “until the Saints rise again.”

The humans cheer and the Keep sings for the sake of joining in the noise, and it is possible that Sir Marc is still laughing at him, but Arum has ceased to care. Olala is looking up at him again, grinning with sharp teeth, enthusiastic and not even remotely shy, and Arum barely feels foolish as he smiles back. He chuckles, then lifts the child into the air, letting her scream a laugh before he arranges her to sit upon his shoulders, her tiny hands gripping his horns for purchase, and that would be worth the ridiculousness just for her bouncing laughter, though the utterly charmed look that Sir Damien is giving him is certainly pleasant as well.

May we love one another as family.

He does. Already, Arum does.

Sir Angelo throws an arm around Sir Marc’s shoulders and another around Talfryn’s, and both burst into their own laughter at Angelo’s pink-cheeked delight and his enthusiastic but scratchy-voiced caroling. Amaryllis is embracing Sir Damien, pressing a kiss to his flushing cheek, and Olala’s tiny hands grip Arum's horns with clumsy care.

Arum does not give any credence to the human Saints, though he attempts not to mock them quite so loudly for Damien’s sake, but-

There is something to the idea of this holiday, he thinks. Olala laughs above him and Rilla has joined Angelo’s song, now, softening and supporting, and Arum loves her, and loves Damien joining in beside her, loves his Keep, loves very gently this strange child on his shoulders as she attempts to hum where she does not know the words, as she winds a soft tail like a scarf around his neck. He has affection enough, even, for the brothers, for Sir Angelo, and not only for how they love and are loved by those beloved to him. He cares for them each in their own right, as well.

Love one another as family.

He hopes the Saints do not deign to rise again so long as he lives. Arum finds he would much prefer no condition upon which this feeling will end. He would much prefer it, if he may to continue to love every one of these baffling, charming creatures as his family for the rest of his life.

#elle's fanfic #the penumbra podcast #second citadel #rad bouquet #lizard kissin' tuesday #nearly the full ensemble so like... too lazy to tag *all* of them #saintsrise #food mention

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sidespromptblog · 5 years

Text

Away: Part 5

One, Two, Three, Four, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, End

Summary: There’s no point staying in a place that does not welcome and loves you, there’s no point in causing yourself daily pain for people who would love for you to never exist again. That’s why he has to do this, to be selfish for himself, in a way that his host and the others could never grasp.

Deceit stared solemnly back at his vibrant green and yellow scales that reflected the faint lighting as he looked in the mirror of in his small cramped bedroom, the weeks felt like it had just come and gone, and before he even knew it Halloween was here. He should have been looking forward to this, like Emile so clearly was, but the dreaded pit in his stomach had only grown and grown as each day slunk on by. He’d listened to Emile rattle on so many times about Halloween night, just what they would do when it arrived, and just how excited the other man’s partner was to see him for the first time. Deceit didn’t have the heart to tell him that each and every time that this partner was brought up, he felt like full-on vomiting from nerves alone.

Plucking the eye shadow brush up from its little pouch, he made quick work of his eyelids, covering the reddish hue around his eye with a vibrant shade of green and yellow with little touches of black. It smoothly blended into the scales that he was allowed to be shown onto his face for just tonight and tonight only, “I guess doing Remus’ eyeshadow really was good practice after all,” He mused, as a half-hearted smile formed on his lips, before it vanished altogether.

Remus would have loved this.

The gore, the horror movies, having dark humor, and dressing up as whatever they wanted… He would have gone hog wild over this kind of thing, and honestly… it would have been fairly fun to watch him do it. To watch him scream, scare kids, to ring the doorbells of several places before bolting away, to just.. to just see him having some fun.

It would have been nice.

He roughly shook his head, “Don’t,” Deceit warned himself, forcing himself to not delve into those feelings he had burned and buried deep inside of him. Emile wanted to have fun and dress up tonight, so that was exactly what they were going to do. So there was no point in dwelling on things that would just constantly make him sad and angry, he was here, he wasn’t there anymore and he wasn’t going to be there anymore. He had decided that a long time ago. “You can do this,” He told himself sternly, locking eyes with his reflection. Those mismatched eyes stared back, “It’s just one night, you can handle one night. You handled thirty years living with people who hated you, Emile likes you, he’s said so. His partner-”

His partner was going to hate him, god why was he agreeing to do this. Emile was a lucky chance, one of the only people who didn’t look at him and hate him right off the bat. But this partner of his… oh god, he was going to fucking hate him everything about him. He was going to tell Emile that he hated him, and make Emile stop hanging out with him. He’d lose the one person who actually somewhat liked him in his life. And-

Roughly shaking his head, making the extensions in his hair sway, Deceit’s fist slammed against the counter making pain shoot all the way up his arm as if he had been struck by lightning.

“We are not doing this right now!” He snarled, seizing his overnight bag, his thermos, and the coffee cake he had made for the celebration. He was going to have as good as a time as he could, and by god, he was going to fucking enjoy himself tonight.

Even if it killed him.

All it took was one short bus ride to get to where Emile and his so-called partner lived. They lived in an apartment, like so many others in the big city that they lived in. Staring down at the hastily scribbled address on the torn piece of paper that Emile had given him, Deceit’s eyes darted up to the apartment number that was right in front of him. Nervousness welled up in Deceit’s throat, and for a second, just a single moment he contemplated leaving the coffee cake on the floor and just booking it back to his place. His grip unconsciously tightened on the dessert he had brought with him, squeezing the pan as his noisy breathing echoed in his ears and his heart drummed in his chest like a bird attempting to free itself from a cage. He was nervous, there was no doubt about that, and now… standing in front of the very place he’d been dreading for the entire month, he couldn’t even bring himself to knock let alone ring the doorbell.

Deceit wasn’t sure how long he stood there for before he roused up the courage to finally raise his hand, his hand that was shaking so bad that it looked like he had just dipped it into a pot of icy cold water it was jittering so badly.

But eventually, he did knock and the door swung open revealing the inside and just who had opened the door.

A tall thinly muscled man with his skin painted grey and messily drawn stitches answered the door, which in itself wasn’t too odd given the fact that it was Halloween, it was the glasses that he wore.. or rather the sunglasses that he wore despite the fact that he was inside of all places. A smirk scrawled itself across the man’s face, and Deceit felt his stomach go through a series of squirming summersaults.

“Daaamn girl, Medusa herself? I like. I like.” He smoothly drawled, before raising a cup to his lips taking a loud series of long drawn out sips from whatever was inside as he looked him up and down in a ridiculously slow manner. Had Deceit not known any better, he would have thought that the man before him had about zero tact about the fact that he was so openly flirting with someone else. Except… as Emile had said before, this was just par for the course according to him. The fact that he was wearing a long white gown probably didn’t help matters either. “Your makeup be fine as hell girl, you gotta tell me what you used, and the scales? Perfect, they look as real as the real thing. Damn.”

Okay, so maybe Emile’s partner wouldn’t hate him right off the bat.

Lucky for him.

“I uh,” Deceit lifted the pan, diverting the man’s attention away from his scales, “I brought coffee cake, where should I-”

His words drifted off as the smirk that had been on the other man’s face transformed into a full-on beaming smile as he stepped back, finally letting him have entrance to their home. “Emie! Emiiiieeee! You didn’t tell me he could bake!” Remy practically crowed, in the direction of what he assumed was just another bedroom, “He made coffee cake Emie! Coffee cake!”

Honestly, he wasn’t that good at baking. The coffee cake, in general, had been one of the only things that would settle Remus’ after swallowing so many things that weren’t really meant to be swallowed. Cookies, cakes, and ice cream was always Patton’s thing, but this.. this was one of the very few things that he could do ten times better than Morality ever could. It was one of the things that he felt legitimate pride in, all things considered, and one of the only things that could be counted as morally.. okay and not totally evil. Virgil had always kind of enjoyed it whenever he’d made it too…

Swallowing the swelling of emotions that had accumulated in his throat at such a thought, Deceit fixed a painfully fake smile onto his face as Remy stared at him the entire time he was setting the dessert down on the snack table. Turning around just in time to Emile come out of his room, showing off just what he had decided to dress up as.

Deceit’s mouth dropped just a little, as Emile did a twirl making the fabric of his dress spin elegantly around him. “What do you think Dee?” Emile chattered eagerly, “I’ve been a few of the other gems before, but I wanted to give Rose a try? Do you like it?” He asked, just to pause as Deceit’s mind stuttered and failed to come up with anything interesting, fun, or wity to say in the face of someone so spectacular looking. He paled in comparison. “You don’t think it’s too girly or childish do you?” The other man added, when Deceit again failed to say a single word.

“Gender binary is a lie made up by the government, to give those in power a way to document and have obvious biases against people who were different than them.” The words tumbled out of Deceit’s mouth before he could even think about what the hell he was saying, his cheeks heated with a flush of shame that crawled all the way over his ears and down the back of his neck. “You look fine…” He ended in a hoarse whisper, as soon as silence greeted him, praying to everything above that this would save him from what he had said before.

A loud cackling laugh answered his words, as Remy threw his head back, letting out a laugh that the neighbors would undoubtedly be able to hear and wake up to from miles away. Then again, they were probably no strangers to multiple noise complaints, that was if they hadn’t already soundproofed the walls after finding out just who they were living next to.

“Oh damn girl, Emie where the hell did you find him?” Remy wiped away a tear from behind his sunglasses. “I love ‘em.”

Deceit didn’t exactly understand the beaming smile that lit up Emile’s face as soon as Remy said this, nor did he understand the warmth in how Remy had said it in the first place. It was as if they were both having a psychic conversation, with him being none the wiser about all of it happening in the first place. Was this how couples were supposed to be, he didn’t understand one little thing about it. In fact, it was hard to understand either of them at all, they were both so...so weird, but he surprisingly didn’t hate that. Remy reminded him of Remus in an odd way, just as Emile reminded him of Patton.

This too he didn’t hate, in fact… he kind of liked it.

As soon as Remy’s arm draped over his half-bare shoulders, an entire pressure heaved itself onto him as he tensed. “I’m kinda low on Starbucks darlin, and we also need some more candy for trick or treaters. Me and Dee here are gonna go and pick some up, aight? Maybe chat along the way, you know...” Deceit swallowed thickly as Remy led him to the door that he had just come in from, looking desperately over to Emile his heart fluttered in a blind panic upon seeing that the other man wasn’t so much as looking at him as messed with the ruffles of his dress.

He was doomed, this was it, Remy was going to lead him someplace dark and dismal to dump his body. Or or or…

Remy’s arm stayed draped over his shoulders as they made it to the sidewalk outside, he felt partially stupid for the way that he was eying all of the many ways that he could escape. Most people in stable relationships wouldn’t just murder someone, even if they didn’t know them. Remy wouldn’t..he couldn't… not with so many people around and-

“So,” Deceit’s eyes snapped up to look at the shades hiding the other’s eyes, “What did you do before you came to work for my Emie?” Small talk, okay he could definitely do small talk. Should he lie though? There wasn’t really an easy way to tell someone that he had been a part of another human’s mind, let alone that he had been the dishonest part of someone.

How on earth was he supposed to say something like that, without being called crazy and put into the hospital, or just have weird doctors in lab coats poking him with needles?!

The eyes hidden behind those sunglasses must have seen more than he had let on, because Remy’s usual smirk softened into a calm neutral look.

“You don’t gotta tell me if you don’t want to, especially…” His face turned dark, like a serious subject matter had just been breached and Remy for once was dropping his usual swagger to be entirely real with the shorter male next to him. “You don’t have to say a word if it’s something you aren’t comfortable with.. If it was bad… I get it, I really do. Just know this...” He seriously said, stopping for just a moment to stand in front of Deceit grasping him by the shoulders as he gave him a comforting squeeze. “You have the room to breathe with us, you don’t ever have to be scared about coming clean.. or saying anything at all. It’s okay. It’s okay...”

In that very moment, Deceit felt something brittle inside of him shatter.

Remy had only a split second to steady himself before he found his arms full of the guy who had looked nothing but nervous upon coming in his home, who had such a pained look in his eyes, and who wore a mask, unlike anything that Remy had ever seen. He didn’t know what Dee was running from, or if he was even running at all anymore. He’d listened to Emile of course, when he talked about his colleague that was too scared to intrude anything onto him. Honestly, there was only one explanation that crossed Remy’s mind, and… he didn’t like it one little bit.

So without the slightest bit of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around Deceit, pulling him closer as the other shook with the repressed sobs that he had been forcing down for what must have been months. He held him, and he did nothing but hold him. Even so, though, that was more than enough for him, it would always be enough for him.

At least until…

“Deceit?”

Everything came crashing down around him.

#deceit sanders #sympathetic deceit #sanders sides deceit #ts deceit #Emile Picani #dr emile picani #ts shorts remy #remy sanders #runaway au #runaway deceit au #runaway deceit

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littletayyswriting · 4 years

Text

The Sun Still Waits Here (With the Moon and Stars Beside It)

Title: The Sun Still Waits Here (With the Moon and Stars Beside It) (1/?)

Author: LittleTayy

Rating: Teen

Characters: Marisa Coulter, Lord Asriel, Lyra Belacqua, Ma Costa

Summary: Marisa Coulter and Lord Asriel certainly try their best. They love their daughter. But Lyra Belacqua is undoubtedly her parents’ child.

( An AU story, set in our modern world. )

AN: This is based on the TV show.

Read On: AO3

Prologue

All Sins, Secrets and Scandals Revealed

secrets

She is still Mrs. Marisa Coulter when Lyra is born, two weeks early and with her husband still away on business; the both of them screaming as Lyra enters the world. It is all pain and joy and immense relief for Marisa. It is simply her and the nurses and midwives in the birthing room, no easily fooled husband or tempestuous lover to crowd and coddle her.

The infant is still crying, still making a God Awful noise and Marisa reaches for her, practically snatches her out of the nurses hands. She is small and still a little red, fussing in Marisa’s arms. Already she can see the dark hair littered along the crown of her head and she is surprised at the glimpse she captures of her dark eyes as her daughter gazes up at her.

Her daughter. Her child. She is a mother now and quite frankly, it’s almost beyond Marisa’s comprehension. She is responsible for the bundle squirming in her arms, now quieted by the cooing Marisa hadn’t realised she’d been doing.

Marisa’s focus is purely on the baby now. Everything else around them has disappeared; the Prime Minister himself could walk into the room and Marisa wouldn’t give a damn. Instead, she’s looking at her child, the perfect mixture of her and Asriel, cataloguing every feature. She’s pleased to find that Lyra’s features favour her own for the time being; hardly any of Asriel seems to be in her. For now at least.

It’s two days before Edward arrives home all pride and bluster, excited at the prospect of finally having a child. He is disappointed Lyra is a girl, Marisa can tell. Though the ultrasound had confirmed that at 5 months, he’d held out hope, much to Marisa’s annoyance. Still, he’s charmed by the baby, even if his interest in her wanes by the time the week is out.

Marisa doesn’t mind though. Lyra is hers. The less time Edward spends with her, the better in her opinion.

sins

It’s a month before Asriel is finally back in Britain, let alone in London. He shows up unexpectedly at the Coulters apartment. Though he knows it’s dangerous and bordering on audacious, but he’s already spent a month apart from his child and his lover and he won’t wait another moment more.

He steps off the elevator and into the penthouse apartment, surprised and yet not at the young woman that greets him. It takes a moment for him to realise she is the Nanny, though she has no child in her arms. The young woman, whose name he has already forgotten, directs him towards one of the rooms at the other end of the long hall.

Marisa is there and Asriel feels as if he’s never seen her before now. She is the most unkempt she’s ever been but she’s got the baby in her arms and is cradling her, holding her so softly and gently, he wonders if she’s been taken over by a bodysnatcher. The Marisa Coulter he knows is neither soft nor gentle. Yet here she is with a baby in her arms, looking so gloriously soft and beautiful beyond belief.

Her eyes snap up and meet his for a moment, a smile blooming wide on her lips before her eyes turn icy. Her expression turns sharp, though she is still smiling her shark-like smile and her eyes move to the figure behind him. “Leave us,” Marisa instructs, voice brooking no room for argument. Asriel doesn’t need to look back to know the girl will scurry away, though she can’t be more than a few years younger then Marisa herself. Marisa had always had the uncanny ability to unsettle and intimidate others with a few words or a simple look. There’s a wretchedness to her soul but it’s one Asriel loves.

Once she is gone, Asriel makes his way further into the nursery, taking a moment to glance around at the pretty pastel toys and accents and the detailed, hand painted stars and planets that adorned the ceiling. He shouldn’t have been surprised by the almost Renaissance feel of the artwork. Marisa was nothing if not particular and he knows she had planned the nursery out in every last detail. The night-scape a homage to their shared fondness for the stars.

“I was beginning to think you wouldn’t come,” Marisa tells him almost nonchalantly. The words are light but Asriel knows better.

They’d had a fight a few weeks before she’d given birth and Asriel had run off abroad to do some kind of research. It was a thinly veiled excuse to get away before their fight blew up into something worse; which it was prone to do when they both let their tempers get the better of them.

Asriel scoffed, though it was out of amusement. “I could hardly just leave my research team a month early,” he replies, stepping closer and letting his eyes fall to the baby girl in his lovers arms. He doesn’t add that he almost jumped onto a plane the moment he’d heard she’d given birth two weeks before she was supposed to. Only Stella, his research assistant had stopped him.

Marisa simply gives him a look but he ignores it as she finally relinquishes her hold on the child and passes her over. Lyra is perfect, is the first thing he thinks, as she settles in his arms and her wide dark eyes look up into his. She might have his chin but mostly, he can see Marisa in her more than anything. He wonders if that’ll change, if as she grows she’ll look more and more like him. He rather likes the idea of her taking after her mother, though.

Holding his child for the first time, he wants to ask what they are going to do. Marisa is the schemer, the planner of the two of them; so he knows she must have something in mind. He knows a divorce would be the simple answer but Marisa has never been simple .

“She’s…” he starts, a finger caressing the baby’s soft skin, trying to think of the perfect words to describe the infant. He looks up at her then, watching Marisa as she watches them.

She steps closer and he can see that she is itching to have her daughter back in her grasp once again. He wonders if she has let the Nanny do much of anything since Lyra’s been born, he has a feeling he already knows the answer.

“I missed you,” Marisa admits and Asriel can only assume her soft emotions are simply still an effect of hormones. His Marisa would never have admitted such a thing.

Despite all that, Marisa is still magnificent and she’s holding their child. Really, Asriel reasons with himself, how is he not supposed to kiss her? Their child is nestled between them, held securely in her mother’s arms. The kiss is heated and passionate and filled with something neither of them can quite describe.

It’s almost perfect.

If Marisa’s name wasn’t still Coulter. If the Nanny hadn’t been lurking outside the door. If they’d just been more careful.

scandals

By the time Lyra is six months old, Marisa’s reputation is in tatters, ruined almost completely.

The Nanny, whose name even now she could not remember, even after she’d ruined her life, had started whispering in Edward’s ear. It became clear very quickly that she’d seen and heard far more then she was supposed to. Marisa supposed it hadn’t helped that she and Asriel had gotten swept up in the emotions of having a child together, that it had made them careless.

That it had made Asriel careless, Marisa decided. Showing up announced to see her and the baby. Enticing her out to his estate. She was a new mother, surely her actions could be blamed on hormones or some such thing. That’s what she’d tried to argue at least.

Edward Coulter, though usually easily fooled, could not ignore the glaring evidence of photographs of Marisa, Asriel and Lyra together, taken on multiple occasions over multiple weeks. Each photograph more condemning than the last, making it clear to anyone that looked upon them of Lyra’s true parentage.

His outrage turned to anger and really, it was quite unfortunate that Marisa and Lyra happened to be with Asriel when he found them. Accusations and taunts and curses hurled between both men, though most of Edward’s hateful words were directed at Marisa, until the two men came to physical blows. The gunshot was loud and unexpected and had set Lyra off in a wail.

It had not been at all how Marisa had wanted things to go. She’d expected Edward to be angry but pitiless, agreeing to a quiet but amicable divorce, lest she reveal to the public his cuckolded humiliation. Edward Coulter’s public high profile was something he coveted, almost as much as Marisa herself coveted her own.

Instead, Asriel was trialled for shooting dead her husband and their affair and secret love child as the press had dubbed Lyra, were all public knowledge. The whole situation infuriated Marisa and the vicious, petty part of her nature had her refusing to talk or see Asriel and by extension, keeping him away from Lyra.

It was needlessly cruel but Marisa had reasoned with herself that she was Lyra’s mother. She was simply protecting her child. After all, the death of a Cabinet Minister by the hands of his wife’s lover, who also happened to be a titled Lord was a scandal of epic proportions. Lyra was only a baby and Marisa was determined to keep her name out of the papers as much as she could, no matter how illogical it all seemed.

Her temper tantrum, as Asriel called it, lasted until Lyra was almost a year old. Their scandal, now that Asriel was found to have killed in self defence, the gun had been Edward’s after all, was slowly leaving the forefront of people’s minds. It should have come as no surprise then, when a month before Lyra’s first birthday Marisa turned up at Asriel’s estate, declaring that they needed to prepare for her birthday celebration.

They didn’t talk about it, not in any real way but by Lyra’s first birthday, they’d hired a Mrs. Costa to look after Lyra, her nursery had been all set up and Lyra and Marisa’s things had been moved to the estate as discreetly as possible. It was exactly as Marisa had always wanted it.

And to top off the first year of her daughter’s life, Marisa had made sure that the Nanny that had whispered recklessly to her husband, was never heard from again.

#hdm fanfiction #marisa coulter #lord asriel #lyra belacqua #his dark materials fanfiction #hdm tv #thesun.p

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razorblade180 · 5 years

Text

Lasting Embers pt6: Days in between pt1

[Sparring area, evening]

Ruby:Yujin! Hellooooo! You around here?

*nothing worn trees and target circles*

Ruby:Man this place takes me back. Huh?

*black hoodie on the ground*

Ruby:*picking it up* Looks about Yujin’s size; Dad did say she was training with Raven earlier. Must be hers. Wait a second... *flips it inside out*

*reveals a familiar bunny rabbit on the front*

Ruby:*Smiling* Never would’ve imagine this old thing would be around after 10 years. Looks like Yujin doesn’t wear you with the same pride her dad does. *folds it up* I bet she still misses you though; better find her so you two can reconnect.

[The House]

Jaune:That should do it.

Yang:*wrapped in bandages and gauze* Thanks...*sits down*

Tai:*brings her a sandwich* You should probably eat; you never got the chance to earlier.

Raven:It might be the reason Yujin fucked you up so bad.

Everyone:*looks at Raven*

Tai:Babe, really?

Raven:*red* What? I’m just saying if you ate then maybe you would’ve thought more clearly and not held back.

Yang:I wasn’t exactly pulling my punches you know? *chomp* I...just ran out steam alright? That’s all.

Raven:Really? Cause that final blow looked pretty dodge-able from where I stood; you could’ve counter attacked too. Instead you took it like a champ and let her vent.

Yang:What else was I supposed to do!? *holds her head down* seeing her look like that, like me back in the day. I couldn’t help but freeze up. She’s my kid after all.

Raven:*rubbing her head* Believe me, I get it. You’re not the only one to face their kid and see themself remember? *smiles*

Yang:*sighs* Guess somethings are just destined to repeat themselves. Maybe motherhood doesn’t exactly run in the family.

Jaune:Don’t say that.

Raven:You’re a great mom. That’s an undeniable fact.

Yang:*smiles weakly*

Tai:She’s not the only good mom in the room.

Yang:He’s right; not to mention a pretty kickass grandma. Thanks for being there for Yujin when I wasn’t. It means the world.

Raven:*embarrassed* Of course I’d look after her. She’s family... and looks like you. I’d be lying if I said she didn’t well.... make me feel like I got to be a parent. I would’ve traded that feeling though if it meant you stayed; I feel like I stole your moments with her. Guess I’m a bandit through and through.

Yang:You didn’t steal anything; you gave her what she needed. All of you did.

Tai:It takes a village right? I know that better than anyone. It takes all sorts of people.

Yang:Speaking of which.....Jaune, my dear husband.....

Jaune:(Oh boy....)

Yang:Would you care to explain why one of those people happens to be Adam Taurus? I promise I won’t get mad. *sandwich bread gets toasted*

Jaune:*looks at Tai*

Tai:*looks at Raven*

Raven:*glares at Jaune* She said your name; not mine.

Jaune:Sigh, fine. By any chance did Blake ever tell you how her new organization worked?

Yang:Of course, The Guiding Light is an organization made up of like minded Human and Faunus. They are lead by her with Sun as her right hand and head bodyguard. Members go across remnant helping struggling communities and meet with high ranking people to help change laws; not to mention organizer protest.

Jaune:Yeah but did she mention the other thing?

Yang:Yeah the whole team knows. *looking at the ceiling* Even with the strides they make people like the cult and citizens that are just stuck in their ways constantly disrupt them wherever they go; from road blocks to terrorist acts. So as a defense there’s a secret faction with no traceable ties to the main one that was made with the soul purpose of preventing the disruptions before they happened.

Raven:The shadow casted by The Guiding Light’s existence. A smaller group designed to be the hidden blade to an organization that shows itself as a shield. It’s sort or genius.

Jaune:The White Fang never disappeared; they just stopped barring their teeth. Blake and Sun lead the way in the light.....

Yang:Adam and Illia patrol from the shadows with their trained team; hand picked by Blake herself. As much as I don’t agree with that kind of method, it sure has done a lot of good. *chuckles* she told me that sometimes you need a friend in the shadows. I just didn’t think it would be him.

Tai:I’ve gotten the chance to meet him a few times. I got to say, he’s....something else.

Yang:What does this have to do with Yujin knowing him anyways?

Raven:After Blake left with you guys to go save the world again, Sun was left to be the face of the organization alone. He noticed that even though you guys were doing your best that some cult members slipped through the cracks.

Jaune:You guys were definitely hitting vital points and taking out key players but the underlings were bound to go unnoticed. Fortunately, Sun had a solution.

Tai:He sent the White Fang members to regularly gather intel and stop whatever plans they might have to start trouble. He also sent the strongest ones to watch over everyone’s families while you guys were away.

Jaune:Neo gaurds my family, Emerald checks in with Ren and Nora, Mercury constantly relays info, Illa goes to Atlas to meet with Whitley and make sure everything over there stays fine. As for Adam.....

Yang:Let me guess; he checks in with you?

Jaune:Once every couple months or so. More if something actually happens.

Yang:*irritated* I just don’t get why it’s him. Of all the people.

Raven:He’s still dead to most of the world. Patch is a small place where people tend to mind their own business. It’s the only real place for him to move freely.

Tai:Yeah I got feeling he can’t do that in Atlas.

Yang:Still, I’d rather him be the last person she ever met.

Jaune:What if I told you he saved her life before? That he’s the reason she’s even here right now.

..........

Yang:What.......?

Jaune:....It was Yujin’s eighth birthday. Adam always visited at night for his report; made things easier. Usually Yujin would’ve been asleep but....

Raven:A late night knock on the door during her birthday could’ve meant the thing she had been waiting for.

Yang:She thought it was me....of course.

Jaune:*chuckles* Looking back, the look she gave Adam was priceless. She wasn’t at all impressed. I had to drag her back to bed; I didn’t want her hearing the report just in case the worse happened. Unfortunately, I let my guard down. She snuck out of her room again; this time though she heard Adam say your name.

Raven:And tailed him all the way through the forest trying to catch up to him. No shoes, no parents, no anyone. Just a little girl in the woods at night desperately searching for clues. A perfect storm for disaster.

Jaune:The moment I realized she wasn’t in her room I sprinted through the forest. I heard a scream and ran right to it. Do you know what I saw? *clenching his fist*

Yang:.....

Jaune:Yujin in Adam’s left arm and his sword in his life right hand. Surrounded by grimm and the would be assassin of our daughter. She almost died that night all because I wasn’t at my best to be frank.

Yang:There’s no way you could’ve known though. It’s not-

Jaune:It is though. I patrol this place every day but her birthday. Not just because I’m celebrating; but because when I put her to bed I just end up sitting alone downstairs grieving. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping in that bed another night without you. Not knowing if we’re both waiting for nothing.

Yang:*grabs his hand*.......I....I don’t know what to say to that. Sorry doesn’t cut it; sorry doesn’t do any of you. Ten years.....is a long time. I thought it was hell for me but, I never realized just how hard things really got here.

Tai:Belive me, it was rough but we all what could happen and wouldn’t change a thing. Not even Yujin; that’s why she’s so frustrated.

Raven:Like her father she’s cunning and understands why things happen the way they did. But like both her parents, her emotions can run high. Just because she knows what was best doesn’t mean she’ll like it. She hates that about herself; logic and emotions just don’t mix well.

Yang:What happened after the fight? I assume Adam dealt with the guy while you grabbed Jin?

Jaune:Not exactly, I’m the one who killed him.

Yang:*eyes widened*

Jaune:Don’t look too surprised. You know I’ve killed before.....

Yang:Yeah and know how much you hate it.

Jaune:Well when push comes to shove I’ll do anything for my friends and family. No matter the cost. *clears throat* anyways after that night, Adam stayed a few days just in case. Even when he left Yujin sort of gravitated towards him a bit. Anytime he visited she’d ask him questions about you and fighting. He always answered.

Tai:We know you don’t like the guy but If you’re gonna remember the things he did to you, you should also recognize the things he’s done for you.

Yang:.....*sigh* Could this situation get anymore jumbled.

Raven:Well your daughter also has a baby crush on him.

Yang:*leans head back* Of course she does. That’s just....great. *processing* As much as I hate his guts, if I ever see him I’ll try playing nice.

Raven:Good, Tai and I are gonna head back home. It’s getting dark and maybe that’s where she’s run off to. *kisses her forehead* hold that head up high. It’ll work out.

Yang.Bye mom and dad; thanks for everything.

Tai:No problem sweet heart. Also Adam visits tomorrow.He always checks in the day of or after her birthday. *closes door*

Yang:......what?

•

Ruby:*Walking through forest clearing* I thought I’d find you around here. Off to visit mom’s grave again.

Yujin:*surrounded by plums of fading black smoke* Aunt Ruby, I’m not really up for a lecture.

Ruby:I’m not here to lecture you; I’m here to set the record straight. You’re mom left because of me.

Yujin:*stops and looks at her. Eyes still purple.*

Ruby:I said it was me, I’m the reason Yang left. I convinced her into going.

#rwby #jaune arc #yang xiao long #yujin xiao long #ruby rose #taiyang xiao long #raven branwen #rwby dragonslayer #rwby lasting embers

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